Most of us have probably heard sayings from Jesus’ famous teaching, commonly called the Sermon on the Mount. It's only 100 verses, but the sermon has created an enduring legacy that has shaped countless lives throughout history. In this first episode of a yearlong series on the Sermon on the Mount, Tim and Jon introduce some new voices and share stories of influential people who were inspired by Jesus’ words. Then the team lays out the basic facts of the Sermon on the Mount and the different way...
Jan 01, 2024•56 min•Ep 391•Transcript available on Metacast In our final episode of 2023, Tim, Jon, and BibleProject CEO, Steve, celebrate everything we worked on this year and the patrons who made it possible. The guys then talk about everything coming up in 2024 and beyond, including a sneak peek of a special new series coming in 2024 at the end of the show! View more resources on our website → Timestamps Part (00:00-9:28) Part two (9:28-17:09) Part three (17:09-32:39) Part four (32:39-49:10) Referenced Resources Interested in more? Check out Tim’s lib...
Dec 25, 2023•53 min•Ep 393•Transcript available on Metacast Does the dragon always deceive humans into sinning? Can we become agents of chaos even when our intentions are good? What does it mean that Satan “entered into” Judas at the last supper? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to your questions from the second half of the Chaos Dragon series. Thank you to our audience for your thoughtful questions! View more resources on our website → Timestamps Does the Dragon Always Deceive Humans Into Sin? (00:00-7:36) Are the Scales in Paul’s Eyes a Reference t...
Dec 18, 2023•48 min•Ep 392•Transcript available on Metacast In this series, we’ve talked a lot about chaos—chaos waters and the great chaos monsters of the deep. In this episode, Tim and Jon interview an expert with a unique vantage point on the chaos of the cosmos, NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell-Dyson. Listen in as they discuss the fascinating intersection between ancient cosmology and modern scientific exploration of our universe. View more resources on our website → Timestamps Part one (00:00-16:23) Part two (16:23-29:02) Part three (29:02-45:07) Part ...
Dec 11, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Ep 390•Transcript available on Metacast The Revelation, the last scroll in the Bible, is an apocalyptic vision about the reordering of the entire cosmos. And like the conclusion of any good story, it brings together all the themes in the Bible, including the theme of the dragon. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss the dragon in John’s Revelation. View more resources on our website → Timestamps Part one (00:00-8:19) Part two (8:19-25:19) Part three (25:19-37:40) Part four (37:40-51:08) Referenced Resources Interested in more? Check ou...
Dec 04, 2023•57 min•Ep 389•Transcript available on Metacast The biblical theme of the dragon is a way to think of a personal foe, the Satan, and an impersonal force—the relentless power that exerts itself over humanity and all of creation. In this episode, Tim and Jon look at how the Apostle Paul talked about death and disorder almost as if they were dragons, starting with Paul's letters to the Romans and the Corinthians. View more resources on our website → Timestamps Part one (00:00-10:26) Part two (10:26-26:42) Part three (26:42-44:46) Part four (44:4...
Nov 27, 2023•56 min•Ep 388•Transcript available on Metacast The theme of the chaos dragon runs all through the story of the Bible—along with the biblical authors’ expectation of a coming king who will one day slay the dragon for good. That dragon-slaying king is Jesus, but the way he defeats the dragon is not what anyone expected. In this episode, Tim and Jon explore what it means to truly gain victory over the dragon. View more resources on our website → Timestamps Part one (00:00-8:53) Part two (8:53-22:31) Part three (22:31-36:21) Part four (36:21-44:...
Nov 20, 2023•52 min•Ep 387•Transcript available on Metacast As we’ve traced the theme of the chaos dragon in the Bible, we’ve come to expect what the biblical authors expect: a dragon-slaying king to come. When the gospel authors introduce us to Jesus, they’re quick to show that Jesus is human, yet he wields power beyond what other humans possess. He triumphs over snake-like adversaries in the wilderness, subdues chaos waters with a word, and even has power over spiritual beings. In fact, Jesus does all the same things God himself does. In this episode, ...
Nov 13, 2023•47 min•Ep 386•Transcript available on Metacast Daniel 7 describes an incredible, apocalyptic dream had by the prophet Daniel where he sees four chaos monsters oppressing the people of God. Just like the other dragon stories we've encountered in the Bible, Yahweh shows up in Daniel's vision as the ultimate dragon slayer—only this time, he's not alone. There's another human-like figure who comes riding in on the clouds to fight the dragon. In this episode, Jon and Tim explore the theme of the dragon in the scroll of Daniel. View more resources...
Nov 06, 2023•49 min•Ep 385•Transcript available on Metacast In the story of the Bible, the dragon is a recurring symbol of chaos, death, and destruction. The good news is, Yahweh is the dragon slayer, and he gives humans power over the dragon too. But in the Bible—and in our own lives—we can encounter stories like Job’s. The scroll of Job explores what happens when a righteous person, someone who should be experiencing God's Eden blessing, gets their life co-opted by the dragon instead. In this episode, join Tim and Jon as they explore the story of Job. ...
Oct 30, 2023•1 hr•Ep 384•Transcript available on Metacast While the chaos dragon is not God’s rival--it’s the rival of creation--it is God’s enemy. The Psalms sometimes portray creation as the ordered result of Yahweh’s battle with the dragon, to bring order out of chaos. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss two psalms that look back to the cosmic battle at the beginning of creation and also look ahead to a day when Yahweh will give his own dragon-slaying power to a human image of God. View more resources on our website → Timestamps Part one (00:00-8:0...
Oct 23, 2023•48 min•Ep 383•Transcript available on Metacast Did God create disorder and chaos? What does it actually mean to be evil? And how do you tell your kids that in the Bible dragons are actually the “bad guys”? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to your questions from the first half of the Chaos Dragon series. Thank you to our audience for your incredible questions! View more resources on our website → Timestamps Did God Create Disorder? (2:29) What is God’s Relationship to the Darkness? (15:05) What Does it Mean to be Evil? (21:41) Does God Us...
Oct 16, 2023•59 min•Ep 382•Transcript available on Metacast The theme of the chaos dragon raises some challenging questions. For instance, if God created a perfect world and humans messed it up, why did the dragon and the chaos waters exist at the beginning of the universe? Why would God allow the potential for chaos at all? In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss God’s goodness and the existence of evil, through the lens of the chaos dragon theme. View more resources on our website → Timestamps Part one (00:00-13:33) Part two (13:33-30:44) Part three (30:4...
Oct 09, 2023•1 hr 2 min•Ep 381•Transcript available on Metacast The story of Jonah employs all the major motifs of the theme of the chaos dragon: chaotic waters, a servant of God who rebels against him, and a great sea monster. But the story doesn't call it a sea monster—the story calls it a great fish! Join Tim and Jon as they discuss Jonah, thrown into the deep abyss and swallowed up by death, and the reality that even the belly of the beast is no match for Yahweh. View more resources on our website → Timestamps Part one (00:00-11:21) Part two (11:21-28:00...
Oct 02, 2023•59 min•Ep 380•Transcript available on Metacast When Israel chooses to act like the chaos monster instead of living like the people of God, God brings judgment on them. How? He sends other bigger monsters after them, namely, Babylon and Egypt. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss the scrolls of Jeremiah and Ezekiel and their focus on the dragon-like behavior of these three nations––as well as God’s promise to bring about justice for each and every dragon in the end. View more resources on our website → Timestamps Part one (00:00-12:26) Part t...
Sep 25, 2023•47 min•Ep 379•Transcript available on Metacast What happens when the entire nation of Israel consistently aligns themselves with the dragon? They themselves become a chaos monster Yahweh has to deal with. In this episode, Tim and Jon explore the scroll of Isaiah and the prophet’s indictment of Israel for choices that betray the image and blessing of God they were meant to bring to the world. View more resources on our website → Timestamps Part one (00:00-12:52) Part two (12:52-23:50) Part three (23:50-36:22) Part four (36:22-56:54) Reference...
Sep 18, 2023•57 min•Ep 378•Transcript available on Metacast So often the symbol of the chaos monster shows up embodied by a human bent on oppressing other people. Goliath, one of the Bible’s most well-known bad guys, is depicted as having scaly armor like a snake and defying not just Israel, but Yahweh. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss the theme of the dragon in the story of David and Goliath. View more resources on our website → Timestamps Part one (00:00-18:05) Part two (18:05-32:00) Part three (32:00-42:32) Referenced Resources The Serpent in Samu...
Sep 11, 2023•51 min•Ep 377•Transcript available on Metacast In today’s episode, we once again encounter a theme that’s becoming all too familiar: humans becoming chaos monsters. Jabin, king of Canaan, and Sisera, the commander of his army, are depicted as serpents in Judges 4, and the humans who overcome these two dragons are two women, Deborah and Jael. Join Tim and Jon as they explore the theme of the dragon in the scroll of Judges. View more resources on our website → Timestamps Part one (00:00-11:44) Part two (11:44-28:25) Part three (28:25-42:07) Pa...
Sep 04, 2023•50 min•Ep 376•Transcript available on Metacast Was Cain’s city a good thing initially? If Israel was just as bad as Sodom and Gomorrah, why didn’t God destroy it too? And how will God redeem the city in the new creation? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to your questions from the second half of The City series. Thank you to our audience for your insightful questions! View more resources on our website → Timestamps Was Cain’s City Originally a Good Thing? (2:28) Why Didn’t Israel Face the Same Judgment as Sodom? (13:24) Why Is Babylon Dep...
Aug 30, 2023•54 min•Ep 375•Transcript available on Metacast God created humans to bear his image, but sometimes we choose our own destruction and start to look a lot more like chaos monsters instead. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss a human who the prophets frequently called a sea dragon: the Pharaoh who ruled Egypt and enslaved Israel in the scroll of Exodus. If Pharaoh is the seed of the serpent, who is the seed of the woman in Exodus? Listen in to find out! View more resources on our website → Timestamps Part one (00:00-15:26) Part two (15:26-23:5...
Aug 28, 2023•51 min•Ep 374•Transcript available on Metacast Genesis 3 is probably the most famous serpent-featuring story in the Bible—the moment we get to see humans and the nahash interact for the first time. Because the serpent lures the humans into choosing their own demise, it’s also the moment Yahweh announces that the seed (descendant) of the serpent will remain a rival to the seed of the woman. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss Genesis 3-4 and talk about what happens when humans themselves start to act like the chaos monster. View more resourc...
Aug 21, 2023•47 min•Ep 373•Transcript available on Metacast Dragons show up on page one of the Bible, named among the beings that feature in the seven-day creation narrative in Genesis 1. God creates dragons to inhabit the chaos waters, and we meet one early on that tries (and succeeds) to get the first humans to choose their own destruction. Why would God create these creatures? What is their purpose? Join Tim and Jon as they talk about the literary function of dragons in the Bible. View more resources on our website → Timestamps Part one (00:00-8:29) P...
Aug 14, 2023•48 min•Ep 372•Transcript available on Metacast When we read the word “myth,” often what comes to mind is a fictional story. However, a myth is a way of exploring universal concerns of human existence, using symbols for things we may or may not have words to describe. The dragon is one such myth—a symbol humans have used for millennia to talk about chaos and death. Some might say it was one of the first worldwide memes. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss ancient Near Eastern literature about dragons. View more resources on our website → Tim...
Aug 07, 2023•49 min•Ep 371•Transcript available on Metacast Nahash , tanin , leviathan ––the Bible is full of strange words describing a creature many modern readers can’t quite categorize. All these words are ways of referring to a monster of the deep, a dragon. In this episode, Tim and Jon kick off a brand new theme study, the chaos dragon, with a look at the language the Bible uses to describe this creature. View more resources on our website → Timestamps Part one (00:00-4:27) Part two (4:27-20:25) Part three (20:25-31:13) Part four (31:13-46:03) Refe...
Jul 31, 2023•46 min•Ep 370•Transcript available on Metacast How could Abraham have anticipated a coming City of God, like the author of Hebrews said? What’s the connection between the shame of Adam and Eve and that of their son Cain? Was Genesis first an oral tradition, and how did it become a written account with so many literary hyperlinks? In this episode, Tim and Jon respond to your questions from the first half of The City series. Thank you to our audience for your incredible questions! View more resources on our website → Timestamps How Could Abrah...
Jul 24, 2023•51 min•Ep 369•Transcript available on Metacast In the Bible, cities have a bad reputation as centers of immorality and unrighteous living. First-century followers of Jesus continued to live in cities, but they lived by an other-worldly ethic set by Jesus. Their way of living was so different that Jesus’ followers began to talk about their citizenship being primarily in a coming heavenly city, rather than the physical city in which they lived. In this episode, join Jon and Tim as they wrap up our theme study of the city. View more resources o...
Jul 17, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep 368•Transcript available on Metacast As the story of the Bible unfolds, the expectation for a city of God—a new Jerusalem where Heaven and Earth will be fully united—continues to grow. Yet the gospel authors seem to think this new Jerusalem is most fully realized in Jesus himself. So if Jesus is the new Jerusalem, what’s his relationship with the physical city of Jerusalem? In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss how Jesus and his followers become the new Jerusalem. View more resources on our website → Timestamps Part one (00:00-19:01...
Jul 10, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep 367•Transcript available on Metacast Cities appear to be inherently bad in the story of the Bible. So when Jesus calls his followers a city on a hill, what does he mean? And why is the vision of the new creation a city instead of a garden? In this episode, Tim and Jon review some of the major motifs in the theme of the city so far and explore the concept of a city of God. View more resources on our website → Timestamps Part one (00:00-22:02) Part three (22:02-33:57) Part three (33:57-44:17) Part four (44:17-54:52) Referenced Resour...
Jul 03, 2023•55 min•Ep 366•Transcript available on Metacast The city of Jerusalem, established by David to be the home of God, is a glimpse of what a divine city could look like, but even Jerusalem becomes corrupt. Is there any kind of city we can actually put our hope in? Jesus seemed to think so. He said he was the place where Heaven and Earth are fully united, allowing God and humanity to dwell together. Then he took it a step further to say his followers are a city on a hill, the city of God. In this episode, Tim and Jon discuss the new Jerusalem. Vi...
Jun 26, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep 365•Transcript available on Metacast Israel was meant to be a picture of the heavenly city of God, but over time, it began to look more like Babylon, Nineveh, and Sodom and Gomorrah. In the scroll of Isaiah, the prophet announces Yahweh’s coming judgment on Israel because of their oppression of other humans. Join Tim and Jon as they discuss the city of God in the scroll of Isaiah. View more resources on our website → Timestamps Part one (00:00-13:05) Part two (13:05-28:38) Part three (28:38-36:29) Part four (36:29-51:00) Part five ...
Jun 19, 2023•58 min•Ep 364•Transcript available on Metacast 
