Ep 1033 | Jase Tackles What It Means to Be Born Again & How Men and Women ARE Different
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I am unashamed. What about you? Welcome back to Unashamed. Zach, since the last time we were on air, I noticed in the news that President Trump came to visit North Carolina, which I appreciate him doing because...

Every time there's a new disaster, because we've had all this stuff going on in California, you tend to sometimes forget people that are still recovering from major things. Obviously, your area was hit so hard. I noticed he was right there near where you were. Yeah, he came and set up shop and did a press interview in Swannanoa, which is outside of Asheville. Our church is in Swannanoa. The name of our church is Swannanoa Christian Church.

And then the area that we're doing reconstruction in, we're doing four homes in an area called Beacon Village.

And then we're doing another four across the river. But he was right in that neighborhood set up exactly where we're doing work with One Kingdom, who's funded the projects that we're doing and then also partnered with World Vision, who is bringing in all the supplies. So for those of y'all who have asked, like, how's the rebuilding effort going? It's it's been a struggle. I mean, like things are happening. But from what I've been told and what I've read,

They're saying that it's going to be four to six years at this current pace just to clean up all the debris. So there's still a ton of debris. Some bridges are still out. I mean, like you can look at the top of these trees and there's like car parts like wrapped around trees. And I mean, it still looks like a war zone. It is going to be a very long.

a very long effort to recovery. But, um, yeah, it was encouraging to see the president come. I, uh, continue to see groups like one kingdom, oral vision, Samaritan's purse, all these nonprofit NGOs, you know, Christ centered organizations have stepped in and moved in a very, very meaningful way. So, um,

It is encouraging, but it's also going to be like a really long haul. You kind of come back down to reality when you think, man, this isn't going to happen overnight. So our hearts and prayers go out with the folks that suffered all the loss in California as well. I mean, it's just crazy what's happening with some of these natural disasters. I love the way you put it that

Sometimes, you know, the government can be a bit clumsy. And even the president said it this time. I mean, our emergency response is not always tuned to local things and doesn't understand local things. But you mentioned early that the kingdom of God tends to be nimble and quick-witted.

and understanding of people. And I thought it was interesting because now that we're, you know, several months past, you know, the event happening, the kingdom of God also has a long-standing power. And so, you know, I just look at all the different groups that have come in there, the hearts that have poured into it.

And, you know, you don't want to compare things necessarily. It's all bad when bad things happen to people. But I did notice in California they were talking about, you know, in the 17,000, 20,000 properties or businesses. But when they showed a picture of North Carolina, it was over 150,000 homes. And I just don't think people understood the scale of

how big the disaster was and that whole towns were wiped out. So you're talking about not just a neighborhood, but a complete town. And that was over and over and over again. So I just don't think people understood the scale of what happened there. But I mean, me being there on the ground when it happened, I mean, it was massive. And the rebuild and the infrastructure build is going to be, you know, long term to get it done. Yeah, it will be. I mean, if I was like running the show, which I'm not, I probably would be

do a horrible job at it. But one thing I would love to see happen is more cleanup. You know what I mean? Like, like I wish, I wish there was a way to get more of the cleanup done. Cause it's the, there's just debris everywhere. And it's just, it's mind boggling that we can't, I mean, it's a lot, but I mean, but we've come a long way too. So I don't want to be, I don't want to complain, but it is, it's going to be a, it's gonna be a journey. So keep us in your prayers. And yeah, we are moving forward though. And yeah,

Well, and again, as you said to Unashamed Nation out there, you guys have been great. A lot of you responded with financial help. A lot of you went, you know, actually went there and cooked. And yeah, it was amazing all you've done. So I know Zach appreciates that we do too when we call you guys answer, which is beautiful. And I guess that's a good segue, Jace, back into our study because we were talking about in the last podcast from John 1, the concept of light.

You started with a simple question, what is this light he's talking about? And the whole podcast, we attempted to show throughout all the scriptures what it means for the light of Jesus to be there. And we didn't talk about what Zach just talked about, but you could argue that that's another picture of sort of a light on a hill when something happens, when people are literally in darkness.

Because they have no electricity and they have no connection to the things that help us make our lives a little bit more comfortable while we're on this earth. It's amazing how when that light comes in, with the people of God especially come in to bring refreshing and help. What a difference maker that is. Well, we didn't even mention when John recorded in chapter 8, when Jesus, he just came out and said, I am the light of the world.

That's 812. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life, which that's what we do. I mean, we reveal as Jesus the character of God. And you have all those passages where he's like, you've seen me, you've seen the father. I can do nothing without my father. I mean, and when we have his spirit, that just continues forever.

That is the mouthpiece of God that reveals his character in our lives. And one of the greatest things you can do is when people are in need or struggling or tragedy happens. I just thought even the theme of, you know, John's first chapter seems complex and a bit poetic, but he's basically making the case for Jesus. And then when you

put all the things he did together. I mean, just think of the I am statements. You know, I am the true vine. I am the resurrection of life. I am the way, the truth, the life on the gate for the sheep. I am before Abraham was, I am, I probably missed a few, but yeah, I think there were seven, seven. Yeah. But I mean, some of them, there's multiple within the statement, but,

I think I actually have this written down somewhere. Yeah. I am the bread of life. I'm the light of the world. I'm the gate for the sheep. I'm the good shepherd. I'm the resurrection and the life. I am the way, the truth, the life. I am the true vine. But when you add that to even maybe where he says, I will, I jotted some of those down.

I will never drive those away who come to me. I'll make you fishers of men. I will give you rest. I will keep you. I will love you. I will do what you ask in my name. I will come again. I will see you again. I will send the Holy Spirit to you. I will build my church. And when you think about, I can, well, look at all the miracles. I can take a small portion of food and feed 5,000. I can heal diseases. I can drive out demons.

it starts making you all of a sudden it hits you this is the son of god on planet earth yeah and so it's not that uh that crazy to say this is god's flashlight to the earth for everybody living here wondering where they came from or what they're supposed to be doing or what happens next he came this is the this sheds light on it and this moment and in this moment

If you think about it in Scripture, in this moment, John, we're talking Malachi spoke, last prophet, and then silence for 400 years until this guy shows up on the scene, which we're about to learn about. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to bear witness about the light. The one you just talked about is Jesus, that all might believe through him. He was not the light.

speaking of John the Baptist, but came to bear witness about the light. So it is interesting that this is a very, one of many, but one of the few, I say one of the many, one of the few very climactic moments in the New Testament, if you're coming out of this Old Testament paradigm, and now here we are, 400 years of silence, and John the Baptist is coming.

prepare the way and was real adamant about saying, no, I'm not the light. Yeah. Which I think, don't you think that's a little bit of a nod to us as well? Like,

as we live in His light, that we always point people to Him. It's never about us. And I think John's like the ultimate example. And we talk about, Jase, you mentioned this before, when we talk about our witness, meaning the life we live and the light that shines through us, it's really only a witness when it points people to Jesus. It can't be something that somehow illuminates us for our own sake, which I think is really interesting. ♪

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It brings people together in meaningful ways. Kuhnle and his team are building a Wi-Fi experience that connects one billion devices every year. Learn more about how Comcast is redefining the future of connectivity at ComcastCorporation.com slash Wi-Fi. Well, it's like when you, we've heard many testimonies and a lot of times they come from young Christians and they get up and tell their story.

Well, that's great. But the light is God's story. That is it. I mean, it's like when you did the, Zach, you were producing the movie about my dad. I mean, there was a line in there that I'm not sure who said it. You'll probably remember it. But he's like, well, I want to get my family back. But ultimately, when you think about Genesis 3 to Revelation 22,

Somebody said this one time, some quote I read, and I thought, okay, it's God getting his family back of humans. Yeah. I'm saying the movies we make, the testimonies we have, it's only possible through Jesus coming through history. That's the overall narrative as well. That is it. Of life itself. These are just our little stories are...

the consequences of that. But Jesus coming and this all fitting together from a biblical standpoint is the flashlight. It is the book of all books. Yeah, I think that that kind of stands in direct contrast to the way that we all, most of all, we all approach the world and we think that we're the main character. I mean, I know I'm not intellectually. I know God's the main character, but...

My experience is telling me I'm the main character and I'm not. And I love the way that John, his gospel sets up the entrance of Jesus. And we actually posted a podcast on this same exact text on Mark 1, his account of this on the 28th of January on the Not Yet Now. But we talked about this too. But if you think about this moment here with Jesus's ministry, this is like the beginning of it.

And so like up until John the Baptist came, you know, there was there was not a whole lot of stuff about Jesus. I love that how John kind of start comes back into this moment of the inauguration of Jesus's ministry. He introduces John the Baptist there.

But he's very clear to say he's not the main character, though. And then directly after he says he's not the main character, he said he wasn't the light, but he came to bear witness about the light. John goes back into who the main character is before he gets into the story of John the Baptist. So it's kind of if you look at the text, it's kind of separate. You have like introduction to John the Baptist.

And then John said, but he wasn't the main character. Let me tell you again about the main character. And then he goes back to John the Baptist. But when he gets into that main character, I mean, there's some meat in that verse 9 through 11.

18, when he talks about who is Jesus. I mean, some meat. So before we get there, I want to mention, Zach, that we mentioned N.T. Wright in the last podcast. And I'm reading one of his books as we do our study here about John. And he described this section we're in, John 1, 1 through 18. He described it as a beautiful driveway.

leading up to a spectacular house. In other words, with the idea that his metaphor is that Jesus is that house. I mean, that which brings us salvation. But he said, this is a beautiful drive to get us to that place where we then see who he is. And he said, and John the Baptist is like somebody we met along that driveway that didn't quite fit in to what we were looking at. And yet he was pointing to

at the house you know like this is where you need to go and it reminded me of like there's some a few down here in this area and a bunch of them in south louisiana when you have those beautiful driveways that that have the line trees you know in the spanish laws hanging off of the trees yeah live oak trees in it yeah yeah leads you up to this beautiful house and when you get there like oh man this is great i'm so glad that i took the path to get me here

And I love the picture of that. And John specifically, you mentioned it was mentioned in John the Baptist, Malachi four, five and six, that he would be the forerunner in the spirit of Elijah was the way he used it. And then you have this period where we didn't know anything about it. But when you look back and look at his particular life, I mean, it was amazing because he was a miracle to get here as well. If you read Luke one,

really the whole chapter, but five through 25 and then 67 through 80 really shows you that John himself was amazing because his dad, Zachariah, was a priest and he wasn't like a high priest. He was just like he was a blue collar priest. I mean, he would he would they would cast lots and see who was supposed to go in and make sacrifices every day. And he was one of those guys.

But he and his wife, Elizabeth, were not able to have children. And so, you know, they had always wondered how we're going to pass along our legacy, just like Abraham and Sarah and all the great stories in the Bible. And then an angel appears in the temple and tells Zechariah that you're going to have a son and tells him a little bit about what he was going to do. And so Zechariah is so amazed, but at the same time, he's doubting. And so the angel says, you hush.

And so he made it where he couldn't speak at all until John the Baptist was born. And then when they were going to name him after his dad, he said, no, his name is John. And that was the first time he could say anything. But I mean, just it's an amazing story, even of the witness to the light.

is something miraculous and amazing. And I think about that with us. I mean, when we look at Jesus and we see, as Jace mentioned, what happens with people, I mean, it's amazing what people can do when the light shines on them. But that pales in comparison to the actual light itself. So I just felt like this guy was so amazing. He even had the Holy Spirit

In his mother's womb, which you read about in Luke 1, 39 through 44. And remember when he leapt for joy whenever Mary walks in and she's pregnant. So this idea about life, when does life begin? Oh, it's in the womb because the spirit of God literally indwelled John the Baptist before he was even born.

which is amazing. So I just, that was a good point on the, on the Malakai, bringing up Malakai too, because Malakai three, Malakai last prophet in the old Testament, Malakai three, one says this behold, I send my messenger,

And he will prepare the way before me. So John the Baptist, like when you get to the end of the Old Testament, it's left off with this prophecy of the coming of John the Baptist who will prepare the way for Jesus. He's going to prepare it. This is Yahweh speaking here that he's going to prepare the way for me. And listen to what he says next. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple.

Well, now we're back into this whole temple language we've been talking about, God moving in, living inside humans now. So there's all of this is talked about in the Old Testament, and we tend to want to disregard the Old Testament as being, oh, that's God, that's all, that's done away with.

But you're never going to really understand the fullness of what's happening in the coming of Christ and the coming of the kingdom if you don't go back and read some of it and understand the context in which it was written. So I think that's interesting that Malachi ends with the promise of the coming of John the Baptist. And then John's like, okay, John the Baptist came preparing the way for the one. Well, to your point, where is Isaiah 40 quoted here? I think 23 says,

It says, John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet. I mean, he doesn't just give a quote. John says, replied in the words of, he has this for a point. I mean, he's bringing up Isaiah. Well, this is Isaiah 40, where in John 1, 23, he says, I am the voice of one calling in the desert. Make straight the way for the Lord. So when you go to Isaiah 40, oh, man.

Have y'all read that lately? I would like to read this. I mean, I know people when they preach, they say the last thing you want to do is read a large section of Scripture. But this is so, I mean, it is just passionately encouraging to read this and how this is fulfilled. I mean, Zach brought up that 400 years of silence.

And so I'm sure they were beginning to wonder if Isaiah knew what he was talking about. But after that, I mean, it just makes it that more spectacular. So Isaiah 40 says, "'Comfort, comfort my people,' says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that our hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.'"

And then here it is. Sound familiar? Mm-hmm.

And all mankind together will see it. That's a huge statement right there. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. What has spoken? The mouth of the Lord. Well, even if you just go back to John 1, we just read where it says in verse 4, In him was life, and that life was the light of mankind. We have seen his glory. Where was that at?

John 1. That's right there in verse, at the end there. 14. The word became flesh, made as well amongst us. We have seen his glory. So it's the same language. Exactly. So verse 6 says, a voice of Isaiah 40, cry out. And I said, what shall I cry? All men are like grass and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall.

because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Well, that's going to come up again in John 20, where remember where he breathed the Spirit on them? I made a point about that on the last podcast. I was just relating it to John, you know. It's also a direct quote from 1 Peter 2. I mean, Peter said the exact same words. It is. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall.

Watch this statement. But the word of our God stands forever. Well, who's the word? The word became flesh. I mean, it's not just like one reference. Oh, it was John the Baptist. He was referenced in Isaiah. You're starting to think that John, when he wrote this...

He went back to Genesis, and then he spent a little time on Isaiah 40 and said, let me write something here. So I think there's an episode on The Chosen. I think it's season two, episode one, that from John's perspective, the Sons of Thunder kind of vibe, where he's like going through how should I write this letter, right?

And it does what I'm illustrating here. Psalm 8, Isaiah 40, Genesis 1 and 2. And then it's really a beautiful episode. Verse 9 of Isaiah 40. You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout. Lift it up. Do not be afraid. Say to the towns of Judah, here is your God.

See, the sovereign Lord comes with power and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him and his recompense accompanies him.

He tends his flock like a shepherd. Was that going to come up? Yeah. He gathers the lambs in his arms. He carries them close to his heart. He gently leads those that have young. Who has measured the waters or the breath of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?

Who has understood the mind of the Lord or instructed him as his counselor? I wonder who we're talking about there. There's a lot of talk in John 14, 15, and 16 about a counselor. Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him? And who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding? Surely the nations are like a drop in the bucket. They are regarded as dust on the scales. That's...

What image will you compare him to?

As for an idol, a craftsman casts it and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it. A man too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot. He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple. Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded?

He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy and spreads them out like a tent to live in. Hang on one second, Jay. Before you keep reading...

Just that one verse alone. How did Isaiah know about a round earth? How did he know about a canopy in the universe being spread out on a flat plane? All the things that we now look at through a telescope. He said this again.

In this time frame, 700 years before Christ. All right, keep going. Oh, exactly. I'm not even stopping and thinking. Even that statement about saying he spreads out the heavens and spreads them out like a tent to live in. Well, when you look at how that was framed by John when he said, and the word became flesh.

And made his dwelling among us, that word for dwelling, the tabernacling, which is to pitch a tent and live. I mean, the language here is incredible. Well, I mean...

So that's the point, too, when you go back and you read that Malachi passage, too. You're in Isaiah 40. There's really three main texts that I think that we can address when we talk about the coming of John the Baptist. Isaiah 40, Malachi 3, and then Exodus 23, because we have some new Exodus language in here we can talk about in a second. But when Malachi says that what he's going to do is he's going to come into his temple. So when that language that you mentioned in John 1.14, the word became flesh and dwelt among us.

That's temple language. That's tabernacling language there. So we got to see kind of the foundation of what is happening here in these very first couple paragraphs of John's gospel. Yeah. All right, well, let me finish this. We're just now, I mean, look, this is building into excitement, and you're going to be ready to go out and spread your wings and fly here.

Verse 23 of 40. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sinner are they planted. No sinner are they sown. No sinner do they take root in the ground. Then he blows on them and they wither. And a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. Chaff. So much for putting all your eggs in the modern kingdom basket. I mean, it's just like they gone.

Verse 25, to whom will you compare me or who is my equal, says the Holy One. Lift your eyes and look to the heavens. Who created all these? He who brings out the starry hosts one by one and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

Humans have a way of complaining, and that hasn't gone away.

Verse 1.

But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint. So I know we've heard those last few verses, but not in the context of John 1, where it started back there when he's like, I'm going to, there's going to be a voice crying out in a

in the wilderness preparing the way for the Lord, realizing who the mighty God is, and them complaining that he doesn't care and he's not aware. Well, it sounds a lot like our world. And that's why my number one thing when I share Jesus with somebody is I'm like, go home or go to your apartment or go to the hotel and read the book of John. Who is Jesus?

That's why I'm doing that. No, it's so powerful, Jace. And I love it that when he points us to this picture...

in the first century, it's like, this is what we've been waiting on. This is what the prophets have been talking about. That's why they kept talking about the spirit of Elijah. This is the culmination. But I think even in the modern vernacular, and we've talked about this a lot on the podcast, a lot of people are still waiting on that. They read that passage you just read and they think, man, isn't it going to be great when this happens?

And I'm like, it's already happened. It's very clear that the first century when Jesus came was the beginning point of all this great things that you see and how much is there for us. So don't wait on it. I mean, it's time to jump in and get going right now. What do you think about the place this is happening at?

Where John is actually set up geographically to do the baptisms that he's doing, and ultimately when Jesus is going to come in and get baptized, I mean, he's stationed in the Jordan River, which is the exact river that Joshua would have crossed in

entering into the promised land well you think what happened with that well they entered into the promised land and then just go read the rest of history of what they did over and over and over and over again they rejected uh the all way they rejected god and it wasn't working the way that you would think it would work you know and i think that's the point that he makes here

They're in that same place. So this is kind of almost like a redo or a restoration. It's a new Exodus movement. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world in Jesus. He was in the world and the world was made through him.

Yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, his own people. Who would that be? Israel, who did not receive him. And then he flips the script here and gives us the true purpose, which is all throughout the Old Testament writings, by the way. He gives us the true intention of

Of the will of God, what does God want to do? What is God going to do? Which is verse 12. But 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 nor of the will of the flesh,

nor of the will of man, but of God. So he's reestablishing here, hold on, here's the intention of God. God is going to call the nations back to himself. It was always his intention. He was never going to leave that to be dependent on our will because we're not going to accomplish it because we're sinful. So Christ is going to come and he is going to give us a real exodus.

Like one that actually works. A real promised land. One that we can actually live in and have the fulfillment that was promised because it's not dependent on our righteousness, but on His righteousness. That's the case that's being laid out here. Yeah, I think he's going through a lot of things. I mean, he's revealing the character of

He's revealing that he's Israel's Messiah. You know, he's going back to Isaiah. But he's also revealing a new way for them to study the Bible. I think the technical term for that is hermeneutic. Because later on, not only did he mention Isaiah, he's not just saying, oh, there was a cool story on Isaiah. He's like, this is the guy. Yeah. Right here. And then later he does it again in John 5 when it says, when he records Isaiah.

That conversation that Jesus was having, I believe it was with the Pharisees. While you're looking that up, let me just say this about the sermon. Well, I have the verse. I just, I don't know exactly who he was talking to. But when he said, you diligently study the scriptures, John 539, because you think by them you possess eternal life. These are the scriptures that testify about me. Yet you refuse to come to me to have life.

I mean, I'm saying he's piggybacking. And there's a reason he has that in that story, which Jesus said it and he recorded it. But there's a whole new way for you to study these scriptures, which has been missed in our culture. I think that hermeneutic is John 1.14. I think the hermeneutic, the way we interpret the scripture in the light of the revelation of Jesus is through the lens of his presence.

and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. That's the lens because that's the end of what we're after. And so when you think about trying to interpret the scripture solely through the lens of something like, say, atonement, which is a theme in scripture that Christ paid for our sin, but that is a means to get into the presence of God. There's passages in Isaiah that talk about the God, the Father speaking to the Son, and he says, I'm not sharing my glory with anybody.

But you, speaking to the Son. Well, then the Son then turns around in John 17 and says that He's going to share the glory that He received from the Father with us. So the way that we actually get access to the Father is through the Son, but we do it by the Spirit. So think of God the Father as the God of us, Jesus, God with us, and then the Spirit becomes God in us. And so you see kind of this being accomplished and even set up in the baptism of Jesus, but

The way we interpret the scripture, I think primarily is to say, how does this speak to God dwelling with humans? That seems to be the through line throughout all of scripture is God wanting to dwell with his people. And by the way,

He will and he does. Well, and I like it too, Zach, that you brought up the faith factor that's in that verses 12 and 13 because it talked about not because of a husband's will or because of a bloodline. And that's another thread that we haven't mentioned, but in Isaiah 7, 14 says,

It talks about the sign of the Messiah would be a virgin birth. And I think that's exactly why he chose that, that concept for Jesus to become flesh, that this was something beyond human decision. And it gives you a little glimpse of a way back with Abraham and Sarah when they couldn't conceive. And yet this child of promise would be born. Now they went about it the physical way, but it was all done in faith because they were having to trust in God. I think that then shows the picture of,

what happens with us when we become reborn. It's not because of a humanity connection. It's because of a spirit connection that then allows us to live. And so that's just another one of those threads that John puts out here. That's so powerful as to why it happened the way it happened. And the way that he set up the book, the first chapter, he gives all these little nuggets that are pretty hard to wrap your head around because

And then once chapter two starts, it's like all these pictures, like in practical Jesus behavior that he did. I mean, because where does this come up again? John three guy comes to in the middle of the night. He's like, hey, I see you must you must be from God because nobody could be doing these things. And Jesus is like, you need to be born again.

Or born from above, you know, when you look at what the Greek word includes, they always put that in the margin. Because they're really not sure how to translate that. I mean, just like here, it's like, what does he mean that you got to be born? But it's not...

Born of natural, so it's not talking about a baby, physical baby, or of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God? Well, think about the context of what he's saying here. He's talking about that Christ came to his own people first, and they rejected him, and now he's opening it up. So you go to Romans 9, I think it sheds some light on it. This is how Paul says it. He says...

that not all, this is Romans 9, 6, for not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel. Think about that. And not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring. But through Isaac shall your offspring be named. So what does that mean? Well, Paul says, he tells us, he said, this means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God,

but it's the children of the promise that are counted as offspring. So I think Romans 9 helps put a lot of context around what's happening here in John 1 when he says that it's not born of the blood nor of the will of the flesh or the will of man. It says it in different translations, but I think what he's getting at here is this is about the inclusion of Gentiles.

into the children of God. He is saying that it's bigger than you thought. You had it segregated out to just DNA. And I'm telling you, there's something much bigger. You didn't really understand the promise that was made to Abraham. You didn't understand the covenant. And I'm here to explain the covenant and how that covenant is going to be realized in the man that we call Jesus, who is the Son of God, God becoming flesh.

Yeah, I think it was about God making a promise and then being faithful to the promise, which is that all people are created by God, and he displayed his love by sending Jesus to rescue them all. Yeah, that's it. I mean, but God's been faithful. Even when you go back to Israel, it showed, well, God was faithful.

But the people weren't. So really, the law that he gave for, you know, was a good thing. These were all positive things, but it just made Israel look in the mirror and they realized they weren't faithful. You know, I mean, it would be like any kind of marriage situation where one is faithful and one is not. But God, since he is God...

didn't give up on humanity or Israel as a nation, but that's why we now have Jesus. And that's why all these references are going back to Israel, because did he give up on them? No, he was faithful. He actually sent an Israelite to save them as himself. You see that even in this baptism. I read a couple of commentaries on this that

The baptism up until this point was something that you would do if you were a Gentile converting into Judaism, converting to Israel. So that's how baptism was used.

In this context, you actually have Jewish people being baptized, along with probably Gentiles as well. So I think what John the Baptist is even doing here is pretty profound. Why would they need to be baptized? So you kind of see the nature of the kingdom here, that it's Jew and Gentile coming into the same promise. And there's a unification of the covenant that was made with Abraham,

that when God said, I'm going to make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky, I'm sure Abraham was probably thinking DNA, but God was thinking bigger. And I think this is the realization of that. But it's not a rejection of Israel per se. It's a fulfillment. Yeah, it really is. What you actually see, what you just described, Zach, if you go back and look at Acts 2,

you see that opportunity for the Jewish people, as you described with Peter. In Acts 10, you see Peter then offering it to Cornelius and the Gentiles. And then in Acts 19, you see Paul offering it to those who only knew about John's baptism, that now we understand what baptism is really all about. So you see three different markers in the book of Acts, which show you exactly what you just described. What's beautiful is when Jace was reading Isaiah 40, he

Even way back 700 years prior, Isaiah made it known by the Spirit of God that it was always available for all mankind. And John says that here as well. And he says, first he came to the world to save the world. Then he said he came to his own, meaning the Jewish people, but they rejected him as well. And then he talks about, look, the only way you're ever going to see and understand the Father is

is if you see and understand who Jesus is. That's the beauty of it. And you're right. The entire paradigm of everything we are is summed up in 14. The word became flesh, made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only, the begotten is one, the anointed is another way that's put, who came from the Father full of grace and truth.

And that becomes the paradigm for which all men are saved. Well, don't you think this has something to do even in Galatians 3 when we're talking about where you're from and you have this idea that you have to have basically what Zach said. You can come to Jesus, but you have to uphold the Jewish traditions and in this case circumcision.

But he starts off Galatians in chapter 1. Where is that? 3 or 4 where he says, rescue us from the present evil age. Galatians 1, 3 and 4 says, Grace and peace to you from our God and Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age. And then he's going to end in Galatians 6,

You know, where he says circumcision accounts for nothing, right?

What counts is a new creation. Yeah. So that's... Verse 15. Yeah, verse 15. So just think where that's bookended. In verse 14, I have to read of chapter 6 because it says, you can only boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. What world? What world?

What world? This world that has dividing lines as far as what nationality, what, you know, this from Adam sin on, this world of making our own gods and all this separation. And in the middle, I mean, I'm summing that up kind of quick, but in the middle, you know, we have this about the law and the promise, which is why I brought up God made a promise and he kept it. And he was faithful and faith-based.

was introduced to us because of God's faithfulness. And he talks about the law and Abraham, but then he gets to verse 26 of chapter three and he says, you're all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you are baptized into Christ. Christ have closed yourself with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek. Well, that's quite a statement. There's neither Jew nor Greek. This whole, for a Jew to hear that,

That had to cause incredible rage. I'm sure it was somewhat controversial. So I think, yeah, I think when you tie this in, I mean, I gave an overview of that. Because Ephesians is a lot easier to understand because he starts off saying Christ basically came here at the time he did to bring all things in heaven and on earth under one head. He's bringing them all together. Yeah.

And then he goes on to chapter two. And what does he say? Jesus destroyed the wall between Jews. Yeah, the hostility. I think it says wall in there somewhere. Yes, it's the wall, the dividing wall of hostility. And he also says that the mystery is this, that the Gentiles are now fellow heirs. And I think that that is all present here. I would make this one note.

of it. And I think you see it kind of in the baptism of Jesus and some of the gospels when you see that kind of Trinitarian picture of the father, son, and spirit all in the scene together. That God is not, when Paul says that in Galatians, that there's neither Jew nor Greek or male nor female, he's not eradicating the differences between the two. I mentioned this in our podcast that I'm not yet now.

So if you listen there, I'm sorry to repeat it, but I think it's such a good point. Go back to the Tower of Babel, Genesis 11, where God confuses the languages and creates nations for the first time. I mean, that's really when nations were created because they were trying to make a name for themselves. They were trying to build their tower to heaven, and God confuses their language and creates nations.

Fast forward to Acts 2, when God rectifies that and brings them back together, He does not give them all the same language. He doesn't eradicate their differences. He doesn't eradicate their cultural distinctions, their diversity. He doesn't get rid of that. It says each one heard each other in their own language.

So he preserved the diversity of the kingdom, but now it's unified in. So it's not an eradication. We're not all like homogenous people, all just exactly the same. No, there's a broad, beautiful kaleidoscope of diversity inside the kingdom, which, by the way, reflects the nature of who God is. He is not their distinct being. So you see that in here when he says there's no diversity.

Jew or Greek, what he's saying is when it comes to what their heirs to

There's no difference. Yeah, but I would submit there's one other thing you left out that led to the Tower Bible. He also told them to fill the earth, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. There was a mission that he had for them. And I believe that's the same thing on why we're receiving this new birth. It goes back to Jesus saying, all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me. Do what? Go make disciples of...

Of all nations, no matter where you're from. And I think that dividing people into sections across the country was not what he had in mind. Genesis 1, 28. Be fruitful and multiply and fill and subdue the earth.

Skip forward Genesis 9. God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Genesis chapter 12, after Tower of Babel, God says, in you, all the families of earth shall be blessed. I could actually go through the entire Old Testament.

with that exact same through line, that the goal and the vocation is to subdue the earth, go take over the earth, be fruitful and multiply. That is the ultimate vision that God's going to accomplish. And he does accomplish that in the end.

So as we were out of time, but as we wrap this up, I thought it was interesting because you both went to Genesis 11 and Genesis 12. It begins the story of Abraham. And guess how long ago that was before when John wrote this book? 2000 years. Almost exactly.

And here we are living almost exactly 2000 years after that, just to show you the flow of time and how all this now comes to fruition. Even to this very day, there's been as much time since Jesus as there was Abraham to Jesus. So it just shows you the relevant nature of the scripture there.

And man, there's so much more to get into. But we can't do it today. We're out of time. We'll do it next time on Unashamed. Thanks for listening to the Unashamed podcast. Help us out by leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts. And don't miss an episode by subscribing on YouTube. And be sure to click the little bell and choose all notifications to watch every episode.