The Teaching Series with Brad Gray

One of the biggest problems we have when reading the Bible is familiarity. When we’re too familiar with a passage, we start believing we already know what it means. In doing so, we forget there’s so much more it has to teach us, and we rob it of its explosive power to transform our lives. In this final episode in our series, Rabbis and Disciples, we set Jesus’s famous words about “his yoke” in their historical and cultural context, and discover Jesus making a shocking claim that no other rabbi ever made. By understanding this passage anew, you’ll experience the depth, the audacious challenge, and the compelling nature of Jesus’s invitation to life in him!

We all want to live fully and deeply, but in order to do that we’ve got to live as Jesus lived. The problem is we don’t always understand what Jesus’s life looked like. In this episode, we dig into the details of the itinerant rabbinic lifestyle and quickly realize that Jesus’s life as a traveling rabbi wasn’t glorious or easy. It was actually really, really difficult. It came with a cost. But according to Jesus and the rabbis of the day, it was worth it – costly, but worth it. It’s a message we all need to hear or be reminded of, as we seek to faithfully follow Jesus and experience life that is truly life.

In the culture of Jesus’s day, one was forbidden to receive payment for the teaching of God’s Word. Which is why every rabbi had a trade or occupation. Jesus had one, but the term “carpenter” doesn’t nearly do it justice. In fact, Jesus’s occupation is filled with surprises that perfectly explain how his trade prepared him for his ministry. Speaking of which, the Text implies that once Jesus launches his ministry, he devotes himself entirely to his disciples and teachings. If he wasn’t working and rabbis couldn’t receive payment for teaching God’s Word, how did Jesus and the disciples pay the bills? Let’s find out, and in doing so, let’s gain a deeper appreciation for the way God uses the details to bring about His purposes in our lives.

In the Gospels, people were always commenting on Jesus’s authority. It was clear to everyone that he had it. Some marveled at it, while others scoffed at it. The Scribes and Pharisees even questioned it. But what exactly did they mean by authority? How did Jesus understand it? And does that enhance our understanding of what happens with the Great Commission in Matthew 28? Without question! Welcome to an explosive episode where you’ll gain a deeper understanding of Jesus’s biblical authority and how discipleship with Jesus’s authority leads to the life that God desires for us all.

Jesus walking on water is one of the best-known stories in the entire Bible. But we often miss the point because we fail to see the discipleship component at play. When we see it, we learn that the story has less to do with Jesus walking on water and more to do with Peter’s actions and Jesus’s response. But the story isn’t just about Peter. It’s about you and me, and all of the ways we doubt ourselves. By the end of this episode, you’ll have deeper confidence because you’ll know God is with you. You’ll be more willing to face your fears and take holy risks because you know God believes in you. And you’ll grow in your trust that God won’t call you to something and then fail to equip you for it.

Most of us love the idea of Jesus as savior. We’re usually less enthusiastic about him being our teacher and reorienting our lives around his. But that’s precisely what it meant to be a disciple. The goal wasn’t to know what the rabbi knew. It was to become who the rabbi was. It meant journeying with him and observing how he spoke, what he noticed, and how he interacted with others. It meant understanding how he made sense of life and then learning to do the same. It’s not the kind of learning that takes place in a classroom. Instead, it takes place on the road and in the experiences of everyday life. By the end of this episode, you’ll have a clearer understanding of what it means to truly follow Jesus, and you’ll be inspired to follow him more closely in the coming year.

Christmas is a season of hope. 2020 has been a season of grief. How do we hold hope and grief in creative tension? Because when things get hard, we feel overwhelmed. And when we’re overwhelmed, our tendency is to check out, numb out, and wish the moments or seasons away. But in our confusion, heartache, and disorientation, God is working in subtle and often unseen ways. By the end of this episode, you’ll be inspired to hold the gratitude and grief of 2020 in tension so that you don’t numb out, but instead embrace this season and the God who is with us in it.

The Jewish educational system in Jesus’s day was astounding. Growing up in that culture was about total immersion in the Scriptures. It was about learning and memorizing God’s Word so that it shaped everything you did. It was also about learning to ask really great questions and debating with your teachers. But much like professional sports, only the best of the best got to keep going and eventually become disciples. Which raises some fascinating questions: What might the Jewish educational system of Jesus’s day reveal to us about his disciples? What might it teach us about God’s intentions for our discipleship? By the end of this episode, you’ll recognize the subtle hints in the Scriptures you’d missed all along and have a deeper appreciation for Jesus’s explosive words, “Come, follow me.” Note: This is a jam-packed 25-min episode. There’s a lot of information in this one. With that said, our goal was to provide you with the single, best resource for understanding the Jewish educational system in Jesus’s day in its entirety. We think we did it. Enjoy!

One of the biggest mistakes followers of Jesus can make is believing they have Jesus figured out. How do we resist the temptation to become too familiar with him? We believe one of the main answers is found in understanding that Jesus came as a Jewish Rabbi (or Sage). In this new mini-series Rabbis and Disciples, we’ll explore why this matters so much, and how understanding it can transform us into more effective disciples. But first, we must start by familiarizing ourselves with key aspects of the first-century world that help shed significant light on Jesus’s life and ministry.

Sometimes the Bible speaks right to our hearts by encouraging or challenging us in just the right way. Other times, we walk away uninspired and discouraged, feeling like we didn’t get anything out of it. What do we do in those moments? In this episode, we explore the practice of placing God's Word upon our hearts, so that when the time is right, and our hearts are ready, they will be available to us. Because the Bible wants to do something in us. It wants to challenge us. It wants to confront us. It wants to help us. But if we get discouraged and disengage, we will miss out on what God’s Word wants to do in our lives. And none of us want that to happen.