1 00:00:00,790 --> 00:00:04,380 Hey friend, welcome to another episode of the podcast, which we 2 00:00:04,390 --> 00:00:07,100 have called the Sunday Sit Down and It's Not Sunday, but we're 3 00:00:07,110 --> 00:00:08,960 sitting down. And we hope that this helps you 4 00:00:08,970 --> 00:00:12,330 sit down and have better conversation with your friends, 5 00:00:12,340 --> 00:00:15,920 your family, maybe the person you drive home with after church 6 00:00:15,930 --> 00:00:18,800 or colleagues at work. Like what would that look like 7 00:00:18,810 --> 00:00:21,780 to start having some conversations around faith with 8 00:00:21,910 --> 00:00:25,540 those in your circle of influence throughout this week? 9 00:00:25,550 --> 00:00:29,780 So we're going to jump into a conversation based on Luke 11, 10 00:00:29,790 --> 00:00:32,900 which is where we're at in our sermon series. 11 00:00:32,910 --> 00:00:35,540 So if you haven't listened to that sermon, probably makes 12 00:00:35,550 --> 00:00:38,570 sense to hit pause on this video and go find that sermon from 13 00:00:38,580 --> 00:00:44,580 this past Sunday where Luca Levin and we ended at 28. 14 00:00:44,590 --> 00:00:47,440 I think verse 28, we were like 14 to 28. 15 00:00:47,650 --> 00:00:51,300 This is another story of Jesus casting out demon from a man who 16 00:00:51,310 --> 00:00:55,120 is mute and so couldn't or wouldn't speak. 17 00:00:55,170 --> 00:00:58,020 When the demon is cast out, the man is healed and he begins to 18 00:00:58,030 --> 00:01:00,540 speak. So there's this immediate sign 19 00:01:00,550 --> 00:01:04,650 of healing that Jesus, that Jesus is able to give to this 20 00:01:04,660 --> 00:01:07,330 man for all the people around to see. 21 00:01:07,340 --> 00:01:12,420 And then the context is people start questioning Jesus, right? 22 00:01:13,260 --> 00:01:15,430 Who are you? Who is this guy? 23 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:17,720 How is he doing what he's doing, talked about. 24 00:01:17,730 --> 00:01:21,740 They become a little bit like skeptical adjacent, like cynical 25 00:01:21,750 --> 00:01:27,400 almost about the power that Jesus appears to demonstrate and 26 00:01:27,410 --> 00:01:29,470 what that might mean for their own lives. 27 00:01:29,700 --> 00:01:32,220 So we're going to, we're going to jump in. 28 00:01:32,230 --> 00:01:38,040 There's a lot going on here and ends with, you know, one demon 29 00:01:38,050 --> 00:01:40,860 versus 7 demons coming back and returning. 30 00:01:40,870 --> 00:01:43,840 So we'll probably touch on that at some point in our discussion 31 00:01:43,910 --> 00:01:46,020 and. It's like just even just 32 00:01:46,030 --> 00:01:49,540 acknowledging like it's a it's a pretty full on passage, right. 33 00:01:49,550 --> 00:01:52,180 And it's one of the things that I've said this numerous times, 34 00:01:52,190 --> 00:01:57,780 but I'll say it again, like just going almost forcing ourselves 35 00:01:57,850 --> 00:02:01,760 as as like you and I and and Allison are often joins us for 36 00:02:01,770 --> 00:02:06,610 sermon prep. But the church to like go deeper 37 00:02:06,620 --> 00:02:09,330 into some of these passages that that that are challenging that 38 00:02:09,340 --> 00:02:12,910 you present, like just think they make they can make us feel 39 00:02:12,920 --> 00:02:16,840 uncomfortable. And I, I think there is a such a 40 00:02:16,850 --> 00:02:20,740 wisdom in like leaning in rather than just sort of, well, we're 41 00:02:20,750 --> 00:02:23,480 gonna skip over that one. And I like how it makes 42 00:02:23,490 --> 00:02:25,080 everybody a little bit uncomfortable. 43 00:02:25,090 --> 00:02:27,720 Like it's probably worth mentioning that like if if you 44 00:02:27,730 --> 00:02:31,600 were here for the very first time on Sunday and this is the 45 00:02:31,610 --> 00:02:34,410 passage that you're thrown into because this is how we work our 46 00:02:34,420 --> 00:02:37,520 way through Scripture. And like, OK, good for you for 47 00:02:37,530 --> 00:02:41,020 sticking it out like you were tossed into the deep end. 48 00:02:41,070 --> 00:02:44,470 And I think this is language that can make some people who 49 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:46,490 are maybe newer to Christianity uncomfortable. 50 00:02:46,500 --> 00:02:48,950 But I think for those people who are newer to Christianity, it's 51 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:52,050 helpful to name that. It makes makes people who are 52 00:02:52,060 --> 00:02:55,450 not new to Christianity equally or more uncomfortable. 53 00:02:55,460 --> 00:02:57,710 Like this is something that's language that for a lot of 54 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:00,190 people, I think you'd rather not think about. 55 00:03:00,380 --> 00:03:06,390 You'd rather just pretend like it doesn't exist or or live like 56 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:08,800 it doesn't exist. Which on the one hand is a great 57 00:03:08,810 --> 00:03:10,760 way to live. Like non anxious. 58 00:03:11,470 --> 00:03:15,220 Don't worry about it, don't be driven toward fear. 59 00:03:15,750 --> 00:03:19,320 Uh, that's a good way to be. But there's also like having 60 00:03:19,330 --> 00:03:22,860 your head in the sand exactly not you know, there's there's a 61 00:03:23,350 --> 00:03:28,460 there's a way to live non anxiously while also having a 62 00:03:28,470 --> 00:03:32,760 level of awareness of of the world and the realities, the 63 00:03:32,770 --> 00:03:34,700 spiritual realities of the world we're in. 64 00:03:34,750 --> 00:03:37,200 Yeah, absolutely. And and so that like Jesus 65 00:03:37,210 --> 00:03:43,070 pushes against it and names it, addresses it, brings the Kingdom 66 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:47,700 to heal and restore, you know, things, things and people, 67 00:03:47,710 --> 00:03:51,840 individuals, communities that are being tormented and and 68 00:03:51,850 --> 00:03:54,660 harmed by things that are spiritual. 69 00:03:54,670 --> 00:03:58,900 So like Jesus just names it. And I think one of the great 70 00:03:58,910 --> 00:04:01,540 things that we see throughout all of the healing stories is 71 00:04:01,550 --> 00:04:03,800 that he does it in the most non anxious way. 72 00:04:03,870 --> 00:04:06,380 Yeah, right. If he just he names the thing, 73 00:04:06,570 --> 00:04:10,860 he rebukes the thing, speaks against it with authority and 74 00:04:10,870 --> 00:04:14,560 heals the person and restores that person to our community. 75 00:04:14,570 --> 00:04:19,010 So it's this beautiful story over and over again of the 76 00:04:19,019 --> 00:04:23,910 kingdoms arrival, pushing out the places of death in our lives 77 00:04:24,060 --> 00:04:26,720 and restoring us to community. So it's really hopeful, like 78 00:04:26,730 --> 00:04:29,850 with that as the base are kind of base understanding of how 79 00:04:29,860 --> 00:04:33,290 Jesus moves through these moments is a really hopeful 80 00:04:33,300 --> 00:04:35,770 message. So but like we said, like 81 00:04:35,780 --> 00:04:39,510 there's a lot of kind of technical things in here that 82 00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:41,030 maybe we didn't jump into on Sunday. 83 00:04:41,040 --> 00:04:43,410 So we're gonna get to some questions and you've got some 84 00:04:43,420 --> 00:04:46,750 questions and. So first question that that 85 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:52,850 stuck out for me as I was listening was 2 quotes from 86 00:04:52,860 --> 00:04:57,630 Jesus that we've heard in the past couple months that seem to 87 00:04:57,640 --> 00:05:00,360 be almost like inversions of one another. 88 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:03,670 They're, they're completely opposite in what Jesus says. 89 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:07,670 And I think somebody sometimes, you know, we can be drawn to 90 00:05:07,740 --> 00:05:10,650 what may appear to be a contradiction, but actually is 91 00:05:10,660 --> 00:05:12,360 not. And, but I think there's, 92 00:05:12,370 --> 00:05:16,510 there's something interesting. So at the end of verse 22, So 93 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:21,250 he's wrapping up this kind of this little metaphor of the the 94 00:05:21,260 --> 00:05:24,150 stronger man. What but the but when one 95 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:27,010 stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away 96 00:05:27,020 --> 00:05:29,690 his armor in which he trusted and divided his plunder. 97 00:05:29,780 --> 00:05:35,470 And then verse 23, whoever is not with me is against me and 98 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:41,530 whoever does not gather with me scatters 2 chapters ago, 2 99 00:05:41,540 --> 00:05:44,570 chapters ago. You've got Jesus and he's 100 00:05:44,580 --> 00:05:47,690 talking with his disciples and the disciples also about evil 101 00:05:47,700 --> 00:05:52,460 spirits and and excuses, exorcisms and, and John, one of 102 00:05:52,470 --> 00:05:56,140 the disciples says, Master, we saw someone casting out demons 103 00:05:56,150 --> 00:05:58,800 in your name and we tried to stop him because he does not 104 00:05:58,810 --> 00:06:02,660 follow with us. But Jesus said to him, this is 105 00:06:02,670 --> 00:06:06,180 99, verse 50. But Jesus said to him, do not 106 00:06:06,190 --> 00:06:11,100 stop him, for whoever is not against you is for you. 107 00:06:11,330 --> 00:06:12,440 Yeah. I love it. 108 00:06:12,490 --> 00:06:16,120 Yeah. So, OK, I I'm flipping over to 9 109 00:06:16,130 --> 00:06:18,130 as you're saying this. I'm like, OK, here we go. 110 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:22,030 I wanna back up. I wanna answer this IN22 parts. 111 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:23,960 Yeah. So try to be, I'll try to be 112 00:06:23,970 --> 00:06:27,490 systematic about it. I'm gonna channel the as much 113 00:06:27,500 --> 00:06:29,930 systematic thinking as I possibly can hear. 114 00:06:29,940 --> 00:06:33,470 OK, two parts. One, This is why context 115 00:06:33,480 --> 00:06:36,130 matters. And we talk about reading 116 00:06:36,140 --> 00:06:41,070 scripture through multiple different lenses, right? 117 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,320 We have our own, you know, we approach Scripture with our own 118 00:06:44,330 --> 00:06:49,680 experiences and our own intellect and life and emotions, 119 00:06:50,310 --> 00:06:54,260 the history of our relationship to God and the history of our 120 00:06:54,270 --> 00:06:56,940 relationship to others. Like all of these things affect 121 00:06:56,950 --> 00:07:00,520 how we read Scripture. And so the way I'm brought up, 122 00:07:00,530 --> 00:07:02,460 the way you're brought up will change. 123 00:07:02,470 --> 00:07:05,870 We have not, I don't want to say like completely different 124 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:09,910 approaches to Scripture, but we, we approach passages from 125 00:07:09,970 --> 00:07:13,280 different places in life, as similar as we are in in some 126 00:07:13,290 --> 00:07:15,540 ways and as different as we are in some ways. 127 00:07:15,550 --> 00:07:17,160 And that's true for every single person. 128 00:07:17,170 --> 00:07:23,320 So you listener will approach Scripture with your own set of 129 00:07:23,390 --> 00:07:27,880 biases, um, your own expectations, your own thinking, 130 00:07:27,890 --> 00:07:29,520 your own experiences, your own hurts. 131 00:07:29,530 --> 00:07:32,690 Like some of the ways maybe you feel God's let you down or the 132 00:07:32,700 --> 00:07:34,480 way Christians have let you down. 133 00:07:34,550 --> 00:07:37,560 All of that shapes the way we read Scripture. 134 00:07:37,630 --> 00:07:39,740 And that's OK and like. It just it. 135 00:07:39,750 --> 00:07:43,040 Just raises just just naming it is important and and to know 136 00:07:43,050 --> 00:07:48,500 that hey, we don't approach the scripture with a blank slate we. 137 00:07:48,510 --> 00:07:50,580 Don't. So that's number one. 138 00:07:50,590 --> 00:07:53,710 Like that's kind of the 1st part of, of context is we need to 139 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:58,830 understand our own selves as we're reading these things #2 140 00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:03,330 what, what biblical scholars have tried to do for longer than 141 00:08:03,340 --> 00:08:09,540 you and I have been alive is, is uncover the, the, the local 142 00:08:09,550 --> 00:08:13,240 context of the scripture writers. 143 00:08:13,290 --> 00:08:18,180 So you know, this is a gospel, this is an account of Jesus 144 00:08:18,190 --> 00:08:19,980 life. It's part of Matthew, Mark, Luke 145 00:08:19,990 --> 00:08:24,850 and John, all four gospels which are written by different 146 00:08:24,860 --> 00:08:28,540 individuals and also written four different communities. 147 00:08:28,990 --> 00:08:33,990 And each of them are written with that in mind, right? 148 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:36,970 So Luke sets out, we read in the beginning, Luke sets out to 149 00:08:36,980 --> 00:08:39,299 write a detailed account. He's like, there have been other 150 00:08:39,309 --> 00:08:42,490 accounts written, but I tried to to write like the most detailed 151 00:08:42,500 --> 00:08:44,110 account that I could. So I went and I visited 152 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:47,090 eyewitnesses and I met with people and I heard accounts of 153 00:08:47,100 --> 00:08:49,490 Jesus's life and he's put them together. 154 00:08:49,540 --> 00:08:52,430 Luke also wrote acts. And so really what a lot of 155 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:57,110 people who who study Luke and Acts try to do is you have to 156 00:08:57,120 --> 00:09:00,320 read them both together. Yeah, as you know, 2 parts of of 157 00:09:00,330 --> 00:09:04,150 one larger work. But this is Luke, who himself 158 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:09,730 had his own experiences and influences on his life writing. 159 00:09:10,970 --> 00:09:12,570 So that's that's the second part of it. 160 00:09:12,580 --> 00:09:17,430 A third part is, and we see this more with the the letters in the 161 00:09:17,480 --> 00:09:21,030 New Testament, just to emphasize that each of those letters are 162 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:24,610 written to specific communities, like embodied churches, local 163 00:09:24,620 --> 00:09:27,950 groups of followers of Jesus trying to wrestle out real life. 164 00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:30,530 And stuff going on their own within. 165 00:09:30,540 --> 00:09:32,530 News. Yeah, within their own time. 166 00:09:32,540 --> 00:09:38,930 And so, you know, when we read, um, you know, when we read some 167 00:09:38,940 --> 00:09:42,180 of the letters, when we read the New Testament, like we need to 168 00:09:42,250 --> 00:09:47,880 also try to uncover and understand the context of that 169 00:09:47,950 --> 00:09:52,900 time, both from the authors perspective and from the 170 00:09:52,910 --> 00:09:54,850 reader's perspective. And we can't do it. 171 00:09:54,860 --> 00:09:58,820 We can't do that perfectly. So, so, you know, we've got a 172 00:09:58,830 --> 00:10:02,640 number of these things mixing together as we read Scripture. 173 00:10:03,540 --> 00:10:07,370 And then the final piece of context that I want to say is, 174 00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:15,370 um, it's important to also read the context within each, within 175 00:10:15,380 --> 00:10:18,950 each book. And so what's going on around 176 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:20,950 it? Because when you pull out both 177 00:10:20,960 --> 00:10:25,120 of those lines and sit them side by side, you go, these look like 178 00:10:25,130 --> 00:10:27,370 different, They look contradictory. 179 00:10:27,410 --> 00:10:31,080 They are contradictory. They don't like one for one, 180 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:33,310 Jesus is not saying the same thing, right? 181 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:37,000 Say whoever is not with me is against me, and he's saying no, 182 00:10:37,010 --> 00:10:40,080 whoever is not against you is actually with you, which you 183 00:10:40,090 --> 00:10:43,070 could massage to be the same thing, just backwards. 184 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:46,460 Yeah, but I don't want you to do. 185 00:10:46,470 --> 00:10:49,680 I mean, not you, but I don't want anybody to do that because 186 00:10:49,690 --> 00:10:54,660 that also misses the point. So the context of each of these 187 00:10:55,250 --> 00:10:58,140 statements now to get to the. So that's number one. 188 00:10:58,150 --> 00:11:02,340 That's Part 1 in my answer. Part 2, The immediate sort of 189 00:11:02,350 --> 00:11:07,000 context of what she's actually saying here is I think it's 190 00:11:07,010 --> 00:11:10,170 important to notice, um, there's some similarities. 191 00:11:10,220 --> 00:11:16,090 So there have been healings and specifically demons being cast 192 00:11:16,100 --> 00:11:19,320 out. Whenever that happens in the 193 00:11:19,330 --> 00:11:23,830 Gospels, there's very often pushback from people around 194 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:26,330 Jesus. So some people are celebrating 195 00:11:26,340 --> 00:11:29,170 it and they're amazed and inspired by what is going on, 196 00:11:29,180 --> 00:11:33,630 and other people resist it and push against it and push against 197 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:37,970 Jesus because of it. So there is both, yeah, an 198 00:11:37,980 --> 00:11:39,490 amazed sort of celebration of it. 199 00:11:39,500 --> 00:11:42,950 And there's conflict. And it's important, I think, for 200 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:45,550 us to see that the conflict that arises in both of these 201 00:11:45,560 --> 00:11:47,690 instances are with different groups of people. 202 00:11:48,100 --> 00:11:51,960 So in in I'm saying this instance, so in 11 where Jesus 203 00:11:51,970 --> 00:11:57,730 says whoever is not with me is against me, he's talking very 204 00:11:57,740 --> 00:12:05,540 specifically to and about those who are challenging Jesus and 205 00:12:05,550 --> 00:12:10,440 saying that his authority is not from God, but it's actually from 206 00:12:10,450 --> 00:12:13,190 Satan. So he's saying, you know, if 207 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:17,770 you're against me to that degree, right, then you're not, 208 00:12:17,780 --> 00:12:19,370 you're not building the same Kingdom. 209 00:12:19,480 --> 00:12:23,250 We're not doing like we're not working in the same direction. 210 00:12:23,700 --> 00:12:27,560 You are working at odds with the Kingdom that Jesus is bringing 211 00:12:27,570 --> 00:12:31,090 by his very presence. That's a great way to to think 212 00:12:31,100 --> 00:12:33,590 about that. Like that's a that's super, 213 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:36,350 super helpful. And then it then it I think 214 00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:41,510 elucidates Luke 9, right? That that in the context, there 215 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:45,870 are people that are clearly on the same team that are that are 216 00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:48,850 doing the thing that are just another just not one of the 12 217 00:12:48,860 --> 00:12:51,140 or maybe even 1 of the 72, right. 218 00:12:51,150 --> 00:12:53,510 Yeah. That are that are doing the work 219 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:55,430 of Jesus. And he's like, no, don't stop 220 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:56,950 them. Yeah, don't stop them. 221 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,740 Yeah, Jesus said to him, do not stop him for whoever is not 222 00:12:59,750 --> 00:13:02,450 against you is for you, like. And so in this context, it's 223 00:13:02,530 --> 00:13:06,930 people who are people who are doing the work, but they're just 224 00:13:06,940 --> 00:13:09,370 not running with the same crew. And he's like, no, this is the 225 00:13:09,380 --> 00:13:13,450 the Kingdom is expanding and and don't don't stop them from doing 226 00:13:13,460 --> 00:13:14,160 the Kingdom. Work. 227 00:13:14,170 --> 00:13:15,850 Yeah. And that's exactly the point 228 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:19,050 with the disciples. The conflict is around their own 229 00:13:19,060 --> 00:13:21,290 security. They're like, well, we wanna be 230 00:13:21,300 --> 00:13:22,890 the controller of the thing, right? 231 00:13:22,900 --> 00:13:25,530 Like, we wanna own it. This is about you and us, right, 232 00:13:25,540 --> 00:13:26,930 Jesus. And he's like, no, this is so 233 00:13:26,940 --> 00:13:28,410 much bigger than you could imagine. 234 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:30,100 Yeah. Don't hold on to it. 235 00:13:30,110 --> 00:13:32,090 Don't control it. Don't think that it belongs to 236 00:13:32,100 --> 00:13:33,660 you. It doesn't belong to you. 237 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:37,100 People of the mustard seed and the and the and the yeast like 238 00:13:37,110 --> 00:13:39,460 this just this thing is gonna grow, It's gonna, it's gonna 239 00:13:39,470 --> 00:13:43,140 spread like a weed and you're not gonna be able to control it. 240 00:13:43,210 --> 00:13:45,860 Yeah, yeah, yeah. So that I think that's the, the 241 00:13:45,870 --> 00:13:48,820 difference is like it, it seems like he's saying two different 242 00:13:48,830 --> 00:13:50,170 things. I think really he is, he's 243 00:13:50,180 --> 00:13:53,220 saying 2 completely different things, yes, to two different 244 00:13:53,230 --> 00:13:56,400 groups of people. And so just to circle back to 245 00:13:56,670 --> 00:14:00,000 finish it up, I think that's why we that's why when we approach 246 00:14:00,010 --> 00:14:03,450 Scripture, you know, you and I like we're not ones who are 247 00:14:03,460 --> 00:14:07,040 likely to preach on a single verse, a single line, like just 248 00:14:07,050 --> 00:14:10,250 big, we're going to take this and, you know, pull it entirely 249 00:14:10,260 --> 00:14:12,590 out and go, hey, all in on this one line. 250 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:18,030 Because that's when we're so often that led to places where 251 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:21,040 like our own influence on Scripture effects them the way 252 00:14:21,050 --> 00:14:23,400 we are interpreting that one line. 253 00:14:23,470 --> 00:14:27,600 Yeah, rather than allowing scripture to speak for scripture 254 00:14:27,670 --> 00:14:31,020 and allowing scripture to in a sense, interpret Scripture 255 00:14:31,030 --> 00:14:32,600 because that's what the context does. 256 00:14:32,610 --> 00:14:35,940 That's what the surrounding versus allow us to do, is to see 257 00:14:35,950 --> 00:14:43,190 that it's very different and not just contradictory at A at a 258 00:14:43,200 --> 00:14:46,740 simple level. So context is important and I 259 00:14:46,750 --> 00:14:47,910 think that's what's going on here. 260 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:50,650 So yeah, Jesus is pushing against people who are so 261 00:14:50,660 --> 00:14:56,010 completely against the Kingdom on the in in 11, and he's 262 00:14:56,100 --> 00:15:00,140 criticizing the disciples for being exclusive and controlling 263 00:15:00,150 --> 00:15:03,460 and protectionist and. And in both examples there, 264 00:15:03,470 --> 00:15:08,600 there seems to be like a, there's a, a disunity dying 265 00:15:08,610 --> 00:15:10,580 quality to it. You got these, these people that 266 00:15:10,590 --> 00:15:14,610 are questioning Jesus. And then in the in the case of 267 00:15:14,620 --> 00:15:19,420 the disciples, the disciples are are attempting to kind of cling 268 00:15:19,430 --> 00:15:23,740 to control and authority and power and Jesus saying that's 269 00:15:23,750 --> 00:15:28,180 not yours to hold on to. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 270 00:15:28,230 --> 00:15:30,890 OK. We good with that. 271 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:33,180 Yeah, yeah. I think the thing that the thing 272 00:15:33,190 --> 00:15:36,630 that I would just jump off of what you're saying around unity 273 00:15:36,940 --> 00:15:41,150 is unless you have a question about unity, I think the main 274 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:48,390 thing that Jesus wants his disciples to see and the crowds 275 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:51,750 to see, and even the people who are questioning Jesus to see, 276 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:55,770 maybe especially them by extension, what he wants us to 277 00:15:55,780 --> 00:16:00,780 see is that there's there's one thing like there's one thing 278 00:16:00,790 --> 00:16:09,470 that Jesus believes is worthy of this wholly undivided, united 279 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:11,740 approach, and that's the coming of the Kingdom. 280 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:18,160 Like it's not about the disciples and their, uh, gotta 281 00:16:18,170 --> 00:16:21,260 be careful here. But like their fame or control 282 00:16:21,270 --> 00:16:25,260 or name, like it's, it's not what makes them great is not 283 00:16:25,990 --> 00:16:28,540 that, that they are who they are. 284 00:16:28,550 --> 00:16:32,600 What makes them great is that they are a part of what God is 285 00:16:32,610 --> 00:16:36,520 doing and the Kingdom coming. And so he's saying it doesn't 286 00:16:36,530 --> 00:16:41,220 matter, like don't, don't, don't create these false divisions 287 00:16:41,230 --> 00:16:44,320 between people inside of the Kingdom coming. 288 00:16:44,830 --> 00:16:51,190 And what he's saying in 11 is, you know, you're either in or 289 00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:54,840 you're out. And if you're if you're out, 290 00:16:54,850 --> 00:16:56,870 you're entirely out. And if you're in, you're 291 00:16:56,880 --> 00:17:03,180 entirely in. O let's be united on, on what 292 00:17:03,190 --> 00:17:07,440 the Kingdom is and how it's coming and let's be all in on it 293 00:17:07,510 --> 00:17:11,339 on undivided, right? So I think there is a, a piece 294 00:17:11,349 --> 00:17:18,050 of like, you know, unity and division around Jesus teaching 295 00:17:18,060 --> 00:17:21,250 on the Kingdom that really kind of pushes us to this place of 296 00:17:21,260 --> 00:17:27,109 saying, no, you're, you're there's no, there's no half 297 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:31,200 measures and you're in or you're out. 298 00:17:31,210 --> 00:17:34,120 But if you're in, you're in. So don't, don't push people out 299 00:17:34,130 --> 00:17:35,850 who are in. Yeah, right. 300 00:17:35,860 --> 00:17:37,160 That's a great way to think about it. 301 00:17:37,230 --> 00:17:41,340 Yeah. OK, I remembered the other thing 302 00:17:41,350 --> 00:17:43,570 we were going to talk about. This is great, I love. 303 00:17:43,580 --> 00:17:48,190 That we were OK. So just we were we were supposed 304 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:49,660 to record this is Tuesday in real time. 305 00:17:49,670 --> 00:17:51,660 We were supposed to record yesterday and we talked about 306 00:17:51,670 --> 00:17:53,700 all about we were gonna talk about and then forgot. 307 00:17:53,770 --> 00:17:56,060 So I didn't write it down. You didn't write it down. 308 00:17:56,130 --> 00:18:00,060 But here we are. I want to talk about the the 309 00:18:00,070 --> 00:18:06,000 people that Jesus is talking to here and how these people can be 310 00:18:06,010 --> 00:18:09,940 us. So the people that Jesus is 311 00:18:09,950 --> 00:18:14,060 talking with that are they are skeptical. 312 00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:18,970 They are, I think you can even say they're, they're cynical of, 313 00:18:18,980 --> 00:18:24,550 of who Jesus claims to be and the work that he is doing. 314 00:18:27,380 --> 00:18:31,750 There is something, there is something that it touches on 315 00:18:31,820 --> 00:18:36,690 when I, when I see the way that these people are acting toward 316 00:18:36,700 --> 00:18:43,520 Jesus, that I think we Christians, non Christians alike 317 00:18:43,730 --> 00:18:49,380 are guilty of. And, and that is, it's hard to 318 00:18:49,390 --> 00:18:54,280 kind of name it precisely, but it's, it's sort of this, the 319 00:18:54,290 --> 00:18:59,530 skepticism, this creeping sort of like, almost like, it's 320 00:18:59,540 --> 00:19:03,580 almost like a nihilism that like nothing, nothing is true, 321 00:19:03,590 --> 00:19:07,780 nothing matters. There is no there, there is no 322 00:19:07,790 --> 00:19:12,200 objective reality like it. And it is, and I think it bleeds 323 00:19:12,210 --> 00:19:15,320 into much of her life. And you're seeing that with the, 324 00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:18,020 with not the disciples here, but these, you know, these people, 325 00:19:18,030 --> 00:19:22,420 the crowds that are, are seeing Jesus, that they are questioning 326 00:19:22,510 --> 00:19:24,820 the, what they're seeing before their very eyes. 327 00:19:25,380 --> 00:19:30,170 They are seeing Jesus heal someone of an evil spirit. 328 00:19:30,470 --> 00:19:31,980 And they're like, well, it can't be that. 329 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:36,070 It can't be that he must be working for, for, for the bad 330 00:19:36,080 --> 00:19:41,460 guys, you know, and, and like, there's something in the human 331 00:19:41,470 --> 00:19:45,840 condition there that I think is worth touching on of, of our 332 00:19:45,890 --> 00:19:53,930 ability to like, disallow our mind to like see the thing that 333 00:19:53,940 --> 00:19:57,450 is before us and reject it. Yeah. 334 00:19:57,500 --> 00:20:00,640 So that's not really a question, but it's just something I think 335 00:20:00,650 --> 00:20:03,230 that is worth diving in a little bit too. 336 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:08,460 And just like our human nature and, and how maybe maybe how we 337 00:20:08,470 --> 00:20:11,890 overcome that a little bit, you know, maybe how we seek to have 338 00:20:11,900 --> 00:20:16,350 faith like a child, you know, because there is, I mean, when I 339 00:20:16,360 --> 00:20:19,030 think of the opposite of faith of a child, I think of. 340 00:20:19,130 --> 00:20:23,810 Of cynicism and skepticism and and an inability to see what is 341 00:20:23,820 --> 00:20:24,910 before us. Rightly. 342 00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:26,650 Hmm. Yeah, Yeah. 343 00:20:26,660 --> 00:20:30,690 I think cynicism is a good word, the skepticism, I think. 344 00:20:30,700 --> 00:20:32,610 And I used both of those words on Sunday. 345 00:20:34,120 --> 00:20:38,850 Like, I, I think skepticism touches on some of this and also 346 00:20:38,860 --> 00:20:41,590 misses I, I think health. There's a healthy skepticism, 347 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:42,410 right? Yeah. 348 00:20:42,500 --> 00:20:45,510 And I think what we, what we don't want people to hear is 349 00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:48,670 that you can't ask questions. You can't wonder. 350 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:51,740 You can't think critically about things. 351 00:20:51,750 --> 00:20:53,970 You can't have doubt. No, you can have all of those. 352 00:20:53,980 --> 00:20:55,090 Please. Like, please. 353 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:56,490 Yeah. Thomas Merton said that you 354 00:20:56,500 --> 00:20:58,670 can't be a person of faith without also being a person of 355 00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:00,900 doubt. Like that doubt and faith are 356 00:21:00,910 --> 00:21:04,010 not opposites. And in fact, doubt is part of an 357 00:21:04,020 --> 00:21:09,830 active faith life, right? So you, you, you know, if, if 358 00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:14,790 you've never doubted something at any point, get ready because 359 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:16,420 you might, you will at some point. 360 00:21:16,430 --> 00:21:19,130 Like discernment and being a critical thinker, those are all 361 00:21:19,140 --> 00:21:20,890 great skills. So that's where your cynicism 362 00:21:20,900 --> 00:21:22,450 is. A is a better word. 363 00:21:22,520 --> 00:21:25,580 And I think it it, it's where I think maybe you could say it's 364 00:21:25,590 --> 00:21:32,470 where skepticism turns into something far more like 365 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:35,390 insidious in terms of what it does to our hearts. 366 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:40,810 Yeah, I think it's, it's a, it's there's a bitterness to cynicism 367 00:21:40,900 --> 00:21:49,140 and like even a resentment, like an anger, Uh, deep sadness. 368 00:21:49,150 --> 00:21:52,270 Like there, there are a lot of additional pieces that are 369 00:21:52,280 --> 00:21:54,660 involved with being cynical, right? 370 00:21:54,770 --> 00:22:00,340 I think at the end of the day, what we struggle with as human 371 00:22:00,350 --> 00:22:05,210 beings is manifold. But to to, I think related to 372 00:22:05,220 --> 00:22:12,400 this is we, we want to distance ourselves because we don't like 373 00:22:12,470 --> 00:22:15,010 the implication for our own lives. 374 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:18,800 Hmm. So I, I think it is easy. 375 00:22:20,070 --> 00:22:25,260 It's, it's far easier, unfortunately, to become cynical 376 00:22:25,510 --> 00:22:29,500 as we age. I think you can slip into that 377 00:22:29,930 --> 00:22:33,020 because of the ways in which you've experienced the 378 00:22:33,030 --> 00:22:37,860 brokenness of humanity. So we become cynical as we grow 379 00:22:37,870 --> 00:22:43,480 because we've been let down and we've been hurt and we've not 380 00:22:43,490 --> 00:22:47,880 had reconciliation and we've not found forgiveness and we've not 381 00:22:47,950 --> 00:22:50,740 experienced love and reconnection on the other side 382 00:22:50,750 --> 00:22:53,780 of disconnection. Like we go through these 383 00:22:53,790 --> 00:22:57,630 difficult things in life and we become cynical because they're 384 00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:02,240 hard, they hurt, and we're not healed of that in the way that I 385 00:23:02,250 --> 00:23:08,440 think Jesus intends us to be. And and So what happens when we 386 00:23:08,450 --> 00:23:11,140 become cynical is we want to distance ourselves from anything 387 00:23:11,150 --> 00:23:15,250 that feels any like remotely like that again, right? 388 00:23:15,260 --> 00:23:16,750 So it's like, oh, no, why would I be vulnerable? 389 00:23:16,760 --> 00:23:19,350 The last time I was vulnerable, you crushed me, right? 390 00:23:19,620 --> 00:23:22,550 So you're like, I'm gonna start distancing myself from things. 391 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:25,730 And I think in part like that's what we see these, these people 392 00:23:25,740 --> 00:23:29,710 doing is, you know, it's probably a little bit simpler, 393 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:33,260 but they see Jesus heal this man. 394 00:23:34,350 --> 00:23:40,830 And they, they don't like that if Jesus is acting with the 395 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:45,610 power of God, that it means they might be wrong about things, 396 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:48,730 means that what they thought would was true. 397 00:23:48,740 --> 00:23:53,040 It isn't, or it demands something of them personally, 398 00:23:53,050 --> 00:23:55,650 like they now need to respond to Jesus differently. 399 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:59,710 And it's it's hard because it demands something of me. 400 00:24:01,270 --> 00:24:04,360 Far easier if I can distance myself from it. 401 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:07,240 Hmm. And say no. 402 00:24:07,950 --> 00:24:11,260 In this case, if Jesus is acting under the authority of the power 403 00:24:11,270 --> 00:24:14,400 of Satan, then I don't need to worry about this at all. 404 00:24:14,410 --> 00:24:18,150 It has no implication on my life and I can walk away Scott free 405 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:21,520 and I can just go. Don't need to do anything as a 406 00:24:21,530 --> 00:24:27,040 result of Jesus being here. And that's something that I 407 00:24:27,050 --> 00:24:32,570 think we still struggle with, Um, because it again, like, it's 408 00:24:32,580 --> 00:24:37,970 like, I got to do the hard work in here to allow Jesus to 409 00:24:37,980 --> 00:24:40,950 confront me on my stuff. Yeah. 410 00:24:41,020 --> 00:24:47,570 And it's easier if the problem is out there and can stay out 411 00:24:47,580 --> 00:24:49,840 there. It's a lot harder when the 412 00:24:49,850 --> 00:24:52,600 problem is in here. So I think we just naturally 413 00:24:52,610 --> 00:24:56,380 kind of do this for a whole variety of reasons. 414 00:24:57,870 --> 00:25:02,340 So in verse 20, Jesus says, but if it is by the finger of God 415 00:25:02,350 --> 00:25:06,200 that I cast out the demons, then the Kingdom of God has come to 416 00:25:06,210 --> 00:25:07,000 you. Yeah. 417 00:25:07,050 --> 00:25:09,520 And and that that's like, that's the, that's the rub, That's the 418 00:25:09,530 --> 00:25:13,280 confrontation piece of like, hey, like if, if this is the, 419 00:25:13,290 --> 00:25:17,100 the authority and power by which I'm doing this, then then like 420 00:25:17,110 --> 00:25:20,980 you, you need to embrace the Kingdom of God, which is coming 421 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:24,320 to you right here, right now. And, and I think that is that 422 00:25:24,330 --> 00:25:28,760 must be the the tension that these crowds running into the 423 00:25:28,770 --> 00:25:34,240 religious leaders are running into, because I can only assume 424 00:25:34,250 --> 00:25:38,890 that this Kingdom of God is not looking like how they thought it 425 00:25:38,900 --> 00:25:40,250 ought to look. Yeah. 426 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:42,790 That that it's maybe it's subverting some of their 427 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:47,070 expectations and and maybe even the things that they were 428 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:51,410 convinced would happen from, you know, for for generations even, 429 00:25:51,460 --> 00:25:52,950 right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 430 00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:57,450 And so it's also really fascinating the whole statement 431 00:25:57,460 --> 00:26:00,930 finger of God, which I I simply said, you know, this, this means 432 00:26:00,940 --> 00:26:02,970 the power of God. And it does. 433 00:26:02,980 --> 00:26:05,510 Like that's ultimately what it's pointing to. 434 00:26:05,940 --> 00:26:08,180 It's actually a throwback to Moses. 435 00:26:08,250 --> 00:26:11,410 Yeah. And the Exodus, Right. 436 00:26:11,420 --> 00:26:17,140 So this is it's a throwback to Moses and the plagues when he 437 00:26:17,830 --> 00:26:22,210 acts on behalf of God, speaks for God toward Pharaoh. 438 00:26:22,300 --> 00:26:24,520 Hmm, and then brings the plagues. 439 00:26:24,990 --> 00:26:27,460 That term finger of God is used there. 440 00:26:27,530 --> 00:26:28,730 Because it's not a common. Phrase. 441 00:26:28,740 --> 00:26:30,100 And it's not a common phrase, No. 442 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:33,420 So really what, what it's, it's, it's almost a little bit 443 00:26:33,430 --> 00:26:37,800 antagonistic as well, because it, it puts Jesus in the place 444 00:26:37,810 --> 00:26:40,730 of Moses, which Luke wants to do over and over again. 445 00:26:41,710 --> 00:26:44,820 You know, he says that Jesus is the greater Moses, like he's, 446 00:26:44,830 --> 00:26:48,060 he's the new Moses. This is something new. 447 00:26:48,070 --> 00:26:52,000 In fact, we're going to get to to that that literal language 448 00:26:52,070 --> 00:26:55,200 this coming Sunday where it's not Moses, but it's other Old 449 00:26:55,210 --> 00:26:59,040 Testament figures that Jesus is compared to as the greater 450 00:26:59,050 --> 00:27:04,520 version of these individuals. But really what what Luke is 451 00:27:04,530 --> 00:27:10,780 doing is setting Jesus up as the ultimate final Moses who has 452 00:27:10,790 --> 00:27:15,040 come to bring a new exodus for God's people. 453 00:27:15,670 --> 00:27:20,820 And in this instance, part of the rub for these people is 454 00:27:20,830 --> 00:27:26,440 they're now on the like, say this carefully, but like, enemy 455 00:27:26,450 --> 00:27:27,760 side. Yeah. 456 00:27:27,890 --> 00:27:32,010 Of that story. If, if, if it's Moses and 457 00:27:32,020 --> 00:27:37,150 Pharaoh, if it's Jesus and them. Yeah. 458 00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:40,830 Like that's how Jesus is setting this thing up. 459 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:42,970 Yeah. That's how Luke is setting it up 460 00:27:42,980 --> 00:27:49,150 for us to see Jesus leading a new exodus out of slavery, 461 00:27:49,500 --> 00:27:52,830 except now it's not slavery person to person. 462 00:27:52,840 --> 00:27:57,270 It's out of the slavery of like, you know, of, of death and out 463 00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:01,790 of the power of Satan and evil in the world. 464 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:05,310 It is that type of bondage, right? 465 00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:09,610 Bondage to sin and slavery that Jesus is liberating his people 466 00:28:09,620 --> 00:28:13,930 from New exodus. They're on the receiving end of 467 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:18,740 the authority in in a way that in their minds go back to, OK, 468 00:28:18,750 --> 00:28:23,770 Pharaoh, we need to hear this. Um, and that again, like that's 469 00:28:23,780 --> 00:28:26,770 a, that's a really challenging thing, yeah, to receive and 470 00:28:26,780 --> 00:28:32,050 hear, but I love the line. Like if, if you know, if, if it 471 00:28:32,060 --> 00:28:35,030 is by the power of God, if it is by the hand of God, it is by the 472 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:39,590 finger of God that I am coming and doing these things, then the 473 00:28:39,600 --> 00:28:41,910 Kingdom of God and it's literally then the Kingdom of 474 00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:48,050 God is come upon you, right? Like it's just like it's landed. 475 00:28:48,180 --> 00:28:52,150 Yeah, it's here whether you want it to be or not. 476 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:55,970 Like it's not, it's not like it's come to your borders and 477 00:28:55,980 --> 00:28:57,720 it's knocking. You're like, OK, what are we 478 00:28:57,730 --> 00:29:01,810 going to do here? Like it is landed, it's invaded, 479 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:04,440 it's pushing in and it's pushing out. 480 00:29:04,500 --> 00:29:11,390 It is here. And that means for you as well, 481 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:16,270 upon you, upon your life, upon all of your expectation, upon 482 00:29:16,500 --> 00:29:20,350 the things that you hold too tightly to and the still, the 483 00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:23,680 ways of sin and death and brokenness that are rattling 484 00:29:23,690 --> 00:29:27,940 around in in you. But not just you, or at this 485 00:29:27,950 --> 00:29:29,840 point, all of Israel. Yes. 486 00:29:29,990 --> 00:29:33,120 And and so I think it's important to also hold that this 487 00:29:33,130 --> 00:29:35,740 isn't like Jesus just talking to one person. 488 00:29:35,850 --> 00:29:38,300 And when Jesus talks to the crowds, it's, it's never just 489 00:29:38,310 --> 00:29:42,620 even for the crowds like he's, he's proclaiming something 490 00:29:42,630 --> 00:29:46,150 that's true of all people. And that's where we get to when 491 00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:48,930 we, when we get to the one versus 7 demons. 492 00:29:48,940 --> 00:29:51,230 So I don't know if you wanna go there next. 493 00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:54,050 Week we sure can, but maybe just to ducktail on that. 494 00:29:54,060 --> 00:29:57,490 I'm just noticing when you when you bring in the the Exodus 495 00:29:57,500 --> 00:30:01,730 language and you have Moses kind of confronting Pharaoh and, and, 496 00:30:01,740 --> 00:30:09,680 and the Egyptians there, there's it's an interesting subversion 497 00:30:09,690 --> 00:30:13,650 there where Jesus is now confronting the Israelites. 498 00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:17,230 Yeah, Like, like. And that must have. 499 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:21,430 That must have stung. Yeah. 500 00:30:21,480 --> 00:30:23,030 For some of these folks. Yeah. 501 00:30:23,100 --> 00:30:27,210 And, and for some who are maybe less cynical would have caused 502 00:30:27,220 --> 00:30:29,550 some introspection and thoughtfulness. 503 00:30:29,620 --> 00:30:33,830 For others, it might drive them toward more cynicism, you know? 504 00:30:33,900 --> 00:30:37,510 Yeah. And so I think, OK, just to to 505 00:30:37,660 --> 00:30:43,340 to jump from here to the one versus 7, because I think that 506 00:30:43,350 --> 00:30:46,450 that actually connects and ties in perfectly. 507 00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:54,030 The the thing that OK, the thing that fair part of what Moses 508 00:30:54,040 --> 00:30:58,090 rather is doing when he confronts Pharaoh is speaking 509 00:30:59,060 --> 00:31:06,350 the truth of God to power. That is being misused. 510 00:31:07,410 --> 00:31:14,480 And I think in part what Jesus does is speak that same gospel 511 00:31:14,750 --> 00:31:24,000 truth of God to now a religious power that is being misused and 512 00:31:24,010 --> 00:31:27,210 and not leading toward life. So I think that's important to 513 00:31:27,220 --> 00:31:31,760 name because we continue to see that happen over and over again 514 00:31:31,830 --> 00:31:34,440 in various places and forms and shapes. 515 00:31:34,610 --> 00:31:45,150 Today, in 2025, soon to be 2026, we still wrestle out the the 516 00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:54,860 reality and the pitfall and the dangers of power when it is 517 00:31:55,430 --> 00:32:02,850 wielded by broken human beings. And the Kingdom coming still in 518 00:32:02,860 --> 00:32:08,310 2025 seemed to be 2026. The Kingdom still falls upon us 519 00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:13,250 in a way that lands whether we want it to or not, whether we 520 00:32:13,260 --> 00:32:17,770 declare a nation to be Christian or not, whether we rightly 521 00:32:17,780 --> 00:32:20,170 understand the Kingdom and the gospel or not. 522 00:32:20,620 --> 00:32:26,070 Like the Kingdom is falling upon us in a way that still needs to 523 00:32:26,080 --> 00:32:33,740 push out the the ways of sin and death and in part the power that 524 00:32:33,750 --> 00:32:37,200 is used or misused. And I want to say this both 525 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:43,880 politically, which is what we see in in part in, in Moses and 526 00:32:43,890 --> 00:32:46,670 Pharaoh. Yeah, Israel in Egypt and 527 00:32:46,680 --> 00:32:50,590 religiously, which is what we see more of in Jesus's day. 528 00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:53,750 And definitely Roman occupation, absolutely. 529 00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:58,070 But it is the religious collusion with Roman occupation 530 00:32:58,280 --> 00:33:01,120 where we see the religion being mixed into it and. 531 00:33:01,130 --> 00:33:03,970 Should be some alarm bells for all of our listeners. 532 00:33:03,980 --> 00:33:08,250 Here even just even just to say of our own cause listen, like 533 00:33:08,260 --> 00:33:10,770 your mind, listeners, minds are gonna go in every different 534 00:33:10,780 --> 00:33:12,730 direction. Yeah, even just to say of our 535 00:33:12,740 --> 00:33:15,210 own country and our own country's history. 536 00:33:15,480 --> 00:33:19,700 But we have the same history. We know this history and. 537 00:33:19,770 --> 00:33:23,340 And the one thing in Canada that the church has had to reckon 538 00:33:23,350 --> 00:33:26,480 with, amongst many, many others, is the history of residential 539 00:33:26,490 --> 00:33:27,480 schools. Yeah. 540 00:33:27,570 --> 00:33:30,920 And what happened, And this is not my thinking, Like many other 541 00:33:30,930 --> 00:33:33,920 people smarter than I, historians and theologians have 542 00:33:33,970 --> 00:33:38,990 talked about this. But where the church has aired 543 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:42,970 throughout history always is when it gets into bed with 544 00:33:42,980 --> 00:33:46,210 political power, Yes. And that's not to say that 545 00:33:46,220 --> 00:33:48,080 Christians shouldn't have like, political influence. 546 00:33:48,090 --> 00:33:49,980 Like I'm not saying that they're completely separate. 547 00:33:49,990 --> 00:33:53,150 I'm not saying don't go and vote and don't go and have like 548 00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:54,760 political conversations. Yes. 549 00:33:54,770 --> 00:33:57,670 We are spiritual and political. We are all the things there's. 550 00:33:57,680 --> 00:33:59,660 No, yeah. And there's no separate like 551 00:33:59,670 --> 00:34:05,640 Jesus wasn't apolitical like the like there's no to separate 552 00:34:05,650 --> 00:34:06,940 those things out doesn't make sense. 553 00:34:06,950 --> 00:34:12,580 There's no sacred and secular like to Jesus everything like 554 00:34:12,590 --> 00:34:18,820 it's it's Kingdom, right? Um, so in our own history in 555 00:34:18,830 --> 00:34:22,360 Canada, where we saw and where like where we still reckon with 556 00:34:22,370 --> 00:34:29,760 the church using power to harm others is where the church got 557 00:34:29,770 --> 00:34:35,570 in bed with political power and used political power against 558 00:34:35,620 --> 00:34:37,310 human being like that. It's that type of. 559 00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:41,090 And and you know, there's so many different rabbit trail 560 00:34:41,100 --> 00:34:43,409 conversations that we can go down here and I'd. 561 00:34:43,420 --> 00:34:46,030 Love to, but not today. Exactly. 562 00:34:46,760 --> 00:34:50,710 All of that to say, like that is such a complicated and complex 563 00:34:50,719 --> 00:34:57,700 history of, of human beings who are broken and trying, like 564 00:34:57,710 --> 00:35:02,960 trying to figure things out. And you know, somebody 200 years 565 00:35:03,170 --> 00:35:06,770 into the future will comment on the way we as broken human 566 00:35:06,780 --> 00:35:08,300 beings tried to figure things out. 567 00:35:08,530 --> 00:35:11,760 And I'm sure we'll criticize the things that we do. 568 00:35:13,690 --> 00:35:16,050 So each of us needs to hold that much humility. 569 00:35:16,090 --> 00:35:19,380 Hmm. But I, I think it's important to 570 00:35:19,390 --> 00:35:21,170 say that Jesus is pushing against power. 571 00:35:22,230 --> 00:35:27,890 Uh, Luke wants us to be seeing Moses and Israel and Egypt and 572 00:35:27,900 --> 00:35:31,490 Jesus is pushing against religious power here. 573 00:35:31,580 --> 00:35:35,490 And I think we see that when we flip just to flip to these 7 574 00:35:35,500 --> 00:35:42,480 verses, one demons. I I mentioned this briefly in my 575 00:35:42,490 --> 00:35:45,340 sermon on Sunday and I want to say it again here. 576 00:35:46,520 --> 00:35:51,070 Most people would agree that Jesus is not talking about the 577 00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:56,670 individual person. He's using this illustration 578 00:35:56,740 --> 00:36:03,320 that's been given to him to talk and speak to Israel as a nation. 579 00:36:03,370 --> 00:36:05,280 Yeah. So it's not like a, you know, a 580 00:36:05,290 --> 00:36:08,280 moment of fear. Like if I, if I deal with 581 00:36:08,330 --> 00:36:12,290 something internally that, you know, seven more things are 582 00:36:12,300 --> 00:36:15,780 gonna come and enter my life that are worse than before. 583 00:36:15,790 --> 00:36:18,450 Like it's, you know, like I think there, there could be some 584 00:36:18,460 --> 00:36:21,180 good wisdom in how we think about how we fill ourselves. 585 00:36:21,190 --> 00:36:23,070 There's truth. To there's truth to that, 586 00:36:23,080 --> 00:36:25,220 absolutely. But but it's it's I think that 587 00:36:25,230 --> 00:36:28,670 we can live in like, you know, terror about what that, what 588 00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:31,900 that looks like in my life. Like you're telling me if I deal 589 00:36:31,910 --> 00:36:34,820 with this one part of my life that it's, you know, I'm gonna 590 00:36:34,830 --> 00:36:38,340 be attacked seven ways differently than maybe, maybe, 591 00:36:38,350 --> 00:36:39,840 maybe. But that's probably not what 592 00:36:39,850 --> 00:36:41,540 Jesus is saying here. No, yeah, no. 593 00:36:41,550 --> 00:36:45,240 So I think, I think Jesus is using the, the individual, 594 00:36:45,250 --> 00:36:48,100 individual illustration that's been given to him. 595 00:36:48,170 --> 00:36:51,780 Like Jesus was a in in many ways, like dude is a brilliant 596 00:36:51,790 --> 00:36:54,400 preacher. Yeah, without preaching sermons 597 00:36:54,410 --> 00:36:57,800 in the way that we think about it now in, in the sense that he, 598 00:36:57,870 --> 00:37:03,510 he's interacting with everyday life and using these moments to 599 00:37:03,520 --> 00:37:06,130 teach about the Kingdom of God and to reveal the Kingdom of 600 00:37:06,140 --> 00:37:07,130 God. So what? 601 00:37:07,140 --> 00:37:11,290 What's he saying? I think he's saying that he's 602 00:37:11,300 --> 00:37:14,310 using this individual illustration of a person being 603 00:37:14,320 --> 00:37:16,050 healed, one being being cast out. 604 00:37:17,030 --> 00:37:22,040 Those going finding, you know, no place to land, scatter, come 605 00:37:22,050 --> 00:37:26,570 back, finds the house swept and clean and in order. 606 00:37:26,640 --> 00:37:30,330 And that what he is referring to there is is Israel. 607 00:37:30,760 --> 00:37:36,320 And I think what he is challenging the people with is 608 00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:40,310 what Israel has constantly been challenged with throughout its 609 00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:43,290 entire biblical history, and that is that they've forgotten 610 00:37:43,300 --> 00:37:44,810 God. Hmm. 611 00:37:45,080 --> 00:37:52,220 And they need to repent and turn back and be filled again with 612 00:37:52,230 --> 00:37:57,040 the presence of God and see that the presence of God is with 613 00:37:57,050 --> 00:38:02,490 them, embody form right now. And they're not at least this, 614 00:38:02,500 --> 00:38:05,070 this crew, right? Some are, some aren't. 615 00:38:05,420 --> 00:38:08,410 And so the warning is to the people of Israel, right? 616 00:38:08,500 --> 00:38:12,100 The warning is to this group who have forgotten, who have swept 617 00:38:12,110 --> 00:38:17,010 their house clean of God, who have abandoned the presence of 618 00:38:17,080 --> 00:38:23,060 cloud, who have gotten into into bed with a political power. 619 00:38:23,070 --> 00:38:26,700 And you know, a group of them who are using religious 620 00:38:26,710 --> 00:38:29,160 influence and political power all all mixed together. 621 00:38:30,630 --> 00:38:33,870 So I think the warning is in those situations when you do 622 00:38:33,880 --> 00:38:38,690 that, yeah, you know, you can try all you want to kick the one 623 00:38:38,700 --> 00:38:42,940 out, but it's what he's saying is until you are filled again 624 00:38:42,950 --> 00:38:46,320 with the presence of God, you're constantly gonna be doing battle 625 00:38:46,330 --> 00:38:48,270 with these things. And that is something that. 626 00:38:48,280 --> 00:38:51,890 So he goes from the individual to the corporate and then you 627 00:38:51,900 --> 00:38:55,550 can take some of that back to an individual level. 628 00:38:55,600 --> 00:39:00,310 Yeah, to say each one of us needs to be filled with the 629 00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:05,450 presence of God. And until that happens, we are 630 00:39:05,460 --> 00:39:08,300 going to be struggling with these like one off individual 631 00:39:08,310 --> 00:39:11,430 things. And so the only last thing I 632 00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:17,180 want to say is This is why, like when I talk to people about any 633 00:39:17,190 --> 00:39:19,580 type of like behavior or addiction or habit that they're 634 00:39:19,590 --> 00:39:22,560 trying to break, one of the massive things you need to do is 635 00:39:22,570 --> 00:39:28,940 fill it with a good habit. And really, I think at the end 636 00:39:28,950 --> 00:39:31,000 of the day, like that's what Jesus is saying to this nation, 637 00:39:31,010 --> 00:39:36,960 saying you've forgotten, remember, repent and there will 638 00:39:36,970 --> 00:39:43,920 be a new exodus, like there will be another drawing out of you 639 00:39:43,930 --> 00:39:47,310 toward life and, and toward this deep and meaningful presence of 640 00:39:47,320 --> 00:39:55,080 God again, all of it possible. But until you, until you turn 641 00:39:55,610 --> 00:39:59,230 and embrace again this presence, like, yeah, it's it's a battle 642 00:39:59,240 --> 00:40:04,360 that you're not going to win. It's worth noticing at the end 643 00:40:04,370 --> 00:40:08,320 of this passage and at the very end of the previous passage, So 644 00:40:08,330 --> 00:40:11,440 we've got at the end of this passage, Jesus, Jesus says 645 00:40:11,450 --> 00:40:14,140 blessed rather, are those who hear the word of God and obey 646 00:40:14,150 --> 00:40:16,560 it. There's a call to obedience and 647 00:40:16,570 --> 00:40:20,130 repentance. And at the end of the previous 648 00:40:20,140 --> 00:40:23,190 week's passage, Jesus is reminding us of the gift of the 649 00:40:23,200 --> 00:40:25,040 Holy Spirit, right? How much more will the Holy 650 00:40:25,050 --> 00:40:28,520 Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him? 651 00:40:28,570 --> 00:40:33,400 And, and it feels like Jesus is really trying to draw attention 652 00:40:33,610 --> 00:40:38,420 to do these, I mean, particularly the, the gift of 653 00:40:38,430 --> 00:40:41,650 the Holy Spirit and, and the ways in which the Spirit is 654 00:40:41,660 --> 00:40:45,790 going to inform and influence our lives to do the work of 655 00:40:45,800 --> 00:40:50,410 obedience and to like there's just, yeah, we can get caught up 656 00:40:50,420 --> 00:40:52,510 in all of the minutia. But at the end of the day, those 657 00:40:52,520 --> 00:40:55,590 are some of the most critical pieces that we just need to 658 00:40:55,600 --> 00:40:59,030 receive from God, receive the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit 659 00:40:59,040 --> 00:41:03,630 will enable us to live differently and to be filled in 660 00:41:03,640 --> 00:41:06,070 those ways. And we're like, we're going to 661 00:41:06,080 --> 00:41:09,190 continue in that direction Sunday in X, hopefully extra 662 00:41:09,200 --> 00:41:10,960 measure. Hmm. 663 00:41:11,020 --> 00:41:15,410 So stay tuned because yeah, we got a lot of a lot of look. 664 00:41:15,420 --> 00:41:18,070 Left to go. That's good. 665 00:41:18,110 --> 00:41:19,830 Great. We hope that this conversation 666 00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:21,790 helps you have your own conversations. 667 00:41:21,980 --> 00:41:24,050 And as always, please send us questions. 668 00:41:24,060 --> 00:41:28,590 We'd love to hear from you. And in the meantime, read on 669 00:41:28,600 --> 00:41:31,230 ahead, see if you can figure out where we're going to do a little 670 00:41:31,240 --> 00:41:35,660 bit of study ahead of time and have a great week.