BibleProject
Episodes
How Is Anger the Same as Murder?
04 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sermon on the Mount E10 – In Matthew 5:21-48, Jesus reveals the divine wisdom of Israel’s Old Testament laws through six case studies. In the firs...
What Does Jesus Think of Old Testament Laws?
26 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sermon on the Mount E9 – What did Jesus mean when he said he came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets? In Jesus’ day, the laws from the Torah were...
The Salt of the Land and the Light of the World
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sermon on the Mount E8 – Why does Jesus call his followers salt and light? In the Hebrew Bible, salt is a metaphor for God’s long-lasting covenant...
What Does It Mean to Make Peace? (The Beatitudes Pt. 4)
12 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sermon on the Mount E7 – What will it cost us to live like Jesus in our world? In the third and final triad of the Beatitudes, Jesus declares that t...
The Type of People God Is Forming (The Beatitudes Pt. 3)
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sermon on the Mount E6 – What does it look like to have our desires and actions completely aligned with God’s will? In the second triad of the Bea...
The Powerless, Grieving, and Unimportant (The Beatitudes Pt. 2)
29 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sermon the Mount E5 – What does it mean to be poor in spirit, mourning, and meek? Jesus uses these words in the opening of the Sermon on the Mount, ...
What Does "Blessed" Mean? (The Beatitudes Pt. 1)
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sermon on the Mount E4 – What does Jesus mean when he calls people “blessed” in the first section of the Sermon on the Mount? The Greek word tra...
The Sermon on the Mount's Place in the Gospel of Matthew
15 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sermon on the Mount E3 – The Sermon on the Mount is one of five major speeches Jesus gives in the Gospel of Matthew, and there are many similarities...
The Hebrew Bible’s Connection to the Sermon on the Mount
08 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sermon on the Mount E2 – As a Jewish rabbi, Jesus was immersed in the Hebrew Bible, or what Christians often call the Old Testament. The Hebrew Bibl...
Kicking Off a Year With Sermon on the Mount
01 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Most of us have probably heard sayings from Jesus’ famous teaching, commonly called the Sermon on the Mount. It's only 100 verses, but the sermon ha...
Celebrating and Looking Forward—Happy New Year!
25 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In our final episode of 2023, Tim, Jon, and BibleProject CEO, Steve, celebrate everything we worked on this year and the patrons who made it possible....
Can We Be Agents of Chaos With Good Intentions? – Chaos Dragon Q+R 2
18 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Does the dragon always deceive humans into sinning? Can we become agents of chaos even when our intentions are good? What does it mean that Satan “e...
Chaos and the Cosmos: An Astronaut Interview – Chaos Dragon E19
11 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this series, we’ve talked a lot about chaos—chaos waters and the great chaos monsters of the deep. In this episode, Tim and Jon interview an ex...
The Dragon of Revelation – Chaos Dragon E18
04 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Revelation, the last scroll in the Bible, is an apocalyptic vision about the reordering of the entire cosmos. And like the conclusion of any go...
The Dragon in Paul's Letters – Chaos Dragon E17
27 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The biblical theme of the dragon is a way to think of a personal foe, the Satan, and an impersonal force—the relentless power that exerts itself ove...
The Only Way to Slay the Dragon – Chaos Dragon E16
20 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The theme of the chaos dragon runs all through the story of the Bible—along with the biblical authors’ expectation of a coming king who will one d...
A Human With Power Over the Dragon – Chaos Dragon E15
13 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As we’ve traced the theme of the chaos dragon in the Bible, we’ve come to expect what the biblical authors expect: a dragon-slaying king to come. ...
Daniel and the Four Monsters – Chaos Dragon E14
06 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel 7 describes an incredible, apocalyptic dream had by the prophet Daniel where he sees four chaos monsters oppressing the people of God. Just lik...
Does the Dragon Sometimes Win? – Chaos Dragon E13
30 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the story of the Bible, the dragon is a recurring symbol of chaos, death, and destruction. The good news is, Yahweh is the dragon slayer, and he gi...
The Dragon Slayer in the Psalms – Chaos Dragon E12
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
While the chaos dragon is not God’s rival--it’s the rival of creation--it is God’s enemy. The Psalms sometimes portray creation as the ordered r...
What Does it Mean to be Evil? – Chaos Dragon Q+R 1
16 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Did God create disorder and chaos? What does it actually mean to be evil? And how do you tell your kids that in the Bible dragons are actually the “...
Was the World Ever Perfect? – Chaos Dragon E11
09 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The theme of the chaos dragon raises some challenging questions. For instance, if God created a perfect world and humans messed it up, why did the dra...
Jonah and the…Chaos Dragon? – Chaos Dragon E10
02 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The story of Jonah employs all the major motifs of the theme of the chaos dragon: chaotic waters, a servant of God who rebels against him, and a great...
The Dragon-Like Behavior of Three Nations – Chaos Dragon E9
25 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Israel chooses to act like the chaos monster instead of living like the people of God, God brings judgment on them. How? He sends other bigger mo...
Isaiah and the Dragon – Chaos Dragon E8
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when the entire nation of Israel consistently aligns themselves with the dragon? They themselves become a chaos monster Yahweh has to dea...
David and Goliath the Dragon – Chaos Dragon E7
11 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
So often the symbol of the chaos monster shows up embodied by a human bent on oppressing other people. Goliath, one of the Bible’s most well-known b...
Women Who Slayed Dragons – Chaos Dragon E6
04 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s episode, we once again encounter a theme that’s becoming all too familiar: humans becoming chaos monsters. Jabin, king of Canaan, and S...
Is the Church a City? – The City Q+R 2
30 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Was Cain’s city a good thing initially? If Israel was just as bad as Sodom and Gomorrah, why didn’t God destroy it too? And how will God redeem th...
Power Over the Dragon in Exodus – Chaos Dragon E5
28 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
God created humans to bear his image, but sometimes we choose our own destruction and start to look a lot more like chaos monsters instead. In this ep...
The Creature Crouching at the Door – Chaos Dragon E4
21 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Genesis 3 is probably the most famous serpent-featuring story in the Bible—the moment we get to see humans and the nahash interact for the first tim...
Ferocious Dragons and Rogue Stars – Chaos Dragon E3
14 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dragons show up on page one of the Bible, named among the beings that feature in the seven-day creation narrative in Genesis 1. God creates dragons to...
The First Worldwide Meme – Chaos Dragon E2
07 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When we read the word “myth,” often what comes to mind is a fictional story. However, a myth is a way of exploring universal concerns of human exi...
Dragons in the Bible – Chaos Dragon E1
31 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Nahash, tanin, leviathan––the Bible is full of strange words describing a creature many modern readers can’t quite categorize. All these word...
How Did Abraham Know About the City of God? – The City Q+R
24 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How could Abraham have anticipated a coming City of God, like the author of Hebrews said? What’s the connection between the shame of Adam and Eve an...
The Heavenly City – The City E13
17 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the Bible, cities have a bad reputation as centers of immorality and unrighteous living. First-century followers of Jesus continued to live in citi...
Jesus, the New Jerusalem – The City E12
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As the story of the Bible unfolds, the expectation for a city of God—a new Jerusalem where Heaven and Earth will be fully united—continues to grow...
Whose Idea Was the “City of God”? – The City E11
03 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cities appear to be inherently bad in the story of the Bible. So when Jesus calls his followers a city on a hill, what does he mean? And why is the vi...
Jesus’ Disciples Are a City – The City E10
26 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The city of Jerusalem, established by David to be the home of God, is a glimpse of what a divine city could look like, but even Jerusalem becomes corr...
Jerusalem: A Tale of Two Cities – The City E9
19 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Israel was meant to be a picture of the heavenly city of God, but over time, it began to look more like Babylon, Nineveh, and Sodom and Gomorrah. In t...
The Anointed Question and Response
14 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When Jesus tells Nicodemus people must be born again of water and Spirit, is that connected to the anointing theme? Is Jesus’ anointing in the Jorda...
City of God or City of Cain? – The City E8
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When we first read about Jerusalem in the Bible, it appears to be a golden city—founded by David, a center of victory, prosperity, and unity. But it...
The Bible's Most Famous City – The City E7
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Jerusalem is the Bible’s image of what a city of God should be. But from the earliest moments of its founding, it's clear that even this city has pr...
Can a City Be Good? – The City E6
29 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
At last, there’s a positive example of a city in the Bible, the capital city of Egypt under the rule of Joseph. In this episode, join Tim and Jon as...
Sodom and Gomorrah – The City E5
22 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
If Babylon is the worst city in the Bible, then Sodom and Gomorrah are a close second. The injustice and oppression in Sodom and Gomorrah are so prono...
The Biggest, Baddest City in the Bible – The City E4
15 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
You may have heard that Babylon was the biggest, baddest city in the Bible, but where did that reputation come from? Who founded the city, and what ma...
A Symptom of Human Violence – The City E3
08 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As the story of the Bible unfolds, humanity grows more and more violent. Cain is more violent than his parents, and his descendants are more violent t...
Why Cain Builds a City – The City E2
01 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the story of the Bible, cities are a bad thing. They’re a symptom of humanity’s violence and attempts to protect themselves instead of trusting...
The Surprise of the City – The City E1
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The theme of the city in the Bible is a surprising one. When cities are introduced in the story, they’re depicted as “bad”—a human response to...
Jesus’ Anointing Ceremony – Anointed E6
17 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“Jesus the anointed one” is the literal translation of the Greek title “Christ,” frequently applied to Jesus. In this podcast episode, Tim and...
Firstborn Question and Response
12 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Do the biblical authors consider women the second-born siblings of men? Were Joshua and Caleb rivals? Why is Korah, the disgraced rebel, honored in th...
The Anointed King in Psalms – Anointed E5
10 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
David’s life gives us two parallel portrayals of what it means to be God’s anointed one: one is victorious—God’s anointed is the giant feller ...
Isaiah’s Anointed One – Anointed E4
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
David was Israel’s greatest king, but even he failed to live as God’s anointed one. When Isaiah prophesied about the ultimate anointed one to come...
Saul the Anti-Anointed – Anointed E3
27 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Israel’s first anointed king, Saul, consistently makes choices that put him in conflict with God and the responsibilities God has entrusted to him. ...
What’s So Special About Oil? – Anointed E2
20 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What’s so special about oil? Why does the Bible specify that oil—not water or wine—must be used to anoint a person or place? In this episode, Ti...
"Christ" Is Not a Name – Anointed E1
13 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The title most often applied to Jesus is “the anointed one”—that’s what the Greek word “christ” means! But what is the practice of anointi...
The Firstborn of Creation – Firstborn E10
06 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In our final episode of the Firstborn series, we look at the New Testament’s description of Jesus as the firstborn of creation. Join Tim and Jon as ...
How Will Jesus Use His Power? – Firstborn E9
27 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Under levitical law, touching anyone unclean would make you unclean too. But when Jesus touches people who are unclean, they get healed and become cle...
God's Firstborn Son – Firstborn E8
20 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The authors of the gospel accounts in the Bible—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—regularly refer to Jesus as the Son of God, a title that’s connect...
David, the Latecomer King – Firstborn E7
13 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the scroll of Samuel, Israel demands a king in place of the judges that have been ruling over them. It sounds like a simple enough request, but Yah...
What Is God’s Name? – Re-Release in Honor of Michael Heiser
07 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is a special re-release of an interview we did in 2018 with Dr. Michael Heiser. Mike has been a significant influence to Tim’s own scho...
Hannah’s Poem and Power Reversals – Firstborn E6
06 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Hannah was an oppressed woman, scorned by her husband’s rival wife because of her barrenness. But the way she prayed and trusted Yahweh through this...
The Plague of the Firstborn – Firstborn E5
30 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
How does the plague of the firstborn from Exodus fit into the biblical theme of the firstborn? And what does it mean when Yahweh calls Israel his firs...
Power Grabs and Patriarchs – Firstborn E4
23 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Early in the story of the Bible, God chooses the family of Abraham, his son Isaac, and Isaac’s son Jacob as his chosen representatives to bless othe...
Rivalry Among Brothers – Firstborn E3
16 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Only a few pages into the story of the Bible, the story starts to get really bleak. Cain kills his brother Abel, Cain’s descendants become famous mu...
Seizing vs. Receiving Power – Firstborn E2
09 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It’s not explicitly stated, but the theme of the firstborn first appears in the opening narratives of the Hebrew Bible. In Genesis 1 and 2, Yahweh e...
God's Response to Human Power Structures – Firstborn E1
02 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In ancient Near Eastern societies, firstborn sons were prized above all other children and inherited special privileges and authority simply because o...
Happy New Year From BibleProject!
26 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We shared a lot of firsts together in 2022—from launching our first app, to reading the Torah movement by movement as an international community, to...
Simkhat Torah: Celebrating a Year of Reading
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When a Jewish synagogue finishes reading through the Torah together, they celebrate Simkhat Torah. What is Simkhat Torah? Find out on today’s episod...
When Do Words Become A Blessing? – Torah Q+R
12 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How do we know the biblical authors intended to link certain words and stories? When do someone’s words become a blessing? How do sacrifices actuall...
Which Laws Still Apply? – Deuteronomy Scroll Q+R
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Which ancient Israelite laws still apply today and which don’t? Should the law be divided into moral, civil, and ceremonial categories? And why did ...
Moses’ Final Words – Deuteronomy E9
28 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Who are Yahweh’s children? Up until the conclusion of the Torah, the answer to that question has appeared to be all of Israel. But in his final mome...
Can Anyone Live a Blessed Life? – Deuteronomy E8
21 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Moses gives the least motivating pep talk ever in the third movement of Deuteronomy. He outlines God’s covenant and the various blessings and curses...
Covenant Curses – Deuteronomy E7
14 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the final movement of Deuteronomy, there’s a pretty lengthy list of curses that will fall upon Israel if they break their covenant with Yahweh. B...
Jesus, Marriage, and the Law – Deuteronomy E6
07 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Pharisees frequently tested Jesus on his knowledge of the law, and in Matthew 19, they grill him on a particularly challenging law about divorce. ...
How Do We Use the Law Today? – Deuteronomy E5
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Israel’s laws were meant to form them into people of wisdom who lived differently than the nations around them. But what wisdom can Christians gain ...
What Do Moses and a Rock Have to Do With Jesus? – Numbers Q+R
26 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Are numbers in the Hebrew Bible literal? Is it dangerous to adapt God’s laws? Does Israel’s conquest of Canaan justify other historical conquests?...
The Law … Again – Deuteronomy E4
24 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the second movement of Deuteronomy, Moses gives Israel the law … again. But this time, he’s not talking to a nomadic group of people wandering ...
Giants and Justice – Deuteronomy E3
17 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we once again encounter the Nephilim, the evil demon-human hybrid beings we first met in Genesis 6. Now they resurface as giants inha...
What Does Leviticus Teach Us About Jesus? – Leviticus Q+R
12 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How do you clean a tabernacle? What does “laying of hands” represent? Is the scapegoat a hyperlink to Cain and Abel? How was it even possible for ...
The Way to True Life – Deuteronomy E2
10 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the first movement of Deuteronomy, two words appear more frequently than any others—listen and love. Why did Moses emphasize these two words in h...
What’s the Point of Deuteronomy? – Deuteronomy E1
03 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever wondered where the earliest sermons in the Bible are found? Moses’ final speech to Israel, found in Deuteronomy, is the first time we ...
Entering the Promised Land – Numbers E9
26 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After years of wandering in the wilderness and what seems like way too many rebellions against Yahweh, Israel has finally arrived on the edge of the p...
Joshua: The New Adam and Moses – Numbers E8
19 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
As Moses’ death draws near, Yahweh selects Joshua to lead the people of Israel. What made Joshua uniquely qualified to lead? How does his leadership...
Five Women and Yahweh’s New Law – Numbers E7
12 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the third movement of Numbers, five sisters approach Moses with a legal case not covered in God’s laws: Without any brothers to inherit their fat...
Why Couldn’t Moses Enter the Promised Land? – Numbers E6
05 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
So far in the second movement of Numbers, the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel have rebelled against Yahweh, the people themselves have rebelled...
Yahweh’s Judgment and Mercy – Numbers E5
29 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
God chose the Levites to take care of the tabernacle, and within the tribe of Levi, he picked Aaron’s family to have the special duty of offering sa...
Twelve Spies and the Promised Land – Numbers E4
22 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re looking at a story about God’s chosen ones facing a test with fruit trees in a beautiful garden—sounds like Genesis 3, right? Surprisingly...
There Isn’t a Law For That – Numbers E3
15 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
How do God’s people follow his will in situations where there are no explicit rules or laws given? At the conclusion of the third movement of Number...
What’s a Nazarite Vow? – Numbers E2
08 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Confession of sins, strange water rituals, Nephilim, and Nazarite vows—Numbers 5 and 6 might feel like a confusing mix of laws, but the scroll’s a...
What Made the Tribe of Levi Special? – Numbers E1
01 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The scroll of Numbers can be difficult to make sense of without context, and there’s a reason for that. The scroll was never meant to be understood ...
The Law of the Blasphemer – Leviticus E9
25 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Blasphemy, principles of restitution, jubilee, exile, and the mercy and justice of God––it’s all there in the final lines of the scroll of Levit...
What Israel's Feasts Teach Us – Leviticus E8
18 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Are there specific times humans can meet with God in special ways? For ancient Israel, the answer was yes. In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they e...
Why Is the Sabbath So Important? – Leviticus E7
11 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Throughout the Leviticus scroll, Yahweh instructs Israel, “Be holy as I am holy.” But what does that actually mean? As we enter into the third and...
What Is the Day of Atonement? – Leviticus E6
04 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
At the center of the center of the Torah is the Day of Atonement. What is the significance of this day the biblical authors have placed at the heart o...
Purity and Impurity in Leviticus – Leviticus E5
27 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Childbirth, non-kosher food, sex, death, disease—they’re all considered impure in the book of Leviticus. In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they...
Did God Try To Kill Moses? – Exodus Q+R
22 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Why did God say he was going to kill Moses? What exactly was God’s test for Abraham on Mount Moriah and Israel on Mount Sinai? What’s the connecti...
The Dangerous Gift of God’s Presence – Leviticus E4
20 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the second movement of Leviticus, Aaron and his sons agree to the terms of their covenant with Yahweh, signing up to be the gatekeepers of Heaven a...
What Did the Burnt Offerings Really Mean? – Leviticus E3
13 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What is the significance of the offerings described in Leviticus? In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they walk through the five offerings ancient Is...
What Is Atonement? – Leviticus E2
06 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A God who wants nothing more than to dwell with humanity, a way forward to a repaired relationship between Heaven and Earth, atoning sacrifices meant ...
How God Reveals Himself in Leviticus – Leviticus E1
30 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Holiness is a word we frequently associate with the Bible, but what does it mean? As we pick up the story from where we left off in Exodus, we find ev...