Simpler Bible

By Simpler BibleReligion & Spirituality Christianity

Simpler Bible episodes

August 22, 2024Ep. 235. Matthew 18-19a | Various Teachings
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Here’s an excerpt from the blog post.

Probably the most challenging thing for us in the video today is the take on Matthew 18:15-20. Let's think briefly about how most of us learned and understood the Bible. If you are anything like me and you grew up in the church or at least exposed to the church, you have years of hearing texts used over and over again. (I can almost guarantee there are texts you have never heard as well) Church leaders tend to gravitate to the same texts repetitiously, and then those texts make their way into the foundation of our belief system. Because we've usually only ever heard the text from a singular perspective, we assume that perspective must be the right one. That is, I believe, the case here.

If this section of Scripture has always been held up as the standard for church discipline, it will be nearly impossible to see the Jewish context of this passage. But isn't it incumbent on us to at least try to get to the heart of the intent by examining the language, the audience, and the cultural framework? Don't we have to ask ourselves why the language seems so strikingly similar to Deuteronomy 17 and 19? Have we previously seen Jesus reference the Old Testament in this way? Don't we have to concern ourselves with the question of why Jesus would tell "Christians" to treat the unrepentant one like a "Gentile or tax collector?" Does that language make more sense when we consider that the audience was Jewish? I contend again that the only reason we've concluded that this has anything to do with believers, rather than culturally Jewish teaching, is because the word "Ekklesia" was not adequately translated as "assembly." Don't the Jews have regular "assembly" in the Synagogue? Don't the Jews have a practice in their law to not entertain a charge against someone without two or three witnesses? Don't the Jews accept the charge of two or three witnesses as binding? Don't the Jews have disdain for the Gentiles and tax collectors? Doesn't that make this text more easily understood when we apply the correct context?
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19 min
August 21, 2024Ep. 234. Matthew 16-17 | The Transfiguration
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Here’s an excerpt from the blog post.

Don't freak out about the "missing" verses in your Bibles. Many translations will include those verses in a footnote at the bottom of the page. Other translations will include the verse in the body of the text with a footnote that says, "These verses are not contained in the oldest manuscripts." The two biggest sections of our Bible where verses were added at a later time period are found in John 8 (John 7:53-8:11) and Mark 16 (Verses 9-20). In the case of the ESV, Matthew 17:21 is absent from the text but included in a footnote. The editors are inconsistent with their method because they contain the first section of John 8 and the final section of Mark 16. I wish that if they were going to extract these "questionable" verses from the text, they would do so even in larger texts, but I suppose that missing one verse from a chapter is more easily overlooked than twelve verses.

At any rate, I am no expert on the manuscripts, but I have read enough to know that the removal of these verses is not malicious, nor is it intending to change the meaning of the text. It is just that the oldest available manuscripts we have do not contain these verses so the editorial team decided to default on the side of caution and include them only as footnotes, and since I probably enjoy this conversation more than you do, let's move on.
For more visit http://simplerbible.com/episodes
22 min
August 20, 2024Ep. 233. John 6 | The Feeding of the Multitudes Take 2
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Here’s an excerpt from the blog post.

John chapter 6 is an incredible chapter with so much to mine. It has long been one of my favorites. I love the details that John offers to the reader in the story of the feeding of the crowds. Of particular interest to me is that the people follow him because of the miracles he has been doing and are then so overwhelmed by the miraculous feeding that they seek to make him their King by compulsion. Little do they realize he is already the King, but they have not yet had their hearts softened, or eyes opened to the truth. Their ambitions were still set too lowly as they looked upon the empires of the earth and completely missed the Kingdom of Heaven.

On the following day, as Jesus teaches in the Synagogue, the people come to him now not because of the healings but rather for the provision of food. But Jesus knows their hearts and says, "Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you." Paul would say it this way to his reader, "Set your mind on the things above and not on the things of the earth."
For more visit http://simplerbible.com/episodes
19 min
August 19, 2024Ep. 232. Matthew 14-15 | The Feeding of the Multitudes
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Here’s an excerpt from the blog post.

The feeding of the multitudes is easily one of Jesus' most identifiable miracles. The people who try to reduce it to benevolent people sharing their secret lunches with the masses would eventually have to admit Jesus himself was not raised from the dead. Years ago, a pastor/teacher a dozen years ago or so, in his book that argued against the miracles of the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments. I do not see how one could reasonably argue against the miraculous and still hold to the incarnation of God in the Flesh through the person of Jesus. How could you deny the miraculous and still acknowledge the resurrection from the dead? If we dismiss the idea of God's miraculous work, rest assured we are only a step or two away from denying the faith. Yet this movement away from the divine work of God seems to be gaining followers.

Did Jesus feed over five thousand people with just a few small fish and loaves? Yes, but he did something even more lofty than that. He overthrew the power of sin by shedding his blood and defeated death by his resurrection. I assure you that if you struggle with the minute miracle of the multiplication of the meal, you will certainly struggle with the magnificent meaning of Jesus's death and resurrection as the means for mercy and grace.
For more visit http://simplerbible.com/episodes
14 min
August 18, 2024Episodes 225-231 summary
Welcome to Simpler Bible, your daily path to biblical understanding.
What's in Store: Daily podcasts, YouTube videos, and blog posts – everything you need to make your Bible study a breeze, no matter where you are on your faith journey.
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Don't Miss Out: Hit subscribe for a daily dose of Bible wisdom. Let's explore the Scriptures together, connect the dots, and uncover the major themes of redemption.
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For more visit http://simplerbible.com/episodes
16 min
August 18, 2024Ep. 231. Matthew 13 | The Kingdom of Heaven is Like
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Here’s an excerpt from the blog post.

As long as there are preachers, teachers, bible students, and people in the church pews, there will be disagreement on the parable of the four soils. Everyone seems to agree on the first and the last soil. The first doesn't produce a plant and is relegated to an unbeliever. The last produces a plant and fruit and is therefore agreed to be a believer. But what of the second two? These are the ones who receive the message of the Kingdom of Heaven with Joy. These are the ones who produce a plant. But these are also the ones who whither and die when faced with persecution or the pleasures of this world. What does it mean that they received the message/word of the "Kingdom of Heaven" with joy?

I can't speak for everyone, but I grew up in the eighties (born in 1975), so I can only recount what I was taught. I was taught that those who "received" the word with joy were those who had received "the gospel;" and that, essentially, they had become believers. They just weren't very good at it. (or some people would argue that they lost their salvation having once received the message with joy) The term for these "Christians" who had "whithered" was "carnal Christians." The assumption was that they had actually believed the good news of the gospel but were wayward in their living and would end up in heaven one day, but just barely. There is no other way to say it; it is just weak teaching.
For more visit http://simplerbible.com/episodes
18 min
August 17, 2024Ep. 230. Matthew 12 | Lord of the Sabbath
Welcome to Simpler Bible, your daily path to biblical understanding.
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Here’s an excerpt from the blog post.

This text offers us our second reference to Micah 6 in just a few chapters, "I desire mercy and not sacrifice." In this instance, the Pharisees are angry that the disciples of Jesus are plucking and eating heads of grain as they make their way through a field. The Pharisees insist doing so constitutes a violation of the Sabbath. When Jesus quotes the Micah text, he says that God has greater joy in mercy than in sacrifices. The Pharisees would certainly disagree with that assessment and place more value on the sacrificial system than on the merciful character of the person. The religious leaders of the day misunderstood the purpose of the Law and, specifically, in this case at least, the Sabbath. I have been excited to talk to you about the Sabbath at length, but we will get there in Hebrews.

The narrative continues with Jesus healing a man on the Sabbath day and, of course, offending the Pharisees. But Jesus points out that it is right and lawful to "do good on the Sabbath."

Of course, blasphemy of the Spirit is the most crucial section of this chapter, seeing that those who blaspheme the Spirit will not be forgiven. Jesus is healing the crowds who come to him by the power of the Spirit within him. For the religious leaders to say that these signs are by the power of Satan is to deny the testimony of the Holy Spirit that Jesus was the Messiah. Remember from Matthew 8 that Jesus was healing all the people to fulfill the prophecy from Isaiah 53. The Messiah was supposed to come in power and do things no one had seen before. Jesus was the epitomy of that, working by the power of the Spirit, and the Pharisees blaspheme the Spirit's work by calling it the work of the Devil. To put it simply, the Holy Spirit is the one who reveals to the heart that Jesus is the Savior. To deny the message and ministry of the Spirit is to deny the gospel he proclaims, and that can't be forgiven.
For more visit http://simplerbible.com/episodes
18 min
August 16, 2024Ep. 229. Matthew 11 | Come to Me All Who Are Weary
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Here’s an excerpt from the blog post.

We have already seen that sometimes a lot of time can pass between chapters. In some places in the Old Testament, a hundred years or more pass in that little space on the page between the chapters in our Bibles. In the case of Matthew 11 we can see that this chapter takes place immediately on the heels of chapter 10, not just as it is placed in our Bible, but also in the actual timeline of events. "When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities." The feel of the text is that the disciples have been sent into the harvest while Jesus continues his teaching and preaching ministry.

Twice in this narrative Jesus quotes Malachi and points it to John the Baptist as the fulfilment. As you know by now, my favorite part of this text comes in the last three verses. "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Jesus invited his audience to rest in him. It is a beautiful rest. Those Jews who had been so beleaguered by the Law of Moses now had hope in Jesus. Where the Law had failed to supply life and righteousness, they had been found in Christ.
For more visit http://simplerbible.com/episodes
13 min
August 15, 2024Ep. 228. Matthew 9-10 | The Harvest is Plentiful
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Here’s an excerpt from the blog post.

I know I pointed this out in the video, but I think it is so crucial for us to see the text as the text. Many of us who grew up in and around the church have so many filters on how to interpret the Bible, and we aren't even aware of them. My entire life, I have heard people implore an audience of young people at youth or college-level retreats, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. God needs more laborers. Maybe it's you." Now, I'm not saying that there is no need for mission work in the world today. I know for a fact there are people worldwide that need Jesus. But I also know for a fact that the west Texas community I live in, of about 100,000 people, is only about 15 percent churched. People have used Jesus' statement to encourage people to "go." "Will you be the one that goes into the harvest for our Lord?" Again, it is a wonderful thing when people go and proclaim Jesus. But it is also wonderful when the local 3rd-grade teacher loves Jesus, the dentist, the grocery store bag girl, the barber, the gas station attendant, or the commercial airline pilot.

As many times as I have heard these last two verses of Matthew 9 taught as an appeal for people to "go," I have never once heard someone say that Jesus responded to that need by sending the twelve in the very next verse. It is as though we take the words of Jesus and use them as an appeal to the twenty-first-century listener while completely missing the fact that this is a statement he made to the 12, and then he commissioned the 12 to fulfill it.
For more visit http://simplerbible.com/episodes
15 min
August 14, 2024Ep. 227. Matthew 8-9 | Many Miracles
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Here’s an excerpt from the blog post.

I probably should have spent more time on it during the video, but I want to reiterate the importance of Matthew 8:17. The healing of the sick and the demon possessed by Jesus had a purpose. We tend to talk about how powerful Jesus is, which isn't a bad thing to contemplate. Jesus, the creator and Savior, is powerful to bring about salvation and life and is capable of healing the sick and overthrowing demonic powers. However, the reason specifically offered for Jesus' healing of the sick is to fulfill the prophecy of the Messiah in Isaiah 53, which says that he would bear away sickness and diseases. Don't downplay that truth. We see that Jesus healed these people to fulfill the Scripture, and we are reminded that he didn't come to "abolish the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them."

Honestly, we make the Bible too complicated and try too hard to figure out what big secret it may be trying to reveal when the text has as its aim the revelation of Christ. So when you read these two chapters, be amazed at the power of Jesus, but pay special attention to the fact the crowds are saying, "We have never seen anyone do these sorts of things before." Jesus came to show that he was different from the system they had been living in. Jesus was showing himself to be the source of life and salvation.

For more visit http://simplerbible.com/episodes
19 min

About Simpler Bible

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Simpler Bible is your go-to online daily Bible reading program, where our dedicated pastor, Ryan, guides you through about one Bible chapter each day. Our mission is to make the Bible more accessible…