Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of Luke (with Jeff Cavins) (2024)
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How many father maxims and you're listening to the bible in the year podcast where we encounter god's voice and live life through the lens of description. The bible in the year podcast brought to by ascension using the great adventure bibles timing will read all the way from genesis to revelation, discovering how the story of above ation unfolds in a week at and to that story.

Today, IT is introduction to the messianic filming, and IT is our fourth messianic checkpoint. And we finally have reached the gospel of that look. And so that means today we get to be joined by jeff.

Kevin, once again, so grateful for this. But before that, I want to let you know that today's sponsor of this episode is, hello. It's the largest and fastest growing APP in the world, with millions of catholic using IT to go deeper in the relationship with god.

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we are. You know what IT literally feels like just yesterday that we began all of this. And here we are.

We're we're in the new testament. It's the final gospel of the four. And ah what what an adventure.

What an adventure. Let me, let me ask you, father, because no one interviews you. What do you think so far about all of this?

I think this has been an incredible journey, one of the things that keeps coming back every time I record an episode, and also every time I listen because I do listen as well, i'm not just, i'm not just the president. I'm also the client, but I who's that guy, that commercial for the shaver?

No, I don't. But perhaps we can talk about, look.

maybe we'll talk about, look, okay, back to work. I will not only to read this, but also listen. And one of the things that strike that was great, one of the things that strikes me is, you know, I did great of inter rebel time mine that you are created.

And i'm so grateful for that. I've told so many people, even in the last week, i've told people that while I was an undergrad major in theology, and then I went to five years of seminaries, so nine years total, studying biology, studying philosopher and city scription. When I went through your greatest venture, vivo timing, that was the one class, essentially like a class where I finally was, I thought, oh my god.

Sh, that makes sense. Now, all the little pieces that I gotten in all these other classes and all these other schools, all vics in, all made sense. And so today, when we were hitting the gospel of, look, this is the gospel you use when IT comes to the great adventure about all timeline, is not the gospel marker, Matthew or or john, but it's the gospel of luke into acts. And I just thought, here we are, IT. Finally, you, after all these days, after all this time, we're back here and in this place where we get to see the a film of everything we've been listening to to right and you know .

you mention the the greater venture bible study a that comes in an eight part version in a twenty four week version, which is the long know kind of journey through the entire bible. And it's a great thing to do after bible and year.

If people are looking to go deeper, then start a group, started group in your church, in your home, and go deep in the scripture, and at the same time keep going through the violent year again and means soap yourself in scripture. What's happening, uh, nationwide, I would say worldwide right now with Cathy s in the bible is historical. I mean, catholics are studying the bible more than ever and and sharing Christ with people more than ever.

And just a great time to to be alive. But yeah, look, look, people always asked what you're favorite gospel. And I usually say Matthew until I come to look, then say, you know, she's probably look but one of the one of the reasons I like look so much as that.

Originally, look and acts were one book, and then they were divided up for the purpose of keeping john is the forth in the sophos. Matthew and luke, with syn optics meeting the all scene to come from the same source, same view. Uh, he was divided up, but, uh, he states his purpose in writing the gospel very, very clearly at the beginning.

And he says he wanted to compile a carefully research history of the life of jesus. And so it's like a biography, really, you know, of jesus. And he's got a pet gory, too. Not only was a physician, but he was a companion of ul. And he was, this is a good trivia question, father, who is the most prolific author in the new testament?

I would guess.

paul, a look is IT really? Yes, IT actually is, but you says more chapters. Yes, you gave the answer though that most people would pull more letters but back to semi ary ah honestly.

I told you I learned in schools that's my defense.

What paw has more books but um look has more content uh there and so he was reasonable one book and I love the way he begins he's writing to a guy called the awless which literally means loved by god. He says almost excEllent. The awless and the questions always going to come up who's the awless nobody knows. There's a lot of guesses about IT even uh the guest that IT belongs to, uh generic Christians, people who love god. This is to you, you know so if we don't know who the awful less is, we will read IT as it's addressed to me, dressed to you and which is another .

great way to read the bible in the first place.

Exactly, exactly. So what makes this, uh, gospel different than the others? Well, IT is part of the the group of synaptic gospel.

But there are some things that make IT different. For example, uh, look, really focuses on jesus, the man. Or some people have said, jesus, the ideal man.

Now we know that he is god and he is man. The hypothetic union is one person, two natures, and that human nature is really brought out in, look, the humanity of jesus. You know, he talks about him growing and wisdom and stature and favor with god.

IT talks about his temptation. He physically touches a lepper sweat like drops comes from his his head in the semi. And he even eats a meal after the resurrection. So there's this real emphasis on the humanity of jesus and then, uh, as a gentile, i've got to tell you that look is a gentle doctor.

And as a gentle doctor, he seems to notice things that the other gospel writers didn't write about, like the outsiders, the gene tiles, the unexpected person in the in the narrative, like zai us, you know, the tax collector and the good samaritan in the protocol. sun. And so for those that feel like maybe you're an outsider and you're not apart, well, looks a good book because he's going to draw you in and he's going to share with you the outsiders of view and how they became a member of the household of god so I like that about tom.

I also love that he has um so many parables. I mean these parables in in each of the the gospel but but I just there there are pairs that are unique right to uh to look that aren't unnecessarily found in the other three gospel right? There are in .

fact is ten of them. There's ten parables that are are limited to looks gospel. You've got the parable of the two detours, chapter seven.

You ve got the parable of the friend at midnight in eleven, parable of the rich, full parable of punishment, parable of barren trees, lost coin, rude managers, rich man, and later as the persistent widow and the ferracute, the tax elector. So you're right, in fact, in uh, think it's chapter eight. Yeah chapter eight.

He even gives them meaning and why he's telling parables that IT is for the insider is for the people who are following him. They are going to get IT into the people on the outside. It's a of a mystery.

But parables are where, I should say, a very popular way for rabbi is to teach in the first century. And I think we mentioned this before. But what parables do is they draw everybody in, like a stadium.

Everybody's going to sit around and listen to IT. But by the time he gets done, you're gonna like he's only talking to you. Your next word is, why are you pointing me out here? You know, you drew me in.

You follow me. You're talking about me. And I think that is, in fact, that I even did that. And one of my, one of my pocket I mentioned is jesus talking about you, right? You know is yes.

answer answer yes, most likely right?

right? We know a couple of other things, father, that I think I are really powerful in the a gospel of look is in chapter one we have one of the um stories of the and the visitation course really important when IT comes to the to the rosy but what look does he is master ful masterful uh, when he writes about the visitation of mary visiting Elizabeth, he is showing you something on the surface yes, she's visiting Elizabeth.

But if you really look under the hood here, you'll see that he is miring second Samuel six. And second Samuel six is where David brings the art of the covenant into jerusalem for the first time. And so you have almost identical statements in chapter one, where IT says that in those days marie rose and went with haste into the and then in second Samuel six, David arose and went to the hill country.

And then the child leaped in her womb. Little john baptist leaped in her wooman. And with a David, he he lept before the archive governance, you know, and that's really what the focus is.

And then IT goes on and and Elizabeth says, and why is this granted me that the mother of my lord had come to me? And David says of the arc, how is IT that the art of the lord has come to me? And then the fourth parallel is that, uh SHE stayed with eliza th three months in a second.

Samuel six. The arc stayed at the house of already em for three months. In other words, what look is saying is, guys, SHE is the new art of the covenant. And out of her woom comes the living word, comes the the word in carnet and the great high priest, the three things that we're in, the art of the covenant. So he is masterful at this.

This is incredible too, which is to see that and to realize that this isn't just um this isn't kind of like you have to squint kind of coca to decide to see this is a clear recapitulation. This is a clear fulfilment of the old arc of the old covenant is now filled in this new arc of the new covenant and just yeah remarkable incredible yeah and I would just .

say you know to um to all of our friends here that are going through this number one, yeah you're you're you're in there and it's really, really good they are great job that the second thing is, is that when you read the new testament, always keep in mind the old testers because all of scripture is Crystal centric.

But when we really get down under the literal meaning, what the author wanted to say, we are looking for what's called the elegant ical sensor. How does this relate to jesus and in his family, his mother and so forth, his kingdom? And this is one of the great examples of IT, uh, in light of uh uh, everything that's happening the world right now.

I think it's also interesting that look more than the other gospel has such a tremendous emphasis on the role of women in the bible. Know you've got, of course, the blessed d virgin marie. You've got Elizabeth, anna.

They're prominent figures. You've got married maggi, Joanna, Susan, ana and they're mentioning they're mentioned as people who supported jesus financially in his in his ministry. And so there is such a role here for women in like for example, anna, the properties upon seeing jesus becomes really the first of Angeles to to shot out the good news of deliverance in his name. And she's like a profit. So women played such a great role in the gospel of look.

which is, again, as he said, so heartening and so encouraging because or even those who accompanying him, those who supplied for his needs, that sense, there's a number of women who are mentioned, easy as you want to, sana, mary magdalen. And not only that, but also this recognition that a look is also interested in those who are on the fringes, like those who are, I mean, just like jesus was interested in those one, the fringes jesus was interested in and going to those people who um would not be Normally comfortable or wouldn't be necessarily accepted or acceptable when I came to uh, the Normal religious practices and that's one of the things keeps coming back to me again and again.

That is if jesus is the filming of the props here's john, you know, the last of the of the profits but here's jesus who is truly I profit as well know is he's identified as a profit that he's going to have some profit like words for people and he does a profit like words. I mean, we spent ninety days going to the profits here on the bible in here. And so we know what profits often sound like.

They don't always give encouraging words. They do sometimes, but they also give words that just, these are the words of truth that need to be spoken so that people can hear and repent. And jesus offers those words here in the gospel look as well, which is just it's it's good for us to hear because I think sometimes we have our particular, maybe like we will say, version of jesus.

And that version of jesus can maybe just agree with everything I agree with. And he doesn't like the things I don't like, and he likes the things I do like. I opposed to really listening to the real jesus here in the gospel.

Ah you mentioned people on the fringe. I think all of us can say one time or another we were on the fringe, know I was on the kind of looking in and as I mentioned earlier, as A K S good merits and protects sun, it's a place of hope. It's a point of hope in for people who have sons and daughters who are are far away from the lord.

And that's probably one of the most popular or numerous questions I get. And I sure you do too. And that is, my son loves the church.

My daughter loves the church. What do I do? Well, looks a good gospel for that. I mean, looks a good gospel period.

Looks a good gospel because you've got people who are like your son, like your daughter, like the kiss and good american protocols. And in a moment their lives changed. They changed and they they return to the father's house.

They came and head dinner with with with jesus and um they entered the drama like a good smart on you know the unpredictable, the one that wasn't going to be a part of IT. So I would encourage people in that as well. Another theme, father, that really sticks out in this gospel is the picture of jesus in prayer.

Jesus in prayer more than any of the other gospel. He praised at the beginning of his ministry in chapter three, and it's close in chapter twenty three. He praised all night before selecting the apostles.

He praise when he's exalted. He praise when he's humiliated. Uh, the lord praise when he is confessed before Peter denies. I mean, you can go on and on.

And then as a result of this, in chapter eleven, the disciples basically are begging him, teach us how to pray. We wanted pray, like you pray. And I think that after our our friends are going through the gospel of, look, take note of that. And you too, as god, teach me to pray, course he does in the gospel. But I think it's always good to use the example of jesus and prayer and adopt that .

in our own lives. So is so true and especially even the example of the apostles, the the types es saying asking teachers how to pray. Like like you pointed out, we have a about just students here are who I don't I think some of our focus missionaries must have taught IT to them because I guess I I know that I myself didn't personally teach us unless they got IT out of description itself. But whenever I say, hey, would someone lead us employer or even i'm just meeting with someone and say, would you lead us? You know, pyr, one of the first things that comes out of their mouth is often times the words come logis teaches how to pray, or come all spirit teaches how to pray. And I just think, oh, that is so good that instinct that asks, just like the disciples asked to jesus lord teaches how to pray that every time we begin those those purse just so powerful to be able to um be reminded that we're in that place we're in that place of beginners, in that place of learning and knowing that it's the holy spirit who teaches us how to pray because we don't .

know how to pray as we got any even pray for your enemies yeah pray for your enemies. Another point is interesting here is in looked at look chapter eight, jesus makes a statement that is really kind of eye opening. And, you know, they said, your brothers, your mothers here.

And so far he says, my family is comprised of those who hear my word and do IT. These are my mother, my brothers, my, my sisters. And for me, that is so powerful to know that that I am drawn closer in a familiar way, a family way, to jesus by not only hearing his word, but by doing his word.

And I would say, you know, for all of our friends who we're going through bible in year, do you want to get closer to jesus? You want to feel like king? Well, do his word, listen to his word, and do his word is not just listening in doing, but IT is moving closer to him.

That's a really good, great, great points. How many people asked the question, how do I get closer? How do I feel closer to the lord? And the answer is, well, it's not just a feeling, obviously. But like you saying, those who hear the word and act on IT, those who hear the word and do IT our family, regardless of feeling, regardless of emotion, regardless of all the other subjective factors, objectively speaking. Jesus saying, it's just like I in the gospel of john y says, if you love me, you will keep my commandments again that sense of the, you'll do what I do what I ask you do what I say right?

So you have chapter eight and um his family and then in chapter nine and even moved in further down the road into from family to disciples ship and he talks about in chapter nine the Price are the cost of disciples and that that cost that Price of being not only family but being a discipline follower of his is that you have to pick up your cross and follow him and that's not twenty four carat. That is the although the nice but that is the the cross how he lived, you live, he suffered, you suffer the obstacles that you face you're onna face how he was treated, you just might be treated that way as well and that is, you know you're talking about your students college that is a great truth to uh take to heart well yeah and then .

he even read its that in chapter four teen were says if anyone comes to me, he does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters and even his own life you can not be my disciple you always bear you know doubles down whether he does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple and that sense of being able to come back to this, this truth, I am remember when I first read this as as a teenager.

And IT just struck me as I will keep these three things, deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow me as the conditions for, you know, I saw the head on that subsection of the gospel. And just IT struck me as, okay, this is what has to has to be part of my life. If i'm going to be at the types of jesus and I can't say that I was overjoyed about IT, but at the same time, I was very clear and and I think that, that give me a lot of consolation. The fact that this is very clear. Deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow me um because those last words, the first two right deny yourself, pick up your cross important to obviously necessary but the third piece being and follow me is just to be wanted by the lord to hear him say, I want you to follow me I think IT helps the first two um become palatable, at least capable of doing that yeah well.

you know I think if if he ask you and me and and our friends who are listening to follow him. I imagine that following anybody else on instagram and anything else would not be that important. I've got the one that i'm following here. He's, you know, he's my king and and he's my lord. Uh, H, I know that you love this chapter too.

And that is chapter twenty four towards the end here the road the amazing experience is the index is is the only gentle writer and the agenda writer is explaining the inner workings of the mass, the the literary of uh of the word and the literally you know of the ukraine and and I love that story. Of course, you recalling IT, you have globs and somebody else. They're y're walking away from jerusha em.

They don't know the jesus has has risen from the dead. Their heads are hong lou. And by the way, my friends, if your head is hung low, maybe you're not recognizing that he has risen from the dead.

He is lord. He's on the throne. So you have them, you have them walking away, and then jesus joins them.

And I love IT because people's just got, have a sense of humor. Yeah, he does. Here's these people walking away. And hey, really guys talking about, are you the only one that doesn't know? Are you def.

About, what about jesus nazis and and then what does he do? He sits down and gives him the bible study of all bible studies. When when our friends get to this one, chapter twenty four, this is IT.

This is the, this is the C, D, said, wish I had because he was into the old testament. And he explains throughout the entire old testers, he explains why the masia, the sound of man, had to suffer. I think that's interesting. You, of all the themes that he would spend that entire day teaching on, you teach on suffering, which I think goes back to look nine, the cost of disciples ship on the way he goes. He, he american, tell you the .

end of the story you have.

that he goes, that he, he has a meal with them in the breaking of the bread, which is the same really as the literacy of the u. kras. Their eyes are open and they see him.

And that is such a beautiful message for us today. And that in the UK us, just like, and look twenty four, you want your eyes opened, go to mass. You know, you want, you want to see life the way that really is.

Go to mass. You want to know the truth. Go to mass. It'll transform you like, I did this couple that was walking, and then they returned to jerusalem, you know? So everybody that's listening right now and you are walking away, I would encourage you to go back and meet jesus in the ukridge.

Yes, just it's just so we every summer, we have all every third summer, we put on a camp for junior students. And every third summer we just walk through look twenty four and and that the whole week is this journey with kopp s and we call our mr. Kopp s because like maybe you know there is marry the wife of colored s maybe that's who is travelling in people the person is named.

But but that sense of like you saying that that we experience a broken ness in our lives, we are dejected. They were so disappointed. We had hoped that he would be the one to read miserable and just that this we had hoped not.

We're hoping that we're going to hope. But we used to, we had hot, and now, now there's hope no longer. And gosh, and genes has this incredible surprise for them. And it's not merely the surprise of one time meeting a, one time being able to encounter him and see him again.

But IT is this surprise that they will reenact, and they will we, we live every single sunday, every single lords day, whenever they are in countering the mass again, if which is just IT was for us to that that sense of in our hopelessness, in our broken ness, what is jesus do? He shows up, breaks up in the word, and then the word made flesh is given to us in the u cresta. So good.

I love IT. And finally, I I guess I would say that, you know, looking at the differences in the four gospel, except for just a little mention at the end of mark look, is the gospel that really brings us into the that mystery of the ascension of jesus. And he goes into some detail there. And in fact, that's where sanction got their name with there is right there. And that I want I want to .

say that the name of the company did.

that's where they got in .

the youtube channel. what? Well.

that that essentially only access a bridge from the gospel to acts because he originally rote IT all together and the church split that. But the ascension is sort of the the bridge there yeah .

and that's I in is so excited because right from that chapter we launched right into acts so it's a seamless no one day it's look twenty four the next days act after one which is yeah so good love IT will jeff I know, although any this is so good because as we launching into your favorite gospel, we can keep our eyes at our ears, attuned to all these elements, the element of here's women in the gossip, the element of the nativity.

Because that's where we get so many of the nativity stories are not all of them but many of them are run from look that pre nativity the actual negativity um but also uh you mentioned the the extra parables that look is given us that extra teaching that that call high call for the cyclical and essential. But if we were going to have one way of listening differently to looks gospel than we list into the other three, what's one thing you would say? K, put you this kind of filter on your ears, or put this kind of listen for this peace of something that you might not have heard or we wanted that even more emphasized and .

looks gospel right? Well, I think there's A A couple things. One is to a to listen to IT from the viewpoint of a disciple of somebody who is uh serving the lord, following the lord and when you come across, uh, the various themes that you just mentioned, for example, the role of women, uh, revisit that as a disciple, jesus and prayer revisit that as a disciple uh course and john are in a look nine take up a cross and uh and follow me uh that's kind of the hard but listen to all of us teaching the good, smart an and certainly listen to the parables as a disciple of the lord the second thing I would I would say is always keep in the back of your mind that acts used to be a part of this.

And there is a direct relationship between the life of jesus and the life of the early church. You'll notice that the early church in and acts actually is repeating many of the things that jesus did. So if you're if you're listening or reading bible in year right now and something hits you, you think how that's pretty interesting about jesus.

I wonder if that could be found in x as well because he's giving you this, as we said, you know, at the beginning, a complete and carefully research history. And that is a parallel history between the life of Christ and the life of the of the church in the book of x and sometime, you know what? You just might want to read all of IT right through? You know, look in the x, just read IT through and get exactly what he originally wrote. He had just save .

up a bunch of of weeks of bible in the year and just press play, go for a really long walk.

Yeah, well, I was so grateful.

This is, this is so good, especially IT teases up for, know, the next. I think it's maybe nine days or so that we get to walk through, maybe even ten days we get to walk through the gold luke and they take IT all like the other three gospel to receive them all at once. I think a lot of times, if we used to coming to mass, we used to come coming to church and we get little pieces, you know we just get kind of little snip, but which is good, a great way to have those bite size chunks um this is once again with one of those great gift. So we get the whole story presented to us as a whole story.

And I think that there's something about that, that just I know for me, that thing I look forward to is IT just revealed the heart of jesus in places that I Normally would miss because I would just maybe kind of, I would be either deaf to them or be blind to them, or I just kind of ignore them. But this presents his whole heart. And I just, if that makes sense, I just, I really love being able to take in these gospel as a whole, just chapter one to the end of the book and that we get to do. And i'm so grateful if you having any last words for us before we let our our friends go.

sure. Well, I just encourage you, my friend, a keep going on on. And as i've said before, you know, and I think, father, you've heard two people say, oh, I love the violent year.

I'm two weeks behind and to that I say, that's alright, take a later flight, you know, you're onna, get there and keep going the idea is not to be on time, but to be faithful and continue and continue. You'll be so glad that you did. And this is gonna a year that stands out in your life like no other year.

In fact, I would venture to say you're going to mention this to your kids. If you don't have kids, someday you might, you're going to mention this. You might mention that to your your grandchildren.

Better yet, you might go through this with them. This is the story, the true history. And that IT is just if a historical point in the churches, history and the bible.

Yeah, so good. And also I just think you mentioned that that there are more catholic listening to the bible right now than I don't know ever before, but maybe even before.

But also part of this community are are non catholic brothers and sisters who are journey with us and that's such a gift to be able to have this whole community of the bible in the year, who are in our non Kathy president and sisters also listening to the seven books that they even know existed, you know, the do to economics books, as well as just the ability that we can, as beliefs, as followers, as a sibling of jesus, to be united in listening to god's word like this is just, we don't always have unity with everything, but this has been an incredible opportunity for us to be united community in so many ways. And so i'm really grateful for U G. F.

So grateful for all you're teaching for the ice I mention of the beginning of this particular episode. So grateful for the great venture bibble time eline which taught me so much but um also for the community that has joined us and is journey with us. As you know, I am praying for you every single day and I know I hear people to tell me that they're paying for me and for you, jeff so to our friends, I am praying for you.

Please pray for me. I continue praying for for both of us. Many's father, I cannot wait to see you tomorrow, gobs.