Old Testament Episodes

Did you ever sit with the Lord's Supper and just think, I really don't get it. I know something big is happening here, but did anybody ever walk you through what "This is the NEW COVENANT in my blood means? When you read that, you should immediately think - OK, I need to go back and understand the OLD COVENANT. And more, I need to understand why we need a new covenant. Today, in our Red Letter Journey, we listened to Jesus pick up and offer the bread and the cup and we asked what it all means. ...

There are a LOT of books written about Matthew Chapter 24. This podcast is NOT the last word on the subject. It is a perspective, and we think one worth noting. Look, the discussion of End Times sells books! It gets clicks. But the question to ask is how it will change your perspective today. I think the beauty of prophecy is in the not knowing. It draws you to the text. It is human nature to want to know. But if Jesus had said His return happens Easter Sunday in the year 2253 (or whatever, pic...

Everyone is always looking for the major everts in prophetic literature. We've talked about prophetic compression before - the concept of two prophetic events that are spread out over time but stated very close together in biblical prophecy. When looking far into the future, you can see the peaks of the mountains, but you can't necessarily tell how far apart they are. [there are several examples within the source to draw from]. Today, we wanted to address prophetic compression from a differen...

Ok, if you want to know why we call this Podcast Rabbit Holes, you're about to follow how my brain works! I started today covering the last three woes and that ends in another lament by Jesus over Jerusalem. That got me wondering about the judgement that fell in AD 70. Then I thought, well, I don't really know what happened to the Jews after that. I know somehow, they survived, but how? So I followed that track all the way to 1948 where the Israel becomes a nation state. Then I think, ok, so why...

We step off the track for a second. In our last podcast, we saw how the pharisees created loopholes in the law bypassing: the land sabbath debt forgiveness every 7 years Jubilee During that study we blew right past something that we need to back up on. I had always heard that "forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" as being solely about sin... but the actual translation is actually real debt. It has a double meaning and if you skip over it, you lose the connection to Deuteronomy. Yo...

Jesus is constantly being tested. We're in Passion week. They're looking for a defect in the Lamb. Today, something has changed. In our last podcast, we saw one of Scribes almost do a fist pump upon hearing Jesus response to the Sadducees regarding Resurrection. Why, because Jesus' answer was something that put the Sadducees back in their place. They were quieted... something the Pharisees had failed at for 100's of years. So for a brief moment, at least one of the scribes was siding with Jesus....

They continue to line up to confront Jesus. It's almost like whack a mole. The Sadducees pop up next and to some, it may seem that they have storyboarded a careful question that they believe represents a definitive argument against resurrection to trip Jesus up. It can seem like its a question out of a Sadduceeic think-tank for this very purpose. I think it's deeper. I think that this argument is core doctrine for the Sadducees. The question has not just arisen for this occasion; it sits at the...

Ok, I certainly didn't think this is where the conversation was going. I'm an American! Money is a good thing right? Well, the more I dig, the more I discover. The more my eyes are open. I'll be the first to admit that this deep dive caught me off guard and I'm supposed to be the one producing the podcast! What we arrived probably takes 4 years of economics undergrad study and boils it down to a 30-minute indictment of money in the world. In our last deep dive, we saw Jesus completely dismantle...

We are on the temple courts during Jesus' last week. The Parable of the Evil Vine-Growers is perhaps the most scathing indictment that Jesus has ever given confronting the religious elite head on. No stone is left unturned (pun intended). It should be no secret that we use AI in our Bible study with strict guardrails to only use scripture and not external interpretations or commentary. That is what we have commonly referred to as our Berean Filter. We let the Bible speak for itself and we us...

If you've ever watch one of those timelapse videos that show you the construction of a building, that is what it must be like to see inside of the brain of the Messiah. He sees everything historically, as it is laid out and He sees it all at once. We come upon a scene in Luke 19:41-44. Jesus is looking out at the city of Jerusalem and weeps. We need to fully understand the weight of that emotion and to do that, we went back and slowed down the events that rush past this moment. Let's us ...

Jesus didn't have a GPS, he had something better. He had ancient prophecy. And at this point in the journey, Jesus is the only one who can see the destination. The other disciples are blind and fearful. They are marching right where they think they ought not be traveling. Notes for Marching on the Roadmap Through Prophecy Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/marching-on-the-roadmap-through-prophecy/

We approach one of the clearest passages in the gospels regarding Jesus and his mission. As they seek shelter in a Samaritan village on the way to Jerusalem, they are denied. The overzealous James and John want to rain down hellfire onto the village. If you have ever considered your understanding of the gospels to be slow and confusing at times, this passage should give you hope! Even the disciples walking with Jesus for 3.5 years didn't get it! Notes to No Thunder Today Episode Link: h...

I always harken back to that famous wrestling match that Jacob had with God. For me, it is a healthy connection to approaching scripture. I wasn't comfortable leaving the Rich Young Ruler where I left it. I felt like I should have been wrestling more with Jesus in that passage. So I went back and engaged directly with the context and the meaning. In this dialog, I am using myself and my situation to really wrestle with this. While the questions might be similar, your answers will necessarily di...

I think we've all heard the story of the Rich Young Ruler. But very often the entire story gets flattened to be about money and wealth. As we got into this, the entire theology of grace emerges. Once we came to the root of this passage, we got into a discussion about stewardship which was useful and then we circled back to probably the most profound point of the passage... a discussion of what is good, why try to do good and trying to understand the love of the Father. That last part comes from ...

While we are walking through the Red Letters in the New Testament, I just wanted to take a step back and show how that red thread weaves its way through ancient biblical text. We got the idea from a video on YouTube: The SECRET that connects the entire Bible. While overstated, is interesting. The idea of connecting Jesus to the Old Testament Stories is not merely hyperbole. Jesus makes some of the connections Himself. We tested the claims in the video and most of the claims do hold water albe...

Ok, we're back on the Red-Letter Trail. We are late into Jesus' ministry. We've left the resurrection of Lazarus. At this point, Jesus is a wanted man however it appears that Jesus is not deterred. We catch up with him across the Jordan in Matthew 19:1-12 and Mark 10:1-12. And just so we know that Jesus is not tiptoeing in the Kingdom, he is teaching where John the Baptist made his reputation. And Jesus is discussing divorce, the very thing that got John the Baptist's head on a platter. No...

We jump of the Red-Letter trail today. Just for a bit. The reason will become obvious. We noticed that in almost every deep dive into the Red-Letter journey through the Gospels, that we inevitably reference the Psalms. So today, we asked a very simple question. "Can we construct a version of the Gospels only from the record of the Psalms?" The answer was a resounding YES! So that's what we did! Note to The Gospel According to the Psalms Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesa...

Today we close the chapter on the resurrection of Lazarus. This chapter leaves no room for ambiguity with respect to who Jesus is. In all of scripture there is only one the commands death. We've seen resurrection elsewhere in the Bible, but never like this. We gained some deeper insight into the local politics beyond the Pharisees, and I think it's the time in our Red-Letter journey that we've encountered Caiaphas - the Jewish High Priest. Anyway, this is a rich chapter, and we walk throug...

The resurrection of Lazarus itself is almost anticlimactic in the scope of what's presented. So we slow down dramatically and focus here on the interaction of Jesus with Martha and Mary. Within this context we see one of the rawest expressions of emotion we see from Jesus anywhere in the Gospels (and also the shortest sentence in the Bible: Jesus wept.) By slowing down, we were able to determine not only the difference and character and response of Martha and Mary, and we took the time to und...

In our last podcast, we hit an interesting passage: John 9.4. And we admittedly, took the most expedient root to the interpretation and we're not the only ones. It's a fairly common interpretation. Jesus is there with his disciples, and He says something very curious: He says: "As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work." I honestly didn't like our interpretation. I noted that we were seeing creation language all through Chapter 9, and I...

We spent some time in John 8 trying to understand the perspective of the Jews who were confronting Jesus. After much deliberation we arrived at a prison metaphor that helps explain it. I think it might be easier to imagine the image of prison than to describe it. "Prison" was comfortable for the Jews. They did not understand the difference between spiritual death and physical death. They did not think they were in prison. In their delusion, they were right where they needed to be. Notes to Pri...

First of all, Merry Christmas! Today, we walked through Biblical history to trace the prophecy from Eden to the Birth. Christmas is the day when Heaven came down. It truly is the most beautiful day in the history of mankind.

What happens if man creates a system that does not depend on man? This is a more direct discussion leading to tomorrows podcast. I'll let you ponder it. No notes today, this is just a short intro. Episode link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/creating-a-non-dependent-creation/

We approach a very common story in John 8. It is the morning after the Feast of Booths. Jesus is up early and still teaching. The pharisees detect and opportunity to trap Jesus. They bring out a woman they claim is an adulteress and the story unfolds. I don't think it's a surprise to those listening to this podcast that we use AI to help dig deep into scripture. Just so you know that none of these podcasts are a one-way AI conversation, today, we left the commentary and the challenges intact....