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The Truth of the Matter Is – Episode 199: A Coin That Brought Extensive Coverage
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This week on The Truth of the Matter Is podcast, Jonathan returns to provide an in-depth breakdown of the denarius in the Gospels —exploring its origins, value, and historical significance. He also revisits key themes such as the intended Gospel audience and the perspective on who Jesus is within the text: man, servant, God, and king—along with reflections on the nature of both benevolent and malevolent spirits. His goal is to bring these ideas together to explore just how deep the Bible can be when each aspect is thoughtfully considered in uncovering its true meaning in context of this story concerning the denarius.. Luke 20:19-26, Matthew 22:15-22, Mark 12:13-17 ESV.
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Reflection
00:00:00
Speaker
This is the Truth For The Matters Podcast. I'm your host, Jonathan, and this is episode 199. Let's begin by recognizing and appreciating all of our new and consistent listeners.
00:00:24
Speaker
We thank you all in advance for continuing to press play at your own convenience. And we pray that regardless of the episode that you find yourself pressing play on, this podcast can and will be a blessing to you.
00:00:42
Speaker
So first thing I want to do is echo something that I think some of you might have just heard and overlooked. But yes, this podcast, as of this episode, 199, we have produced 199 episodes.
00:00:58
Speaker
And we are one shy of 200 episodes.
00:01:08
Speaker
This podcast has existed for five and a half years. And so I am truly grateful, appreciative, and it's an honor to be on platforms like Spotify,
00:01:32
Speaker
Wherever you listen to podcasts outside of YouTube, I'm just appreciative to have a platform and the opportunity to share the gospel and also encourage you to see the value and importance of studying the word of God.
00:01:48
Speaker
You know, when I first thought of the idea, didn't know that this podcast would exist for this length of a time. And so to me, when I thought of putting this podcast together, had something in mind, and that was to expand the thought process and the biblical literacy of the average person to want to feel inspired and curious about what God has to say in his word as it relates to everyday life, but also the practicality in the scriptures and what it is here to do.
Mission of the Podcast
00:02:29
Speaker
And that's to reveal God's true intentions and mentality. when it comes to his kingdom, but also when it comes to representing who he is as we are ambassadors for Christ, representatives for him.
00:02:46
Speaker
And so I hope that this podcast has done that for someone out there who has decided to press play. And I'm sure there are many more across this nation who will come across this biblical podcast and feel inspired and motivated to be better but most importantly have a desire to be more biblical literate as it pertains to revealing to the world especially those who are not believers how God's word remains the same but has a way of impacting the heart and the mind to be better but most importantly
00:03:31
Speaker
to reveal God's true intentions when it comes to how we should behave and monitor ourselves as image barriers of Christ.
00:03:47
Speaker
And so with that said, normally I would reveal to you ways in which I believe that the Lord has blessed me. But I want to skip ahead a little bit into what I want to share with you today.
Gospel of Matthew Series Continues
00:04:03
Speaker
For the sake of time, obviously Friday, which is tomorrow. And could be you guys' as today, depending on when this episode gets edited and then ultimately posted. it And so I'll try to do that tonight.
00:04:20
Speaker
Good Friday leading into Resurrection Sunday.
00:04:27
Speaker
One other order of business that I also want to share with you all.
00:04:37
Speaker
Is this of course I'm going to continue with the gospel of Matthew series. It seems like for the last few months up and I've actually been providing.
00:04:54
Speaker
Passages of scripture that I've actually read over, studied intently, shared in my Bible study that I have with seniors once a week at 864 Gates Avenue in the Tri-State area in Brooklyn, New York.
00:05:11
Speaker
And so that will be what I want to share with you today. And hopefully, God willing, in time, we will jump right back into the Gospel Matthew series.
00:05:25
Speaker
I actually started working on what I want to share with you all based upon what God has revealed to me and what I feel confidently sharing with you.
00:05:37
Speaker
And so I will jump right back into that series.
Advice for Allergy Season
00:05:42
Speaker
I just find it fascinating that the last few episodes that I have shared have been episodes that has encouraged me to dive deeper to then share with.
00:05:55
Speaker
my Bible study group to then ultimately see the uniqueness of what it had to say, and what I wasn't thinking about at the time when I actually did the Gospel of Luke series.
00:06:11
Speaker
And so with that being said, before we dive into anything, first and foremost, I want to pray.
00:06:20
Speaker
Also, excuse me with the slight cough every now and then. It's allergy season. actually I've actually had some good news. I've spoken to maybe two or three people who recommended me to actually seek out a beekeeper within the neighborhood.
00:06:38
Speaker
And by consuming the honey that they have, they should ease up my allergies. And so I'm going to take that piece of wisdom that was departed onto me and implement it. And hopefully.
00:06:49
Speaker
I won't have to rely on algae pills, but instead I should be able to speak without feeling like I'm going to cough every minute.
00:07:01
Speaker
And so. You never know when wisdom comes. or when when But when wisdom comes knocking and it's revealed to you, I think it's imperative that you take the wisdom that's been departed onto you, apply it, and be thankful that that information has been passed on to you. It's been passed on to you for a reason, and um I don't think we should squander it, but we should thank God for what was said, not how it arrives or who is the one that spoke it to you.
00:07:35
Speaker
Okay. Heavenly Father, Lord, in Jesus name, as we come to you once again, as students of your word, we thank you. We honor you. We glorify you. We lift you up, not because of what you've done.
00:07:51
Speaker
but but but because of who you are. And so Lord, as we go into your word today as humble servants and ambassadors for you, we pray that you open up our eyes to see, our ears to hear, our hearts to receive.
00:08:06
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and our minds not only to understand but to apply. We thank you for traveling mercies. We thank you for grace. We thank you for the gift of life.
00:08:19
Speaker
We thank you for all that you've provided for us, even the things that we don't yet know. We thank you in advance because we know that you have Your best for us.
00:08:31
Speaker
Before we arrive at anything. As it pertains to what we. Desire to do whether. That's for the betterment of us. But most importantly for the betterment.
00:08:41
Speaker
Of you Lord. We lift you up. We give you all the glory honor and praise. And Lord we say these things. If with honesty. And with surety. In Jesus name we pray.
00:08:54
Speaker
Amen.
Symbolism in the Gospel of Luke
00:08:56
Speaker
So the title of this. This discovery that I've had sitting with the Lord and that I've studied upon was a coin that brought about extensive coverage.
00:09:10
Speaker
That's the title of what I'm sharing with you today. A coin that brought extensive coverage. And so the passage of scripture that I want to begin with and so and actually read and kind of branch out is in the Gospel of Luke. And so for those who have listened to the Gospel of Luke series, we can call this a startling discovery because it stems from the Gospel Luke and then it branches out into Matthew and Mark. But for the sake of
00:09:49
Speaker
Diving into this verse or this passage, I think it's greatly written and there's a lot we can pull specifically from this as we branch out to talk about a coin that brought extensive coverage.
00:10:05
Speaker
And so for those who don't know who this is your first time listening to the Truth of the Matters podcast. One of the things that I've shared in the past, and I think it is apropos to mention here, is that the Gospel of Luke is considered the I-Testimony Gospel.
Parable Analysis: Message on Scribes
00:10:21
Speaker
In this particular Gospel, Jesus is classified and highlighted as a man. Okay? God as a man. And so the audience here are the Gentiles.
00:10:34
Speaker
And the specific thing that... Luke, the doctor, wants us to know is that what's highlighted in this I testimony narrative are his parables.
00:10:49
Speaker
OK, and so another thing to emphasize about this text is that it's a it's it's a text that phenomenally has a political slant to it.
00:11:02
Speaker
And I'll get into that a little bit. And so I'm going to read from the Gospel, Luke chapter 20, verses 19 through 26. And so I'm going to through 26. And in order to do that, I'm going to reference text. I'm going to talk about the historical aspect of it. I'm going to pretty much break this text down so that you can understand why I think it's important to talk about this text and so I think it's important to do these things to better understand the text itself and so this is a way of studying the Bible that motivates you to do research but most importantly motivates you to reflect and
00:11:47
Speaker
And when you see all these different things that I just mentioned and why you should pay close attention to it, you have a greater appreciation what's being written and how it can speak to you and how it can provide more information that will have you pondering on quite a bit of this.
00:12:08
Speaker
And so I'm going to read this and then I'll get into some things. OK. come The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.
00:12:30
Speaker
So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be sincere that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authorities and jurisdiction of the governor.
00:12:42
Speaker
So they asked him, teacher, you we know that you speak and teach rightly and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God is a lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar or not.
00:12:58
Speaker
But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, show me a denarius whose likeness and description does it have? They said, Caesar.
00:13:09
Speaker
He said to them, they render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's into God, the things that are God's. Verse 26. And they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him and what he said.
00:13:23
Speaker
But marveling at his answers, they became silent. Another thing I want to emphasize is that the translation that I read this in is the English Standard Version.
00:13:35
Speaker
Okay, so I didn't read this in the NIV. I didn't read this in the NLT. I didn't read this in the New King James or the Amplified. I read this in the English Standard Version. Of course, there's nothing wrong in reading it in those translations.
00:13:50
Speaker
But for the sake of breaking down a text from an educational standpoint, I wanted to read this in the English Standard Version. Okay, so again, we just read Luke chapter 20 verses 19 to 26.
00:14:07
Speaker
This is considered the eye testimony of the Gospels. One of the four is highlights Jesus as a man. The audience is a Gentiles. The emphasis are the parables in this particular portion about the coin and Jesus' encounterment with the people regarding the coin is a political slant to it.
00:14:33
Speaker
And so, first thing a business that I think we should talk about It's the scribes, right? So when you read verse 19, this is the scribes and chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour. For they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.
00:14:56
Speaker
So the scribes were considered highly educated, professional elites. Not only that, they were responsible for writing, copying and interpreting.
00:15:08
Speaker
Scripture. So understand the importance of who they are and what they did. Highly educated, they were professional elites, and they were responsible for writing and copying and interpreting scripture.
00:15:22
Speaker
Another thing about these scribes is that they have significant authority in Jewish society. Why? Because they were considered to be among the elites. And so what professions might the elites hold?
00:15:35
Speaker
Lawyers, governor officials, a theologians. Right. If you're writing and copy and interpreting scripture, you're a theologian. You're higher. You're highly educated, at least in those times you were a lawyer.
00:15:49
Speaker
But most importantly, you were a government official. You know, verse 19 describes in a chief priest sort to lay hands on him at that very hour. And so when you think about this, what's interesting is you have highly educated professional elites who are theologians, lawyers and government officials.
00:16:15
Speaker
And if you think about what those jobs entail, is the muscle uses of the brain is what frequently gets used. As a matter of fact, when you are thinking in such a high level of regard, you're highly regarded as a thinker.
00:16:36
Speaker
What I find interesting is that in verse 19, they had different intentions. And it's interesting why their intentions changed.
00:16:50
Speaker
Right. It changed because they're they wanted to resort to physical confrontation, which is why the verse says they sought to lay hands on him at that very hour.
00:17:03
Speaker
And so imagine the psychological impact that it may have on an individual who's considered brilliant intellectually as a lawyer as a theologian as a government official and now you're resorting to physical confrontation to someone who at the time was a carpenter and wasn't considered to be
00:17:36
Speaker
Regarded as someone who was highly educated. Right. Obviously, we know and in hindsight and context that Jesus is God in the flesh. But if you're looking at it from their perspective, Jesus.
00:17:52
Speaker
Shouldn't be able to shine their shoes because of the education and the training that they want to to get to where they are. And so I think the need to release bold up energy and a desire to, you know, to retain or to regain control and expressing this intense frustration was the reaction that they had. Right. Right.
00:18:23
Speaker
And you have to think about what what was the reaction that they had? The reaction that they had was the parable that Jesus used to describe them.
00:18:35
Speaker
Right. Now, before we get into that, I want to talk about the difference between righteous anger. Right. And selfish or sinful anger.
Types of Anger: Righteous vs Sinful
00:18:47
Speaker
Right.
00:18:48
Speaker
Righteous anger is directed at evil and injustice. Right. Simple anger is a result of selfish impulsiveness and destruction.
00:19:01
Speaker
I think about these two different forms of anger here. Because. When you think about what's transpiring here for a second.
00:19:13
Speaker
You have to ask yourself, is the anger that these scribes and chief priests are having, is it righteous anger or is it sinful anger?
00:19:26
Speaker
Is it righteous anger or is it sinful anger?
00:19:31
Speaker
I don't believe there was an injustice taking place, but I do believe there's sinful anger that's taking place, right? Selfishness, impulsiveness, which leads to destruction.
00:19:43
Speaker
And so just to be clear here and precise, there's a passage in Ephesians chapter the four, verse 26 that says, in your anger, do not sin.
00:19:54
Speaker
Do not let the sun go down while you are still Angry, which means don't harbor wrath or unresolved conflict. Right. So I would think the goal here is to avoid long term bitterness or resentment towards someone.
00:20:14
Speaker
That's what the goal is, at least to why you shouldn't let your anger lead you to sentence.
00:20:23
Speaker
Another passage that comes to mind is 1 Corinthians 13, verse 5. And it says, it does not dishonor others. It is not self-seeking.
00:20:35
Speaker
It is not easily angered. It keeps no records of wrong. And so if you are acting. And righteous anger, of course, is directed at what is evil, what is unjust, right?
00:20:55
Speaker
And so in the anger that is sinful, it's clear that the anger that is expressed from a sinful place is what's impulsive and what's destructive and what's selfish.
00:21:13
Speaker
When you think about what God is asking of us about the expression of love, I chose 1 Corinthians 13, verse 5, because when you break down the importance of love, it's about not dishonoring others. It's about not being self-seeking.
00:21:35
Speaker
It is about not being easily angered. it is not It is about not keeping records of wrongs. And if you were angry, you would be desiring. And this is, of course, sinful anger. You would be looking to dishonor others. You will be looking but to be self-seeking. You will be looking to be easily upset about what somebody says, which then leads you to have records of wrongs that someone has done to you.
00:22:08
Speaker
Right. And so there's a dynamic. The dynamic is if you're operating. And righteous anger, it is towards evil and those who are being treated unfair.
00:22:25
Speaker
But if it's sinful anger, it is towards. you're It is towards the in individual who is selfish beyond repair, concerned with their issues and problems. nobody else It's impulsive, which means something you say that allows you to hold a grudge. It's destructive in terms of yourself and also others.
00:22:47
Speaker
Another verse that comes to mind is Proverbs chapter 29, verse 11. It says a short sighted fool always loses his temper and displays his anger. But a wise man uses self-control and holds it back.
00:23:06
Speaker
And so this is this these this verse here it really speaks to what a wise person ought to do. And what a fool will do.
00:23:19
Speaker
A fool is going to lose his temper and display his anger. Frustration, right? But a wise man understands the importance of self-control.
00:23:33
Speaker
And holds back his impulses.
00:23:40
Speaker
Because he understands those end impulses can be destructive.
00:23:49
Speaker
Two more verses about anger. James 1, 19, verse 20. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry.
00:24:02
Speaker
Right.
00:24:04
Speaker
And when you are slow to become angry. That's self-control. When someone one is quick to listen and slow to speak, that's a person that desires to understand.
Jesus and Psalms 118: Rejection and Cornerstone
00:24:22
Speaker
And so in order to understand somebody requires you to listen. I always say don't listen to respond, but listen to understand. If you're listening to respond, then you're not listening to understand the person.
00:24:37
Speaker
Listen carefully, cautiously, intently. And then after you've understood, you will know the right response that you need to provide.
00:24:49
Speaker
And also in in order to dis in order to deescalate the situation or to clarify something that might have been misunderstood, whether it's tone or whether it's misinterpreting.
00:25:07
Speaker
Last verse, Proverbs chapter 15, verse 1, a gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh, but harsh word stirs up anger. And so I chose this one in particular because remember, if Jesus told a parable about the scribes and the chief priests, his response wasn't gentle.
00:25:32
Speaker
It's a matter of fact, his response
00:25:40
Speaker
Stirred up anger. For them to want to be. Physical with him. And so I want to talk about that a little bit. But in order to get to that point, we have to look at the parable that he told.
00:25:56
Speaker
Right. And so I'm just giving you a breakdown of how when you read what brings about curiosity and what brings about searching scriptures to then support or help you better understand a text is paying close attention to what's being stated.
00:26:15
Speaker
And so in order to understand the response that Jesus gave and why stir them up. We know that Jesus intentionally his response was not to be gentle.
00:26:31
Speaker
In fact, I'll get into that a little bit more. But the parable of the wicked tenants really starts at verse nine to 18 in the same gospel of chapter 20.
00:26:45
Speaker
And this was directed to them. Right now, I want to look at verse 17.
00:26:53
Speaker
Because if you go to Luke chapter 20, look at verse 17, it says, but he looked directly at them and said, what then is this that is written?
00:27:05
Speaker
The stones, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
00:27:19
Speaker
And understand this, right? When you read this, Jesus is quoting from somewhere because he says, but he looked directly at them and said, what then is this that is written? Which means it was definitely written.
00:27:32
Speaker
And so he's referencing something that they should be familiar with, because remember who he's talking to. He's talking to scribes. Right. And he's talking to chief priests. And what do we know about them?
00:27:45
Speaker
They're responsible for writing and copy and interpreting the scripture, writing, copying and interpreting the scripture. And so Jesus is intentionally referencing something that they should be familiar with.
00:27:59
Speaker
And so that got me thinking, well, what is he referencing? He's referencing Psalms 118, 22.
00:28:07
Speaker
And if you go to Psalms 118 verse 22, it says the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
00:28:19
Speaker
What was once dismissed or overlooked has become essential and foundational. Right. And so true value, in my opinion, can be a byproduct of rejection.
00:28:37
Speaker
True value can be a byproduct of rejection. And so what do I mean by this? Well. To dive deeper, there's a passage in Matthew, chapter 13, verses 55 57. in this story.
00:28:55
Speaker
and in this story You're going to see something that was highly recorded as important and why this makes sense.
00:29:06
Speaker
So when you go to Matthew chapter 13, you go to verses 55 to 57. It says, isn't this a carpenter's son? Isn't his mother named Mary and aren't his brothers James, John, Joseph, Simon and Judas?
00:29:20
Speaker
Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things? And it took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, a prophet is not without honor.
00:29:33
Speaker
Except in his own town and in his own home. home And so the question in conversation was posed to express doubt about Jesus and his authority and his origins.
00:29:48
Speaker
What we know about what Matthew 13 verse 55 to 57 says is that it reflects their familiarity with Jesus at a different time.
00:30:02
Speaker
And so at that time, what was Jesus? He was a carpenter. At that time, what did they know Jesus to have? Brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas.
00:30:13
Speaker
At the time, they knew the son, the mother of Jesus, was Mary. And so they are wondering if we know that he is a son of Mary.
00:30:27
Speaker
We know that he's a carpenter. And we know that his brothers are James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas... Then there's no way if he was born like us and he has brothers and sisters.
00:30:45
Speaker
And he works a regular job. We don't see nothing unique and special about him. And so they spoke about his familiarity, their familiarity with him and what he did.
00:30:59
Speaker
and so they did not recognize the anointing on his life. And so quite naturally, they rejected his teachings and his divinity.
00:31:12
Speaker
And so you have people in the town of where Jesus grew up and the teachers of the law fall and pray to the same idea. Who is he? What is he claiming to say and do?
00:31:26
Speaker
And based upon what we know about him, there's no way he's more than what we know.
00:31:35
Speaker
Now, if we go deeper into Psalms 118, let's look at verse 26 to 27. It says, blesses he who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord. The Lord is God and he has made his light to shine upon us.
00:31:54
Speaker
Bind the festive sacrifice with cords. up to the horns of the altar Now this was the same phrase shouted by the crowds as Jesus entered Jerusalem in Matthew 21.9.
00:32:10
Speaker
For those who don't remember, here's what it says. Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
00:32:24
Speaker
And so we know that this response that Jesus provided was something that they would remember because they're scribes, they're interpreting, they're copying scripture. We know that the response he gave is a response referencing and referring back to scripture, which would then be prophetic.
00:32:47
Speaker
We also know.
00:32:50
Speaker
something about what Jesus has come to do. And so we know that his response was not gentle. But it could have been seen as harsh because the parable that he originally told was about them. Right.
00:33:06
Speaker
And so one thing we know in Scripture and Matthew, chapter 10, verses 34 to 36, we know that Jesus says, do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth?
00:33:19
Speaker
I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. it So while Jesus is known as the Prince of Peace, his message will disturb and disrupt religious favoritism.
00:33:37
Speaker
And of course, it's going to bring about or bring forth hypocrisy. All right.
00:33:46
Speaker
So we go back to Luke chapter 20, verse 20, the response from the scribes and chief priests, right? We know what they did intentionally to cause problems.
00:33:57
Speaker
So what did they do? Well, they sent actors to catch him being offensive so they can use it in court. Right. To frame the frame of mind that and intentions were, in my opinion, in characteristics of the devil.
00:34:16
Speaker
Why do I say that? Well.
00:34:21
Speaker
Because of what they were intending to do to Jesus. Right. So remember, if we're reading it from the Gospel of Luke perspective. They're attacking the man. And they're attacking the man by trying to bring evidence against him to then use against him so that he could then be murdered.
00:34:42
Speaker
So. I want to talk a little bit about why this is. Behavior of what would be in lockstep with the devil.
00:34:55
Speaker
Right. If we go to Luke chapter 23 and we look at verses one through two. Again, Luke chapter 23 verses 1 through 2, it says, Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate.
00:35:11
Speaker
And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.
00:35:28
Speaker
Immediately we know this is a political slant. Because look at what's said in verse 2.
00:35:39
Speaker
We felt that he was misleading our nation. He was forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar. And he was calling himself or he was saying that he himself is Christ a king.
00:35:55
Speaker
So think about what they're trying to frame him as. If he's forbidden them to give tribute to Caesar, then he deserves to be killed. Right. If we can't give tithes.
00:36:07
Speaker
Or offerings to Caesar, who is considered their king, then he needs to be murdered. If he's calling himself a king and a Christ, which the anointed one, he deserves to be murdered.
00:36:22
Speaker
Right. These are things that they're trying to use against him. And then they say he's misleading a nation. Check this out.
00:36:33
Speaker
If we go to Matthew chapter 26 and we look at verses 59 through 61, it says again, Matthew chapter 26 verses 59 through 61. It says the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they can.
00:36:54
Speaker
So that they could put him to death. This what I was saying earlier, but they did not find me, though many false witnesses came forward. Finally, two came forward and declared that this fellow said that I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.
00:37:15
Speaker
We go to John chapter two. and We look at verses 19 to 21. Jesus answered them. Destroy this temple. And in three days, i will rise it or i will raise it up. Now understand what they're trying to do.
00:37:30
Speaker
The temple that was built. That was laid. He's claiming that he's going to destroy it. Right. And so they took him literal.
00:37:44
Speaker
But when you read what's said in John chapter the two, verses 19 to 21, Jesus wasn't talking about the temple literally. And I mean, how could you mistakenly think he's talking about the temple literally? He's only but a man.
00:38:00
Speaker
Right. And John, we know that Jesus is portrayed as God in the flesh. Right. We also know that the audience is every everyone.
00:38:12
Speaker
We also know that the teachings. Is what gets highlighted. The theme is what gets highlighted. And so when you look at the difference between how Jesus is being accused.
00:38:26
Speaker
And Matthew chapter 26 verses 59 to 61. Matthew is highlighting Jesus as a king. And so they're looking.
00:38:39
Speaker
Towards
00:38:43
Speaker
His sermons But the audience Are the Jews And so What do we have here We have Them Accusing Jesus In the literal sense Of destroying The temple Of God Which is What's extremely important In religious circles To the Jews And And so if Jesus is threatening that their temple will be destroyed, of course they want to wipe him out.
00:39:17
Speaker
But if you read in John, we know that he is not referencing the temple itself because we know that God does not live in temples made by human hands.
00:39:30
Speaker
Right. So what does John say? Jesus answered them, destroy this temple. And in three days, i will raise it up. The Jews then said it has taken 46 years to build this temple and you will raise it up in three days.
00:39:49
Speaker
But he was speaking about the temple of his body. See, when you look through the lens of the audience, do you look through the lens of what's being emphasized? And when you look through the lens of what Jesus is being described as in these Gospels, you see the differences.
00:40:16
Speaker
And it's easily highlighted in how certain things are misunderstood. And so let's continue.
Comparison: Scribes and the Serpent
00:40:27
Speaker
But before we continue a verse, I've mentioned this before my podcast, and I want to mention it here again. There's a huge difference between a benevolent spirit and a benevolent spirit.
00:40:41
Speaker
Right?
00:40:43
Speaker
I think the character of a person and the thought and attitudes presented in a particular situation has to be highlighted here. The character of a person and the thought and attitudes presented in that particular situation has to be highlighted here. So what am I talking about?
00:41:02
Speaker
A benevolent person presents themselves as kind individuals. They are helpful, friendly, warm, charitable, selfless.
00:41:15
Speaker
A benevolent person deliberately carries a spirit around looking to divide, cause confusion, sprout out worry.
00:41:26
Speaker
Right. They're very negative, hostile. You can w also come to the realization that they're argumentative, stubborn and rude.
00:41:37
Speaker
And so why do I say that? Earlier, I said to you.
00:41:45
Speaker
That the mindset and thought process that the chief priest. And the scribes were operating in was something familiar of what the devil is.
00:42:00
Speaker
And so when you go to John chapter eight, verse 44, Jesus accused the Pharisees and the Sadducees, the chief priests and the scribes. of something. He says, you belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires.
00:42:20
Speaker
He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and a father of lies.
00:42:34
Speaker
Think about what they were trying to do to get Jesus murdered. They were raising up false witnesses to lie. And what does the scripture say? Their stories didn't collaborate.
00:42:47
Speaker
And so they couldn't find them guilty. Right. And so the spirit in which they went about trying to murder Jesus emphasized that Jesus was innocent.
00:43:02
Speaker
And so every which way through chicory, through misleading. Right. There's the spirit in which they're doing it is not a spirit of.
00:43:16
Speaker
A benevolent spirit, but a benevolent spirit, right? Again, a benevolent spirit deliberately is looking to divide, cause confusion, worry. we You're negative, hostile, you're argumentative, you're rude.
00:43:36
Speaker
And so when you think about what they were doing, that's what they were doing.
00:43:46
Speaker
The chief priests in the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus to put him to death. And of course, they couldn't find any.
00:43:58
Speaker
So they were also lying on him. Let's dig even deeper. The root of this kind of thing starts with Genesis chapter three, verse one to five. What is Genesis chapter three, verse one to five? I'm showing you that the Genesis of this kind of behavior and maliciousness starts with the devil.
00:44:22
Speaker
And so when you look at Genesis chapter three, look at verses one through five, it says, now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, did God actually say you should not eat of any tree in a garden? What does that bring about? Confusion. Confusion.
00:44:45
Speaker
Confusion. Dividing. That question is a spirit of trying to divide and bring about confusion. Right. Verse two. And the woman said to the serpent, we mean, we may eat of the fruit of the tree in the garden. But God said you should not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden.
00:45:07
Speaker
Neither shall you touch it. Least you die. But the serpent said to the woman, you will surely not die.
00:45:16
Speaker
For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
00:45:30
Speaker
Confusion, divide,
00:45:36
Speaker
hostility.
00:45:41
Speaker
That's what the devil was doing. And so when you, and this is a stretch, but I'm going to say it. The character that we all have, because that's something that I said to you, the character of a person, a thought and attitudes presented in a particular situation can highlight whether or not they're being benevolent or benevolent. And so.
00:46:04
Speaker
When you're trying to harm somebody in a way, mislead somebody in a way, that's not something that comes from God. Right. We know that God is not the author of confusion.
00:46:15
Speaker
and So you should immediately be able to highlight that the differences.
00:46:21
Speaker
Immediately. So. Let's get back to Luke chapter 20 and let's look at verses 22 to
Teaching on Caesar: Worship and Obedience
00:46:32
Speaker
23. Now, I want to highlight something that is said and Luke chapter 20 verses 22 to 23. What's said there is lawful.
00:46:41
Speaker
do twenty three
00:46:48
Speaker
what said there is lawful
00:46:53
Speaker
And another word for lawful is permitted or recognized. Let's look at the another word that's verse 23. In verse 23...
00:47:03
Speaker
in verse twenty three But he perceived their craftiness. And so when you look at the term craftiness, it's the quality of being shrewd, cutting, skilled in deception to achieve goals.
00:47:21
Speaker
Think about this. Who was shrewd, skilled, and deceptive? The serpent in the garden.
00:47:32
Speaker
So Jesus described their craftiness. And when you deal when you look at the meaning of craftiness, it implies a high level of cleverness, strategy, and manipulation.
00:47:47
Speaker
And we go back to the story. Who did that? The serpent. What are these scribes and chief priests trying to do? Figure out ways to get Jesus killed.
00:48:03
Speaker
When you dive deeper into what craftiness also does, it's the desire to outsmart others. While it can imply intelligence is generally carrying a negative, dishonest, or deceitful connotation.
00:48:19
Speaker
See how relatable those things are. You see the characteristics in which the chief priests speak. And the scribes were taken on and how they can easily be related to the servant who was the wisest of all.
00:48:39
Speaker
And so those characteristics that are presented in people are so is a spirit that leads you back. Into one. That is not looking to better you.
00:48:52
Speaker
Right. They're not helpful. They're not friendly. They're not charitable. They're not selfless. But instead, they cause confusion, worry.
00:49:03
Speaker
They're negative. They're argumentative. They're stubborn. They're rude.
00:49:09
Speaker
And they're doing it deliberately. So, I want to look at what's also said here
00:49:21
Speaker
in verse 24. twenty four Show me a denarius whose likeness and inscription does it have? They said, Caesar, verse 25. He said to them, then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God.
00:49:38
Speaker
When you go back and you think about it.
00:49:44
Speaker
Render means to give back, pay or return what is due. And when Jesus answered a question, he answered it in twofold.
00:49:56
Speaker
Right.
00:49:59
Speaker
Think about what he said in verse 24. Show me a denarius whose likeness and inscription does it have? Then he said, Caesar's. He said to him, then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar and to gather things that are God.
00:50:14
Speaker
And so what was Jesus talking about?
00:50:19
Speaker
So for Caesar, that would be the tax. And for God, that would be worship and obedience. So before we get into what worship and obedience is, I want to talk about something that Jesus did.
00:50:38
Speaker
Very, very, very beautifully done.
00:50:46
Speaker
First thing Jesus said was to show him a denarius. What can we tell from that? Jesus didn't carry a denarius. He needed a denarius that they had.
00:50:57
Speaker
And so whoever gave Jesus the denarius it is very likely that they worshipped or in some ways understood the importance of the coin.
00:51:08
Speaker
So first thing we know Jesus does is he says bring the denarius here. And what is the denarius depicting? It's an image. He says whose likeness and description does it have?
00:51:22
Speaker
Now that beg me to then consider when do we hear likeness?
00:51:34
Speaker
What's the first time we ever hear about the likeness? Ah, yes. We hear about the likeness in Genesis chapter one. Verse 26 to 27. Look at this. Then God said, let us make man in our image and our likeness and let them have domain over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
00:52:05
Speaker
So God created man in his own image and in the image of God, he created him male and female. He created them. So this verse tells me that each and every one of us are misbearance of God.
00:52:20
Speaker
And what do you know what that means? It means each and every one of us were created equal. Each and every one of us were deserving to be treated with dignity and respect.
00:52:34
Speaker
it so It also tells me that humans were created to reflect God's character and as an acting agent that would represent him.
00:52:46
Speaker
So his image and likeness is stamped on us. This is why when you go to first John chapter three, you read verses 16 to 18. First John chapter three, verses 16 to 18. It says, this is how we know what love is.
00:53:04
Speaker
Jesus Christ laid down his life for us And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
The Essence of Worship: Honoring God
00:53:12
Speaker
If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need, but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?
00:53:22
Speaker
Dear children, let us not love with the words of speech, but with action and in truth. Let us not love with words of speech, but in action and in truth.
00:53:34
Speaker
So I would say we treat people with decency and respect. We are not merely providing word salad, but instead we are responding by doing what James says when he says, i will show you faith by my works.
00:53:50
Speaker
And that's said in James chapter two, verse 18, which ultimately reflects Matthew 25, 40, which says, truly, I tell you. Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.
00:54:07
Speaker
Now let's be a bit more literal and intentional by considering two ways we can give back to the Lord. And those two ways will be the way of worship and obedience.
00:54:22
Speaker
But before I get to that, I want to make sure that I'm clear. The image on the coin
00:54:30
Speaker
that belongs to Caesar is in relation to the tax. You have to pay the tax. Right? I want to talk a little bit about that in more depth when I go over to Matthew and what's written in the text of Matthew.
00:54:48
Speaker
But I want to get back to two ways that we're giving God what is rightfully his. Worship and obedience. For those who don't know.
00:55:01
Speaker
I believe Isaiah 43 7 says everyone who was called by my name, who I created for my glory, who I formed and made. Right.
00:55:11
Speaker
We go a little bit later into verse 21, the people. So first I gave you Isaiah 43 7. I'm going to skip over to Isaiah 43 21. The people who I form for myself that they might declare my praise.
00:55:31
Speaker
Take it a step further. John chapter 4 verse 24. This is Jesus with the conversation with the woman at the well. He says, God is spirit and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
00:55:48
Speaker
And so we were created to worship or to worship something. And so since we were created and formed for him, which is God.
00:56:01
Speaker
We must worship him in spirit and in truth.
00:56:09
Speaker
Again, we were created for Jesus. And for his glory.
00:56:19
Speaker
Let's talk to about let's talk about obedience. We go to John chapter 14 verse 15. It says, if you love me, keep my commands. We go to 1 John 3, verse 18, which I just shared with you. Dear friends, let us not love with words or speech, but with action and in truth.
00:56:37
Speaker
right An excellent example of that is Matthew 25, which we went over. And John 15, verse 4, you are my friends if you do what I command. These are all portions of verses that speak to obedience.
00:56:52
Speaker
An example that's clear is Abraham was called a friend of God, right? Now, he was called a friend of God because of his unwavering faith and obedience.
00:57:04
Speaker
And we know that through that obedience, it was considered an intimate two-way relationship with God. God is the creator of communication. Okay.
00:57:17
Speaker
In that communication, he sets the rules of engagement. that Those rules of engagement is faith. And so I think what gets misunderstood, we know that faith is the substance of things hopeful, the evidence of things not seen. And when you dive into Hebrews 11, call it the hall of faith.
00:57:43
Speaker
We understand that God clearly lays out to us How we should communicate with him.
00:57:53
Speaker
We know that based on Hebrews 11. It is impossible. To please him. Without faith. Impossible. To please him.
00:58:05
Speaker
Without faith. Again. God is our creator. And so he laid out the rules and foundations of how. We should communicate him.
00:58:16
Speaker
Right. I want to go through it. I want to go from Hebrews 11 verse 1 through 6. Check this out. I'm going to read this in NIV. There's a more simple version of it.
00:58:29
Speaker
the the When I reference Hebrews 11 1, I reference in King James. And I'm going to read this in NIV. The King James is that faith is the substance of things, hopeful that evidence of things not seen. NIV says,
00:58:43
Speaker
confident in what we hope for an assurance of what we do not see this is what the ancients were commanded four by faith we understood that the universe was form that god's command so that what is seen was not made out of what is visible By faith, Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith, he was commended as righteous when God spoke well of of his offerings. By faith, Abel still speaks even though he is dead. By faith, Enoch was taken from his life, from this life, so that he did not experience death. He could not...
00:59:24
Speaker
Be found because God had taken him away for before he was taken. He was commended as one who pleased God and without faith is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
00:59:50
Speaker
And so what's interesting about the term earnest is to act, speak, or feel with deep sincerity, seriousness, or intense purposes rather than lightly or deceas or deceiving ways.
01:00:08
Speaker
Why is this so important? Because we know based on scripture that God doesn't look at the outward appearance. He looks at the heart. And so he knows whether or not you're being sincere or whether you're faking.
01:00:22
Speaker
You can fool people, but you cannot fool God. Again, you can fool people, but you would not be able to fool God.
01:00:37
Speaker
So that's a brief breakdown of Luke. And so i want to move
Revisiting Matthew: Pharisees and Traditions
01:00:42
Speaker
on to Matthew. Matthew. And so rather than read the text over, as a matter of fact, I'll do it. I'll do it. Sure. We go to Matthew chapter 22 and we look at verses 15 through 22.
01:00:55
Speaker
What do we know about Matthew? We know that it was written to highlight that Jesus is a king. We know that the audience are Jews and we know that what's emphasized in this particular gospel are Jesus and his sermons. Okay. Okay.
01:01:16
Speaker
So we know that in Matthew chapter 22, verse 15 to 22, I'm going to read the same story that was read in Luke. And I'm going to break down some things here.
01:01:27
Speaker
It says now, then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. So it's the same story, but it's being told differently. And we'll talk about that.
01:01:39
Speaker
I'll start again. Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him along with the Hedians saying,
01:01:51
Speaker
Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.
01:02:02
Speaker
Tell us then what you think is lawful, to pay taxes to Caesar or a not. But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.
01:02:14
Speaker
And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, Whose likeness and inscription is this? They said, Caesar's. Then he said to them, therefore, render the Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God, the things that are God's.
01:02:27
Speaker
When they heard it, they marved they marveled and they left him and went away. And so what's highlighted here is the Pharisees.
01:02:39
Speaker
meant Remember, what's highlighted in Luke. Were the scribes and the chief priests. What's highlighted in Matthew. Is the Pharisees. Why is the Pharisees highlighted in Matthew. Because in contention when it comes to Jewish culture.
01:02:56
Speaker
Those were the ones. And it was the Pharisees and the Sadducees. That had quite a bit of conflict with Jesus. When you read the gospel of John.
01:03:07
Speaker
And so again the audience matters. With Luke. It was the scribes. and the chief priests. Right.
01:03:17
Speaker
And Matthew. It is the Pharisees. Another thing to highlight here as well, Jesus as king. Right. And we'll get into that in a second. So let's talk about the Pharisees. For those who don't know a brief history of the Pharisees, the Pharisees were middle class businessmen, leaders of the synagogue.
01:03:36
Speaker
They were an influential religious set that at times treated the tradition as equal to God's word, and I think they had a habit of adding to God's word quite often.
01:03:47
Speaker
Now, we know that the Pharisees accepted the written word as inspired by God. We know that to be true. We know that the spiritual realm, including the existence of angels and demons, they thought was real.
01:04:03
Speaker
And so when you read the book of Acts, you'll see examples of this. So what I'll do is I'm going to tell you what they believed and I'm going tell you the verse that supports that. So the Pharisees believed that there was a spiritual realm.
01:04:19
Speaker
They know that in the spiritual realm, what existed was angels and demons. The text that supports this belief is in Acts 23.8. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, no angels, no spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.
01:04:40
Speaker
Got that? Acts 23.8. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angels, nor spirit. But the Pharisees acknowledge them all.
01:04:54
Speaker
Another thing that the Pharisees believe there will be a resurrection of the dead. In that same book, we go to verse six. So it's Acts 23, six. Now, when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees.
01:05:16
Speaker
It is with respect to the hope of the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.
01:05:25
Speaker
The Pharisees believe that God is in control. However, be mindful that they believe that the decisions made by you and I will affect the course of our lives.
01:05:39
Speaker
They believe that God is in control, but be mindful that they believe the decisions that you and I will be made that will you and I will make will personally impact the course of our individual lives.
01:05:51
Speaker
Where do I get the verse that supports that? Second Peter, chapter three, verse nine. The Lord is not slow. In keeping his promises As some understand slowness Instead he is patient with you Not wanting anyone to perish But everyone to come To repentance When we go to Galatians chapter 5 verse 13 It says you and my brothers and sisters Will call to be free But do not use your freedom To end indulge the flesh And Rather serve one another humbly in love. Another version was says, do not use your freedom to endorse the sinful nature.
01:06:33
Speaker
And so again, god is in control. But the decisions you and I make will affect the course of our lives.
01:06:44
Speaker
And so what is one of the things God calls us to do? Repent. We have freedom of choice, which means of decision and which means we shouldn't use our freedom and knowing that God, knowing that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. And so we should repent.
01:07:03
Speaker
We should turn away. We should do the best that we can to refrain from being sinful. And so that's where Galatians 5.13 says, don't use your freedom to end indulg end indulge the sinful nature. Rather, serve one another, not in anger, not in frustration, but humbly and in love.
01:07:23
Speaker
Now, when we go back to Matthew 22, verse 15 through 20, 15 through 22, we can highlight a couple of things. One, the word plotted.
01:07:40
Speaker
Plotted means to secretly make plans to carry out illegal or harmful actions. This goes back to what I was telling you earlier about benevolent and benevolent spirits.
01:07:53
Speaker
Another word that's highlighted here is entangled. To catch off guard with trick questions. Another thing to point out is the Hedians.
01:08:05
Speaker
The Hedians or the Herodians were not considered a religious set nor a political party. But what we know for certain is that they were in favor of submitting to Rome rule for stability and personal gain, which is very interesting. It tells you that they weren't interested in religion, but they were more concerned with status.
01:08:33
Speaker
They were more concerned with their way of living And so anything that threatened your way of living They had a problem with it And so they swayed and leaned towards What would allow them to continue to thrive In what was comfortable
01:08:57
Speaker
That's very interesting
01:09:05
Speaker
I want to finish here. When we go to Matthew chapter 17 and we look at verses 24 to 27, it says on the arrival of Capiriam, the collectors of the temple tax came to Peter and asked them, doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?
01:09:24
Speaker
Yes, he does. Peter replied. Then he went into the house. But before he had a chance to speak, Jesus asked him, what do you think, Peter? Do kings tax their own people or the people they have conquered?
01:09:39
Speaker
They taxed the people they have conquered Peter replied Well then Jesus said The citizens are free However we don't want to offend them So go down to the lake And throw in a line Open the mouth of one of the first fish you catch And you will find a large silver coin Take it and pay the tax For both of us And so this is an emphasis That Jesus Who is a king Right. Remember what I said about how was written, who was written to. Highlights Jesus a king.
01:10:18
Speaker
Understand that the audience is Jewish. Emphasizes his sermons. Jesus being a king, understanding what it means. To deal with the rules and regulations of that particular society.
01:10:35
Speaker
He made sure. That he wanted to reinforce the idea of paying taxes. To avoid giving offense. But also he wanted to highlight.
01:10:46
Speaker
The prejudice nature of Roman taxes. And so I think what's interesting here also. If you think about it.
01:10:59
Speaker
Is that when we go back. To Luke. It's not highlighted there in Luke. What I just read. But it shows you in what Luke was pointing out was the political slant.
01:11:16
Speaker
That's what's being highlighted there. What's being highlighted in Matthew was the prejudice of what transpired with the taxes.
01:11:28
Speaker
And what they were attempting to do to them. The Jewish people in general is what I'm saying.
01:11:43
Speaker
Another thing I want to I want to point to right briefly, if you go to the Gospel of Mark.
01:11:52
Speaker
And we look at. Chapter 12, we look at verses 13 to 17. We know that Jesus is a servant here. We know that the audience is a Romans and we know that miracles is what is spoken a lot about what Jesus did.
01:12:12
Speaker
The thing about what Mark highlights. Is the irony, the irony of. Tax paying coins, right?
01:12:23
Speaker
Which is what we need to be paid close attention to when we read Matthew. The Jews viewed. The tax paying as idolatrous.
01:12:35
Speaker
Due to obviously the emperor's image and inscription.
01:12:42
Speaker
And so that's a very interesting thing. The other thing you should pay close attention to is the yes or no i approach. And so what you should pay attention to is that when Jesus answered a question, he never answered it with a yes or a no.
01:13:03
Speaker
He understood by answering it with a yes or no, who would be offended, why they would be offended and how that could corner him into a problem. And so my encouragement to everyone that's listening is that if you are engaging nonbelievers, be mindful of how when you respond to them.
01:13:25
Speaker
Never respond with a yes or no answer. Why shouldn't you who respond with a yes or no answer? Because it's never that easy, especially if it's being asked and a way to try to corny you.
01:13:42
Speaker
Think about how Jesus answered the question. He didn't answer yes or no. Render to God what belongs to God. Render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. There's nothing wrong with addressing it in both ways.
01:13:53
Speaker
It addresses what it is that Caesar rightfully deserves, being that he is in charge over the jurisdiction in that area, and still rendering to God who created you and what it is that God is expecting of you in response to him, which is worship and obedience.
01:14:13
Speaker
And so we have to be more cautious and careful in responding to non-believers. And part of that is understanding that there is a response that you have to uphold as a believer and a communicator of the gospel. And then there's a response that those are looking for you to provide that makes sense. I think to kind of make sense of this all.
01:14:41
Speaker
Naturally, God calls us to love one another. I can love and care for you and still not agree with your decisions.
01:14:53
Speaker
I love and care for you as far and as much as it doesn't compromise my bottom line. To stay true, convicted to what it is that I believe, I should never compromise that.
01:15:07
Speaker
my faith in crisis, a conviction, not a preference, but I can still honor and respect you in such a way that I still appreciate the commitment and seriousness that you may have in your conviction. We just don't see eye to eye.
01:15:26
Speaker
And so it's about the tone that's being used. But most importantly, It's about the intestinalty behind it. ahll I'll close and say this too.
01:15:39
Speaker
One of the most and beautiful things that I've i read in Jeremiah, right, is it talks about praying and living amongst those and praying for them.
01:15:56
Speaker
Praying for them, literally, for the surrounding nations so that they too may prosper, right?
01:16:06
Speaker
The passage that I'm talking about is Jeremiah chapter 29. And in
01:16:13
Speaker
and in Jeremiah 29, I think people overlook what's being said here.
01:16:21
Speaker
And they overlook it because I think they missed the point of this is interesting time because here it is. The Jewish people are in exile. And God is telling them something that might be foreign to them.
01:16:36
Speaker
Right. That maybe they don't understand.
01:16:43
Speaker
He says. Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray for the Lord. Pray to the Lord for it. Because if it prospers, you too will prosper. Yes, that is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says. Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you.
01:17:07
Speaker
Do not listen to dreams you encouraged them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have sent them to you. declares the lord Now, there's a lot we can get into it because he's also saying in David where he says that I've set a table for you in front of your enemies. and And so there's this interesting thing that God does where he doesn't want us far and distant away from the chaos. He wants us in the midst of it.
01:17:39
Speaker
And it kind of makes sense because when Jesus came, he came and entered in a society that was conflicted, that was all over the place. And he impacted it. He changed it.
01:17:50
Speaker
And so there's something about being ambassadors and representatives of God in the midst of chaos and us being there for the sole purpose to set an example and to change it from the inside out.
Conclusion and Prayer
01:18:07
Speaker
And that's an impact that honestly is amazing and mind blowing. So going to end with prayer here. I want to thank you so much for tuning in.
01:18:19
Speaker
And I hope that you got something out of what I've shared with you today. I've said a lot. Heavenly Father, Lord, in Jesus' name, I just thank you and I honor you and I appreciate you for all that you've done and all that you continue do. Lord, I pray for the safety and protection of lords for all those who are listening and can hear the sound of my voice.
01:18:38
Speaker
Lord, we appreciate your sacrifice, but most importantly, we appreciate your love for us, even when we aren't loving you back, but we know that you're faithful.
01:18:50
Speaker
Lord, As we go throughout the week, I pray that we are constantly reminded to reflect upon the sacrifice that was made on behalf of us before we ever existed.
01:19:02
Speaker
That you knew us before we were in our mother's womb. That you knew us before we grew to be fine young adults. And so, Lord, we thank you for that love and appreciation, one that we can never earn.
01:19:18
Speaker
Right? Because you love us unconditionally. dead We just thank you because we know that the love that you have for us in ways that we can't express exists.
01:19:30
Speaker
And so we lift you up, we glorify you, we thank you. For those who hear this, we say this in confidence and in surety and in the same tone, Lord, we say these things.
01:19:44
Speaker
In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Again, thank you so much for listening. You're greatly appreciated. And I will talk to you all next time.
01:19:55
Speaker
God bless. Be safe. Thank you.