After Class

The guys turn to Revelation this week to see how John spoke about Jesus's death.  They find some references to Jesus as victor, a ransom, and the lamb who was slain.  But is there any mention of Jesus as our substitute or a payment to cover God's wrath?  The guys also give a start into Paul's letters (Romans and Galatians) which will be concluded in next week's episode.  

This week the guys zero-in on the letters of Peter and John as they work towards answering the question - What did Jesus die for?  Peter does use "ransom" language.  Is he using it to talk about Jesus ransoming us from the power and grip of satan or is he referring to something else?  When John speaks of Jesus's blood cleansing us and making atonement - is that pointing to Jesus taking our place or paying off God's wrath with his life?

What did Jesus's death accomplish and why was it necessary?  Did Jesus die to satisfy the wrathful and violent nature of God?  This week the guys dive into Hebrews - the book that is most often quoted to explain Jesus' death.  If Jesus is our high priest and the atoning sacrifice - how does all of that tie together? Is there anything in Hebrews about God's wrath or Jesus taking our place?

Why did Jesus have to die?  This week the guys offer a quick summary of where they've been in this discussion before moving on to see what the gospel of John has to say about Jesus's death.  John's gospel does use language of Jesus removing the "sins of the world" but maybe that doesn't mean all that we have traditionally thought.

This week the guys wrap up Jesus's death as portrayed in the Synoptics and move to the book of Acts.  Does Luke pair forgiveness of sins or atonement with the death of Jesus?  Is Jesus's death portrayed as a necessary response to God's wrath?

The conversation continues this week as the guys explore more of the reasons the Synoptics give for why Jesus had to die.  Why was his death necessary?  How did his death fulfill prophecy?  Does anything in the Synoptics indicate that Jesus's death was an answer or corrective to God's anger?  

This week the guys move to the New Testament as they continue to consider why Jesus had to die and what his death accomplished.  But Jesus' death was only about removing our sins right? You might be surprised when you are reminded of all that the synoptics claim about Jesus's death.  

The guys finish their discussion on the pros and cons of the five classic atonement theories and introduce some more contemporary views presented by theologians in the last twenty years. 

This week the guys take a break from surveying Scripture to look carefully at some of the classic theories of atonement, popular throughout the history of the church.   It should not surprise the listener that there are pros and cons to each.  

This week the guys wrap up the discussion on God's Wrath by focusing on the New Testament. Throughout the witness of Scripture we find that God is slow to anger and his wrath breaks out against his people when their actions jeopardize the path of salvation history. But is wrath language used in connection with Jesus and the cross? Was Jesus' death necessary to calm God's wrath?

The series on the sacrificial system continues this week with a discussion of God's Wrath.  As the guys look closely at God's character, his interactions with his people, and his presumed need for violence/bloodshed - you might be surprised by what they find - and what they don't find.  

As the guys continue to look at sacrifice and the larger issue of God's nature requiring violence and the shedding of blood they focus on the Day of Atonement this week.  They explore the various uses of "kaphar" in the Old Testament, of which "atoning for sin" is only one of seven. They also look carefully at the Day of Atonement in Leviticus and discuss what was and was not accomplished in that ceremony.

The guys continue the discussion on the sacrificial system as they drive towards answering the question - why did God have Jesus die on the cross - is Jesus’s death just an extension of God’s violent nature that needed to be poured out?  In this episode they explore the seven purposes for animal sacrifice as commanded in Torah; you might be surprised by what is NOT mentioned.

This week the guys start a series on the topic of sacrifice. Is the entire sacrificial system evidence that God's wrath requires blood, death, and violence? They begin to form an answer to this issue by exploring the sacrificial customs of the Ancient Near East.

You've probably heard or seen something about the recent "defund the police" movement. This week the guys offer a biblical perspective on the Church's response to the cultural/political upheaval we are all experiencing. How should Christians respond to the powers and principalities at play in the world around us?  What does a kingdom-centered posture look like?

In this episode they guys reflect on the charged racial climate stemming from the deaths of multiple people of color, most notably George Floyd. Not wanting to be a bunch of white guys lecturing anyone about what should be done, they reflect on the ideals of the Kingdom that should be lived out in the church. 

The guys give an update on what they've been up to over the past several weeks of quarantine.  They land on a discussion of how the Church is handling the Covid-19 situation and how important it is to choose the path of unity no matter what.  The Church has the opportunity to show the world something really rare: true unity.  Romans 14; 1 Corinthians 8-10

This week the guys move on to engage another listener-posed issue: the hurdle of the conquest is still too high, surely God could have done more to mitigate the loss of life and the displacement of the Canaanites.  These are important questions for all Christians to ask - it is right to wrestle with the constancy of God’s character as revealed in Scripture.  But it’s crucial to understand - the radical social ethic of Torah was not possible without the Israelites having untainted, soul possession of the land.

The guys engage tough listener questions about Old Testament violence, like "Aren't you just sugarcoating genocide?" They also explore how modern political and geo-political biases tend to influence our interpretation of tough biblical passages. Is there a right or left leaning way of reading Joshua? Do we sometimes project our understanding of the modern day Israeli-Palestinian conflict back onto the book of Joshua? Are we so far away from the Holocaust that we are beginning to forget some important lessons about how to speak about the Jewish people's role in Scripture?

If you’ve ever wondered why the “conquest” had to happen this is the episode for you.  Many, like Rhett and Link, have struggled to reconcile their understanding of the God of the (seemingly violent) conquest of Canaan with the God who embodied love in the person of Jesus.  The guys explain - the love embodied in Jesus only makes sense with the land of Canaan in the background.