Ep. 32: Was Jesus A Mean Guy?

[00:00:00] Hey everybody, welcome to the Like Stars Podcast. I know Dr. Pete Goodman back with another episode. I know you're all just wondering when will anyone come after a bit of a long Christmas holiday break. But I am back and I know you probably didn't notice. Nobody does.

[00:00:20] I took a few weeks off just spent some time with friends and family. And also as I am sure you heard Ed Nazim at this point, I was able to finally release my book and did a lot of fun stuff with it over the holidays and also recorded the audio book version during the break and that is now up and released and available on Amazon and audible and all those things. So I'm just really excited about what God is doing with it and already in hearing people give feedback and talk about the ways that it's helped. And I know a lot of you have been following the podcast for a while so your pop

[00:00:50] really with it. But it's just, I don't know, I'm really grateful for what God is doing with it. Now I want you to know that starting on this episode, I'm doing something kind of a little bit different, something I haven't done on the podcast before. I'm actually going to do almost like a mini series to start off this year.

[00:01:05] I have four episodes that all have a similar theme to them and flow together. And the theme is going to be kind of fun and I put fun in quotes. I want to do just an examination or walk through of some of the aspects of Jesus's own words and the way he talked that seem a little bit harsh or what do we do with them specifically, I want to talk about some of the comments that Jesus made that might almost sound like he's kind of an insensitive.

[00:01:35] I'm kind of jerk like some harsh things he had to say. I also want to talk about there's a moment in the gospels where Jesus calls a foreign woman a dog and it almost feels like, is Jesus racist? What's going on here? And then one of the big issues that I've had a lot of people talk about and I figured out just a whole podcast on it is Jesus use of slave language often has led to a lot of confusion questions was Jesus OK with slavery like what's going on there.

[00:02:02] Another fun one that I want to tackle and I probably in terms of getting questions from you this one has come up a lot so I'm going to fit into this was Jesus wrong. In when he thought he was going to return as we'll talk about in that episode there's a place in Matthew where he talks about the return it sounds like and he says many of you will not die before this happens and well that was a couple thousand years ago was you wrong. And so over the next few episodes were going to talk about things like racism slavery and times.

[00:02:30] And in this episode just some really harsh teachings of Jesus so it's going to be a great fun start to the new year and I don't I do enjoy this kind of thing that like diving and being deeper. Hopefully that's what a lot of you enjoy about the podcast and why you tune in. So yeah, this episode and the next three after it are going to be I think some pretty deep ones and maybe a little bit serious.

[00:02:50] We're going to start off with this one first episode talking about was Jesus an insensitive jerk he seemed harsh and kind of almost like really creating on people said some really hard things and I know you can almost be born line heretical calling Jesus a jerk I'm not saying he was but it is what's going on here we see him.

[00:03:10] Same things like you can't bury your own father and you have to hate your father and mother and there's just some really harsh stuff so we're going to talk about that in this episode but before we dive into that there's a few things I want to talk about quickly and as I mentioned again the books fully out the audiobook versions out and I know there's a lot of you that enjoy the podcast you enjoy listening maybe in your car or whatever.

[00:03:31] And hopefully this is if you're interested in reading the book but maybe you're not a reader and you'd rather listen to audiobook can be a great way to do that so in celebration of that and celebration of getting it all done getting it out audiobook everything done I am going to be doing a bit of a promotion I'm going to give some free books away and the way that I'm going to do it is I'm going to do it to my YouTube subscribers so if you listen to an audio it's okay you can still get it but here's how if you want a free copy of like stars either a digital ebook that you can read on a kind of anything or a promo code.

[00:04:01] To a free audiobook version I want to give away some every one of these four episodes I do to start this new year so here's what I do starting with this episode if you're interested you want a free ebook or audiobook go on to my like stars YouTube page YouTube at like stars podcast and super simple if you're already maybe you're

[00:04:22] already watching this year on YouTube now you're already here subscribe to the channel if you haven't that's as simple as just pushing the little button says subscribe and it adds you and then you get notified when new stuff comes out.

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[00:04:49] episode during this four or series so if you're interested in a free book and honestly even like how you really wanted a physical paperback version of it I'll do a paperback version but you'd have to come pick it up because I'm not male and across whatever so if you want to come grab one from Lakeside California

[00:05:06] I'll even throw in a paperback version as well so jump on YouTube subscribe and leave a comment and you can get a free copy so why not be fun and then maybe while you're there you can hit the like button for me

[00:05:17] or share leave a review many things are just so helpful I love your feedback every time I see a review and hear what you're saying and if it's constructive criticism or just whatever it helps other people find it and

[00:05:28] lastly I'll end with this if you have had a chance already to read the book like stars

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[00:06:05] just yeah so big promotion free books and love your feedback and then of course before we dive in and I know it's getting long

[00:06:14] we got to get back to making that real paper you know not this pittance book sale money that barely covers the monthly payment on my private jet no I need some real cash

[00:06:24] so it's time for another sponsor of the like stars podcast gotta make that money so given that we're kicking off a new year

[00:06:32] 2024 and recording this early January I thought the perfect sponsor for this first episode of the new year is everyone's favorite delusion

[00:06:41] New Year's resolutions you know the drill you wake up at one thirty in the afternoon on New Year's day regretting a number of your life choices

[00:06:50] you decide for the 23rd consecutive time that this is going to be the year right you're gonna finally get in shape and start

[00:06:58] exercise and turn this thing around yeah sure you've made the same promise to yourself every single month of

[00:07:06] January for the past 20 years and most years you've never even made it past month of January actually a lot

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[00:07:22] right uh why do we just gonna admit that this whole self delusional exercise and futility is a waste of

[00:07:30] time and just stop doing it now there are people out there that actually do this whole goal thing

[00:07:35] and they achieve their goals and you people are weird and you don't belong on my podcast

[00:07:41] uh but I do want to admit though here's the thing so somebody has about me the truth is that actually yes

[00:07:48] I you might be surprised to know do make New Year's resolutions and in fact I have made the same

[00:07:56] New Year's resolution every single year for the past 27 some odd years and unlike all you

[00:08:03] undisciplined slubs I actually have successfully met my goal every single year that's right

[00:08:11] I have made a New Year's resolution every year and I have followed through on it every single time

[00:08:17] and that's why this January I am continuing the tradition I'm continuing the same goal I set for

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[00:08:46] the sponsor of this episode of the Like Stars podcast kicking off the New Year 2000 and 24 all right

[00:08:53] let's dive in to our topic this week was Jesus a bit of a jerk okay I've been in the gospels a lot

[00:09:01] lately over the break and especially the book of Luke and I've been struck with how so it's just kind

[00:09:07] of going through it I was just noticing some things that Jesus sometimes said some pretty harsh stuff

[00:09:14] borderline almost like I've seen people that like that that sounds almost racist he talked to a

[00:09:18] canonite foreigner and called her a dog he used slave language all the time and talked about being

[00:09:23] a slave and he slaves were in his metaphors and his parables and things he talked about like harsh

[00:09:28] judgment what do you and all this kind of stuff and some of the harshest sounding stuff seem to stem

[00:09:34] towards like the religious people or even those who wanted to follow him sometimes he just seemed like

[00:09:39] he was mean to people I don't like why are you doing this what's the point of this uh talking to

[00:09:44] some of the religious leaders he was downright angry you brood of vipers uh you hypocrites blind

[00:09:50] guides you white wash tombs he calls them sons of hell like yikes what do you it's not very nice

[00:09:56] Jesus you are you are of your father the devil like Jesus yeah he's like the kind loving guy

[00:10:04] wicked and lazy servant he said people a rich young ruler came to say Jesus I want to follow

[00:10:09] you he's like well they go sell everything you have and give it all away and then you can do it

[00:10:12] like really he literally told people you unless you hate your father and mother you can't follow me

[00:10:18] and he talked he told people they had to be homeless he one guy was like I want to follow you but

[00:10:22] let me go first finish a funeral and bury my father he's like what the dead bury their dead

[00:10:26] like you know I said I kind of just lost his dad what Jesus come on man and one guy just wanted to go

[00:10:31] home and say goodbye to his parents and she's like nope can't do it so it kind of leaves us sometimes

[00:10:36] if like we have this picture in our minds many of us that Jesus is just this like super nice guy

[00:10:41] which loves everybody and friendly and hey I'm Jesus and thing uh you know and then you read some of

[00:10:46] these passages you're like whoa can you say that Jesus like whoa tell me down buddy you know

[00:10:53] what's going on was this Jesus guy is nice and friendly as we make him out to be or are we missing

[00:11:00] something but what about these statements these passages well this is what I want to talk through

[00:11:05] starting in this episode and then I'm gonna continue again we're gonna talk about racial elements

[00:11:09] of its slavery and even some of the stuff he talked about the end times and judgment all his kind

[00:11:13] of things so over the next four weeks but starting I think just with this idea of like some of

[00:11:16] the really harsh things he said to people directly now as we walk through this you're gonna hear

[00:11:22] some things that you've heard a lot if you follow my podcast you're gonna hear some like yeah that's

[00:11:27] that's that's like Pete's catchphrase I'm gonna come back some basic things because oftentimes

[00:11:31] the basic things are the things we keep have to hold on to again and again to work through difficult

[00:11:36] issues and this can be a difficult issue Jesus was a mean arrogant jerk why do we follow him so

[00:11:42] I'm gonna I'm gonna walk through this so just I'm gonna look at some of these passages and whatever

[00:11:46] but I want to do it by reminding you of two basic fundamental and essential rules of biblical

[00:11:56] interpretation when you are interpreting the Bible when you're reading it and trying to make

[00:12:00] sense of it there's a number of rules we're gonna talk about two of them and you've heard him before

[00:12:04] I've talked about him before I'm gonna talk about him again I'm gonna keep talking about him if you

[00:12:08] are a follower of like stars like these are things you're just gonna get used to hearing from

[00:12:12] you if you haven't already two rules of biblical interpretation and they come into play when

[00:12:17] asking the question about Jesus's kind of harsh words first when you're reading the Bible I would

[00:12:22] say this is kind of my own verbiage here style matters style matters and what I mean by that I don't

[00:12:30] mean like flash I mean the style of writing the style of speech sometimes it's called we use the word

[00:12:37] like rhetoric there can be like genre different words to talk about but essentially what kind of

[00:12:44] thing am I reading and I've talked about this before but I want to come back to it when you open

[00:12:48] up the Bible and you start reading it's important that you identify like what is the style of writing

[00:12:55] and I've made this analogy before if I pick up you know a book and I start reading about dragons

[00:13:01] or aliens or something there's an assumption in my mind that I'm not reading a modern history

[00:13:07] I'm reading something fantastical similarly if I read up if I pick up a book talking to me about you

[00:13:13] know how to overcome stuff in your life bypass or so and so I think to myself I'm not reading a fairy tale

[00:13:19] I'm probably reading like a message or preaching so what am I reading is this a story is this preaching

[00:13:25] is it poetry is it prophecy and then once I kind of get the idea of the style then of like the genre

[00:13:32] I start talking about like well how is the person communicating are they are they saying things

[00:13:37] that are meant to be taken at sort of face value like what we might call literally or are they speaking

[00:13:42] in more metaphors are they using parallelisms and analogies Jesus often did that he would sometimes

[00:13:50] just say things when Jesus said you've heard it said don't murder but I say that style of speech

[00:13:56] is just direct is just he's just preaching but other times he's like the kingdom of heaven is like

[00:14:00] a man who buries treasure in the field like both of those things by Jesus he's speaking truth to

[00:14:05] us but he's talking differently and we have to understand that one of them is like direct straight

[00:14:09] on communication often the word is exposition or expository like just speaking it out

[00:14:15] and the other is a parable it's using a picture that isn't real in order to communicate truth

[00:14:21] sometimes Jesus and other New Testament authors spoke using irony or even humor

[00:14:26] and so like what I did a whole podcast early on in the beginning if you're following from

[00:14:31] beginning like episode six or something looking at Genesis one and that was the principle am I

[00:14:35] reading something that's meant to be like face value literally or is this more metaphorical style

[00:14:40] matters and sometimes when we're talking about style we're talking about how you're communicating the

[00:14:46] words you're using a key to understand is that Jesus like all great orders of his day clearly enjoyed

[00:14:54] what we would call hyperbole hyperbole if you're not familiar with that word it's okay is essentially

[00:15:01] a form of speaking or communicating in which you overemphasize or exaggerate an idea for effect

[00:15:08] now I want to be careful because the word exaggerate can have two meanings I don't mean exaggerate

[00:15:13] as in like lie like you know I am exaggerating my resume in order to get a job I mean over the top

[00:15:21] semi unrealistic statements that are so over the top so big that you're like well I know he's

[00:15:27] not being serious but he's just trying to make a point for example here's here's an example of

[00:15:32] hyperbole with Jesus he's talking about us dealing with sin and he says if your eye causes you to

[00:15:39] sin gouge it out or if your hand causes you to stumble cut it off listen that's hyperbole that's

[00:15:48] exaggerated for effect kind of communication Jesus did that a lot Jesus did not actually want you

[00:15:54] to cut out one of your eyes or chop off your hand he wasn't literally saying you need to

[00:15:58] main yourself so in this moment what we want to do is we want to make sure like if I'm reading it

[00:16:05] be easy like well this was the word of God Jesus spoken he said I'm supposed to you know cut off my

[00:16:09] hands like well that's a problem let's step back before I assume that Jesus is wanting me to harm

[00:16:15] myself I need to identify style and in that case the style is hyperbole there's a moment where he

[00:16:22] talks about he says this it's harder for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than for a rich man

[00:16:27] and he's looking to heaven is he saying like it's impossible like it's it's hyperbole it's over

[00:16:33] the top a camel can't enter through the eye of a needle it's just a picture uh he talks a lot

[00:16:39] about you have to sell everything and because like does he literally mean you can't have any money

[00:16:44] or is he saying hey I want to address this thing that finances have on you um there's a place where

[00:16:49] he says call no man your father well did Jesus actually mean it was a sin to call your dad father

[00:16:56] or was he sort of making a general statement over the top statement about what does it mean to

[00:17:01] see God as the ultimate authority figure in your life this is kind of what I'm getting at

[00:17:06] so when we're looking at the words of Jesus and some of them seem harsh over the top

[00:17:11] we need to first take into style as an issue is like what is Jesus meaning this literally or

[00:17:17] is he kind of being over the top because oftentimes that can be the first thing just helps us work

[00:17:21] through it so you need to start there understand how the words of Jesus were meant to be heard and

[00:17:26] understood before assuming he was an unreasonably mean jerk ask was he intending for his words to

[00:17:32] be heard and understood the way that you're hearing them and oftentimes as we'll see in a bit what sounds

[00:17:37] odd or awful almost uncomfortable to us can often do so because we're not quite understanding the way

[00:17:42] that he was communicating so style matters and this is always true when we're interpreting the Bible

[00:17:47] second thing you have absolutely heard this if you've listened to any of my podcasts context is king

[00:17:53] context is king what surrounds the text what goes with the text context is so important you've

[00:18:01] heard me say it so many times context context context it can change everything I had dinner with some

[00:18:07] friends other night and my friend Jeremy he was telling this story about how he had the opportunity

[00:18:13] to be on a reality TV show and he was telling us the whole detail that sounded a lot of fun

[00:18:19] and he told us how there was a moment where he was in he was having an interview in a car

[00:18:25] and the person interview him asked him a very specific question he's in law enforcement they asked

[00:18:29] him a question about law enforcement and I think the context was you know when you're approaching

[00:18:34] somebody that you have to arrest how do you handle the fear and he gave a very like well you know you

[00:18:39] have to hold it in and you can't show fear when you're about to approach someone that's going to

[00:18:43] be a criminal or something he was talking about law enforcement and arresting people and when they

[00:18:47] actually aired the episode that he was in they took his words talking about law enforcement

[00:18:53] and applied it to like just him talking to friends and it made him look like he was like this really

[00:18:58] cold like hard-hearted person that can't ever be real of people and all they did was they took words

[00:19:04] out of context they removed something he said from the context in which he said it and they completely

[00:19:10] changed what he was actually saying or wanting to say we got to be careful that we're not doing

[00:19:14] that when we read the Bible what is the context in which Jesus was saying the things that you think are

[00:19:20] so mean or harsh or you know over the top maybe a jerky so this means literally the text itself

[00:19:28] what was going on if you find a passage or a verse where Jesus says something mean what is the

[00:19:32] context of the passage what is he talking about what did he say before and after what was going on who

[00:19:38] who is he talking to and this brings up not just the text itself but the culture in the world around

[00:19:43] him who were these people he was speaking with what were their values what were they doing what weren't

[00:19:49] they doing that might have led him to say what he was saying what were social things it might have

[00:19:53] been going on that would maybe speak into what he was saying and why he was saying it how would

[00:19:57] these statements have been heard and understood to those people at that time and was there something

[00:20:02] going on behind the scenes that might help us make sense of his words context context and I would just

[00:20:08] say like right off the bat let's just dive in who was he talking to just let's just start there before

[00:20:15] you say man Jesus was mean he was used to jerk sometimes well who was he talking to and I would

[00:20:19] just start here and say many many of the harshest things that Jesus said if you were gonna make a list

[00:20:27] like that's harsh that's harsh you just a whole bunch of them were actually directed at a very

[00:20:32] specific group of people and though that specific group of people I would just classify as leaders

[00:20:40] and not just leaders but leaders who were failing Jesus came out swinging against those who were

[00:20:45] trusted to lead others and we're failing miserably and I don't just mean he was mad at people who

[00:20:51] maybe weren't doing a good job or made mistakes he was coming at people who he thought were actually

[00:20:56] leading other people astray when it when they were making their leadership more about their own gain

[00:21:02] their own wealth what they wanted rather than what was good for the people they were called to lead

[00:21:07] these were the people he was labeling white wash tombs you know like you're actually dead inside

[00:21:12] even though you look on the outside you hypocrite you're not doing what you tell people to do you're a

[00:21:16] blind guide a brute of vipers and vipers like eight their way out of their own mothers like you are

[00:21:22] not what you're supposed to be so some of Jesus's harshest words that you're like man this guy this guy

[00:21:28] mean we have to understand the context of those words were often directed at people that he felt

[00:21:35] were miss managing and abusing power and I don't think we can escape this truth and I want you

[00:21:42] to hear this sometimes Jesus just wasn't messing around and likely did speak harshly and I'm not

[00:21:49] trying like well you did actually he didn't really talk harshly in the context of these passages

[00:21:54] he said some really harsh stuff when he looked at those people and said you are a brute of vipers

[00:22:02] everyone around them would have been shocked that he just said that they certainly were because

[00:22:06] they ended up killing him like he offended them but it's but again why did he offend them what was

[00:22:12] going on what's the context well the context was that Jesus was speaking to the leaders of the

[00:22:18] people the religious leaders who were supposed to be guiding the people closer to God and instead many

[00:22:24] of them were just making about themselves their own glory filling their pockets with money from

[00:22:28] the temple doing all kinds of things that he was angry about and right from the beginning just I

[00:22:33] think we should just acknowledge this okay I'll start right here our picture of a sweet kindly

[00:22:40] Bob Ross Jesus might actually be part of our problem Jesus is sometimes described as a lamb

[00:22:48] which is a very gentle creature but it's always related to like the sacrificial element he chose

[00:22:53] to lay himself down like a lamb as a sacrifice just as often he's described as a lion roaring with teeth

[00:23:01] a warrior king and we need to keep that in mind but I don't say he's a lion in the sense of like a

[00:23:08] predator roaming around eating everybody it's a lion in the sense of some enemy is about to come

[00:23:14] and attack the cubs and the paws come out like you mess with these little lions you're gonna get

[00:23:19] the you're you're gonna get mauled basically what we see in this moment oftentimes when some

[00:23:25] the harshest things that Jesus said that made him sound like kind of a mean guy were directed towards

[00:23:29] people that were abusing and misleading other people and so in a sense we say well I thought Jesus

[00:23:35] was all about love well it was love that was causing and leading Jesus to protect the rest of the

[00:23:42] people who were being abused or misled by their leaders it was love that was causing Jesus

[00:23:48] often to speak harshly against those people who were not doing what they were supposed to do in

[00:23:53] caring for others Jesus was caring for the average person by coming after the leader that was

[00:23:58] abusing them and so that's in see how context matters there if you remove the context and you

[00:24:05] just take the sentence he called someone a brute of vipers what a mean person who did he call

[00:24:10] that why did he call them that what were they doing context instead of being kind of a really

[00:24:16] mean jerk we actually see that he was very defensive of the poor and the oppressed the people

[00:24:21] who were being abused he was standing up and fighting for that changes the picture doesn't it

[00:24:26] and oftentimes to another side we also see some heavy language directed at Israel as a whole

[00:24:31] he calls Israel like a wicked and lazy servant but even there there's something similar because

[00:24:36] Israel as I've talked about in this podcast was called and intended by God to be a light to the world

[00:24:41] and lead the rest of the world back to God but Jesus came as like you were supposed to lead people

[00:24:46] back to back to God but all you did is make it about yourself I'm angry at you you were you did

[00:24:51] a poor job leading the rest of the world so again so much of Jesus's strongest angriest rhetoric

[00:24:57] was directed against leaders who were not doing what they were supposed to and I think we should hear

[00:25:02] that and receive it you know his brother James would later write not many of you should strive

[00:25:06] to be leaders it's a it's a serious thing and I think Jesus wants you to hear that not that

[00:25:11] you know every mistake is going to be you know you're horrible but when a leader takes their position

[00:25:17] and abuses it in order to hurt others I mean one point Jesus said it would be better for you if

[00:25:22] you're going to lead my children astray or abuse a child just go ahead and tie a stone around

[00:25:27] your neck and jump in the river and drown yourself like this that's pretty heavy right that's not

[00:25:32] sweet love in Jesus but he's like look I'm speaking to people that are abusing others and his

[00:25:38] righteousness is justice is coming out in those moments so context who he's talking to matters now

[00:25:44] let's shift gears a little bit in the same vein context who you're talking to what are you talking

[00:25:49] about there are also a number of sayings that Jesus makes two people that want to follow him that

[00:25:54] come across very harsh hate your father and mother give everything away don't go to your father's

[00:25:59] funeral all this kind of stuff and even here these things it sound harsh like wow man he's kind of

[00:26:04] again what is the context let's start there well almost all of those passages and I can't say all

[00:26:10] but almost all of them fit within one big framework they fit within Jesus speaking to people who

[00:26:20] are thinking about or considering or wanting to actually follow him and when they come and say I

[00:26:26] want to follow you sometimes his response would be a little bit snipy um but I think the snipiness

[00:26:33] is something that we got to talk through and ask why again there's context here you can't just

[00:26:36] take it out of context so in Luke 14 for example starting in verse 25 it says this large crowds

[00:26:43] we're traveling with Jesus so lots of people I mean Jesus always be here on people you know miracles

[00:26:47] this guy's cool it's great it's all and turning to them he said if anyone comes to me and doesn't

[00:26:52] hate his father and mother his wife and children his brothers are even his own life he cannot be my

[00:26:55] disciple you're like whoa Jesus why would you say that well let's look at the context large crowds

[00:27:02] we're following him I think right there you can pull out the context and say Jesus is addressing

[00:27:09] the casual follower Jesus is speaking into a group of people who are like yeah we'll follow Jesus

[00:27:15] he's given us everything we want that's the context large crowds and he's saying hold on before you

[00:27:20] decide to follow me you need to know this isn't just about the good days this isn't just about yeah

[00:27:26] miracles and all this kind of stuff there this is going to be a real heavy thing so this large crowd

[00:27:32] you know bandwagon for fans are now hearing if you want to stay on this bandwagon it's going to

[00:27:38] cost you have you thought about it and you'll go on to say how do you consider the cost

[00:27:42] and now this is where context and style meet each other in that time and place the words hate

[00:27:50] and love carry to slightly different connotation than they do today love was not a feeling it was

[00:27:55] a commitment and thus its opposite hate wasn't just like I'm angry at you I don't like you

[00:28:01] it was a rejection of it was a like you are I'm pushing let's like think of love and hate in

[00:28:06] this context as priority lists one is being risen to the top one is being put down at the bottom

[00:28:12] and so when he says don't hate your you have to hate your father and mother he wasn't it's

[00:28:17] hyperbole for one it's absolutely he's here we see it's over the top it's exaggerated speech

[00:28:22] he's not literally saying as you and I would think hate your father and mother you know what

[00:28:25] I was a youth pastor teenagers love that was their favorite person the whole Bible yeah

[00:28:29] my dad check got it we're done um Jesus wasn't telling us to hate our parents he was using a

[00:28:36] hyperbolic over the top language in the context of telling a lot of bandwagon fans do you understand

[00:28:44] that I'm calling you to something serious that if you want to be my disciple a relationship with

[00:28:50] me has to be supreme nothing can come above it context cultural context in that time and place

[00:28:57] the most important relationship in your life was family one of the ten commandments was honor

[00:29:01] your father and mother family was everything you had ultimate responsibility and loyalty to your

[00:29:07] family Jesus was basically saying I want you to put me above the most important relationship

[00:29:14] in your life your entire culture says the most important thing you can do is love prioritize

[00:29:19] give good care for be committed to your mother father husband wife and children I want to be

[00:29:26] above them I if you're gonna follow me I need to be more than that which was very extreme so

[00:29:32] the issue I'm talking about here is not well you know once you know culture it's not so extreme no

[00:29:38] no it was very extreme but it wasn't as harsh and mean and jerky as it might sound to us it was a

[00:29:45] call to elevate him as a priority in a way that culturally was crazy and unacceptable and wild

[00:29:51] and would have been rejected the crowd would have immediately started thinning out

[00:29:56] in the same way any of you who doesn't give up everything cannot be my disciple well okay is he

[00:30:00] saying like you can't own anything you have to be just a homeless beggar um do I have to sell

[00:30:05] everything I own well the word here's actually separate uh have to separate from everything

[00:30:10] as if the stuff can't control you we want stuff it's who we are we want new clothes nice cars bigger

[00:30:16] home newer phones right the commercials tell us this stuff we make we'll make us happy and so we want

[00:30:21] it so you know get more a whole lot of stuff you know we don't want to be the old nerdy guy on the

[00:30:26] apple commercial we want the cool hip one right but at what cost and for Jesus saying like your

[00:30:31] desire for stuff which is often then a desire to work more hours and try to make more your desire

[00:30:36] for more and taking care of yourself you've got to put me ahead of it Jesus must be more important

[00:30:42] than our stuff than the things that make us feel good than we want so in a sense again notice

[00:30:48] the hyperbolic exaggerated language is getting your attention but the message itself is pretty

[00:30:55] extreme he was giving an extreme message to a group of bandwagon people who were just like yeah

[00:30:59] we want to follow Jesus is great like hold on will you make me more important than your family

[00:31:04] will you make me more important than your stuff and your comfort it didn't mean you couldn't have

[00:31:10] stuff it didn't mean he was supposed to reject your family completely it meant I need to be the

[00:31:14] priority in your life and that's heavy let's look at a few other ones in Luke 9 there's this really

[00:31:19] interesting passage there's three examples that come up in Luke 9 57 through 62 and I'm just

[00:31:25] going to walk through them quickly as they the people we're walking along the road a man said to

[00:31:30] Jesus him he said I will follow you wherever you go so here's a guy it's like all right yeah I mean

[00:31:35] Jesus I want to follow you Jesus looks at I'm going to replies foxes have holes and birds of the air

[00:31:40] have nests but the son of man has no place to lay his head which basically was Jesus like oh you

[00:31:46] want to follow me I'm homeless you're still in hey Jesus I'll follow this sounds like fun I'm

[00:31:54] enjoying this all you just healed a guy and this is awesome you know big deal I mean really really

[00:31:59] yeah yeah yeah I'm homeless and you think like well what is a home represent security comfort safety

[00:32:05] like literally having a home are you willing to abandon your security are you willing to step out

[00:32:11] even though all your earthly comforts might be in jeopardy because going all in with Jesus means

[00:32:17] there might be times of uncertainty you might like the that man and then again like are we talking

[00:32:22] about metaphorical hyperbolic language no Jesus was literally homeless it seems that seems to have

[00:32:27] been true it seems like oh yeah well if you follow me like I don't I don't live anywhere we just

[00:32:32] travel around and preach you want to come with me and do that now do you and I read that passage

[00:32:37] and say well okay it's 2024 now should I be homeless in phylogiasus well he wasn't saying you have

[00:32:43] to be homeless he wasn't saying if you have a home you're disobeying and sitting against God

[00:32:49] he was just saying look are you willing to like be homeless to follow me are you willing to give

[00:32:53] up anything to follow me that's the context that's what's happening behind the scenes so again you

[00:33:00] could look at this and say man Jesus was just kind of mean he's telling the guy you can't have a home

[00:33:04] he told that rich young guy to sell his stuff I don't think the point is you can't have finances

[00:33:10] or earthly goods the point Jesus was making in this over-the-topic stream language was

[00:33:16] am I going to be the thing that's most important are you are you willing to risk are you willing

[00:33:20] to sacrifice are you willing to go without to follow me it's not all fun in games and so

[00:33:25] the language that feels mean and feels that is just him kind of like he's poking the bear a little

[00:33:31] bit are you willing to do this with me he goes out in verse 59 this is hard one too he said to another man

[00:33:37] follow me she's like hey you come follow me it's gonna be great the man replied Lord and so we're

[00:33:42] not the bad Lord meaning I accept that you're Lord I believe you are who you said you were first let

[00:33:47] me go and bury my father okay cool yeah dude my dad died can I go bury my dad Jesus said to him

[00:33:54] let the dead bury their own dead you go and proclaim the kingdom got I mean come on Jesus I can't

[00:34:01] even go to my dad's funeral well listen again now we're let's talk about context let's talk about

[00:34:06] culture what's going on here well here's what you need to know there's there's cultural context

[00:34:11] here first when they talked about bearing the dead they didn't mean my dad died yesterday so when

[00:34:17] a person died they actually the common way of going about it was they would take the body they

[00:34:22] would wrap it and they would put it in a tomb and wait for all of the flesh and stuff to decay

[00:34:28] and only be bones left then when there were only bones left they would place those bones with

[00:34:32] the tombs of the rest of the fathers that's how it worked there's two things know about that okay

[00:34:37] first and again we're getting cultural context Jesus wasn't just being a jerk here um

[00:34:42] it would probably take at least a year so if this man's dad died a couple weeks ago

[00:34:49] bearing his father wasn't like I got a funeral next week it was I have to wait here until his body

[00:34:54] decomposes it could be a year and a half at least uh so he was putting this off massively just

[00:35:01] like no we're gonna go now but there's something even deeper to this ready in that culture

[00:35:06] there was actually a responsibility placed upon the oldest son to handle all the funeral

[00:35:15] arrangements for the parents you were actually expected to take care of your parents in their old age

[00:35:19] and then when they died you were supposed to bury them appropriately it was a big part of their

[00:35:23] culture okay responsibility but there's more when the father died and you had all the money that

[00:35:31] was added up the inheritance money it was divided among the children but the oldest got a double

[00:35:37] portion so if there's four kids it wasn't divided up four ways it was divided up five ways and the oldest

[00:35:44] got two and everyone else got one so if there's a hundred thousand dollars and you divide it among

[00:35:49] four kids it wasn't everybody got twenty five thousand it was one of them got double that what

[00:35:55] them got forty thousand and the others got less so uh this is why for this man to say let me go

[00:36:02] bury my father it was responsibility it was social norms it was a long time and it was making sure

[00:36:09] he got his inheritance so when you add those things in listen to the story again Jesus Lord I will

[00:36:15] follow you but let me first go and handle all these responsibilities it's gonna take me a long time

[00:36:20] but I need to make sure I get the money let the dead bear their dead how about you let those who are

[00:36:27] more concerned with their inheritance and getting everything they need to handle those things and you

[00:36:32] just come and do something amazing with me Jesus I'm not for following you but can I take a year off

[00:36:37] I'll lose on a big paycheck if I don't I was planning on that money I needed to live off to be comfortable

[00:36:42] in Jesus looks at him and says let those who live for money and success worry about money and success

[00:36:46] you put it on the table and go on with me and I think in that moment again I know this is still

[00:36:51] harsh it's still heavy it you're meant to hear it as heavy but you're not meant to hear it as Jesus

[00:36:56] being a jerk when you understand the cultural context then he goes on one more still notice that

[00:37:01] I will follow you Lord but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family this is a small thing

[00:37:06] that's not gonna take a year Jesus replied no one who puts his hand of the plow and looks back

[00:37:11] his fit for service in the king of God I can't even say goodbye to my family it's overly harsh Jesus

[00:37:17] should be in mean well again let me give you a slight perspective it's likely that Jesus wasn't

[00:37:22] saying he couldn't go and kiss his mom goodbye I mean it's not like Jesus was asking him to go on a trip

[00:37:27] he would never return from they weren't leaving forever they were just traveling around the countryside

[00:37:32] there's something deeper here and we see it when Jesus makes the comment about the plow

[00:37:38] the picture of his of a farmer who had the plow was you know this two pieces of wood with a

[00:37:42] metal point that would be led by an ox pulling it and you're trying to plow a straight line you

[00:37:48] can then put seeds in and the pictures of a farmer trying to steer this thing in a straight line but

[00:37:54] he's constantly looking back over his shoulder looking behind him and they're in doing so the plow is

[00:38:00] starting to veer and go off course and miss the mark maybe maybe the young man wants to go home and

[00:38:04] try to explain this whole Jesus and hey guys listen I'm about to go follow this guy Jesus let me

[00:38:09] explain it to you because I know it might sound weird let me help you understand it get maybe

[00:38:13] once they're approval maybe doesn't want people to think he's weird for being sold out or whatever

[00:38:18] or maybe it's just a matter of Jesus like hey like you're gonna be constantly distracted like

[00:38:23] there's a sense of like your this thing behind you that you want I think it represents someone

[00:38:28] unwilling to completely break from their old way of life desired to follow Jesus while also holding

[00:38:34] on to what was and Jesus looks at the man and says if you try to follow me but you're still tied

[00:38:38] to your former life you'll always be looking over your shoulder and never plow a straight line

[00:38:43] to be worthless there's a great story by the famous church father named St Augustine

[00:38:49] seen Augustine grew up in a very wealthy opulent time of Roman history and he came to the Lord as

[00:38:56] a young man and there's this great he wrote a biography about his own life and there's just great

[00:39:01] line he says when he first realized what God was calling to and there's a famous quote

[00:39:06] St Augustine praised this the Lord says Lord make me chased but not yet like I know I'm supposed

[00:39:14] to let give up on sleeping with prostitutes and all that kind of stuff and I want that help me

[00:39:19] become what you want me to be God but not yet I still kind of like it uh you know I'm still

[00:39:25] I'm still enjoying myself and I think there's a similar parallel there what sounds like a very harsh

[00:39:31] angry I'm mean and you're gonna follow me you can't even say goodbye to your parents I think

[00:39:35] when you dig deeper what you're seeing is it's got to be total commitment it's got to be that life

[00:39:41] is over the things that you used to live for the things that used to matter for you the things

[00:39:46] that you used to find joy and happiness and contentment and approval and self identity in

[00:39:51] you've got to let those things go and now you're clinging to me and in doing so he's exaggerating

[00:39:57] he's using big over the top of course you can say goodbye to your mom it's it's there's

[00:40:02] something deeper I'm talking about here of course you could go to your dad's funeral

[00:40:06] but are you gonna choose the year and the big pat at the end over being my disciple

[00:40:12] so where this lands I think is this yes sometimes Jesus was harsh

[00:40:18] sometimes he was mean but usually when he was actually mean it was direct it was directed at leaders

[00:40:26] who were leading other people astray and he wasn't having of that because he's a loving father

[00:40:29] who wants to protect people a lot of the other times though when Jesus sounds mean or sounds like

[00:40:34] he's being a jerk when you look at the context or dig deeper you realize he's often speaking

[00:40:39] hyperbolicly he's he's exaggerating a little bit and he's usually trying to get at a deeper issue

[00:40:44] he's usually aiming at something about our heart and our commitment level and the kinds of things

[00:40:48] we're holding on to the kinds of things that we naturally prioritize and want and he's saying but

[00:40:52] if you don't give that up if you don't put me above it if following me is it your first and primary

[00:40:58] most important priority in your life you're missing it and to say that to communicate that can be

[00:41:04] heavy and yes sometimes it comes across harsh does it make Jesus a jerk well here's what I would

[00:41:09] say to that I'm all in here if you go to a doctor and you're really suffering and the doctor says all

[00:41:15] right you have got to lose weight or you're gonna be in trouble you gotta stop eating junk food

[00:41:22] it's like well that's mean oh do you call me fat you know come on doc I got feelings bro

[00:41:30] well if he's actually trying to save you and he's actually trying to steer you towards something

[00:41:36] that is good it's not him being a jerk he's not intentionally trying to be mean to you

[00:41:41] he's trying to get your attention and pull you out of something in bad into something better

[00:41:45] and I think that's the best way to read a lot of these passages where Jesus is coming across

[00:41:50] so strong sometimes almost too strong he's he's seeing something that we're holding on to that

[00:41:55] isn't actually our best and he's saying I just think that the line like you gotta die to yourself

[00:42:00] in order to find life the life you're trying to create for yourself is not as good as the one

[00:42:05] that Jesus has for you so let it go and he has to like use he's sometimes extreme over the top

[00:42:11] sometimes almost like harsh and crazy statements just sort of wake us up and get us to see oh

[00:42:17] you're calling me to something very different and it's gonna be hard but it's gonna be worth it

[00:42:21] he's not a jerk he wasn't a mean person sometimes he came down on people who were leading others

[00:42:25] astray that's just a god of justice and love protecting people and even when it seemed like he was

[00:42:31] being harsh to his followers it was because he loved them it was because he was calling them

[00:42:35] something better and trying to convince them to give up the things they thought were better for

[00:42:39] their lives but actually weren't and so much of that idea is at the root of Christianity

[00:42:43] with you and I trust that god had something better for us and listen to him even when it's kind

[00:42:48] of harsh over the topic i think he knows what he's talking about so i got a trust and a big part

[00:42:53] of that is choosing to follow and put him above everything else it is the wisest thing you and i can do

[00:42:59] all right that was the first of four episodes of harsh statements of Jesus and guess what i think

[00:43:05] it might have been easiest one so we're gonna dive into we're gonna talk about racism in the ancient

[00:43:10] world next next episode Jesus said something really harsh to a foreigner and people like whoa to

[00:43:16] that and for good reason what does that mean for the way they thought of race and race relationships in

[00:43:20] the ancient world how do they think of each other in those ways and then yeah we're gonna dive into

[00:43:25] maybe the hardest subject in the New Testament some ways slavery ooh you look but I want to talk

[00:43:31] about I don't want to be I don't want to shy away from trying to address it i know a lot of you have

[00:43:35] questions like is the Bible pro slavery was Jesus for it why doesn't he speak against it we're going

[00:43:39] to talk about that in a future episode and then yeah I've had so many people ask me about n times

[00:43:44] i'm gonna fit it in here and talk about Jesus is Matthew 25 24 his statements about coming

[00:43:50] again his return and all those kinds of things and did he did he say he was going to come when the

[00:43:55] disciples were still alive and what does it look like what should we bidding for so that'll be

[00:43:59] the fourth of this series arc um i think it's been a lot of fun so again if you want a free copy of

[00:44:04] like stars make sure you leave a comment subscribe to the youtube channel leave a comment tell me

[00:44:09] and i'll select some people randomly and send them to you for free leave a comment share uh

[00:44:14] hit the like button even if you don't win it's a like button because you like me and i like you

[00:44:20] what was done uh but yeah we will see you on the next episode looking at the harsh and difficult

[00:44:25] and challenging statements of Jesus together on the like stars podcast seeking wisdom in God's life

[00:44:30] in God's world for our lives i guess we'll see you next time