The Spiritual Liberty Bell

Liberty Bell History and the Leviticus 25 Inscription

Welcome to No Compromise Radio Ministry. Mike Hibbendorf here. It's been a while since I've recorded a show solo. Today's real day is February 2nd, 2024. That's right. Anyway, what is going on in my life?

I just got distracted here. I saw an email. I probably shouldn't do that. We've got the new, Stephen's got the new cover for the updated Sexual Fidelity. That's cool. Just to give you a little inside scoop, it's kind of a mountain with snow over it, right?

Pure. It's covering the last Sexual Fidelity book, just black cover. People were afraid to buy it based on the color. But I think it's working better this time or will work better this time. Hopefully sometime in April, May or so.

That means June, it'll be out. In one sense, it reminds me of the Alive story. Remember the men in the Andes, the plane crash, and the rugby team, Uruguayan rugby team crashed in the I think they actually crashed in the Chilean mountains, in the Andes.

The Andes Mountains in Chile. Sorry. Chile. All right. But anyway, don't think of Alive when you think of that. I don't know why I'm obsessed with that. I've got that on my phone. I'm trying to remember the guy's name who wrote the book.

It's three words. It sounds French. Let's see. Piers Paul Reed. I think it was 1973. I've watched a documentary on it. I've watched the updated movie on Netflix. Got to skip past a couple of places. Why they put that in, I have no idea.

The one that they had, I don't know, 15, 20 years ago, and then there's an older one. Everything is Alive. But the book is the best because it has all kinds of insight. Even when the young men were trying to figure out, is it okay to eat human flesh?

The dead, frozen people outside, is it okay to eat? Because I think they were gone 73 days or something like that. They'd have to do it. Well, one said, you don't eat a dead cow that dies of natural cows.

Now, that was funny. You belong in the circus, Spock. That is exactly right. Anyway, long story short, they were Catholic young men and they thought, well, this is my body given for you. If you don't eat of my flesh and drink of my blood, you have no part of me.

They were taking the John Six route. I'm not saying I think that's a good route, but I will say, I don't think it was cannibalism. They didn't kill the people in order to eat them. People were already dead.

I think that's perfectly understandable. Yet, how'd you like to be in their shoes? Loudon didn't have shoes. Today, let's start off this way on No Compromise Radio. The Liberty Bell. Have you ever seen the Liberty Bell?

I have. I don't really remember, but when I see pictures of it, I go, oh yeah, I was there. Do you know where the Liberty Bell is? Do you know what it is? Do you know what it signifies? Do you know what's written on it?

Well, as you probably know, they wanted to have a bell so that they could gather people together for important events in Pennsylvania State House. So in 1746, they started to put that together and Robert Charles ordered the bell from Thomas Lester in London for a mere pittance, a 150 pounds, 150 quid.

Back in those days, that was worth a lot more, but still seems like not much. Anyway, they got the bell. They inspected the bell. Seemed like it was in good order. They mounted the bell and they struck the bell and it cracked.

They had to recast the bell. A man named John Pass and John Stowe recast the bell and it was used a lot and then it got the big crack much later. I did find it also interesting, according to my online sources, that in the American Revolutionary War, they had to hide the bells in Philadelphia and around the area because they did not want the British to recast the bells into munitions.

So they had to hide the bell, guard the bell. All right. What's written on the bell? That's the main thing. I didn't say ring my bell. That's an old disco song in the 80s. Well, by the order of the Assembly of the Province of Pennsylvania for the State House in Philadelphia, that's short.

Any guesses? You are correct. You are correct. Yes. A Bible verse. Now out of the 66 books of the Bible, which book do you think they chose to put on the liberty bell? Any guesses? The liberty bell. You'd be right if you guessed, I don't have a drum roll on here.

Why is that? That's not a drum roll. Leviticus. That's right. Leviticus. Here's one I haven't used before. That's presbycast. Anyway, they have Leviticus 25 verse 10, a portion of that verse on the liberty bell.

Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all inhabitants thereof. Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all inhabitants thereof. The liberty bell. What does this have to do with anything?

Well, this is radio, so it's interesting. It's interesting, don't you think? It's interesting. And it has everything to do with my chapter that I'm working through in the gospel according to Luke. This has everything to do with Luke.

And we're going to find out a little bit later, today or next show, why the Leviticus 25 passage is important to Luke chapter four. So there's your teaser. Now we get into Luke and you're going to have to keep that in the back of your mind saying, what is going on?

What in the world is he going to tell us? No Googling, no googly eyes, no DuckDuckGo. I use DuckDuckGo, but it seems like Google's got a better search engine, but for sake of not having people know my every move, even though I'm sure they do.

Luke’s Prologue, John the Baptist, and the Temptation of Jesus

Luke starts off, remember, the prologue tells us in chapter one, verses one through four, why it's written, to whom it's written, what's the purpose for its being in the canon so that we might have certainty, right?

And we get this mirrored John the Baptist and Jesus infancy narrative in terms of their births foretold, their actual births. John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus, the genealogy of Jesus so that you would know, oh, in fact, he is the right man.

We've got the right Messiah that you might have certainty Luke one for. He's the right Messiah. He's got the right genealogy. He has been commended by the father. This is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased at the baptism ministered by John the Baptist.

We have the spirit of God descending like a dove confirming also, this is the right one. This is the anointed one. And this anointed one, this right one, this God sent one, he with the right genealogy now goes into the desert chapter four, filled with the spirit, led by the spirit, impelled by the spirit to go out to be tempted by Satan in a recapitulation with Israel's temptations.

Remember? Yes, it's, it's much like Adam's temptations with food, with Satan, with questioning God's goodness, but it also gives us an insight into what Israel didn't do. And they were in the wilderness tempted and they failed.

They were on a mountain tempted and they failed Sinai. They were in the tabernacle and they were tempted and failed. And so Jesus goes into the wilderness. He goes to a mountain and he goes to what would be the new tabernacle called the temple.

And then there's about one year called like the quiet year of Jesus, the silent year of Jesus. And you can study that on your own. S. Louis Johnson believes that, so I don't have any reason to doubt it, but we have Jesus arriving in Galilee and we will see what he is going to do.

From Luke's vantage point for all the looking around throughout the centuries, is this the right Messiah? Do we have a good Messiah? Is this King the right King? Is this prophet someone who could be the one prophet, priest, and King?

Where is someone that could fulfill all these roles and titles and offices and still be without sin? Some are just Kings in the Old Testament. Some are just priests. Some are just prophets. Some were prophet, priests, some were King prophets.

But to have a prophet, priest, and King, finally we have the Lord Jesus. And here, before we see his kingly ministry or his priestly ministry, the focus is on his prophetic ministry, speaking for God.

As a matter of fact, Jesus, the Messiah has come. You've got the right one. Finally, after all this waiting, Messiah has arrived and he is going to be the one who comes to rescue sinners. That's what Luke 19 talks about.

Paul would say similarly, what Jesus came to do. He made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. The rite of Hebrews echoes the same truth. So Christ also having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin to those who eagerly await him.

And because we are lost and sinful and rebellious, and God is holy and he judges, we need a savior. And that savior's name is the Lord Jesus. Of course, Jesus came to do more than preach and to be a prophet, but he still needed to be the prophet.

Machen said the Lord Jesus came into this world, not primarily to say something, not even to be something, but to do something. That's true. But Machen would agree that what Jesus says is very, very important.

And in this section of scripture, we'll find out what Jesus came to do. So there's really a tie-in, right? It's not either or. What does he say? What does he do? I want to know what the one who says things amazingly and worthy of praise, what that one does.

You can talk a big game, but I want to know what you can do. As David Byrne would say in the Talking Heads, you're talking a lot, but you're not saying anything. That would not be true of the Lord Jesus.

I need some David Byrne stuff here. That's what I need. You know, that probably would help if I had Talking Heads stuff put here in my road studio thing. Don't you think that'd be good? Like essential Talking Heads songs?

Oh, matter of fact, Mike, I think you got what you ordered. That would be good background music right there. Welcome to No Compromised Radio. This is Mike Davendraugh. See? I think that might work. That really might work.

Remember their song, Speaking in Tongues? Of course you do. Welcome to No Compromised Radio Ministries. My name's Mike Davendraugh, Speaking in Tongues. Where were all these songs when I needed them? And all I got is something like this.

This is not as good. Okay, I admit it. I admit it. Luke chapter 4, Jesus shows up, and he begins to preach. And you can see the setting, and you can see the scripture reading slash sermon. Jesus returned, Luke 4, 14, and the power of the Spirit to Galilee, same Spirit that empowered him, impelled him into the wilderness to be tempted.

Of course, that's so much different than for us. We pray Lord is not a temptation, but the last Adam, Jesus was led into temptation. And as you can imagine, a report about him went out throughout all the surrounding country, and he taught in their synagogues being glorified by all.

And now we have Spirit-filled preaching. Is there anything like it? Could there be anything like it? What a great teacher Jesus was. What a great preacher Jesus was. And he's just influencing people.

He's teaching a lot. He's teaching in their synagogues. I'm sure he's teaching by the way and on the road and on a path and by the lake and everything else. But here, he goes right to the synagogues and begins preaching and teaching, and he's becoming well-known, and he's being glorified by all.

The emphasis in this chapter is he's preaching, preaching, preaching and glorified by all, being praised by all. They respond rightly, Jesus, the prophet, priest, and king, and here focused on his prophetic office.

You see this response to Jesus' preaching sprinkled throughout Luke. While there's negative reactions, and we'll see that later in chapter 4, sometimes they'll say, is this not Joseph's son speaking well of him and marveling at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth?

That's Luke 4 .22. I mean, there'll be the negative side that's for certain. But here, again, it's a positive thing. Luke 7, when all the people heard this and the tax collectors too, they declared God just having been baptized with the baptism of John.

Luke 9, and they were all astonished at the majesty of God. There's a reaction to Jesus that's not just negative, but positive, almost like magnet. And here, the Spirit-filled Jesus speaking for the Father is preaching the word, teaching in their synagogues with revelation directly from the Father.

That's what a prophet does, gets revelation from God and proclaims it. And that is prophecy. That is to be a prophet. John 8, Jesus said, I speak these things as the Father taught me. That's what it means to be a prophet.

John 12, I did not speak on my own initiative, but the Father himself who sent me has given me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that his commandment is eternal life. Therefore, the things I speak, I shall speak just as the Father told me.

That's what a prophet does. And lastly, John 14, the words that I say to you, I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father abiding in me does his works. It is the Father's initiative, sending Jesus, the prophet, the prophet that was foretold by Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 18.

A prophet is going to be raised up like Moses from the brethren. And to him, you shall give heed to everything he says to you. And even Peter preached that Deuteronomy passage in Deuteronomy 18 when Peter was preaching in Acts 3.

Jesus Reads Isaiah 61 in the Nazareth Synagogue

So, what's going on here, Big Picture NoCo listeners? Well, prophets representing God stand before men and declare God's will to them. And he's doing that in the synagogues. The focus tightens a little bit, and he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up.

As was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day and he stood up to read. And you're supposed to be highly anticipating what's going to be said. The way Luke is writing this, he's wanting you to think to yourself, why is this being written in such a way?

It's being written in such a way to make you pay attention, to make you wonder, to make you sit on your proverbial seat edge. That's when you forget what to say and you say, sit on your proverbial seat.

And you think, oh no, sit on the edge of your seat. So, then you say, sit on your proverbial seat, comma, edge of. I'm doing several languages, as you know, in Duolingo. And one of those languages is Latin.

And Latin often puts the verbs at the end, or if I'm speaking correctly now, the verbs. So, V-I-R in Latin is wir. It's not wir, it's wir. So, you have to kind of almost do the little German double take when it comes to Latin.

Someone's calling me, but I can't take the phone call. Michael Lund, if you listen to this show, it was you calling, but I can't take the phone call because I'm on the radio. I'm a radio host. Actually on three channels now, Alaska, Wyoming, and Belize, Central America.

Can you imagine? No coast on Belize. Belize, welcome. I don't know if I'll ever make it there, but someday maybe I'll make it to Belize and we can do a no compromise show. How about that? Live, no compromise radio.

I don't know if they would want me there. I probably need to learn a little bit more Spanish. Don't you think? A little bit more. I think people are using this for commercials now. Can you imagine? The talking heads are being used in commercials.

Now, this might be another good intro. Welcome to No Compromise Radio. I know which one I wouldn't use. I wouldn't use this one. This starts off too crazy. Welcome to No Compromise Radio. My name's Mike Apendraw.

Appreciate you listening. And as this music gets wilder, we wrap it up. Jesus shows up in their synagogues on the Sabbath, and that should tell you something. That should tell you, get ready to duck, Jesus, because when there's Jesus in a synagogue on the Sabbath, it's usually trouble.

That's what that should tell you. It's usually trouble. There's usually dissension. Not always, but most of the time, sometimes most of the time. Now, if you've been to Israel with us, great. If you haven't, with Pat Abendroth in the pactam, you should go with us in 20...

I don't know when I'm supposed to go. 2025? 20... Yeah, 2025, maybe. Who knows what'll be going on over there? Maybe gospel will be given to Egypt by then, and the West Bank will be split between Israel and Jordan.

Who knows? But you'll go to the uncovered synagogue of Magdala, Capernaum, and others, and you're going to see a rectangular shaped building, and you'll have benches on the perimeter, men and women separated.

Sometimes the men would be seated according to rank and importance, and you've got candlesticks, and sometimes the Seat of Moses, and musical instruments, and wonderful decor on the floor of the synagogues, and you've got cupboards where they would keep things like the Torah, and a podium that they would speak from.

And on a Saturday synagogue service, remember the temple, it's hard to get to the temple, and of course, when the temple was destroyed, you'd have a lot of these little synagogues that would pop up. And they had a service order, and I think I've said before that modern evangelicalism, they have services too, they have liturgies too on Sundays, and everybody has liturgy.

Sometimes you think liturgy is only high church, Anglican, Roman Catholic, Dutch Reformed, United Reformed Church, you know, that kind of thing. Acts 29. But everybody has a liturgy. It's either very informal or it is formal.

And when I say informal, that just means 35, 40 minutes of music, kind of coffeehouse style, and then the pastor comes out and speaks for 20, and then has a prayer. That's an informal liturgy. More formal liturgies, kind of laid out more, okay, there's a call to worship, there's a confession of sin, there is a assurance of pardon, there are songs and hymns and spiritual songs, there is maybe more scripture reading, there's an offering, there's the Lord's Supper, there's baptism, there's sermon, there's benediction, there's even a flow to it, revelation and response flowing back and forth, revelation drives response, et cetera.

Well, we have synagogue liturgy, and this is what they typically were, and actually Luke 4 shows us some of that. It doesn't show all of it. You've got, originally, they'd have psalm singing, a reading of the Shema, the Lord our God is one, Deuteronomy 6.

They'd have 18 blessings that they would repeat. They'd read the law, Torah. Then they'd read the prophets, then they'd have a sermon from one of those two passages, then there'd be a blessing. And so, this is what we'll see as we work through the passage.

So, so far, when we pick it up in verse 17 in the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that psalm has already been sung, Shema has been said, 18 blessings have been given, a Torah has been read, and now we're going to have a reading from the prophets.

And what's going to come in the future is a sermon from that reading and a blessing slash benediction. And so, the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was given to Jesus, and he unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written.

And so, some people think in a lectio continuo style, picking up from where you left off, that the last Saturday, let's just say Isaiah 60 was read. If they were reading chapter by chapter, they could read big sections, who knows, or smaller sections.

But let's just say Isaiah 60 was read. Now Jesus shows up, perfect providential timing, and he wants Isaiah 61. And so, nothing has to change because God has perfectly, providentially, sovereignly set it up so that Jesus arrives for the Isaiah 61 reading.

And since fame has spread, his fame has spread, his popularity, he's being praised by all, they ask him to do the scripture reading and then the sermon. And so, that's one option. Option two is that they were going to read something else, and Jesus picks Isaiah 61 on purpose.

They could have been reading chapter by chapter, they could have just been skipping around, they could have been saying, it's a special time of year, let's read Esther, whatever it might have been. But we know Jesus here unrolls the scroll and finds the place where it is written.

So, probably that second option is what's happening, where Jesus purposely is going to find Isaiah 61, which is also going to lead to many people thinking to themselves, the gall of this man, calling himself God, calling him the Messiah.

He unrolls the scroll. And of course, that's language of medicine that Luke the physician would give, opening up a person for surgery. It's the same thing. You're opening up, you're spreading out. And remember, this is not a book that you fold open.

These are scrolls. By the way, you could put the entire scroll of Isaiah, the entire corpus of Isaiah on a singular scroll. They have that in the dome of the book in Jerusalem. You can't see it. They have a kind of a replica of some of it, but it's down below, safe, etc.

All of Isaiah on a single scroll. So, you have to unroll it and open it up like you'd open up the chest of someone to have heart surgery. The same word is used in 2 Kings 19, that Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it.

And he went up to the house of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. There, see, that's what we have. Unrolling it and Jesus finds Isaiah 61. Note that Jesus knew the Bible because He knew right where to go.

If you have no idea where Psalm Isaiah 53 is, you just know that somehow transgressions and bruise, iniquities, it's somewhere in Isaiah, where would you go? Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.

The whole earth is full of His glory. You go, well, I know that's in Isaiah, but I don't know where. Well, if you knew it was in Isaiah 6, you would spread it out from the left side first and unroll it.

Technically from the right side first, because Hebrew reads from right to left, but you're following with me because this is actually no compromise radio ministry, right? So, Jesus opens up the scroll, and what you're supposed to be having here is a very, very anticipatory I'm looking at something else an anticipatory feeling.

That's what you're supposed to have. You're supposed to be thinking, oh, is he really going to do this? Is Jesus actually going to do what I think he's going to do? That's what you're supposed to be thinking.

Jesus’ Custom of Corporate Worship and the Synagogue Liturgy

Other comment I'll make, and then I got to wrap this up because we're just dive bombing as fast as we can. Jesus put a priority on corporate worship. Should you? This one has His custom. I wonder if I could say that about you.

That's your custom. Everybody knows. Your kids know. Your wife knows. We're going to go worship on the Lord's day. For us, of course, it's on Sunday. Jesus was raised on Sunday, ascended on Sunday. They gathered on Sunday.

So, it's the Lord's day, Sunday, as was His custom. I hope people think that about me. I hope my kids think about that, me. I hope my neighbors do. I don't want the robbers to think that, but everybody else, I want them to think that.

Jesus knew that. We are not to neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near. That's the book of Hebrews. All right. I think that's enough.

So, anyway, Mike Abendroth, we close with the music of the show today, right? That's exactly right. Welcome to No Compromise Radio Ministry. How about that one from the Talking Hens? See, but he gives us a lot of instrumental.

Once he starts talking, it doesn't really work. Maybe I'll work the opposite for you. Anyway, you can email me, Mike at No Compromise Radio.