What the Bible Actually Says

JesusX30 Challenge—Scene 15: THE SURGE & THE SIFTING

1. Key Texts

Matthew 14:13–36—Feeding the 5,000, Walking on Water

Mark 6:30–56—Feeding and Sea Miracle

John 6:1–71—Bread of Life Discourse and Mass Defection

Exodus 16—Manna in the Wilderness

Job 9:8—God “walks on the sea”

Psalm 89:9–10—God rules the raging sea

2. Outline / Notes

Date & Place

• Summer 28 AD, northeast side of the Sea of Galilee near Bethsaida-Julias.

• Jesus and...

JesusX30 Challenge—Scene 14: THE COMMISSION & THE FALLEN PROPHET 

1. Key Texts

Matthew 10 — Commissioning of the Twelve

Mark 6:7–29 — Sending and the Death of John the Baptist

Luke 9:1–6 — Mission Instructions

Deuteronomy 19:15 — Two Witnesses

Isaiah 40:3–5 — Voice in the Wilderness

John 1:19–34 — John’s Witness to Jesus

2. Outline / Notes

Date & Place

• Summer 28 AD — Galilee and the northern district of Ituraea.

• Jesus’ public camp...

JesusX30 Challenge—Scene 13: TALES OF THE EMPIRE

1. Key Texts

Matthew 8:23–27 — Jesus Calms the Storm

Matthew 14:22–33 — Jesus Walks on the Water

Psalm 89:9–10 — God Rules the Sea

Genesis 1:1–10 — Order over Chaos

Job 26:12–13 — God Crushes the Sea Monster

Mark 4:35–41 — Parallel Account

2. Outline / Notes

Date & Place

• Galilee, Spring–Summer 28 AD.

• Jesus’ growing movement is drawing huge crowds and resistance.

• Both episodes occur on...

JesusX30 Challenge—Scene 12: SHOCKWAVES THROUGHOUT GALILEE

1. Key Texts

• Matthew 8:5–13 — The Centurion’s Servant

• Luke 7:1–10 — The Centurion’s Faith

• Luke 7:11–17 — The Widow’s Son at Nain

• Luke 7:18–35 — John the Baptist’s Question

• Matthew 11:20–24 — Woes to Unrepentant Towns

• Luke 7:36–50 — The Anointing Woman

• Isaiah 35:5–6; 61:1 — Messianic signs of restoration

2. Outline / Notes

Date & Place

• Spring 28 AD—still the dry se...

JesusX30 Challenge—Scene 11: DECLARATION OF A REVOLUTION

1. Key Texts

• Matthew 5–7—Sermon on the Mount

• Luke 6:17–49—Sermon on the Plain

• Isaiah 61—Messianic mission statement

• Exodus 19–20—Moses on Sinai receiving the Law

• Micah 6:6–8—What the Lord requires: justice, mercy, humility

2. Outline / Notes

Date & Place

• Spring 28 AD.

• Northern Galilee—rolling hills and open plains overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

• Natural amphitheater...

JesusX30 Challenge—Scene 10: THE CAMPAIGN GAINS MOMENTUM

1. Key Texts

• Mark 3:1–19—Healing of the man with the withered hand; calling of the Twelve

• Matthew 12:9–21—The same healing and its prophetic meaning

• Luke 6:6–16—Sabbath confrontation and the choosing of the apostles

• Exodus 20:8–11; Isaiah 42:1–7—Sabbath and Servant themes

• Matthew 10:1–4—Apostolic commissioning

2. Outline / Notes

Date & Place

• Spring 28 AD—after the sec...

JesusX30 Challenge—Scene 9: THE RISING STORM

1. Key Texts

• John 5:1–47—Healing at the Pool of Bethesda and ensuing controversy

• Mark 2:23–28—Grainfield incident and “Lord of the Sabbath”

• Luke 6:6–11—Healing on the Sabbath in the synagogue

• Exodus 20:8–11; Deuteronomy 5:12–15—Sabbath law background

• Isaiah 58—True worship: justice and mercy over ritual

2. Outline / Notes

Date & Place

• Spring 28 AD—Jesus’ second Passover since goi...

JesusX30 Challenge—Scene 8: THE ENCROACHMENT

1. Key Texts

• Mark 2:1–17—Healing of the paralyzed man & calling of Matthew.

• Luke 5:12–32—Leper healed and banquet with tax collectors.

• Matthew 9:9–13—“Follow me.”

• Leviticus 13–14—Purity laws behind exclusion.

• Isaiah 58—True fasting: justice, mercy, liberation.

2. Outline / Notes

Date & Place

• Winter 27 → Spring 28 AD.

• Still based in Capernaum, but Jesus’ reach is spreading ac...

JesusX30 Challenge—Scene 7: THE ADVANCE

 1. Key Texts

• Mark 1:14–15 – Jesus’ announcement of the Kingdom (“The Empire of God is near”).

• Luke 4:14–30 – Nazareth synagogue address.

• John 4:46–54 – Healing of the royal official’s son.

• Isaiah 61:1–2 – Messianic mission statement.

• Leviticus 25 – Jubilee background.

2. Outline / Notes

Date & Place

• Fall–Winter 27/28 AD.

• Capernaum – Fishing/trade hub on the Via Maris linking Egypt &a...

JesusX30 Challenge—Scene 6: THE INFILTRATION

1. Key Texts

•John 2–4

•Luke 4:14–15

•2 Kings 17:24–41 (background on Samaria)

•John 4:4–26 (Jesus and the Samaritan woman)

2. Outline / Notes

Date & Place

•Spring 27 AD.

•From Judea → through Samaria → to Galilee.

•Sychar (Jacob’s Well); Capernaum (northern base).

•Culturally charged territory—Jews avoided Samaria due to centuries of ethnic and religious tension.

Main Account

•After his Temple ...

JesusX30 Challenge—Scene 5: THE FIRST STRIKE

1. Key Texts

·  John 2:13–25—Jesus’ first Temple strike

·  Exodus 25:8—“Let them build me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.”

·  Isaiah 56:7 / Jeremiah 7:11—“House of prayer for all nations” vs. “den of robbers”

2. Outline / Notes

Date & Place

·  Early Spring, 27 AD

·  Jerusalem, during Passover—population swells from ~40,000 to 200,000+.

·  The Temple complex (35 acres) serves as reli...

JesusX30 Challenge—Scene 4: THE RALLYING CRY

1. Key Texts

•      Matthew 4:1–11

•      Mark 1:12–13

•      Luke 4:1–13

•      Deuteronomy 6–8 (background for Jesus’ responses)

2. Outline / Notes

Date & Place

•      Early 27 AD.

•      Judean wilderness—harsh, desolate, spiritually charged.

•      Viewed as cursed, chaotic space, but also Israel’s ancient proving ground.

Main Account

•      After his baptism, Jesus is led by the Spirit ...

JesusX30 Challenge—Scene 3: THE MUSTERING OF FORCES

1. Key Texts

•      Matthew 3:1–17

•      Mark 1:1–11

•      Luke 3:1–22

•      John 1:19–34

2. Outline / Notes

Date & Place

•      Late 26 – early 27 AD.

•      Judean wilderness—harsh, rocky, remote, symbolic place of encounter with God.

•      Jordan River—the crossing point into the Promised Land, symbolizing new beginnings.

Main Account

•      John the Baptist emerges in the wildern...

 JesusX30 Challenge—Scene 2: THE PREPARATION OF THE KING

1. Key Texts

•      Luke 2:1–52

•      Matthew 2:1–23

•      John 1:14

2. Outline / Notes

Date & Place

•      2 BC – 27 AD.

•      Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem during the census.

•      Early years as a refugee in Egypt.

•      Childhood and youth in Nazareth, Galilee—remote, poor, overlooked.

Main Account

•      Joseph embraces Mary after angelic confirmation—choosing shame and tru...

 JesusX30 Challenge—Scene 1: THE BIRTH OF THE KING

1. Key Texts

•      Luke 1:5–80

•      Matthew 1:1–25

•      John 1:1–18

2. Outline / Notes

Date & Place

•      ~3 BC.

•      Rural villages: Nazareth (Galilee), small and politically charged.

•      Judean hill country, where Elizabeth and Zechariah live.

•      Fringe places—far from the centers of empire or Temple power.

Main Account

•      Two miraculous pregnancies: Mary in Nazare...

JesusX30 Challenge—Welcome to the Challenge!

1. What Is the JesusX30 Challenge?

•      30 Days. 1 Messiah. 1 Daily Encounter. 1 Life Transformed.

•      A daily discipleship journey through the life and mission of Jesus, built around key “scenes” in his story.

•      Each day: short video + podcast + study handout.

2. Where This Comes From

•      Based on my book trilogy Jesus: The Strategic Life and Mission of the Messiah and His Move...

Jesus’ Parable of the Good Samaritan isn’t just about kindness—it’s a salvation issue: inheriting eternal life means loving enemies and being a neighbor, not deciding who is or is not our neighbor.

We’ve all heard the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37). It’s taught in Sunday School, quoted in politics, and even written into “Good Samaritan laws.” But in Jesus’ original setting, this parable wasn’t a simple moral lesson. It ...

This is such a special episode to me. It's a video that you won't be able to watch or listen to without being moved. Our daughter (14 years old), Addie Putthoff, wrote it by hand.

It's not long. Just a few minutes. More than any other episode I've made so far, I want you to sit with this one. Listen to it. Watch it. Read it. Meditate on it.

Addie has captured Jesus in a way that I'm still trying to do. And I thi...

[pardon the technical glitches - we've had some issues in recording and editing!]

What if the healing of the bleeding woman wasn’t just a private miracle—but a public confrontation with shame, exclusion, and bad theology? And what if we’ve taken the wrong approach to holiness? 

We assume holiness must be protected from impurity—that we must keep the unholy and impure at arms length, because we fear that holiness will be tainted b...