That’s Jesus Podcast with Bob Baulch

Back in the Isaiah 59 episode, Bob Baulch promised to get to Hebrews 10. Fifteen episodes later, here it is. Like Ephesians 5, this passage doesn’t use the word “baptism.” It pictures it: “our bodies washed with pure water.”
Bob walks through Hebrews 10:19–22. Every believer now has the confidence to enter the holy places, a standing that once belonged to one high priest on one day a year, and only with blood. The way in is “through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,” the veil torn when Jesus died. Bob takes a side step to Genesis 15, where God alone passed between the divided animals, taking on Himself the penalty for a broken covenant.
Then come the two cleansings attached to the invitation to draw near: hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, the blood of Jesus applied inside (Hebrews 9:14), and bodies washed with pure water, the outside. Both describe something already done. Bob shows how Hebrews builds the background: the old covenant’s “various washings” that could never cleanse the conscience (9:10), teaching about washings for new believers (6:2), blood and water at Sinai (9:19), and Ezekiel 36’s promise now fulfilled. He closes with how different traditions relate the two cleansings. They agree both are real and differ on timing and mechanism.
Are you trusting something to save you, or are you trusting the Savior?
Chapters00:00 A promise kept, and a passage that pictures baptism02:06 Confidence to enter the holy places03:48 Through the curtain, through His flesh05:51 A side step: God’s covenant with Abraham in Genesis 1508:08 “Let us draw near”: two cleansings13:36 The background in Hebrews: washings, Sinai, and Ezekiel17:40 How different traditions read Hebrews 10:2221:04 Closing and the question

Title FASTING DAY 6: When Jesus Confronted Religious Fasting
Description Jesus didn't reject fasting; He rejected fake fasting. In Day 6, we examine Jesus's three major teachings on the subject. We look at Matthew 6, where He instructs disciples to "wash their faces" and fast in secret to avoid the "hypocrite's reward" of human applause. We analyze the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18), where a man who fasted 104 times a year was rejected by God because of his pride. Finally, we explore the "Bridegroom Theology" of Matthew 9, where Jesus explains that Christian fasting is not a legalistic requirement, but a longing for His return.
Keywords Matthew 6, Jesus on fasting, Pharisee and Tax Collector, hypocrites, wash your face, spiritual pride, Bridegroom fast, Christian fasting vs Jewish fasting.
Hashtags #Jesus #SermonOnTheMount #Fasting #Hypocrisy #BibleStudy #ChristianLiving #Matthew6 #RedemptionChurch

The rare word for “washing” from Titus 3:5 shows up only one other time in the New Testament, and it’s in a passage about husbands and wives. Paul writes that Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, “that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word” (Ephesians 5:25–27).
Bob Baulch is upfront: the word “baptism” isn’t in this sentence, and Paul doesn’t define the washing. This is an allusion, not a proof text. He walks up Paul’s one-sentence “staircase”: love, the cross, holiness, cleansing, and presentation. Then he goes back to where Paul got the picture: Ezekiel 16, where God finds an abandoned newborn, enters a covenant with her, bathes her with water, anoints her, clothes her, and makes her beautiful, with echoes in Isaiah 61–62 and Hosea. Paul puts Jesus where God stood and the church where Jerusalem stood.
Bob then takes the phrase apart: the washing (loutron, a bath), the water Paul chose to name, and the “word” (rhēma, a spoken utterance), with five ways it has been read. He notes that the early church, and even John Calvin, heard baptism here, and he shows how nine traditions read the passage. Finally, he points to the wedding still ahead (Revelation 19) and the best part of the verse: the bride doesn’t wash herself. The one holding the water is the Bridegroom.
Are you trusting something to save you, or are you trusting the Savior?
Chapters00:00 Recap, and an honest note: allusion, not proof text02:31 Paul’s one-sentence staircase06:04 The bride in Ezekiel 1610:32 Washing, water, and word15:44 Is this baptism?18:12 How different traditions read Ephesians 5:2624:23 The wedding still ahead25:55 What we can say, and closing prayer

FASTING DAY 05 - "The Pharisees: How Fasting Became a Competition"
Title FASTING DAY 5: The Pharisees – How Fasting Became a Competition
Description By the time of Jesus, the religious landscape had shifted dramatically. The Pharisees, a group originally dedicated to holiness, had turned fasting into a competitive sport. While God only commanded one fast day a year, the Pharisees were fasting 104 extra days annually—every Monday and Thursday without fail. In Day 5, we investigate the history of the Pharisees and why they chose those specific days (hint: they were Jerusalem's market days, ensuring the maximum number of people would see them).
We look at how a voluntary discipline slowly morphed into a social expectation, and eventually into a badge of spiritual superiority. Using the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector in Luke 18, we see how fasting became a tool for pride rather than humility. The Pharisee stood in the temple reciting his fasting resume to God ("I fast twice a week!"), while the tax collector simply asked for mercy. This episode forces us to ask an uncomfortable question: Are we fasting to draw close to God, or are we fasting to feel superior to other Christians who aren't?
Keywords Pharisees fasting, fasting twice a week, Luke 18, religious legalism, spiritual pride, Monday and Thursday fast, history of the Pharisees, Jesus and Pharisees, fasting for show.
Hashtags #Pharisees #Legalism #BibleHistory #ReligiousPride #Fasting #Christianity #Luke18 #SpiritualCompetition

Only two places in the New Testament describe new birth as a washing: John 3:5 and Titus 3:5. In this episode, Bob Baulch turns to the second, Paul’s words to Titus: God “saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.”
Bob reads the whole sentence (Titus 3:4–7) and notes three things before getting to “washing.” Paul is talking about salvation, he rules out earning it before he mentions washing, and he joins water and Spirit together, the same pairing found in Ezekiel 36 and John 3:5. Then he looks at the two rare Greek words behind the phrase: loutron (“washing” or “bath,” used only here and in Ephesians 5:26) and palingenesia (“regeneration,” a second Genesis, used only here and in Matthew 19:28).
Is the washing baptism? Even John Calvin granted that Paul at least alludes to baptism, while others like John Gill disagreed. Bob shows that the real disagreement is among three claims: baptism causes the new birth, signifies it, or is the appointed occasion for it. Titus 3:5 gives a phrase, not a mechanism. He closes with how nine traditions read the verse.
Are you trusting something to save you, or are you trusting the Savior?
Chapters00:00 Recap: two passages about a washing01:58 Titus 3:4–7 in context03:03 Three things to notice before “washing”05:23 Two rare words: loutron and palingenesia09:19 Is the washing baptism?12:35 Three different claims about baptism and new birth14:55 How different traditions read Titus 3:518:17 What we can say, and closing prayer

FASTING DAY 04 - The Impossible Fasts - Moses and Elijah
Title FASTING DAY 4: The Impossible Fasts – Moses & Elijah's 40 Days
Description Moses and Elijah are the two greatest figures of the Old Testament, and they share a mind-blowing connection: they both fasted for 40 days and 40 nights without food or water. In Day 4, we dive into the medical reality of these events. While a human can survive weeks without food, the body shuts down after only a few days without water. This means the fasts recorded in Exodus 34 and 1 Kings 19 were not just acts of discipline—they were supernatural miracles where God sustained His servants in the wilderness.
We explore the biblical significance of the number 40 (testing, preparation, and transformation) and trace the path from Moses on Mount Sinai to Elijah on Mount Horeb, culminating in the Transfiguration where both men appear with Jesus—who also fasted 40 days. However, this episode comes with a critical safety warning: these "absolute fasts" are descriptive, not prescriptive. We discuss why attempting a 40-day dry fast is not an act of faith, but a dangerous presumption that can lead to death. Learn the difference between a supernatural miracle and a model for us to copy.
Keywords Moses fast, Elijah fast, 40 day fast, absolute fast, dry fasting dangers, supernatural fasting, Mount Sinai, Exodus 34, 1 Kings 19, fasting safety, Transfiguration.
Hashtags #40Days #Supernatural #MosesAndElijah #BibleMiracles #FastingSafety #DoNotTryThis #Exodus #MountSinai