Hi, everyone. Welcome back to the Daily gospel, exegesis podcast, produced, by logical Bible study. I just wanted to take a few minutes to share some feedback, that's coming about the ministry. We always love to get your feedback. And so I wanted to share some of the things that people are saying about this ministry. As I've often said before, this is a small Ministry, there's no marketing department, it's not supported financially by any other organizations or Ministries.
So it really is a great Grassroots ministry, that's trying to help lay Catholics understand their Bibles better and it's working in a space where basically no other Catholic podcast use every single day doing a verse by verse exegesis of the Gospel readings. So if you're enjoying this ministry and you want to see it grow, then please share it with other people. That's the only way this podcast and this ministry can grow is by
listeners. Like you telling other people about the ministry and leaving positive. Reviews on iTunes and YouTube. So here's some feedback that has come in from people, from iTunes, from YouTube, and from email. So this is an email from a Kim he says Hi logical, Bible study. I live in Freiburg Germany. Since the virtual Catholic Bible Conference I have been listening to your podcast daily and I'm really excited.
I have learned so much from it. It is a really good accompaniment to the Daily gospel and I always look forward to the word of God. Now, it helps me know, Jesus even better and to go to mass even more. I want to say a really big, thank you for what you do. God bless you a Kim. So, thank you so much for that feedback. It is just amazing to hear that this podcast is helping you learn your Bible better. And more importantly, it's drawing you closer to God.
It's making you want to go to mass more and to study the Bible more and that's amazing. Really, and that's God's work. This podcast is all about teaching people about the kingdom of God. And in the process, people are learning about God, and it's helping to build his kingdom. So some more feedback that's come in Via YouTube.
So, this is actually some feedback from another Catholic Bible. So there's a Ministry, called Sunday, scripture study for Catholics Sunday, scripture study for Catholics and that's based largely on YouTube. Each week there, they do one video podcast, looking at all the readings for Sunday's Mass. So in our podcast on daily gospel exegesis, we just look at the gospel readings, but we do it every single day. Whereas Sunday, scripture study
for Catholics, doesn't in-depth. Look at all of the mass readings on Sundays. So, if that's the kind of thing you're looking for, I'd encourage you to check Check them out on YouTube and so they left a comment saying, daily gospel exegesis is a great podcast, it deserves to be more widely. Listen to I listen to every episode and share it daily on social media.
Thank you so much. It's so great to hear that other established Catholic bible ministries are starting to hear this podcast and they're enjoying it. So this next one is a longer email that I received from someone called Deacon Nick. So I just want to share some parts of the email he sent through. He had some specific questions that I was able to help him with. So just a couple of comments
from him, he says, hello. I recently discovered this podcast and I'm finding it very helpful in reading and praying the daily gospel. I shared it with my wife and she loves it too. We live in the northwest corner of the United States and we love talking about the insights, you given the podcast. Thank you. I would love to know what resources, you use to help in
your exegesis. I'm a Catholic Deacon and I'm always looking for materials that will help me prepare homilies and better engage with the scripture. His. So he goes on to ask me some more questions there about the resources I use and how I go about doing exegesis. And so, I was able to direct Deacon Nick, to a special bonus episode. I have available on our patreon page, where I go through a behind the scenes look of the podcast. So I talk you through. Ooh how I prepare the podcast?
What resources are used? How I eventually came to start this podcast so if that's something you've always wondered about that bonus episode is available to you through anyone who gives any amount on the patreon page. So I'd encourage you to check that out and the link for that is in the show notes so dick and it goes on to write a couple of
other things. He says, for the past couple of days after discovering your podcast, I've been doing my own exegesis before listening to your episode and Then comparing my notes to your analysis to see what I might have missed or where I might have a different interpretation. It's been very helpful to me, as I work to improve my skills at determining, the literal sense of scripture.
I will be sharing your podcast with my teachers and other Educators in our diocese and on Twitter and Facebook because I think you're doing a great service for the church Deacon Nick. Thank you so much for these
comments. I'm so glad I'm able to help particularly priests and deacons And the Bible and I've been able to provide you with some resources and some ways to think about the literal sense of scripture that helps you in your ministry, your important Ministry of the word to people in the church and thank you so much for sharing this ministry
with others in your diocese. And for the last bit of feedback today, I wanted to share this interesting email that's come in. It's a little bit different. You can make of it what you will but I think it's a good one to finish on. So I'll keep the author of this one Anonymous. They say hello. I've been listening to your podcast on Spotify. For the last year. Absolutely, love the way you break down the readings. One thing I have always had a hard time. Grasping is exorcism being in
tune with science. I found this concept questionable and questioning the Lord's work and current work of priests makes me feel uneasy. This came up last week with one of the readings and again this week when driving home, it was the Gospel with the demon iock and swineherd. As I was driving, questioning this occurrence, a car driving in the opposite direction. Moved into my lane heading straight towards me. There were cars behind me so slamming on the brakes wasn't an option.
I quickly looked to the right and saw a residential driveway and a fire hydrant, right? Adjacent to its entrance. I swerved hard missed the hydrant and to the driveway and got away. Unscathed, did a demon overtake the other driver was, God, giving me a lesson. Did God bring me to safety? Of course, he did. I am a believer and thank God and you for bringing me closer to the kingdom. Thanks for all your hard work anonymous. So this Rider kind of answered
his own question there. It's a really interesting story about the car swerving and we're probably not really sure what to make of that, whether that was God's work or the devil's work, who knows really? But thank you so much for writing in and I'm so glad that this podcast has helped you make a links to things like this in your life. And as you said, it's helping you grow closer to the kingdom. So this is just a sample of the different feedback that we've
been receiving. The ministry is slowly growing, but we need your help and we need your support. And I'd ask you to prayerfully consider becoming a financial supporter of the ministry. And you can do that through the patreon page, the link for that is in the show notes.
Not only will you be supporting the ministry and helping us plan for the future, but there's also a whole lot of bonus episodes you can get access to. So if you're willing to give $10 a month, then you can get access to all of the bonus exegesis episodes where we go through. Parts of the gospels that are never read at mass. And if you are willing to give $20 a month or more, then you can get access to the audio recordings where I talk through the catechism of the Catholic
church. I'll break it down paragraph by paragraph, like we do on this podcast. So if you've ever wanted to learn the teachings of the church in a systematic way, you might like to do that. And so this is a Ministry that has a new episode every single day. So it's 30 episodes a month and it does take a lot of time and preparation. Nation. So if you believe that's worth investing in, then please I'd ask you to consider becoming a financial supporter through the patreon page.
But in any case, please keep telling people about the Ministry. Thanks so much for your support and let's get into today's episode. Hi everyone. Welcome back to the logical. Bible study podcast. And today, we're looking at a passage from Matthew chapter 9, verses 14, to 15. So as always, we'll start by reading the passage and then we'll jump into the text and see if we can unpack it a little bit. So, Matthew 9 verse 14 to 15. John's disciples came to Jesus and said, why is it the we and
the Pharisees fast. But your disciples do not. Jesus replied surely the bridegroom's attendance would never think of morning as long as the bridegroom is still with them. But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then they will fast. That's it. That's our short reading for today from Matthew chapter 9. So whenever you're doing an exegesis of the literal sense of the text, you always want to start by asking what has happened.
Just before this, what's the context? And so just before this Jesus has been sitting in his home town of Capernaum and has been engaging with the Pharisees, so some Disciples of John arrives. So this is John, the Baptist were talking about. So John has his own disciples, his a popular teacher and your Not quite a large following. And so he had an inner group of disciples that followed the teachings of John and followed him around.
Now, by this point, John has been imprisoned but he still has followers, who apparently can visit him every now and then. So they asked Jesus, why do we and the Pharisees fast but your
disciples do not fast. So both, John the Baptist in the Pharisees taught that fasting was an important spiritual discipline, and so their followers, both the Pharisees followers and the disciples for the John, the Baptist's disciples did fasting, and it was actually, one of the three basic practices of Jewish piety at that time. So, toub to chapter 12, verse 8, says that fasting is sort of an expected behavior for Jews. The reason is because it turns their attention to spiritual things.
And so it was actually quite common. Most people did Fast. So would seem strange to them to have a supposed prophet of God here, which is what Jesus was basically appeared to be, but he's apparently not not requiring his own disciples to do that. So it does seem a little strange to them. Technically fasting in that culture was actually on the required once a year on the day of atonement. So the Torah says, you have to fast on this day.
That's in Leviticus 16 verse 29. So that was the minimum but the Pharisees practiced at twice a week as a mark of devotion and probably John's disciples. Did it quite often as well as a sign of repentance, So notice John, the Baptist's disciples are coming here. Even after his imprisoned, they continue to follow his teachings.
They're having this aesthetic way of life and they fast just as he did, probably, and they're looking on, just Jesus disciples with suspicion because they're eating and the feasting basically, with tax collectors. So, all of this would imply seem to imply to John's disciples that Jesus and his disciples are not really committed to Holiness. So, it's a fair questions for a question that they asked This
here. Now notice what they don't say, okay, they don't come to Jesus and say, why do you command your disciples not too fast. So it appears that Jesus isn't telling his disciples not too fast, he's not saying don't fast, but it looks like some of Jesus disciples were just choosing not to fast and he wasn't forcing it on them. And that sounds about right? Cheese has allowed for a diversity of expression. Amongst his disciples if you
think about it, he had a zealot. One of his disciples was a zealot It, which is quite a radical political group at that time. So we had Jews of all different inclinations and Persuasions in his group and apparently some of them are choosing not to fast. But what's the reason here? And as will unpack it, a little bit fasting, not only carries this idea of repentance fasting. Also has kind of a note of sadness. If you're fasting, you're in a
way, kind of sad. And as Jesus is about to describe, that's not really a focus of his ministry. He this sadness sort of thing would be a little out of place in his ministry and that's why most of his disciples appear to be choosing not to fast. So Jesus answers the question. Why do your disciples choose not to fast with a rhetorical rhetorical question of his own. And all of his hearers would have known what the answer to this rhetorical question was
here's what he says in response. Surely the bridegroom's attendance would never think of morning as long as the bridegroom is still with them. So, let's unpack that a bit. We're dealing with a wedding scene here. But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then they will fast. So Jesus says bridegroom's attendance, don't think of morning when the groom is with them. But then when the groom leaves then they fast, so what's going on here?
So in that culture will Jesus is making a comparison between himself and the way that Jewish weddings worked in that culture. So as part of Jewish weddings, the groom had attendance or sort of helpers, who would assist him in getting ready for the wedding, And those attendance would celebrate while the groomers with them. It was a really joyful time while the attendance of their with the groom and they wouldn't fast. It's a joyful occasion.
But eventually, the groom would leave with his bride after the wedding ceremony that would actually leave after it was all over. And the attendance would generally be quite sad. They would mourn and fast after their groom that they so loved had left. So given that. What is Jesus saying about himself? He's implying things like this. He's basically saying I am like the groom.
My disciples are like the attendance, my disciples celebrate and spend as much time with me as possible while I'm here but soon I'll be taken away and they will then be sad and mourn so I think interesting connection, isn't it? So, Jesus here is basically making a subtle prophecy about his own death. He's saying that, yeah, I'm here now. Now, and they're celebrating but
I won't be with them forever. So there's that aspect aspect of it. There's also perhaps some Old Testament Echoes here in the Old Testament. It speaks of God himself being the bridegroom. So Isaiah chapter 54 and Hosea chapter to talk about God being the bridegroom. So perhaps Jesus here is implying that he wants to be seen as God in a way that could be legitimate. So what's his overall? Answer to the question of why his disciples don't fast.
It's something like, I haven't got a problem with fasting and principle but it's not the appropriate time for my disciples to fast, they will fast in the future. And we know that Jesus hasn't got a problem with fasting because in The Sermon on the Mount, which was earlier in Matthew, he actually says when you fast do it this way. So he expects his disciples too fast eventually, but not while he's with them. That's the teaching here.
Because it's a joyful occasion while he's with them once his taken away then it's the appropriate time to fast. Now, Jesus could also be hinting on a deeper level here. It's not entirely clear, but given what the rest of the New Testament, says, it's possible that Jesus is hinting on a deeper spiritual level. That he literally is a groom, Jesus is a groom, and he is literally getting ready for a
wedding. Obviously, Paul unpacks that theme of Jesus, being the groom and the church being the bride and the Book of Revelation talks about that as well. So maybe Jesus is hinting at his own upcoming wedding, Maybe Now, there's no specific. Catechism references to this version of the passage. So we'll leave the podcast. Therefore today, hopefully you learned something new and please tune in again tomorrow.