"It's Crazy-Eyed Jesus!" - Lent 2A (March 1, 2026)

Send us Fan MailIn this episode of Comedians with Pastors Talking Bible, Pastors Bob Schaefer and Eric Damon are joined by returning comics Harriet Riley (@harrietrileycomedy) and Lizzie Martin (@lizziemartin) to take on John 3:1–17 — the most famous passage in the Bible, and maybe the hardest one to say something fresh about.We start with a terrifying blue-eyed Jesus statue, a theological case for inserting Christ into the Dune universe, and Martin Luther's alleged deathbed quote (which we hope is real). Then the conversation gets personal: Lizzie on returning to the Catholic Church after a friend's death, Harriet on what it means to be a "diagnostic Christian," and the question of what you're really looking for when you go looking for God.When we finally hit the text, we dig into the wordplay Jesus uses to set Nicodemus up, the cultural baggage of "born again," Eric's infamous pulpit act-out (never again), and what it means that Jesus receives a hostile visitor with patience, sass, and real engagement. The episode lands on prayer — gratitude, lament, and whether telling God to get off his ass counts as a psalm. (It does.)It's Lent. The eyes are watching. Crazy-Eyed Jesus loves the world.---John 3:1–17 (NRSVue)[1] Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. [2] He came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with that person." [3] Jesus answered him, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above." [4] Nicodemus said to him, "How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be born?" [5] Jesus answered, "Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. [6] What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. [7] Do not be astonished that I said to you, 'You must be born from above.' [8] The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." [9] Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" [10] Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things? [11] Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen, yet you do not receive our testimony. [12] If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? [13] No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. [14] And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, [15] that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. [16] For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. [17] Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."Hosted by Pastor Eric Damon and Pastor Bob Schaefer.Join the community!Email us at [email protected] us at @cptbpod on most social media platforms.More at linktr.ee/cptbpodMusic: Trickster by Phat SoundsFree download: https://filmmusic.io/song/10864-tricksterLicensed under CC BY 4.0: https://filmmusic.io/standard-licenseScripture quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.