Back Road Disciples

In this episode we read John 20 in its first-century context. We cover Jewish burial customs and the rock-cut tombs of Jerusalem, what "resurrection" meant to Jewish and Greek audiences, and why the first witnesses being women matters. We compare the Gospel accounts to see who was at the tomb and look at the timeline from Friday's burial to the following Sunday.

We also look at John's literary choices and word selection: three different verbs for "seeing," echoes of Genesis and the garden, Jesus breathing on the disciples, and Thomas's confession, "My Lord and my God," in a world where Caesar demanded those titles. We examine "Peace be with you" as both an everyday greeting and a statement of restored relationship, and John 20:23 on forgiving and retaining sins, including how different Christian traditions read it. We close with John's purpose statement in verses 30-31 and the blessing on those who believe without seeing.

Of course we have the best joke of the week and some tricky trivia!

Topics covered: Jewish burial and tombs, ancient views of resurrection, women as witnesses, comparing the Gospel accounts, "Peace be with you," forgiving and retaining sins, Thomas, John's purpose statement.

We would LOVE to hear from you! Email us about anything that's on your mind at [email protected]

We are working hard to give y'all as much creative content as we can! Now hear all our member only content by signing up at backroaddisciples.com/support. If you'd like to make any donations you can do that as well on that link.

Nathan and I can't thank you enough for listening and supporting our ministry. We love y'all!

John 19 presents one of the most dramatic shifts in biblical history. While earthly rulers thought they were crushing a threat to Rome, God was crowning the King of the Universe. In this verse-by-verse breakdown, we pull back the curtain on the Graeco-Roman worldview, Jewish high politics, and OT prophetic fulfillments.

Of course we have some trivia and another fantastic church approved joke of the week for you!

We would LOVE to hear from you! Email us about anything that's on your mind at [email protected]

We are working hard to give y'all as much creative content as we can! Now hear all our member only content by signing up at backroaddisciples.com/support. If you'd like to make any donations you can do that as well on that link.

Nathan and I can't thank you enough for listening and supporting our ministry. We love y'all!

The tension is high as Jesus steps over the blood soaked ground in the Kidron Valley, knowing soon a mob will be there to take him prisoner. Peter let's his anger fly before fulfilling the denial prophesy, John appears to be a very connected guy as he is allowed into the inner circle of a highly illegal pre-trial hearing, and we learn of Annas, the mob boss of the 1st century.

Of course we have a fantastic joke of the week and great trivia as well. Join us through this Bible study lesson!

We would LOVE to hear from you! Email us about anything that's on your mind at [email protected]

We are working hard to give y'all as much creative content as we can! Now hear all our member only content by signing up at backroaddisciples.com/support. If you'd like to make any donations you can do that as well on that link.

Nathan and I can't thank you enough for listening and supporting our ministry. We love y'all!

John 17 is one of the most intimate moments in the Gospels — Jesus, hours from the cross, praying not for Himself but for His disciples and for every believer who would come after them. In this episode we walk through the three movements of His High Priestly Prayer, unpack what it means to be 'sent into the world' without being 'of' it, and look at why Jesus prays so earnestly for unity. A short chapter, but one of the most moving in all of Scripture.

Of course we have trivia and a joke but mostly we want you to know we love you!

We would LOVE to hear from you! Email us about anything that's on your mind at [email protected]

We are working hard to give y'all as much creative content as we can! Now hear all our member only content by signing up at backroaddisciples.com/support. If you'd like to make any donations you can do that as well on that link.

Nathan and I can't thank you enough for listening and supporting our ministry. We love y'all!

On Passover night in Jerusalem, hours before His arrest, Jesus delivers some of His most unsettling warnings and radical promises to a group of terrified disciples. In this episode, we step into the 1st-century context of John 16 to understand how the disciples would have heard these staggering words in real time. We break down the devastating social reality of excommunication (aposynagōgos), why future persecutors believed executing believers was a priestly act of worship (latreia), and why Jesus claimed His departure was actually better for them through the coming Advocate (Paraklētos). From the "birth pangs of the Messiah" (Chevlei Mashiach) to a direct challenge against the Pax Romana, discover how Jesus redefines victory and offers a peace that stands firm in the middle of tribulation.

We would LOVE to hear from you! Email us about anything that's on your mind at [email protected]

We are working hard to give y'all as much creative content as we can! Now hear all our member only content by signing up at backroaddisciples.com/support. If you'd like to make any donations you can do that as well on that link.

Nathan and I can't thank you enough for listening and supporting our ministry. We love y'all!

Jesus is still at the table with the disciples, or possibly walking toward the garden, hours before the cross, and he reaches for an image every single person listening would've instantly recognized — the vine. It wasn't a random metaphor. For centuries, Israel was the vine in scripture, and usually in a sad story — a vine that kept producing sour grapes no matter how much God tended it. So when Jesus says "I am the true vine," he's making a quiet but massive claim: everything Israel was supposed to be, he actually is.

Krissy sits in for Nathan and helps with our study today, we have a great trivia question and as always a fantastic joke of the week.

We would LOVE to hear from you! Email us about anything that's on your mind at [email protected]

We are working hard to give y'all as much creative content as we can! Now hear all our member only content by signing up at backroaddisciples.com/support. If you'd like to make any donations you can do that as well on that link.

Nathan and I can't thank you enough for listening and supporting our ministry. We love y'all!

Jesus just watched Judas walk out into the night. Peter's about to be told he'll deny him three times. And in the middle of all that heartbreak, Jesus starts talking about rooms being prepared, a way, a truth, a life. In this episode, Luke and Nathan dig into the culture behind John 14 — ancient Jewish betrothal customs, what "many mansions" actually meant to a first-century bride and groom, why "ask in my name" isn't a blank check, and what it really meant to keep Jesus's commandments. If you've ever heard these verses quoted like a slogan, this episode will help you hear them the way the room first heard them — as the last, tender words of a rabbi who loved his friends to the end.

We would LOVE to hear from you! Email us about anything that's on your mind at [email protected]

We are working hard to give y'all as much creative content as we can! Now hear all our member only content by signing up at backroaddisciples.com/support. If you'd like to make any donations you can do that as well on that link.

Nathan and I can't thank you enough for listening and supporting our ministry. We love y'all!

Luke & Krissy talk about a real life situation centered around big change, life plans gone astray and trusting that God is in control of our lives. What many times can throw us into a tailspin, also can me an opportunity for perfect faith.

Also Luke gets distracted by his ADHD and derails the whole podcast as usual.

We love y'all. 2

We would LOVE to hear from you! Email us about anything that's on your mind at [email protected]

We are working hard to give y'all as much creative content as we can! Now hear all our member only content by signing up at backroaddisciples.com/support. If you'd like to make any donations you can do that as well on that link.

Nathan and I can't thank you enough for listening and supporting our ministry. We love y'all!

Jesus washes his disciples' feet, takes on the lowest servant's task the night before his death, and shows them what love "to the end" actually looks like. He identifies his betrayer at the table, feels the full weight of it even though he knew it was coming, and gives the Twelve a new command: love one another as I have loved you. Along the way — the honor-culture shock of the foot washing, how the devil worked on Judas in two stages, why almost nobody at the table caught the betrayal in real time, and Jesus's constant pointing back to the Father even in his most authoritative moments. Ends with Peter confidently pledging his life to Jesus — and Jesus predicting he'll deny him three times before morning.

A knee slapping joke of the week and the trivia gets turned up a notch!

We would LOVE to hear from you! Email us about anything that's on your mind at [email protected]

We are working hard to give y'all as much creative content as we can! Now hear all our member only content by signing up at backroaddisciples.com/support. If you'd like to make any donations you can do that as well on that link.

Nathan and I can't thank you enough for listening and supporting our ministry. We love y'all!

A woman is dragged before Jesus, caught in adultery, and used as bait in a legal trap designed to destroy him no matter how he answers. In this episode, we dig into why this passage is bracketed in most Bibles, what the religious leaders were really after, how adultery was actually handled under Jewish law in Jesus's day, and the strange discontinued ritual from Numbers 5 that this scene echoes. We land on the moment that defines the whole story: "Neither do I condemn you — go, and sin no more." Grace and truth, held together, right before John's Gospel turns toward the upper room.

Of course we have a great joke and some trivia for you and updates on the podcast future!

We would LOVE to hear from you! Email us about anything that's on your mind at [email protected]

We are working hard to give y'all as much creative content as we can! Now hear all our member only content by signing up at backroaddisciples.com/support. If you'd like to make any donations you can do that as well on that link.

Nathan and I can't thank you enough for listening and supporting our ministry. We love y'all!