EPISODE THREE: "A Different Kind of God"

Jesus' death had marked the end to His ministry here on earth, and so too had ended the hope to His claims that He was the anointed one.

“The Messiah, the Son of God. At that time, the world was filled with gods.”

From the primordial idols of the Greeks, we were given the myths of Zeus to siden Athena and Apollo. And with the rise of the Roman Empire, they had been replaced with Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury. There were Egyptian gods, and the gods of Asia, and all of these gods shared the familiar. They were figures whose divinity imbued power and commanded adulation. But Jesus of Nazareth, Messiah, would prove a very different kind of god.

After having begun his ministry, Jesus of Nazareth went about all of Galilee, with his disciples preaching his gospel message. No one who has a lamb covers it up, or puts it in the basket. Teaching in synagogues.

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth.

And sharing his good news.

“Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

But a large part of his ministry was spent curing the sick. Get back! Rubber! Get back! Make me!

Please, Rabbi, cure our brother. He cannot hear.

If not, if not, open your ears.

Thank you Lord! You are the best! He can hear! He touched him!

“He said, "Open your ears and they were open!"”

As words spread of his wondrous deeds, Multitudes came to him, bringing their afflicted. And he healed all of them. He healed the blind in Jericho, open your eyes. He healed lepas in Samiria.

He made the lane walk inside him. Take up your bed and walk. He even raised from the dead the daughter of giants in Kippen. Dalitia Kumi. A rise with a girl.

He fed four thousand into countless. He fed five thousand in Bethlehem and the wondrous kept coming. And many came to believe that he was the unwanted one. But it wasn't just the miracles. It was what these acts of wonder revealed about the kingdom of Heavenly preached.

He opened the eyes of the blind so that others might see. He opened the ears of the deaf so that others might hear. And he opened his own sacred heart. Pouring it out so that ours too would be open to his gospel message. Blessed are the poor and spirit.

For theirs is the kingdom of Heavenly. Blessed are they that mourn. For they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek. For they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness. For they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful. For they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure and heart.

Blessed are the peacemakers. For they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness sake.

And blessed are you.

“When men shall reveal you and persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely.”

For my sake. Rejoice. Yes. Rejoice.

And be it seedingly glad.

For great is your reward in heaven. For so too did they persecute the prophets who came before you. You have heard that it have been said. And I for an eye. And a tooth for a tooth.

But I say unto you that whoever shall smite the on the right cheek. Turn to him the other also. You have heard that it have been said. That shall love thy neighbor. And hate thy enemy.

But I say unto you. Love your enemies. Bless them that curse you. Do good to them that hate you. And pray for them who spite you and persecute you.

That you may be the children of your father who is in heaven. I say to you be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect. Amen. Amen. Live with meekness.

Love your enemies. Be perfect. This message was vastly different from anything that had been taught before.

And preached not for the mighty or powerful.

But for the poor and broken. Not all in Judeo would listen. Jesus and his gospel message had offended the elders of Israel. He defies the law of Moses. He does not come from God.

Silence. Come to you. There were many there from all over Judeo. And many who listened. Believe he is at least a great prophet.

And if you heard him speak. I don't need to hear him speak. The Nazarene is a blasphemy. Did he make the claim as he had? No.

But he did not have to. For many in the crowd believed it.

I've never heard such an order.

Have you been deceived? The crowd doesn't know the law. They were repiabaptist who wore camels hair tunic in eight locused. The Nazarene should be brought in. The Scripture does say.

The anointed one comes from the seed of David and the town of Bethlehem. Has anything good ever come out of Nazareth? All I am saying is that perhaps our law is being too quick to judge him. And I would say that our law makes it very clear and academic. That he has already violated it.

“Perhaps you should spend more time in the law.”

We need eyes and ears on the Nazarene. At that time, the elders of Israel then began to plot against Jesus of Nazareth. As radical as Jesus's gospel message had been, so too did his ministry upset the religious social order of the time. He and his disciples often disregarded the ritual rules of the Sabbath. A multitude of women were among his followers.

And he often dwelt with text collectors and upcasts. Rabbi, it is written in Amos that he will not turn away his punishment even after four transgressions. So how often shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times? No, Peter.

I do not say to you up to seven times. I say to you, seventy times, seven times. Rabbi, while we are moved by your message, we struggle with much of the understanding of your good news. For our whole lives we've lived by the word and prophets. It's as if we're now disregarding much of them.

Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I came to fulfill them. For the law says if you obey the Lord your God and faithfully keep all his commands, then he will bless your work with reign and season from his rich storehouse.

“But does not the Father send reign on the righteous and the unrighteous?”

Surely he cannot be accused of disregard of his own law. Understand it this way. You are not disregarding the old law, but being reborn unto a new one.

Look at him.

Does he not even know he dies with sinners?

Shaverim. Those who are well have no need of physician, but those who are sick. You are free to join us.

“Actually, I do have a question for you. Rabbi, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

What does it say in the law of most? Mishnatorah, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind? And, to ratkhanim, you shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your people, but shall love your neighbor as yourself. Amen.

And what is your reading of this?

As the law says, that I should love the Lord my God and my neighbor as myself. Amen. You have answered rightly. Do this, and you will live. But who exactly is our neighbor, Rabbi? A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and along the way he fell among thieves,

“who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, took from him everything, and departed, leaving him for dead.”

But not long after, another traveler made his way down that same road, a certain priest. Not sure, leaving the priest out.

And when the priest saw this man, laid out, naked and beaten, he did nothing.

He continued on his way. Likewise, soon another traveler came to pass, this one, a Levite. And he also saw the wounded man still at the side of the road helpless. But, hurried about his business, he too passed him by. But shortly after that time, another traveler was making his way while on journey.

He was from Samaria. And when he happened upon the beaten man, his heart filled with compassion. And so he tended to him, cleaning his wounds with oil and wine and placing bandages upon him. He then picked him up and set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn, where he took further care of him. On the next morning, before he departed, he took out two denari and gave them to the innkeeper and said, "Take care of him."

And whatever more you spend when I come again, I will repay you. And only then did he continue on his way.

“So, which of these three do you think was neighbor to the man who fell among the thieves?”

Here you showed mercy on him. Yes. Go and do the same. For the good news that Jesus shared, mercy and forgiveness were among the cornerstones. Lord, why do you speak to them in parables?

It has been given to you, John and my disciples, to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. But to them, it has not. I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see and hearing they do not hear. Then we are blessed, Rabbi. Amen, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see and to hear what you hear.

But there is a cost to my discipleship. If anyone truly desires to follow me, they must deny themselves and take up their cross. And if they desire to save their life, they will lose it. But whoever loses their life for my sake will be saved. And that I will leave you with.

Take heed and pray. Goodnight, Rabbi. After the long days among the crowds and teaching, Jesus would often withdraw even from his disciples.

But one evening his disciples paused him. Rabbi? Yes, John.

“Before you leave us, could you teach us to pray as you do?”

You would like me to teach you to pray. Yes.

Maybe they should have been my first sermon.

When you pray, it is between you and the Father. Be not like the hypocrite standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets that they may be seen in public. When you pray, go into your room or to a place of solitude, alone. Your Father will see this and he will be pleased.

“When you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heavens do for they think that the Father is impressed by the volume of words.”

And now, that your Father knows the things of your heart. He knows your needs and intentions before you even begin your prayer.

So, by then pray, you may wonder, and the answer is this.

He wants to hear your voice. He wants to hear you and ask him. Therefore, when you pray, pray like this. Our Father, who are in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, both here on earth and in heaven. Please give to us our daily bread and forgive us for all of our debts as we promise to forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation and deliver us from the evil one. Amen. Amen.

Jesus was always teaching his gospel, but what spoke more than his lessons and sermons and even his miracles was the way he lived.

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so too must the son of man be lifted up. That whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him will never perish. The Father did not send his son into the world to condemn it, but so through him the world might be saved. Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.

“But you've taught of rebirth. How can a man be born when he is rude like me? How can he enter a second time into his mother's womb?”

Look at Demis, you came to me in the night, a teacher of Israel, how do you not know these things? To repent is not to moralize. It is to die to your old self and turn to God, which is why I say to you, you cannot put new wine into old wine skins. Why? Because they would break. Yes. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? Therefore, you must think heavenly.

I am trying Lord. Rabbi of Nazareth, we need you. Come Lord, no, no, no. Come on. They only wish to trap him, Mary, but the elders judge. Rabbi of Nazareth, come on.

Jesus of Nazareth. Rabbi, this woman was caught in adultery in the very act. Now, the Lord handed to us by Moses, makes clear to us such a very woman should be stunned.

Rabbi, have you even listened to anything I've said? Which woman? This woman, this disgusting heart who has sinned before God and man.

“And so, I ask again, does she deserve death according to the law of Moses?”

Yes.

And let he or she, among you, who is without sin, cast the first stone.

Woman, look, where have all your accusers gone? Has no one else condemned you? No one, Lord. Then neither do I condemn you. Thank you, Lord.

Now go, and assume no more. For Jesus of Nazareth, did not just preach his good news. He was its very embodiment. He was, mercy. He was, forgiveness, and he was perfection. Yet still, his disciples struggled with doubt and misunderstanding.

Come to the tower, Lord. Pull on the map.

For it's never tried. Side brother, help me, Lord. I can't.

“Is everyone in charge of Lord? Please, Jesus. Where is Jesus?”

He belongs there. Sleeping. Sleeping. I'm waking. We're taking out too much water. Grab eye. Grab eye. Do you not care that we are perishing?

We're going to lose the bones.

There he is. Jesus. Jesus.

Help us. What is he doing? He's walking to the ground. Hold on. He's too dangerous now, Jesus. I command me. Be still. What's happened? Even the winds and the waves obey him.

“Why are you fearful? And still have no faith.”

Who could this be? Who could this be? After all this time, they still wondered. Jesus of Nazareth had shattered their idea of what the Messiah would be. And despite everything they had heard, and all the works of one that he had performed,

even his closest followers still did not know who he was. And so when they came into the coast of Caesaria, Philippi, Jesus would ask the twelve. Tonight, my disciples, I have a question for you. Who do people say that I am?

How much time do you have, Rabbi? Some say you were John the Baptist reborn. After a bath, I suppose. I heard Elijah. And Jeremiah, or a new and greater prophet.

And what about you? Who do you say that I am? Surely you must know me by now. You are more than a Rabbi. You are more than a friend and brother.

For you are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Blessed art thou, Peter. For flesh and blood have not revealed unto you, but from my father who is in heaven. And I say also to the upon this rock I will build my church,

and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven. And whatsoever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Leaving the disciples to themselves.

“Brothers, why do you look at me with doubt?”

Do you think I am wrong? Are you frightened he may not be the Messiah? I am not at all. Neither am I. Simon?

He is not who he thought he was. But I am not afraid if we are wrong. And you, Thomas? I am thinking. It's not a difficult decision.

Or maybe not for you, Matthew. Either he is the biggest Charlton, the grandest fraud,

or the greatest imposter in the history of mankind.

Do not say that. Or he is the Christ. Lord of Lords, the King of kings,

“the sole supreme god of the entire universe.”

Which one is it, Thomas? What are you afraid of? I am not frightened. I love him. We all love him, Thomas.

And we have all been disappointed before John. So no, I am not frightened that he may not be the anointed one. Instead, I am thinking, What if you are right, Peter?

What if he is who he says he is?

That he is the son of God, and that petrifies me beyond any imagination as it should all of us. When we were on the boat, I thought I had been afraid during the storm, until he came and ended it.

And I realized that I just might be standing next to the son of God. Brother, let us take heed, and let us pray then, how he taught us. Our Father. Who are we having?

Hello, be thy name. Thank you. I will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses.

As we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Amen. We are so lucky that he is our God.

There were many gods and idols at the time Jesus of Nazareth announced himself as the Messiah. They were mythic heroes, whose deity imbued power. Jesus of Nazareth power was perfected in weakness. Where the other gods had ascended out of humanity

to become immortal, Jesus of Nazareth had descended into humanity. Yet remained fully divine. Other gods were indifferent, dissatisfied and wrought vengeance.

The divinity of Jesus was marked by kind despotions and gentleness. Other idols sought to be served, but Jesus of Nazareth was a God who came to serve. The children of Israel had been waiting for a Messiah, a God who would be a king, ruler, and hero.

Instead, in the Christ they and the world had been given something altogether different. They had been given a Savior. (music)

“If you want to learn more about what it means to follow Jesus,”

visit theChristpodcast.com. Adapted from the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, this is the Christ episode 3. Starting Tom Pelfrey, Paul Walter-Houser, David Ayelowo, Patricia Heaton, Courtney Hope, and John Reece Davies as the narrator.

Created in Written by P.G. Couchary, directed by P.G. Couchary and Mark Ramsey, produced by Mark Ramsey and Jim Young. Executive produced by Jason Sharp and Karissa Rogers for the Faith Podcast Network,

a Division of Northwestern Media, Casting by Jillian O'Neill. Produced in association with Casey Wailand in Wailand Productions, editing and sound design by John Black and Casey Wailand, script supervisors, Macy Larson, and John Black,

music selection by Vicky Lucas,

production manager Tatiana Kelly,

production assistant, Joshua David,

“Principal Recording at 48 Windows in Santa Monica,”

engineer Eric Garcia, coordinator,

Chaline Van Tour.

Special thanks to Carmen LeBurge,

David Guffy, Marcus Peters,

“Michael Grunwald, Ziv Fisher, company 3,”

Brian Anderson, David Armstrong, Insight Studios, Terry Watson, Carl Bliss, and Fred Bolato. The Christ is an Isaiah 4310 and Mark Ramsey Media Production.