00:00 Introduction and Weather Update

00:56 Church Plans Amidst the Storm

04:18 Addressing Listener Questions

05:00 Interpreting Scripture: Letter vs. Spirit

13:39 Exodus 4-6: Moses' Journey and Challenges

20:54 Matthew 16: Peter's Confession and Jesus' Teachings

27:10 Concluding Thoughts and Prayer

Find out more about Compass Bible Church.

Learn more about our Bible Reading Plan.

Questions or Comments? Email us podcast@compassntx.org

Everybody welcome back to another

edition, Friday's edition, the

2

Friday before the storm hits

edition of the Daily Bible Podcast.

3

It's a it's gonna be an interesting

weekend here for those of

4

us in North Texas, at least.

5

If you've been paying attention to the

weather, which I assume most of you have,

6

it is supposed to be some are saying.

7

The storm of the century.

8

Some are even hearkening back to

9

in 2021, but I do remember my dad

10

seeing some pictures from him and,

and finding out what was going on.

11

There were down power lines.

12

There was trees that

were, were covered in ice.

13

The power was out for so many

people for such a long time.

14

And from what I, I.

15

Have heard the shelves at a EB in our

grocery stores in the area completely

16

barren because people are thinking

that this could be another generational

17

storm, which I don't know how you have

multiple generational storms within the,

18

the span of a single generation, but.

19

I guess that's, that's part of the new,

the new vernacular with these big storms.

20

So we're weighing things.

21

I know some of you are probably

wondering, Hey, what are we

22

doing this weekend as a church?

23

We're watching, we're watching not

only what what we're doing, we're

24

watching what some of the other

churches in our area are doing and

25

decisions that they're making as well.

26

'cause we wanna make the best

informed decision that is going

27

to honor the Lord and also.

28

Protect our people and

protect our community.

29

So, we're making some decisions.

30

Pay attention to your email inbox

because we're gonna communicate

31

primarily through email to you.

32

And also, I guess pay attention to

our, our social media accounts as well.

33

But primarily your email inbox.

34

That's gonna be the best place to

find the most up-to-date communication

35

from us as far as what's going on.

36

So if you're sitting there with.

37

Thinking to yourself, are

they paying attention?

38

Have they made any decisions yet?

39

We are deciding things on the fly.

40

We are are monitoring the situation

and we're trying to, to make the best

41

possible decision for all of us involved.

42

And make no mistake, we're not going

to put you in any mortal danger.

43

There are times that put

yourself in harm's way.

44

Scripture gives us plenty of.

45

Times and occasions where Paul, the

apostle, puts himself in harm's way.

46

Jesus himself puts himself in harm's way.

47

I mean, and we don't, we talk

about harm like it's an entity

48

and Jesus knows all things.

49

From the end to the beginning,

God knows all things, and yet he

50

tells us that we are to be wise as

serpents and as innocent as doves.

51

That's Matthew 10.

52

So he knows that we're, we're,

we're living in a fallen world,

53

a broken world where sin reigns.

54

Safety is important.

55

But we don't subscribe to safety

is I, I like that terminology.

56

Someone's coined that idea probably back

57

were making safety the highest priority.

58

And while it's a priority, I, I

would be, I, I would not say it

59

would go to be the highest priority.

60

Safety is the idea that safety

is the most important thing and

61

Christians don't believe that.

62

We believe that there are

things worth risking for.

63

But not needless, not

senseless, and not foolish risk.

64

So make no mistake, as we're

planning for the weekend, we're

65

thinking about what needs to happen.

66

We're, we're considering your needs

and we're considering what's helpful

67

and what's pro prudent given the

circumstances and given what we're

68

seeing, the writing seems pretty clear.

69

It's on the wall.

70

We're dragging our heels, not because

we're being lazy, but we're just trying

71

to be cautious and say we don't want to

do anything that we don't have to do.

72

And because Texas weather

is so erratic Yep.

73

Would not be surprised if tomorrow

we wake up and it's like, Hey,

74

it's actually not happening.

75

Yeah.

76

We, we made a mistake.

77

The, the, the models were wrong and so

it's gonna be sunny and 70 degrees all

78

weekend long and we would like that.

79

So we're gonna wait just a little

longer, maybe a little longer

80

than you might prefer before

we make any final conclusions.

81

Although I do know that there's a couple

things on the dock at the immediate

82

future that we're saying we're going

to ax those or at least postpone those.

83

Yeah.

84

Yeah.

85

So check your email, inboxes,

all that to say, and we will get

86

communication to you out that way.

87

Hey, we did a, unless we don't

have electricity, in which case

88

we will send smoke signals.

89

Yeah.

90

And carrier pigeons.

91

Yeah.

92

Hopefully our cell

signals will still work.

93

We could send an email out.

94

If you don't have electricity,

maybe your phone dies.

95

Because, because what

else are you gonna do?

96

You're gonna be on TikTok and YouTube?

97

Yeah, I have battery backups.

98

Good Lord.

99

Yeah.

100

You got, I, I don't know anybody.

101

I'll send email those I, anybody that

has more battery backups than you do.

102

I, I, could you plug into your car?

103

You could probably, could

your car power your house?

104

Actually it can.

105

There you go.

106

Yes.

107

Make sure that things'

topped off at a hundred.

108

It?

109

Yes I do.

110

There you go, man.

111

I'll charge that up tonight.

112

You should.

113

Anyways, if you guys lose power

you can probably assume go to PJ's

114

house 'cause he'll have power.

115

You can probably assume that

we're probably not gonna be

116

showing up at church on Sunday.

117

But anyways, we'll

communicate to you guys.

118

We had a question written in and this

came back in the beginning of January

119

and we just are now getting around to it.

120

So, I apologize for that, Christina.

121

That's on me.

122

But we do wanna address it

because it's a good question.

123

And Christina, is she.

124

Practices law.

125

So she asks a question about how we

approach the interpretation of the

126

text of scripture, and this came out

of what Jesus does in the Sermon on

127

the Mount when Jesus says, you've heard

it said you shall not commit murder.

128

But I say to you this, you've heard it

said, you shall not commit adultery.

129

But I say to you this, and

she applies this to what?

130

Is known as, as the originalist

interpretation of, for example,

131

the Constitution where we would

say, well, we wanna go back to what

132

did the original authors intend?

133

And that's what the meaning is.

134

We don't want to go beyond that because

we would say that that's a rather

135

liberal interpretation of things.

136

And so she asks the question

twofold, number one about Jesus,

137

what was Jesus doing there?

138

And then number two, how do we

approach this in, she says this,

139

are we interpreting scripture past

the plain language of the text to

140

capture the spirit of the text?

141

Or is it that Christ is

providing simply a New Testament?

142

Explanation of an Old Testament law.

143

In other words, do we have the

parameters to do what Jesus does here?

144

And I think on the one hand I'll say

this, Jesus has the right to do what

145

he does because he's the son of God.

146

And so he is the word incarnate.

147

And so as Jesus takes the Old Testament

and says, you've heard it said this,

148

but I say to you one of the, the points

that he's making there, by saying that,

149

because no Jewish rabbi would've ever

said that before the point that Jesus

150

is making is that he's more than man.

151

That he is in fact God.

152

And so he has the right to take that

commandment from the Old Testament, from

153

the Decalogue, the 10 Commandments, and,

and to apply that in a broader context

154

to say, this is really what this entails.

155

It's not just the literal meaning, but

there is a spirit of the law behind this.

156

That applies beyond that.

157

Jesus had the unique authority

to be able to do that.

158

Which I guess then brings us to pastors.

159

Do pastors have the authority to do that?

160

Do you have the authority to do the

same thing as you read the Bible?

161

And I would say this yes, with the

caveat of, of wanting to be very careful

162

in that our authority is not the same

authority as the authority of the Lord.

163

Our authority is not the same

authority as the authority of Jesus.

164

So if we're going to broaden the

application of a passage of scripture, we

165

need to be careful that we're doing that

governed by the broader context of the.

166

Entire corpus of scripture.

167

And that's one of the benefits to

interpreting an exe scripture in

168

the passage that we're studying in

the context of the full Bible and

169

not just ripping it out and making

it say what we want it to say.

170

We need to be sure that any interpretation

that we bring to the text matches

171

up what the rest of what we need

to be know to be true in scripture.

172

There's gonna be a spectrum on this.

173

You're gonna find pastors that are

more comfortable than others in going

174

beyond what is the originalist reading.

175

Reading, if we wanna put it that way.

176

And pastors who are less

comfortable with that.

177

Pastors who are more comfortable

with pressing the spirit of the, the

178

law or the spirit of the application

into realms that are, are beyond.

179

Paul could have been thinking about

at the time, or, or Peter could have

180

been thinking at at the time and, and

other pastors, they're gonna say, no,

181

we're not gonna press it that far.

182

I, I think we have to come back to

say, is our interpretation biblical?

183

Does it, does it hold water

with the corpus of scripture?

184

And how many hoops do we have to

jump to through to get there from

185

the original reading to where

we want the application to go?

186

So brass tack.

187

Then let's try to apply this

to, I don't know anything.

188

Let's pick a, let's pick a modern

day subject where people would

189

say, okay, letter versus spirit.

190

I guess one of those things we talk

about the speed limit, the letter

191

versus the spirit of the law.

192

We've used that one as an example before.

193

I think it is important, let me,

before I have you answer that.

194

I think it's important to say both.

195

Both are necessary.

196

Now we're all doing this to some extent,

but we look at what the letter says.

197

And this is the, this is the

art and science of hermeneutics.

198

This is learning how to exe

what's in the scripture.

199

To exe has Latin roots.

200

It means to take out of something, to

pull it out of, and not to put it in

201

there and say, well, here's what I think,

and let me try to find a a, a Bible

202

verse, shoe it in so that I can justify

my sinful activities or my desires.

203

It's not what we're talking about here.

204

Taking the Bible at his word is

saying, what does God's word say?

205

And what are the necessary

consequences of that application?

206

So if the Bible says, to honor your mother

and your father can, can you do that in

207

a legalistic way that is following the

letter of the law, honoring them without.

208

Obeying the spirit of the law,

doing so in a respectful way.

209

I, I, I don't even know how you

would do that, but I suppose you

210

could say mother and father, sir.

211

Ma'am?

212

Yes ma'am.

213

No ma'am.

214

You could say yes, ma'am, with

your voice and with your mouth,

215

but have a no ma'am attitude, which

violates the spirit of the law.

216

If not the letter, you

could argue that, of course.

217

But let's try to flesh this out.

218

So, I don't know, we talked

about the speed limit.

219

Let's take an easier one.

220

A woman's right, so-called to choose to

discard the life of a, of a young one.

221

Mm-hmm.

222

That's not in the scriptures.

223

You can't find that Bible verse anywhere.

224

Don't do that.

225

Let's talk about that one.

226

Yeah.

227

And in there we would go to a

passage like Psalm 1 39 in God's

228

act of work, in the creation of

the the baby, in the mother's womb.

229

We would go to passages where we

see examples in the Old Testament of

230

the, even the spirit of God resting

upon a baby while in the womb.

231

And, and we wouldn't necessarily

apply that across the board to say,

232

everybody has the spirit of God

resting on them the same way, but.

233

Still, this is life.

234

We would even go to the law when

the law talks about if a pregnant

235

woman is struck such that the

baby is, is born prematurely, and

236

that baby dies it's life for life.

237

And so we can look at things like

that, even though you're right.

238

It doesn't say, do not do that thing.

239

We would say the principle is there and we

can draw that out of the spirit of these

240

Old Testament laws that are present there.

241

All.

242

The scamming scamming is a big

deal now, especially today.

243

And with AI being so helpful it,

the Bible doesn't say that you can't

244

trick someone into giving you money.

245

You can't deceive them into mm-hmm.

246

Into doing that.

247

Bible never says anything about

ai, never says anything about

248

crypto or anything like that.

249

How do we jump from here to there?

250

Yeah.

251

And in there we would go to passages like

what we find in, in one Timothy six, or

252

even as, as James talks about it, the

first Timothy six there though with.

253

Paul, the, the love of money, right?

254

We would say if, if you're doing something

to scheme to gain more money because you

255

love money, you've got a problem there.

256

So what we could bring that in there.

257

We could also talk about

truthfulness, that God is a god

258

of truth and not a God of lies.

259

That God doesn't honor lies or deception.

260

And so we need to be as believers,

men and women of truth and not

261

men, men and women of deceased.

262

So you can expand it and, and

get there that way as well.

263

I think we, we all experienced

264

We had to wrestle at, at least we did

in California with spirit of the law,

265

letter of the law when it came to

submitting to our governing authorities.

266

Mm-hmm.

267

And trying to really understand, okay,

when has our governing authorities,

268

when have they asked us to sin?

269

What does that look like?

270

When can we now say I have

to obey God rather than men?

271

That's a great example there, because

that's a, that's a very broad statement.

272

That's not.

273

Really clearly defined biblically,

and so we kind of had to step back.

274

Yeah.

275

When how Totally.

276

To what extent.

277

Right.

278

And that's, that's where I think

it gets more complicated when we're

279

dealing with things like, is it wrong

to lie and, and to scam someone.

280

I think we can say, yeah, that

that's pretty black, white.

281

Those are easy.

282

Yeah.

283

But when we get there,

then it's a matter of Okay.

284

It does require the work.

285

We were talking offline, you were

talking about Paul's charge to

286

Timothy, to to, to be a workman, to

not be ashamed that you do your best.

287

Do your best, do your best.

288

Yeah.

289

Which leaves no room for Halfheartedness.

290

Right.

291

Right, and, and, and as one who probably

favors more of the originalist approach.

292

I, I'm with you.

293

I, I think there is a way that we

can be half-hearted and lazy with

294

that, and I don't, I'm not there.

295

I just am, am careful to press

my understanding into realms

296

that I, I find it more difficult.

297

It's once, twice, three times removed

from the text to get to that application.

298

Yeah, I, I get to, to our point, I think

what we're trying to say is that you, you,

299

you really do need an, an eye for both.

300

Yeah.

301

And there are fatal errors on either

extreme being too literalistic, where

302

you can't see what the text is actually

saying and being so sophisticated that you

303

only see the spirit of the text and you

don't see what's actually there either.

304

Right.

305

So it requires a tender

hand and a careful touch.

306

This is the kind of surgical precision

that every Christian needs to develop.

307

You don't, you're not

gonna get this overnight.

308

You're not gonna build this after

reading your Bible one time through.

309

This is the kind of thing that happens

only after years of long term careful

310

study and understanding of the text.

311

This is the practice of exegesis, the art

and science of interpreting the scriptures

312

according to how God wants us to do that.

313

And I, I stand with the idea.

314

I stand behind the idea that

Jesus is modeling for us

315

how to understand scripture.

316

Not only that, he is

identifying himself as the Lord.

317

He is certainly doing that, but he's

also showing us how to understand

318

the word of God, so it's not.

319

A liberal idea.

320

It's not farfetched to say we

don't, we wanna understand what the

321

scripture says and understand what

the spirit of it, what's God trying

322

to get at with what he's saying.

323

The Pharisees are a great

example in Matthew 23.

324

He's gonna excoriate them.

325

He's gonna say to them, look,

you guys tithe mint and cumin

326

and di and yet you neglect the

weight of your matters of the law.

327

You're, you're obeying these letters

down here, but you're forgetting

328

these massive ones over here.

329

And the same thing can happen to us,

even if we're not intending to do

330

that, if we hyperfocus on one part

of the text to the neglect of the

331

rest, we can do that with our exegesis

hyper focusing on one applicational

332

point or one interpretational

point to the neglect of the rest.

333

And you're not, again, you're

not gonna get this overnight.

334

You're not gonna get this after

going to church for one year.

335

This is the kind of faithfulness

and intentionality in the text that

336

develops over the course of your life.

337

Yeah.

338

Alright, well, hey, we are.

339

Great question, Christina.

340

It.

341

Great question.

342

And we took the time to answer it because

it's such a, an important question.

343

We're 14 minutes into this

podcast though, so alright.

344

10 minutes, we're gonna be

done, we're gonna roll through.

345

Hey, e Exodus four through six

though as we jump back in here with

346

the life of Moses chapter four,

you, you get more of just Moses's

347

stubbornness here in, in before we.

348

Condemn him too quickly.

349

I, I can't say that, that I would've been

different than, than he was saying, God,

350

I, I, I don't know if I'm ready for this,

looking for outs, looking for reasons

351

that he might send anyone else to the

most powerful man in the entire universe.

352

Moses knew who Pharaoh is and,

and even though it's a different

353

Pharaoh, he, he knew the type of

cruelty that existed in Egypt.

354

He also knows that last time he was there,

he was not really high on the list of

355

people that, that they wanted around.

356

And so I'm sure there's some of these

fears in the back of his mind as well.

357

But he's bargaining with God and God

keeps saying, Moses, I will be with you.

358

And even showing him these signs of

what he is going to do and, and how

359

he's gonna be able to make this happen.

360

But still, Moses is, is resistant

until the Lord calls out to him and

361

says, look, here's Aaron then, and,

and Aaron can be your mouthpiece.

362

Then I'll speak to you.

363

You will speak.

364

To Aaron in the rest of chapter

four, Moses is gonna go back to

365

Egypt and there's this interesting

scene when he's on his way back.

366

He, God meets him and, and

opposes him and, and moves to put

367

him to death, is what it says.

368

Now the question is, who's the hymn?

369

And my conviction after last year and then

this year, again, looking at this, I, I

370

tend to believe that this is Moses' son.

371

That this is not Moses that the Lord

is seeking to put to death because

372

the Lord has been just been talking

about you're gonna deliver, you're,

373

I'm gonna use you, you and Aaron.

374

And I think God would've done business

with him prior to that about his

375

own crc, circumcision or state.

376

And we, we know that, that he would've

at this point, but rather this

377

seems to be from the context Moses'

son, who Moses had not circumcised

378

and God is saying, this is wrong.

379

And so he goes to oppose him.

380

Zipporah then goes and does this for

her son, and that's why she cast it

381

down at the feet of Moses and says,

you are now a bridegroom of blood.

382

To me, almost implying Moses, this was,

this was your failure of leadership

383

in the family and you should have done

this, but instead I had to do this.

384

So Moses doesn't look good either

way on this, but I don't think God

385

is seeking to put Moses to death,

but rather Moses' son to death.

386

In this situation, one of the things

that I wanna point out to you is that

387

Moses is called the most meek man.

388

He's, he is the most humble,

and yet what he does here may

389

seem like humility to you.

390

Like, isn't it right to say, oh

man, Lord, who, who, who am I?

391

What am I?

392

I can't do this.

393

You know, I'm just little

old me kind of thing.

394

Aw, shucks.

395

This is the opposite of humility.

396

This is straight up rebellion.

397

And so make no mistake when

you tell God no, you're not

398

doing it because you're humble.

399

You're doing it because you are afraid,

you're doing it because you're selfish.

400

You're doing it because of

something else besides humility.

401

So don't let yourself do what

Moses does here in saying,

402

well, Lord, you know, who am I?

403

I can't speak well, and who cares?

404

And that's essentially what the Lord says.

405

Who cares?

406

I, I got you.

407

I'm, if I'm telling you I'm gonna,

I'm gonna provide for you, bro.

408

Do what I say and know that

I'm a come, I'm a come through.

409

So Moses is not being humble here.

410

This is not humility.

411

This is pseudo humility.

412

It looks like humility

just at the surface.

413

But when you scratch just a

layer Jeep, you find out Moses'

414

excuses are, are pretty lame.

415

Secondly, I think it's actually Moses for

the very same reasons that you brought

416

up, because Moses should have done this.

417

Moses is accountable.

418

Yeah.

419

Yeah.

420

That's, and that's, that's valid too.

421

Yeah.

422

End of the chapter Moses and Aaron go

to the people, and initially it starts,

423

well, they, they're, they're there.

424

It says the people believed and,

and they're excited about this.

425

They bow their heads and they worship

in that last verse of chapter four.

426

But then in chapter five, Pharaoh

catches wind of the people getting

427

kind of excited about all of this,

and, and that they're slacking.

428

They're, they're letting

up in their production.

429

So, pharaoh is going to go after them.

430

Pharaoh is going to reject the

initial plea there from Moses and

431

Pharaoh to let the, or from Moses

and Aaron to let the people go.

432

And he's gonna say, who is the

Lord that I should obey him?

433

And, and your people are getting lazy.

434

And so then he's going to take away

the straw and yet still require the

435

same number of bricks from the people.

436

So the, the people who start

out so strong, believing in

437

the Lord, worshiping the Lord.

438

Man, it's not very long until they are

rebelling here, and at the end of the

439

chapter of chapter five, here, they

say, the Lord look on you and judge,

440

because you've made us stink in the

side of Pharaoh and his servants.

441

And so there goes the faith that they had

at the beginning there they are grumbling,

442

and this is an indicator of what Moses'

relationship with the people is gonna be.

443

In Egypt and then even outside of

Egypt during the wilderness time.

444

So much so that Moses even

wants to give up at this point.

445

He says, why have you done evil to people?

446

Why did you ever send me?

447

So it's not just the faith of the

people wavering, it's the faith of Moses

448

wavering as well, which goes to show that

doing what God wants you to do doesn't

449

mean that things are gonna go well.

450

At least not initially, right?

451

It is no guarantee that God makes to, to

you or anyone else to say, look, when you

452

obey me, things are always gonna go the

way that you think that they should go.

453

In this case, God is setting up

the, the chess pieces, as it were to

454

showcase his strength, which in the

short term is devastating because

455

then you start to ask yourself, well,

is this, was this the right thing?

456

After all?

457

If, if you're behind this, God,

why would you let this take place?

458

And so that makes perfect sense that he

would challenge that and question it.

459

But just know your obedience doesn't

always mean good outcomes or good

460

results or immediately in view.

461

Yeah.

462

Chapter six, then the, the

Lord moves to, to comfort Moses

463

because the Lord is patient.

464

That's something we see time and

time again, not just with Moses,

465

but also with the Israelites.

466

And so he is patient and

he reveals himself to Moses

467

again, says, I am the Lord.

468

And just as I appeared to Abraham

and Isaac and to Jacob, he's saying,

469

I established my covenant with them

and I have a future for my people,

470

is basically what he's doing.

471

He's appealing back to this covenant

saying, I've remembered my covenant

472

and I'm going to fulfill the covenant.

473

And he says in verse six,

I'm gonna bring you out.

474

He says, I'm going to deliver you.

475

I'm going to redeem you from

the people of Egypt there.

476

And so this is going to

be the salvation from.

477

That he's gonna work because God has

this covenant future for his people.

478

Verse seven, I will take you to be

my people and I will be your God.

479

So even though Israel is wavering in their

faith, Moses is wavering in his faith.

480

God is going to persist and all of this

is part of his plan to bring them out.

481

God could've worked it out so that

at the very beginning, Moses and

482

Aaron walk into Pharaoh and say, Hey,

let my people go if says the Lord.

483

And Moses and Pharaoh could have said.

484

Okay, go ahead and go.

485

And yet all of this is part of God's plan

to get glory over Pharaoh, as he's gonna

486

make clear in the, the text as it unfolds.

487

And also I think to, to teach his people

about his power as they're going to

488

teach not only themselves, but also

future generations about what he does

489

here in the deliverance so that people

from Egypt, in verse nine, he says

490

here, Moses spoke thus to the people of

Israel, but they did not listen to Moses.

491

Notice here it says, because of their

broken spirit and harsh slavery.

492

Now, this doesn't.

493

Excuse them from listening

to what Moses says.

494

He's after all God's spokesman.

495

But it does explain at least one

of the stumbling blocks to people

496

hearing God's word appropriately,

to hearing it accurately.

497

Even.

498

If there's discouragement and despair

in the heart of a person, it's

499

often hard to hear what God says.

500

And so I think at the very minimum,

and not that again, it doesn't excuse

501

anything, but it does explain, and that

kind of explanation should at least

502

register on your, on your radar as you

think about serving others for counseling.

503

Others, I know we just had a

biblical counseling intensive.

504

As you think about caring for other

people, you have to take more.

505

Take data in to understand how do

I best love and serve these people.

506

The rest of that chapter there in chapter

six, you get some of the, the key names

507

here that should stand out to you as it's

the descendants of, of Moses and Aaron.

508

You've got names in there

that are both good and bad.

509

One of the, the best names

in there, I think is Phineas.

510

Phineas is just one of those

guys that is, is a stalwart

511

and a bold priest for the Lord.

512

And so we'll read more about Phineas in

the future, but there's also some, some.

513

Guys that aren't so good there

NAAB and Abai, who that things

514

are not gonna go well there.

515

But some of the genealogy of the, the

mosaic line there, or the Levitical

516

line, I guess that Moses is a part of.

517

Let's turn over to Matthew chapter

16 for our New Testament reading.

518

In this interaction, Jesus is

continuing, at least initially here

519

with the Pharisees and the Sadducees

and going back and forth with them.

520

He then warns the disciples about

the teaching of the Pharisees and the

521

Sadducees, and he uses the idea of leaven

because we're just feeding the 4,000.

522

So bread is is on their minds and he's

warning them, saying, Hey, that the.

523

The leaven here is the

teaching of the Pharisees.

524

And you need to understand this.

525

You need to be aware of it because it

is dangerous and it can be pervasive.

526

If you let it in a little

bit, it'll pervade, it'll

527

leak its way into everything.

528

But probably the, the high point

of this chapter and the high point

529

in certainly Peter's life to, to

this state is what happens next.

530

They retreat to an area called

Caesarea Philippi, which is north.

531

In the region of Israel there.

532

And it would've been a, a kind of a

break for Jesus and his disciples.

533

And as they're together, Jesus asked the

question, who do people say that I am?

534

And this is where Peter says, you are

the Christ, the Son of the living God.

535

And Jesus commences him, says,

blessed are you Simon Barr?

536

Jonah now Bar Jonah.

537

Last name sort of Barr,

meaning son of Jonah.

538

So.

539

Simon's dad is is a guy named Jonah,

and so that's why he's Simon Barona,

540

but this is Peter and Jesus says It's

been revealed this to you by God.

541

And then he says this, I tell you,

you are Peter, and on this rock I

542

will build my church and the gates

of hell will not prevail against it.

543

One of the most encouraging verses

for us as the church, but we

544

have to wonder and ask ourselves

the question, who's the rock?

545

The Catholic Church has said, this is

Peter, and Peter is the, the first Pope,

546

and, and it's upon the, the papacy,

the apostolic succession of Peter

547

that that Christ has built his church.

548

And so we can always go back to Peter.

549

It seems better to understand this though,

as the fact that this is, is Peter's

550

confession on this rock that Jesus is the.

551

Christ, the son of the living God.

552

That's the confession of the church.

553

That means everything.

554

That's the foundation of

the identity of the church.

555

And so it seems to me at least Jesus is

saying on that rock, you're Peter and,

556

and on the rock of your confession, I'm

gonna build this church and the gates

557

of hell will not prevail against it.

558

Then he goes on to, to speak more about

the authority of the church, though right

559

after that, in the immediate context.

560

After this, we get another

prediction of the death of Jesus.

561

And again, Peter is gonna

take center stage E except

562

not in a good way this time.

563

He goes from a high point to a, a

pretty low point here in verse 22.

564

Peter takes Jesus aside and rebukes

him after Jesus says he's gonna die.

565

And Jesus turns and looks at Peter

and says, get behind me, Satan.

566

Now the word Satan means.

567

Adversary and that's why he

says, you're a hindrance to me.

568

You are not setting your mind on the

things of God, but on the things of man.

569

So Peter goes from this high point to

this low point in opposing Jesus which

570

is ironic because as Peter confessed him

to be the Christ, it's the death of Jesus

571

that is going to be the, the pinnacle

of in his resurrection then of of.

572

Who he is as the Christ.

573

And so Peter doesn't

fully understand it yet.

574

None of the disciples do at this point.

575

And then Jesus concludes by this note

on what true discipleship looks like.

576

And as Peter is anticipating victory, he's

saying what really it's gonna look like

577

is you taking up your cross and follow me.

578

Not only am I gonna go to the cross, but

you're gonna take up your cross and follow

579

me and be my disciple in this world.

580

And so it's not gonna mean glory right

away, even as you were just talking about.

581

Just because we're following

God's plan doesn't mean that

582

it's gonna be easy for us.

583

Think we see the New Testament concept

of that here at the end of chapter 16.

584

Yeah.

585

Verse 21 says, from that time, Jesus began

to show his disciples that he must go to

586

Jerusalem and suffer many things from the

elders and the chief priests inscribes and

587

be killed, and on the third day be raised.

588

The key, the key point in this

verse, I think is starting

589

at verse 21 from that time.

590

And the question is from what time?

591

Well, from the time.

592

After Peter confesses that

Jesus is the Christ and they

593

all say, yep, that's right.

594

We believe that.

595

And Jesus says That's correct, and on

this rock, I'm gonna build my church.

596

I think one of the things that we could

take away from here is that further

597

clear revelation begins with the

acceptance of foundational revelation.

598

If you wanna know God more,

there's certain foundational

599

truths that you have to embrace and

believe for him to allow you to.

600

See and understand more.

601

It's one thing to read your Bible.

602

It's another thing to understand

it and to appreciate and enjoy

603

the complexity of it all.

604

It's beautiful.

605

It's this, it's singular, it's simple

in some sense, but it's also wonderfully

606

complex and glorious, and for someone

to understand what God's trying to

607

do, it takes you understanding the

basics, the foundational things, and

608

including here at this point, Jesus

being the Messiah who would live

609

and die on behalf of his disciples.

610

Anything else In chapter 16,

I love the way he closes it.

611

Taking up your cross and following Jesus.

612

This is, this is one of these

passages that we don't often

613

preach on, but one that we should

remind ourselves of constantly.

614

You did talk about it.

615

It's not just Jesus taking his cross.

616

It's us taking our cross.

617

But this is, this is

normative Christian life.

618

Mm-hmm.

619

This is the way Christian, a Christian

lives, and Jesus points out here.

620

Verse 27, when Jesus comes, he will repay

each person according to what he has done.

621

How does that fit with justification?

622

By, by grace through faith.

623

In the sense of, of repaying in

the positive sense or the negative?

624

Yeah, I guess, you know,

he, he re repayment period.

625

How does that fit in the picture?

626

Well, we think about it for, for

believers as the, the bema seat where

627

our life is assessed and it says, we'll

receive what is due for what we've

628

done in the body, whether good or evil.

629

That's second Corinthians chapter five.

630

And so there is going to be not a

salvific judgment as far as repayment,

631

but a, a, an evaluation of our life

of, of the works, of our life, of did

632

we take up our cross and follow him?

633

Did did we follow him in in that

and did we obey him in that?

634

And then certainly, yeah.

635

If.

636

We didn't do that.

637

If we, if we didn't trust him in

faith and repentance, that repayment

638

is gonna be an eternity apart from

him under his wrath in, in hell.

639

But this is, there's, there's something

at stake for both believers and

640

unbelievers in this, in, in how we follow

Christ and what that looks like for us.

641

And I think Jesus is offering

this as a means to motivate us.

642

This is not a bad thing to say.

643

I, I want spiritual rewards.

644

I want to get all that

Jesus has from me, right.

645

Including more of him.

646

I want to see more.

647

I don't know if there's gonna

be a VIP section in heaven.

648

And I don't have any delusions

that I'm gonna be there, but I'm

649

gonna try, I wanna be hanging out

next to Paul and Moses and Jesus.

650

I wanna be there in that

circle if I can make it.

651

Yeah.

652

Yeah.

653

And it, this is what Peter said when he

says he suffered force as an example,

654

that we might follow in his steps.

655

Is that concept of us following

after taking up our cross and and

656

pursuing that VIP section into heaven.

657

I mean, when the two asked,

Hey, Jesus, can we sit at

658

your right hand or your left?

659

He didn't say, no one's gonna be there.

660

He just said, that's not mine to give.

661

So maybe there will be.

662

Maybe there will be.

663

All right.

664

Let's pray.

665

God, we pray that all of us

would live such a way that,

666

that we would live, that we.

667

Would be qualified to be in that position

that we would be qualified to be with

668

Paul and Moses and those, and, and

really ultimately that, that we would be

669

as close to you as we possibly can be.

670

We know heaven is gonna be amazing for

all of us no matter what, but we wanna

671

live in such a way as to run the race well

and have those rewards and heaven when we

672

stand before Christ and we hear well done,

good and faithful servant, that we won't

673

be saved as, as though through fire, but

that we will be saved and, and have much.

674

Reward to show for ultimately your glory

as our lives are assessed before you.

675

So help us to, to do what we're

being called to here to take.

676

Take up a cross and follow

you as faithful disciples.

677

We pray in Jesus' name.

678

Amen.

679

Well, let's keep doing that together

as we continue to read God's word

680

together and keep pressing on and we'll

be back again tomorrow for another

681

edition of the Daily Bible Podcast.

682

See you then folks.

683

Bye.

684

Edward: Thank you for listening to another

episode of the Daily Bible Podcast.

685

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spend time with us today.

686

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687

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church at compassntx.org.

688

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689

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690

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691

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