Red Letter Episodes

Jesus is on the temple court speaking to the pharisees and he tells the Parable of the two sons. Jesus is pretty explicit about the different between professing belief and walking in faith. There's a famous expression that says that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Thousands of preachers preach the sinners prayer as if that moment in a person's life is all that is needed for salvation. Many people do exactly as asked. They stand or even approach the altar; they pray the sinner's p...

The Puzzle You are on an island where every inhabitant is either a Knight (who always tells the truth) or a Knave (who always lies). You meet two people, Red and Blue. Blue says: "We are both knaves." Question: What are the identities of Red and Blue? The Solution Blue is a Knave. Red is a Knight. The Logic Could Blue be a Knight? No. If Blue were a knight, his statement ("We are both knaves") would have to be true. But if he is a knight, he cannot be a knave. This is a contradiction. Therefore,...

I think we all remember the curse of the fig tree. It's a passage that sticks with you. Often though, we tend to skip right over the meat and jump straight into the dessert. As I reflect back to my own Bible studies with seasoned disciples, even they got this wrong! This is how almost all Christians hear Jesus' explanation: "...whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith." Or the short version is "You can move mountains". We want that to be true! That puts the very power of G...

Picture your local county fair... especially the first couple of days. Animals all over the place. The air is thick with the sound of sheep and birds (doves). And wall to wall people tens of thousands fill the space. Now lock on that image and transport yourself back to Jerusalem, 33AD. The ATM's in your picture are money changing booths. Sheep and doves are the main animals. The sheep are being inspected by the assigned priests for the upcoming Passover meal. Every family needs a blemish free l...

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 spend so...

All four gospels cover the amazing entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. This is such a beautiful story of quiet triumph (maybe not so quiet.). We are also starting to see timelines and dates as they playout in scripture. The echoes of the original Passover are starting to play out. The Psalms are announcing the arrival of the king. Zechariah is shouting from the rooftops: "Behold, your king is coming to you!" The lamb is selected for the Passover feast and will go through 4 days of observation to m...

Today was a masterclass in gospel harmonization. It isn't always pretty. The story takes place in the house of Simon the Leper, in Bethany. You can find the narrative in Matthew 26:8-13, Mark 14:4-9 and John 12:4-11. The stories don't overlay perfectly. Imagine yourself in a courtroom and you're hearing from three witnesses - we'll call them Matthew, Luke and John. You here three different testimonies covering the same event but each from that person vantagepoint. Your job is to harmonize those ...

We are with Jesus leaving Jericho on the way to the cross. There is this expectation within the disciples that when Jesus gets to Jerusalem that the Kingdom will just magically appear. Jesus answers this concern with Luke: the Parable of the Tin Minas and a parallel passage in Matthew. We study this out and come away with a very clear understanding of judgement and expectations. This is about the believers, the unbelievers and the fruitless inbetweeners. These parables offer truth on so many lev...

I love this scene for so many reasons. He's enthusiastic, tenacious. I picture him as shorter stature, nimble and almost gushing at the thought of seeing Jesus go by. I think I've mentioned my Millennial Bucket List in the past. This is a running list of things I want to do in the Millennium. I've added this entry: Seek and visit Zacchaeus Spend a day with him - share a meal, tip a beer, walk the streets, and just hang out . Listen to how grace rewired his life from the inside out, without sermo...

Jesus is just outside Jericho on the road to Jerusalem. He encounters two blind men, and He stops cold in His tracks. Jesus always goes against the crowd! He hears the cries of these two blind men and uses the moment. Everything Jesus has taught up to this point about faith, about who He is, about discipleship even is captured in this moment. Notes for Two Blind Men Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/two-blind-men-open-the-eyes-of-a-crowd-of-people/

I wrestled with what to title this podcast. Just after Jesus is confronted by James and John (and their mother) to sit at his right and left hand in the kingdom, a new play is sent out from the sidelines. Jesus huddles up with his disciples with a play that, let's be honest, neither they nor we are familiar with. And that is why it can feel awkward when Jesus says that the greatest among you is your slave. This idea is impossible to capture in a short podcast. Where Jesus is going is quite radic...

Part of me wants to be offended by the question that James and John asked Jesus. Another part of me admires them for having the kahunas to do it! But then, they had to get their mother to do the asking. That's kind of weak for two grown men. I'm jesting a little here. This can be a pretty provocative section of scripture to the reader but after meditating on it a bit, the thought that occurred to me was that Jesus did say to Ask anything, and it would be granted. This is a great example of how t...

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/

Did you miss it? How many times have you wandered through the gospels and noticed all the healings and through about Jesus saving all these people. It is worth going back and reviewing those healings. You'll see the distinction. Healing is not saving. Recall the times when Jesus says to a person "Your faith has saved you". Remember the paralytic where Jesus forgave his sins? He then healed him. Two quite different things. On this day, going back to Jerusalem, Jesus encounters 10 lepers. They all...

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: https://ww...

Let’s face it, we don’t want to be called unworthy. We don’t like the word servant. We take an honest look at this tension as we explore Luke 17: 7-10. I actually came away from this feeling good about being the unworthy servant! https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/vvf9ua67y9f7msqs/Unworthy_Servants6ll9s.pdf Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/unworthy-servant/

I think we can all relate to this on worldly terms. You get hired by the owner of a business and agree to $100 for the day. Then you put in a full 12-hour day. A new hire has just come on an hour ago. The guy who is paying your wages pays that new hire $100. You're thinking, wow... I'm about to make out like a bandit! You start doing the multiplication in your head but when the owner gets to you, he gives you the same hundred bucks. If that's how you're thinking, you're not alone. Step into the ...

After the rich young ruler walks away sadly, you can imagine that the disciples have some pretty pointed questions. And if you want to summarize, it's basically "ok, what about us?". Jesus answers Peter, who is asking this question. If you're like me, that left me with more questions. "Jesus, what do you mean by 'the regeneration'?" and deeper questions that come from this deep dive. If the Apostles and the Saints are there to reign with Christ, who are they reigning over? This is the rabbit-hol...

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 dif...

I think we can approach the rich young ruler as something that doesn't apply to me. That would be a mistake. The issue isn't wealth. The issue is dependence. What are you dependent on? Those things, by definition are idols. Some admittedly, are easy to give up. Others look like lifelong addictions. Whatever it is that you're holding on to is at some level, dependency. The amazing irony that we all must face and there is no such thing as independence. If you can't give it up, given the choice bet...

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 ...

Sorry for the vague reference - if you have not seen the movie "Benjamin Button". Benjamin Button, a character played by Brad Pitt, is living life in reverse. He is reverting to his childhood. On our Red-Letter journey, People are lining up, probably more like mobbing than single file, to get close to Jesus. Some of those in that mob are parents who have brought their children. Jesus never lets a moment like this go without a message... and this one is difficult for the average, well-adjusted ad...

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 albeit ...

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. Notes fo...