Podcast Summary: The Wake-Up Call

Episode: The Question of All Questions

Host: John David Walt (with David Walt)
Date: February 24, 2026
Theme: Reorienting Life Around Jesus—Exploring the Foundational Question of Faith During Lent

Episode Overview

In this Lenten episode of The Wake-Up Call, host John David Walt invites listeners to move beyond superficial spiritual practices and reflect deeply on Jesus’ most foundational question: “Who do you say I am?” The episode combines personal storytelling, biblical reflection (Mark 8:27–29), practical challenges, and encouragement for deeper intimacy with Jesus. The goal is to evoke a living, personal response rather than a rote answer, as the community journeys toward the cross together.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Rethinking Lent: More Than Giving Up

Opening Humor & Challenge: John begins with light-hearted comments about Taco Tuesday and clarifies his approach to Lent:
- “I’m not giving up anything for Lent. I’m taking up my cross for Lent. And that’s a different kind of thing.” [00:47]
Deeper Focus: Rather than just abstaining from pleasures, John encourages a focus on “who you’re taking up—Jesus.”
- “Turn that focus from what you’re giving up to who you’re taking up.” [01:24]
Invitation: Lent is framed as a season to draw close, likening it to being Zacchaeus climbing to get a glimpse of Jesus or the woman pressing through the crowd:
- “We must have, we must see Jesus. That’s what we’re doing here.” [02:03]

2. The Question of All Questions: Mark 8:27–29

Scripture Focus: The passage where Jesus asks, “Who do people say I am?” and, critically, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?”
- “Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah.’” [05:46]
Contextual Background: John paints the scene at Caesarea Philippi—full of shrines, spiritual activity, and the ancient “Gates of Hades”:
- “Kind of like a national park for religious business.” [06:54]
Personal Story: John recalls teaching his first confirmation class, emphasizing the question as the foundation of their exploration:
- “Write those six words in large, bold letters inside the front cover… That’s the question of all questions.” [08:38]

3. Living With the Question—Not Just Answering It

Challenge Against Pat Answers: John underscores the risk of giving correct but not personally meaningful responses:
- “Do you see how it is possible to get the answer biblically and doctrinally correct and yet still miss the point?” [13:51]
Depth of the Question: He presses listeners to engage honestly—beyond other people’s opinions or inherited teachings:
- “Who am I to you?...Not what do other people say… but you?” [14:26]
The Relational Invitation: Is Jesus a historical figure, a “get out of jail free card,” or “your God?”:
- “Who do you say that I am—really?” [14:56]

4. Prayer & Journal Prompts

Prayer: Thanksgiving for Jesus’ directness and heartfelt questioning, with a plea for deeper revelation:
- “Thank you for caring enough to ask us the question, Who do you say I am? ...We will live with the question in a deeper way.” [12:32]
Reflection Prompts:
- Can you see how it’s possible to get the answer right, yet still miss the point?
- Who do you say Jesus is—truly and personally?

5. Becoming Jesus’s Friend—On Closeness During Lent

Moving Up the Circles: John compares following Jesus to moving from the crowd, to the disciples, to the intimate circle of Peter, James, and John:
- “What we’re trying to do in the days of Lent is get closer in friendship to Jesus.” [16:43]
Reciprocal Friendship: The idea that Jesus is ahead, waiting for each listener to draw near:
- “He’s waiting on us. He’s like, listen, you’re not waiting on me. I’m waiting on you.” [17:13]

Memorable Quotes & Moments (With Timestamps)

“I’m not giving up anything for Lent. I’m taking up my cross for Lent. And that’s a different kind of thing.” — John [00:47]
“Turn that focus from what you’re giving up to who you’re taking up. Jesus.” — John [01:24]
“We must have, we must see Jesus. That’s what we’re doing here.” — John [02:03]
“Who do you say I am?” ... That’s the question of all questions.” — John [05:46, 08:38]
“Do you see how it is possible to get the answer biblically and doctrinally correct and yet still miss the point?” — John [13:51]
“Who am I to you? Don’t go read my about section… Who am I to you?” — John [14:26]
“What we’re trying to do in the days of Lent is get closer in friendship to Jesus.” — John [16:43]
“He’s waiting on us. He’s like, listen, you’re not waiting on me. I’m waiting on you.” — John [17:13]

Notable Segments & Timestamps

Lent Approach & Opening Reflection – [00:00–03:00]
Prayer of Consecration – [03:05–04:50]
Scripture Reading (Mark 8:27–29) – [05:17–05:46]
Confirmation Class Story & The Question of All Questions – [06:30–09:00]
Personal Challenge: Living With the Question – [13:00–15:00]
Journal Prompts – [13:51–15:30]
Song: “There’s Something About That Name” – [17:23–19:18]
Field Team Invitation (Community Involvement) & Closing Remarks – [19:36–22:35]

Tone & Style

The episode maintains a warm, conversational, and authentic tone marked by personal anecdotes, humble inquiry, gentle humor, and heartfelt invitation. John models honest questioning and mutual encouragement, drawing the community into deeper spiritual reflection without pressure or easy answers.

Key Takeaways

Lent is about pursuing deeper intimacy with Jesus, not just temporary self-denial.
Jesus’s question—“Who do you say I am?”—is personal and central; it calls for more than inherited or intellectual answers.
Community is vital; awakening to Jesus happens together, with each person helping others to “wake up and come fully alive in him.”
Singing and simple practices reinforce the journey; sharing the experience (joining the “field team”) is part of spiritual growth.

For Listeners

This episode is an invitation to linger with the foundational question of faith, renew personal relationship with Jesus, and journey with others toward resurrection life—not just in knowledge, but in transformed hearts and lives.

Transcript

A (0:00)

Foreign. Sower nation. It is Tuesday, February 24th, in the year of our Lord 2026. I'm John David Walt, and this is your wake up call. So good morning to you. This will be our first taco Tuesday of the 40 days of Lent. Just so you know, I'm not fasting from tacos. A lot of people, my little Sunday school class, my middle schoolers and high schoolers asked me, like, were you giving up for Lent? I'm like, I'm not giving up anything for Lent. I'm taking up my cross for Lent. And that's a different kind of thing. Lent, you know, over the years has just become reduced to like, can I get through the 40 days without chocolate or coffee or fill in the blank? And if that's what you're doing, I'm not going to knock that. I'm just going to challenge you to turn that focus from what you're giving up to who you're taking up. Jesus. Can we, you know what we're doing in these days of Lent? We're, we're coming out of the crowd, we're coming out of the group, we're coming out of the 12. We're running up to get up into the three, maybe even the one who's right up there next to Jesus. We're trying to get up close as we can to him. We want to be like Zacchaeus climbing that tree or be like that woman pressing through to take his. The hem of his robe. That's a kind of a desperation. We're like, we must have, we must see Jesus. That's what we're doing here. And there's room for all of us. So let's see, where are we today? Hey, a lot of you have commented on my, on my background here. It's changed a little bit. David, y' all know my son David. He's come to work for Seedbed. He's our running our social media. He's doing such a great job. I call him our artist in residence. He, he, he is that. And he pulled together this, this wonderful seed sower over here. Of course, he pulled the motorcycle out for the last one and I don't know, we'll. He told me he filled it with Easter eggs, so we'll just see what happens as we go through Lent. Anyhow, it's time for us to dive in this morning into the prayer of consecration. Wake up, sleeper. Rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. Jesus, I belong to you. I lift up my heart to you. I set my mind on you I fix my eyes on you. I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice. Jesus, we belong to you and we're praying. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Well, today's entry. This is day 6 of 40. Today's entry is entitled the Question of All Questions Jesus Asking. And our text is Mark, chapter 8, verses 27 to 29. Hear now the word of the Lord. Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way, he asked them, who do people say I am? They replied, some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others, one of the prophets. But what about you? He asked. Who do you say I am? Peter answered, you are the Messiah, the word of the Lord. Now consider this. There were six of them. Five girls and one boy. They ranged in age from 12 to 15. We sat around the table on a Sunday morning in a classroom in the Gillette Methodist Church. It was the first day of our first confirmation class, the first one I had ever taught since my own confirmation class many years before. For those unfamiliar, confirmation is a rite of passage where a person, most often a young person, walks through a transformational learning process designed to lead them to an opportunity to give their lives to Jesus Christ, thereby confirming their personal faith in him as Savior and Lord. I didn't start with a curriculum or even much of a plan. I wasn't interested in giving them religious instruction or denominational indoctrination. Those things aren't wrong, of course. But I felt we needed to be far more basic and fundamental. We needed an extended conversation about first things. I passed out six blank moleskin type books journals, designating them as our confirmation journals. I asked this group of young people to open the books and to write on the inside cover in large print, what I called the question of all Questions. The question of all questions, of course, comes from Jesus of Nazareth. It is addressed to every person who ever lived and whoever will live. He asked the question for the first time of his disciples in a place known as Caesarea Philippi, north of Galilee. There is an alternate name for this place. Pan means many, as in many gods. Pan was also home to an ancient shrine known as the Gates of Hades. Here's the scene. The place is crawling with people. They are congregating around this shrine and that one and clustering around this guru and that teacher. It's kind of like a national park for religious business. I picture Jesus disciples gathered around him as they look at this scene. That's the setup for the question of all questions. It wasn't the first question he asked that day, though. Here was the first question. Who do people say I am? They replied. Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah and still others one of the prophets. Then he dropped the mother of all questions on them. But what about you? Who do you say I am? So I said to my first ever confirmation class, the five girls and one boy seated around the table. Write those six words in large, bold letters inside the front cover of your confirmation journal. That's the question of all questions and the focus of our class over these next months. And now I say it to you as we walk these 40 days of Lent together with Jesus to the cross. But what about you? He asked Jesus asking, who do you say I am? Let's pray. Our Father, thank you for your son Jesus and Lord Jesus, thank you for cutting to the chase. Thank you for speaking plainly and from your heart to ours. Mostly, thank you for caring enough to ask us the question, who do you say I am? We don't want to give you a pat answer. We will live with the question in a deeper way. Come, Holy Spirit, and grant us a fresh revelation that we might make a real response. Praying in your name, Jesus. Amen. Amen. Our journal prompts today. You know, when we're praying, guys, I feel that. I feel you praying with me. I feel us praying. We're talking to him. He's here. We're meeting with Jesus. You know, that's what the wake up call is. It's a meeting with Jesus in the word of God. I don't know, just felt like maybe I need to remind you of that, what we're doing here. My kids, you know, when they were growing up, people would ask them, like, what does your dad do? They would say, he writes devotions. Come on, guys. And you know, I thought. I think about that a lot. What am I doing here? And here's what I. Here's what I'm doing. I'm trying to help you wake up to Jesus. Right? That's it. And I feel like you're doing the same with me. You're trying to help me wake up to Jesus. Because if we can wake up, if we can really come awake and alive, It'll all go from there. Because he's the one leading it. I'm not the leader. He's the leader. We're all gathering around him. We're trying to help each other wake up to Jesus and stay awake to him and come fully alive in him and then become like, actively moving in him, in the world. It's the whole thing. It's. It's all. It's. It's him. It's him. Journal prompts today. You ready? This is a good one. Do you see how it is possible to get the answer biblically and doctrinally correct and yet still miss the point? How might that be avoided? Who do you say that I am? I mean, there. There's like a Sunday school answer to that. Yeah, it's. It's not wrong. There's a lot of right answers, but they're not really. It's like he's saying, who am I to you? Don't, don't. Don't go read my about section on my website. Don't look at my link in bio. Who am I to you? Am I a historical figure? I asked my church on Sunday, my histor, who is Jesus to you? You? Not what do other people say? Not what do your mom and dad say? Not what do your friends say? Not what does your preacher say? You know, that was the first question. Who do people say that I am? Doesn't even matter. What about you? He's saying it's just a question of all questions. And this is why I want us to sit with this question and not just give a pat answer. That's. That's correct, but not real to us. Who am I to you? He's saying, am I just a important historical figure? Am I a concept? Am I your sort of get out of jail free card, your ticket to heaven card? Your. Am I here just to kind of help you get through the hard places in life and you take it from there? Who am I? Or am I your God? Your God? Who do you say that I am, really? All right, you ready to sing today? All right, everybody, we. We're ready to sing today. And here we are in the early days of the season of Lent. We're on our way to the cross. We may have been this way before, but we've never been this way this time. And there's always more today. Dad, tell them what we're going to sing.