PODCAST · religion
Geocaching Scripture
by Josh McDonald
Geocaching Scripture – tiny treasures in the big truth. Exegesis brought to you by the last kids picked for kickball. History, language, cultural background, context, church history—let’s crack open the smallest detail and see what’s there. It’s deep dives into a shot glass—one story, just a few verses, even one word—ain’t no treasures like these treasures.Podcast about theology, bible study, scripture study, Christianity, Christian theology, exegesis, Old Testament, New Testament
Episodes
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Jesus Sums (us) Up, John 1:45
A true Israelite in which there is no guile! Jesus sums up Nathanael within a hundred feet of meeting him. Let's look at John's fig tree imagery, Jacob references, and strange choice of detail in this exchange. We also share some mushy stories of times we've been affirmed and challenged out of...
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Flying on a Million Dollar Rug | Luke 7
We begin with the shocking story of an accidental millionaire who made his gains by way of an old rug he found on the porch. Then we discuss the value of the perfume used to wash Jesus' feet, and how he turned that value toward the forgotten woman with her dripping hair. That and Rick lists his...
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Poisonous Sound Bites | Genesis 3:1-6
After a brief leave of absence, we are back and starting at the beginning. Old Scratch himself slithers up to our first parents and immediately starts twisting the language. From conflating God's words to using a different name for God himself, the snake puts a slippery wedge between humanity and...
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Drop it and Follow, Matthew 8:1-11
They dropped everything and followed Him... We look at the calling of two of the disciples – sudden, strange, life-altering. Jesus seeks them out and they leave everything – livelihood, culture, relationships – and follow Him. In that culture, the rabbi never came for you – you chased him down…
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Many Rooms in Father's House, John 14:1-4
In my Father's house are many rooms. We've probably all heard this phrase, and it brings to mind to streets of gold and perhaps great-grandma in a gossamer gown. In this passage, Jesus is giving some hint at that mysterious chunk of time between our death and the final resurrection. What happens…
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Jesus Casting Metaphors, Matthew 4:18-20
"I will make you fishers of men" – from the cinderblock church basement wall to the minivan bumper, this metaphor has been beaten lifeless in Christendom. The puns are painful, the jokes are dead in the water. But looking more closely, we find the phrase has Greco-Roman roots from way back, and...
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Some Assembly Required: The Miracles of Jesus
We look at Jesus' many miracles, and how he incorporated people in the process. He didn't need the earthen jars filled with water to make wine, he didn't need Peter to throw the net into the water. He could have made these things just automatically happen, but – for some reason – he wanted us...
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Jesus the Mother Hen, Matthew 23:37-39
Oh Jerusalem! How I have longed to gather you...Jesus makes this plea to his people in his time on earth, giving them the strange image of Himself as a gathering mother hen. We look at how Jesus eventually brings this pass, how no one would have guessed, at Pentecost. This, and we talk about...
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Paul's Captive Audience, Ephesians 6:10-18
Paul was writing from prison...again. During this time, he was chained to a succession of Roman special forces guards in full armor. As he scribed away in the dark corner, he simply looked around and came up with his most famous metaphor. We talk ancient prisons, Roman correctional practices, and...
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The Teeth of History, Daniel 6:14-23
Let's look at one of the childhood classics: Daniel looking a little nervous, circled by hungry lions showing off their teeth and rib cages. This story, and many like it, are often dismissed early on as ahistorical – the narrative resonates, but there's no history behind it. But let's look…
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Hometown Jesus, Mark 6:1-3
Jesus goes back to his hometown. The people have trouble with the paradigm shift of who Jesus was to Who Jesus actually is: "We've known you since small times." We talk about our own personal trouble with this paradigm shift, and how it's hard to see things from a God's eye view. That and...
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To Galilee...eventually, Matthew 28:5-10
Tell my brothers to go to Galilee. Jesus gives some very simple directions after the extremely unsimple event of the resurrection. Yet the disciples can't quite figure out how to follow. Fear? Disbelief? Disobedience? Yep, probably all those. We'll look at this extremely slow trip to Galilee in…
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Jesus Asleep at the Wheel?! Mark 4:35-41
Have you ever been in a really bad storm? The kind where you wonder if the house might blow away or a flood might carry you off? The disciples were in the midst of a brutal storm that night and they go to find the one guy who's supposed to be in charge – and He's taking a nap! Let's dig into this...
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You are a Daughter, Mark 5:21-43
We look at the story within a story of Mark 5 – the raising of Jairus's daughter and the woman with the issue of blood. The detail that connects them is the number 12. Mark seems to draw an analogy between this woman lost to her community and this girl lost to life. "You are a daughter" – Jesus...
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Paul, Parody, and Political Slogans, 1 Thessalonians 5:3
We kick off season five with a discussion of a political slogan that sneaked into some of Paul's writing. Against the iron backdrop of the Roman Empire, Paul reminds us of the kingdom that will have no end. In his encouraging letter to the community in Thessalonica, Paul talks with them about the...
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You are Worthy, You are Mine – Hosea 1:1-2
"Marry a prostitute..." Among the strange things that God asked prophets to do in the Old Testament, this has to be in the top three. Hosea and Gomer's bizarre marriage becomes a powerful symbol of God's love for Israel – unfaithful and unworthy as she might be. The story, again, is that our...
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All We Can Ask or Imagine, Ephesians 3:20-21
"Immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine..." This one often gets taken out of context, and might be applied to requests for Instagram followers or the latest new TransAm (whatever your generation might be). But we look closer at the setting of this passage, which is right within a hymn…
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The Blue Collar Nicknames of Jesus
Have you ever had a nickname that stuck? Usually the best ones are those that poke us a little – a short guy called "Too Tall Jones" etc. Jesus had a special nickname for his disciples, that we translate the dullest way possible. Looking at this little moniker gives us insight into Jesus'...
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Muzzle Not the Ox! 1 Corinthians 9:9
"Muzzle not the ox" is kind of vaguely rhetorically powerful bibley thing that people say about pastor's salaries. But what was the context really pointing to here? Why did Paul bring this up? This OT verse, and Paul's quotation of it, gets low-key half-interpreted throughout the church, and we...
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The Scars to Prove It: Rick's Miracle Story
Rick tells the harrowing story of being injured on a rural farm as a kid. It took them two hours to get to the hospital from the country, and the doctor said he wouldn't be able to do much. But God had different plans. Broken glass, slashed ligaments, 36 stitches, and mix that with bizarre...
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The Straight Poop on Luke 8:4-8
We look at the well-known story of the sower who sows seeds all around. Seeds fall all over – some to growth, some to loss, some to a short, dried-out life. But look at the seed taken by the "birds of the air" – what do said birds do with the seed once they eat it? This detail could point to…
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Ancient Nerd Fights in the Margins, Hebrews 1:3
We're back – from illness, from holidays, from the madness! Here is our discussion of a little bit of graffiti, a very small geocache indeed, that appeared in the margins of Hebrews 1:3 in a third century manuscript. This smidgen of script, beginning with something like "Fool and knave..." gives…
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Gifts from the Desert Night, Matthew 2
A belated Christmas episode as a sinus infection had me knocked out for a while. We look at the visit of the Magi, specifically the gifts they brought. Why did they choose these gifts? Why was it important for Mary and Joseph to have these gifts in this exact moment? These are also the most...
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12 Years an Outsider, Matthew 9:18-26
The story of Jesus healing the bleeding woman is well-known, but let's pull back and look at the context. This woman crosses Jesus' path on his way to heal a Sanhedrin official's daughter. If Jesus wanted to win friends and influence people, he would have just kept going. But he didn't, he wanted...
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Zipporah, In the Tent, with a Knife – Exodus 4:24
This week we talk through a very strange episode in which God attempts to kill Moses, Zipporah performs a hasty circumcision, there's some kind of midnight declaration, and the attack relents. So....? It's a particularly strange exchange, which makes it a fascinating geocache. Why was God tryna...
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Greater Works than These, John 14:12-14
What good has Christianity ever done?! We live in a time that asks that question often – with all the sins of the church, how can we believe what it claims? We talk through some of the great contributions of the church throughout history – from education to prison reform. We look at how God's...
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Belief and Unbelief on a Wednesday Afternoon, Mark 9:24
I believe but help my unbelief! I think most of us would describe this exclamation as our "life verse" at least once. We look at Mark 9, the story of the possessed by and the dedicated father who begs Jesus for help. We look at how this story fits into its immediate context, and what theme is...
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By this Shall They Know, Matthew 22:36-40
Did ya miss us? We're back and we're talking about the greatest commandment of all the law. We look at this well-known verse which would have been front and center of every Israelite mind in Jesus' day. We also discuss the fact that only Jesus himself could keep this commandment perfectly. Rick...
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And the Whale's Pronouns are? Jonah 1, 2
For some reason, the whale/shark/leviathan that swallowed Jonah seemed to change from a boy to a girl in the narrative. Of course, this is done without comment and just keeps moving, not showing up in our English translations. So...what gives? We take a minute to poke around in the belly of the...
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Yeah, but are you YOKE? Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus asks us to take his "yoke" upon us in a world that prides itself on being "woke." He calls us to the transforming paradox of working so that we can rest in Him, and resting in Him so that we can join him in his work. We talk about ancient farm technology, "lakes" in Nebraska, and what it...
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Below Decks with Jesus, 1 Corinthians 4:1
There were eight levels of slave in the ancient world, from the slave who was a therapist to the aristocracy to the galley slave whose life was short and brutal. It was this slave – the "below decks" – slave that Paul chose to label himself as for the cause of Christ. We aren't slaves, we are the...
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Not Knowing What We Don't Know, Luke 23:34
"They know not what they do..." A passage that has been quoted and misquoted since Jesus said it. Yet, so much of the grace of the gospel is held within this sentence – forgive the sin, even as it's occurring, and even as God is using to fulfill his purposes. Rick quotes a psychologist friend…
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Lions and Tigers and She-bears, Oh my! 2 Kings 2
Elisha was apparently very sensitive about his receding hairline. In this passage, he appears to call a battalion of she-bears to do some mauling when some errant youths call him "baldy." Josh discusses his own emotional baggage as a hairless American, and we discover there may be a little bit…
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Look on Death, and Live! - John 3, Numbers 21
When the world was young, Moses made a bronze serpent that the people looked on to be healed. Centuries later, the image appears again, only this time the poison is more pervasive and the healing is eternal. Tune in to our latest episode where we talk about snakes and the fear thereof, briefly...
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The Punchline is Grace, The Parables
A woman kneading a lump of dough as big as a steamer trunk. A shifty fraud re-burying a treasure and then buying the field he found it in. Jesus’ parables weren’t just theological constructs or teaching tools, they were jokes in which the punchline was grace. The joy of a son come home, the joy…
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Needles and Knees, Matthew 19:23-24
After a week off, the geocachers return to put a Sunday School myth under scrutiny. You may have grown up with the story of the “needle gate” – a small gate in Jerusalem that camels had to get on their knees to enter. The homiletic fall out from this story is a lot of metaphors about wealth,...
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Threat? No, Promise... 2 Chronicles 7:14
That's not a threat, that's a promise—a line from every action movie since ever. In this episode, we look at a popular “threat” or “judgment” passage and find out instead that it's a promise. "If my people, who are called by my name" – it all happened on a very strange afternoon in 957 BC.
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Spaghetti Western Savior, Luke 4
Jesus gets up to read at synagogue and reads the passage of his choice, then interprets it radically, to say the least. Just when everybody’s admiring Him, he ticks off the whole room and sends the crowd into a riot. All in a day’s work. Meanwhile, Josh tries to buy fish bait at a bar and Rick...
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Meet Me at the Hem, Mark 5
We look in detail at the well-worn story of the woman with the issue of blood. The hem of His robe she touched was probably the tzittzit, a religious ornament worn on the bottom of a garment. The ornamentation was deeply tied to identity and has Old Testament precedent in a story of Samuel and…
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The Ga'al of It: Patriarchs in the Bible
We look at the ancient, culturally-binding role of the patriarch. This kinsman redeemer role helps us understand the OT narrative and was a foreshadow of the great Redeemer. From paying debts to settling disputes, the patriarch was much more than a landowner or grandfather figure. He funded,...
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Of Mustard and Mountains, Matthew 17
Jesus talks about the smallest thing having power over the greatest thing—the mountain—in the geometry of faith. But the understanding of mountain had richer symbolism in the ancient world. This, and we talk about Josh's time on the beauty pageant circuit.
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Jesus Drawn in Sand, John 8
They throw the woman caught in adultery at his feet. He draws in the sand next to her. Instead of jumping into the rage of righteous fury, Jesus stops everything to converse with a voiceless person. He stops the clock to look her in the eye and restore her. Does God hate sin? Sure. But His…
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The Milk and Honey Factor, Exodus 3
The consistent, sticky refrain of a “land flowing with milk and honey” shows up several times in the Old Testament. These two items – like all sweet things – were not necessary for living, but made life livable. They were precious commodities in the ancient world, especially in Israel where bees...
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Jesus’ Great One-Liners, Matthew 27, Psalm 22
Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world…These aren’t the droids you’re looking for…Houston, we have a problem – we all know that one line from a classic film that brings the whole experience to mind. The story, the actors’ faces, the tension or humor in the moment, these all come...
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So Sing the Tombstones, Luke 19
Welcome to Season 4! Let’s get caching! We are proud to present a new cohost—pastor, writer, grandfather, cigar enthusiast, former cult member—Rick Shallenberger! We’ll get to know this remarkable man and talk about the “stones” Jesus refers to in Luke 19, how they might break out in song (but we...
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On Gnats and Camels, Matthew 4:23-24
The Pharisees didn't eat gnats because they weren't kosher, but camels aren't either, so what's going on? Jesus delivers one of his famous one-liners to his critics, mixing absurd images and fantastical situations. We also learn why it's better to show up on time than show up with flowers. Tune in.
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Where Gather the Eagles - Matthew 24:28
Jesus talks about the mini-apocalypse in Matthew 24, primarily describing the fall of Jerusalem under Rome. This highly symbolic and brutal military maneuver changed the world, and redemptive history, for good. Why does Jesus talk about vultures gathering? It's an ugly death leading to...
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Our Undone-ness – Isaiah 6, Matthew 27
Woe is me, for I am undone. This is how the King James renders Isaiah's reaction to the direct presence of God. The temple shakes, the world is undone, and we don't see this happen again until one important afternoon centuries later. What does it mean to be "undone" by God's presence and work and...
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What does that Fox Say? Luke 13:32
Jesus calls Herod a fox. Why? What does that mean anyway? Let's look at this ancient insult and why the Lord would refer to someone this way. The local "king" being addressed by the True King.
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Paul Gets Hisself Snakebit – Acts 28:3
I have a deep, abiding hatred of snakes. I've never been bitten by one or anything, just a pre-programmed genetic revulsion maybe? Paul gets bit by a viper in Acts 28, but walks away unharmed, continuing to build a campfire (which seems really casual!). What was going on with this weird story?…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Geocaching Scripture – tiny treasures in the big truth. Exegesis brought to you by the last kids picked for kickball. History, language, cultural background, context, church history—let’s crack open the smallest detail and see what’s there. It’s deep dives into a shot glass—one story, just a few verses, even one word—ain’t no treasures like these treasures.Podcast about theology, bible study, scripture study, Christianity, Christian theology, exegesis, Old Testament, New Testament
HOSTED BY
Josh McDonald
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Geocaching Scripture have?
Geocaching Scripture currently has 119 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Geocaching Scripture about?
Geocaching Scripture – tiny treasures in the big truth. Exegesis brought to you by the last kids picked for kickball. History, language, cultural background, context, church history—let’s crack open the smallest detail and see what’s there. It’s deep dives into a shot glass—one story, just a few...
How often does Geocaching Scripture release new episodes?
Geocaching Scripture publishes regularly with 119 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Geocaching Scripture?
You can listen to Geocaching Scripture on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Geocaching Scripture?
Geocaching Scripture is created and hosted by Josh McDonald.
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