Ep 1257 | Phil Always Fell Prey to One Particular Bribe & How Self-Help Culture Actually Hurts Us

Summary

Unashamed with the Robertson Family

Episode: 1257 | “Phil Always Fell Prey to One Particular Bribe & How Self-Help Culture Actually Hurts Us”
Date: January 28, 2026
Hosts: Jason (Jase) Robertson, Al Robertson, Zach Dasher
Special Mention: Stories about Phil Robertson, Burley, and the Robertson family’s faith journey
Key Scripture: 1 John (with extended discussions on Hebrews, Genesis 14, and Psalm 110)

---

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode is a deep dive into the book of 1 John, focusing on its practical implications for believers. The Robertsons draw rich connections between Old Testament imagery (especially the priesthood and temple language) and the atoning, interceding work of Jesus as explained in Hebrews. The episode wrestles with the meaning of Christ’s ongoing role “at the right hand of God,” the significance of the Melchizedek priesthood, and how “self-help” culture fares against the gospel. The hosts also sprinkle in classic Robertson family tales, hunting analogies, and commentary on how biblical truths center the Christian life.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Duck Season Stories & Bribes that Worked (00:17–07:25)

• Jase shares the chaos of late duck season—sleeplessness, strategizing, and changing tactics with low water levels.
• The group recalls a humorous, classic story from their past: Phil Robertson’s friend’s father earned a permanent spot in Phil’s duck blind by bribing him with a whole ham every day for two weeks.
  • Jase: “After two weeks of it, you... get off the ham.” (05:12)
  • Al: “I’d have said, get off the ham. And we want roast beef tomorrow.” (05:15)
• The story parallels the Israelites complaining about manna in Exodus.
• Jase recounts a recent “hunting shell game” where sometimes unexpected strategies and locations pan out best, tying it to “you never know” philosophy from their dad, Phil.

2. Deep Dive in 1 John and Hebrews — Jesus Our Advocate (07:25–14:20)

• They begin to explore the theological question: What does it mean that Jesus is “speaking in our defense at the right hand of God”?
  • Jase connects this to Hebrews, emphasizing Jesus as the perfect and perpetual sin offering and high priest—His death and ongoing heavenly ministry ensure believers’ access to God.
    • Jase: “He's our sin offering, not only on the cross, but in the presence of God... to make this access possible.” (02:16–03:19)

3. The Priesthood, The Tabernacle & Melchizedek (14:20–26:27)

• The hosts unpack the Old Testament “temple language,” describing the tabernacle/temple, the Holy of Holies, and the role of the high priest (17:13–19:32).
• Al explains the priest's duties with vivid imagery—outdoor courtyards, lampstands, altars—then pivots to Melchizedek in Genesis 14 as a prefigurement of Christ.
  • Al: “Thinking about... the construction of the tabernacle… it's not laborious if you actually know what you're reading.” (17:13)
• The group jokes about “Who is Melchizedek?” T-shirts and cultural references like “Vote for Pedro” and Napoleon Dynamite (21:46–24:40).
• Jason marvels at Jesus being a priest “in the order of Melchizedek”—not from hereditary lines, but by “the power of an indestructible life.”
  • Jase: “This is who I'm following... He's indestructible. He has an indestructible life.” (25:22)

4. Jesus’ Unique Qualification as High Priest (26:27–39:18)

• The hosts connect the permanence of Christ’s priesthood to the reason Christians trust Him for salvation:
  • Jase: “Because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save forever those who come to God through him.” (37:33)
• Al spotlights how people mistakenly expect a future permanent temple in Jerusalem, missing the point that Christians “are the living stones, the portal is here.”
  • Al: "We are the living stones, the permanent structure. The forever has begun... The portal is here.” (39:12)

5. Substitution, Atonement, and Self-Help Culture (39:20–46:45)

• The group discusses arguments swirling in theology about whether Christ’s blood is truly efficacious or just symbolic. Al critiques the “self-help” approach, especially the message of empowering oneself rather than depending on Christ’s atoning work.
  • Al: “If I'm coming into the relationship of righteousness by my own merit, it's actually not going to work. My conscience at the end of the day is just not... pure enough.” (44:39)
• They affirm that Jesus’ priesthood, as prefigured by Melchizedek, is the true and final answer for sin.
• The “new and living way” opened by Christ is underscored as the antidote to mere self-empowerment and repetitive religion. (48:20)

6. Confidence, Cleansing, Atonement, and Living Out the Gospel (44:00–53:45)

• The hosts discuss Hebrews' references to confidence:
  • Al: “Now there's a way, this is the way that we can have confidence to enter the most holy place.”
• They contrast the “undoing” effect of Old Testament rituals (which leave the conscience unchanged) versus the assurance provided through Jesus.
  • Jase follows up with Hebrews 10:
    • Jase: “Therefore, brother, since we have confidence to enter the most holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way...” (48:20)
• The discussion traces the thread of blood atonement from Abel (blood crying out for vengeance) to Christ (blood crying out for forgiveness and atonement).
  • Al: “What Christ’s blood cries out is not vengeance. Christ’s blood cries out atonement, forgiveness, covering.” (51:44)
• The episode culminates with a practical push: Because of what Jesus has done, Christians are not only forgiven but also called to love each other, echoing the message of 1 John.
  • Jase: “...should affect how you function on earth with your fellow man in every capacity, in every relationship.” (53:45)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On endurance and humility in hunting and faith:
  • “Sometimes the last thing you think would work... is what you should do. You're like, we have no hope right here. But...new ducks appeared.” — Jase (07:16)
• On the “indestructible life” of Jesus:
  • “You have a historical document of a person, evidence overwhelming, who was on the planet, who's indestructible. You can participate in this!” — Jase (26:02)
• On biblical atonement vs. self-help:
  • “At the end of the day, you know your own heart... If I'm coming into the relationship of righteousness by my own merit... it's not going to work.” — Al (44:39)
• On Melchizedek as a Christ figure:
  • “When we connect Christ with Melchizedek, we're saying that Christ is not only a priest, he's a king, just like Melchizedek.” — Al (41:57)
• On loving one another in light of Christ:
  • “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” — Jase (52:44)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Duck Season Stories: 00:17–07:25
• Jesus as Advocate (Hebrews/1 John): 08:00–14:20
• Tabernacle & Melchizedek Deep Dive: 14:20–26:27
• Jesus’ Indestructible Priesthood: 26:27–39:18
• Atonement vs. Self-Help: 39:20–46:45
• Blood, Confidence, and Love: 44:00–53:45
• Practical Application from 1 John: 52:00–53:45

---

Tone & Style

• Warm, candid, and humorous, blending theological depth with relatable analogies and “Robertson-style” storytelling.
• Intimate, as if listeners are joining the hosts in their living room after a long hunt.

---

Final Thoughts

This episode delivers both a rich, multi-layered Bible study—a hallmark of the Robertsons—and practical wisdom for Christ-centered living. It highlights the limitations of self-empowerment and external religion, rooting all hope and confidence in what Christ has accomplished as the permanent, indestructible high priest. Their call: Receive the forgiveness and access Jesus offers... and let it overflow in genuine love for others.

Transcript

[Jason]

I am unashamed. What about you?

[Zach]

Welcome back to Unashamed.

[Jason]

We.

[Zach]

We are heavy in our study in first. John. We're deep, deep into the words.

[Jason]

We've gone deep. We. But we've, we've taken some time outs to try to make this practical. Yeah, from time to time. But it's also duck season and we're, we're getting toward the end of duck season, which means I'm sleeping.

[Zach]

It's like sometimes Zach and I worry about your state of mind during these late weeks of duck season.

[Al]

Well, he brags about getting up early, but that he often leaves out the fact that he takes a four hour nap every day.

[Jason]

I only take four hour naps when my wife goes out of town because then there's nobody to wake me up.

[Al]

When you get out of duck season, do you take four hour naps or.

[Jason]

Get back to only a duck season does that? I take a one hour nap. I get about five to seven hours a night and then I take a one hour nap. So now I feel like we're getting to know each other today.

[Zach]

Getting to know.

[Jason]

So I had this, you know, it's duck season turns into. Especially when you have low water like we do this year. It's like a shell game. You're trying to figure out where to go, when to go, because you got multiple places and you spend a lot of time thinking about these things. And so today I zigged when I should have zagged because in our time, we did podcasts yesterday. Now that means nothing to people who are listening to my voice because they're throwing podcasts out at various times and places. So don't get all wigged out that, you know, oh, this, this. I thought last week he was over there. Well, probably so, you know, in the.

[Zach]

Unashamed world, what he's saying is, audiences, the time continuity means nothing.

[Jason]

So it means nothing. We're. We're in a portal now. Now, see, See how I segued that?

[Zach]

Nice segue.

[Jason]

There's a. Because time stands still when it's not live, you can then insert it back in time. Kind of like Jesus, death, burial, and resurrection. It goes backwards, forwards, and forevermore. Which is what I got distracted reading this text because at some point we were making this connection. What does it mean that we have one speaking in our defense at the right hand of God, Jesus Christ, the righteous one. So we went back to Hebrews and we started looking because that seems to emphasize what Jesus is doing at the right hand of God. And it kind of frames it around as, like, he's our sin offering, not only on the cross, but in the presence of God as a human, as a perfect human who died for the sins of all the other humans to make this access possible. Did I accurately depict that?

[Al]

Yeah, I think so.

[Jason]

So this is concrete what I was making the illustration about the duck season. My point was, I went yesterday before podcast, and we shot 12 ducks, but they were quality mallards and teal. So I was fired up. And after the podcast, well, I went back, well, guess what? Zero. Nothing came. So old Burley is in town. Longtime friend. I worked with Burley when I was in my early 20s, when he first came to the Lord. And his dad and my dad were friends. And his dad famously got a place in the blind with my dad because for 14 days in a row, he brought a ham, a whole ham, an entire ham to my dad's door. And my dad, he would see that because he came bringing gifts. And my dad, the first time he did it, he said, so, I guess you want to go duck hunting with me? And he's like, yes, sir. But he had that ham. And my dad said, you know what? You're in. Now, the funny part of that story is, so then the next day, he woke up and brought another ham and got in the duck blind. But after two weeks of this, he came up, he's like, well, you have another ham. And my dad said, hey, you can hunt with me, but let's get off the ham.

[Al]

I mean, because, I mean, a ham, a whole ham. You can't eat a whole ham.

[Jason]

Well, no, the hams were being eaten.

[Zach]

Look, we had a big family bath.

[Jason]

Well, and the blind's full, and you're sitting there. Back then, we hunted all day.

[Al]

So y' all ate the whole. Yeah. You're eating a ham a day, a ham a day.

[Jason]

But after two weeks of it, you.

[Al]

Kind of like that.

[Jason]

Yeah, get off the ham.

[Al]

I would. I'd have said, get off the ham. And we want roast beef tomorrow.

[Jason]

I think I'm making this story up. But that was true. That is. That is true.

[Zach]

And it reminds me of the verse back. Back in Exodus, when the people were complaining because they only got mana. They were like, oh, if we were still in Egypt, we could eat some meat. And God said, okay, I'm going to send you some quail, and I'm going to send you so many. That's going to come out of your nostrils. That was the way it was framed. This is a ham nostril.

[Jason]

So fast forward to today now Both our dads have gone on to be with the Lord. And so Burley, he's like, well, you mind if I go hunting tomorrow? Because now he's down there. He lives in Colorado, but he's down there. And I said, I can't.

[Zach]

He's got some property.

[Jason]

He's got some property. Yeah. I said, I can't go tomorrow because if I keep doing this, I will. I'm just gonna pass out. I mean, when you think about it, if you go hunting before podcast, then go hunting till dark and then try to repeat that, well, you're just worn out. I mean, there's too much going on.

[Zach]

The brain only has so much bandwidth, Jason.

[Jason]

And I was thinking, here was my logic. We did not fire our guns. When I went back that evening, I was like, they're gone. So here's what my thinking was. I said, yep, you can go hunting, but you have to hunt this spot. And he's like, oh, okay, great. You know, we shot 12 duck. Because I was thinking, well, we just hunted four hours in the afternoon, and there's nothing here. So guess what happens this morning? I didn't go. I slept. Got me some rest. Oh, yeah, him and his nephew. Full limits of mallards and gadwalls. I'm like, wait, what? What just happened here? Sometimes the last thing you think would work. That's why I said, it's like a shell game. Yeah, is. Is what you should do. You're like, we have no hope right here. But it's. That was his only seat. And guess what? New ducks appeared. So I got slicked.

[Zach]

I slick myself, James. Me not being there, but me being a lifetime observant of Burley. Me being a lifetime observant of Burley and his hunting acumen for them to get full limits. Unless the nephew really knows something or.

[Jason]

Is a savant novice hunter. I thought the same thing. So he's telling me this, and I was like, it's not that I don't believe you, but I'm going to need to see it. So proof of death. He fired the picture. And I thought, okay, this is too many to fly by and have a heart attack right in his decoys. So somehow a guy and his nephew not known for their shooting ability or their calling. Now, I will say this. So Burley, he. We have a mallard drake call that my dad invented. That's probably one of the greatest selling calls in the history of the world. Burley is the greatest mallard drake caller in the world, in my opinion. He has a deep voice And I met Duck Commander. And I don't see a mallard Drake. I would. I would give you an illustration. No, those are all hen calls. Oh, no, we have one. Look. Breaking news. I see one part of the set is becoming a part of the podcast.

[Zach]

Stand by, right next to Phil's Bible.

[Al]

I guess it was off, off camera.

[Zach]

So 2025 was a big year for me because I turned 60, I was very much overweight, and I tried to do a little 60 by 60. That was an abject failure. And so I came across, thanks to Zach, some good friends of our podcast now PhD weight loss, and Dr. Ashley Lucas, who is the founder of this fantastic diet program. And I started it in January, 2025. Now here we are, 2026, and not only am I 60 pounds lighter, I am 80 pounds lighter. Here's a picture of me if you're watching this on YouTube at the beginning of the journey. And here I am now. And it's been fantastic. And it's more than just simply counting calories. Your body's much more complicated than that. So you got to figure out, ignite this fat burning mechanism. Once it happens, you'll lose the weight. You won't have the. The skin that's saggy. You'll actually look good doing it, which really was a surprise to me. It's changed my life in a lot of great ways, and not just feeling better, but also off meds, off a CPAP machine, and able to just do a lot more. So if you want to understand why your body isn't cooperating, I want you to call PhD weight loss now and mention Fix My Weight Loss. To unlock our New Year's special, you book your consultation. It's free, it's personalized, and it could explain everything. Call 864-644-1900 and say fix my weight loss. That's 864-644-1900. Or visit my PhD weight loss dot com. Tell them that Al sent you.

[Jason]

Okay, so this will be fun. So. So my dad invented this. And all it is, this invention is pretty cool, is a whistle. If you just blow air into it, it sounds just like a green winged teal Drake. That's a green winged teal Drake. But if you put your hand over the end of the call and you hum a low bass note and put this in your lips, watch what happens. And then you just sound like a Drake.

[Zach]

That is a mallard Drake.

[Jason]

And you can sound like a few of them, like, happy. So Burley has perfected this. And what's Funny about this. When we started selling this. Well, some guys are tenors. So, you know, Al, I mean, if they're talking like this. Hey, man, what's going on?

[Zach]

Well, when Tommy Emmanuel and Richard Anderson.

[Jason]

Yeah. When they hum a low bass note, it's like, that's as low as they can go. So then they buy one and they go. And there's a tree frog.

[Zach]

That would be. Zach.

[Jason]

You can go out about the tree frogs. It will excite tree frogs. And you can have a conversation with tree frogs, if you're into that. But. So there's.

[Zach]

There's.

[Jason]

That was a funny thing, because you can't change your voice. So they'd call in. They were like, I just can't get this thing to sound right. And my dad would be like, well, you need to find somebody with a low voice.

[Zach]

Gotta get baritone or a bat. I'm a pretty good. I'm pretty good on a Drake call because I got a pretty deep voice as well.

[Jason]

So I asked.

[Zach]

Burley's the best, though. You're right.

[Jason]

But. So he said he blew the Drake call. And I was like, well, then I've seen a shooting for 30 years. So I'm like, how is it possible? And I said, barely. I have a question for you. He said, what's that? I said. Because then I called him. I said, did these ducks light in the decoys and y' all shot them on the water? He went, yep. So then it all made sense. But it told me then that it was new ducks.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[Jason]

So isn't that funny that two guys go out there, hunt a place? We hunted the day before? There's no ducks. New ducks came down. All they did was just that little drake call. And they're now. I put the decoy spread out because we left it. I left the spread. I'm taking partial credit for that. And those ducks just came right down in their decoys and lit, and they shot them. And now they're going to have duck for supper. So I think that's.

[Zach]

Well, you mentioned. You mentioned dear old dad. That was why he always wanted to be in the blind during duck season as much as possible. Because you never know that that was the key phrase.

[Jason]

I. When he told me that story, and look, I wasn't. I'm the type of person at this stage of my duck hunting career, I was really happy for them. I thought, that is really. He got his nephew there. They had a wonderful hunt. And I would have never gone there because those four hours yesterday said, we need to get out of Here. But I didn't factor in new ducks. New ducks.

[Zach]

You never know.

[Jason]

You never know. So al, the verse I was mystified about when we were going through Hebrews. And I think, if you remember, we went through. I think we went through Hebrews chapter 1:1 through 4. We actually did a whole series of podcasts on Hebrews somewhere out there.

[Zach]

Yeah, we got to the last one, at least in my notes, was 4, 14, 16.

[Jason]

We went through that which is very powerful, that we may approach the throne of grace with confidence. Yeah. And so we talked about his humanity. So when you get to what was the next one in line?

[Zach]

6:19 is what I.

[Jason]

Okay, so I was. Well, that's perfect. That's where I was headed. The one in chapter seven is the one I was going to point out. And just remember, we're trying to wrap our heads around First John 2, verse 1 and 2. So 6:19 says, we have this hope. Now, this is in the context, remember when. When he says there's two impossible things or two. Let me start over. There's two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie. And then he never says what the other thing is like directly. Which I think we talked about this when we went through Hebrews, but His nature doesn't change. And so then it says, we have this hope. So God, he's faithful. We can trust Him. He can't lie. His plan is what it is. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. But watch why he gives the reason for this hope, wherein we know that whatever God says is true, he can't lie. And it's going to happen. It says it enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.

[Zach]

Whoa. That's a huge statement.

[Al]

That's temple language.

[Jason]

It's temple language. So we did this whole thing about Jacob and anointing the place where this encounter with God, the presence of God. But you also see high priests encountering the presence of God in the tabernacle. We have this little mobile heaven and earth portal. And so now he's taking what happened in Jewish history and making that a reality available to all. 1 John 2:1:2. Not only for our sin, but it's available for everyone. And he's using that language, this curtain between heaven and earth, humans and God. And it's now been given to us through Jesus for our behalf.

[Al]

Yeah, I mean, it's interesting when you think about that. I mean, the images that pop up in my mind are the construction of the tabernacle. I mean, thinking about. Cause I preached on this at our church and actually went through all of those details because it's not laborious if you actually know what you're reading, but it seems laborious as you're reading the details of the, the construction of the tabernacle, which was a, you know, again, that was the mobile temple that Solomon later built a permanent structure called the Temple. But that, that idea that. And I actually showed a model on our screen of what that would look like. So it was like a big yard. Got a big yard. And it's got, it's fenced in, like a fence. And you go in and they have different sections in there. And then there's like a tent inside there. The tent, like, which was the tabernacle. And so you go through, you walk into the tent. So you get your outer courtyard, then you get your, you get into the tent. When you walk in the tent, what you have is the holy place. And you've got. I believe you had the. On the left, I think, I'm trying to remember. I think you have the lampstand, and on the right you have the table of the bread. And then right at the back towards the curtain, you have the altar of incense. And so the priest, he goes in and he makes the sacrifices and he does all the applications. And then he does the, the incense altar where the burns up to God.

[Jason]

Then he, then he, then he goes.

[Al]

Back into the next section of the tent, which is, which is behind that curtain. And so that's what he's talking about here in Hebrews 6 behind that curtain. That's where the holy of holies is. That's, that's the, that's where it's at. That's where God's presence is at. And so he goes in there, and that's the Ark of the Covenant is inside there with the mercy seat on top of it. And you got the two cherubim guarding it, which is. We've said this on the podcast before, which is a picture of the Tree of Life. And so that's where that's happening. So when you're reading that, I'm thinking about that. But you got to keep in mind that all of that happened with Moses. There was biblical history before Moses, right? You had Abraham was before Moses. And Abraham ran into a priest whose name was Melchizedek. And Abraham actually tithed to Melchizedek.

[Jason]

So let's get into that. Let's get into that. Because then when he goes to Chapter.

[Zach]

Six, that's the next chapter.

[Jason]

Just hang on right there because that was a good lead in and then you can continue. So when he gets to Melchizedek, he said, because Jesus, that's where. 6, 20, that's where that goes. It says where Jesus who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest who. Here's the key word. Forever.

[Al]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Jason]

In the order of Melchizedek. So you're like, well, who in the world is Melchizedek? That would, wouldn't that be a great thing just to go street, preach and just go and say, who is Melchizedek?

[Al]

So I'm telling you right now, one of the things I cherish most in this life, and I'm not kidding when I tell you this, is good sheets and good blankets and good pajamas. And that's why I'm so excited to tell you about our friends at Cozy Earth. Cozy Earth helps turn those simple moments at home into opportun to feel cared for and comforted. They're all about bringing just a little bit of indulgence into everyday life. We all have Cozy Earth stuff. We got the Cozy Earth bamboo pajamas. Jace, I think your whole family's got a set of those, right?

[Jason]

Oh, Missy's been shopping Cozy Earth for years and several times she's got our entire family matching pajamas.

[Al]

And of course we all know about the bubble cuddle blanket. I have that. I'm not kidding when I tell you this. I sleep with this blanket every night, especially in those cold winter nights like what we're in right now. Cozy Earth makes every day feel like a special occasions. So whether you're shopping for yourself or somebody else, Cozy Earth will not disappoint you. And they have a 10 year warranty and a 100 night trial. So you really can't go wrong. There's no way you're going to want to return these. These viral PJs are so good that they sold out during the holiday season. And so now they're back with an exclusive deal only available January 25th through February 8th. So head over to cozyearth.com and use our promo code UNASHAMED BOGO to get these PJs for you and somebody that you love. And if you get a post purchase survey, be sure to mention that you heard about Cozy Earth right here on the unashamed podcast. That's cozyearth.com code unashamed bogo. Celebrate everyday love with comfort. That makes the little moments count.

[Jason]

Who is Melchizedek well, he's a strange.

[Al]

Figure in the Bible because there's not a whole lot written about it. I mean, like. But he's like a key. He's like this key figure, but you're like, that's it.

[Zach]

And it's like two verses.

[Al]

Any more detail?

[Jason]

You talking about a shirt? That's a T shirt. You don't have a conversation starter.

[Al]

Yeah.

[Jason]

Who is Melchizedek? People? Because people like, who is Melchizedek? Because I like the idea, because it would get people. It's going to lead to the guy who came in the order of Melchizedek, which is a guy named Jesus who claimed to be both God and man.

[Zach]

Jayce. It would be our version of 6, 7. You know, all the kids got this 6, 7 thing on the Internet, which means nothing, by the way, but it's everywhere. What if we could get everywhere with who is Mocketh?

[Jason]

I don't know what the 6, 7 was talking about.

[Zach]

It doesn't mean anything.

[Jason]

But it reminded me of when they wore the shirt to who is Pedro? You know? Yeah, that was. No, no, not who is Pedro? Vote for Pedro. Vote for Pedro.

[Al]

You didn't know what it was until you watched the movie.

[Zach]

You didn't know who it was after. Watch.

[Jason]

I still don't know who it is.

[Al]

You missed that cultural moment.

[Jason]

I missed the cultural moment, but I thought. Yeah, I was thinking, who is Pedro? They're like, both are Pedro. I was like, well, who is Pedro? But it got me. I don't. I don't know anybody.

[Al]

So, you know, you got to start with that. You got to start with Napoleon Dynamite and. Yeah, that we got to read.

[Jason]

See, I'm always. I'm always scared to, like, do an Internet search over things. I don't know.

[Al]

You would like the film because you like Nacho. Don't you like Nacho Libre?

[Jason]

That movie? No, no. I love that one. Yeah.

[Al]

If you like Nacho Libre, I feel like. If you like Nacho Libre. I feel like that. I liked it.

[Jason]

Yeah. I liked it for what it was. It was. Yeah, but clean. It was clean.

[Zach]

We grew up loving wrestling, so that, well, tapped into something with us.

[Jason]

Yeah. I think once you buy into this is the most ridiculous thing I've ever watched, you'll find it funny. Well, then you go in there.

[Al]

Napoleon Dynamites more ridiculous, I think, than Nacho Libre. So it's a little. You got.

[Jason]

I know who Napoleon Dynamite is since then, because some of my kids through the years, we, you know, they did the. What do you call Them. The little gift meme things.

[Zach]

Yeah.

[Jason]

You know, and the guy, he did the dance and. Which I thought was pretty funny. I actually did my version of that at some point. I did a Napoleon Dynamite dance. But I never made the connection that. That had something to do with Pedro. So this is.

[Al]

Pedro is a character in the movie.

[Jason]

So that's makes more sense now. Okay.

[Al]

Yeah.

[Jason]

All right.

[Al]

Back to back. But back to Melchizedek.

[Jason]

Melchizedek. But here's the difference. So. So then verse 15 of chapter 7. Now we're skipping through this just for time. And what we have said is even more clear. If another priest like Melchizedek appears, one who has become a priest, not on the basis of a regulation or to his ancestry. So Jesus and Melchizedek had some similarities there with their ancestry being a little bit. Not from a place unknown. Yeah, yeah. Or not reputable.

[Al]

Right.

[Jason]

Or established. But it says not. Not on the basis of that. Here this verse is fire. But on the basis, talking about Jesus, of the power of an indestructible life. I mean, the first time I read that, I thought, this is. This is who I'm following. You know why I'm following him? He's indestructible. He has an indestructible life, which goes in with how John started in 1st John 1:1:4. This life of life. The word of life. He's indestructible. That's a word we only fantasize about in all Hollywood, you know, all these movies where these people are indestructible. Oh, it just makes me sick. We. You have a historical document of a person, evidence overwhelming who was on the planet, who's indestructible. I'm like, you can participate in this. Come on. Enough with your spider man and Superman.

[Zach]

There's you another T shirt, though. What if on the front of your T shirt it said, I'm living the indestructible life? Because in essence, that's what this text is saying.

[Jason]

Right? Yeah, I'm getting sidetracked. So then he goes on to your. To. To the point. So he. So he gets down to verse 22 of chapter 7. Well, well, I want to get into Psalm 110 so that he quotes that. We have to read Psalm 110. So it says. And verse 20. And it was not without an oath. And this goes back to these unchangeable things about God. He can't lie. He tells you a promise, it's going to happen. But he became a priest with an Oath when God said to him, the Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. So there's your two things that are unchangeable. When God says something, he's not going to change his mind about it. You are a priest forever. Well, that's a quote from Psalm 110. And you're like, what does this have to do with First John 2:1. Everything Psalm 110 says, the Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. That's how the psalm starts. Who's the person, the sitting at the right hand? That's where we started. Hebrews 1. What's he doing there? Yeah, so. But watch. What Psalm 110. It's a short psalm. I want to read it. The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion. This Zion keeps coming up. And you'll see why when we get to the end of Hebrews, you will rule in the midst of your enemies. Well, that sounds like what's going on now. Jesus is king of kings at the right hand of God, and he's ruling until he makes his enemies his footstool. Your troops will be willing on your day of battle, arrayed in holy majesty. From the womb of the dawn, you will receive the dew of your youth. Or some. There's a different translation. There is. Your young men will come to you like the dew the Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. So now how David knew this psalm, I mean, knew this story, and then the Hebrew writer taps into it. It's the Holy Spirit of God putting this all together for us.

[Al]

Well, I mean, Melchizedek is a key figure in the Bible. But to the point we said earlier, there's not a lot written about him. But listen to this, because if you think about what have we been talking about on this podcast for a long time, it's the idea that Jesus gave us in his prayer when he said, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So if you think about, like, for us, what does it mean? We've really emphasized the connection of heaven and earth. So when you go back to Melchizedek, how he fits into this whole story. Go back to Genesis 14. I wanted to read a few of these verses only. There's about five verses. But Abraham had just. Or Abram at this point. He hadn't become Abraham yet. He's Abram and he has a battle. He wins the battle he comes back and then this Melchizedek shows up in verse 18 of Genesis 14. And Melchizedek, who was the king of Salem, which was probably Jerusalem, he brought out bread and wine. He was a priest of God Most High. So he's in the. He prefigures Christ, obviously, but that's one distinction that he holds that Christ will also embody which He's a priest and a king. And the Hebrew writer points this out. He was a priest of the God Most High, and he blessed him and said, listen to the blessing. Blessed be Abram, by God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies in your hands. And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. So whoever this figure is, Abram is tithing to him. And the King of Sodom said to Abram, give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself. But Abram said to the King of Sodom, I have lifted my hand to the Lord God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich. I will take nothing but the young men, but what the young men have eaten and share of the men who went with me. And then it kind of ends there. But I mean, that's really all there is in scripture about this guy, this declaration and the blessing of the God who is God of heaven and earth. And then he gives this blessing to Abraham, and Abraham is thankful. So the first time I got a term life insurance policy, Al, was when we had our first child, Layla. I don't know about you. When was the first time that you purchased a term life insurance policy?

[Zach]

You know, actually one was purchased for me by a guy we've mentioned on the podcast before, Burley's dad, who was selling insurance. And he did it when I was a very young man as a way to help me get started. And I'll never forget how much that meant to me. It's always been a big blessing.

[Al]

Well, it's a big deal. You know, I thought about what happens if I die. What who's going to take care of my brand new wife and a brand new baby. I wanted to make sure they were taken care of, so I went ahead and got a term life insurance policy. I'm a big believer in this. I think that every family should have one. And I want to tell you about Fabric by Gerber Life, which is a term life insurance that you can get done today. It's made for busy parents just like you. It's all online, all on your schedule, right from your couch. You can be covered in under 10 minutes with no health exam required. So if you got kids, and especially if you're young and healthy, now's the time to lock in your low rates. Even if you have life insurance, by the way through like your employer, it may not be enough protection for your family and it may not follow you if you leave your job. So join the thousands of parents who trust fabric to protect their family. Apply today in just [e-mail] unashamed that's meetfabric.com unashamed M E-E-T fabric.com unashamed Policies issued by Western Southern Life Assurance Company not available in certain states. Prices are subject to underwriting and health questions.

[Jason]

Well, and I want to read the last two verses of this psalm. It says, the Lord is at your right hand. He will crush kings on the day of his wrath. Revelation 1:5 says that same thing. He's the ruler of the kings of the earth. I'm not sure why we're not talking about this. He's ruling in the midst of his enemies. And guess what?

[Al]

Which had just happened in Genesis. That's what happened in Genesis 14 before Abram has this encounter with Melchizedek. He had just defeated kings, other kings.

[Jason]

And this goes back to this priest and king them being anointed. Remember we went through the whole anointing thing and somebody asked me the other day, why do you call yourself a Christian? And of course, I was like, well, I follow Jesus. He is the Christ. It's not his name. That's a title. I think it's used like most people when they hear the word Jesus Christ. You only hear that in the world when someone's using it as a. Yeah. Expletive. They're like, well, that's his last name. It's. No, that's a. The Christ is a title meaning the anointed one. Yeah.

[Zach]

The Messiah.

[Jason]

Yeah. And so that's the rabbit hole I went down. Because they were like, no, that word's just, you know, that didn't come till wherever the first time where they were called Christians.

[Al]

Yeah.

[Jason]

In Antioch. I was like, but, well, what is Christians? I was like, well, we're the anointed ones. Like, what? They're like, well, how are you anointed? I said, well, the Holy Spirit member went, how was Jesus anointed? This was the conversation which it was an interesting debate. They had a problem with Something I was saying and I wasn't sure what it was. But after this was over, guess what? It was crickets. Because I thought, this is what the Bible says. We have the same spirit of him who raised him from the dead. Romans 8, 11. Now, however you want to use it, fine. We're not an anointing culture now, but they were. They would put oil on people's heads, and it was a designation of trusting in God and those kind of things. And these priests and kings speaking on behalf of, for the people in the presence of God. So it makes this more sense when you read First John, seeing how we've now been included in that we're sharing this spirit, this unity in the Spirit. So verse five says, lord is your right hand. He will crush kings on the day of his wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. If they don't put their trust in Jesus, which it's available for even them, this is not going to end well for them. And I think even the world doesn't have a good argument outside of Jesus how to extend life or find true meaning in life. But then it says, the one who grants succession will set him in authority. Therefore he will lift up his head. And remember that whole story In Genesis 28, Jacob goes back and he sees the Ladder and there's a head up in heavens, as in contrast to which he called Bethel the house of God, in contrast to Babel, which is the gods, the portal to the gods. And so I think you see that. And he's quoting that here in Hebrews, when he says that in Hebrews chapter seven, having said all that, when you get to how this applies practically, when you get to verse 23 of chapter 7 of Hebrews, it says, now there have been many of those priests since death prevented them from continuing in office. That was the problem. Even if you had a good representative for the people who was designated to have this encounter with God, well, what happens when they die? Well, then you get his son or whatever. It's passed on, like in Kings or. Well, that's not a good game to be playing. What if his son didn't even believe in God or whatever? But because now here's what we want to focus on. But because Jesus, and here's his word again, lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save forever or completely those who come to God through him. And here's the little phrase that makes all this make sense, because he always lives. He always lives to Intercede for them. He's speaking on our defense. He is interceding on our behalf. Well, where is this taking place? Taking place right now at the right hand of God in heaven. So then he goes on to say, such a high priest meets our need, one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. That's why he's more qualified than any other human that's ever walked the planet. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people he sacrificed for their sins, once for all, when he offered himself for the law appoints as high priest men who are weak. But the oath which came after the law appointed the Son who has been made perfect forever.

[Zach]

What you're talking about, Jay, is one of the differences, Zach, when you were earlier talking about the tabernacle being temporary and the temple being more permanent, but it's still temporary. That's the thing. Because something is more permanent doesn't mean it's permanent. So that's where we kind of. I think in the way we're reading these scriptures and looking at them, I think it's where we differ even from a lot of religious people is they still have that patch of ground in Israel and this kind of looking forward to some third temple being built there as the permanent structure. But we're saying, no, we are the living stones, the permanent structure. The forever has begun. Begun. The portal is here.

[Jason]

Yeah. So we're the house of God.

[Al]

There's another super con. There's another super controversial thread that is in this. I think that we. That is solved through this text is there's a big debate on the judgment of God, whether God's really judging evil in this world. Does the blood of Christ actually do something, or is it just symbolic? And there's this big debate, and it kind of came to a head. I say ahead. I mean, it's been a debate for a long time. But there was a book that came out. I actually bought the book and read it called the Lamb of the Free. And it's about this idea that Christ is blood. It's more like a symbolic thing. It's not actually efficacious. Like God's not actually paying a penalty for sin. There's not really a real penalty, just that we're kind of sinners in our own mind. And the guy who wrote the book is a scholar. He's a Levitical scholar. So his kind of work was in the Book of Leviticus. Leviticus. And so he makes this whole case for denying that substitutionary atonement of Christ. He, he denies it through going back and looking at Leviticus and, and I read the book and, and then I thought, you know, it's interesting though, if you read what's happening here in Hebrews, the Hebrew writer is not locating the efficacy of Christ in the Levitical priesthood. That's the whole point with this Melchizedek guy. He's saying, this guy prefigures Leviticus.

[Zach]

He.

[Al]

Because think about if you were going to be a priest in Israel, you have to be from a. Like you have to be descended from Aaron. You got to come from that tribe, and it was the tribe of Levi. You couldn't be a priest unless you're in that tribe. And so all of the priests were Levites. And that's why the book is called Leviticus. Right? It has to be a. From the tribe of Levi. And so when you read this, what he's saying is, I mean, Even in chapter seven, he says in verse 11, if perfection had been attained through the Levitical priesthood, for under it the people received the law, what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek rather than the one named after the order of Aaron? What's he saying there? Like, if you could have got a perfection through this old system, then it would have came that way. But that old system was pointing to a. An evolution of a better system that now Christ comes. When we, when we connect Christ with Melchizedek, we're saying that Christ is not only a priest, he's a king, just like Melchizedek. We're also saying he had no father or mother. We don't know who. He wasn't descended from the natural way. Right. He. You can't go back and look, he was conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary, Christ was born of the Holy Spirit. I mean, this is. He was not connected. He existed. Melchizedek existed as a priest before there even was a Levite tribe.

[Jason]

Yeah, that's a good point. And so look, I think Hebrews 9 explains what you're saying. I'm just trying to pick out the, you know, instead of reading the whole chapter, I mean, you could. But when it gets to verse 11, it says when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. Well, where's that he's in the presence of God in heaven. So then it says, he didn't enter by the blood of bulls, of goats and calves, but he entered the most holy place in all calves, once for all, by his own bl. Blood, having obtained eternal redemption. And so verse 14 of chapter 9, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts, sin that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God? That's why 1 John 2:1 says, I'm writing this to you so that you will not sin. I mean, sin is a killer. You can look at our culture, you can look at all the violence and all the things going on, but what you have to do is look at your own life and realize we got a sin problem. This is where all the problems are coming from.

[Al]

Wow, there's a little hidden word there. You said that it's. And, and it has everything to do with it is confidence. So you go back in, in chapter nine a little bit before what you just read, because what you just read is that now we have confidence, right? And, but now there's a way, this is the way that we can have confidence to enter into the most holy place. But if you go back and look in verse nine, it says, according to this arrangement. Now that he's talking about the Levitical arrangement, the old way. According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifice are offered that cannot, they cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper.

[Jason]

Yeah.

[Al]

But deal only with food and drink and various washings regulations in the body imposed until the time of reformation. So, so you think about what this means, like in this real world experience, like you go and you do these liturgical acts, right? I'm going to do the liturgical act of whatever it is in the old system. I'm going to get my sacrifice made. I'm going to go into the temple. At the end of the day, though, you're. You're kind of like, I'm still me, right? I still got my junk. And, and the same thing applies today. You, if you try to come into a relationship with God by your own merit and your own work, at the end of the day, you just know it's not going to work. I mean, I read this book years ago that was very popular among women, and I wanted to read it because a lot of girls in the church we were at were reading it. I read it and it was just basically self empowerment. It was like, bootstrap yourself up in your own righteousness girl, you do. You bootstrap it up and you are awesome. And I'm like, here's the problem though. You can do that and you can pretend like that's true. At the end of the day though, you know that it's not true. You know your own heart, you know your shortcomings, you know your inabilities, you know your incompetencies, you. They just, we just have them because we're sinful and we're fallen. And so if I'm coming into the relationship of righteousness by my own merit, it's actually not going to work. My conscience at the end of the day is just not. It's not going to be pure enough to do that. And so what happens with Christ in his accomplishment as being a high priest in the order of Melchizedek, who was perfect and he was a king, if he's the one that is actually accomplishing whatever it is for me, and he's taking that accomplishment into the throne room of God as a forerunner on my behalf and inviting me in. Now all of a sudden it's the baptism verse and that Peter says, I can pledge a good conscience towards God, not because of me. It saved you by the resurrection. I've been connected with Christ now, so I'm actually appealing on his merit and his ability, not my own. It's kind of the key point of the gospel, right?

[Jason]

Oh, it is. Well, and to your point, he quotes Leviticus there in Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 9, 21, 22. And so he gets to 24 and it's like for Christ did not enter a man made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one. Here we go. He entered heaven itself. This is his perspective, the Hebrew writer, what Jesus has made available right now in heaven now to appear for us in God's presence. He didn't enter heaven to offer himself again and again the way the high priest enters the most holy place every year, with blood that is not his own, then Christ would have had to suffer many times. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. I mean, it's pretty clear. So then he gets to chapter 10. We're not going to get.

[Al]

Hold on, before you go there.

[Jason]

We're not going to get finished if we keep stopping.

[Al]

I got to say one thing, because that's a big point. Heaven to heaven to what it say? Heaven to now appear in the presence of God. Listen, listen to this. 2nd Corinthians 5:1 you want to talk about bringing heaven and earth back together again? For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

[Jason]

Love it. Hebrews 10:19. So now we're moving to 10. Therefore, brother, since we have confidence to enter the most holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new. That word new keeps coming up. A new covenant, a new humanity, a new kingdom, creation, a new kingdom, it says, by a new and living way, open for us through the curtain that is his body. Isn't that something? Through his body. He ripped that curtain to the presence of God for humanity. And since we have a great priest over the house of God, which are people who have put their faith and trust in Jesus, have the spirit, let us draw near to God, which is another common theme that we keep reading with a sincere heart, full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience, and having our bodies washed with pure water, let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess. For he who promised is faithful. That's why first John 2 says, he's faithful and just. Well, I think that's one John 1. When it says. Where does it say that? When it says he is faithful and just and will forgive. That's chapter one and verse nine. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, will forgive us our sins. He's at the right hand of God. See chapter two. So you fast forward and get to chapter 12. And this is where all those Psalms, Psalm 2, Psalm 24, Psalm 110, all of what we had in Hebrews, all the pictures of this new Zion, whatever this represents in chapter 12 and verse 22, it says, but you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You've come to thousands upon thousands, to angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You've come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. And you remember when his. When he was murdered, his blood cried out from the ground. You're like, why? Because your blood is your life source. And it's not meant to be spilled out on the earth. It's not meant. That's not meant to happen. And between human decision that was poor and sinful, and the spiritual forces that contributed to that Jesus came down here to spill his blood, to unify humanity once again. And he's been presented in God's presence, at the right hand of God, where he is now interceding, mediating for us.

[Al]

What did the blood of Abel cry out?

[Zach]

Justice.

[Al]

Yeah, the blood of. Hold on one second. I actually want to read this.

[Jason]

Read it.

[Al]

One second. Where's that at?

[Jason]

You have two minutes.

[Al]

Genesis 4:10. The voice of your brother's blood is crying out to me, and it's crying out for vengeance, for justice, for. And what Christ's blood cries out is not vengeance. Christ's blood cries out atonement. Christ's blood cries out forgiveness. Christ's blood cries out covering. And so it is a better word. It's a much better word, particularly if you're in the position of the one who was shedding the blood, which we all are because of our sin.

[Jason]

So when we. You say, why are you doing all this? That his. We've come to this new covenant where his blood speaks a better word than Abel. Because when you get to first John 3:11, you know what he throws in here. This is the message we have heard from the beginning. We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belong to the evil one. This is why we went through this in Hebrews. Who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. Who is that? That was Abel.

[Zach]

Abel.

[Jason]

Why is John bringing this up here? And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brothers were righteous. Don't be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. This is how we know what love is. Jesus Christ laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. This echoes throughout the whole book of First John. You're in the fellowship of the Godhead who loves us. He proved it through Jesus. Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God saying, come on, let's do this. And that should affect how you function on earth with your fellow man in every capacity, in every relationship.

[Zach]

So just to wrap up this excursion. The excursion was to take us to the idea of what it really means for atonement and anointing at the same time, which is where we're at here in First John 2:1, 2. And so that sets us up for verse three, which is where we'll get next time in our study about what that looks like once we begin to understand and wrap our mind around this. So we'll see you next time. Don't run ashamed. Thanks for listening to the Unashamed podcast. Help us out by leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcast. And don't miss an episode by subscribing on YouTube. And be sure to click the little bell and choose all notifications to watch every episode.