210. Bonus Israel Content - Michael Baer and Father Kelly at Magdala

1. Podcast Introduction and Theme

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   For freedom, he set me free, not for chains, not for guilt, not for Pharisee. Grace lit the flame, now I'm puffing peace, cigars and victory justified, released.

   Welcome to the 4-Freedom Podcast. This podcast exists to bring the freedom of the gospel for everyday Christians with everyday issues.

   I ain't saved by dress codes, not by what I eat. I'm covered in the righteousness, washed from head to feet. No tally of tradition, no man-made code.

   Blood bought my freedom, now I ride that road. They clutch pearls when they see smoke rings rise. But my praise still ascends past the legalist cries. Christ plus nothing, that's the real math.

   So miss me with your fence laws and your extra path. He sat with sinners, I'm sitting with saints. Sipping grace from the bottle, no room for fakes. I light one for liberty, toast to the king. Every ash a sermon, death has lost its sting.

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   I don't know I'm puffing peace, cigars and victory justified, released. I don't know I'm puffing peace, cigars and victory justified,

   released. I don't know I'm puffing peace, I don't know I'm puffing peace, I don't know I'm puffing peace, I don't know I'm puffing peace. Now here are your hosts, James Safrit and Brett Martin.

   First of all, let me thank my buddy Marcus for allowing me to do the devotional at the most obscure place that we're going to be on our trip. Thank you, my friend. You're very welcome. Thank you. However, I did think about that.

   I thought, you know, that could be a bonus because you don't have much to read. Because there's not much to read. But anyway, this is probably the most obscure place. You know, I was curious.

   And I looked it up. Google came through, I guess. But it said on there, I looked up, you know, how many times in the Bible is Magdala mentioned.

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   And it said, rarely or none. Depending upon the translation. Now, if you have the King James Version, the word Magdala is actually in there. But the ESV, which is the one I used. It's the perfect one, baby. Corrects the Greek.

   Are we going to go there? Are we going to go there? Are we going to have a translation debate? But anyway, and so, you know, I looked that up and found that it talks about in here in Matthew chapter 15.

   In verse number 39, it says, after sending away the crowds. This is when Jesus had fed the 4,000. And it says, after sending away the crowds, he got into a boat and went to the region of Magadil. Which is, in the ESV, KJV, again, it's Magdala.

   And so, we know Jesus was in this region. The Bible also tells us in Matthew, again in Matthew, in Matthew chapter 4,

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   verse 23. And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom. And healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So, we know Jesus was in this region. We know Jesus went to every synagogue and preached and taught.

   Capernaum is very close to here. And while he was there, he was healing. While he was there, he was teaching and preaching. And so, it makes, I think it's safe for us to imply that Jesus may have stood in this very synagogue and preached. Woo-hoo!

   He may have stood there and preached. And I'm pretty sure that Mary Magdalene was thankful that Jesus made it to her location. And so, because Mary Magdalene, I'd imagine, was impacted by the preaching and teaching of Jesus Christ.

   The Bible tells us that she was the one that Jesus cast the seven demons out of.

5. Transformation Through Encounter

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   And so, I was reminded that an encounter with Jesus Christ, y'all, changes everything. It changes everything.

   But, that obscure woman, we don't know anything about her. Now, we know what she did after she was saved. She was a follower of Jesus. She was with him everywhere he went.

   She was at the cross. She was around Jesus all the time. But it was that initial transformation, that initial encounter with Jesus Christ that changed her life forever.

   And one day, all of us, if you're a follower of Jesus Christ, maybe we'll get to chat with her in heaven. And then just ask her what that was like when Jesus came to her and cast those demons out of her.

   Now, she was healed physically, but more importantly, she was spiritually healed. And so, I'm so thankful and I'm honored to know that my Lord and my Savior may have walked these very grounds.

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   These very grounds, his feet may have touched. And so, just an application point for us. If you've had that encounter with Jesus, your life has been transformed.

   And it's been transformed not so we can, as I tell my church, sit, soak, and sour. It's been transformed so we can make an impact on those around us. We can give them an encounter with Jesus because Jesus lives in and through us.

   And so, I just want to encourage each and every one of us. This trip has been, you know, I could go home now and be filled with what I need. But this trip has encouraged me in many ways. But one is, I need to be more vocal for Christ.

   I need to talk about Jesus all the time. I talk about a lot of other things that are important to me. But Jesus is the most important thing in my life.

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   And so, I need to be more vocal about Jesus. Jesus, I want people to have an encounter with Jesus.

   And I hope you do too. Let's pray. Father God, we love you. We praise you. We thank you.

   God, it is such an honor to be here. It is such an honor to be in the Holy Land. It is such an honor to know that our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, was here.

   He taught. He preached. He healed. He did all those wonderful things. Father, but he came for one purpose, to seek and to save the lost. And Lord, he's given us that command that we're to go to make disciples, to teach them the things of the Lord. And so, Father, I pray. I pray.

   God, I plead. I beg. That we be people. That can bring an encounter with Jesus to those around us.

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   Father God, we love you. We praise you. We thank you. We thank you for this place. In Jesus' name. Amen. I think, I'm not sure if you've been thinking today, let's say, some very significant reasons why this is important for us Christians.

   Did he talk a little bit about that? He talked about the Jewish side. That's the most important thing to start off with. And sometimes people take a picture of our mosaic and they put it on Facebook. And they say, look at the mosaic Jesus saw.

   Just consider that we found a coin from the year 43 underneath it. So there are lots of nuances. Okay?

   And they think that maybe the frescoes from the same period and also the Magla Stone. If you want to see the original of the Magla Stone, take a flight back to the United States and go to Washington to the Museum of the Bible.

9. Dead Sea Scrolls Installation Event

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   I was invited there in November, the end of November, to install the Dead Sea Scrolls of the Magla Stone in a very special event.

   A few practical things. This is the only synagogue from the Roman period that has frescoes and mosaics. The rosette mosaic that's there, that's the third of its kind in the country.

   In all the archaeology that has been done. There's one in Herod's palace in Masada. There's one in the high priest's house in Jerusalem, the burned house. And this is the third one in poor little Galilee. Just think about the consequences.

   Okay. So first of all, I'd like to deal with the fact of having a synagogue. There were scholars claiming into the 90s, so that's 30 years ago, that there's no such thing as synagogues until after temple destruction. How significant is that statement for us Christians? Yeah.

   Pretty serious. Because it means that Jesus actually didn't teach in synagogues.

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    Right. Now we have 12. This was number 7. Okay? There's a famous philosophical principle. You cannot argue against facts. Okay? So that's very interesting. Second thing.

    You read Luke chapter 8 verse 3, where Mary Magdalene is mentioned. And it says, these women, in plural, are supporting Jesus from their wealth.

    Now if that's in Herod's palace, and it's in the high priest's house in Jerusalem, and the same type of decoration, frescoes and mosaics, you find in every single room of every palace in Pompeii, which is contemporary, then is Galilee just poor little fishermen and farmers? No.

    Well, at least, let's not exaggerate. Let's do a minimal statement. They are on the way up. They're industrious.

    They're exporting fish to Rome, according to five ancient authors. There's commerce. If you have commerce, most people have a sandwich. Some people have very deep pockets that are overflowing. Look what they have here, 12, 14 years after Jesus.

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    Okay? Thank you. Yeah, I'll have the audio device if you want now. And then the ones who don't have audio device, you're my bodyguards. And you stay close to me to make sure none of these bastards get at me, okay? Okay, so now, this is a very beautiful fact here.

    Many Israelis, when they come here, especially, let's say, professor types and that, they ask kind of academic questions, they say, well, why are you so interested in the synagogue? And I say, well, there's a piece of Jewish literature exactly called the New Testament.

    And there we read that Jesus went on Shabbat to Shabbat from synagogue to synagogue, teaching and healing the sick.

    And this is the first time we have such a synagogue. So a guy was explaining the Jewish side of the synagogue. I think I didn't hear all your explanation, guy. But there's also a huge value for us here as Jesus followers.

12. Crossroads of Jewish and Christian History

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    Okay? And therefore, we have one object, this synagogue, in all its beauty, and two very diverse, interested audiences, stakeholders. So we call it crossroads of Jewish and Christian history.

    It's a place where we encounter each other and learn to respect the claims each other has, the joy each other has, and finding this synagogue. Many people ask me, was Jesus here? I don't know what guy told you, and I don't know what Ulrich told you.

    So I'm just, I don't know what they told you. But what was the question I was asking? I say, I cannot assure you because we lost all the videos.

    So you make up your own mind. Now, if you look at the area beyond the screen, that screen there to protect the fresco from the sun, that's the market area, and it had a second floor part of it, at least.

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    So you're living there 2,000 years ago, and your little grandchild, if I look around, it's mostly grandparents, right? Some parents as well, probably. And your little child comes home, grandchild or child, and out of breath, the 8, 9-year-old boy, what's that? Charlie, Jesus is coming.

    How do you know? Well, we're playing over there, and everybody says, Jesus is coming.

    And you just take like a double take, and you say, go immediately and get your dad, he's down at the port. And then go and get Uncle Zachariah and Auntie Elizabeth and bring them over as well, they're over there. And within 3 or 4 minutes, you guys are sitting down inside our synagogue.

    So don't be looking at me, because Jesus is going to be in there in 5 minutes. Okay?

    So as Jesus is speaking, and you're looking over where Jesus is speaking, not here in this corner,

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    and you're realizing he's making eye contact with people. And for the first time in your life, you're looking into Jesus' eyes, and he's looking into your eyes. And then you notice a question arising in your heart.

    And you know it's coming from him. And after we just say this question, we're going to start walking to our next stop.

    And thanks be to God, it's dry right now. And you have time in silence, walking this ancient place, alongside Jesus, answering the question he just asked you. And the question is very simple. You heard it before. He's asking you personally, what would you like me to do for you now?

    I found my new name. I found that good grace.

    I found that healing. And the tears fell down my face. When I found my beginning. That has no ending. I found that second chance. I found my best friend.

15. Closing Thoughts and Call to Action

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    I found my forgiveness. I found my happiness. I've been singing ever since. I found my freedom in you.

    Thanks for listening to the 4-Freedom Podcast. If you enjoyed our content, do us a favor by liking, subscribing, or sharing our podcast on whichever podcast platform you use. Be sure to join us next time for the 4-Freedom Podcast.

    I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.

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