No Experts Allowed

Jeremiah 31:31-34

In exile, Jeremiah declares that God will make a new covenant and will embed God's teachings inside God's people. The teachings are no longer written on stone tablets or papyri but move wherever people do. Jonathan and Seth discuss how this eliminates barriers between clergy and laity and also affirms human dignity.

Numbers 21:4-9

When the Israelites complain about their conditions wandering in the wilderness, God sends venous snakes among them. To combat these nuisances, Moses constructs a pole with a snake at the end that heals anyone who looks at it after they've been bitten. Later, in Kings, Hezekiah destroys this piece of artwork that people are making sacrifices to. Jonathan and Seth discuss how items may be helpful at one point and later becomes idols.

John 2:13-22

Jesus clears the temple court when he finds it looking more like a market than a sanctuary. This passage is infamous for the "whip of cords" Jesus fashions, which some Christians have cited to justify violence. Jonathan and Seth discuss Jesus' use of the whip and how the temple market exploited people living at the subsistence level. They also wonder how contemporary religious communities create socioeconomic restrictions on attendance.

Mark 8:31-38

When Jesus predicts his coming suffering and death, Peter rebukes him. In response, Jesus quips, "get behind me, Satan!" After this re-Mark-able interaction, Jesus talks about following him and the need to lose one's life to find it. Jonathan and Seth discuss what that might mean today and how this text can be misapplied to people already on the brink of losing their lives and livelihoods.

Psalm 25:1-10

Psalms evidence and form theology. The Israelites sang what they believed and, in turn, believed what they sang. The same is true for psalms and hymnody today. So it is no wonder that images of following God's path are popular. Jonathan and Seth, however, discuss whether there is only one path to follow and how one can decide when to change course.

Mark 9:2-10

Jesus' transfiguration confuses Peter, James, and John. Peter even blurts out that they should immediately build memorials. The story has been equally as confusing to later interpreters. Jonathan and Seth discuss it in light of Jesus' baptism and ask many questions, some of which they answer.

Isaiah 40:21-31

Isaiah proclaims to the exiles in Babylon that no one compares to God. God does not grow weary, while even "young men stumble and fall" (40:30). Seth and Jonathan wonder how this was received. Isaiah's words could be painful for people living under a foreign empire, but the tireless God can also empower people to be tireless in their perseverance.

Galatians 1:11-20

Paul summarizes his résumé for the Galatians. His words, however, irk Seth and Jonathan, who read this section as Paul bragging about himself and his accomplishments. They discuss whether arrogance is humanity’s chief sin and what it looks like to see ourselves as God sees us.

Mark 1:14-20

Jesus calls his disciples and tells them they will be “fishers of men.” The term “evangelizing,” however, often has negative connotations, but Jonathan and Seth hope to reframe, rethink, and reimagine evangelism.

We mention Leonard Sweet’s book Nudge: Awakening Each Other to the God Who’s Already There, which is available from an independent bookseller here.

1 Samuel 3:1-10

Samuel hears God's voice at night, repeatedly mistaking it for Eli's. When Eli realizes God is speaking to Samuel, he tells him to respond to God. Thus begins Samuel's prophetic and administrative duties for Israel. Jonathan and Seth talk about their own call stories, the nudges they've felt pulling them toward ministry, and the grumbles that have pushed them away.