The Pipe and Pencil Podcast
Welcome to the Pipe and Pencil Podcast where we help all church members learn more about theology and church history. It might be tough sometimes but the reward is worth it.
As C.S. Lewis said, "I believe that many who find that "nothing happens" when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand."
I hope this podcast will give you the tools to study the Bible's doctrines and history and share what you have learned with others.
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The Pipe and Pencil Podcast
#8 - Jesus’ Early Life and Ministry
What if the teachings of Jesus Christ were meticulously documented with the precision of a historian and the heart of a storyteller? Join us as we embark on an illuminating journey through the life of Jesus, guided primarily by the Gospel of Luke. Our episode sets the scene by examining the profound impact of Zechariah’s encounter with an angel, and the heralding of John the Baptist as the forerunner of Christ. We highlight the anticipation and hope within the community, painting a vivid picture of the historical and religious tapestry into which Jesus was born.
Discover the early life of Jesus through the lens of Joseph's careful craftsmanship, which offers a unique spiritual perspective on Jesus’ future teachings about burdens and rest. We explore Jesus’ formative years, including his remarkable discussions with temple teachers at just 12 years old, and his significant baptism by John the Baptist, marked by the presence of the Trinity. Moving forward, we reflect on Jesus' 40-day testing in the wilderness, drawing fascinating parallels to Moses, and emphasizing the profound lessons from Jesus’ responses to temptation.
Experience the tension and conflict that arose as Jesus began to reveal his divine authority and challenge the religious leaders of his time. From his bold proclamation in Luke 4 to his confrontations with the Pharisees and Sadducees, Jesus’ teachings and actions sparked outrage and astonishment. We delve into his authority over unclean spirits, his power to forgive sins, and his radical message that emphasized inner purity and justice over ritualistic practices. This episode promises a deep exploration of the revolutionary nature of Jesus' mission and the profound impact it had on the religious authorities of his time.
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Check out my favorite, free online Bible timeline: https://www.thebiblicaltimeline.org/
If you're studying the gospels, you NEED to look at Rick Aschmann's chronology of the Gospels. This is the best harmony of the Gospels chart I've ever seen:
https://biblechronology.net/ChronologyOfTheFourGospels.pdf
If you need a refresher on the covenants:
https://thegospelhall.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Gods-Covenant-Programme-M-Penfold.pdf
For more information about Hillel and Shammai go to:
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/hillel-and-shammai
Here is a great video by Dr. Henry Abramson about the different Jewish sects: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw6R5cY0vUI
Note: Using the links below will help support the show.
Much of the history information I use on my show is from Bruce Gore's history book. This is a great book for study, teaching, or as part of a homeschool program.
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Josephus was a Jewish historian who lived during the time of the Apostles. To get my favorite copy of his complete writings:
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To purchase our recommended timeline book:
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This is the Pipe and Pencil podcast. I'm Stephen, and I'm glad that you have decided to listen to the podcast today. If this is your first time listening, you are kind of jumping right in to the middle of a series that we're doing on church history, but I don't think you could have picked a better episode. Today we're going to be taking all of the things that we've been talking about for the last seven episodes and bringing it all together in this, our eighth episode, and we're going to start tying these pieces together. So this is going to be the first episode on the life of Jesus Christ, and there's just no way no matter how I looked at this, there was really no way to look at the life of Jesus Christ and do it all in one episode. So what we're going to do is we're going to start today in the book of Luke, and we may look at other gospels as we go through this story. But I really wanted to focus on Luke for a couple of reasons, the first of which is that Luke is written more so for a Gentile audience, which that would be me, and I suspect that is going to be a lot of the audience that is listening right now. The second reason that we're going to be focusing on Luke is that Luke is really into the details, the details, so he looks at every minute little thing. As you know, all of the Gospels take a different look at things Matthew is geared more towards a Jewish audience, mark more so a Roman audience. Luke would be more of a what we would do, I guess a Greek audience or a Gentile audience. It's very geared towards Gentile audiences. And John is written to the world and you can read all of them, of course, but for the two reasons that I just mentioned, we're just we're going to focus on Luke and I hope I can get this across to you the way it's come to me as I've studied, prayed about it and I've been agonizing over this for a couple weeks about how to go through the life of Jesus and bring something fresh and give you something that will tie in, tie into everything that we've talked about and, at the same time, help you to look forward to what is going to be coming in the next few episodes.
Stephen:So let's get started with this, so we'll pick up from where we left off. And basically we had made our way all the way up to Herod. We had talked about the different Jewish denominations that were around at the time, denominations that were around at the time. Now we get to the beginning of Luke and we start off actually with the story of Zechariah. That's where we left off.
Stephen:Israel has not only not had a prophet in all this time, but the truth is, the very presence of God had not been at the temple. Now, in Malachi, in chapter 4, verses 5-6, it says this Behold, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes, and he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. This is the last word that God had given to his people. They have now had 400 years of silence, no miracles. The presence of God is gone. Very few exceptions Hanukkah would be an exception. But the presence of God in the Mishnah it refers to it as the Shekinah glory it has not been in the temple. So imagine Zechariah's surprise. We talked about this last.
Stephen:Look at Luke, chapter 1, and let's look at verse 11. Zechariah is in the temple. He's offering prayer. His family and the people of his community, his local synagogue, synagogue these people who he knew and prayed with had come to pray, as he was in the temple. So this is a local assembly that has come to be with him and we'll probably be talking more about that in some other episodes, but they've come. Look at verse 11. Heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son and you shall call his name John, and you will have joy and gladness and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord and he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared. So you can see the significance of this moment. This verse that the angel is mentioning here, that he's quoting, was the last word that they had heard. They were looking for Elijah.
Stephen:Now, if you go back to our episode about Elijah and Elisha, we talk a little bit more in depth about this. But Zechariah knows Zechariah and the people they've been praying for God's presence to return. And here it is. Here's the answer. Elijah had to come first. The angel is pointing back to this passage and he says okay, the time of silence is over Now. Oddly enough, as we know, zechariah had some doubts about what was said, and so he was not able to speak until John was born.
Stephen:But John the Baptist would be the forerunner. Elijah would picture him and then, as we said, in a lot of ways Elisha was a picture of Jesus Christ. There was a transition from the old to the new. John the Baptist technically is the last Old Testament prophet. Old Testament prophet, and the one that he would come before would be the one who would bring the new covenant. So we fast forward to Luke, chapter 2, and I'm not going to do a lot here on the birth of Jesus, because I think what we're going to do is we're going to save some of this for a special Christmas episode. So we'll do that later on.
Stephen:But look at Luke, chapter two, verses 21 through 24. If you look there, it says at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb and when the time came for their purification, according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord, and to offer a sacrifice, according to what is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons. So, from right at the beginning, we see all the fulfillment in Jesus' birth of the prophecies. We see that he was born in Bethlehem, that he would come from Nazareth, that he would be called out of Egypt. We even have prophecies about Bethlehem weeping over her children, when we see Herod and the slaying of the innocents. But here we see his parents taking him and he is already fulfilling the law.
Stephen:We talked in depth about the covenants and we know that Israel was not able to fulfill the law. They could not keep the law. Now, if you remember, when we talked about all the covenants, we said that really all of the covenants were unconditional. There was only one covenant that was conditional and that was the Mosaic covenant. And you may have wondered when we talked about it. Well, why is that? Well, it's because the Word was going to be made flesh and he would keep the covenant. He would step into our shoes, as it were, israel's shoes. He would become a man born of a woman, born a Jew. He would keep the law, very similar to the Abrahamic covenant. God said I would keep it as man. God, the God-man, jesus Christ, emmanuel, god with us, god in the flesh, he is going to fulfill the law.
Stephen:Look at Luke, chapter 2, 28 through 35. We see that Simeon is here and I want to point out something to you. He sees Jesus and God had told him. God had revealed to him that he would see the Messiah before he died. Look at what he says. He says he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people, israel. He would go on to say Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel and for a sign that is opposed, and a sword shall pierce. A sword will pierce through your own soul also so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed, he said. Now I point that out because I want to remind you that this was the time we talked about this.
Stephen:Many people were looking for the Messiah, and this is so important. You will hear people today saying that they are still awaiting the Messiah, the first coming. Well, even the Jews at that time knew there was a specific time. There was a window of time when he had to come. There's a window of time when he had to come. Looking back in hindsight, we know that it would have to be fulfilled before the temple was destroyed, right. But even then they knew it was this time or it wasn't going to happen. They had read the prophecies of Daniel. They knew that he would come To those that are still waiting. You have to wonder okay, well, has that time already passed according to your own prophecies that you follow? There's no mistake here. Jesus is the Messiah, it's true. So Jesus would go through all of these things in the beginning to fulfill prophecy. And then we see him go to Nazareth and we don't know very much about his childhood. We do know that his father was a carpenter. In fact, it is said that Joseph was actually very well known. His shop was well known. He was a master carpenter and Jesus learned very well the business. In fact he would carry on that business, we believe, after Joseph passed away.
Stephen:Their business was really good in the fact that they paid attention to the details. For instance, there were a lot of people that needed yokes made for their animals, and that was. You know. That was a very tedious job. You had to do it. Just right. You could make yokes and just you know, you could get a yoke that's just off the rack, so to speak, but it wouldn't be good for your animal. You would run the risk of the yoke chafing and cutting into the animal and being a burden to the animal and then you wouldn't be able to get the animal to plow the field.
Stephen:Joseph, from what we understand, was very meticulous. He would measure the animal, get individual measurements, make sure everything fit right. It was said that they had the best yokes. In fact some even surmise that maybe that was a sign that may have been above the shop. I don't know. Maybe, if I use my imagination, do you think? Maybe it said something like our yokes are easy, they're light. Jesus would go on later to talk about his yoke and the burden. That is lighter. My yoke is easy, my burden is light.
Stephen:Everybody who knew about him and knew about the carpenter shop I think they knew what he was talking about, but he was making a spiritual application out of it. At any rate, we know that he was the best carpenter. We know that he took care of his mother when Joseph passed away, and he did right. We also know that he met with teachers in the temple when he was 12 years old and at that time, as he talked to them about the law I mean, who better to talk about the law than the word as he talked they were so impressed. I think we're going to see the Pharisees' view of him change as he got older and he began to apply what he knew about the law. When we move on from that, as he grows, we see him get baptized.
Stephen:Now I'm going to leave this for a separate episode. Hopefully we can get to it in two weeks. Baptism is so, so much a part of what it means to be a Baptist. As far as our beliefs and our doctrines. Our views on baptism are very well distinctive. They are distinctive. So I'm going to save a lot of this for another episode.
Stephen:But understand, there was a time when Elijah walked with Elisha through the water, through the water, and after that he was given a double portion of Elijah's spirit and then he would go on to do greater things than Elijah did. Now John said specifically, the one who comes after me is greater than I. They would end up going into the water, and, yes, actually into the water, and Jesus would be baptized. We would see the Trinity there, three witnesses all there the Father, the Son and the Spirit, and all of this is important for so many reasons. We know that John was descended from the tribe of Levi, and there's so much I don't know how much to get into in this episode, but before a priest could begin his ministry, he would be immersed, and we'll talk more about it in our baptism episode. But Jesus would end up doing the work of a priest. So we do know that that is one of the reasons for his baptism.
Stephen:There, of course, are others and we'll be talking about those as well, but in this time when he is baptized if you go to it'll be Luke, chapter 3, there's something really interesting that John the Baptist says, and I'm going to read that here. If you look at verse 16, it says John answered them all, saying I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I'm not worthy to untie. So, right here, right when Jesus begins his ministry, john says there's another baptism coming. It's going to be of the Spirit and of fire. Now, lest you think that praying for a baptism of fire is something that we should be praying for, probably not. As you see here in context, he's saying some will be baptized with the Spirit, but then the chaff will be gathered and baptized in fire. So that's a judgment. So keep that in mind, tuck that away in your mind. That baptism, there's judgment and there's salvation. It's a two-way. There's two things happening here. There's two types of baptism. Okay, we will come back to this. I'll mention it probably again in this episode and we'll mention it in the baptism episode as well. The baptism can be unto life or it can be destruction. So keep that in mind.
Stephen:Jesus is baptized and then the next thing he does is he goes into the wilderness for 40 days. Now, this is a significant number, remember? Moses said there was someone coming like him who, again, would be greater than him. He, moses, spent 40 years in the wilderness. He had to have that time of testing. Jesus would go into the wilderness for a time of testing. Now, going back to our original episode actually I guess it was episode two where we really started into the church series.
Stephen:You're going to see something in this temptation that will go back to what we talked about in that episode. In Luke 4, let's see. This will be verses 5. Let's start in Luke, chapter 4 and verse 5. And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time and said to him To you, I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I will give it to whom I will. If you then will worship me, it will all be yours. And Jesus answered him. It is written you shall worship the Lord, your God, and him only shall you serve.
Stephen:So we see, we know that when Adam fell, that gave Satan a position of power in this world, and in a couple of ways Again, probably not going to get into all of it, but if you go back to Genesis, I believe that Satan had a dominion. He lost it. It was given to man. He took it away. Now he's trying to hang on to it. We also know that he, because of what happened with Adam, he became an accuser of the brethren. In fact, that's where that word, satan, comes from. It's talking about his position as an accuser. He's going to lose that position and we'll talk more about that in detail later.
Stephen:But here we need to understand that the kingdoms at this time are his. Not only are they his, but they were measured out. They were given out to these 70 little g gods and it was out of those that God called a people, a people of his own, that he would guide. That would be his. They would not be a part of the world. They would be called out of the world. They were in the world, but they were not of the world. They were his people that he would rule over over. Now we see that these people have forsaken their God. What about all the covenants that we've talked about? How does all this get fulfilled?
Stephen:Satan is still in charge. God has called out this group, this what we called the congregation in the wilderness. You have the Gentiles that are still out there, still serving these other gods, and they're in the grip of Satan. Satan is saying you know what? I'll just give them to you If you'll worship me. Jesus said no, no, you'll only worship God. It's what God's word says, and that's not the plan. There's something else coming. But notice Satan's fixation with these physical kingdoms. He really thinks that that's what this is all about. He has already won his great battle with mankind and he's focused on keeping his worldly kingdom and he's going to destroy this physical kingdom. At least he thinks it's a physical kingdom that God is setting up with his people. Well, he's in for a big surprise, as we're going to see, because this is not just a physical kingdom. So, if you look at John 12, jesus mentions this again In John 12, verse 28,.
Stephen:The people heard a voice, it says. The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said an angel has spoken to him. Father, glorify your name. Then a voice came from heaven. I have glorified it and I will glorify it again. Jesus answered the voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world. Now will the ruler of this world be cast out and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. All of this is going to be important when we get to the story of the cross and we're going to talk about this also when we talk about Revelation. So Jesus faces his first challenge against Satan. He comes away victorious. He is ready for ministry.
Stephen:Look at Luke, chapter 4, verse 16, if you can, if you're following along in your Bible Luke, chapter 4, verse 16. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up and, as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day and he stood up to read and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down and the eyes of the synagogue were fixed upon him.
Stephen:So we have this awkward moment. This is. How can we say this? This is that moment when Jesus quotes a passage but he doesn't finish it. He stops right in the middle of it, if you go back to Isaiah, where this passage is found, and that's Isaiah 61, verses 1 through 2. Listen to what it says. The Spirit of the Lord, god, is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.
Stephen:Now Jesus stops there. Now Jesus stops there right in the middle. Now notice again, notice the passage. We already mentioned this. There's blessing, but there's also judgment. He comes first to heal, then he will judge. That's so important. You have one and then the other, and they're in the same passage. They go together. Now they're already on the edge of their seat because they know something's not right. And then listen to what he says.
Stephen:Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing, and all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth and they said is not this joseph's son? Is not this Joseph's son? And he said to them doubtless you will quote to me this proverb physician, heal yourself. What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well. And he said truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.
Stephen:But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up, three years and six months that is three and a half years, by the way. Just throw that out there, that's going to come back later. Three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land. And Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian. When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath and they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built so that they could throw him down the cliff but passing through their midst, he went away. So Jesus is pointing out that he is the fulfillment of this prophecy.
Stephen:We see three and a half years mentioned about the time of his ministry. Three and a half years mentioned about the time of his ministry three and a half years. But notice, he mentions Gentiles. Naaman the Syrian is a Gentile. Elijah, we believe that widow Zarephath, also a Gentile.
Stephen:We're starting to see why these people are angry. They're looking for a Messiah and they think that this Messiah is coming to fix their problems. They're the holy ones, they are the ones that are following the Torah. And Jesus says well, no, the Gentiles were the ones that were saved. Here, the Gentiles are the ones that are going to respond. Yes, we will see a remnant of the Jews respond, but he's saying I'm coming to the sick, the ones that will receive me. That's going to be the Gentiles.
Stephen:It reminds me of the parable and the rich man and the wedding banquet. Remember, his friends wouldn't come, so he sent out people into the highways and the hedges. That's what Jesus is talking about. But if you look at Isaiah 61, at the end it says For as the earth brings forth its sprouts and, as a garden, causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord, god, will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations. So is this really that unexpected, that unexpected? We fast forward to Luke, chapter 4, where he commands unclean spirits. And look at this question. He asked Luke, chapter 4, verse 36. And they were all amazed and said to one another what is this word? With authority and power, he commands the unclean spirits and they come out and reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region. What is this word?
Stephen:In episode 5, we talked about the Logos. We said that the written word was a form of a person's presence, especially to the Greeks. When you read what somebody had written down, you were hearing their word as if they were there. But remember what we said the written word had even more authority if the person who wrote it was there, because then they could tell you what they meant. When they wrote what they wrote, you didn't have to decipher what the meaning was, you didn't have to guess, you didn't need a commentary. You had the presence and therefore they had the authority on what they wrote If the author was in the room. That person was the authority on their word.
Stephen:How many times you go to the other Gospels? Look at John right out of the gate. When you look at the Gospel of John, the first question by what authority do you do this? Who gave you the authority? He is the authority. He is the very word of God. He was with God, he is God. He spoke and now he's in their presence. He is the authority on the Torah. He wrote it, but this is hard for them to understand. Look at Luke, chapter 5, verse 20.
Stephen:And when he saw their faith, he said man, your sins are forgiven you. And the scribes and Pharisees began to question, saying who is this? Who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins? But God alone. When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them why do you question in your hearts which is easier to say your sins are forgiven you or to say rise and walk, but that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins? He said to the man who was paralyzed I say to you, rise up, rise, pick up your bed and go home. And immediately he rose up. Before rise, pick up your bed and go home. And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home glorifying God. And amazement seized them all and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying we have seen extraordinary things today.
Stephen:The Pharisees came out swinging right from the beginning. Who gave you the authority? He's the Word. How can you forgive sins? Only God can do that. Well, he could heal him physically. He could certainly heal him spiritually. For those who say that Jesus never claimed to be God, how, how do you miss this? Jesus didn't tell them well, you're right. Only God can say that You're right. No, he said what do you think is easier to say? But I'll show you that the Son of man has the power to forgive sins and heal. Well, this was going to end up being a problem for the Pharisees.
Stephen:Now, you might remember when we talked about the Pharisees in the last episodes, we mentioned that there were basically two divisions within them. You could have those who followed Hillel and those who followed Shammai. Both groups may have found some things that they thought they agreed with as far as things that Jesus taught, taught, but in the end, they would find that there was enough that he said that they disagreed with, that they were going to have to do something drastic. The followers of Hillel were more willing to be a little bit more lenient on the law, the followers of Shammai not so much. If you look at Luke, chapter 6, it says in verse 1, on a Sabbath, while he was going through the grain fields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. But some of the Pharisees okay, pay attention to that word some. Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath? And Jesus answered them. Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him, how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the presence, which is not lawful? So we notice here that there were some Pharisees. My guess is this is the Shammai followers. They were super strict. Hillel followers may have been a little bit more lenient on this one, but here's what's interesting.
Stephen:Look at the next verse. On another Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching and a man was there whose right hand was withered, and the scribes and the Pharisees watched him to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find reason to accuse him. But he knew their thoughts and he said to the man with the withered hand Come, stand here. And he rose and stood there. And Jesus said to them stand here. And he rose and stood there. And Jesus said to them I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it? And after looking around at them all, he said to him, looking at all of them, stretch out your hand. And he did so and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. This was something that all of the Pharisees agreed on. They might have allowed leniency for a few things on the Sabbath maybe, but this was going too far. Imagine healing a man on the Sabbath. But the Shammai followers especially did not like this. They were very big on fasting and washing your hands for ritual purposes. This was a problem for them. But the followers of Hillel also had some problems.
Stephen:In Luke 6, we see a little bit of the Sermon on the Mount. This is where Jesus would speak. This is where, as the authority, the logos, he would lay down the law. He would lay down what the law was meant to be. The Pharisees were really good on the outward stuff, but not the inner things. Listen to what Jesus said in Luke, chapter 6. But I say to you who hear, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also. And from one who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods, do not demand them back. And, as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them Now. Here's why that is interesting. When the Pharisees heard this the followers of Hillel in particular Jesus was talking directly to them.
Stephen:There is a story about Hillel and Shammai, these two men who basically would be the leaders of the two groups of Pharisees that we see in Scripture. There's this story about a man who challenged them to explain the whole law while he was standing on one foot. This guy came to these two men, these two teachers stood on one foot and said explain the law that quick. Just give it to me while I'm standing on one leg. Tell me before I have to put my foot down. Well, shammai just didn't care. He was like whatever, I'm not going to do that. I can't explain the law that way. Hillel answered the man and this is what he said. He said what is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow, this is the whole Torah to you, do not do to your fellow. This is the whole Torah. The rest is the explanation. Go and learn Really. When he said the rest is explanation, he's basically saying the rest is just commentary. So he's saying the whole law is wrapped up in basically just don't hate anybody. In fact, it's not even that. He doesn't even mind you hating people. He says what is hateful to you, don't do to your fellow man.
Stephen:Now some people have said that this was the original golden rule. I wholeheartedly disagree. This is not the golden rule. There's even a Jewish man today. He's actually very famous. He said something interesting. He said I'm not really and I'm paraphrasing here. He said I'm not worried if I hate somebody or if somebody hates me. I just don't think they should act on it. If they don't act on it, that's fine. He said you can hate me, but there's nothing wrong with that, unless you try to harm me or take something from me.
Stephen:Well, that is a Hillel teaching. That is the teaching of the Pharisees. That Jesus of the Pharisees, that Jesus. He tried to correct this teaching. He says it's not about just what you do. What Hillel is saying is not the golden rule. What Jesus is saying is the golden rule, and the golden rule is don't just not do things that are hateful to your enemy. Don't just not hate your enemy. I want you to love your enemy and beyond that, I want you to actually do good. You cannot hide behind this disguise of well, I haven't done anything bad to this person, so it doesn't matter how I feel about them. Well, actually, no, that sin of the heart is a problem. That is a big, big problem.
Stephen:The followers of Hillel had to have been very upset. They knew Jesus was talking to them. They also didn't like his strict rules for divorce. The thing is, neither one of these groups liked him at all and the Sadducees didn't like him because he taught the resurrection. They didn't like that. They may have liked it that he didn't tell the people they had to follow the traditions of the oral law, but he taught the resurrection. He was shaking things up. He was very clear. He said it's about the heart, and then he goes on to do this full sermon of woes that he would pronounce on these people After his transfiguration.
Stephen:In Luke 11, if you start reading in verse 37, it says while Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him. So he went in and reclined at table. The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. And the Lord said to him now you, pharisees, cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools, did not he who made the outside make the inside also, but give as alms those things that are within and behold, everything is clean for you. But woe to you, pharisees, for you tithe, mint and rue and every herb and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others. Woe to you, pharisees, for you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you, for you are like unmarked graves and people walk over them without knowing it. One of the lawyers answered him Teacher, in saying these things, you insult us also. Okay now.
Stephen:The lawyers were the experts of the Torah. They were the men who studied the law. Listen to what Jesus had to say to them. And he said Woe to you, lawyers also, for you load people with burdens hard to bear and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you, for you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed, so you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them and you build their tombs. Therefore, also the wisdom of God said I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute, so that the blood of all the prophets shed from the foundation of the world may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. Woe to you, lawyers, for you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves and you hindered those who were entering.
Stephen:As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say. This is where the battle line is drawn. God had said I'm tired of your festivals, your sacrifices. Here they're bringing their tithes, they're doing everything they're supposed to do, but they forgot the greatest commandments of all love God and love your neighbor. And Jesus says here this is going to be required, this judgment is going to be required of your generation, this generation. For those of us that are biblical literalists, you need to remember those words. This generation, those words will come up again, but we'll go ahead and stop here. We see that a battle is brewing.
Stephen:These Pharisees are looking now for a way to trap him and eventually they will look for a way to kill him, to keep their power and to keep their control over the people, for one thing and for another thing, I really think they just did not understand. There was blindness that had come to them. When Jesus said that the gate is narrow, I think in a lot of ways he was speaking directly to Israel. There would be very few that would understand, but oh, the light that would come to the Gentiles. Jesus was going to do what had been promised. He was going to fulfill the law that could not be kept even by these supposed experts and he was going to write the law of God on our hearts.
Stephen:And these men who had studied the law, who had seen all this and surely knew about the prophecies that had been filled by Jesus already, they just didn't see it. And I think a lot of it too, is that this was not the Messiah that they were expecting and not the one they wanted. They weren't concerned about their hearts, they were concerned about the kingdom that was supposed to come. They were all for that. They were all for Rome falling, the Messiah coming, and then they could rule and have power with him. They forgot all about the people that they were supposed to be guiding. They forgot about the heart. I hope that you will join us on the next podcast as we move into part two of the life of Jesus. This is a study of church history, thank you.
