# Speak Truth Despite Others’ Beliefs - The Gospels

An episode of [Kids Bible in a Year with Julia Jeffress Sadler](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1696638708), 19 Mar 2024, 12 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/f8ddd7fd-69c6-48d0-804f-b4d6010c327c/32cde6cc-21f9-482d-ad6f-b4d6018180fe/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=14e8ed60-20b2-4d5c-a832-b4d6010c3283

Join Julia Jeffress Sadler as she takes us on an incredible adventure in Episode 177. In Bethany, Jesus cursed a fig tree for not bearing fruit, symbolizing judgment on unfruitfulness. In Jerusalem, He cleansed the temple, rebuking those who turned it into a marketplace and teaching the importance of prayer and forgiveness. Through a parable about a vineyard, Jesus warned against rejecting God's messengers and foretold His own death, challenging the leaders and revealing God's plan to give the kingdom to those who are faithful. Sign up to receive Kids Bible in a Year devotionals in your inbox every weekday: https://www.kidsbibleinayear.com/ Get ready to experience the Bible designed specifically for children with the official KidsBibleinaYear.com podcast, led by Julia Jeffress Sadler. This captivating audio series presents the age-old wisdom of the Bible in an engaging format that will captivate your kids. Each episode Julia translates biblical teachings into real-life applications, making Bible comprehension a breeze for young minds. And if you want more Christian resources and content, you can download the Pray.com app. Pray.com is the digital destination for faith, offering over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime Bible stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible. For more resources on how to live a successful Christian life, visit Julia Jeffress Sadler's website at https://ptv.org/julia/. This episode is sponsored by Little Passports. Visit LittlePassports.com/blessed and use promo code BLESSED to receive 20% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: Dear God, there is so much we can learn from
[0:02] Speaker 1: your word. As we read about your final week on earth,
[0:04] Speaker 1: help us to understand your words and hear what you're
[0:06] Speaker 1: saying to our hearts. Help us to truly bear fruit
[0:08] Speaker 1: and not pretend like the Pharisees. Thank you, Lord, for
[0:29] Speaker 1: being faithful to the end. In Jesus' name, amen.
[0:35] Speaker 2: Thank you for praying with us today. The Kids Bible
[0:38] Speaker 2: in a Year podcast is sponsored by Little Passports, delivering
[0:42] Speaker 2: monthly activity kit subscriptions that help kids explore the world,
[0:46] Speaker 2: cultivate curiosity, and discover new interests with hands-on crafts and
[0:50] Speaker 2: activities in cooking, science, crafts, and more. All with a
[0:54] Speaker 2: unique cultural twist. Visit littlepassports.com slash blessed to learn more
[1:00] Speaker 2: and save 20% with code blessed.
[1:09] Speaker 3: Speak truth despite others' beliefs. In our last story, Jesus
[1:15] Speaker 3: rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and wept over the city.
[1:20] Speaker 3: In this story, as Jesus' crucifixion is imminent, Jesus curses
[1:25] Speaker 3: a fig tree drove the money changers from the temple,
[1:29] Speaker 3: and tells a parable about a vineyard, as inspired by
[1:34] Speaker 3: the Gospels.
[1:39] Speaker 1: Hi again, it's Julianne Thompson, guest hosting for Julia Jeffress Sadler.
[1:43] Speaker 1: Thanks for joining me for the Kids Bible in Ear podcast.
[1:47] Speaker 1: We are diving into three stories today and getting a
[1:50] Speaker 1: peek into what is frustrating Jesus, rightfully so. Things are
[1:54] Speaker 1: stirring in Jerusalem and his suffering is not far away.
[1:59] Speaker 1: Listen in.
[2:03] Speaker 3: Jesus was hungry when they were leaving Bethany and saw
[2:06] Speaker 3: a fig tree off in the distance. This tree was
[2:09] Speaker 3: about to bloom and Jesus went to see if there
[2:12] Speaker 3: was any fruit on it. He got to the tree
[2:15] Speaker 3: to be disappointed in finding that it has no fruit
[2:18] Speaker 3: on its branches. But this was because it was not
[2:21] Speaker 3: in season to have fruit on it. He then cursed
[2:25] Speaker 3: the tree in declaring that it will never bear fruit
[2:29] Speaker 3: from it again, as the disciples were witnesses in hearing this.
[2:34] Speaker 3: Then they reached Jerusalem, and Jesus got mad at those
[2:38] Speaker 3: who were selling things in the temples. He made those
[2:41] Speaker 3: who were selling things leave the temple and flipped over
[2:44] Speaker 3: the tables that items were being sold on. He also
[2:48] Speaker 3: did not allow people to carry their purchases throughout the temple.
[2:52] Speaker 3: At that moment, He taught them that the law says
[2:55] Speaker 3: the church is to be used for praying over the nations.
[2:59] Speaker 3: But instead, you have decided to make it a home
[3:01] Speaker 3: for robbers. The high priests were scared and wanted to
[3:05] Speaker 3: kill Jesus for his teachings because people believed the things
[3:09] Speaker 3: that he had said. Later that night, Jesus, along with
[3:13] Speaker 3: the disciples, left the city. In the morning, they visited
[3:17] Speaker 3: that same fig tree that Christ had cursed.
[3:21] Speaker 1: This tree was completely dead.
[3:23] Speaker 3: From its roots to its treetops. Peter had reminded them
[3:27] Speaker 3: that this indeed was the tree that the Lord cursed.
[3:31] Speaker 3: Jesus encouraged his disciples in saying, I tell you this,
[3:36] Speaker 3: if you tell a mountain to throw itself into the ocean,
[3:40] Speaker 3: it surely will, as long as it is done through
[3:43] Speaker 3: complete faith and not doubting anything. If you believe everything
[3:48] Speaker 3: that you ask in prayer, it will be done. When
[3:51] Speaker 3: you pray, Make sure that you have forgiven those who
[3:55] Speaker 3: have done you wrong so that God the Father will
[3:58] Speaker 3: be able to forgive your sins as well. The Lord
[4:02] Speaker 3: began to speak in parables. A man planted a vineyard
[4:06] Speaker 3: and placed a wall around it along with a pit
[4:09] Speaker 3: to press the wine and also built a tower to
[4:12] Speaker 3: watch over the vineyard. The vineyard owner moved away and
[4:16] Speaker 3: rented it out to other people. When it came time
[4:19] Speaker 3: for the vines to produce fruit, the owner sent a
[4:22] Speaker 3: servant to get some of the grapes that were harvested.
[4:25] Speaker 3: The ones renting the vineyard beat him up instead and
[4:29] Speaker 3: sent him back to his master's empty hands. Then, the
[4:34] Speaker 3: owner sent another servant to collect the fruit from the renters,
[4:37] Speaker 3: who beat him as well as disrespecting him. The owner
[4:41] Speaker 3: then sent one more, and he was killed. After that,
[4:46] Speaker 3: he continued to send more people, with some coming back
[4:49] Speaker 3: beaten up, and some who were killed. He decided after
[4:53] Speaker 3: these failed attempts to collect his fruit, he would send
[4:56] Speaker 3: his son because they would respect him. The renters thought
[5:00] Speaker 3: it would be a good idea to kill the son
[5:03] Speaker 3: so that they would be able to inherit all of
[5:05] Speaker 3: the things the son was supposed to inherit. So they
[5:08] Speaker 3: killed him and threw him out in the vineyard.
[5:12] Speaker 2: What will the owner do?
[5:14] Speaker 3: Kill the renters and give the vineyard to others? Scripture says...
[5:18] Speaker 3: The builders rejected the stone that will be the cornerstone.
[5:23] Speaker 3: The Lord will do this, and it will be wonderful
[5:27] Speaker 3: to us. The high priests and elders looked for a
[5:30] Speaker 3: way to arrest Jesus because these parables offended them. But
[5:35] Speaker 3: they were fearful of the crowd's response, so they left
[5:39] Speaker 3: him alone.
[5:45] Speaker 1: Can you feel it? Tension is building and something big
[5:49] Speaker 1: is coming. You can hear it in the words of Jesus.
[5:53] Speaker 1: There's a lot to talk about today. Jesus tells a
[5:57] Speaker 1: few stories that may seem a bit confusing. Let's unpack
[6:01] Speaker 1: each of them and see what he is saying to us.
[6:04] Speaker 1: The first part of today's passage is about a fig tree.
[6:08] Speaker 1: When Jesus saw that there was no fruit on the tree,
[6:12] Speaker 1: he cursed the tree and said,' You will never bear
[6:14] Speaker 1: fruit again.' Sure enough, when the disciples passed by that
[6:19] Speaker 1: same tree much later, it was dead. Jesus used this
[6:24] Speaker 1: as a lesson on two things. The first is faith.
[6:28] Speaker 1: He told his friends and he tells us, if you
[6:31] Speaker 1: truly believe and your faith is strong, you can even
[6:34] Speaker 1: move mountains. I think Jesus wants us to believe and
[6:39] Speaker 1: have faith that God can do anything. When we pray,
[6:43] Speaker 1: we shouldn't say, Lord, I hope you can do this.
[6:46] Speaker 1: but I'm not sure you will. Instead, we should pray,
[6:49] Speaker 1: I know you can do this. You can do anything.
[6:54] Speaker 1: The other lesson of the fig tree is that the tree,
[6:57] Speaker 1: in a way, was just like the Pharisees. It had
[7:01] Speaker 1: leaves and it looked like a fig tree, just like
[7:04] Speaker 1: they followed all the rules and looked like God's children.
[7:08] Speaker 1: But where was the fruit? Just as the tree had
[7:11] Speaker 1: no fruit, The Pharisees and religious leaders showed no love, grace, kindness,
[7:16] Speaker 1: or compassion. Their hearts instead were full of hate. And
[7:22] Speaker 1: that explains why Jesus seemed so angry. If you and
[7:25] Speaker 1: I are tired of those Pharisees by now, can you
[7:28] Speaker 1: imagine how he felt? Next, we find Jesus in the temple.
[7:33] Speaker 1: And this time he is mad. Remember, this was the
[7:39] Speaker 1: Passover week. And part of the tradition was sacrificing animals
[7:43] Speaker 1: to God. The animals had to be brought and many
[7:46] Speaker 1: poor people could not afford them. People in the temple
[7:50] Speaker 1: were selling doves and other animals for very high prices.
[7:55] Speaker 1: They were pretty much taking money from the poor people
[7:57] Speaker 1: who had no choice but to buy the animals for
[8:00] Speaker 1: their sacrifice. Not to mention, they were doing this in
[8:05] Speaker 1: the one section of the temple reserved for Gentiles to pray.
[8:10] Speaker 1: Jesus flipped the tables in anger, a good anger, a
[8:14] Speaker 1: righteous anger. Did you know why being mad isn't always
[8:19] Speaker 1: a bad thing? When someone is doing something very wrong,
[8:24] Speaker 1: it's okay to be angry. When someone is going against
[8:28] Speaker 1: God or hurting others, it's right to be mad. We
[8:31] Speaker 1: just have to be careful with our actions. The last
[8:35] Speaker 1: story is about the owner of a vineyard. As we heard,
[8:39] Speaker 1: he left a farmer in charge to take care of
[8:41] Speaker 1: his vineyard. But each time he would send his servant
[8:44] Speaker 1: to check on how things were going, the farmer would
[8:47] Speaker 1: either beat or kill the servant. Finally, the owner of
[8:52] Speaker 1: the vineyard sent his own son to check on his vineyard.
[8:56] Speaker 1: Sent his own son? Sound familiar? In this story, the
[9:01] Speaker 1: owner represents God. The farmer represents the leaders of Israel.
[9:06] Speaker 1: and the son represents Jesus. Just as the farmer killed
[9:11] Speaker 1: the owner's son, the Pharisees and Jewish leaders would soon
[9:14] Speaker 1: kill Jesus. But that's not the end of the parable.
[9:19] Speaker 1: One day, the owner comes back to deal with the farmer,
[9:22] Speaker 1: just as God will deal with those who try to
[9:24] Speaker 1: destroy his perfect plan. Jesus ends this story with a
[9:28] Speaker 1: prophecy from Psalm 118. The stone which the builders rejected
[9:33] Speaker 1: was made the head of the corner. This was from
[9:36] Speaker 1: the Lord. It is marvelous in our eyes. Even though
[9:41] Speaker 1: the Pharisees were rejecting Jesus now, he was still the
[9:46] Speaker 1: Son of God, the one who would save his people,
[9:50] Speaker 1: the chief cornerstone. Thank you for joining me today. Next
[9:55] Speaker 1: time Jesus is going to help his friends prepare for
[9:58] Speaker 1: his crucifixion, and death. And he's going to do it
[10:02] Speaker 1: over a Passover meal. We call it the Last Supper.
[10:07] Speaker 1: I hope you'll come back and hear all about it. Remember,
[10:11] Speaker 1: the Bible is the best story ever told. It's God's
[10:14] Speaker 1: story to you. And it's all true. Found joy in
[10:18] Speaker 1: our podcast? Help others discover us by writing a review.
[10:22] Speaker 1: And let's spread positivity far and wide. Thanks for listening
[10:26] Speaker 1: to Pray.com Kids Bible in a Year. For more inspiring
[10:30] Speaker 1: stories and wisdom to last a lifetime, download the Pray.com
[10:33] Speaker 1: app for free today. Thanks for listening to Kids Bible
[10:45] Speaker 1: in a Year. I want to invite our adult listeners
[10:47] Speaker 1: to check out my other show, Unapologetic, God's Truth on
[10:51] Speaker 1: Today's Topics. It's unfiltered, important, inspiring, and we have awesome
[10:57] Speaker 1: conversations and amazing guests such as Candice Cameron Bray, Vice
[11:02] Speaker 1: President Mike Pence, Dr. Robert Jeffress, Shannon Bream, Maddie Pruitt,
[11:07] Speaker 1: and so many others. We are helping you have conversations,
[11:12] Speaker 1: that empower you to have bold faith in a broken world.
[11:17] Speaker 1: You'll be excited, inspired, and encouraged in your faith as
[11:21] Speaker 1: you check out Unapologetic. Remember that you can tune in
[11:24] Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts and on Pray.com.

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