Culture
John Week 1 with Adrienne Camp
In this episode of the She Reads Truth Podcast, hosts Rachel Myers and Amanda Bible Williams kick off their five-week series on the Gospel of John with special guest Adrienne Camp. They explore the pr...
John Week 1 with Adrienne Camp
Culture •
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Interactive Transcript
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Hello and welcome to the She Reads Truth Podcast. She reads truth creates beautiful, accessible,
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Bible reading plans and resources to help you get into God's Word every day. Each week
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here on the podcast we talk about what we're going to read together as a community this week.
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I'm your host Rachel Myers and I'm your other host Amanda Bible Williams and this is week one
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of our John series. We're going to be in the gospel of John for five weeks starting today.
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We are so happy to have our dear friend Adrian Camp with us better known as 80 80 where so many
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beautiful hats she is a singer she is a writer she is a seminary student to ask me how I know
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she's my seminary sister she has a couple of beautiful Bible studies one is called as for me and
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it is on the Psalms and you all it is a gift and then recently a collaborative study on the book
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of Proverbs but this conversation with 80 was such a blessing it was one of those that felt like
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it was just for our hearts and it is such icing on the cake that we get to share with you and so
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let's get right into starting the book of John with our friend 80.
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80 Camp welcome to the She Reads Truth Podcast. Thank you. I cannot believe that this is your first time.
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I know it's kind of crazy. I literally came and I was like well she's done this a couple times
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like in my mind you have been a guest here multiple times. Well if you're like our lives overlap in
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so many beautiful ways that it's in my heart is I love this I love what you guys do and excited. Me too.
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It's finally have episode 298. Yes. It comes 80 Camp and she's not going she's she's here for the long house.
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I love it. This is the beginning of your She Reads Truth Podcast area. Oh my gosh I will just come be a fly on the wall.
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I love it. Well and y'all 80 is our neighbor she lives in the natural area with us so
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you know how we feel about that we'll just be like. We love an in person.
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Poppin. Poppin. Poppin talk about the Bible. Yes. And not just our neighbor but seminary sisters.
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Seminary sisters. Yes. Yeah. Oh. I was telling 80 that I because I've paused for this semester.
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Nobody worry. I'm going to try to unpause soon. But I was I've the FOMO has been under control
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until I saw 80 for coffee yesterday and our other seminary sister Cheryl and I was like oh no wait
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it's coming back. Full of regret. Hopefully this morning will yeah.
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Fill up the seminary cup a little bit. So I do have a question I told I was joking
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before we hit record that I was like we don't actually have questions prepared 80 we just read
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the Bible together on our podcast. Talk about it which is true. But I do have one question and that is
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I you know think about us two and a half years ago two years ago. Pre-Seminary. And I'm curious
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if you feel like okay you're reading John. Do you feel like you read it differently than you did
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two years ago. Oh my gosh. Night and day. Really? Yeah. Oh I want to hear about this. Yeah. I'm
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like I have all these sort of probably phrases that are stuck in my head for my professor. Sure. Yeah.
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One of them being like what old testament themes are being activated. And so I think I'm so away
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of the fact now that the new testament writers. I don't know I think I probably made the mistake so
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many times of reading scripture inserting it from my perspective and trying to sort of see where
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they were. Okay. But I feel like I'm so much more aware of the fact that they were writing in the
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first century and their background would have been the Old Testament. Yeah. Yeah. Which sounds
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simple. Their Bible was the Old Testament. Yeah. Their Bible was so their whole framework of even
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writing would have been pulling from the Hebrew scriptures. And so I think I'm so much more aware
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of like okay what's being activated here. What are they pointing back to that? Yeah. It just
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has a whole different sort of like network in my brain I think. Like different than like we in 2025
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are like ooh I wonder if they knew that they were making that connection. Yes. And I've made that
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connection on their behalf. Yeah. Literally. You probably didn't know this when you were writing.
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John. Yeah. John. You didn't know. And I know exactly. And it's real like realizing even just studying
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you know the beginning of John again just looking over in preparation for sitting and talking about
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this. There's so many things and then things and I think like themes and genres that I wouldn't have
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even thought of like in a sense one of them even John being like in the beginning was the word.
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And then also knowing that he was the writer of Revelation like he's a cosmic person.
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His you know his writing is like expensive and he's trying to show this like wide. Yeah.
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This massive creator god in the beginning. You know what I mean it's just this massive like
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cosmic life source and in the beginning and in the end is what he's giving us. Literally. Yeah.
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And then I mean we can dive into this later. Starting with the first miracle being the wedding
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feast and knowing again like the book of Revelation is ending with the wedding feast.
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Just that connecting those things that I don't know that I would have made as many connections.
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Yeah. So realized that oh that was intentional. Yeah. All of these things were so intentional.
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And his readers probably would have gotten it. Yeah. You know where is where like oh what does this
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mean? They're like oh that's what obviously you know what this is. Yeah. I think you're for saying
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all of this because I feel a whole lot of conviction maybe conviction exactly the right word but
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just like a oh yeah that that that was on purpose. I feel like I'm just like well that's
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cool how that worked out. Yeah totally. Well and sometimes I will confess that I don't think about
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John the writer of the gospel of John disciple of Jesus and John writer of Revelation disciple of
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Jesus. I don't think of them in continuity or I didn't. You know and and so it really does challenge
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my assumptions and that the kind of false walls that I put up between different books of the
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Bible. Yes. And how it's like oh wait like these are this is the same man. Yeah. And I John is really
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um he's kind of working his way into my heart is like one of my favorites. It was
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that I've been a Peter gal for a long time. Like I love Peter's story. Yes. Still do.
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Totally. Um I just love what a just a mess. He's just a mess and I love him. But John has such a
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fascinating character art. Yes. Yes. And I yeah in thinking about old man John on Patmos.
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It's funny because when we've talked to our listeners about the fact that right after John we're
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going to read Revelation this fall. Like we really are doing young John. I keep joking and calling it
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young John old John but looking at the yes but looking at the dates John this gospel of John was
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written in 70 to a hundred AD like 40 to 70 years after these events took place. Yes. And so it
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means that it was actually like old John and old John and old John. It's like he's writing about
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his quote of what youth. Yeah. But it's older John that's actually writing this like when he's
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going in the beginning was the word. Yes. He's likely 70, 80 and years old.
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Mm hmm. According to the timeline. Yeah. He really does have this cosmic perspective. I like how
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you put that. Yeah. Realizing that each of a gospel writers really they have such personalities.
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Yes. Like they're not these like they're humans. They're humans and kind of some of them are sassy
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and some of them are you know what I mean. And like they're they're full on personality. Yeah.
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We're going to see some of that in our reading. Absolutely. Yeah. And I love even I think John is so
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different obviously from the other gospels because of how much content it's new. Right. But also
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I think what you're saying because his perspective is like they're sort of writing about Jesus
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after having just experienced relatively in real time. Yes. And you can tell his perspective is
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a little bit more like it is a little further removed of the revelation. Yeah. It's a hot and
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these are all the things that he fulfills. So the way that he tells the story about Jesus
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is a little bit different. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's amazing. Different. His goals are different.
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Yes. They really are. Yeah. Yeah. You know, like he is and I appreciated that reminder even in the
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introduction that she reads John introduction that they're at the beginning of our reading guide.
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Yes. Yeah. To remember that he was writing he had an evangelical purpose for his gospel.
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In the way that he did it was not only by telling the story of Jesus but by pointing out
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these like neon sign moments that say son of God son of God son of God. Yeah. Like that he you
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know that we had we get all the I am statements the seven I am statements from Jesus in the book of
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John the seven Messianic signs. So and and they're very kindly labeled in the CSB. I know.
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That's when they're happy. Yeah. Which I appreciate because Jesus doesn't say third son.
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They're fine. You know, so it's good. And just to and all the fulfillment of prophecy like the
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festivals come into play. And so like you said 80 these things even to those who were not
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Uber religious in his audience. There so much of this would have hit their ears in like a really
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jarring way of like whoa. This they're seeing what's happening and what this means.
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Yes. Because Jesus equals God is a very strong statement. Huge. And that's what he's showing us.
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I love it. I also think about like the scroll of John the God. I don't at scroll.
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I was. Yeah. Yeah. Well, it's cruel here. So if he did indeed write this 70 to 180. Yes.
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And it's not like it was like file print at we didn't good and burger hadn't been around yet.
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Like we didn't have the internet either. And so you know the distribution of this gospel was pretty
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limited. It would have been read more than it would have been read aloud more than it would have
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been read with eyes. But like thinking about the people who are hearing in the beginning was the
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word. Like hearing this read or even reading it with their eyes for the first time. It would have
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been 40 to 70 years after the crucifixion was reaction ascension. And so many people maybe weren't
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even alive when that happens. So there and we know about the first century church. Like there's
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a lot of like well what exactly like what's true. What's the account that's true. They had some other
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gospel writers but I don't know. It's just it's neat to wonder about that experience and how it was
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distributed and how it was received and all of those things. Well, and I think even the fact that he
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like going back to what we're also saying about it being sort of like in the beginning was the word
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it's such a direct tie into Genesis one. But also knowing that this would have come after the church
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had been persecuted and dispersed. So he's not going to centralize the gospel to like Israel or
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Bethlehem or Palestine or whatever it is in that area. It's going to be this broader scale of like
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the gospels expanded and gods along with it. That was the plan from the beginning. You know. And
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that is good. That's one of the things that really stood out to me and we'll get there as we start to
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kind of turn the page into these first chapters. But that's what stood out to me is all of the you
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know in John 3 we get these like anyone everyone like anyone who believes everyone who I mean it's all
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of those John 3 moments that we quote all the time. But that even those words would have been like wait
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everyone. And he's saying them when is like he's talking to a Pharisee and then he's you know Jesus
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in some man. Yeah. Yeah. He's in right Jesus. Yeah. And then he's in some area like he's saying and
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all of the the context in which he's saying these things is like would have also been kind of
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scandalous. Yeah. So I do I got that feeling as I was reading through this time 280 that the
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expansiveness of the gospel. That's a good word. Let's also give ourselves the context of I don't
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remember maybe you guys do the exact year that Paul was murdered. But I do understand that most
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of his letters were also taking place sort of in the 70s. I was going to say I think it's early 70s.
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Right. And so roughly the same time. Yeah. Yeah.
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Yeah. Time period. Now we're writing about a different time period like John's the the content
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of the gospel of John is the events that took place really between 30 and 33 AD. Yes.
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But the writing of it is like he's a contemporary of Paul. And like that's happening at the same time
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and so it is like I just think that helps me really put like flesh on bones a little bit sorry for
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same flesh. But I don't think about it that way. Yeah. Like this is why I love love love these
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conversations. Yeah. And these are the kind of conversations that you know when you're sitting
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under teaching that's so important. And normally we don't get to have these kind of stream of
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consciousness like moments where you're like that also means this about the timeline. And that
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would also mean that this person was alive and writing. And here's the context because whoever's
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teaching us has something they're going to communicate. They're trying to say something. And we're
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so grateful. Thank you teachers. Please keep doing that. Yeah. We need you. And also we need peers to
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sit with and learn alongside. That's why the cohort has been so powerful because we've had the freedom
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to ask questions. Nobody's judging us for no one. Yeah. I mean even as I was looking through this
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yesterday and this is maybe for some who've studied this and I know I'm jumping a little bit but
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realizing oh I think Jesus is the wine. And I'm like is that physically like the right to know
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but in seminary I feel like I've been so many times I've been able to just go like pop my hand up
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and say hey am I making the right connection. Yeah. Somebody else who's really deeply studied some
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of these passages and it's all right there. Yes. You know but just making connections. Yes. But I feel
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like this is why these spaces are so somebody's filing you in the filing. Wow. She has a couple of
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things that I mean I've witnessed those questions being asked by you and our classmates. And so
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often it's not just like a yes or no answer. So often we have professors who you know thankfully
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are humble enough to go you know what I think that it like that is an interesting connection. Yes. And
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they are so you know and sometime and we do you make couple crooked there like yeah that's a bit of a stretch.
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Okay. Okay. Just kidding. And that's all coming. Yeah. But they are also still learning. Yes.
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Because I think about you know my original question to you like do you read John differently
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and the answer is yes. And also 80 reading John three years ago that was also right and good.
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And like God was with you. Oh Jesus. Yeah. And you were learning and like we're still learning.
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Reading John in three years totally be good. But that to me I'm like that's the beauty of
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Scripture. Amen. It's always life giving now it's life giving in five years. And I mean if I
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think about the amount of times that I've read my Bible. Yeah. Through and through and through and
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so many times I'm literally yesterday I'm like oh I've never seen that before that's incredible. You
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know how is it both ancient and new? It is. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I love it. You're listening real quick
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housekeeping. No we are going to be referencing our reading guides quite a bit as we go through
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this episode. But also our study of John is going to span five weeks. So we are like right at the
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doorstep of a five week study. So if you don't have your reading guides and you want it if you're
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not a subscriber and you just want to go to shopshearystreuth.com and grab one. We have a code for you
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John 15 J oh H and one five shopshearystreuth.com for 15% off anything in the John collection.
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Also while you're there advent I've used the code advent 2020 that would be for obviously
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anything in the advent collection. I can try to remember to tell you those things now on the
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front end because literally as I like finish this breath I'm telling you hey before you start I
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encourage you to look at this extra on pages 18 and 19 in your reading guide. It's titled
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Who Was John and it gives you such a like everything that the three of us have been talking about
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kind of getting our heads around who this author is and what he like what perspective he's writing from
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this extra was extremely helpful and actually sites not just the gospel of John but we're getting
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you know citations from the other gospels from Paul. So anyway this will be helpful as you frame
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and begin your John study. Yes okay Monday. Yes y'all this might be I mean if I had a top five
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I mean moments in scripture John one one I just start I have sat in on enough interviews with Amanda
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and my arms are already up. I know. Where like if the host asks like what book of Bible do you
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wish you had memorized what's your favorite gospel. Yeah it's like John I love John one one like
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and again never once have I answered the like who's your favorite character in scripture as John
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that's right. No she loves it. It is interesting. Yeah no I know. I know how do you guys
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enter Israel. Yes okay it's almost like together. That's awesome. When you're reading through
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scripture and then I went to Israel for the first time and all of a sudden become so tangible.
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Yeah what yeah and I feel like the longer I study the scripture it's that it's like the bones get
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meat on and then people get personalities. Yeah you know to me and all these things. Yeah it's
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so good. It's so life giving. So Eddie would you read for us the prologue John one one through 18?
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Yes I would love to. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.
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He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through him and apart from him not one
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thing was created that has been created. In him was life and that life was the light of men.
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That light shines in the darkness and yet the darkness did not overcome it.
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There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify about the light
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so that all might believe through him. He was not the light but he came to testify about the light.
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The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world and the
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world was created through him and yet the world did not recognize him. He came to his own and his
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own people did not receive him but to all who did receive him he gave them the right to be children
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of God to those who believe in his name who were born not of natural descent or of the will of the
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flesh or of the will of man but of God. The word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observe his
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glory, the glory as the one and only son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testified
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concerning him and exclaimed, this was the one of whom I said, the one coming after me ranks ahead
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of me because he existed before me. Indeed, we have all received grace upon grace from his fullness.
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For the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen
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God, the one and only son who is himself God and is at the Father's side. He has revealed him.
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This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. It's so powerful. It is.
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Every time. Thank you for reading that. Thank you for giving me that honor, honestly.
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I just I almost had the urge as I was listening to like it almost feels like a symphony. Like I
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just like I wanted to write not that I know necessarily how to conduct. But I did learn we learned
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in like middle school how to do like the keep time for four or four times. Yes. And that's what it
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just feels like this like like this moment where it just like like it all swells up. Yeah. That's
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what this is and it's so stunningly beautiful. The world was created through him and yet the world
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did not recognize him. Isn't that mind-blowing? Yeah. I mean he came to his own and his own people
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did not receive him. Yeah. The science of it is not as there's barely scientific like it's just so
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hard to be like and he was there and he's he's God. Yes. And I think one of the things that I love about
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how what a big picture of God is painted in this passage. Yes. And we've talked about like if
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I served a God that I could understand. I know that I could make sense. Yes. Then wouldn't I
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be the God? Right. Absolutely. I want to serve a God who I can't bow to the mystery and his
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massiveness. Yeah. I find joy and worship like I like I'm release in serving a God. I do too. I
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don't. Yes. Cannot comprehend. Cannot make complete sense of. Yeah. I've been actually as a
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part of seminary. There's been one of the spiritual practices that they've asked us to do this
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semester was study a passage of scripture and I chose Isaiah 40 and it basically is just like
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do you not know have you not heard and then it just talks like God is enthroned above the heavens
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and then it just says that one question of like who is my equal? Yeah. Who were you going to compare
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me to? Yeah. And then he goes on also even to say though but then how can you say my way is hidden
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from the Lord? Like yes, I'm this massive. There is none like me but I'm also intricately
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like going back to John. I've just going the word became flesh and dwells among us.
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I've just going yes and this big but I'm also this close and this intimate you know.
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That's what gives me is that that combination of the grandness and
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bigness and power of God and the invitation personal, merciful, compassionate God.
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And he's both and and we don't experience like we don't have anything like that to compare. You know
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because we live in a culture of like celebrity and power and all of that and that doesn't go with
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the like going low and the being meek and you know it just and so I think a lot of time I have so
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much compassion for us as humans our lack of like understanding of like how to approach God
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because of course we don't know like yeah right it feels so counterintuitive
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totally because it's just not the way the world works in our experience and so I it's so
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beautiful to me and it's what it's don't we all just want that like you just want to be I just
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want to be cradled by that God like I know I love it. I'm grateful for the gospel invitation even
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in this big beautiful crescendo Amanda like who said but that like moment and verse was the word I was
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looking for you know she doesn't mean to call me no thank you were there were the
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hard to find some lesson but that invitation like right there like we're in the prologue and he's
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going but to all who did receive it gave them the right to be children of God those who believe in
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his name like yeah thank the Lord like that love me that's me totally I love even the choice of
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the word the right me too not just like I gave them the choice to be yeah it's like you the birth
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right yes like it feels like a movable you know to me oh yeah that's good that's good and this whole
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like beginning with John the Baptist and we'll read more about him in in Tuesday's reading but
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I love reading that story and I feel like every time I read the story like I have new questions
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yes like even and and without like I kind of want to skip ahead but I bet you guys have
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no you can come back it was surprising to me and so here's a moment of like wonder yeah
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in Tuesday's reading in that first section of verse 29 like there's a couple of moments where
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you know initially John says look the Lamb of God who takes away this is a word like he sees Jesus
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walking toward him and he like points him out yes like let's take a moment in a minute and talk
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about the significance of him calling him the Lamb of God yes but I'm just curious and maybe this
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is a dumb thread to pull on tell me what like verse 31 verse 33 both times he starts it with I didn't
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know him but I came baptizing with water I didn't know him but he who sent me to baptize with water
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told me the one you see with the spirit of sending and resting on him he's the one like help me
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understand because we know Mary and Elizabeth were pregnant at the same time yes these like Jesus
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and John the Baptist are within like three to six months of each other totally in age did they not
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grow up together question mark did they because there's no like photos or text or like did they
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literally not know what each other looked like I wonder if that no was more referring to not like hey
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I know Amanda but like recognizing like I know he is the son of God interesting so it's almost like
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he knew him as Jesus my cousin right like hey Jesus what's up let's go kick the ball together whatever
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it is but wasn't that revelation of like I know that he is God and it must have been layered
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because like totally he's the one who leapt in his mother's womb yeah because like proximity surely
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the savior and Shirley that cry in Elizabeth are like Jesus totally like immaculate conception
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right yeah this is like Mary is the mother of the Messiah this is like I don't know like one day
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if it's even one of those things where it's kind of like James brother James wishes that he knew
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supposedly Jesus is supposed to be God but didn't actually know until he had the spirit
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yes and a belief of like I know that I know beyond a shadow but you're my Lord like it's hard to
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be like I'm six year seven but you're my Lord exactly that's hard to be an excellent question
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for a seminary class because we could say because we've not done a word study on this and it could
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just be like no right yeah what what are these different nose KNOW what do they mean here
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and is this one of those times where language not just the English language but language period
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kind of limits like our ability to express this because I'm not a question this is what I
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exactly I thought you were going to ask because I had a similar question where John says so he
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recognized him he says look the Lamb of God right and then he says later in 33 I didn't know him but
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the one who sent me to baptize with water told me so God the Holy Spirit told me the one you see
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the spirit descending and resting on he is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit well that
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moment like is he talking about the moment where Jesus is baptized but he had already said look the
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Lamb of God and here's the thing that so I was getting like tripped up on like the sequence of events
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but I think there was a progressive knowing and I also think that the Holy Spirit and John
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were very much in communication with each other and I hadn't thought about it being you know
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for even from the womb yeah but as a prophet yeah that's right yeah yes yes I think so because I don't
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think that John I think John knew that Jesus was the Son of God before the moment that he saw the
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spirit descend yeah and part of that is the faith that he had to he preached the Messiah before he
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knew the Messiah yeah all of the prophets before we have been pointing to him and they haven't known
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exactly what to aim their finger at yeah it's here yeah it happened and here he is the culmination
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this is what we've been waiting for these like yeah these extended fingers all eventually pointing
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credible one man yeah who takes away the sins of the world like John the Baptist said that
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before the saving work was complete right but I mean the whole thing is mind boggling
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it is so incredible yeah it's so fun it's so fun to pull on the thread and it's a good
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like this preaching of the gospel because he's not just saying like he's here and he loves you
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yes it takes away the problem yes there's a problem there's a lot of the sin of the world is the
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problem and he's here to solve it yeah yeah yeah and and so let's actually before we go too far from
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this passage do you want to talk about the significance of Jesus being pointed to as the lamb of God
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yeah well I mean I think throughout the whole Old Testament yeah in order to keep this
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covenanted relationship with God the blood of a lamb had to be shed yeah to cover sins because
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as you're saying sin is this disease it's this problem that corrupts and touches everything and
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so God institutes this beautiful method yeah of being able to keep this fellowship because that
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was the most important thing it wasn't just like okay you've got to get it all together yeah but it
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was about the fellowship and being able to live in community with God yeah and so here then we have
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the ultimate lamb coming to make the sacrifice once and for all right and so after this nothing
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else needs to be added to this system it's literally one and done one and done and then I mean exactly
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what you're saying that this is I mean again we're reading it going from like 2025 backwards
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John the Baptist and gospel writer John they're looking at this from going we've been waiting
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thousands and thousands and thousands of years and so this huge yes this is it this is what we've
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been waiting for you know that I mean and like you said it's a beautiful system but also AD it's a
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bloody system like yeah by pointing to Jesus and saying it's costly the lamb of God
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immediately points to him as a sacrifice yeah can you see his blood will have to be shed like
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that prophecy this is John the beginning the beginning of his ministry this is the mark what you're
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saying that exactly this is mark we're starting this going that's the one that's going to be
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sacrifice and let's not miss also like because you pointed out the whole Old Testament sacrificial
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system but let's also like not miss pointing out just Passover in Egypt yes like that initial
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Passover lamb where the blood was put over the doorpost covered these households and protected
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the lives of the firstborn the angel of death would pass by like if the wages of sin were death
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yes the blood of the lamb protected yes and that's what they will be even like in this early reading
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John they will be in Passover yeah no so what's the one that's going to say yeah
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lamb we get Passover yeah happening right now so that lamb and that specific Passover event in Egypt
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I think would be also front of mind yes absolutely yeah absolutely it's so so good
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all right back to the show okay I don't know how we're gonna get we have like not I know I know
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how are we gonna do this because I just want to pull on every I know we get these you're gonna
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see a refrain in the gospel of John this come see come and see yes and I like always mark them
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with a star because I think that's there is this come close come and see refrain and so notice
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those and kind of like talk to the Lord about those like what am I being invited to come and see
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another thing that really struck me talking about the other synoptic gospels they all talk about
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the miracles of Jesus yeah John specifically refers to them as signs yes yes but which ties into
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the whole come and see because a miracle is sort of something that happens to you a sign is
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something we're supposed to follow and press into that's right and so there's this invitation of
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come and see the signs of Jesus before a reason yeah it wasn't just to go oh he's the one
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it's also because we're supposed to do something about it that's good and then knowing like how
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obsessed John was with the word abide and all of those things and all this that presence of just
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going in response to recognizing that this is the Lamb of God we now have to do something with it
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exactly it's good yeah those two words feel like they matter so much because the come means like
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drawn near yes get close yeah and then the sea feels like not like observed but perceive
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yes come and understand yes like yeah make it yours yeah totally yeah we also like right in there
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Amanda like this is I think the moment where Peter meets Jesus and then yeah a lot of people
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mate like they start and then fill up and you know and fill up goes and he's like hey Nathaniel like I
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think we found the one like we have found the one Moses wrote about in the law so like it's this like
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kind of very early um evangelism of like yeah come on and then so Nathaniel thinks that he's
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heard about Jesus from Philip and then Jesus goes to him before Philip called you when you were
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under the fig tree I saw you like there's this sweet moment of like oh I've been I've been watching
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you I saw you before you found me I already had seen you that'll preach all day Rachel I know
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yeah look at me just sit there for I need to hear that seriously me too and Nathaniel has this like
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early early um confession of faith here like rabbi Nathaniel replied you are the son of God you are
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the king of Israel wow and so they really are having these moments but then we'll see are seeing
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they are coming and seeing yeah and we know from the synoptics like you just said from the other
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gospel accounts we know the struggle that the disciples have in believing and John doesn't
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highlight it the same way that like Mark does for example yes but that's part of the blessing of
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having these four gospel perspectives yes is that they kind of bring out different elements of
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the story but I was just like taken aback by that I think wow but then Jesus even kind of like
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I don't know that it's a rebuke but like he teases that out a little bit he responds do you believe
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because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree you see greater things than this isn't that
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such a challenge though yeah like as you're saying that I'm like how often do I settle yeah
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just this initial experience of the Lord and he's going I've got so much more for you oh that's
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good you know what I mean he's like you that's it you just want your sins forgiven I've got way more
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for you than that I've got freedom I've got redemption I've got healing like all you know
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to mean he's like we're talking about Jacob's ladder the descending and ascending of like God's
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house is here I'm coming to live with you not just like okay cool you've got the get out of jail
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free cod because your sins are forgiven this is different than the Passover in Egypt
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what we did the thing and we saved you and then on you went into the wilderness it's this mold
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this is so much mold so much more there's more and the forgiveness is necessary yes right and also
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it is part of the story yeah okay in John 2 we have the wedding at cana yes and again maybe
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my questions are silly ones because I I like a look at that and I'm like help me understand
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what Mary's doing here yeah but I also hate you like yeah but like let's talk about the wedding
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feast and the significance and I was like your questions are better than mine to be honest with you
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because I think again seminaries made me talk about pulling at the strings yeah just because I
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think before I would have just accepted it as oh it's Jesus first miracle and he seemed reluctant
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and Mary was like no go boy you can do it you know to be and he's like okay oh there's jars like wow
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okay let's just fill them up like yeah but just realizing there's so many things in there that are
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deeply symbolic yeah these guys as well like thinking about John he's not going to waste his words
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again speaking about the scroll they don't just sit down like we would of I've got an email and I
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could send a thousand emails in a day if I want to text like they are sitting down the things that
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they are writing are intentional so really I'm learning I shouldn't say I've learned because I
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definitely haven't I'm learning to really really slow it down and then just ask myself like
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what are the questions I need to be asking about this passage what are the things symbolic of so
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even just slowing down and going okay six stone water jars for Jewish purification like what's
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being said there so six is obviously incomplete Jewish purification is going to be talking about
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the law and Moses and what was yeah so it's sort of this I think a hint to the old covenant
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and then Jesus takes them he doesn't abolish them right he isn't come to abolish him but he
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takes them and he fills them up with water and he turns them into new wine and so right in this one
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little thing there it's like oh it's a replacement of the old rituals and he's filling with this new
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life just talking about like that his presence is supposing what was you know anyway and the fact that
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I mean it opens with it on the third day yes the third day a wedding took place totally what else do
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we know about day three yeah yeah it's a celebration day I had not ever noticed and I don't think
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that that's false significance like yeah those six stone water jars for Jewish purification
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being incomplete well and I got stuck on the line where the groom basically says verse 10 he says
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you know everyone sits the fine wine at first and then he ends with but you have kept the fine wine
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until now and I literally just scribbled in my Bible like this is the messianic age breaking in like
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the finest wine the best news the final completion is now and that's Jesus you know yeah yeah
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did you guys know as well I didn't realize this that this is actually unique to John the story
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yes and oh isn't that cool there it's just that oh that's fun yeah they haven't heard this story
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like no he's writing it yeah 70 to 100 AD he's like nobody's actually heard this story this is new
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I think the rough percentages that like 90% of John's gospel is unique to John's thank you John
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I mean seriously that is what would we have if we didn't have to right right and I do Rachel
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I'm also fascinated with the mother son relationship here yeah I when I read it this time okay I just
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I just wrote in the margin you know because yes this she comes up to him and says hey they don't
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have any wine and so in honor shame culture which we have learned a lot about yeah in our seminary
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classes 80 it would have been great shame yes you have run out of wine in the middle of your
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literature yes yeah and so and he his response to her is what has this concern of yours had to do
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with me woman which PS the study Bible that I was consulting just made the very note the note that
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I thought was very helpful that the Greek word here for woman is not disrespectful no no no no no
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yeah so I just think that's one of those classic places where we can read it with our
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Celine yeah what does this have to do with you woman okay everyone's all down and he says my
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hour has not yet come so like that deep like intention right but then she turns to the servant
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and says do whatever he tells you and she is amazing I just wrote in the margin she knows she knows
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like she knows exactly she's the one who treasured up all these things in her heart yes she knows
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I I think she knows what he came to do absolutely she knows exactly who he is and she knows that like
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he is either going to use or not use this moment yeah in the way that he is that he needs to
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and it's not to say she knows better than him no no no he knows who he is absolutely knows who he is
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what and he submits to her yeah he absolutely I mean he doesn't he could have just moved on and not
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done anything yeah you know but he he does he honored his mom he does yeah he honors his mom often
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yeah yeah yeah so beautiful so that is sign number one sign number one sign number one and then
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here we are in the Passover festival yes and and Jesus enters and cleanses the temple do you know
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something I didn't realize so in the in IV because we're reading in the CSB and I do like to look
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at multiple translations because it's so interesting yes so in the CSB it says right here in verse 13
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the Jewish Passover was near and so Jesus went up to Jerusalem in the temple he found people selling
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oxen sheep and doves and he also found the money changers sitting there after making a whip out of
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cords like if that took a minute it is crafting time yes he drove everyone out the temple with
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their sheep and oxen he also poured out the money changers coins and overturned the tables he told
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those who were selling doves get these things out of here stop turning my father's house into a
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market place yeah the word temple in verse 14 in the in IV it says in the temple courts okay I don't
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know which is more correct I am not a Greek scholar but at that place but if the if it's the temple
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courts what I didn't realize is that's the one place the Gentiles were allowed to come in worship
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and pray and so again as we're reading through we're thinking about like the expansiveness of the
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gospel message yes to me this is one of those moments yes for he's not just protecting the interior
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where the priests are or even the Jewish people are he's protecting the margins of the temple
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this is where they come to worship this is where the Gentiles come to worship yes and so I
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wonder if it was actually confusing to like the Pharisees for example that he cared so much about
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this part of the temple absolutely right like yeah I think I think you're so spot on I mean even
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just continuing on within how he later on deals with the Samaritan woman which I know will get there
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but I think that that is so spot on because God is coming and even you know in going back going
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to verse John 1 verse 12 but who all who did receive and he gave the right to be children of God
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and saying like he came to his own and they rejected him that's right so he then it's that Gentile
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inclusion yes of going the gospel is for everybody and I think the book of John has that in so many
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different places yes I agree and so I think you're totally right onto that you know yeah and then he
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carries on when he's cleansing the temple yeah because it sort of has this like weird shift of all
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of a sudden he like goes and flips tables and creates a chord and all that stuff and then he talks
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about his body immediately which for me I feel like there's so many gaps that still need to be filled
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because I'm like wait what's happening right now yeah he's talking about something completely
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different and then verse 21 speaks very specifically that he's saying that he's talking about the
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temple of his body so like in the same way in verse 1 we I mean in chapter in the beginning of
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chapter 2 we see Jesus is like I'm the new wine yeah this is him saying I am the temple temple
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and everybody is welcome in this place you know to me yeah yeah we just closed the book of Nia
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Maya yesterday as a community and so all of that feels really fresh for us as well so when you see
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you know verse 19 destroy this temple and I will raise it up in three days you think about you
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know the labor that went into the rebuilding and the clearing away of the rubble and like that
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story that we as a community have been like elbow deep in yes for the last three weeks and so it
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hits a little different when you read that and you're like that's so black actually we we know what
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that took and we know what that cost and and why that might would be even offensive to totally yeah
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and what a hugely symbolic and massive claim it is for him to say oh I will it's me yeah you know
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to me yeah yeah yeah yeah and I will like I'm gonna be raised from the dead I'm the one that's
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fulfilling all of this yeah yeah it's an it's not it's not just a metaphor like he's not just
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using the temple as like I think sometimes I read it that way even still of like um we're talking
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about the temple but I'm really talking about my body but he is the temple because he is got
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and that it like it it's one of those moments that I feel like my mind starts to say in the little bit
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I'm like oh yeah I remember Cory Tin Boom saying once that there's so many things she didn't
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understand about God and she just imagined this coat hanger full of things that she just hangs
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up that she's like yep I don't understand that one and every once in a while periodically she gets
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to take one of them off anyway my brain just went to like yeah that's like a coat hanger thing
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you know what I'm like yeah don't know that I fully get that one but you know keep reading and
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they'll pull that down yeah or you just take your whole closet to the Lord and glory absolutely yeah
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yeah that's happening here yeah okay John chapter three Jesus and Nicodemus guys
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um a beautiful story that were somewhat all of us familiar when yeah another story that's
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unique to John yes yes unique to John um what did you notice new this time as you were reading
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or like what did you guys see this time I think I realized the parallel between actually chapter three
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and four oh yeah John was actually sort of I think telling this kind of like there's a lot of
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dualisms in John right like yes by darkness abide don't abide all that kind of stuff yeah and I
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feel like chapter three and four yeah was Jesus coming to Nicodemus who's a Pharisee so a Jew and
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insider and at nighttime yeah so it's like these parallels to chapter four with the Samaritan woman
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where she's an outsider opposite she meets him in the middle of the day in broad daylight a woman
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a woman yeah like yeah not just an outsider is an agental but a woman yeah and one of them
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is really just questioning very slow to respond walks away unsure yeah the other one has this radical
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encounter with God walks away and becomes the first evangelist you know and so just this comparison
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basically between these two stories that I think John is actually trying to do on purpose and
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pointing out again Jesus came for his people yeah and they didn't receive him and so then again
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to what you're saying Amanda like the gospel is supposed to expand to pass just this thing you know
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or these people even the symbolism of the fact that it was Nicodemus that came to Jesus at night
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like yes he chose nighttime to come yes chose yeah this yeah a time where it'd be less visible
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yes to be like I don't know very much now what's happening whereas Jesus came to the Samaritan woman
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and in broad daylight in public yeah and I love that you compared those two yeah that's really
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helpful eating well in a fun little like fun fact is this dialogue that he has with the Samaritan
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woman is one of the longest recorded dialogues that Jesus has with anybody I mean minus that
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pilot when before he gets crucified or whatever but it's like Samaritan woman outside and John
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is recording it again being super intentional to go and know this story we're we're writing down
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you know the time was significant yeah marginalized woman who's been ignored yeah ostracized
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I think there's also sometimes I read the Nicodemus story this portion of it because it just kind of
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stops right and we get more from Nicodemus later yes but in this part in John 3 sometimes I read it
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with kind of the giving Nicodemus the biggest benefit of the doubt here and I'm like oh he wants
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to know Jesus this time as I was reading and I don't know which reading is correct and I don't
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if anyone knows yeah but this time as I was reading it I really read Nicodemus as being just really
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curious of like wanting kind of wanting to just like are you yes like who are you yeah and not
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necessarily in a posture of like openness but I don't know because he just is he kind of challenges
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them like how what do you mean be born again like this doesn't make any sense and they don't even
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like he doesn't even finish the convert like we don't know how that conversation ends but the
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Samaritan woman I just sense this I get fur at this openness because at first she's like how
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why are you asking me for a drink it's almost like she's saying to him do you like looking around
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like do you do you know where you are right now yeah and what you're asking yeah because she was not
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only an outsider as a Gentile she was a Gentile because the Samaritans as I think
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tell me this is right we're a product of the Jewish people intermarrying yes with pagans and so
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it was like worse than being just a full blooded Gentile and yeah and so she they would have been
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considered impure so for him to ask for her water to drink out of her jug yeah like talking about
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the purification rituals yeah everything about this is not okay no and everything about this
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would have been not okay to Nicodemus not okay yeah and I keep I think sometimes I've got our
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remind myself Jesus was Jewish yeah he knew this was not okay yeah he didn't he wasn't like oops I
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didn't know the rules yeah I mean this is him being born and raised in this environment in
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mode I mean what eight years old 12 years old preaching in the in the temple right like yeah I
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mean he is you know exactly the least familiar yeah yeah I love us well just when he says to Nicodemus
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as well it's just like challenging that whole thing of going you are not born again because of your
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Jewish lineage but you have to come to this decision of your faith being lived out because you
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believe in who Jesus is you know and then it's interesting though our children in our homes it is
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yeah you're not you're not a believer because you were born into a home of believers like the
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covenant is true and it's real and like this faith must become your own has to be yours it does I
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know yeah I see the Nicodemus story and again we're all just sort of like I'm like how do I think
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Nicodemus what was his posture like yeah yeah yeah we're just trying to use our imagination because
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yes that's what I did to do yes but when I see it I think that he really wants to be convinced like
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he wants it to be true yes I think that like any skepticism is like here's kind of like I'm confused
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please just like if you could just explain it all I love to be able to like not only believe but
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I'll get my guys on board like yes it that's yeah I sense this like and I wonder as we're talking
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about maybe these two people being representatives of their people groups yes like I wonder if so many
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of the Jews and Jewish teachers were going we are in earnest looking for the Messiah but we need to be
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sure yes and we're we need like facts and we need signs and we need to know before we take this leap
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yes and because we've based all of this so much on they're just really locked in yeah almost to a
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point where they can't unlock totally well and here's this man who's like breaking all the rules
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he's not doing it the way that they anticipated they would do it which would be hard for anybody
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yeah I mean that would be that would be hard yeah and at the same time Jesus responses are you a
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teacher of Israel and you don't know these things like he's going like this actually should make
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sense to you yes if you really knew the old testimonial yes if you really like you would know
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I say you would know that I was going to come you know this way totally but it feels like you
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aren't actually as prepared for me as you think you are yeah yeah yeah I love that scripture holds
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space for the Samaritan's women's journey with with Jesus and Nicodemus because obviously we don't
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see it here but at the death of Jesus I think doesn't he buy like ridiculous amount of pounds of
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whatever bear which is yeah huge expense to pay you know that I mean maybe it's presumptuous
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of me because I know scripture doesn't actually say it but you don't spend that money on somebody
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when he's been crucified as a criminal if you didn't believe in him yeah I agree do you know
spk_0
people are split on this I know I'm with you on this right now I very much feel like we're
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going to see Nicodemus and again I'm sure there's probably people who know so much more than me but to
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me I'm just looking at that going you have the sky who meets Jesus in the middle of the night then
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you see another snapshot of him I don't remember where it is maybe John 7 or whatever yeah and then
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where he's kind of stands up for Jesus in the Sanhedrin am I getting this right right and they're
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kind of like oh who are you like oh you're defending Jesus like what's up with that you know yeah
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and he's still sort of like I would think in the halfway mark yeah yeah and then at the end of
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Jesus's life you see what I think he's all in yeah and just how scripture to me just hold space
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for the journeys of people like you're saying even for us to have compassion towards our future
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Jewish brothers and sisters in the Lord or even those that might be a little bit more
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heavy or like Jesus loves them all and just because we don't all look like the Samaritan woman
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who immediately responds doesn't mean there is no space for people to journey into
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what's Christ who all who believed him to those who believe in his name he gave the right to tell
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me and I think that's the heart of John that's the gospel that's the gospel I love that he's he
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opened with it on purpose yes at the end of chapter three before we turn to four there's another
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moment of Jesus and John the Baptist that just kind of made me wonder after this Jesus and the disciples
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went to the end country side where he spent time with them and baptized John was also baptizing
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in a couple of places I can't pronounce because there was plenty of water there I'm curious what
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that symbolism might would be yes it feels significant it says people were coming and being baptized
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since John had not yet been thrown into prison and I underline that and I was like okay I hadn't
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asked this question before but how long was John's ministry was it like as brief as it sounds here
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like was it I mean it was brief it was he was beheaded while Jesus was still alive kind of early
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into Jesus three-year ministry yes John's ministry was not well I think about the men and women
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that we have known that we have not known whose ministries have been incredibly brief but
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impactful oh my goodness significant yes and I anyways so reading about that just was kind of a
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like so often the duration is not really what God was measuring no not at all I think even just
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the harvest of John the Baptist's ministry as well knowing like he obviously had disciples
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before Jesus yeah and then those disciples when Jesus came along he's like oh that's him yeah
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you know this wasn't this 40-year 80-year ministry but there's a moment near the end of that
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verse 29 it's likening John the Baptist to being the groom's friend yeah and it says but the groom's
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friend who stands by and listens for him rejoices greatly at the groom's voice so this joy of
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mine is complete he must increase but I must decrease and that's so special yeah that always gets me
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I don't feel like there's ever a season in my life where I don't need to hear that yeah like he
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must increase and I must decrease yeah yeah yeah this is not about me I am simply the messenger I'm
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simply that hand extended and pointing to Jesus like I want to be that yeah I want to be the girl
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who's just hand is pointing to Jesus yeah says he increases and I decrease like we prayed before
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we hit record on this podcast yeah please let this anyone who hears it not be excited about us and
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press by us want more of us I don't know what Jesus what yeah make them want you totally yeah you know
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I think we see this with the Samaritan woman because she leaves her jar she runs into the town and
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she says come see a man who told me everything I ever did could this be the Messiah and then we get
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to tap back to that moment a handful of verses later in verse 39 now many Samaritans from that town
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believed in him because of what the woman said when she testified he told me everything I ever did
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so when the Samaritans came to him they asked him to stay with them another big no no and he stayed
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there two days he was like yeah stay with you many more believed because of what he said she opened
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the door to Jesus yeah why on behalf of her people yes I just made me think a little bit of Rahab
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like just another gentile woman just waiting for Yahweh yes yes where have you been yeah and again
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she like the Samaritan woman's going like could this be the Messiah like she's been watching and
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you know what's so interesting as well is I'm just thinking about where verse 26 where Jesus says
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because she's she's saying I know the Messiah is going to come and then he says so boldly yeah I
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the one speaking to you and he and thinking about how okay so in seminary one of those other little
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phrases is like the Messianic secret yes how throughout all of these synoptics he's like don't say
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anything don't say anything and then just with the Samaritan woman has this bold like it's me and then
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she runs off again it's like just so you know I love you said something a moment ago Rachel about
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like our job is just to point to Jesus however short long our ministry which to me equals like
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our time on the earth like you don't have to have a proper ministry right like we our ministry is our
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life yes and I'm lately thinking about how or recently thinking about how complicated we make
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our witness and testifying to Jesus and then it really comes down to just these moments of like
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pointing back to him and like see look at what he just did for me whatever it is like he knows me
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yeah he he asked me for water he sat with me he is not afraid to come close to me and that that
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really can be that really my that's just that moment can open the window like help open the eye
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of people's eyes to who Jesus is his look in verse 42 they told the woman these are the people in
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Samaria now are saying to her we no longer believe because of what you said since we've heard for
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ourselves from directly from Jesus they'd sat with them now for a couple days and know that this
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really is the savior of the world yeah and so I kind of think a lot in a lot of ways the Gentiles
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had the benefit of not having all of the like they are just like oh like we can see clearly that this
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is him you know and we're not muddied or clouded but also like scandalous that is because the Jewish
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people have been waiting their job it's kind of the job yes to be on the look yeah well and it's
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because even in that I'm like oh my gosh I feel so uncomfortable because if I'm honest I'm probably
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the Pharisee you know what I mean when I hear people who these unexpected people
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Samaritan women who I'm pretty sure did not have her life figured out becomes this biggest
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evangelist yeah and yet I probably would have disqualified her somehow yeah oh but that everybody
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in her village is like oh my gosh he's the one yeah and then later on in I think it's Acts 8 we see
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Peter preaching to Samaria right you know to me in these same Samaritan people so obviously there's
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this crazy massive fruit that carries on down for oh that's good from the Samaritan woman and I'm
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just going oh my gosh Lord like yeah I'm so so bright if this happened today I would have been like
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I love that for her this feels like an emotional reaction totally and yeah maybe you don't actually
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know her backstory but trust me this is not the only one who wants to be listening to like whatever
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like yeah I hate to think that you might be right you know like we are so quick to dismiss anybody who
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isn't polished and yeah yeah yeah but she understood the gift of drinking from the living water
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of being renewed of being restored and she didn't think like I've got to get myself cleaned up I've
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got to do all these things I've got to check all the boxes before I get to testify about who Jesus
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is and I just think like Lord let me never forget just the gift of what it is to drink from the
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world of life like genuinely you know being having walked with the Lord my whole life being raised
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in the church being hearing who knows how many messages right sitting in Sunday how many times
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but it's like not letting the newness of that drinking from the water of life like lose like I don't
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want to lose that you know I wonder if we close this episode because as you're talking about like how do
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we not get over the the newness of drinking from the water of life it brings me back to Isaiah 55 which I
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think was like day one maybe it was like a supplementary reading right there and it caught me because
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it feels so relevant yeah to what you just said 80 and what John's message is yeah it says versus
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10 and 11 for just as rain and snow fall from heaven and do not return there without saturating
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the earth and making it germinate and sprout and providing seed to sow and food to eat so my word
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that comes from my mouth will not return to me empty but it will accomplish what I please and
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will prosper and what I send it to do like when I read that and hear you talking about like we hear a
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lot of I think there's some layered meaning here because I think first and foremost the word that
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is going to earth and not returning void would be the capital W word that's Jesus and I mean in our
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extra at the beginning of this week about the word of God or actually that extra is next week it is
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next week now the beginning I see you working ahead that's working on like what does it mean when
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scripture refers to the word of God and there's multiple meanings yeah and also when we talk about
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the word of God the scriptures coming into us and us reading them and that it wouldn't return void
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like 80 I connect with what you said about drinking from the living water yeah and that it wouldn't
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return void that when we drink in the word of God that it would change us that it would spring up
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wells in us that it would produce fruit yes in us and and so thank you for joining us
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for this episode for this week like I see that in you and even out of this conversation like the
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things that the word has done in the hearts of the three of us yeah I'm grateful for what a gift
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just to be able to sit with you guys and talk about Jesus I say I'm often and I have to be careful
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because I don't really want this to happen but like this is one of those conversations that like if
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we had forgotten to hit record it would have been so special just for the three of us yeah and also
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don't worry it was for it has happened before yeah this was not that yeah 80 years such a gift thank you
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I love with that we've already warned you it won't be the last time oh no are you kidding me
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like a lot like next week I'll be at she reads truth you just not not this time
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we're not ready okay y'all listening you know we just closed the book of Nia Maya we're just
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opening the book of John we've already shared with you John one five would be a code you can use
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at shopshearhoods truth.com this is your jumpstart into a week of being a woman in the word of God
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every day you have you get to read John one through five come on get like I don't even have to say
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get excited like oh so good yeah this is beautiful so go ahead and do your reading this week and
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just meet with the Lord and I really encourage you to find a friend and discuss it do what we just
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did and it does not I don't even know what perfect would look like so when I say don't have to be
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perfect like it can't be um just just go in just go in with a good sense of wonder and you'll be
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amazed with the spirit shows you so and then again come back next week we will have can really
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Stewart join us for week two of um John but until next week 80 camp what do we tell our friends
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friends keep opening your bibles
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