Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using the Great Adventure Bible timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. Speaking of today and speaking of Genesis to Revelation, we are now launching ahead. We just are in the midst of this time period, but we are jumping all the way to the gospel of John in the New Testament. It's our first of four messianic checkpoints. So one of the things that this comes out of is the idea or the reality, essentially, that as we're going through the Bible timeline, following these 14 narrative books, we recognized that if we just kept going through from beginning to the end, we wouldn't be reading any of the New Testament until roughly November. And so we thought, wow, it would be very, very important to introduce to all of us in the midst of this year, a number of times where we get to take a step back and actually launch forward and see, okay, now, how has all of this been leading to Christ?

Because all the Old Testament is pointing to the New Testament. All the Old Testament is pointing to Jesus, who is the fulfillment of everything. For the next seven days, we are going to be walking through the gospel of John. In order to introduce the gospel of John, so we can get an understanding, once again, of John and of the structure of John's gospel and how unique John's gospel is. Once again, we're joined by Jeff Cavens, which we're super grateful to talk with Jeff about John.

Hey, Father. Good to join you. What a treat it is to look at a gospel at this point. It's a little bit of a reprieve, isn't it? You're going through all this history and, Yeah, but what about Jesus? But what about Jesus? Here we are. We're going to jump ahead for the gospel of John. This is going to be great.

So good. I'm so grateful for the opportunity opportunity even just to see, here is where the whole thing points. As I know, I think you might have even been the first person to point out this quote from St. Augustine. I think it's St. Augustine, right? You can correct me on this one, is that the Old Testament is revealed in the new, and the New Testament is hidden in the old. That's one of the things that I love about all of the New Testament and Old Testament. But when it specifically comes to the gospel of John, there's a number of just really critical connections that are our fulfillments in John's gospel of all the stuff that we've been reading, and some things we'll be reading in the future. But there are so many, I think, people who have been journeying with us for these last number of days will hear John's gospel in an entirely new way, knowing all that they know now, having walked through Genesis and Exodus and Leviticus and Numbers and Deuteronomy, all that we've been through. I think this is going to be just a unique experience of journeying through John.

Sure. It will be. And there's a couple of things to remember. And one is that all scripture that you have been reading, and in the case of our listeners, all the scripture you have heard up till now is all crystal-centric, meaning it finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. And that's what Bible study is all about. And the other thing is what Pope Benedict mentioned, and that's called recapitulative history. It's a big fancy word for Jesus came and did it again. He came and he relived those stories. And so as you start to read the Gospels now, keep in mind that this is about fulfilling something, and it's about the Son of God fulfilling what the first born Son did not complete. And so Jesus had to fulfill all righteousness. He had to complete this. And then we have some guidelines in the catechism about it being a revelation of who Jesus Christ is. And that's where we get to today with the gospel of John. And the gospel of John is different. Everybody knows there's four Gospels, and the question would come up, well, wouldn't it have been okay to just do maybe one?

Just have one, because one tells the whole story.

Right, right. But the reason for that is that all four Gospels have a different emphasis, and some of the Gospels share stories. So for example, Matthew, Mark, and Luke seem to be sharing material, the same stories, the same miracles, that some of the dialog. And so John stands out because John is really different than those other three Gospels, not to mention that John is really for more of a universal audience. But there is an emphasis on each of the Gospels. In Matthew, we see Jesus as king. In Mark, we see Jesus as the servant. In Luke, we see Jesus, the man, the humanity. And in John, we see God, Jesus as God. In fact, in Matthew's gospel, it starts off with a genealogy, and it goes back to a son of David, whereas John starts off and says, In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. And so it starts off with the divinity of Jesus. A few other things that are really interesting as people are going to go through this with you. There's only eight miracles recorded in John, and six of those miracles, they're very peculiar to John.

John doesn't have any parables, whereas Matthew had nine of them. Luke had 35 parables. He taught very much in a Hebraic way that way. But one of the things that's beautiful about John is that every single chapter provides a separate portrait of who Christ is and what he has demonstrated as as far as being God. And so you could say that the synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, they tell us what Jesus did. John tells us who he is in a real beautiful way. Another thing that's interesting is that over one-third of John's gospel, chapters 12 through 19, covers the last week of Jesus. And so it really focuses on that crucial work that he did, that centerpiece of his death, burial, and resurrection. That's a really, really important point. Our response to the gospel of John is the word believe. And that word believe is used many, many times because as John is showing you that Jesus is God, Jesus is the key to salvation, then the onus is upon us to respond to it. And that is called faithfulness, or we believe, we believe the truth.

Yeah. And that sense of how John also makes that connection between belief and obedience, and a lack of belief and disobed when it comes to even the classic/powerful kernel, the heart of the gospel in John 3:16, For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that all who might believe in him, might not perish, but might have eternal life. But then it goes on to say, But some disobeyed. In that sense, that illuminates what it truly is to believe in the context not only of I ascent with my intellect, but also I I say yes with my will. I actually choose what God has commanded. If you love me, you'll do what I have commanded you. You'll obey me. There's that connection between in John's gospel so powerfully between faith and the way we actually are living right now, which is just so necessary for the Christian life as well. One of the things that always strikes me about John's gospel is not just, as you noted, there's not too many miracles and not any parables, but how thoroughly full of Jesus is teaching, just direct teaching, whether that's the last supper discourse, the high Priestley prayer, that time during the last supper, how much Jesus is teaching that last night before his betrayal and before his suffering and passion.

Yeah, you mentioned the high Priestley prayer in chapter 17. That is an amazing prayer that when we get to that, we'll see that we are focus of that, that he prays that we would be one as he and the Father are one. That's very, very powerful. Every time I hear the gospel of John, I'm reminded of Pope John Paul II, because John Paul II, he did lexio divina on the gospel of John every month of his pontificate. So you could say that he literally owned it. He owned that gospel. And that's something that I would really encourage people to do is choose one of the Gospels and own it. Really get to know it. Memorize the main theme of every chapter. Now, John is great for that because every chapter, as I said earlier, is a portrait, really, of who Jesus is. In fact, John looks at Jesus as a ballroom What do they call those? Like a ballroom light that turns in the middle of a ballroom? Yeah, like a disco. Okay, yeah. No one's ever compared Jesus to a disco ball before, but we have now. You're here first, folks. We have now.

But every little aspect of that disco ball, if you will. Okay, chandelier. Every bit of that chandelier reflects a certain aspect of them. So you have the very famous nine I am statements in in Jesus. So John says about Jesus, I am the bread of life in John 6. I am the light of the world, John 8. And also in John 8, before Abraham was, I am In John 10, I am the door. John 10, I am the good shepherd. John 11, I am the resurrection in the life. John 14, I'm the way, the truth in the life. In John 15, I am the true vine. And John 18, I am he. And John seems to enjoy doing this because when he later wrote the Book of Revelation, he also picked up on that as well and uses I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am the beginning and the end. I am the first and last. I am he who lives and was dead. And I am he who searches and rains in hearts. And I am the root and offspring of David. And I am the bright morning star. So John is just really into revealing who he is and his divinity.

I think that that is beautiful. The one verse that really caps it all off in John is John 10:30, where Jesus said, I and my Father are one. I and my Father are one. And he who has seen me, in John 14, has seen the Father. End of case.

Yeah. It's makes it so clear that Jesus is making the connection. I mean, who he believes himself, who he knows himself, not who he believes, who he knows himself to be. And he knows himself to be, as you said, I and the Father are one. And before Abraham was, I am. And all those pieces, and as we heard in the Book of Exodus, how God reveals his sacred name, I am. And here is Jesus who takes that and claims it for himself. Now, there's a piece of... If you recall in the last chapter of John's gospel, after Jesus has risen from the dead, and Peter and some of the other guys are out there fishing on the lake, that they catch a certain number of fish. Is there a little insider baseball here when it comes to that certain number of fish that could also be a pointing to Jesus's identity?

Yes, there actually is. You bring up an odd point, right? It's an odd point. It is. In John 21, Simon Peter went up and drew the net to the land full of large fish, and John wanted you to know how many. I mean, either he's really got a thing with numbers or he is trying to show you something. It's 153 fish. Thank you, John, because that story would have been incomplete without that number. 153 fish, and although there were so many, the net was not torn. Yes, you're right. Numbers mean something to the Jewish people. In the Hebrew language, there actually is not 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, six, seven, eight, nine, 10. They actually use the alphabet to depict the numbers. And so every letter has a numerical value. And when you put the phrase, I am God, in Hebrew, it comes up to the equivalent of 153. And that is an amazing revelation. And I guess you could call it a a Hebraic type of teaching where John is showing you that there was 153 fish. Let's see, 153, what would that mean? Oh, I'm God. I thought something was fishy.

No, it's just one of those things where the Bible has so many different layers to it. That's one of the reasons why we'll be going through all of John's gospel in only seven days. The next number of days for those who've been journeying with us are going to be pretty full. They're going to be full with the story. But the thing I love about that is it means that we get to allow the entire story of John's gospel to just wash over us in many ways, just to be able to take it in, knowing that I won't be able to take it all in. Like the previous 90 days or so, I will not be able to take all of this in. But what I'm going to do is I'm just going to allow in whatever can get in. I might miss the 153 thing. I might miss some of the other pieces of these stories of John's gospel. But to realize in one week, I will have heard a gospel in its entirety, which I think is just a blessing, and I think is something that all of us can be looking forward to.

You mentioned that 153 fish, and you're teaching me something here, too, and that is that we were talking about John is really speaking about the divinity of Christ, and here at the very end of it, at the point, and I'll just mention this, this after Peter betrayed the Lord three times. He let the Lord down three times. He was the first Pope, and he did not serve the Lord the way he was supposed to, and he actually went back to fishing That's what he's doing up in Galilee. And Jesus says, No, you still have that calling on your life. And that's where he reveals the 153 fish, which is in Hebrew, ani Elohim, ani Elohim, I am God. Ani is 61. Elohim is 92, for a total of 153. I think that that is showing us that God is still God even after we've blown it. Yeah. And maybe people reading with you during this time feel like, I just haven't been the servant of God or the husband or the son that I should have been. Well, this is the book where you have a chance to begin afresh. And Jesus says to you, lech aharai, come, follow me.

Yeah, that fear of, am I disqualified? I know what I've done. I know what I was, maybe even at some point as a as a follower of Christ, I know what he's called me to, and the dignity is bestowed upon me. But have I disqualified myself? And am I done? He's going to go on without me, and he's going to do what he does because he's God, and he's still God.

He'll get someone else.

Yeah, or is it, No, you're not disqualified, you're restored. And that's those last chapters of John's gospel, which is so, so, again, important for us, because I think if you haven't been in a place yet where you feel like you've disqualified yourself when it comes to belonging to the Lord or serving the Lord, just wait, because I think most of us get to that place, and that's where we need to hear, again, the Lord speak to Simon Peter and ask, Do you love me? Okay, now feed my sheep. Let me restore you. You're not disqualified. You are restored. And that's such a gift. As we conclude this episode, Jeff, as I always ask, any takeaways as people can launch into this next seven days of John's gospel.

Yes, absolutely. Right in the middle of the gospel of John, you have John Chapter 7 and John Chapter 8. And it's the story of the woman caught in adultery, and the leadership wants to stone her, and they shaming her, and she is broken and publicly shamed. It's in that amazing story that the Lord releases her from that shame and brings her to himself. I would really encourage people Whatever shame in your life, it doesn't have to be what this lady committed. It can be shame in your town, shame in your family, shame for something you said, shame for something you did in college, whatever it might be. I want you to know that Jesus is not going to hold you to that shame the rest of your life, but he is going to release you because he can. He's God. He is divine, and that's what the focus is. That's just not a theological point. That is an experience that we can have in our life. Because he's God, I can be free from shame. Maybe it was something on the internet, who knows? But you can be free and be restored to the Lord, whether you are someone listening to the daily readings or you're the Pope.

If the Pope's listening.

He's just brushing up on his English. That's why he's listening to the Bible. That's so good. I think that's a great word to not just end this episode on, but to launch into the gospel of Johnwith, which is that sense of... I remember hearing someone describe that said that the guilt is when I know that I failed to live up to a standard. I've standard of being honest, and I wasn't honest, so I'm guilty. But shame is when you see that I've failed to live up to that standard, that I'm guilty in your eyes. It's a relational a situation. And just what the healing there, or the remedy there with the woman caught in adultery is she stands on the ground before Jesus, and Jesus sees her and knows her and loves her. And as he says, I forgive you. I don't condemn you. I go in sin no more. And that being seen, allowing ourselves to be seen is one of the most powerful remedies for shame. And maybe not by everybody, but definitely by the Lord. So I'm so glad you brought that up as we launch into John's gospel. Jeff, you'll still have your Facebook group that we'll continue to meet on Thursdays.

It's live at...

At 2:00 PM central time on the Ascensions Catholic Bible Study page. We answer about three to five questions every week that you, the listeners, are asking. Usually it's, Why, I don't understand this, or how could God do that? We try to take those apart as best we can and always coming from the perspective of we trust God, and God is good. He's not arbitrary. He doesn't just do one thing one day and another another day. He's consistent, and his actions are always held to who he is.

Yeah, which is so good because the commentaries each day They're limited. They're incredibly limited, not only in time, but also in my own wisdom and knowledge. And so I'm so grateful that every week, those who are journeying with us have the opportunity to get your wisdom and your guidance. So that's what we're doing now. We're on this journey, and so we need each other. It's not just about ourselves. It's not just down to us. It's not just down to one person or even a couple of people. It's the whole community of us who are allowing God's word to shape our hearts and to form our vision so that we can not only see like God sees and love like God loves, but truly live how God has called us to live. And so in order to do that, we need grace. We need his help. And so keep praying for each other. Keep praying for me. I am praying for you with Jeff Givens. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.