In an engaging discussion, our hosts delve into the significance of faith and belief as portrayed in Biblical stories. Discover why prophets, including Jesus, often face skepticism and how societal norms challenge the acceptance of their teachings. Understand the implications of judgement on repentance and why sins are treated differently in theological contexts. This episode also offers practical insights for modern-day mission work, drawing from historical messages and Christ’s teachings for guidance.
greetings to the brightest audience in the country and welcome to theology thursday i’m nicole mcbirney every weekday we bring you the news of the day the culture and science from a christian worldview but today join me and pastor bob enyart as we explore the source of our christian worldview the bible whereas not a single monetary unit that appears in the book of mormon has ever been or will be found and of course other than his own associates
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the people Joseph Smith knew and interacted with and started Mormonism with and other quotes taken from the Bible The individuals named by Joseph Smith have never been identified, whereas even though they lived thousands of years ago, the specific identity of more than 100 people in Scripture has been confirmed by archaeologists and historians from extra-biblical sources. Now just this week, the Israeli Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of a 2,700 year old seal. Now, a wealthy person, an important person, or just someone of some substance in Israel and much of the ancient world would have a seal so that if they wrote a letter or an important document, they would fold it and put wax on it, melt wax on it, and then put their seal on it. And their seal would be like a stamp, and it would leave the impression of their name. Well, one of those seals was found in a drainage ditch actually beneath the drainage system just off of the Western Wall in Jerusalem by the Temple Mount from 2,700 years ago. And it has the name that we recognize from our English Bibles of Mataniah. Mattaniah was a Levite working in Jerusalem, and this very well could be his seal, but there were other Mattaniahs mentioned also in the Bible, so it’s somewhat of a common name. Now, the Hebrew for Mattaniah is Ma’anyahu. And if that sounds familiar, it should because Benjamin Netanyahu is the current prime minister. In Hebrew, this is a very similar name and it means giving to God. And so it’s so neat that the Bible a thousand times over is affirmed by studies whether in genetics or astronomy history archaeology geology geography very encouraging so when we read that Jesus taught in the synagogue there’s no reason to think that this is a parable or just a metaphor or a scribe filling in some colorful details to put around the message this is the actual history of what happened And now in verse 3, we find out about the Lord’s immediate family and what Jesus had been doing for the previous 15 years. He grew up. He’s a kid doing the things that kids are supposed to do. Then he becomes a young man, teenager, and adult. He grew up in a large family and became a woodworker making furniture. Let’s read verse 3. Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us? So they were offended at him. Now notice the non sequitur. It doesn’t follow that if someone has great wisdom and is doing miracles, signs, and wonders that we should be offended at him if we knew where he grew up. That doesn’t follow. How does that make sense? However, rebellion against God is not a sensible activity. Rather, they should have been excited that one so near to them could teach such astonishing things and attest to his own credibility by performing great wonders. Now this verse also names the half-siblings, the half-brothers of the Lord, and tells that he had sisters also. Mary was not ever virgin. Some claim that. She bore at least six other children and they would have been of Joseph, her husband. This was a good Jewish family. Good Jewish families, they love children, and they like to have kids. The boys were named Jacob, Joseph, Judah, and Simeon. As they appear here from the Greek New Testament and translated to English, they’re slightly different. James is the Hebrew name Jacob. Remember Jacob and Esau, Isaac’s sons, and Jacob had 12 sons who became the patriarchs of the 12 tribes of Israel. So we have Jacob and And Joses for Joseph, one of Jacob’s 12 sons. And Judas for Judah, one of Jacob’s 12 sons. And Simeon, we have Simon for Simeon. So these are all names of Israel’s patriarchs. And this passage shows that the Roman Catholic Church is wrong to say that Mary never had any other children. That’s just false. We read in Matthew chapter 1 that Joseph and Mary did not have children in the course of nature as husband and wife until after she brought forth her firstborn son, Jesus. He is called her firstborn because she had others as named here by Mark. And remember that Paul complained in 1 Corinthians 9. He said, do we, speaking of Paul and Barnabas, do we have no right to take along a believing wife as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Cephas is Peter. So he’s grouchy because he’s traveling with Barnabas and they travel with their wives. And he says, what, we don’t have the right to travel with our wives? Well, Paul, it would be helpful if you had a wife. You’re stuck with Barnabas. It’s pretty much your fault. But he says, the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord and Peter. So the brothers of the Lord there, when he said that, he’s likely referring specifically to James and Jude. They wrote those two epistles together. toward the very end of the New Testament so let’s continue in Mark and see if you think that what the Lord says in response to his critics is an absolute law or a rule of thumb a generality for after they were offended at him and said, hey, we know this guy, and we know his family. In verse 4, but Jesus said to them, a prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house. So he’s saying, they’re rejecting me. I’m from their family. I’m one of their neighbors, and that tends to be the way it is. So that’s a generality. That is not an absolute law. It doesn’t mean that everywhere Jesus went or could go, he would be honored, but only he would be without honor in his own neighborhood. Doesn’t mean that. Wouldn’t it be easy to take this and make it into a literal law and say prophets are always honored when they travel far away? They’re not. But this is an observation that the Lord is making about some kind of normal human behavior. We tend to not like lawyers, and rightly so. But we tend to interpret the Bible as though it had been written by lawyers, and we are lawyers investigating the text. And I don’t think God appreciates that. because God doesn’t speak like a lawyer would speak. When Jesus says, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, if you’re some kind of a demented masochist, are you then supposed to beat up other people because you like to be beat up? Of course not. That would be an absurd, twisting, taking something woodenly literal that is meant to be understood if you’re coming from the same perspective as the Lord is. If you’re not, and you are taking it literally, you’re all messed up. Now, the Bible is literal. We’re supposed to take it literally, but that doesn’t mean woodenly literally. So many false teachings that have fabulous proof texts are misapplying the proof text taking them wooden Lee literally like a man cannot pray if he has a hat on it dishonors him so if you’re an astronaut or an Eskimo or you’re submerged in the sea you shouldn’t pray wait until you’re back at sea level so It’s easy to become silly by pretending to be spiritual, but that would be a hyper-spirituality and an unreasonable use of the text. Now, as a generality here, a prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house. People are often more kind to strangers than to those of their own home. And that’s an indication of how sinful our flesh is. We are. Those closest to you, those closest to me, know us best. And if they see me or you as impatient and mean, well, then that means they know who you are. They know what you’re really like. And rather than become defensive, it’s better for us to use that information as a lifeline and ask God, Lord, help me to be more patient. I know that love is patient. And that’s the very first attribute that Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 13 to tell us what love is like. It’s really easy to be patient with a total stranger. the checkout line at the grocery store after you after you after you but when it’s your own family in your own home it’s very easy to become irritated and so a prophet is not without honor except among his own relatives so Jesus is talking here about this role of a prophet but the principle is the same Jesus was rejected by his neighbors because he was a neighbor. And he was rejected by the leaders in Jerusalem. Do you remember why? Because he wasn’t from Jerusalem. He was a Galilean. He was from Nazareth. So the interpretation of this is that for those looking to reject Christ, any excuse will do. In a dozen years of teaching the Bible at Denver Bible Church, in the years before that, since the show began, and 21 years of broadcasting out of Denver, seminars from the East Coast to Hawaii, and tours we’ve taken to Israel and Turkey and Greece, We have never quoted this verse regarding our own ministry. It’s not our place to do so. And God knows that none of us here claim the office of a biblical prophet, though the phenomenon seems familiar. Let’s go to verse 5. Now he could do no mighty work there except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. So is that literal? I mean, woodenly literal? Is it really the case that because people didn’t have faith, God couldn’t do a miracle through Jesus? Of course He could. You could have a whole nation of unbelievers, and Jesus could kill the firstborn son, or separate the waters of the Dead Sea, or do plagues, or do wonderful miracles. He can do this, but… He didn’t want to. The Father didn’t want him to. The Holy Spirit didn’t want to because they had no faith. Now, the next verse implies strongly that that was the reason in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 13, we see explicitly that the reason he didn’t do many miracles there was because of their unbelief. Verse 6, “…and he marveled because of their unbelief.” Then he went about the villages in a circuit teaching. That in a circuit reminds me of another Joseph Smithism when he said that the Jews, they sailed across the Atlantic and populated the Americas. And he says that they used a compass to get there. Now, a compass hadn’t been invented in the time of around Solomon for another thousand years or more than that. Why did he say they used a compass? Because the 1611, the old King James in the book of Acts, where it says they took a circuitous route around the Mediterranean, it says they took a compass and which it didn’t mean a magnetized compass floating in water to point north. It just meant they went sort of in a circle. But Joseph Smith, being not very well educated, thought they had a compass back then. And he said, well, they used a compass. That’s just an example. So Jesus went about the villages in a circuit teaching. And God marvels at our unbelief. He marvels. In the Bible, God expresses surprise, astonishment. He’s grieved. He’s overjoyed. God is a person, and he wants a relationship with us. When a child dies, rather than falsely claim that it was God’s will that the child was killed or died of a disease… Isn’t it more loving and certainly true, far more accurate to say that God grieves with you? God grieves with you. Instead of God did this to you and you’re grieving, but he wants you to figure out why he did this. That’s so tragic. So here, he marveled because of their unbelief. Now, if he had predestined that they would not believe, why would he marvel? How do you marvel at something that you designed, implemented, intended? It’s like pouring a cup of coffee and it fills up. You’re marveled that the coffee filled up the cup. Isn’t that astounding? People say, why are you astounded by that? Didn’t you just pour it? Verse 7 says, speaking of Jesus, and he called the 12 to himself and began to send them out two by two and gave them power over unclean spirits. That, of course, speaks of exorcism, demon possession, the casting out of devils or demons. And that is a strictly New Testament phenomenon. It’s not recorded even once in more than 4,000 years of history presented in the Old Testament. So Jesus sent out the 12 and they preached, but clearly they did not preach saying Jesus is the Christ. That was not their message. It’s not till later that Jesus asks his own disciples, who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter says, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus said, flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father in heaven. And whenever they would learn something really stunning, he would say, now don’t tell anybody. Don’t tell anybody. There’ll be time for them to find out later. So whatever they were preaching, when they went out to preach, which happened repeatedly, it was not the gospel as we would preach at Denver Bible Church or as a Baptist preacher on a Sunday morning would preach the gospel. believe that Jesus is the Christ and that he died to pay for your sin and he was raised from the dead or will be raised from the dead and believe in that and you’ll be saved. That’s not what they preached. They could have. Rather, they were preaching the same message that Jesus was, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And his next command has sometimes been taken as a pattern for all missionary work, not by the really good missionaries, but by some, by many, and wrongly so, and often with harmful consequences. Verse 8, he commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff, No bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts, but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. So if you don’t have modern fancy luggage with a handle and wheels and you’ve got to bring stuff with you, you might put on two sets of clothing. That’s one way to carry your clothes with you. Don’t put on two tunics. Don’t take all this stuff with you. Just go out and trust God. Now, Jesus is God, and he told them to do that, and it’s very wise and proper and right for them to do what he said. But it’s not a model generally for missions work. Rather, as Jesus said elsewhere, if you’re going to build the tower, first take inventory of your resources. See if you can complete the project. So likewise, if you are going to China to minister, it’s not as though you need to have a guarantee in advance that every need you will have will be met. You don’t need to do that. We do trust God. But on the other hand, if you only have enough money to get to Thailand and you’re headed to China as a missionary, then be prepared to learn how to speak Thai. Maybe for a while. Maybe for the rest of your life. There’s no guarantee that God will provide the funds or the resources needed to accomplish the task that you have set out before you. And a work that God loves does not guarantee that the work will be completed. Because oftentimes people who love God, people who serve Him, are cut down even early in their lives and are martyred. So it’s not true to say if a lot of money comes in, that shows this was of God. Or if no money comes in, it shows it was not of God. Or if it completed, it is of God. Or if it doesn’t, it wasn’t of God. These things are not true. Verse 10. And he said to them, in whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. Well, that’s normal, right? You stay somewhere until you leave. But that’s not what Jesus was saying. He’s saying when you go to a city, the house that receives you, they’re showing you hospitality. They’re allowing you to stay with them, which is a great honor. then don’t go house hopping don’t go from house to house for as long as you stay in that village if it’s a week or so whatever it is stay with that one family stay with that one house why not i’ve traveled a lot in the last twenty years with our talk show outreach seminars and quite a bit of ministry before that And the last time I got to stay with a family was two of the last three nights. We went to Kentucky to look for human footprints in stone to document them because they’re there. And secular researchers have found them. And they’re in sandstone that supposedly hardened 300 million years ago. You only have human footprints from about a million years ago. So why are there human footprints? in what before the dinosaurs doesn’t make sense well the theory of evolution is not true and so that’s why there’s so many anomalies data points that don’t fit but i went on this trip with dr don patent who’s the world’s leading expert on human footprints and stone And by the way, we’ll talk about this at our church, but we won’t talk about it on the radio because we want to give Dr. Patton the courtesy of being the first to publish this in Christian circles. Let him have that opportunity, and then we’ll talk about it on Real Science Friday. But regarding travel, I was welcomed into the home of a wonderful family with four beautiful young children. And if after a day or so, I said, you know, I’m going to switch homes. I’m going to go stay with them over there. Maybe they have a nicer, newer house. Or maybe the wife is a better cook. Who knows? And it just seems to be a little bit inappropriate. So I think the Lord is giving some practical advice. But it does make me think of a secondary, forward-looking application. That is… After his ascension, as Jesus says elsewhere, the disciples will not have time to get through the villages of Israel before the second coming. So don’t get too comfortable. Don’t stay at one place for months or years. Stay somewhere, and before you wear out your welcome, be done with your ministry in that town, then move on to the next town. So let your trip be businesslike and stay focused. Now, the chapter is lengthy. It really gets interesting, but I’d like to just cover the next couple verses, and then we’ll leave the rest of the chapter for next week, Lord willing. Verse 11, And whoever will not receive you nor hear you when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city. But don’t judge. Now, you can’t do this unless you judge. It’s pretty necessary. Will Duffy says that it seems that people are being judged on every page of the Bible. You can’t turn the page without somebody being judged or urging judgment on people. And all sins are not equal. You notice that? If all sins were equal, then the sins of these villages would be the same as the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. But for those who reject the followers of Jesus Christ, their sins are even worse than the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. And that’s saying something because those cities were so vile and wicked that God destroyed them. But all sins are not equal. Those who reject the preaching of Christ’s disciples are committing the greater sin. Jesus said to Pilate, who was a Gentile, that those who sent me to you, they have the greater sin. So the high priest, Caiaphas and Herod, who was part Jewish, they had the greater sin than the Gentile governor because they knew more. And likewise, Paul says that he was the chief sinner because while God wanted Israel to trust in their resurrected Messiah, Paul dedicated his life to getting Israel to reject Christ. And as he described it, he succeeded in that. He persecuted Israel’s church beyond measure and destroyed it. Because of him, Israel was cut off. So if all sins are equal, Paul would not have said, I was the chief sinner, and because of that, I became the first to whom God showed mercy in the body of Christ to be a pattern of of all those who hereafter believe verse 12 so they went out and preached that people should repent that was their message not that Jesus is the Christ. Elsewhere, the Bible says that Jesus sent them out to preach the gospel. And you know what they were preaching? They were not saying Jesus is the Christ. They weren’t saying that. They were saying people should repent. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. May God bless you guys.
