Dewey Bertolini's Podcast

It is called, appropriately enough, the Via Dolorosa, Latin for “The Way of Sorrows.” For Jesus, it absolutely was a way of sorrows — every single excruciatingly painful step of it, from the Antonia Fortress (where Pilate sentenced Him), to Golgotha (where Jesus’ execution awaited Him). In this PODCAST, we will walk that path together. 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.

His name is Pilate, as in Pontius Pilate — P-i-l-a-t-e, not p-i-l-o-t — even though Pilate did manage to fly himself right into middle of a maelstrom of religious and political corruption and compromise with devastating consequences. In this PODCAST, as we now approach Jesus’ impending crucifixion, the greatest irony of this entire sad saga is that the whole thing is motivated by one thing: self-interest. As we learned in last week’s podcast, on the Jewish side of things, the entire motivation behind the High Priest Caiaphas and the 70-member Sanhedrin in wanting to kill Jesus was the realization that He posed an existential threat to their power, position, prestige, and possessions, all of them paid for with their obscene wealth and ill-gotten gains — the chief thieves, these religious leaders were, in a den of thieves. Which is what, on their watch, the Temple, The House, God’s House, “My Father’s House” (as Jesus called it), had become. As we will learn this week, on Roman side of things, the spineless Pil

To say that after “they” — to quote the Apostle John — “bound Jesus and brought Him first to Annas,” Jesus’ life would never be the same again would be a gross understatement and wholly inaccurate. Fact is, as you are about to hear in this PODCAST, only some 15 hours after this cohort of some six hundred elite Roman soldiers led Him away in chains, Jesus’ life would be over. The Roman leader principally responsible for Jesus’ execution? The Procurator Pontius Pilate, whom we will meet up close and personal next week. The Jewish leader principally responsible for Jesus’ execution, whom we will meet this week? The High Priest Joseph Caiaphas. You read that right. At this point in time, Caiaphas was — Listen! — the highest ranking religious leader throughout all the land, over all the people. As High Priest, Caiaphas was the only person alive permitted behind the veil in Temple into the Holy of Holies, and that on only one day of the year — Day of Atonement. The Holy of Holies, where God’s manifest presence — Hi

They say that “one picture is worth a thousand words.” Sometimes, on rare occasions, one word is worth a thousand pictures. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST, this is one of those occasions. In this case, that one word is “Gethsemane.” As in the Garden of Gethsemane, that very garden to which John referred when he wrote, “On the other side (of the Kidron Valley) there was a garden, and Jesus and his disciples went into it.”  I would not be overstating the case to suggest that everything you and I need to understand about the Gospel is contained in that one word all-telling, “Gethsemane.” Gethsemane, ironically a place of peaceful repose, first pops up on our radar in Matthew’s account of this anything-but-peace-filled night. He wrote with no explanation, “Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, ‘Sit here while I go and pray over there.’” No explanation was needed, at least for Matthew’s original readers. All would have been abundantly familiar with the modest-

No matter how you cut it, this man was an enigma. As you will hear in this PODCAST, this man -- handpicked by Jesus and elevated to the rarified air of the apostles -- repaid Jesus’ generosity by betraying Him to His executioners. Is there any human emotion more painful than that of betrayal?  Ever felt it? Betrayal? That midnight darkness of the soul that enshrouds us like an impenetrable fog when we have dared to trust someone -- with our deepest feelings, our most hidden secrets, as if we have just entrusted to the person our very hearts, perhaps our very lives -- only to have him or her shatter our hearts and break our trust by their soul-crushing betrayal. Jesus sure felt it. The pangs of betrayal. Boy, did He ever! That moment frozen in time when for the first time you see with crystal-clarity that you have been played. Well, for 3½ years Jesus had been played.  Where did this man -- Judas Iscariot -- come from? What causes a man to make the fateful plunge from believer to betrayer? What do we really kn

It's Christmas Day! And to our many precious Jewish friends, the night of December 25 marks the beginning of Hanukkah, 2016. With that in mind, I thought it appropriate to take a little trip, to another time and place -- specifically, to Jesus' final Hanukkah mere months before His crucifixion. As you will hear in this PODCAST, what is most remarkable to me is that Jesus went "up to Jerusalem" to celebrate this Hanukkah at great risk to His life. Why? As John observed in John 10, it was winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem for what John calls the Feast of Dedication. As we break seal on this story, we are now a mere four months from the crucifixion. When we last left Jesus, He had just healed a man born blind following the Feast of Tabernacles in October. This led to a rather heated confrontation with the religious leaders who kicked the now-healed blind man out of synagogue and denied that this man was ever blind. When that didn’t work, because everyone in Jerusalem knew this formerly blind-beggar, they accuse

Jesus’ final words here at the tail-end of the Upper Room Discourse connect directly with Jesus’ opening words at the very beginning of the Upper Room Discourse. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST, Jesus began His parting words to His disciples with this promise: “When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.” That is the beginning of John 14. Jesus added one last exclamation point to it all with this parting prayer: “Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am.” This at the end of John 17. Jesus’ heartfelt emotion in this moment cannot be overstated. These are the heartsick words of a smitten bride-groom about to leave His newly-betrothed bride. His bride with whom He is very much in love. His bride from whom He must now depart in order to — in the words of John 14 — return to His Father’s house to prepare the place where He and bride will dwell together forever. It was back in Podcast #20, at the wedding at Cana, when I first

If you have ever asked yourself any of the age-old questions like... What’s it all about? Why am I here? What is my purpose? If you have ever asked yourself these or similar questions, then you are in for a treat in this latest PODCAST. Because in this podcast, you will get the answer to these most-important questions. So let me start with a news-flash for you. One of considerable consequence. Yet one that you will not find to be surprising at all. 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.

Not to be clichéd! But if the words, “Mission Accomplished” ever meant anything to anyone in any situation, they absolutely apply here in John 17. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST, this is the moment, courtesy of John, now forever frozen in time. The singular moment toward which all of human history, going all the way back to the Garden of Eden, had been slowly but steadily building. The seminal moment from which the remainder of human history, down to our present day, has been rapidly descending. The consequential moment when Jesus could literally look up to Heaven and finally acknowledge, “I brought glory to You here on earth by completing the work You gave me to do.” Such mystery, such majesty, in these few words. Indeed, a Mission -- the Mission -- Accomplished! That mission that Jesus Himself defined when He said in referring to Himself, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost” (Luke 19:10). Which, as you are about to learn, means far more than pulling people out of Hell. Ind

On this Thursday night of Jesus’ final week, mere hours before the crucifixion, Jesus was worried about His disciples. And as you are about to hear in this PODCAST, He was worried for a very good reason. I don’t know if you have ever associated the word worry with Jesus, but as you will hear, in this case, at this time, in this place, that word worry is most appropriate. Don’t worry (pun intended). I’m not trying to get all psychoanalytical on you. I am not fluent in psychobabble. And I’m not about to subject Jesus to a psychoanalysis. But let us not overlook the fact that this is one of those rare glimpses into Jesus’ mind and heart on this -- the single most traumatic night of His storied life. What we see is a most-endearing picture of Jesus in all of His humanness on full display before disciples. I say endearing because the fact of the matter is this: Jesus is equally worried about you. And that for the exact same Very.Good.Reason. So what did Jesus do in response to His loving concern, His worry, His an

Get yourself ready for a massive dose of encouragement. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST, it’s amazing to me how a couple of significant storylines are coming full circle with Jesus’ words John 15. Specifically, last week we saw how Jesus’ assertion, “I am the vine,” is final of Jesus’ seven “I Am” statements recorded in the Gospel of John. Now, for this discussion, here’s a Bible Trivia Question for you: What was the very first parable that Jesus taught as recorded in the Gospels? I’ll give you a couple of hints: 1. It’s found in Mk 2. 2. It’s a parable about a new day coming, the Messianic Age dawning, a day that began in Bethlehem, a day filled with bright hopes and blazing anticipation. A part of that first parable goes like this: Jesus said, “No one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins.” New wine, symbolic of a new day, a great day, a beautiful day, a day of God’s

Oh how I love a good irony. That being said, how ironic in terms of timing is it that in this PODCAST, on this our fourth anniversary together as a Safe Haven family, we come to Jesus’ statement here in John 15, in the Upper Room Discourse, when He said to His men (and to us!), “I am the vine, you are the branches”? The irony to which I refer lies in fact that this statement completes John’s portrait of Jesus.  You talk about Jesus in High Definition. How about seven layers of definition, skillfully painted on the canvas of John’s Gospel, that leaves us with no doubt as to the true character of Jesus as the God-man. Understand that from start to finish, John had but one goal in mind, one purpose to his writing, one theme, one image that he sought to paint in this his artful masterpiece of his master. One the he painted in such beautifully breathtaking detail. A portrait of Jesus to which John alerted us in the very first verse of his glorious gospel. Right out of the gate, John stated his theme, clearly and u

Welcome to Part Three in this 3-part mini-series within a series concerning the Mysterious Member of the Trinity, AKA The Holy Spirit. As you will hear in this PODCAST, here in the Upper Room Discourse, Jesus presented to His disciples the first extended discussion of the Holy Spirit to be found anywhere in the Bible. Yes, the Holy Spirit was very present and quite active in the Old Testament, making His first appearance in second verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:2. But not-so-strangely enough, there is within the pages of the Bible no extended discussion of the Holy Spirit until we break the seal on John 14-17, the Upper Room Discourse. I say not-so-strangely because of a tantalizing little detail that Jesus shared with His men right in the middle of the Upper Room Discourse, in John 15:26 (CEV): “I will send you the Spirit who comes from the Father and shows what is true. The Spirit will help you and will tell you about Me.” The Holy Spirit, third person in the Triune Godhead, did not inspire the biblical writ

You could call the Holy Spirit Jesus’ going away present, first to His disciples, and then, of course, to each of us. As you will hear in this PODCAST, we’re talking about The Third Member of Trinity, the Mysterious Member of the Trinity. Here in John 14-17 -- the so-called Upper Room Discourse, even though as we noted last week, Jesus taught the amazing truths of John 15-17 after He and the disciples-minus-Judas had hastily departed the Upper Room, steps ahead of the Judas-led-posse seeking Jesus’ arrest -- we have the first extended theological discussion of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament, actually in the entire Bible. Up until now the biblical writers have been largely silent regarding the multifaceted ministry of the Holy Spirit. Yes, the Holy Spirit is mentioned throughout the Old Testament. But the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is not developed in the Old Testament. This, as you are about to hear, for very good reason, one that harkens all the way back to the very first podcast in this series. So he

Welcome to the Upper Room Discourse. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST, we are now standing on the precipice of Jesus’ passion -- Judas’ betrayal, Jesus’ arrest, Peter’s denial, Jesus’ incarceration, His trials, His Crucifixion, climaxing of course in His glorious Resurrection. What should have been a night primarily of celebration  -- of the Passover, and all of its rich meaning -- quickly morphed into an evening of last-minute and desperate instruction. Jesus had to prepare His men for the tumultuous and turbulent events of the coming hours, culminating in the crucifixion, the tipping point of redemptive history, after which human history would never be the same again. As you might suspect, Jesus in the so-called Upper Room Discourse (You’ll understand why I say “so-called” as you listen.), Jesus hit on the themes most important to Him. There are three principle themes in the Upper Room Discourse. The first of which we will discuss now and next week. The remaining two we’ll dissect and discuss in the

It was an epic one-two punch to the gut. Jesus’ gut, not to put too fine a point on it. A brutal betrayal coupled with a devastating denial by two of Jesus’ handpicked and beloved disciples. In this PODCAST, I am referring of course to Judas’ betrayal and Peter’s three-time denial. If there is a silver lining to these increasingly billowing clouds, it is this: There is a clear pattern emerging here in John 13. A pattern that tells quite a tale, striking subtext to the entire crucifixion story. A pattern that should illuminate for you a bright, blazing beacon of hope to light your way during your darkest hours and most difficult days. 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.

So many things are going to become So.Very.Clear in this week’s PODCAST. You are about to hear something of… The precision of the Bible; What theologians call the “inerrancy” of the Bible; How the precious truths of the Bible sometime hinge on just one word; The relevance of the Bible; How a cultural reality from the time and place of Jesus speaks to us in real time, to our very real circumstances, even today. Most importantly: You will hear in unmistakable terms about the care and compassion of the God of the Bible, as Jesus paints the most poignant picture of just how much our gentle Jesus loves and cares about you. We truly are in for a treat this week, courtesy of Jesus. 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.

Welcome to the Upper Room, and Jesus’ farewell address to His beloved disciples. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST, as we break the seal on this, Jesus’ final night before the crucifixion, I do so with something of a lump in my throat and the pinkish hue of embarrassment upon my otherwise rosy cheeks. This because this particular portion of the grand story of Jesus’ life and ministry hits me most personally. And if, as they say, “Confession is good for the soul,” then I make my confession to you, my beloved little Safe Haven family, tonight. There is embedded within this most amazing scene, Jesus washing His disciples’ feet, a timeless lesson that, if only I could turn back the hands of the clock and the passage of time, I would have taken to heart way back when I was just starting out in my ministry. This pointed and practical warning is as timely today as it was that night in that Upper Room when Jesus gave it to His disciples. A timeless truth that has come to define my life and, more to the point,

Welcome to the Thursday of Jesus’ final week. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST, with these words, we are less than twenty-four hours from the crucifixion. Words wherein Jesus could just as well have said to Peter and John, “Go and prepare my final Passover meal together, so that we can eat it together.” Jesus will on this Thursday evening celebrate with His disciples THE singular observance on the Jewish calendar, from time of Moses (Exodus 12) even to today. Indeed, as Rabbi Joseph Telushkin so succinctly stated in his classic work, Jewish Literacy, “Passover is the most widely observed Jewish holiday.” But here’s the thing: Overshadowing this entire discussion tonight is this raw reality around which I cannot begin to wrap my mind: The centerpiece of Passover, of Jesus’ final Passover -- the Passover lamb -- has throughout redemptive history pictured one and only one person: Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. That person, Jesus, whose sacrifice in less than twenty-four hours

It’s getting real. Real fast. As you are about to hear in this PODCAST, something in the last few days of Jesus’ final week triggered Judas to do the unthinkable. You talk about someone selling their soul to the devil, literally or figuratively? Well, Judas did both. Judas sold his soul to the devil, literally and figuratively. “Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.” Why here? Why now? Why this? In order to answer these and additional questions, let’s meet Judas the Betrayer up close and personal. A fitting title because the very first time we encounter this tragic individual, we are introduced to him with these telling words: “Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).” How would you like that as your moniker? Who was this guy? And what does it all mean for us today? Allow me to set up this discussion in this way: It’s one of the most precious passages in all of the Bible. That is no exaggeration or overstatement. Yet, it gets relatively scant attention because in most of our English tr