Matthew 4 tells the story of the temptations of Jesus. The devil tries to get Jesus to submit to him three times; and all three times, of course, Jesus resists.

And it kind of feels like the things Jesus is tempted with are not the same kinds of things we’re tempted with. First he tries to get Jesus to turn stones into bread.

Now, I don’t want to brag, but I’ve never once been tempted to turn stones into bread. Never even really considered it, to be quite honest. It’s just not one of my weaknesses.

The second thing he hits Jesus with is trying to make him jump off the temple to see if angels would catch Him. Again, not a desire I’ve ever been hit with myself.

And finally, in verses 8-9, it says

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

I guess I can see why that would be tempting to some people, but can the devil even really deliver on that offer?

Actually, I would say YES. This goes back to Babel, and I want to tell you about that today.

Other than that, though, don’t Satan’s temptations of Christ seem quite WEIRD? They’re different from what might cause you or me to stumble.

I also want to show you today: they’re actually more relatable than you think. The playbook Satan used against Christ is the same playbook he uses against everybody. It’s called the Lust of the Flesh, the Lust of the Eyes, and the Pride of Life.

Turn to II Corinthians 11, and let’s get weird.

——

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Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction

2:00 - Another Gospel

9:25 - The Fall of Man

13:25 - The Fall of the World

17:35 - The Three Rebellions

22:15 - The Fast Temptations of Christ

27:00 - Closing Thoughts

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

Link to see the Europe: Many Tongues, One Voice poster -

https://weirdstuffinthebible.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/europe-many-tongues-one-voice.jpg

Welcome to Weird Stuff in the Bible, where we explore scripture passages that are bizarre, perplexing or just plain weird. This is Luke Taylor, and today will be a little different, a little more reflective.

It’s the 150th episode of the podcast; we just had our third anniversary of the show last week, which I celebrated by sharing an interview with Kip Farrar (pronounced Fara like Farrah Fawcett). Today I wanted to give a short Bible study on the bricks of Babel, followed by some reflection on what it means to be a weird Christian.

We’ve been covering the Tower of Babel for the past month on the podcast. The Tower of Babel was monumental to world history. It has ramifications throughout the rest of Scripture.

And yet—the Bible is surprisingly sparse on the details of what’s going on here. It’s the origin of Babylon, it’s a globalist rebellion against God, it’s the reason for all the various languages of the world— and it gets less than 10 verses in chapter 11 of Genesis about this event.

And of what little we are told in the Bible, we’re given this verse:

Genesis 11:3

3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.

So it talks about the bricks which were used to build both the city and the tower. Whereas I wanted to hear more about how Nimrod became a gigas or giant, that’s not what Scripture focuses on. But it does tell us about the bricks.

But you know what? The bricks might actually be the most applicable verse of the whole story. Turn to Genesis 11 with me to learn about the Bricks of Babel and why it’s OK to be weird.

——

Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:

https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv.com/

You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

Check out the website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.com

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction

2:00 - The Motifs of Babel

7:00 - The Bricks of Babel

12:05 - Weird on Purpose

20:15 - Weird for a Purpose

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com

Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!

This episode is available to WATCH at this link: https://youtu.be/RgGLWTckm6A

Anytime someone tells me they want to read the Book of Enoch, I always recommend the Modern Standard Version. There’s a lot of versions of Enoch out there, and I read a lot of them this year, but the MSV was the most readable and also included the most cross-references with the Bible of any Enoch version I’ve seen.

Today I'm joined by a special guest, the creator of the Modern Standard Version of the Book of Enoch, Kip Farrar.

Find his version on Amazon by following this link: https://a.co/d/0gZjR3CF

Learn more about Kip and his work at: https://www.farrarstories.com

——

Sign up for the weekly newsletter! Get additional insights and Bible study tips for unpacking strange things in scripture. Enter your email here:
https://weirdstuffinthebible.beehiiv....

Check out the website! www.weirdstuffinthebible.com

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You can also find a list of past newsletters at that same link so you never have to miss one.

If you want to get in touch, my email is weirdstuffinthebible@gmail.com
Hosted by Luke Taylor

If you’re intrigued by strange Bible stories, uncovering Bible mysteries, or learning about unusual biblical teachings, this podcast is for you! Dive deep into weird Bible facts, biblical controversies, and the supernatural in the Bible, while exploring the hidden stories of the Bible you may have never heard. Get a fresh perspective as we explain the Bible in ways that challenge the norm and uncover the unexpected. I’m so glad you’re here- don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE so that you never miss an episode!