Dewey Bertolini's Podcast

Welcome to the Olivet Discourse. The End Times prophetic address that Jesus gave to His disciples high atop the Mount of Olives, immediately to the East of the Holy City, Jerusalem. As you will hear in this PODCAST, that lovely little land that we affectionately call Israel is the center of the world. Literally and metaphorically. Literally, because Israel is the place where the three major continents -- Europe, Asia, and Africa -- tenderly touch and affectionately kiss each other. Which goes a long way to explaining why God chose this modest piece of real estate -- a mere 150 miles long (North-South), 50 miles wide (West-East) -- as stage for the Greatest Story Ever Told. Metaphorically the center of the world because throughout all of human history, the eyes of world have ever been focused squarely on the Middle East -- so called because it sits in the middle or center of the world. And in center of the Middle East sits Israel. So Israel is indeed the center of the world. That said, Jerusalem is the center

Picture him there, a grizzled, stooped, aged apostle, marooned on an island of rock, confined to a cave. See him in your mind’s eye, with quill to parchment, writing fast and furiously in a mad dash to record everything that he is now seeing and hearing. Our old (and at the time of his writing Revelation) very old friend, the beloved apostle John. Writing, as you will hear in this PODCAST, what sounds like fantastical tale in specific, yet an all-too-plausible scenario in the abstract. A story that brings to a climax the epic collision that has plagued this planet and every person who has ever trod its blood-soaked soil since the beginning of history. The climax of the collision of good versus evil. As we were so graphically reminded just last Thursday in the south of France. Here in Revelation both good and evil are personified. Here the wellsprings of good and evil are identified by name. Here this human-history-long all-out war finally, mercifully coming to its end, thankfully with good as the victor, and

“Watch out that no one deceives you.” As you will hear in this PODCAST, given the wild-eyed speculations with which Christian community has historically been bombarded regarding all-things prophecy-related, Jesus’ words in Matthew 24 give us a good warning indeed. A warning which explains why we want to take a sober, strictly-biblical look at what Jesus taught in Matthew 24 - 25 about His Second Coming and the end of the age. Let me remind you that we are now on Tuesday of Jesus’ final week, a mere seventy-two hours before His crucifixion. For the disciples, not to mention Jesus Himself, a head-spinning turbulent few days had just passed, highlighted by the Triumphal Entry and the Cleansing of the Temple. Yet, without trying to be cliched about it, they hadn’t seen anything yet. And frankly, neither have we. So for the moment, as they took a brief breather to gather their thoughts and emotions, Jesus and the twelve disciples huddled on the Mount of Olives and took in the breathtaking view laid out before them

I can’t tell you how excited I am in this PODCAST to break the seal on this, Jesus’ walk through the remainder of human history as we know it. It’s typically referred to as the Olivet Discourse because Jesus gave this prophetic panorama while sitting on the Mount of Olives, immediately to the East of Jerusalem, right across the Kidron Valley from the glorious Temple. One of the most breathtaking vistas in all the world. This is Tuesday of Jesus’ final week. On Sunday, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday, on what they would have called Passover Lamb selection day. On Monday, Jesus cleansed the Temple and cursed a fig tree. This Tuesday, a scant 72 hrs before the crucifixion, was significant and confrontational in the extreme. Jesus took on the religious leaders of the day, in a blistering take-down, essentially sealing His fate. (8 times in Matthew 23, Jesus will in effect consign them all to Hell with the fateful words, “Woe to you…”) Jesus explained why He cursed the fig tree (as we discus

One more week of camp. So one more Encore Podcast. My heart goes out to Mother Mary. Her name means “Bitterness.” Sadly, and quite frankly, in many ways Mary lived up to her name.  Being the mother of Jesus was no small task. One that she fulfilled with great dignity. But boy did she face her challenges. In this PODCAST, we will gaze upon a Scriptural snapshot of Mary unlike anything you have ever seen before. Not only that, but we will encounter Jesus in His darkest hour, second only to that night before the crucifixion when He sweat drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. As we do, our love for Him will deepen. Our respect for His mom will broaden. And our understanding of the both of them will stir up within our own hearts a sense of God’s presence in our lives like we’ve never experienced before. Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play. May God richly bless you as you listen!

I’m off doing my camp speaking thing. (I sure would appreciate your prayers: for me, but especially for the campers who are stuck having to listen to me for the week. But I digress.) Anyway, in this PODCAST, you will learn one singularly simple concept which, if you take it to heart, will change your life forever. It is my sense that in contemporary Christian culture in America, we have lost sight of the elegant simplicity spoken of in the New Testament. And consequently, we have lost so much of God’s blessing in the process. So here’s to simplicity, with the hope that your life overflows with God’s bountiful blessing as we together apply this principle to our lives. Please note that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play. Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to begin to play. God bless you richly as you listen.

To be perfectly honest with you, the passage here in Matthew 21 is coming -- for me,at least -- at just the right time. And perhaps for you as well. Given the current political climate in our beloved country, and the increasing despair that I have felt as the presidential primary season has now concluded, I so desperately need to hear my own message, courtesy of Jesus. Jesus assured His disciples, “Whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” As you will hear in this PODCAST, the irony of what Jesus said is so thick that you could cut it with the proverbial knife. The irony being this: Jesus said those words to the disciples on the eve of His crucifixion in order to strengthen, to fortify their fragile faith. And frankly, to strengthen and to fortify ours. Jesus knew that the events in their lives were about to spin seemingly out of control. The hopes they harbored in their hearts were about to be crushed into the ash heap of history. The Jesus movement in which they played a central role

Welcome to Monday of Jesus’ last week, His Passion week, the final few days leading up to His coming crucifixion. As you will hear in this PODCAST, At the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, way back in John 2 (Podcast #21), Jesus cleansed the Temple for the first time. Now here in Mark 11, at the very end of His ministry, Jesus cleansed the Temple for the second time. A display of uncharacteristic anger, rare to be sure. But a shocking display of anger nonetheless. Quite out of character for a Jesus who described Himself, and who consistently showed Himself to be a Very.Gentle.Jesus. As Jesus walked through the Temple courts that day, something set Him off. Yes, He was understandably upset about the fleecing of the flock that was going on here. To be perfectly pointed about it, these religious leaders were making bank by selling God. Religion had become big business. By the time of Jesus, the Temple Industrial Complex was alive and well and oh-so-lucrative. Sadly, they had discovered in that day what so many

There is a beautiful and breathtaking symmetry to the life and ministry of Jesus. Case in point, as you will hear in this PODCAST, here in John 12, the beloved disciple brings us full circle. You may not see that now. But trust me, you will by the time we conclude this discussion. Let me give you one tantalizing little hint: This beautiful symmetry to which I refer has little to do with palm branches, but everything to do with lambs. Now watch this: When John introduced us to Jesus for the very first time, this is what he wrote: “The next day John (the baptizer) saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” That’s in John 1. Here in John 12, this is what we read: “The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city.” Now listen: In both cases, at the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry in John 1, and here at the very ending of Jesus’ ministry in John 12, it’s all about a lamb. I know that as you read any or all of the accoun

You talk about a collision of conflicting emotions, welcome to Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into His beloved city of Jerusalem. As you will hear in this PODCAST, all of this emotional turmoil will come to a climax as Jesus paused during His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, gazed longingly at breathtaking panorama, and then suddenly sang this song of lament: “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day.” This your day. The obvious question: What was it about this day that caused Jesus to refer to it with such a pointed specificity? This was, of course, the day on which Jesus chose to make His return to the Holy City, and thus to trigger all of tumultuous events of His turbulent last week. It was, as you may know, the final Sunday before Passover that year, what we call Palm Sunday. This because the people gathered in their thousands, and waved palm branches all along the route of Jesus’ ride on the back of a donkey into Jerusalem. I cannot help but to think that the words of Psalm 137 echoed through Jesus

The Apostle John turned out to be quite the lyricist. One could almost sing some of his melodious verses. In fact, many of us have. As you will hear in this PODCAST, John wasn’t a scholar, not by any stretch of imagination. Quite unlike the Apostle Paul, for example. John engaged in virtually no complex doctrinal discussions involving the nuances of theology, the kinds of stuff in which Paul reveled. John’s Greek is so simplistic that 1 John is invariably the first book every 1st-year Greek student translates. John was a passionate soul, one who wrote far more emotionally than he did academically. Consequently, John had the uncanny ability to relate to us all on such a visceral level that you get the sense that he understood exactly what it’s like to be us -- fragile, fearful, human. When their paths first crossed, Jesus met a rather unremarkable, uneducated fisherman from the provincial little town of Bethsaida. Yet, by the time Jesus got done with him, John became a prolific author (with one Gospel, three l

Meet Blind Bartimaeus, a man who seems at first blush to be nothing more than a bit player in this most dramatic and poignant moment. As you will hear in this PODCAST, this wasn’t the first time that Jesus healed a blind man. Nor is this the first time we have talked about Jesus healing a blind man. Last November, Podcast 141, comes to mind. So I would totally understand if you were tempted to bring to this story a sense of “been there, done that,” Déjà vu all over again. Like, if you’ve seen one blind-man-healing, you’ve seen them all, right? WRONG! As I said just a moment ago, this story is both dramatic and poignant. The implications of this story, both for the Jews of Jesus’ day, and for the entire world in our day, cannot be overstated. This story is indeed dramatic, dramatic in the extreme. Nor can we overstate the emotional state Jesus must have been in at this most significant moment of His ministry, as the final chapter of His life is about to unfold. Emotions that infuse this story with feeling from

You could call this story an epic “Opportunity Lost.” You talk about a guy presented with a once-in-a-lifetime golden opportunity, an opportunity that he squandered. An opportunity that he squandered Badly.And.Sadly. As you will hear in this PODCAST, we're talking about an offer rarely made, and shockingly dismissed. A young man who burst on the scene like a blazing comet streaking overhead, only to flame out and fall out of the sky to come crashing and burning to earth. What a story! One thing’s for sure. Jesus never took a class on Personal Evangelism. Because, to be honest, Jesus Broke.Every.Rule of personal evangelism in this very personal encounter. Here you have what we call in our contemporary Christian culture a seeker coming to Jesus to ask Him one question. THE question. The single most important question. A softball question that any one of us could answer. His question? “What should I do to inherit eternal life?” This young man asked Jesus exactly the right question, to which Jesus gave him exactl

John 11:53 (NLT) is a most remarkable statement. It reads, “So from that time on, the Jewish leaders began to plot Jesus’ death.” As you’ll hear in this PODCAST, I’ll tell you exactly to what John refers with the phrase, “From that time on…” Again, this is most remarkable. But before we get to that, consider this: It is, in my humble estimation, the Single.Most.Misunderstood parable in the entire New Testament. No exaggeration. The parable to which I refer is most commonly entitled, “The Rich Man and Lazarus,” and it is found in Luke 16. Now, you might be wondering, What does this parable in Luke 16 have to do with John 11 wherein the religious leaders “from that time on... began to plot Jesus’ death?” Honestly, it has everything to do with John 11. So much so, that if you don’t understand this parable -- the meaning of it, and just as importantly, the timing of it -- you won’t understand John 11. You won’t understand the motivations of those who began to plot Jesus’ death. In terms of how hard a person’s hea

If last week’s discussion revealed to us the iconic image of the heart of Jesus, this week’s PODCAST will unveil to us the iconic image of the humanness of Jesus. The beloved Apostle John wrote this in the first chapter of his Gospel masterpiece: “Jesus became human and made his home among us.” Paul wrote this to his beloved little community of Christ-followers in Philippi: “Though he was God…  Jesus became completely human.” Here in John 11, we will see just how completely human Jesus truly was. I’ll clue you in right here from the start: We are about to witness three powerful, very human emotions collide within the heart and soul of Jesus. And as a result, we will be all the richer for having witnessed this collision, each emotion in response to the death of Jesus’ dear friend, Lazarus. You are about to take a quantum leap in your understanding of who Jesus is, in a way that you may not be anticipating as we break the seal on this (to many people) very familiar story. This entire discussion under this overa

As you will hear in this PODCAST, there is No.Clearer.Picture in all of the Bible of the heart of God towards sinners -- I’m talking the hardest of hardhearted sinners -- than this one right here in Luke 13. A Scriptural snapshot that will go a long way to defining your biblical view of God and your biblical understanding of Jesus, both as a man and as God. If you think of the Bible as a picture book, Luke paints for us a portrait of Jesus that is, quite frankly, irresistible, and most refreshing to my soul. It will be to yours as well. Guaranteed. One that comes to us, ironically enough, thanks to a small cadre of good Pharisees. Yes! Heard me right. Good Pharisees. The Pharisees as a group, as we have discussed in weeks gone by, and as you therefore understand, were historically among Jesus’ chief tormentors. That being said, there were in the minority some good Pharisees. Nicodemus comes to mind as a good Pharisee, one who lovingly cared for Jesus’ body after the crucifixion. In Mark 12, Jesus told a good

It’s called in our culture a “sea-change,” an idiom first introduced by Shakespeare in his play, The Tempest. A cultural cliché that refers to “a substantial or significant transformation.” A sea-change. As you will hear in this PODCAST, here in Luke 12, we are about to witness a sea-change. A substantial or significant transformation in the focus of Jesus’ ministry and message.  Jesus’ words were for the disciples sadly stunning. For them, these words represented the death of a dream. Yet, for us today, they embody the birth of a dream, our most glorious dream, our greatest hope. Something to which the New Testament refers as our blessed hope. The hope that we treasure. The promise of God that represents the only semblance of common sense that remains in this otherwise outrageously, absurdly nonsensical world of ours. Spoiler Alert: You are in for copious amounts of encouragement. Please remember that depending upon your web browser and connection speed, it may take up to 60 seconds for this podcast to beg

There is a forgotten figure in the Crucifixion-Resurrection drama. A remarkable man who came to a most-remarkable conclusion. As you will hear in this PODCAST, I am referring to the Roman officer who actually crucified Jesus. At the conclusion of the crucifixion, this Roman officer -- who had literally just killed Christ -- made this stunning statement: “This man truly was the Son of God!” Now, I have to ask the questions: How in the world did he come to this conclusion? This Roman? This executioner? This worshipper of many gods? This witness to, and participant in, more crucifixions than he could count? What was it about this crucifixion that set it apart from all the others over which he, as a commander of 100 elite Roman troops, presided? What pushed him over the line from a polytheist to a monotheist? A worshiper of Caesar as god into a worshiper of Jesus as God? And what was it exactly that convinced him beyond the shadow of any doubt that the man he had just executed was in fact Almighty God? I am pr

We are, as you well know, engaged in a fascinating election cycle -- one that I have been following with great interest. Last week, one prominent commentator told of the time when, shortly after the swearing-in of a relatively recent President, he asked him, “What does it feel like to be President?” His answer, in case you are interested, was this: “I suddenly realized that everything I say will profoundly affect something somewhere in the world.” As you will hear in this PODCAST, that question, “What does it feel like to be President?” piqued my curiosity. Truth be told, there have been times when I have curiously wondered how God would respond if we were to ask Him, “What does it feel like to be God?” The thing is, God has already answered that question. God has told us exactly what it feels like to be God. Fact is, His answer might honestly surprise you. Surprise you in a profoundly emotional way. It sure does me! Now, in considering His answer that question, “What does it feel like to be God?” we have to

It’s been a tough week for our country. Riots at political rallies. An increasingly course discourse. Much angst in the world. And I know you are feeling it. Well, consider this PODCAST to be a bright and beautiful shot of much-needed adrenaline to your system, some refreshing encouragement from Jesus’ heart to yours. Let's begin our discussion with this: It is one of the most precious, and quite frankly priceless privileges in the entire Bible. I am referring to the one verse that concludes the fourth chapter of the book of Hebrews. One glorious verse that speaks volumes, both to the original readers of this verse, and to us as well. But before I read it to you, I must first set this scene: As its title suggests -- Hebrews -- this book was written to Jewish believers in Jesus. These precious people lost everything when they become committed Christ-followers. Unlike the letters of Paul, written to local gatherings of believers in a given city -- Rome, Corinth, Philippi -- this letter was written to Jewish