S1: Hello, friends. Welcome to Open Line, our Bible study across America.
S1: I'm Michael Radonich, I'm professor of Jewish studies and Bible
S1: and academic dean at Moody Bible Institute. And today's program
S1: has been pre-recorded, truly special because it was recorded on
S1: our recent Moody Journeys of Paul Trip. Let me give
S1: you the scene. We were sailing on a four masted
S1: sailing ship some 350ft long. You can even hear the
S1: wind whipped through the rigging while sailors work the deck,
S1: pulling ropes and hoisting sails on this beautiful sunny day
S1: on the way to Kusadasi, which is a city just
S1: on the coast of Turkey. And then we headed in
S1: about just a few kilometers into the ancient city of Ephesus.
S1: We were what were we doing? We were visiting the
S1: sites where the Apostle Paul went and preached the Preach
S1: the gospel. And we saw those sites. We had actually
S1: just left Patmos, where we learned about the Apostle John,
S1: where he was exiled. And then we headed to Ephesus
S1: to learn about Paul. And on another day we were
S1: sailing towards Philippi. We assembled on deck under a canopy,
S1: where I assembled a panel to answer Bible questions that
S1: we thought you'd enjoy hearing. On today's recording, you'll hear
S1: me also doctor Mark Jobe, president of Moody Bible Institute,
S1: Doctor Joe Stoll, former president of Moody Bible Institute, and
S1: Doctor Lori Norris, currently the dean of faculty working with
S1: me at Moody Bible Institute. The good people on the
S1: trip joined us to ask their Bible questions, and my
S1: friend and tech genius Chris Seeger recorded it all for you.
S2: Okay, I have a question about the women who wiped
S2: Jesus feet with their hair in Mark 14 three. It
S2: talks about a woman in Bethany who wiped with from
S2: the alabaster box and they were complaining about the cost.
S2: But in Luke 736, when Jesus was at the Pharaoh's house,
S2: there was a pharisee's house. There was an immoral woman.
S2: Are these the same women? Are two different incidents.
S3: Great question. Actually, a lot of there's a lot of
S3: interesting discussions about this, but I personally think they were
S3: different women. I mean, different place, different time, different background.
S3: I think the Mark woman was, you know, Mary Magdalene probably.
S3: Do you think Laura was a good chance? Yeah, probably.
S3: And Luke says that this woman was a sinner. He
S3: uses probably, probably a prostitute woman of the streets. So
S3: my my sense is they've been different women. Some people
S3: will answer to say they're the same. I've never felt
S3: like the context means that they're the same.
S4: Can I just add to, um, what strikes me really
S4: about that story is that, um, Jesus said of, uh,
S4: I'm trying to remember which text it was, but he said,
S4: this is a beautiful thing, and it will be talked
S4: about and think about. I love the fact that this
S4: woman that's broken feels dirty and broken and she's doing this,
S4: that this story will be talked about. There were people
S4: that were looking indignant at her. So don't miss the message.
S4: Don't miss the message. You know, how could you let
S4: a sinful woman touch you? And yet Jesus said, she's
S4: done a beautiful thing to me. The main focus of
S4: it is the beauty of Jesus not being afraid to
S4: be touched by people that are broken and sinners and
S4: the beauty of it saying, and wherever the gospel is preached,
S4: this woman will be talked about. This is a beautiful thing.
S5: And if I can add one more little thing sometimes,
S5: you know, as we're saying, these are likely different women,
S5: that's not always the case. So there are times in
S5: the Gospels where you have two stories that have some
S5: different details around them, or they're told in slightly different ways,
S5: and they actually are referring to the same account, but
S5: they refer they represent a different point of view on
S5: that event by the evangelist that's telling the story. So
S5: they're bringing out certain aspects of the story that perhaps
S5: another gospel writer didn't provide, or perhaps they situate it
S5: in a slightly different place in the story to emphasize it.
S5: So it's not automatically the case that there are two
S5: different people. It could be in some cases it is
S5: the same event. But I think there are reasons, as
S5: you said in this case, to see it as two
S5: different women.
S3: So in Luke seven he was in Simon the Pharisee's
S3: House and the Pharisee. As soon as this woman approaches him,
S3: approaches Christ. Simon says, ah, I know you weren't in
S3: his head. He thinks, obviously you're not a prophet. If
S3: you were a prophet, you would know that this was
S3: a sinning woman and would not let her touch you.
S3: You know, and so Jesus goes on to talk about
S3: her being forgiven much. That's why she loves him so much,
S3: why she's doing so much. And then Jesus says, those
S3: who are forgiven little love little, you know, and it
S3: struck me when I read that and when I preached
S3: a sermon here. But, uh, in a sense, you know,
S3: I grew up in a Christian home. You know, I've
S3: known Christ my whole life. I remember being where the
S3: Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir was singing, and this is a choir
S3: made up of people who are saved off the streets,
S3: ex prostitutes, drug addicts. And they began by singing a
S3: song of blessing to Christ, and the spotlights had their
S3: tears running down their cheeks. You know the redemption that
S3: they felt. And I sat there thinking, I don't have that.
S3: But then I thought, so maybe it's harder for me
S3: to love much. But then I thought what Christ did
S3: to save me from all of that. How the spirit
S3: in my life, you know, had kept me from those
S3: kinds of things. And then I started believing that I
S3: had a lot to love Jesus for, because he had
S3: saved me from so much.
S6: Michael, I thank you for your talk. When we were
S6: at Patmos, at the cave, and you said that the
S6: people of the people like John may have recognized Jesus,
S6: because if you know your Old Testament, the scriptures show
S6: the Ancient of Days. So I just want. And the
S6: Son of Man. So the Son of Man in the
S6: Ancient of Days is in Daniel seven. So when we
S6: look at that and like you all might know this,
S6: but I don't. I've always pictured the Ancient of Days
S6: as being the father, but the Son of Man is Jesus.
S6: So who is the ancient? I think.
S1: You're right. I think the Ancient of Days is the
S1: father in heaven. Now no one can see God. People say, well,
S1: how did we see the Ancient of Days? It's a vision.
S1: It's not an actual sighting. Okay. So it's a vision.
S1: There's thrones set up, plural. One for the Ancient of
S1: Days and then one for the Son of Man. And
S1: the amazing thing when we come to John one, not John.
S1: Revelation one, that chapter in Patmos, you know. And the vision.
S1: It seems confusing. I know I mentioned this, but I
S1: think it's really confusing. He is depicted there with the
S1: glory that the Ancient of Days has, whereas in Daniel
S1: seven the Son of Man looks like a man, that's what.
S1: One like a son of man. And I really do
S1: think the answer is John 17 five, where the Lord says,
S1: now that I'm going to be crucified and glorified, glorify me,
S1: give me the glory that I had with you before
S1: in eternity past. And now he's depicted in revelation one
S1: not as the suffering servant, not as the ordinary. And
S1: that's what Jesus looked like. He didn't look ugly. He
S1: just looked ordinary. If you read Isaiah 53, not that way.
S1: Now he's the glorified Son of Man, and he's depicted
S1: with that ancient, the same glory as the Ancient of Days.
S1: He's not the Ancient of Days, but he's depicted with
S1: the glory, the same as the Ancient of Days.
S7: Hi. Just curious to hear what your opinion is, is
S7: why Luke stopped where he did in the book of acts,
S7: when Paul got to Rome and preached to the synagogue there,
S7: and Luke didn't continue through, you know, the rest of
S7: the life of Paul.
S1: Yeah, that's when he was done.
S3: Actually, the publisher had a page limit. I think I
S3: was like.
S1: No, I really think that's when he was done. He
S1: wrote all the events up to when Luke was writing it.
S1: That's all that had happened. He wrote the book and
S1: more stuff happened afterwards. You know, that's all it was.
S1: You know, it's not like he said, wait, you know,
S1: I'm going to hold off on finishing the book until
S1: Paul gets released, imprisoned again and martyred. Which, yeah, it was.
S1: It's an act. He finished it when the book was over,
S1: and that's when the events were done. And then more
S1: stuff happened afterwards. And he didn't have time to to
S1: write a volume two.
S5: And especially since Luke was a traveling companion of Paul,
S5: so much of Luke's writing is drawing on research. He's
S5: done on Luke and Acts really together, two volumes, but
S5: also a joint work at the same time. And he's
S5: done that research, but he's also Paul's traveling companion. So
S5: we'll see tomorrow, even in acts 16, where Luke is
S5: entering the narrative himself and he's joining the story. And
S5: so this really is in real time when we get
S5: to acts, he's no longer just doing research right and compiling.
S5: He's now in real time with Paul as well.
S1: So notice when you read the book of acts sometime
S1: the we sections Paul did this. Paul did this, Paul
S1: did this. And then then we did this, we did this,
S1: we did this. This is a pre-recorded open line from
S1: our journeys of Paul, trip aboard the Star Clipper sailing
S1: ship as we sail towards Philippi. More after this break.
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S1: where to begin? Or maybe you just want to get
S1: more out of your reading of the scriptures? Well, have
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S1: Each weekend on Open Line with me, Doctor Michael Radonich,
S1: we study the scriptures around our radio kitchen table. You
S1: can become a kitchen table partner through your monthly support
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S1: Line radio.org. Welcome back to Open Line. I'm Michael Ray Dolnick,
S1: inviting you to really enjoy this special pre-recorded open line
S1: from our recent journeys of Paul Tripp. You'll hear where
S1: aboard a sailing ship, the Star Clipper, on the way
S1: to Philippi. Let's get back to the questions our tour
S1: participants had for our panel.
S6: Okay, I have always wondered about this.
S8: Passage, and I'm hoping you can help me with it.
S8: It's Matthew 517 through 20 where Christ says, do not
S8: think that I have come to abolish the law or
S8: the prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but
S8: to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until
S8: heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a
S8: dot will pass, will pass from the law until all
S8: is accomplished. Yet we totally ignore Jewish law these days.
S8: I've never understood what happened or why.
S1: I'm guessing that's for me, right? Okay, if you look
S1: at the verse, it says, I didn't come to abolish
S1: the law or the prophets. He's talking about the whole
S1: Old Testament. He's not just talking about the Law of Moses.
S1: He's talking about the Hebrew Bible. And it's still, by
S1: the way, have you noticed? It's in there. The other thing,
S1: when it comes to the Law of Moses, I think
S1: we have to think of it in two ways. There's
S1: the Sinai covenant, Exodus 20, the laws that are given,
S1: you know, you've got these droppings of these, these several
S1: drops of law that come through the rest of the Pentateuch.
S1: And those are the laws, the mitzvot, the commandments that
S1: Jewish people try to keep and also enhance and mitigate
S1: and things like that. But also when we talk about
S1: the law, we're talking about Genesis through Deuteronomy, right. And
S1: that's not destroyed. It's we still read it, learn from it.
S1: There's even the commandments that are part of the Sinai
S1: covenant all have wisdom principles that we live by. And
S1: they're not destroyed. We're still living by it. In fact,
S1: in Deuteronomy it says, everyone's going to say that these laws.
S1: What a wise God you are who has given a
S1: people so many wise laws. That's what laws were thought
S1: of in the ancient Near East. And so we still
S1: live by wisdom principles in in the commandments. The whole
S1: Hebrew Bible should be read. I don't think we should.
S1: What's what was said? We should. Uh unhitch. From the
S1: Old Testament. God forbid. Uh, that is a vital part.
S1: When Paul said all Scripture is inspired. He's not just
S1: talking about the New Testament. In fact, he's probably not
S1: at that point talking about the New Testament at all.
S1: He's he's talking about the Hebrew Bible. And so the
S1: whole Hebrew Bible is still for us. Uh, there's still
S1: wisdom principles in the commandments. So when people ask me,
S1: are we under the law of Moses or not? I
S1: always say the same thing. No and yes No, in
S1: the sense the Sinai covenant isn't the Constitution we're living under.
S1: We're living under the New Covenant. On the other hand,
S1: all the wisdom of the Old Testament is still what
S1: God gave us as inspired text and and designed to
S1: guide our lives.
S3: Part of the reason he said that is because he
S3: was being accused of being an antinomian against the law
S3: of the Old Testament. But remember when the Pharisee who
S3: was trying to trip him up, actually the Pharisaical lawyer,
S3: they had so many rules, right? What they started out
S3: with 600 and some, and then they added a bazillion
S3: of other ones. They were called fence laws, right? Like,
S3: you should never commit adultery. Therefore you should never be
S3: around a woman. Therefore. And all of these never touch
S3: a woman. So all of these became equal weight there.
S3: And we do that a lot today, don't we? Similar.
S3: But anyway, all of that's kind of a little aside.
S3: So when when the the pharisaical lawyer who adjudicated the
S3: complexities of the law came and said, what is the
S3: greatest commandment? He reached back into the Old Testament. He said,
S3: thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul,
S3: and strength. And the second one is like it reached
S3: back in the Old Testament again. You should love your
S3: neighbor as yourself and all of these, if you do
S3: those two things, all the rest of the laws will
S3: be kept.
S5: Yeah, I was going to also just emphasize that there
S5: is a close connection between the New Covenant and the
S5: Mosaic Covenant, or the Law of Moses. Um, if you
S5: think back to the blessings and cursings of Deuteronomy, and
S5: you get to the end in Deuteronomy 30, where he says,
S5: you're you're not going to be able to do this,
S5: you're going to fail miserably. Um, the end of the
S5: the end of the Law of Moses is the promise
S5: of the new covenant that I will write my law
S5: on your hearts. I will circumcise your hearts, I will.
S5: I will do this. I will cause you to obey.
S5: I will cause you to keep my law. And of course,
S5: that's repeated in Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 36 and other places.
S5: And so that that relationship, even between the New covenant,
S5: we're under the New covenant now, not the law of Moses,
S5: but what is the New Covenant doing? It's enabling us
S5: to actually obey by the spirit the very heart of God,
S5: the commands to love the Lord your God and to
S5: love your neighbor in its totality. So sometimes we we
S5: separate those two too much, and we forget that the
S5: New Covenant enables us to fulfill the will of God.
S5: We're not under the law in that sense, but we
S5: also are under the new covenant which fulfills it.
S4: So can I add one? One other thing. My favorite
S4: phrase is not to abolish them, but to fulfill them.
S4: It's all about Jesus. I mean, what was the law for?
S4: The law was pointing us to the holiness of God.
S9: Only Jesus, he fulfills it.
S4: You are perfect and holy because of Jesus, the sacrifice
S4: of Jesus. The entire law is pointing to the holiness
S4: of God and how to live up to the standard
S4: that none of us can match. And so I love
S4: the part of I have come to fulfill it. In
S4: other words, you are justified before God like you had,
S4: as if you had obeyed every single law. Now in
S4: Jesus you are washed and cleansed. No need for a lamb.
S4: No need for another sacrifice. Because Jesus became the sacrifice.
S4: And that's a beautiful concept.
S1: I'm going to read the verse that Mark is talking about.
S1: It says in Romans eight what the law could not
S1: do since it was limited by the flesh. God did.
S1: He condemned sin in the flesh by sending his own
S1: son in flesh like ours, under sin's domain. And as
S1: a sin offering in order that the law's requirement would
S1: be accomplished in us who do not walk according to
S1: the flesh, but according to the spirit. That's what Mark
S1: was talking about. The law's requirement is met in us,
S1: not because of us, but because of the one who
S1: fulfilled it.
S10: First of all, I want to say thank you for
S10: doing this for all of us. I think this is
S10: amazing that there's so much knowledge and wisdom sitting right
S10: there and just thank you.
S1: I'm so thankful that they're here.
S10: I'm really.
S1: I'm terrified. Every Saturday.
S10: I think Eva should be over there with you. Yeah. Okay.
S10: My question is, in the Old Testament, the Jewish people
S10: were saved by faith because they believed in the coming Messiah, right?
S1: Be nice. Let me just tell you how all people
S1: are forgiven of their sin and enter into a personal
S1: relationship with God. From the Garden of Eden till the
S1: last person ever comes to know him. Are you ready?
S1: We're saved by God's grace, God's kindness, his undeserved kindness.
S1: We're saved by grace through faith in the revealed will
S1: of God. That's what it is. Now, they didn't know
S1: Jesus in the Old Testament, right? They God had revealed
S1: that a messiah was coming. Right. And so they had
S1: a confidence and more and more was given. But they said,
S1: if I will believe God, just as Abraham did, it
S1: will be counted to me for righteousness. So they're saved
S1: by grace through faith in all that God has revealed.
S1: And there's a little bit about the Messiah and the Pentateuch,
S1: you know, and more and more and more. And they
S1: believe that and trusted it. But did they understand fully
S1: that Jesus was going, that Jesus of Nazareth would die
S1: for their sins and be raised again? No. They knew
S1: a messiah, a Redeemer was coming. That's what they believed. Okay.
S10: But my question really is post Jesus, what about the
S10: Jewish people? God's chosen. Are they automatically saved? I don't
S10: really know how to ask.
S1: I understand what you're asking. Okay, good. You're asking, do
S1: Jewish people have an automatic in into the family of God?
S1: Remember what I talked about? Were you when I talked
S1: about acts 2021? Paul testified faithfully to both Jews and Gentiles.
S1: He said that he would wish that he could somehow,
S1: if it possible, to be separated from Jesus. If only
S1: his people would believe. Uh, so you know that no one,
S1: no one has an end. And since the Messiah has come,
S1: do you know what it says in Hebrews one? But
S1: God today has spoken through his son. He is the revelation.
S1: And in John eight, I want to read you a
S1: verse of what Jesus said to Jewish people. Okay? And
S1: my pages are all going to blow away here. John eight. Uh,
S1: he says, unless you believe that I am. Boy, the
S1: wind has really gotten up, hasn't it? Okay. Uh, John 824,
S1: listen to this. Therefore, I told you that you will
S1: die in your sins. He's talking to Jewish people. This
S1: is the Lord Jesus. For if you do not believe
S1: that I am is literally what it says that's declaring
S1: his deity. Unless you believe that I am, you will
S1: die in your sins. So even Jewish people, my beloved people,
S1: need to put their trust in Jesus. Now, why do
S1: I say that? Because that's what Jesus said. Now, it's
S1: also why I gotta just say this. My life would
S1: have been a lot easier if I had gone into
S1: another kind of ministry. Uh, I've spent the last almost
S1: 50 years talking to Jewish people about Jesus. Not the
S1: most open people group I've ever met and have gotten
S1: some blowback in the past, even. Uh, but the reason
S1: I do that is because of what Jesus said, and
S1: I love them so much, and I care so much
S1: about them not doing to hurt them. I'm doing this
S1: because I care deeply. So, you know, I have a
S1: friend that was in Jewish ministry with me, with chosen
S1: people for many years. He was our missionary director, and
S1: he left. He had planted a congregation that grew as
S1: far as 100 people. Then he left and became a
S1: pastor of a church in the western burbs in Chicago
S1: that grew to over a thousand people. And I said, wow,
S1: I heard your church is doing great. He said, Gentile ministry.
S1: Piece of cake.
S11: Yeah, yeah.
S3: Yeah. So, Michael. So. Right. Nobody gets a hall pass, right?
S3: You don't detour. Jesus. But. And it is hard to
S3: reach the Jews. But the 144,000. Talk about that. Okay.
S1: And there's going to come a day when there's a
S1: period of time called the time of Jacob's trouble, or
S1: we call it sometimes the tribulation period that Daniel's 70th week.
S1: Lots of things that are called in Scripture. It's a
S1: seven year period, but at the beginning it says they're
S1: going to be 144,000 Jewish people, 12,000 from each tribe.
S1: I don't know what tribe they're from. Apparently God does.
S1: And that's how he picks them. And they are going
S1: to be. It doesn't say they're going to be sealed
S1: and be servants of the Lord. It doesn't say, what do.
S12: You believe that the Jewish leaders at the time of
S12: Jesus Yeshua, um, did they know it was the time
S12: based on the book of Daniel? Were they expecting the
S12: Messiah at that time?
S1: I'm going to give you a very fast answer. They
S1: did not, because I believe Daniel nine was pointing to the.
S1: The exact date of fulfillment of Daniel 924 through 26
S1: was on palm Sunday. That's when it was fulfilled. And
S1: what did Jesus say on that day? If you had
S1: known this day but you didn't so know, they did
S1: not know. We'll be back with more from our special
S1: Journeys of Paul Open Line, where you'll hear even more
S1: questions that our tour participants had for our special panel,
S1: including me, Michael Wright, Joe Stoll, Mark Jobe, and Lori Norris.
S1: More coming up right after this break. Welcome back to
S1: Open Line. I'm Michael Radonich. Today's program is not live,
S1: so don't call. Instead, I'm taking you back. Just a
S1: month or so ago to a recent trip I hosted
S1: called The Journeys of Paul.
S13: Doctor Stohl, as you were talking at Pergamon today, you
S13: said that the one who conquers. I will give some
S13: of the hidden manna. Could you expound on what that
S13: hidden manna would be.
S3: Well, of course, it's a reference to the men of
S3: the Old Testament. Manna of the Old Testament. Right. And
S3: that that's how God supplied their needs by this wonderful
S3: miracle of the manna that would come. These these beliefs.
S3: Not you got me in Jewish world here. But so
S3: the Pergamum believers were often deprived. They were poor. A
S3: lot of them lost their jobs because they were Christians,
S3: lacked provision. I think generally he's saying I will provide
S3: for you. Hold fast. Don't flinch. I will provide for you. Why?
S3: It says hidden manna. I don't know, but I think
S3: Lori does.
S5: Perhaps. Um. Well, I think part of it, you know,
S5: as you're saying, there's a spiritual dimension to the manna.
S5: But I even think going back to John six and
S5: thinking we're in John's discourses of Jesus. Um, it is interesting.
S5: The Bread of Life discourse, some of the Jewish tradition
S5: that underlies their expectations. You know, there's a lot of
S5: expectation that arises through Jewish history about the Messiah's coming
S5: and what that will entail. And some of that, you know,
S5: an expectation of a Moses figure returning in a second
S5: Moses and the the idea of manna, a, a storehouse
S5: of manna in the sky. And some Jewish tradition believed
S5: that the initial manna kind of came from a storehouse
S5: in heaven. And there was an expectation that when the
S5: Messiah would come, when those times they weren't expecting necessarily
S5: just one figure, but when that time would come that
S5: there would be kind of a re pouring out of
S5: the manna from heaven. And so remember, Jesus has just
S5: done this amazing miracle of feeding the 5000, right? So
S5: he's just multiplied the bread. These are poor, hungry people
S5: like at Pergamum. But in John six, these are poor,
S5: hungry people. He's multiplied the loaves and the fish for
S5: the people. And then he turns and, you know, they're thinking,
S5: this is it, right? This is it. This is the
S5: moment we've been waiting for. And he says, I am
S5: the bread sent from heaven. I am the manna from heaven.
S5: And they're like, well, how do we. They're taking him
S5: very literally. Right. They're going back and forth, back and forth,
S5: and they're taking it literal. And he's saying, no, it's me.
S5: I am the one in whom you will never hunger
S5: and you'll never thirst. And so I think that Hidden
S5: Madden may be drawing a little bit on the Jewish
S5: tradition and there as well. And that idea that the
S5: words of Jesus in John six that says, I am
S5: the manna that is from heaven, I am the one
S5: who feeds you. Um, it's maybe just an allusion. There's
S5: so many allusions in revelation to different parts of Scripture
S5: that could be part of it. Um, potentially Michael might
S5: have something to say about that.
S1: Real quick, real quick. Just the hidden manna. The manna
S1: in the Old Testament wasn't hidden. They went out and
S1: picked it up. But Jesus is the manna that's been
S1: hidden from so many because they won't look, but he
S1: will give them the sustenance from God. The one who's
S1: been hidden, no longer hidden for them.
S3: Glad I came on this trip.
S14: Hi. Do you have any practical tips on how to keep, like,
S14: a childlike, wondrous faith as you get into scholarly stuff
S14: and deep theological questions and you study the Bible really deeply? Like,
S14: how do you keep a very simple gospel believing faith?
S14: You know what I mean?
S4: You know what I tell the students at Moody that
S4: are going to be inducted into hours of theology, Greek, Hebrew.
S4: It's easy to start taking the book of the Bible
S4: with an analytical lens, which is not a bad thing,
S4: but when you study it just for theory, it's easy
S4: to stop asking, and what are you saying to me
S4: about my life? And what do I need to change?
S4: And so the very first chapel that I preached at
S4: Moody Bible Institute as a president, I went to the
S4: store and I bought several thousand buttons. The lady said,
S4: is this enough? I said, more. Is this enough? I
S4: want more, and I walked out with bags of buttons
S4: and I put all the buttons across the stage. And
S4: I said, I just want to remind you, as students
S4: that are going to be studying a lot of the Bible,
S4: you'll be tempted to look at it as a textbook.
S4: But I want to remind you of the story of
S4: Mary and Martha. Jesus was in the house, the Messiah
S4: in the house there, the one that has never had
S4: a beginning and will never had an end. And Martha
S4: was so busy about just the things that she missed
S4: the presence. And Jesus said to Martha, Martha, you are
S4: worried and upset about many things, but only one thing
S4: is needed. And Mary has chosen that. And Mary was
S4: at the feet of Jesus in a posture of humility,
S4: listening to his words and his voice. And so I said,
S4: if you get the first button right. You get all
S4: the other buttons right. If you get the first button wrong,
S4: then your entire life will tend to be unaligned. So
S4: get the first button right, and that first button is
S4: humbly sitting in the presence of Jesus, listening to His Word.
S4: With your Bible open in a spirit of humility, not
S4: reading it to analyze it, but reading it to say, Lord,
S4: what are you saying to me? And what do I
S4: need to do about it? I think get the first
S4: button right. So every semester I give the students buttons. Now,
S4: and at this last graduation, I was I was handing
S4: out their diplomas, and the first guy put something in
S4: my hand and I looked and it was a button.
S4: And then the next one, I ended up with about
S4: 50 or 60 buttons that people had were putting in
S4: my hand, and it was their way of saying, hey,
S4: I remember keep the first button right.
S11: Got it? Cool.
S1: So let's see who listens to open Line here. Anybody?
S1: What do you do to read the Bible so it's personalized.
S1: You put on your specs. What do you remember? What
S1: specs represent? You read it. Looking for a sin to avoid,
S1: a promise to claim an example to follow, a command
S1: to obey, or a statement of truth to believe, right?
S1: How many times have you heard that on Open Line, right.
S1: It's a really important way of reading the Bible so
S1: that it's not just a theoretical book, but it's a
S1: practical book. Every every chapter, every verse. We can see
S1: something that will apply to me. I think that's really crucial.
S1: But how do you keep a simple faith? I think
S1: you have to keep simple. I really do. Yeah. Uh,
S1: I don't aspire to be anything other than a student
S1: and teacher of the Bible. I don't want to be
S1: known as anything other than that. A student and teacher
S1: of the word. That's it. I don't want to be
S1: known for scholarship or anything like that. When people say, oh,
S1: he's a scholar, I think, well, actually, not Laurie's a scholar.
S1: She is. I'm not. I am just someone that that
S1: studies and and does my best to teach it. And
S1: I think that every one of us, that's that's all
S1: we should. Every one of us should want to just
S1: study it, teach it, apply it. That's it.
S5: I had the privilege for about ten years to teach
S5: spiritual life in community class to freshmen at Moody. One
S5: of my very, very favorite classes to teach. I don't
S5: have enough teaching hours now to still teach that one,
S5: but I hope I get it back one day because
S5: it's the most important foundation, right? Everything else that they
S5: do at Moody, like you said, if they don't get
S5: that piece right, then they can achieve all of these
S5: amazing goals and get the grades. But the Lord cannot
S5: be pleased at the end of that. They want the
S5: Lord's pleasure in their studies. And so I always assigned
S5: to them this old sermon by B.B. Warfield, back in
S5: the days when Princeton was conservative. He was addressing seminary
S5: students at Princeton at the turn of the century. And
S5: he talks about the spiritual life of theology students, essentially.
S5: And he he calls them to worship and says, what
S5: a travesty that in studying the things of God, we
S5: would grow weary of God. And he says it in
S5: just eloquent terms. He paints this tragic picture of what
S5: it's like to study God and become bored with God
S5: to to miss him. And he raises the question, um,
S5: you know what's better? Ten hours of study or ten
S5: hours of prayer. And I forget the exact number, but
S5: we'll say ten hours. And the answer, he says, how
S5: about ten hours of study on your knees, right. Which
S5: is such an important thing, right? We don't study God.
S5: We don't read the word. And we do that in
S5: separation and independence and isolation. And we pray before we pray.
S5: After we do our study on our knees, we realize
S5: we need him to understand. We want to have the
S5: specs to see the things that Michael mentioned. And so
S5: I think that's such an important reminder. We often separate
S5: things that belong together. Sometimes even, you know, my study
S5: and my devotional life, there's a place to make that distinction.
S5: But sometimes I don't like that distinction because it makes
S5: our study something else that's other than worship, and that's
S5: a really dangerous place to be as you go deeper
S5: in your study of Scripture. When I was in seminary,
S5: a good friend of mine was entering the program and
S5: she said, I want to master God's Word. That's why
S5: I'm here. And then she paused. She caught herself and
S5: she said, no, no, I want to be mastered by
S5: God's Word. And then she caught herself one more time
S5: because she realized that was still one step removed. She said, no, no,
S5: I want to be mastered by the God of the word.
S5: And that, you know, I constantly remind my students that
S5: you don't stand over the word. You stand under the word.
S5: And we're used to studying things from an objective position,
S5: right where that's the object. And we're we're doing that analysis.
S5: But when we're studying Scripture, we stand under Scripture. It
S5: examines us. And so I think part of guarding your
S5: heart in that simplicity is making sure that you're always
S5: in the right posture, that you're under and not over, um,
S5: that it judges us. We don't judge it.
S3: So I think you ought to buy a good pair
S3: of EarPods and use music. I find that music often
S3: touches my heart in a very deep way. God invented music, right?
S3: It's his music. And so I find that just singing,
S3: praying and singing, you know, just a closer walk with thee,
S3: you know, and praying. That's hearing that and singing it.
S3: My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine
S3: for thee. All the follies of sin I resign, I
S3: need thee, oh, I need I find. You know, from
S3: my childhood growing up in the hymnal hymns that to
S3: this day draw me closer to Jesus Christ. And so
S3: I encourage you to add that to your devotional time.
S3: Sing them, pray them back, and always touches my heart.
S1: We'll be back with more from our special Journeys of
S1: Paul Open Line, where you'll hear even more questions that
S1: our tour participants had for our special panel, including me,
S1: Michael Radonich, Joe Stowell, Mark Jobe, and Laurie Norris. More
S1: coming up right after this break. We're so glad that
S1: Febc partners with Open Line with Doctor Michael Radonich, bringing
S1: the Febc mailbag every week. Learn how Far East Broadcasting
S1: Company is taking Christ to the world@febc.org on their weekly podcast.
S1: Until all have heard with editor cannon, you'll hear stories
S1: of lives changed by Messiah all across the globe. Again,
S1: you can hear the podcast when you visit febc.org. That's febc.org.
S1: People are always asking me questions about the Jewish people.
S1: Some of you want to know how to reach your
S1: Jewish friends with the gospel, or you want to understand
S1: how the Messiah fulfilled prophecy. Others want to learn about
S1: the Jewish feasts and festivals. Chosen People Ministries is an
S1: organization that reaches Jewish people with the good news all
S1: around the world. Each month, Chosen People, ministries Industries offers
S1: a free resource to open line listeners that can help
S1: you in your personal walk with Messiah Jesus, or it
S1: can help you reach out to your Jewish friends and neighbors.
S1: For your free copy of this month's resource. Go to
S1: the Open Line website that's Open Line radio.org, and scroll
S1: down and find the link that says A Free gift
S1: from Chosen People Ministries. Click on that link and you'll
S1: be taken to a page where you can sign up
S1: for your own free copy of this month's resource. Let's
S1: get back to our last questions from our Journeys of
S1: Paul special open line aboard the Star Clipper with me,
S1: Michael Zelnick, Joe Stoll, Mark Jobe, and Lori Norris.
S10: Hello.
S15: I'm bringing you to Jonah. So just thinking in the
S15: book of Jonah. And how do you reconcile, like Jonah's
S15: behavior in chapters three and four versus the prayer in
S15: and Jonah two, where it seems like he is being repentant.
S15: And so just trying to reconcile those two.
S1: I think Jonah is one of my favorite prophets because
S1: I so can relate to him. I don't know if
S1: you've heard of Romans 12 one and two, right? Where
S1: it says, present yourself as a living sacrifice. Right? Yes.
S1: And you all have heard the problem with living sacrifices.
S1: We keep crawling off the altar. And I think Jonah
S1: was sincere in his penitence. But when he finally gets
S1: to Nineveh, he was also sincere in his proclamation of judgment,
S1: which was yet 40 days. And and and Nineveh will
S1: be destroyed, with the caveat that unless you repent, which
S1: he was hoping they wouldn't because they were the enemies
S1: of Israel, it was predicted by the prophets that they
S1: would conquer the northern tribes. And and he didn't want
S1: them to do that. And so he wanted the Assyrians
S1: not to repent so they could be destroyed and avert
S1: the judgment that will come on the northern tribes of Israel.
S1: And then he saw that they repented, and he got
S1: annoyed at God. I maybe you can't, but I do
S1: find that I have repented and talked to God about
S1: bad attitudes that I've had, and said, I am leaving
S1: those bad attitudes right? And then, shockingly, unbelievably, my wife
S1: is surprised to see that I have that same bad
S1: attitude again.
S3: I have also noticed that.
S5: No comment.
S1: So let me just say that someone once called Open
S1: Line and said, how can you believe the Bible that
S1: shows all these biblical figures for all their sinfulness? And
S1: I said, that's exactly why I believe the Bible. There's
S1: no cover up. In fact, every time I read it,
S1: I just see myself.
S3: So also, I think if I can just jump that
S3: up into our world where Jesus has called us to
S3: love our enemies, right? And Jonah refused to be a
S3: middleman in a compassion transaction between God and the Ninevites
S3: who needed him to repent. And I think a lot
S3: of times, you know, we refuse to be that middle
S3: person between God and someone who desperately needs because we
S3: kind of don't like that person. They kind of annoy
S3: us a little bit, you know? But we are to
S3: love our enemies. Anybody in the house really thankful that
S3: God has loved his enemies? All right, so there it is.
S3: All right.
S16: When we track the events of Jesus chronologically, is there
S16: any indication in Scripture that Jesus came and lived and
S16: died during the year of Jubilee, where he restores the
S16: inheritance of Israel?
S1: Great question. It's a great question that I don't have
S1: an answer to. I have no way of tracking the
S1: the year of Jubilee.
S3: No way. Seriously?
S11: Yeah, I have no way of doing that.
S3: Well, well, I've got the answer.
S11: Wait, he's got the answer. He doesn't know either. Yeah,
S11: that's right, I know.
S3: I don't, I don't, but, you know, I think open
S3: line's a challenging thing. People call up, right. And expect
S3: him to know the whole Bible. Like in Hezekiah three one.
S3: The third word in the verse. What do you think
S3: about that? You know, and you always do such a
S3: good job with it. That's why I was surprised to
S3: hear you say that.
S11: Well, no, but.
S1: We don't know. When they started calculating the year of Jubilee,
S1: and they ignored the year of Jubilee for so many
S1: years that that it's it's just it's I don't know
S1: how we could track it. I suspect I could delve
S1: into some rabbinic literature and find the answer, but I'm
S1: not sure. So good.
S3: Question. I think that's an interesting thought. Yeah.
S9: Yeah. Uh, can you hear me? Can you hear me? Okay. Um,
S9: one of the Ten commandments is to keep the Sabbath. Um,
S9: and it seems like the others are. You know, it's
S9: really clear how to do those, you know, don't kill somebody.
S9: Don't lie, don't covet. Well, how do how would how
S9: do we keep the Sabbath today?
S1: Okay. Well, in Exodus it says that the Sabbath is
S1: the sign of the law of Moses. Okay. And I
S1: think that's why, of all the. There's ten commandments. Nine
S1: are repeated in the New Testament in the New Covenant.
S1: But the Sabbath one isn't. And I think it's because
S1: we are now under the New covenant. That's our operating system.
S1: You know, we used to sort of think about the
S1: covenant like this. You know, there was, uh, DOS and
S1: then windows 3.1 and then and now we're under windows.
S1: I don't know how many 12, I think. Right. So
S1: we're under a different operating system, and the sign of
S1: the old operating system isn't there anymore. So that's why
S1: it's not repeated. But remember what I said is that
S1: earlier that there was a wisdom principle, and the wisdom
S1: principle is that we need a day for physical rest
S1: and spiritual renewal. We need to take a day. Romans
S1: 14 five says, one man honors one day above another.
S1: Another views them all alike. Let each man be convinced
S1: in his own mind. Now, I guarantee you, I cannot
S1: take Shabbat as my day of rest. And it's because
S1: I've got to talk to all of you. That you
S1: may think I'm just sitting around, you know, kicking my
S1: feet back and doing nothing, but that actually takes some
S1: work to do. Open line. So I have to have
S1: another day of rest. Have a Sabbath. It's the day
S1: of rest, a day of physical rest and spiritual renewal.
S1: Thanks for listening to this special Pre-recorded Journeys of Paul
S1: Bible Q&A on deck of the Star Clipper. Coming up
S1: in the second hour on most of these stations is
S1: a Bible study, also recorded on deck about how to
S1: be a hopeful failure based on John 21. Don't miss it!
S1: Open line is a production of Moody Radio, a ministry
S1: of Moody Bible Institute.