The Apostle John, whom you will meet up close and personal in this PODCAST, was a man miraculously transformed. Transformed by an unexpected encounter with a woman of questionable character, brought to Jesus by an unlikely group: the leading rabbis of His day.
An encounter that John would never forget.
An encounter that I am quite confident WE will never forget.
As this woman, and Jesus’ reaction to her, changed John’s mind, heart, soul — John’s LIFE! — forever, may it change ours as well.
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In this PODCAST, a new chapter has dawned in our ongoing chronological study of the life and ministry of Jesus.
Jesus has just left His beloved Galilee for the last time. He will not return to Galilee until after the Resurrection. A point not to be missed, Jesus left Galilee now in order to be in Jerusalem for the annual Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles.
OK, so here’s my question:
Why in the world did Jesus literally risk an early arrest and possible untimely death in order to be in Jerusalem for this feast?
He surely knew the risks involved. He told His brothers bluntly,
The world hates me… You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come.
Yet, He changed His mind and actually went to the Feast, though secretly so as not to be seen.
So again I ask,
Why now? Why this festival? What was so special about the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) that Jesus risked everything to travel to Jerusalem secretly?
In answering this question, you will see a side of Jesus’ humanness that will endear you to Him in ways you never knew possible. I guaranteed you that this will be well-worth your taking the time to listen! You will find Jesus endearing to your heart and soul in ways you never imagined.
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As you will hear in this PODCAST, in Matthew 18:21, Peter asked a profoundly important question. A question that haunted him. And if we are honest, a question that at times haunts us.
Matthew 18:21 reads,
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Can you think of any question that hits us more profoundly right where we live than this one? There is not a one of us who hasn’t been hurt significantly by someone or someones in the past.
Perhaps in the very recent past.
Perhaps this person or these persons continue to hurt us even now, in the present.
Consequently, this whole issue of forgiveness — what it means and what it does not mean — could not come too soon, could not be more practical.
Especially given the timing and location of Peter’s question. Something that you will hear in this podcast.
Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Let’s talk about this.
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“Epic,” as in Your-Salvation-and-Mine-Rides-or-Falls-on-This. I kid you not.
This PODCAST is going to be fun, and so instructive. Instructive on two levels.
1. Instructive as we discover together exactly what Jesus meant here in Matthew 18:18-20.
2. Instructive as we are handed, courtesy of Jesus, an opportunity to learn what to do, and perhaps more importantly, what not to do with the Bible.
As you are about to hear, we must bring to this passage every interpretive tool in the tool box in order to arrive at an accurate interpretation and application of this passage.
Let me put it this way: The Apostle Paul encouraged his protégé, young Pastor Timothy, to…
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth, (2 Timothy 2:15).
Do you know why Paul encouraged Timothy to handle the word of truth correctly? Because there were then, as there are now, scores of people — pastors, teachers, conference speakers, authors, commentators — who routinely handle the word of truth incorrectly.
In 1 Timothy 1:3, Paul similarly wrote Timothy,
I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those whose teaching is contrary to the truth.
Why write this? Because there were Sunday school teachers or small group leaders in Timothy’s church who were teaching error.
It is so easy to make the Bible say whatever we want it to say. It is so easy, too easy, to carelessly teach what the Bible does not say.
Case in point: Matthew 18:18-20. A commonly-quoted passage made to mean all sorts of things that, to be perfectly honest with you, Jesus never intended. A passage so often applied in ways that Jesus did not have in mind. He would cringe today to see what so many have done with this passage.
And, as you are about to see, this passage will indeed require us to bring to its interpretation and application a whole set of interpretive tools — a knowledge of language, history, geography, culture, chronology, context, literary & Jewish background — all in an effort to understand what Jesus did indeed intend to convey to His disciples and to us at a singularly watershed moment in Jesus’ ministry.
So in this podcast, dear friend, we have a lot to talk about.
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Gifts of Gratitude: If interested in expressing your gratitude in this tangible way, please check the Gifts of Gratitude link at the top of this page, or click HERE.
Dewey Bertolini 