“The Spoiler Queen”
EPISODE 230
Know Jesus Through Scripture
Ready to dive into our third conversation in the Square One series? This week, we're tackling the question: What's the Bible all about? Looking at the overarching story of the Bible, SPOILER ALERT — the focus is on Jesus! What’s the best Bible translation? How does John 1 expand our understanding as we piece together the Bible's grand narrative? Mind-blowing revelations ahead — tune in as we unravel the scriptural mysteries that all point to Jesus. And don't forget to check out the links for more resources and follow along with our Square One series!
Takeaways
The Big Idea: All of Scripture points to Jesus.
This Week's Challenge: Read Luke 24:1-35.
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Ryan: I like the journey that a good story takes me on. And I'm married to the spoiler queen
Introduction and Welcome
Bryan: Well, hello everyone and welcome to the Bible Geeks podcast. This is episode 230. I'm Bryan Schiele
Ryan: I'm Ryan Joy.
Bryan: and thanks so much everyone for tuning in. We're back here in our square one series that we've been doing for the last couple of episodes. This is our third conversation in that series where we ask this basic question, "What's the Bible all about?"
Follow-Up on Bible Familiarity Challenge
Bryan: It feels like a fundamental question, but before we get into that, let's do a little bit of follow-up from our last discussion where the challenge was to get familiar with your Bible. Ryan, were you able to get familiar with your Bible over this past week since we did that episode?
Ryan: Very familiar. I was, uh... [ I was deep in Ezekiel. I'm preparing for an Ezekiel class. But, yeah, I've been playing with some different apps as well on my devices. And, uh, so yeah. I'm familiar. [laughs] I can always be more familiar, but I'm familiar. How about
Bryan: yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, I would definitely agree with you. I can definitely be more familiar with the Bible.
Discussing Bible Translations
Bryan: actually found myself over the last little bit looking at different translations of the Bible since our last discussion. I tend to camp in the ESV, English Standard Version, primarily, but comparing verses with other translations can sometimes open up some new insights.
So I've been doing that a little bit. Even dipping back into the old King James, these and thousand thither twos.
Ryan: you? [laughs] You know, sometimes... I would rather the King James than the new King James. I'll say that. The King James has a
Bryan: a that's a hot take there.
Ryan: Yeah, this is a hot take. The King James, there are issues, obviously, besides the 400 years of language between us. there.
are some spots and, you know, some new manuscripts we have since then.
But, it is a beautiful version and Um, new King James loses some of that, I think, without having some of the benefits of some of the newer translations. So that's my hot take for the day. Let's move on. [laughs]
Bryan: take. All right, let's move on to our discussion here.
The Bible is All About Jesus
Bryan: But session three here in this square one series where we're going to get into what's the Bible all about? The Bible is all about Jesus and we're going to talk a little bit more about that in this conversation.
But I kind of view this as like an old-fashioned whodunit story. You know, we're looking to see like who is the thread that connects all of these various events that we read about in the Bible.
Hopefully this is like the lights turn on and the flashbulbs flash and it's like, ah, I see what you did there Bible. I see who you're talking about. It
Ryan: And there is so much that we cannot... It's everywhere. And it's really a faith builder. Every time I get into these kinds of studies where you are just noticing how it really is true, as Jesus said to the two on the road to Emmaus, that all of the scriptures are describing this suffering of the representative and him coming into glory.
And that it's all pointing to it and the story doesn't make sense without that. And it seems like it's just all one big setup.
to know that there is centuries separating all of those pieces of the story and yet they all fit together like this. Really beautiful.
Bryan: All right. So let's get into part one of this discussion. We'll play that here and then we'll get into our icebreaker here
Square One - 3: This is Square One. What's the Bible all about? We probably all have "that friend" who loves to ruin the ending to a chilling mystery novel or a brand new episode of must-see television. Before we can figure out whodunit on our own, stringing together all the clues we've collected and playing amateur detective, they swoop in and spoil the whole thing by revealing the twist that unlocks the story.
It's pretty annoying. Once you know the spoiler, there's no escaping it. You see it everywhere. The surprise the author intended at the end of the story vanishes without that satisfying "aha" moment. Spoiler alert! We're about to reveal the plot twist of the greatest book ever written. And once you know it, you'll never see the story the same way again.
Icebreaker: Handling Spoilers
Square One - 3: But before we get too far, how do you like to handle spoilers for your favorite stories and shows? Are you the person who googles the answer before you get there, or do you prefer to be surprised?
Bryan: All right. So the icebreaker question thereyou know, how do you like to handle spoilers? Ryan, are you the kind of person who Googles for the answer or would you prefer to be surprised? I think I know the answer knowing as much as I know about you.
Ryan: I don't watch movies to solve the mystery. I watch to watch it. unfold. And I like the journey that a good story takes me on. And I'm married to the spoiler queen She has become very respectful of me. But her whole viewing experience in a show is to solve it as quickly as possible and declare herself the winner. and so she'll tell me like, "Hey, ask me later, like three minutes in, if I figured it out and I'll tell you so that's how she does it now. Rather than telling me who did it, she'll just let me know. I know And then she'll watch the rest of it And say, " Yeah, I knew right at the beginning. It was so obvious because of this and that and this."
What about you? Do you do the spoiler
Bryan: You know, I really like you. I also hate being spoiled but there are times where I actually need it. I'm not the one who gravitates in our family towards the dramatic television. I'm, happy enough to watch just silly light-hearted things like Gilmore Girls. Our family just rewatched Gilmore Girls and we were I hadn't seen it all the way through and so we were, you know, going every night maybe watching an episode and it took a while but my daughter is the one who demands to know what's going to happen in the future.
And so she has like that that Adrian spoiler Queen like smirk on her face, you know, she knows what's about to happen. for me if there's like an anxiety inducing show that I'm watching something that like is just I can't handle it and it's you know, making my blood pressure go up. I will probably look at Google in order to not have like some kind of cardiac event while I'm watching the show, but generally speaking, I do not like to be spoiled at all.
Ryan: It's amazing how an ending can make or break a story. And it's funny. I just...Last night there was like Hulu or somebody was doing an ad for Gilmore Girls. And I was like, "I never watched that. I know you liked it at first. Would you want me to watch that with you?" And she said, " I don't know if I could do it because the ending made me so angry."
Bryan: yeah.
Ryan: And so, and I don't know what that is, butthe ending affects any story. And we've talked about, give us a real ending. Make sure that everything was leading to that ending. Make it the natural ending of the story you were telling. And of course, the Bible does that, as we're about to see.
Bryan: puts an amazing bow on an amazing story. All right.
Understanding Jesus Through Scripture
Bryan: So let's get into part two of this conversation
where we get into it a little bit. We'll find Jesus through the scriptures. We'll look at something that he said and we'll introduce the big idea here.
Square One - 3: Let's get into it and get to know Jesus through the scriptures. What can seem like a big tangle of stories, teachings, and ideas actually has one thread, one singular focus.
Last time we saw that the Bible is the guidebook for our lives. And like any good map, it's leading us somewhere. Or in our case, leading us to someone. Jesus is who this book is all about. As we journey through the Bible from Old Testament to New, we see Jesus every step of the way. We learn about him, get to know him, and hopefully, grow to love him.
It's different to know about someone than to know them. So we're not reading simply to collect the facts about him. We study to deepen our relationship with God and his Son. Jesus once spoke up to a group of religious scholars, people who studied God's word more than the general public, saying, "You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is they that bear witness about me.
Yet you refuse to come to me, that you may have life." Maybe Jesus could have issued a spoiler alert before saying that, but he also thought they should have seen it all along. They were still in the dark about the Bible's true purpose, so he turned on the bright light of truth, revealing the point they were missing.
So here's the big idea. All of scripture points to Jesus. The Bible isn't the history of the world, but the story of God redeeming us, bringing us back to himself through Jesus. So what do you think God wants you to take from the Bible?
Ryan: All right, Bryan, what do you think God wants you to take from the
Bryan: Oh man, there's so much right. It's it's so deep and so varied and vast. It actually reminds me of this recent debate that I saw online. There was somebody who was posting about what they thought the Bible was all about and they kind of started to get into it by saying what the Bible wasn't, you know that it's not the Bible.
It started to get into it by saying what the Bible wasn't, you know that it's not like purely a historical record, it's not like a book of science that answers all the scientific questions and among a few other things they said this is not a book about rules and I think it was that last point that people really took issue with it.
Like obviously were missing. I think the point that this person was trying to express that it's not a book solely about these things. It's not a book that's only focused on rules or scientific evidence or history or anything like that.It is so helpful to see that fundamentally it's a book about Jesus and my relationship with him.
That is what this book is about. That's what the Bible is all geared toward. Like how do I change having read the Bible? What is it that I learn about being more like Jesus? And what is this passage I'm reading teach me about God?
These are helpful thoughts, helpful questions that I ask myself when I read and so to think about what the purpose of the Bible is or what God wants me to take from it is fundamentally I think just to understand that I have a relationship with Jesus and then I can grow close to him and I can become more like him and I can follow him and have a relationship with God through him it's a lot of things but that's at the core of it.
Ryan: how we view the Bible really affects how we read it and how we live it. And so, I can see that kind of heated exchange coming from a statement that... Because people are so attached to their concept of what the Bible is. And this is a continuation, in some ways, of the last session that we had about what the Bible really is, right?
Bryan: it's a divine book, but it's also a human book. It's really not one book. It's a whole library of books, and they're all doing different things. But they all flow together and fit together, as we're talking about in this particular conversation we're in right now. And last time, we called it a guidebook, which I think is accurate.
Ryan: But it guides us in different ways than we might expect. It's not just a rulebook, as you said. It's not just even a true story. It is that, but it's not just any one thing. And through the stories and the principles, we start to see the story of everything. And in that way, more than any other way, it guides us and it gives us wisdom. I think that's an important word. Wisdom. seeing things, we're able to make choices that represent God well as his image bearers.
Like, as we see reality clearer, which is really what the Bible is doing. Like, all of reality, what's really happening. Or as Jesus says in the translations we have in our Bibles, "You will know The truth. As we know the truth, as we see what's real, we have light around us to see what's up and what we're doing.
And to quote our Bible bracket winner this year, "Jesus is the truth."
Bryan: The truth.
Ryan: the reality.
Bryan: I totally agree with you and I think you introduced it really well a few episodes ago when you were talking about the reduction sauces and you know that is sometimes the tendency is to like over reduce the Bible into just something right? Like and that's the difficulty that we face even in this conversation is like what is the core?
What is the point of it all? And again to just be about one thing. It's certainly not it's the story of everything and the story of everything really is leading us to the truth, which is Jesus and understanding who he is in that relationship with him. just be careful not to boil it down too much.
Ryan: Yeah, okay. Well, we've talked about the Bible. Maybe we should get into the Bible.
Bryan: get into the Bible by taking a 30,000 foot view. I think by our next reading here, we're going to get into John chapter 1 as our reading and then we're going to talk through this together and we'll even read these passages after this.
Reading and Reflecting on John 1
Square One - 3: Let's open our Bibles and get ready to read John 1 verses 1-18 together.
John takes us back before the universe began and introduces someone he, at first, simply calls "the word." Someone who is God, yet was with God. Someone who made the world but also entered the world in the flesh. When we finally read his name, we are ready to learn more of this Jesus Christ who brings grace and truth.
No one else in the Bible ever got an introduction like this, so take your time reading. These are massive ideas worth chewing on. And after reading, take some time to discuss it. What else do you see in this passage that helps you understand Jesus better?
Ryan: first paragraph. And you can take it from there. John 1, beginning of verse 1. " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. in him was life, and the life was the light of men. the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome. There was a man, sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. he was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. he came to his own, and his own people did not receive
Bryan: to all who did receive him." who believed in his name. He gave the right to become children of God who were born not of blood or of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God and the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen his Glory Glory as of the only son from the father full of grace and truth John bore witness about him and cried out.
This was he of whom I said he who comes after me ranks before me because he was before me or from his fullness. We have all received grace upon grace or the law was given through Moses grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God the only God who is at the father's side.
He has made him known. So that's the reading, you know after we after we think through this amazing reading one of the most I think fundamental texts that we go to to understand who Jesus is and you know, what do you see in this passage that helps you understand Jesus better?
Ryan: last verse struck me as packed with incredible truth about Jesus. It seemed to bookend verse 1 and help us understand it. Like, that's an inclusio. That's big word for you. An inclusio, like two things that seem to go together that make a package out of a particular passage.
And so, verse 1, he is God, but he is with God. That's a riddle, right? John does this a lot. He'll start something with, like, a riddle, and then he'll start to unpack it at the end of a thing. He does that in 14 to 17, I think. So, verse 18, " No one has seen God, but the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known."
So, now we have the two figures, or persons, of the Godhead. Verse 17, " Just name the word, Jesus Christ." And now, he names the Father as someone no one has seen. So, we've got Jesus Christ and the Father, God and God, but there's only God. Yet, it doesn't say, "The one at the Father's side has made him known." It says, "The only God, who is at the Father's side, has made him known."
This is such a powerful Trinitarian passage. If he's the only God, how can he be at God's side?
Bryan: Oh, yeah.
Ryan: If he's the
only God, how can he be at God's side? Wouldn't that make the one he's with not God? No. There's one God, Jesus, who is the one God, reveals God, the Father, who is the one God.
And he shows us God in a way No,
one ever did before. and so,I don't see God, but I know who God is. And more than any other way, through Jesus, who reveals him clearly. What's God like? Well, read about Jesus, and you're going to learn what God's like. You can also read the rest of the Bible, which tells you what God's like.
But Jesus shows him so clearly.
Bryan: and I think this passage is one of the most obvious mysteries and riddles that you know as you're saying here John is unpacking for us at the end of this reading. I think there's just such an aha moment that he's leading us to here, you know that Jesus this one who we've seen this man who walked on this earth.
He was God and reveals God, all how it all connects together is just so amazing. I was thinking here you I don't know if you remember that story about the violin player like the world famous violin player who brought his like three and a half million dollar Stradivarius violin on to the subway platform and played in the corner and as like as everybody walks by like they don't even realize what they're experiencing here.
when I read this verse he was in the world and the world was made through him yet. The world did not know him. he came to his own and his own people did not receive him that's the picture that I'm seeing when I think about these verses. it's so chilling that like Jesus was incognito.
I mean, you know in a way like he was allowing himself to be unseen even though he made everything he created all of this. He was in the world and the world was made through him yet. The world didn't know him and people didn't see who Jesus really was. I kind of think of it as like he's like the ultimate undercover boss here, he's letting people come to their own conclusions.
If somebody sees him and understands who he is then good for them. They've they figured it out, but he's not forcing them or he's not like, you know, bringing some Grand demonstration. Although he did do miracles and you know, those miracles were seen by people. He gave people plenty of evidence.
Understanding Jesus' Departure
Bryan: I'll just say that that would prove that he is who he said he was but I think it just helps me understand Jesus even more that he leaves the seeking up to me. and he wants me to dig he wants me to like keep looking for him and keep trying to find him and understand who he is and get to know him better. this idea that the world didn't know him, you know that that's the idea like they were looking people were looking for the Messiah, but they didn't see it in Jesus or they were unwilling to see it in Jesus.
I think that's just so powerful. Like if I see I'm going to find him if I'm soft-hearted he is going to mold me but without my willingness like he's not going to strong-arm me into a relationship with him.
The Messiah in Everyday Life
Ryan: love that picture of the violin player on the subway. Here's the creator Passover dinner. Here's the creator walking through the market. And it goes in some ways with what we just talked about, about people having this fixed idea of what the Bible is and not letting it be what it is. Not letting themselves just read it and discover what it's really doing.
Jesus was the same way. He said to John, "Blessed is the one who doesn't stumble because of me." Because people had an idea of who he was going to be. And so they, having eyes to see, didn't see it.
Blindness and Deafness in the Gospels
Ryan: So blindness and deafness is this major theme in all the Gospels. As Jesus, here it is, they're talking about the Messiah, and then they miss him.
And he's walking right by them.And may that not be us. May we see him for who he is.
Bryan: Yeah, it sort of highlights. I guess the way we started this conversation talking about mystery and the spoilers and things it's like he was there all along. He's right there. If only you would just see differently. All right.
Flying Through the Bible
Bryan: So let's get into part four here, which really helps us go deeper is one of my favorite parts of this conversation part for here where we fly through the book fly through the entire Bible believe it or not.
We're actually going to do that here and then we'll get into our big question.
Square One - 3: Ready to go deeper? The Bible starts with the same words as our reading.
"In the beginning." God created a good universe to share with humans made in the image of God to represent him and rule. It's a lofty purpose, but humanity soon fell short, beginning our need for the perfect, embodied image of God to enter creation. But let's not get ahead of the story. The Bible's next chapter presents humanity thriving in a garden in God's presence.
But when a mysterious talking serpent appeared, twisting God's words, the first humans brought sin and shame into God's good world. They're exiled from their beautiful, peaceful life with God. Yet there's still hope as God gave a promise. Someday, the offspring of the woman will crush the serpent's head, but the serpent will strike him too.
For centuries, readers would have to ask, "Who's the offspring of a woman who will deal that blow to the serpent?" From there, things went from bad to worse as humanity spiraled out of control. Then God chose one family, telling Abraham that through him and his offspring, all the families of the earth would be blessed.
But again, we wonder, "Who is this offspring of Abraham that'll bless all people?" God tested Abraham's faith in that promise when he shockingly told him to sacrifice his only son on an altar. But God stopped him and provided the offering. Abraham's grandson, Israel, had 12 sons, all ending up in Egypt. The Egyptians enslaved their descendants until God called Moses.
Through the sea and across the wilderness, Moses led them to freedom. At Mount Sinai, God gave Moses the law, detailing the need for sacrifices to deal with their sins. And when the people rebelled against God, Moses put himself between God and the people, pleading for mercy. Moses had a special role bringing God's law and liberty, but he didn't lead them into the promised land.
That was his successor, Joshua's job. Yet before Moses died, he promised that someday God would raise up a prophet like him.
The Promise of a Messiah
Square One - 3: God spoke to Israel through many other prophets, often looking beyond whatever current crisis they faced to a new dawn that would come under a Messiah or Christ, God's anointed king.
God promised King David his offspring would reign forever. The Jews spent centuries meditating on these mysterious promises. How could the Messiah be God but also a child? How will people of all different nations and languages become part of his kingdom? If he'll reign forever, how is he pierced in his hands and feet and why must he die for our failures?
Jesus' Life and Teachings
Square One - 3: Into this swirl of questions and expectations, Jesus was born. The first four books of the New Testament tell his life story. He taught a new way on a mountain, not abolishing the law Moses gave, but fulfilling it. Unlike Abraham's son, God's only son was not spared. He was the sacrifice God provided for our sins.
He arose from the dead and ascended to reign at God's right hand, mediating for us like Moses did for God's people. The king and priest forever, as David predicted centuries earlier. Then Jesus sent the Spirit to guide us, revealing his way and helping us become more like him, the perfect image of God.
The Continuing Story of Jesus
Square One - 3: The book of Acts tells how Jesus continued working through his Spirit and the Christians carrying his message. They told people the good news that the kingdom of God is here and with it, a victory at last over sin and death. And though the Bible was completed 2,000 years ago, Jesus' story continues as we live for him today.
He still reigns and works in the world. As we come to him in faith and obedience, we can receive the gift of his Spirit, following him as our king, and tell others about this good news. Until someday the king returns to make everything new and right and beautiful. That's the point of this big book. So here's the big question.
The Big Question: Do You See How the Bible Points to Jesus?
Square One - 3: Do you see how the whole Bible points to Jesus?
Bryan: All right. So that big question. Do you see how the whole Bible points to Jesus Ryan? I think since you're the one who wrote that whole section. I think you can definitely answer this in the affirmative. But what do you think
Ryan: I feel like the right answer is, " Hmm." Or, "Ooh, let me think
about this question." These yes or no big questions that we wrote into this series aren't really meant to be answered. They're meant to be thought about, right? and just to check in with yourself and with one another.
Reflecting on the Bible's Message
Ryan: But let's talk about that journey we just went on. So much was left out but still we covered all of time and expressed the worldview that the Bible gives. God is good. He made a good world to be with us. The focal point of his creation is us. And yet disobedience to God brought all that isn't good into the world.
And since then, this tension between the good God who wants to be with us, and the hard-headed choices we keep making. And so all of history led to Jesus and someday to him making all these things right.
But what you see is God has been at work to love us, to bring us to himself so that we can love him the right way and know him and be one with him as he made us to be right at the
Bryan: this is one of my favorite segments that we've done in a long time and I'm an honestly big shout out to you on this one because you know, I know that you and I we talked through some of these details together about what we wanted to bring out but like the way you were able to weave it all together in this story and to edit yourself in a way that didn't like make this, you know a 35 minute long dissertation but just such an like from a 30,000 foot view in broad strokes.
This is the picture of Jesus involvement since the beginning
I love the thought of how Jesus is this story. He's he was there in the beginning. He was talked about and prophesied about and in all the ways that he did he accomplished everything and you know as a reminder that I should just be like I should be looking for these moments in my study more and more like I should be finding Jesus in the Old Testament.
I should be finding him in the New Testament. I should be finding him out in my own life today, these moments that I can use to just highlight and focus and hone in on knowing Jesus and allowing it to develop within me wisdom, to know how he would act and to act like that, to see the focus of all of these books about all these writings in this library that we talked about as being about Jesus really means that my whole life should be about the same purpose.
Ryan: Yeah.
there's So many verses in the New Testament that really support, really the picture that your hook that you started with sets up That this is a mystery that people have been wrestling with. And, you know, there's the idea that the prophets that are writing these things are still trying to figure out, "Who are we talking about?
What are we thinking through?" And I was thinking of 2 Peter 1:19 too. "We have the prophetic word more fully confirmed to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your heart." Light has been a low-key theme underlying a lot of this episode.
And the morning star that rises in our hearts is Jesus. And that's what We look to these stories and to these foreshadowing passages to see more clearly Jesus so that the day can dawn and morning star can rise in our heart.
Bryan: Absolutely. All right. So let's wrap this whole thing up with our fifth part our wrap up here where we get into our challenge. We look ahead to the next conversation and we offer a closing blessing.
Square One - 3: A lot happens in the Bible, but Jesus' saving work is the thread that ties it together. All the signposts pointed to him. After Jesus' death, he appeared to two disciples and explained that to them. It's a special moment, so sometime this week, take a few minutes and read about that conversation in Luke 24 verses 1-35.
Imagine what kind of explanation Jesus must have given that led them to say, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?" As you start the next conversation, take a moment to talk about the reading.
Preparing for the Next Session
Square One - 3: Next time we'll ask, "Why should I believe in Jesus?"
What's the evidence that Jesus rose from the dead and that he really is who he claimed to be? As we continue this journey, may God help us all to find life and light, grace and truth.
Bryan: So thinking about that challenge, I really appreciate this verse and the ability to hone in on this verse. I guess for the meditation over the week, you know thinking from Luke chapter 24 verses 1 to 35 this conversation Jesus has with these two men on the road to Emmaus just these two randos like hearing it straight from the teacher.
I would have loved to be a you know, walking alongside them or wherever they were just being around them hearing this conversation that we don't get to hear but at the end of it all like they just their eyes are open and they've been able to see this amazing truth and their hearts are then burning within them.
I love the opportunity to read this passage and I'm excited to do it this week.
Ryan: the thing it's also doing is connecting this session with next session. So if you're leading this study, then you want to be prepared for that conversation to both tie a bow, as you said earlier, on the discussion about how everything was about Jesus, but then also to set up the resurrection of Jesus, which is our real focus next time.
Think about one of the main reasons we believe in Jesus and have so much faith in him.
Bryan: All right.
Leading the Discussion
Bryan: So let's zoom back out like we've been talking about and think through how we might lead this discussion in our final segment here, which is a closer look.
Ryan: Yeah, we're zooming out and zooming in for a closer look. So there is a lot here
that we're covering.
So take it slow, I would say, is my biggest thing. It's just as a starter note on this, check in with people. This is either going to be obvious to someone. Maybe you're leading your 13-year-old daughter through this or something.
And they're like, yeah, I've heard this before, but hopefully they're also getting some ahas and It's
deepening that. Or it's just overwhelming new idea with all kinds of new ideas that are coming at them, about sacrifice and about a mediator and about all these different pieces of the story, the Trinity.
Let's do this math. Three is one and all of these kind of pieces of things. you know, it's a really powerful study that's meant to kind of be a ticking time bomb exploding in our minds. But also we don't want somebody to say this is too much. I can't I can't get my head around it.
So just you are their partner. You are the Sherpa, as we said. So take it slow and maybe we can walk through each part of it now. But I wanted to give that as a starter.
Bryan: absolutely helpful. I think it's appropriate to understand that like just take it slow there is a lot here. But I think it's all worth it. And as we go back to the icebreaker, I think the idea of this icebreaker that we threw in there is like greasing the skids for this discussion of the mystery, you know, we kind of talked about a mystery and mysterious things on the last conversation when we were talking about the purpose of the Bible and and how the Bible is our guidebook.
But this is really more focused on like what is this guidebook leading us to you know,
Ryan: Who is that mask man?
Bryan: who is that mask man exactly and people don't like to know the end of the story or maybe they love to know the end of the story and just to kind of check in about how people like to be surprised or not, you know, would be a helpful on-ramp to a broader discussion about being surprised and revealing the mystery.
Ryan: Yeah, and hopefully sets them up for the fact that we are going to show them that everything like that. I mean, it is very relatable, like the way that you see a certain uncomfortable look on someone's face whenever someone makes a statement in a mystery movie or hey, why did they zero in on that phone?
And so we're starting to realize there's going to be a bunch of clues that are pointing to something. And we reveal pretty quickly that it
Bryan: Yeah, and Jesus himself in our Jesus starter when we talked about his words and how he was pointing to the scriptures as really being about himself. I mean he said that right off the bat in this discussion.
The Bible's Grand Story
Bryan: So I'm the one this is all been about this section when Jesus is talking about him being proven or that they should have known about him through the scriptures is I think a good way to transition from this icebreaker into a deeper conversation about knowing who he is through our study.
Ryan: Yeah.
one of the statements I appreciated that maybe is is worth camping on for a second. There is the idea that the Bible isn't the history of the world. Like that would be a much bigger collection of books. but it does tell a history. It's telling the history of redemption. And we're starting to see what story we're actually following.
It's not the story of Israel, ultimately. We see other nations brought into the story we see that it begins before the beginning of Israel. It's the story of how God is going to use a family and a nation and particular figures throughout history to move his plan forward to bring us back to himself in Jesus.
And that's the heart of it. and so hopefully that comes through in that purpose statement
Bryan: I mean not even to get into the depth but like
John chapter 1 is a lot [
and again, like you said help them, you know, help them work through it help them understand what this verse is about camp on it.
If you need to but John 1has a huge payoff in helping us understand what this great grand story of everything is all about and that that is of course, you
Ryan: I think that even though it is kind of a riddle me this kind of a storyline, people are in some ways ready for that kind of metaphorical language, poetic language, to be in a religious text like this. In some ways that's easier to deal with than seeing Abraham pull a knife on his own kid or some of the other things that happen.
And so the metaphors, we understand metaphorical language, we understand poetry. And so, you know, letting those pieces like life and light and he came to his own, he made it all, but they're not receiving him. I mean, it's saying so much in so few words. So, yeah. I really think that the reading, it's okay to leave people in the reading saying, "Look, this is worth coming back to and continuing to think about like your whole life."
What do you notice here?
Bryan:
And we get in from there to discussion really which is the gold. I think it's the core as we fly through the book fly through the entire Bible, you know, obviously missing quite a lot along the way, but this is the main thrust or the focus of this conversation and hopefully as you see the progression in what we've put there, you know from all the way back in the garden, you know to the time with Abraham and Moses leading all the way up through the prophets to Jesus himself and then beyond so good.
And I hope there's a lot of connections being made almost like that, you know cork board with red string all over it. You know the the I didn't realize it was all connected like that,
Ryan: back to the murder mystery board.
Bryan: exactly, that's kind of the goal here of this section and it will probably take some more meditation because there are like you said a lot of things that we've not really set up in this conversation yet.
this person may not have any idea who Abraham is or what that sacrifice of his son was all about and just kind of moving through it and helping glance off and introduce these things to them just keep moving through it and hopefully these things will sink in and absorb.
Ryan: And you could even give them access to the, you know, make sure.
they have the links to re-watch the video if they wanted to later. You might make a few notes of some things you want to pull out as your answer to the question at the end. One thing that wasn't camped on, it's a little bit subtle, but you might notice, and if you're familiar with the thread of the Bible, you're aware of, is that offspring.
We brought up the offspring of the woman, the offspring of Abraham, the offspring of David, and it's all flowing down. Of course, you know, Paul brings this up. This is something that is talked about a lot. Or the old King James, going back to that discussion a minute ago, the old King James word, "the seed," the seed of the woman.
Well, who is the seed of a woman? Who is the seed of Abraham that's going to bless the world? And Paul says in Galatians 3, he says seed, not seeds. He says offspring, not offsprings, you know? So there's one that he's ultimately pointing to throughout all of these, this storyline that's going forward. So that's one particular theme, and there's a lot of others that are touched on.
The theme of sacrifice is really important to understand. The sacrifice, the cross is really hard to get your brain around if you're--I mean, always. But especially if you're new to the storyline, like what is up with that? Is that God was mad at his son? Is that, you know, like people have weird--all kinds of weird interpretations.
So the idea of sacrifice for sin, those are important ideas that are starting to get a bubble to the surface. Yeah,
Bryan: And so this big question that we ask, you know, do you see how the whole Bible points to Jesus? We're not really looking for like a yes or no or anything like that, but it would be nice to at least open the door. maybe they haven't. Yes. I believe that this is all about Jesus. Maybe they're not going to come to that conclusion from this discussion. But like are they open to it? Are they thinking about it? Are they like have you planted a seed of intrigue into their heart? Maybe that can grow into something that shines a brighter light like kind of talked about earlier then that wraps up with the challenge and you know, maybe this is another opportunity for them to go home on their own and think through this stuff together with their Bible as they read about Jesus talking to these two men on the road to Emmaus
Ryan: and, you know, I don't want to unpack the challenge too much because we're going to check in on it next time, but this challenge that we lead to is just a powerful story that gives us a piece of what we hope-- My thinking, whatever I was writing that flying through the book, is what might that have been like to hear Jesus unpack that?
And like you said, we wish we knew, but what are some of the points he might have brought up? What kind of foreshadowing and storylines is he noting as he moves through the Law and the Prophets to point to Christ?
Bryan: I like to think he would have talked about Melchizedek, but that's just me, you know,
Ryan: I noted it. I didn't want to put that--it's so unusual. Like, okay, but we have Psalm 110 in there,
Bryan: yeah, we do.All right, everyone.
Final Thoughts and Resources
Bryan: So this has been a conversation all about what the Bible is all about and a conversation about this mystery being revealed. We thank you so much for tuning in. This has been episode 230 of the Bible Geeks podcast. You can find us on our website at biblegeeks.fm. You can find the show notes for this episode in your podcast player of choice or at biblegeeks.fm/230.
You can also follow along with this guided study, this square one series over at biblegeeks.fm/squareone. Go sign up for our newsletter. Check out our blog for more detailed information. We really appreciate everyone for getting involved. And if you want to submit a question to the show, please do that on our website as well.
Ryan, it's been a blast and until the next episode, everyone, may the Lord bless you and keep you.
Ryan: Shalom.