Episode 23: Odd Things Jesus Did

Is it disrespectful to our perfect Lord Jesus to label some of the miracles he performed as "odd?" Hmmm.  How about those that involved spit?  There are several of them!  Laurie will share them, and also a very intriguing story that involved Jesus writing something mysterious in the dirt, along with several viable theories from Bible commentators regarding what exactly he was writing that caused a unanimous reaction from the Pharisees.

Laurie's guest today is the amazing Jacki Brey, founder of the charitable organization, Feed My Peeps.   Jacki is a fearless woman of God who has a unique take on some of Jesus's healing miracles because God has actually used Jacki as his instrument to heal others.  Please don't miss this inspirational and emotional episode!

Transcript

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Hi, I'm your host Lori Larson, and this is the year I read the Bible. Welcome a Lifelong Christian. I thought I was familiar with the Bible, but in 2023 I accepted the challenge of reading the whole thing, cover to cover. Whenever I encountered something I didn't understand or wanted to learn more. I jotted it down, but I kept reading to stay on schedule. Then I reached the end Imagine Confetti rating down on me, and a huge sigh of relief. I had 40 topics to research in 2024. I started diving into all those topics. I did research, I wrote blogs and I shared them with whoever might wanna learn too. And in 2025, the project continues. I published a book containing all my essays, and now a podcast. Is there something you can learn from that dusty book that sits on all of our shelves? Yes. Yes, there is. Let's dive into The year I read the Bible. Hello listeners, this is Lori and I am here today with an essay that I call odd things that Jesus did. Hmm. Is it sacrilegious to say that something Jesus did was odd? I mean, he was the perfect, immaculate son of God. And I'm accusing him of being odd, but, Hmm. Let's ponder that later. Let's dig deep into this essay today. Healing the Blind with Mud Made With Spit. Kneeling to the ground amidst an angry crowd demanding an answer and writing with his finger in the dust, sticking his fingers in a deaf and mute man's ears and tongue. These are all actions that Jesus performed during his earthly ministry as described by the Bible. Okay. Let's be honest. Do any or all of these actions strike you as. Odd by reading the stories in context of the gospels, it is clear to me that they struck not only the crowds of witnesses as odd, but they often strike the disciples as odd too. The 12 were constantly being exposed to Jesus's surprises, his words, his parables, his actions that they weren't expecting. And didn't know what quite to make of at first. Let's take a closer look at these three stories and see if we can figure some of it out. In John nine, Jesus and his disciples encounter a man who was born blind. The disciples ask if he was blind because he had sinned or because his parents had sinned. They assumed the physical ailment was a consequence of sin, but Jesus assures them that the man's blindness had nothing to do with sin. In verse six, quote, after saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva and put it on the man's eyes. Go. He told him, wash in the pool of silhouette. So the man went and washed and came home seen end quote from the new international version. In other gospel accounts, Jesus has healed people simply by touching them or even not touching them at all. So why these particular accounts of using spit. While researching this topic, I came across an article by Bob Yandian Ministries entitled The Miracle of Spit and Sight. I liked his interpretation of this topic, so I'll included here, and he says, quote in the Bible, spit is a dirty topic. No matter where you look in the Bible, you will find it as a great insult to spit on someone or to be spit upon. Anyone. Under the law of Moses who was spit upon had to wash themselves and their clothes even after washing, they were considered unclean until the evening. Leviticus 15, eight other scriptures deal with the insult of being. Spit upon such as numbers 1214 and Deuteronomy 25 9. Jesus was spit upon as a great insult before he was crucified. Matthew 27 30, when Jesus spit into the dirt to make a mud poltus to put on the blind man's eyes, he was spitting on the blindness. This was the ultimate insult to sickness and disease. In Luke 4 39, we see Jesus being brought to Simon's house because Simon's mother-in-law was sick with a fever. Jesus rebuked the fever and it left her immediately. So if Jesus could speak to sickness and rebuke it, then apparently sickness can hear. If sickness and disease can hear, it can also be insulted. Jesus released all of his contempt for Satan and his works when he spit on the blindness end quote from that article. It's an interesting theory. It could also help explain the next Bible story I identified in Mark 7 32 through 35, some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him after he took him aside away from the crowd. Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said. F Faha, which means be opened at this. The man's ears were opened. His tongue was loosened, and he began to speak plainly. Following the previous interpretation presented by Bob Yandian in this healing story, Jesus utilized his own spit to insult the evil that had taken a grip on the man, and combined with calling on his Heavenly Father's, help the man regained his hearing and speech. Another part of this story that I love is Jesus took the man aside away from the crowd. This was a kind act showing respect for the man's privacy. A website called Heartlight interprets it like this. Quote, Jesus's concern is clearly to bless and heal this man, not to make a name for himself. He has power over disease as well as demons. His desire is to use that power to bless and deliver, not to amaze or bewilder the crowds as God's son among us. Jesus is personal and intentional with his care. He will not exploit another's misfortune to receive praise just as a miracle worker. What a powerful lesson for all of us who call him our Lord. An example. Hallelujah. I have one other odd thing to examine and it has nothing to do with spit. In John eight, six, Jesus was in the temple courts in Jerusalem as often happens wherever he went, people gathered around him and he began to teach them. It was Dawn, which is interesting to me. Who would just happen to stroll by at Dawn, see him and come over? No. These people had gotten up early with the hopes of encountering him so they could listen and learn, but the Pharisees had secured a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. I don't know whether she was leaving a man's home at that early hour or if a Pharisee actually walked into the room to catch her in the act, but they had dragged her to where Jesus was and used her as a test to see what Jesus would recommend that they do with her. John eight, four through six says, they said to Jesus teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now, what do you say? They were using this question as a trap in order to have a basis for accusing him. That was in the new international version, but Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. Which brings us to our third odd thing. Example. There's a crowd of peaceful followers around him. They've been interrupted by a froth up group of Pharisees dragging a woman against her will and using her to trap the Messiah in an answer they expect will be wrong and justify arresting him. Can't you just picture it? What would I do? Probably stand up, raise my voice, and say, let go of her. Stop trying to trap me. But Jesus calmly bent down and started to write in the dust. The story continues in verse seven. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, let any of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. Again, he stooped down and wrote on the ground. It's long been a mystery about exactly what he was writing. John's gospel doesn't tell us, but here are some theories. He was writing down the 10 Commandments. He was writing the text of Deuteronomy 2222, which is the law the Pharisees were referring to. He was writing down all the names of the Pharisees trying to trap him. But in my research I came across a theory that I love. So, hey, let's go with that. Dr. David Kyle Foster writes in his article, what did Jesus write on the ground? Quote. The scribes and Pharisees had demanded that Jesus sentenced the woman to death as taught in Leviticus 2010. Ann Deuteronomy 2222 to 24 Note. The NASB study Bible says that they altered the law a little. The manner of execution was not prescribed unless the woman was a betrothed virgin. And the law required the execution of both parties, not just the woman. If Jesus had said to stone her, they would've charged him with hypocrisy because he was always teaching about mercy. If he said not to stone her, they would've charged him with breaking the mosaic law, spotting their trick. He stooped down and wrote something on the ground saying, if any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her. John. Eight, seven. He then proceeded to write something else on the ground. After which they dropped their stones and walked away. Jeremiah 1713, which all the Pharisees would've been familiar with, says, oh Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have for sickened the Lord, the spring of Living Water. I would like to offer that this passage seems to indicate that Jesus first wrote their names in the dust and perhaps then wrote a sin that they had committed next to their name and quote, mic drop. Dr. Foster picks up on the fact that he rode in the dust. Then asked he who is without sin to be the first then went back and wrote a second time. Here's the actual verse, chapter eight, verse nine. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time. The older ones first until only Jesus was left. With the woman still standing there, it isn't documented. But what if Jesus wrote a list of the names of the Pharisees present, then offered his challenge to them to cast the first stone. Then using his omniscient knowledge, wrote each man's sin. And one by one, the religious leader looks at the ground, reads what Jesus had written, and knowing it was true left quietly. Remember, God wrote the 10 Commandments with his own finger. The same finger that had written the law back then was also the finger that was writing on the ground. Now therefore, since he was the author of the law, he was the one to properly interpret and execute it. Exodus 31 18, Deuteronomy nine 10. He was showing the Pharisees exactly who he was. But as we all know, if we've read the gospels, they don't believe him, do we? But in the final verses of this story, the accused woman believed him. Verse 10 through 11, Jesus straightened up and asked her woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? No one, sir. She said. Then neither do I condemn you. Jesus declared, go now and leave your life of sin. After learning more about the meaning behind some of these odd things Jesus did. It makes me even more amazed at this man who is also God and how he interacted with his fellow humans on earth. Let's pray. Dear God, thank you for your word. Thank you for providing us with a wealth of knowledge and guidance contained in the Bible. It's so much that we'll never learn it or understand it all, but the more we grasp, the more we understand. Amen. And now please stay tuned. I've got a really great guest for you, a very inspiring woman with a great story and lots of Bible knowledge, so please stay tuned.

Laurie: 16:37

And we are back. I can't wait to introduce you to my guest today. I'm gonna let her give her thoughts or her memories of how we became acquainted with each other, but her name is Jackie Bray. She is such an inspirational woman. She is the leader of a not-for-profit. That I'll let her also tell you about. But she also, on her Facebook, she just shares all kinds of inspirational, meaningful motivational sayings and bible verses and devotionals, and she's just a very powerful woman of God. So Jackie, welcome to the podcast.

Jacki: 17:19

good afternoon. Thank you.

Laurie: 17:21

So why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself, what you're doing, and then also how you and I became acquainted with each other.

Jacki: 17:28

Well, let's start with that. My name is Jackie Bright and I attended Blackburn College way back, back, back in the day. We won't talk about years'cause I just don't remember those years. A lot of them. We were in the same dormitory, I believe Laurie.

Laurie: 17:44

Yeah. Jewel Hall.

Jacki: 17:45

I had just gotten outta high school and straight into college from a very strict, parents and, I kind of went social crazy in college. So I didn't really realize you needed to be there for academics. I was there for socializing, so like one year of really good times

Laurie: 18:01

It's a great school, and I'm sure a lot of listeners can relate to your experiences being 18 away from home for the first time, living in a dorm with all. Peers and you just have to experiment and, try fun things. And then what happened?

Jacki: 18:17

Then what happened? My mother said, you know, we're not sending you to a four year school if you're not gonna apply yourself. And she, highly suggested and signed me up for an all girls academy in, St. Louis, Missouri. So I went to her career college.

Laurie: 18:31

So then, you don't have to tell us about your whole life, but tell us what you're doing now and your not-for-profit that you are the lead of.

Jacki: 18:39

Certainly, I lead a very, very small non-for-profit called Feed My Peeps, and that's silly. What does that mean? Feed my peeps? Well, on a remote mountaintop in Kenya, Africa. God, showed me and called me and gave me the name of Feed My Peeps, and I still didn't know what that meant while we were in Africa on a mission trip. But he opened the chapters and I continued to follow his lead most of the time. And Feed My Peeps is a 5 0 1 C3 nonprofit. We started 15 years ago because one young boy in Kenya, Africa came to St. Louis, Missouri to be treated for cancer at, one of the major hospitals in St. Louis. And this young boy changed the course of my life. And his name is James Esh Loa Capel. So one young African boy, 17 years old at that time, changed the course of my life so Ksh was in St. Louis for one year being treated for, a rare form of leukemia. We fell in love with him by introduction through our church. During church service, there was a video of a young boy being brought over by Wings of Hope, brought ESH over and his uncle, and they showed that picture. There was a mission, group called Get the Word Out in St. Louis, and they brought ESH over, St. John's mercy Hospital did a pro bono case, and the doctor took KO on for a year. So I see this picture in church and it just resonated in my heart of this young boy. And I looked at my late husband and I'm like, we have to go meet this boy. He doesn't know anyone and we have to go meet him. So after church service, we went straight to the hospital and met this young boy and he was pretty much on his death bed. We continued to go weekly, biweekly, taking food to him, trying to communicate with him as best as we could. He understood English, but Kote was his language. So we learned, you know, simple words of bako to communicate. Just simply over a year's time of him being in the hospital, just falling in love with them. Kosch became, his, cancer. Became in remission. He went into the Ronald McDonald, home there in St. Louis. We continued to visit him. His uncle's visa had run out that was here with him as his guardian. His uncle went back to Kenya and Kos needed someplace to stay'cause he still was undergoing radiation. Tracy and I took Kos in our home. He lived with us, I don't know, two or three months and we just loved his heart. We loved his spirit, we loved everything about him. And as he concluded with his treatment. At the hospital, plans were made to take him back to Kenya, Africa, his village, um, remote, remote village where he lived. And we would be part of that mission team taking him back to Africa. So as we took him back, fell in love with. Africa. And when you go to a third world country, how do you come back to your nice white picket fence and where you live and where you work, where you have electricity and water and his village, no running water, no electricity, pretty remote. His grandparents had an orphanage, on the mountaintop and I think at that point was 50 children. And so. Just embraced the countryside of, the villages of Kenya. And on a mountaintop while we were visiting, God shook me to my core and clearly said, feed my peeps. And I didn't know what that meant, didn't know what that looked like, but he had the plan and I just kept hearing it and I followed his call.

Laurie: 22:31

And so what did that become like? What steps did you take, from that moment in Africa to where you eventually started this, not-for-profit.

Jacki: 22:41

I have a strong culinary background. I've been, in the culinary field of restaurants, catering, and food for about 40 years at this point. But then I. Just, I didn't know what that looked like. We left eSSH in his village with his grandparents, and we were under the depression and made the plans that eSSH was gonna come to Washington University, school of Medicine, and we would sponsor him and he wanted to be a doctor. So we left him in his village and he's gonna finish his high school. He's, pretty healthy at this point to finish high school. And we had made future plans for him to return and he would live with us and start to study to be, a doctor. That was his dream. Well, 30 days after we left him with his grandparents, the medicine ran out. No electricity, no running water. Resources dried up and ESH passed away.

Laurie: 23:32

Oh, oh my gosh.

Jacki: 23:35

So here we have these great hands for this young man and. I was really mad at God. I'm like, you brought this young boy into our life. He rocked our world. Everybody that he touched, he rocked. He was just a very impactful, anointed child. And after returning him and he passed, I'm like, okay, there you go. God, what are we doing now? And so grieving with his family in Africa we're grieving and God kept laying on my heart to feed my peeps, and I knew to honor this young boy's legacy that in Africa, a bag of beans and a bag of rice. Is gold and my strong culinary background. I know at the end of the day, every chef, every restaurant, every kitchen has a pan of something, whether it's pasta, whether it's beans, whether it's, spaghetti sauce. At the end of the day. In the culinary world, there's a pan of something left over and I'm just passionate that nothing is wasted. So knowing that Coess didn't have the resources and his orphanage didn't have the resources of fresh nutrition, I knew that we had access to fresh nutrition, and that's how Feed my peeps evolved. I just started feeding lots of people.

Laurie: 24:52

That's amazing. That is such an amazing story. And I know you've been in, obviously different countries and now you've been in different states. You find yourself back in your hometown and, I know the work continues and I see often on your social media that you're taking a truckload of food, to somewhere that needs it, or you're making. Food and handing it out, and you're doing exactly what God asked you to do. It's very inspiring.

Jacki: 25:20

Thank you. Food is love and hunger doesn't take a zip code. It doesn't discriminate. So the gift of. Culinary and cooking and serving. We just, we just do it. You just meet people where they're at and we meet them with food. And basically, I'm fishing with food is what I fish with. And I fish with clothes and I fish with toiletries. I'm just going fishing and God brings the harvest. Laborers are few and the Harvest is ripe. Laborers are few, and just a laborer.

Laurie: 25:50

And you have a website, is that right?

Jacki: 25:53

We do.

Laurie: 25:53

So I'm gonna post a link to your website in our show notes so that anyone who's interested can take a look at it and, get more informed about what you do. So thanks for sharing that with us.

Jacki: 26:05

Thank you. That's good.

Laurie: 26:07

Okay. So we want to talk a little bit about this essay, odd things that Jesus Did, which I just finished reading, to the listeners. Jesus performed a lot of miracles over the course of his ministry. A lot of them were healing people's ailments and disfigurations. But those three things that I talked about that struck me as odd, encountering a blind man when he. Picked up some dirt from the ground, spit in it to form mud with his saliva and placed it over the man's eyes. That was the first one. What thoughts do you have about Jesus using his own spit to help the blind man

Jacki: 26:47

odd and peculiar. I'm gonna use the word peculiar also odd and peculiar. Jesus is the healer. The anointing is on him. He walked in it. Um, his touch, just his touch, if you have the faith in his touch and I know that if he picked up the mud, spit on it and put it in my eyes, I know I have enough faith that I would see. So peculiar and odd. Sometimes there's no rhyme or reason.

Laurie: 27:15

So the next miracle that I placed in the odd category. Was in Mark seven, a man who couldn't hear or talk was brought to Jesus, and Jesus stuck his finger in the man's ear and then spit into his own hand and touched the man's tongue with it. And then speaking the word in, I guess, Aramaic or Hebrew for open up, the man was healed. What are your thoughts on that?

Jacki: 27:43

Powerful. Wow. How beautiful and how powerful. I have experienced such miracles. God has used my hands in deafness in, a young girl, that was deaf and I was. In a situation and he told me to lay hands on her ears and he moved and she can hear. So she was pretty much not fully deaf. I think she could hear a little sound waves. And it happened, in California, during, we were serving fire victims from the fires out in California and we were delivering propane and some food and some blankets to a family living in a trailer, temporarily as their home, they had lost their home. And in this trailer we're just loving on people where they're at. And God said, lay your hands on her, on her ears. And I didn't once again quite know what that meant, but I knew his voice and he used my hands in healing so his hands can heal and he has equipped us and he has called us in that healing. Also, if you know his voice and your obedient and the boldness, it takes boldness to do it, and I can't try to reason it, and I can't try to rhyme and reason it. I just have to walk in the call. The healing and the anointing and to this, to this, it happens.

Laurie: 29:10

Oh my gosh. You, were obedient to his call. You didn't second guess it. You didn't think, oh my gosh, this is gonna be embarrassing if I do this and nothing happens. You were, his instrument, you were his instrument on earth to, perform this miracle. And what a blessing for you and for the recipient. Of the healing. That's an amazing story.

Jacki: 29:37

I usually cry after it happens. I'm like, really? And God usually tells me once and I'm like, okay, get my attention. Then twice I'm like, okay, is he really, am I walking in Jackie or am I walking in the anointing that he's given? By the third time, he'll move on. So I have to know his voice clear and at the second unction to go and, odd and peculiar, you know, he'll move.

Laurie: 30:01

What was the recipient's reaction when she realized that she could hear?

Jacki: 30:07

You could hear, she cried. We cried. There were several people in the trailer. I was a little camper. Out in the middle of a field, we just thought we were delivering propane and food and blankets to a family that, you know, tragic, fire, that encompassed their homes. So. Very purposeful. We had a purpose to being there. I did not know it at that time.

Laurie: 30:31

Hallelujah. That's amazing. Okay, well it's gonna be hard to move on after that Amazing story. But the final odd miracle. It takes place in John eight, and it's the famous story of the Pharisees who were constantly trying to trap Jesus. They dragged a woman to him and said, this woman was caught in the act of adultery in the law of Moses. It commands us to stone such women. Now what do you say? Here's what Jesus did. That was very odd. He stoops and starts writing with his finger in the dust. And in my research to this story of the Bible, I included several theories offered by Bible commentaries. One of them really caught my interest and became my favorite. which is your favorite or do you have another theory or an idea of what he was writing?

Jacki: 31:30

Don't know the story that well, so I'm not versed on it. It's one of those stories that I haven't refreshed. I don't have a theory. So what's your theory, Lori?

Laurie: 31:39

And this was a theory by not myself and a Bible commentator. They drag this woman to him and say, teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now, what do you say? But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger, and he knew that if he said let her go, or if he said, go ahead and stoner, they would've found fault in that.

Jacki: 32:12

Very much so. I hear hypocrisy, so they're, being a hypocrite and I always say, point with the three fingers back at yourself. You know, you need to look in your, the speck of your own eye.

Laurie: 32:23

Right. This commentator, Dr. David Kyle Foster, his theory is that first of all, the Pharisees altered the law a little bit, okay? So in John eight, seven, it said, spotting their trick. He stooped down and wrote something on the ground saying, if any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her. And then he proceeded to write something else on the ground, after which they dropped their stones and walked away.

Jacki: 32:56

Mm-hmm.

Laurie: 32:57

So what this commentator wants to suggest is that. Jesus first wrote down the names of all the Pharisees in the dust, and then he said, any of you who are without sin be the first to throw. And then after they were waiting for him for an answer. He wrote a sin that they had committed next to their name through his own, miraculous knowing of what they did. And so then as they're all standing there with the stones, they come and look over Jesus's shoulder to see what he was writing. And they realized, oh boy, we better end this right here. And they walked away until she was the only one left. And Jesus said, go and sin no more. And I just love that we don't know if that's true. We, I mean, we don't know. The Bible doesn't tell us, but it really hits home to me that that's something that would be consistent with something that Jesus and God knew. That these, Pharisees had, sinned and shouldn't be asking for her to be stoned.

Jacki: 34:14

I just believe in miracle signs and wonders. I believe, that things can be odd. They are odd. I think they can be peculiar.

Laurie: 34:22

All right. Is there anything else that you wanted to add about this episode that we haven't talked about yet?

Jacki: 34:29

It is God's appointment. It's his appointment. It's his all in. Oh, I heard God's timing. It's all in God's timing. So, be in tune. He's given me the gift of healing. Um, it's a gift that I'm very humbled in and I wanna shout it to the mountaintops, but it's for God to say when, where, and how, and me a flow in his anointing and his appointment. So if I stay outta my own way and I don't trip, over my own trip, you know my own self, then. Be available and he will use you in miracle signs and wonders on am peculiar.

Laurie: 35:09

And I think that's the challenge is opening yourself up with no reservation so that he can use you and that you know that he. Is reaching out to use you. So many of us, I think, are afraid, to do that, to be willing, like we want to believe, but it's just never happened before. And therefore we doubt or we may not doubt that it's possible, but why would he pick

Jacki: 35:35

He wants your availability. He doesn't want your ability, he wants your availability. So open yourself to being available and, he doesn't call everybody and he can move on. So he'll test you with a little, I'm like, oh, that was a little one. Okay, I heard it. I was obedient. And then he'll test you with more and then you'll flow in it. And I'm in a point that I pray that I'm still faithful in it and still flowing in healings.

Laurie: 36:02

Well, that is just such a great story. Thank you so much for being here today. In a couple weeks, you're coming back and we're gonna have another interview on another essay, so I look forward to talking to you then.

Jacki: 36:15

Thank you so much. Blessings to you. And blessings to everyone listening.

Laurie: 36:18

Thank you, Jackie.

36:21

and that's it for today. Thank you very much for being here with me on the year I read the Bible Podcast. We'll be back with another episode next week. If you enjoy this podcast, please do all the normal things to spread the word like it. Review it, share it with your friends. If you are interested in additional the year, I read the Bible resources such as the book, the video channel, and the blog, I will certainly include the links in the show notes, and I'd love to hear about your own journey to read the Bible cover to cover. Have you done it or are you doing it right now? Please reach out to me and let me know how it's going. Until next time, it's Lori Larson with the year I read the Bible. Bye.