I've been reading some of the accounts of what was happening in the Risen Lord's life, and noted that when I was commenting on important 'Forties' I failed to mention the 40 days between resurrection and ascension. What an amazing period of time for those who had been so totally devastated.
Our celebration of the Resurrection (Easter) was earlier last year. It was an amazing spiritual journey for me to walk through Jesus' journey to the cross last year, because once I was inspired to do that intentionally, I did a lot of study online and learned that in 2010 we were only 1 day off from the year Jesus was crucified (according to the calculations I found online), which made it an incredibly poignant journey to the cross. (In 33 A D, Jesus was crucified on Nisan 15, which is April 3 in present time for that year.)
Then because there was so much I didn't get to address in that journey, I wrote 'backtracking' blogs until I got through all of the things I wanted to address. I was just reading some of those this morning - and I noted some little things I have learned since that writing. I state several times in last year's blogs that the Jewish day begins at 6 p m the night before. That's not quite accurate, from what I have learned since that writing. It begins at sundown. Because of their latitude, their time of sundown doesn't differ as much as ours does. But - after being in Israel again in February, I realized that I had stated that in error before.
It is a reminder to me that people - including me - can be absolutely honest and not tell the truth. Perspective is not truth. It is perspective, no matter how emphatically it is stated. I've observed that people can be absolutely passionate about their beliefs, and be wrong.
Sometimes I state what I know as fact - and find out later I am wrong, as well, in spite of trying to gather the information I need. At some point I have to decide whose information to believe. The bottom line when it comes to Spiritual Truth is that the Bible is the final word. It is our plumb line. God will never tell anyone anything new that does not line up with the Bible. It is the litmus test.
If people are going to stake eternity on their beliefs, they'd better be certain that they know beyond a shadow of a doubt. Any religion that teaches that we cannot know for sure, or that teaches that we have to 'do' something to make ourselves acceptable to God, is founded in 'wrong teaching' and is part of the broad road that leads to destruction.
Jesus came that we might have life - and have it to the full. Abundant LIFE throughout eternity. It cost Him everything to make that offer. His gift to us is free - but it costs us everything to accept it. Mark 8:35 says, "For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it."
As the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 1:21, "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."
And in Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
Those verses are good reminders for me. I keep trying to live my own life - but it is not mine. It is the Lord's....
Just a little bunny trail.... The other day I said I would have loved to know what they sang that last night. The prescribed Psalms (songs) for that Passover Supper were Psalms 115-118, and the Great Hallel, Psalm 136. I retrieved that information in reviewing my blog posts backtracking to Good Friday last year....
So - we can be fairly confident of what they sang last:
Psalm 136
1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.
4 to him who alone does great wonders,
His love endures forever.
5 who by his understanding made the heavens,
His love endures forever.
6 who spread out the earth upon the waters,
His love endures forever.
7 who made the great lights—
His love endures forever.
8 the sun to govern the day,
His love endures forever.
9 the moon and stars to govern the night;
His love endures forever.
10 to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
His love endures forever.
11 and brought Israel out from among them
His love endures forever.
12 with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
His love endures forever.
13 to him who divided the Red Sea[a] asunder
His love endures forever.
14 and brought Israel through the midst of it,
His love endures forever.
15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
His love endures forever.
16 to him who led his people through the wilderness;
His love endures forever.
17 to him who struck down great kings,
His love endures forever.
18 and killed mighty kings—
His love endures forever.
19 Sihon king of the Amorites
His love endures forever.
20 and Og king of Bashan—
His love endures forever.
21 and gave their land as an inheritance,
His love endures forever.
22 an inheritance to his servant Israel.
His love endures forever.
23 He remembered us in our low estate
His love endures forever.
24 and freed us from our enemies.
His love endures forever.
25 He gives food to every creature.
His love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
POST RESURRECTION 2011, Day 1
Joseph of Arimathea was questioned about why he would be willing to give his prime location gravesite to a crucified, rejected man, and Joseph replied, "It won't be a problem. He only needs it for the weekend."
That was a joke our pastor told last year. When we were in Israel in February, we walked into one of the gravesite 'cave' locations thought to be where Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus. By the standards of their day, this one definitely would have been owned by a wealthy person. It was a room, with multiple places to lay a body. Part of it looked like a natural cave, but in addition there were areas carved out around the periphery of the main room.
The Bible tells us that the gravesite was one where no one had ever been laid. For us, that would be a strange statement - but in their custom, once all there was left was bones, they gathered the bones and put them in a small box - then put the smaller boxes in another area for keeping. Obviously, then, over time the family grave would hold many different bodies for that stage of their decay.
I am told that it was customary to surround the body with about 75 pounds of spices, and wrap it in a cloth. It is pretty obvious that the spices would help with the smell of the decaying body - and perhaps even have properties that accelerated the process. In my trip to Israel 5 years earlier, we were told that there were 'coffins' that were limestone which did accelerate the process.
Enough of the history of the morbid. The important thing is: once the soul was gone, the body was and is just a shell. Nobody's home.
Resurrection changes everything. It gives us a hope beyond the pain of the grave. It promises us ultimate perfection in God's eternal Kingdom. And we have a hope that isn't just wishful thinking. It is secure! 'I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed to Him against that day.' That phrase is a chorus we used to sing in church when I was a child. I'm so grateful I can declare that as truth.
Can you imagine the exhilaration when the disciples finally realized what the women were telling them was true. He is risen!
THANK YOU, LORD, for all you did, for all you suffered, for your substitutionary death so I can live, for rising again from the dead so everything you taught is validated, and for your coming reign - when all people will acknowledge you as LORD. Sadly, not all will acknowledge you as their personal Lord and Savior, but all will finally know that what you said is true. You are TRUTH. Thank you for being my Lord and my Savior. Help me point others to You. In Jesus' Holy Name, Amen.
The following poem is from March 27, 1984. I shared it last Spring, too....but this year it has even more significance. I am grateful for the brief reminder of spring and loved the sunshine - but I'm ready for more. It's been a long winter....
SPRING DIALOGUE
by Lola Cain
The Wind and the Rain
were having a chat.
The Wind said, “You spit.”
The Rain said, “You blat.”
“If my blowing is blatting
then blowing I’ll do.”
So Wind huffed a big puff;
and he blew and he blew.
“Stop blowing!” Rain yelled,
“Or before you are through
Earth’s dirt will be gone.”
But Wind blew and blew.
So Rain spewed a rainstorm
and turned Earth to mud:
With torrents and buckets
and cloudbursts – a flood.
“Please stop it,” Earth hollered.
“Just stop it, you two!
“Can’t you see that your fighting
is hurting me too?”
“March is over! It’s April!
It’s time now for Spring –
time for flowers and grasses
and hearing birds sing.”
So Wind stopped his howling
…was lilting again;
And Rain quit his drenching
and let the sun in.
Then Earth heaved a sigh
that awakened the buds;
and April burst forth
through the drizzle and mud.
That was a joke our pastor told last year. When we were in Israel in February, we walked into one of the gravesite 'cave' locations thought to be where Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus. By the standards of their day, this one definitely would have been owned by a wealthy person. It was a room, with multiple places to lay a body. Part of it looked like a natural cave, but in addition there were areas carved out around the periphery of the main room.
The Bible tells us that the gravesite was one where no one had ever been laid. For us, that would be a strange statement - but in their custom, once all there was left was bones, they gathered the bones and put them in a small box - then put the smaller boxes in another area for keeping. Obviously, then, over time the family grave would hold many different bodies for that stage of their decay.
I am told that it was customary to surround the body with about 75 pounds of spices, and wrap it in a cloth. It is pretty obvious that the spices would help with the smell of the decaying body - and perhaps even have properties that accelerated the process. In my trip to Israel 5 years earlier, we were told that there were 'coffins' that were limestone which did accelerate the process.
Enough of the history of the morbid. The important thing is: once the soul was gone, the body was and is just a shell. Nobody's home.
Resurrection changes everything. It gives us a hope beyond the pain of the grave. It promises us ultimate perfection in God's eternal Kingdom. And we have a hope that isn't just wishful thinking. It is secure! 'I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed to Him against that day.' That phrase is a chorus we used to sing in church when I was a child. I'm so grateful I can declare that as truth.
Can you imagine the exhilaration when the disciples finally realized what the women were telling them was true. He is risen!
THANK YOU, LORD, for all you did, for all you suffered, for your substitutionary death so I can live, for rising again from the dead so everything you taught is validated, and for your coming reign - when all people will acknowledge you as LORD. Sadly, not all will acknowledge you as their personal Lord and Savior, but all will finally know that what you said is true. You are TRUTH. Thank you for being my Lord and my Savior. Help me point others to You. In Jesus' Holy Name, Amen.
The following poem is from March 27, 1984. I shared it last Spring, too....but this year it has even more significance. I am grateful for the brief reminder of spring and loved the sunshine - but I'm ready for more. It's been a long winter....
SPRING DIALOGUE
by Lola Cain
The Wind and the Rain
were having a chat.
The Wind said, “You spit.”
The Rain said, “You blat.”
“If my blowing is blatting
then blowing I’ll do.”
So Wind huffed a big puff;
and he blew and he blew.
“Stop blowing!” Rain yelled,
“Or before you are through
Earth’s dirt will be gone.”
But Wind blew and blew.
So Rain spewed a rainstorm
and turned Earth to mud:
With torrents and buckets
and cloudbursts – a flood.
“Please stop it,” Earth hollered.
“Just stop it, you two!
“Can’t you see that your fighting
is hurting me too?”
“March is over! It’s April!
It’s time now for Spring –
time for flowers and grasses
and hearing birds sing.”
So Wind stopped his howling
…was lilting again;
And Rain quit his drenching
and let the sun in.
Then Earth heaved a sigh
that awakened the buds;
and April burst forth
through the drizzle and mud.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
RESURRECTION DAY 2011
He is risen! HE IS RISEN INDEED!
I love those words - said in response to each other annually.
The Gospel accounts report different versions of what happened that morning. For me that is proof that they weren't collaborating to make up a story. They each were privy to different bits of information, and each record it as they were told it - for it was the women who went first - who found the empty tomb. And they weren't the ones who wrote about it!
Jesus died at 3 p m on Friday - and on the 3rd day - no more than 39 hours later - He rose again! God, and only God, could raise Himself from the dead. HE IS RISEN! What a wonderful and glorious joy that inspires.
I wrote the original of this poem early Easter morning, 1996. This is the 2009 edited version. I'll share it with you - and run do the prep things I have to do to have family come share the day, before heading off to church at 7:45.
MAJESTY
by Lola Cain
“A King who ruled in majesty”
That’s what people wanted him to be!
No crown of thorns or whip of shame
No cross on which to bear our blame
No nails, no spear, no agony
No death upon a criminal’s tree
No burial in a borrowed grave
…No resurrection power to save!
Thank God for his eternal plan
for justifying fallen man
Providing atoning sacrifice
Sending his Son to pay the price.
Coming incarnate to earth to die
He redeemed His created from Satan’s lie
Thank you, Sacrificial Lamb
…for overriding the will of man.
The veil was rent! God’s plan complete!
We now can worship at his feet!
We enter his presence unafraid
by the blood that Jesus shed to save!
Thank the LORD, he rose again
victory over death to win
Thank Father, Son and Holy Ghost
…the anthem sung by the heavenly host!
“He’s risen,” we shout. “HE’S RISEN INDEED!”
The cornerstone of our Christian creed
And coming once, he’ll come again
God’s promised victory over sin
“It’s finished,” his final words on the cross
Our redemption sealed. Our salvation bought.
Now he reigns eternally
…what both God and man wanted him to be…
“A KING WHO RULES IN MAJESTY!”
Thank You, LORD!
Love, Lola
For Mark's account for today, see Mark 16:1-8
I love those words - said in response to each other annually.
The Gospel accounts report different versions of what happened that morning. For me that is proof that they weren't collaborating to make up a story. They each were privy to different bits of information, and each record it as they were told it - for it was the women who went first - who found the empty tomb. And they weren't the ones who wrote about it!
Jesus died at 3 p m on Friday - and on the 3rd day - no more than 39 hours later - He rose again! God, and only God, could raise Himself from the dead. HE IS RISEN! What a wonderful and glorious joy that inspires.
I wrote the original of this poem early Easter morning, 1996. This is the 2009 edited version. I'll share it with you - and run do the prep things I have to do to have family come share the day, before heading off to church at 7:45.
MAJESTY
by Lola Cain
“A King who ruled in majesty”
That’s what people wanted him to be!
No crown of thorns or whip of shame
No cross on which to bear our blame
No nails, no spear, no agony
No death upon a criminal’s tree
No burial in a borrowed grave
…No resurrection power to save!
Thank God for his eternal plan
for justifying fallen man
Providing atoning sacrifice
Sending his Son to pay the price.
Coming incarnate to earth to die
He redeemed His created from Satan’s lie
Thank you, Sacrificial Lamb
…for overriding the will of man.
The veil was rent! God’s plan complete!
We now can worship at his feet!
We enter his presence unafraid
by the blood that Jesus shed to save!
Thank the LORD, he rose again
victory over death to win
Thank Father, Son and Holy Ghost
…the anthem sung by the heavenly host!
“He’s risen,” we shout. “HE’S RISEN INDEED!”
The cornerstone of our Christian creed
And coming once, he’ll come again
God’s promised victory over sin
“It’s finished,” his final words on the cross
Our redemption sealed. Our salvation bought.
Now he reigns eternally
…what both God and man wanted him to be…
“A KING WHO RULES IN MAJESTY!”
Thank You, LORD!
Love, Lola
For Mark's account for today, see Mark 16:1-8
Saturday, April 23, 2011
LENT 2011, Day 40
Today is the 40th day of Lent. That means that technically I've reached the goal - but for me, the goal is still to come.
In writing last year, I set my sights toward Easter, and counted down daily to E-Day. This year I decided to truly follow the traditional Lent pattern of the 40 days - which someone once told me doesn't include Sundays. I was doing my writing as a Lenten discipline - so that seemed to make sense. The problem is, I'm following a tradition that is not part of my history. In fact, I don't even know what 'Lent' means. I'm not Catholic, and I don't understand the reasoning for the way the 40 days are identified. To me, 40 days is 40 days - including Sundays.
I do understand that 40 has significance. Jesus was tempted in the desert for 40 days. The Hebrew people wandered in the desert for 40 years. In both cases those were times of preparation. In Jesus' case, He had to face the temptations Satan threw at Him so in His humanity He could demonstrate He would stand firm to the end, and be a model for us in overcoming the kinds of temptations we are faced with.
In the Israelites' wandering in the desert, they had to become a self-sustaining people once again. This was a time of preparation and instruction - as well as a challenging testing time. But in that time, they regained their identity as God's chosen people. After 400 years of captivity, they needed that time. They had to lose their 'slave' mentality.
I'm not saying it was a joy to be in the desert. It wasn't. Not in either case. And, in times when I am 'in the desert' it isn't fun either, but it cements my absolute dependence on God, and reinforces my determination to be faithful to the end with God's help. In fact, it is in those desert times that I realize I cannot do it without Him - not for a moment.
Yesterday I had a heavy, heavy heart. My mind was on what Jesus was experiencing on the day I was acknowledging in the timeline of Holy Week. Even now, thinking of that again, tears rush to my eyes. Of course, re-reading what I wrote for that Saturday last year - which happened to fall on April 3 in 2010 - is also tender. But - this morning while I lay in bed before getting up to read what Mark had next, what I was thinking about was where Yeshua was on that Sabbath while His body lay on the cold stone slab, sealed in a tomb, in the dark of a rich man's grave.
First of all, I want to acknowledge that Jesus and His followers honored the Sabbath. It was absolutely essential that the crucified 'criminals' be dead before sundown on Friday - for Sabbath began at sundown on Friday evening. When the soldiers checked on Jesus, He was already dead. Joseph of Arimathea asked for His body, and took Him to his tomb.
Luke 23:50-54 fills in that piece of the story:
Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.
This is a tender story. I love hearing that Joseph of Arimathea didn't approve of the actions that had been railroaded through during the night before, love that this man stood up in that moment, and gave Jesus a proper burial. He even went through proper channels. He asked Pilate for Jesus' body. He buried Jesus; the large stone disk was rolled into place to seal the tomb. Guards were posted to make certain that no one could steal the body.
Meanwhile Jesus' followers were in hiding. Grieving. Confused. Guilt-ridden. Afraid. But honoring the Sabbath, none of them went out to the gravesite.
And where was Jesus?
This falls under perspective: it is my view.
Jesus told the thief on the cross, "Today you will be with me in Paradise" and I think that is precisely where He went. I believe it is where all the faithful were waiting until the Lamb of God took away the sins of the world - until Jesus' work on the cross was completed.
Every lamb that was slain for sins from the time of Moses to that time was merely substitutionary for the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. They were a foreshadowing of the Messiah's sacrifice. I believe all those people were in "Abraham's Bosom" awaiting Jesus' final sacrifice as the great High Priest - the sacrifice of Himself. He alone had the power to lay down His life and to take it up again. He had that power because He was God incarnate.
So - what I believe is that He went to Paradise to speak with those held there until His redemptive work on the cross was completed. As I stated last year, "His sacrifice reached back into all of man's history and forward for as long as man would walk in metered time."
When Jesus said on the cross, "It is finished" I believe it was finished. I don't believe He had any loose ends to complete.
I won't rehash what I wrote for my Sabbath writing last year. I likely need to do some further study on this.... And - in areas where we just aren't certain - it was intended to be that way. We walk by faith, not by sight or feeling. We see through a glass darkly - but then face to face. We don't have to know everything. All we have to know is the One who does! And I do!
I wanted to go to a Good Friday service last night. Since this is the holiest celebration in all of Christianity, I want to experience it all: the re-enactment of the Passover dinner, remembering the story of the Exodus and the new meaning in Jesus becoming the elements of the bread and the wine; the Good (for us) Friday commemoration of all that Jesus went through for us. Then the joy of Resurrection Sunday! The problem with the pared down celebrations of today is that they go from the elation of Palm Sunday to the elation of Easter - and forget the history and the agony between those two Sundays! We compress it all into a neat little package and fail to get the full experience of the pendulum-sway of emotions.
That's one value in intentionally writing about the Jesus' journey those last days of His life on earth. It makes me pay attention.
I was planning to go to a Good Friday service - but, in a spontaneous change of plans, went instead went to a Friday night Shabbat service at Temple Beth Hatfiloh. My youngest daughter and I went together. From the moment I walked in I could feel God's sweet presence. It was a precious service. My daughter reads and speaks modern Hebrew, so the parts in Hebrew held significance for her - and while they were reading in Hebrew, I read the English translations to myself. The words were beautiful, full of worship and adoration. The service included some very special moments - a blessing for a newly-engaged couple; a time of prayer for those in mourning. I plan to go back next week.
It really made me think about the plan God has for His Chosen People. I know that the time of the Gentiles is almost over. As I've said repeatedly, Israel is the center of God's heart - and the center of the world. Keep your eyes on Israel. Watch what God is doing. We worship the One who came - the Great I Am, the King of the Jews, Messiah. He's coming back - and with prophecy being fulfilled it could be very soon!
In writing last year, I set my sights toward Easter, and counted down daily to E-Day. This year I decided to truly follow the traditional Lent pattern of the 40 days - which someone once told me doesn't include Sundays. I was doing my writing as a Lenten discipline - so that seemed to make sense. The problem is, I'm following a tradition that is not part of my history. In fact, I don't even know what 'Lent' means. I'm not Catholic, and I don't understand the reasoning for the way the 40 days are identified. To me, 40 days is 40 days - including Sundays.
I do understand that 40 has significance. Jesus was tempted in the desert for 40 days. The Hebrew people wandered in the desert for 40 years. In both cases those were times of preparation. In Jesus' case, He had to face the temptations Satan threw at Him so in His humanity He could demonstrate He would stand firm to the end, and be a model for us in overcoming the kinds of temptations we are faced with.
In the Israelites' wandering in the desert, they had to become a self-sustaining people once again. This was a time of preparation and instruction - as well as a challenging testing time. But in that time, they regained their identity as God's chosen people. After 400 years of captivity, they needed that time. They had to lose their 'slave' mentality.
I'm not saying it was a joy to be in the desert. It wasn't. Not in either case. And, in times when I am 'in the desert' it isn't fun either, but it cements my absolute dependence on God, and reinforces my determination to be faithful to the end with God's help. In fact, it is in those desert times that I realize I cannot do it without Him - not for a moment.
Yesterday I had a heavy, heavy heart. My mind was on what Jesus was experiencing on the day I was acknowledging in the timeline of Holy Week. Even now, thinking of that again, tears rush to my eyes. Of course, re-reading what I wrote for that Saturday last year - which happened to fall on April 3 in 2010 - is also tender. But - this morning while I lay in bed before getting up to read what Mark had next, what I was thinking about was where Yeshua was on that Sabbath while His body lay on the cold stone slab, sealed in a tomb, in the dark of a rich man's grave.
First of all, I want to acknowledge that Jesus and His followers honored the Sabbath. It was absolutely essential that the crucified 'criminals' be dead before sundown on Friday - for Sabbath began at sundown on Friday evening. When the soldiers checked on Jesus, He was already dead. Joseph of Arimathea asked for His body, and took Him to his tomb.
Luke 23:50-54 fills in that piece of the story:
Now there was a man named Joseph, from the Jewish town of Arimathea. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down and wrapped it in a linen shroud and laid him in a tomb cut in stone, where no one had ever yet been laid. It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning.
This is a tender story. I love hearing that Joseph of Arimathea didn't approve of the actions that had been railroaded through during the night before, love that this man stood up in that moment, and gave Jesus a proper burial. He even went through proper channels. He asked Pilate for Jesus' body. He buried Jesus; the large stone disk was rolled into place to seal the tomb. Guards were posted to make certain that no one could steal the body.
Meanwhile Jesus' followers were in hiding. Grieving. Confused. Guilt-ridden. Afraid. But honoring the Sabbath, none of them went out to the gravesite.
And where was Jesus?
This falls under perspective: it is my view.
Jesus told the thief on the cross, "Today you will be with me in Paradise" and I think that is precisely where He went. I believe it is where all the faithful were waiting until the Lamb of God took away the sins of the world - until Jesus' work on the cross was completed.
Every lamb that was slain for sins from the time of Moses to that time was merely substitutionary for the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. They were a foreshadowing of the Messiah's sacrifice. I believe all those people were in "Abraham's Bosom" awaiting Jesus' final sacrifice as the great High Priest - the sacrifice of Himself. He alone had the power to lay down His life and to take it up again. He had that power because He was God incarnate.
So - what I believe is that He went to Paradise to speak with those held there until His redemptive work on the cross was completed. As I stated last year, "His sacrifice reached back into all of man's history and forward for as long as man would walk in metered time."
When Jesus said on the cross, "It is finished" I believe it was finished. I don't believe He had any loose ends to complete.
I won't rehash what I wrote for my Sabbath writing last year. I likely need to do some further study on this.... And - in areas where we just aren't certain - it was intended to be that way. We walk by faith, not by sight or feeling. We see through a glass darkly - but then face to face. We don't have to know everything. All we have to know is the One who does! And I do!
I wanted to go to a Good Friday service last night. Since this is the holiest celebration in all of Christianity, I want to experience it all: the re-enactment of the Passover dinner, remembering the story of the Exodus and the new meaning in Jesus becoming the elements of the bread and the wine; the Good (for us) Friday commemoration of all that Jesus went through for us. Then the joy of Resurrection Sunday! The problem with the pared down celebrations of today is that they go from the elation of Palm Sunday to the elation of Easter - and forget the history and the agony between those two Sundays! We compress it all into a neat little package and fail to get the full experience of the pendulum-sway of emotions.
That's one value in intentionally writing about the Jesus' journey those last days of His life on earth. It makes me pay attention.
I was planning to go to a Good Friday service - but, in a spontaneous change of plans, went instead went to a Friday night Shabbat service at Temple Beth Hatfiloh. My youngest daughter and I went together. From the moment I walked in I could feel God's sweet presence. It was a precious service. My daughter reads and speaks modern Hebrew, so the parts in Hebrew held significance for her - and while they were reading in Hebrew, I read the English translations to myself. The words were beautiful, full of worship and adoration. The service included some very special moments - a blessing for a newly-engaged couple; a time of prayer for those in mourning. I plan to go back next week.
It really made me think about the plan God has for His Chosen People. I know that the time of the Gentiles is almost over. As I've said repeatedly, Israel is the center of God's heart - and the center of the world. Keep your eyes on Israel. Watch what God is doing. We worship the One who came - the Great I Am, the King of the Jews, Messiah. He's coming back - and with prophecy being fulfilled it could be very soon!
Friday, April 22, 2011
LENT 2011, Day 39
I slept really well for about 6 hours last night. Jesus, in 33 A D, on the night we are commemorating, got no sleep at all.
His final meal with His disciples at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, beginning Passover, ended with a hymn. Loving music as I do, I would love to know what they sang. After they sang, Mark tells us they went out to the Mount of Olives.
In reading the history of the events of that night, I actually find it interesting that when we talk about denying Jesus, Peter is the one who comes to mind. They all denied Him. However, Peter was the first one to declare his allegiance, even unto death, with a bravado that claimed, "Even if all of the rest of them fall away, I won't. Even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you." But Mark lets us know that they all said the same.
Jesus led his disciples to the area called Gethsemane and asked most of the disciples to stay where they first stopped on the Mount of Olives, but took Peter, James and John with him and went further. He was greatly distressed and troubled, and told them clearly, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death." He was crying out to his very closest friends, letting them know He needed their loving support. He asked them to remain there and He went a little further, fell to the ground and prayed a prayer we model - but not with the same consequences: "Abba (Papa), Father, all things are possible for you. If you can, remove this cup from me. Yet, not my will but yours be done."
Jesus was fully God and fully human - and the human part didn't want to go through with the plan.
He could have aborted the plan. But He didn't.
When Jesus came back to Peter, James and John, his question was addressed to Peter: "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Again Jesus went away to pray. Again He returned and they were sleeping. And a third time He went away and prayed - and this time, He told them they'd slept enough, the hour had come for Him to be betrayed.
Immediately, just after he spoke, Judas came up to him, called him Master, and kissed Him on the cheek - the signal for the guards to seize Him.
Valiant Peter's impetuous response was to cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest. In Mark's gospel there is no mention that Jesus healed the servant - but He did. His arrest was dramatic. Swords and clubs. Judas the betrayer's kiss. One young disciple running off into the night naked, as the linen cloth he was wrapped in was torn from him in an effort to detain him. But they all fled.
The captors led Jesus to the High Priest, with Peter following safely at a distance, and Mark says that all the chief priests, elders and scribes came together. These were the very people Jesus had called a Viper's Brood. I can imagine the 'righteous' indignation they exuded, and the surreptitious way they they were gathered. Clandestine, in the middle of the night. Summoned with hushed whispers from their beds. What they were about to do was illegal, and their actions escalated with unparalleled momentum as they positioned themselves to do what Herod the Great had failed to do at Yeshua's birth in Bethlehem 33 years earlier. They were intent on destroying The King of the Jews. It was political for them, just as it was for Herod. Jesus rocked the political boat.
They viewed Him as a dissident who compromised the safety of their status quo. They had to maintain balance. They had to keep peace with Rome. Jesus and His followers made that tenuous at best. They just didn't know He really was the Messiah. Yet, interestingly, during questioning, they asked Him that very question, "Are you the Messiah?"
He answered, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." Instead of falling down in worship, they called it blasphemy, and used the words of His truth to condemn Him as deserving death.
What He experienced that night was too horrible for words. By midnight He was arrested, and in those early morning hours of Friday, April 3, 33 A D, He was spit on, hit, slugged, beaten with a whip that tore chunks of flesh out every time it struck, mocked, ridiculed, denigrated in every possible way. All of God's justified wrath against mankind for the punishment of every sin that had ever been or ever would be committed - including my sin - was poured out on the Lord of Glory, incarnate. Righteousness demanded that sin required punishment. Jesus bore all of that sin in His body, and all the loneliness of betrayal, all the suffering, all the sorrow, all the agony and humiliation so I could have LIFE, and have it to the full.
As horrible as 'The Passion of the Christ' is to watch, it barely touches the surface of the reality of the intense horror of that night. All hell broke loose. Satan had a brief moment when he thought he had won.
Jesus was tossed back and forth between authorities on earth, authorities who had no clue what they were doing. There is no room for blame. The Jews didn't kill Jesus. Sin killed Jesus. He came to seek and save that which was lost. What was lost was a right relationship with God - and God's only way to redeem what was lost was to pay the price. He did it all to mend the severed relationship created by Adam and Eve's sin. Through the first Adam sin came into the world. The second Adam (Yeshua ha Meshiach; Jesus the Messiah) brought the opportunity for restoration. After the horrible, horrible night, as soon as it was light, he was taken to Pilate, who was the authority for the Romans. Pilate gave in to the mob and gave the final edict condemning 'The King of the Jews' to death.
From 9 am to 3 p m Jesus hung on the cross, impaled with 3 nails to hold Him there. His last living acts were forgiveness and love. His dying brought forgiveness and love.
Year after year, we read the last words He said; we read about the agony He suffered. The Old Testament prophesied it. The New Testament records it. What really matters is: do we receive it?
He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. Surely He bore our sorrows, and by His stripes we are healed. But we have to choose whether or not to accept the gift.
But for His disciples and followers that day, what they saw was the One they believed in hanging between heaven and earth, being mocked and humiliated by passers-by. They were broken, confused, questioning. Their spirits were crushed. Awful doesn't begin to portray what they felt. Their feelings were real. Their faith was destroyed. They were without hope.
The disciples certainly experienced the darkness that came over all the earth from noon to 3 p m. It mirrored the darkness of their hearts. But they didn't have all of the details written for us in the Gospel accounts. At that point, they didn't know the Centurion who stood next to him as He died on the cross proclaimed at the moment of His death, "Truly this man was the Son of God."
Truly, He is.
Mark's edition of Fridays' events is recorded in Mark 14:26 - Mark 15 (all).
His final meal with His disciples at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, beginning Passover, ended with a hymn. Loving music as I do, I would love to know what they sang. After they sang, Mark tells us they went out to the Mount of Olives.
In reading the history of the events of that night, I actually find it interesting that when we talk about denying Jesus, Peter is the one who comes to mind. They all denied Him. However, Peter was the first one to declare his allegiance, even unto death, with a bravado that claimed, "Even if all of the rest of them fall away, I won't. Even if I have to die with you, I will not deny you." But Mark lets us know that they all said the same.
Jesus led his disciples to the area called Gethsemane and asked most of the disciples to stay where they first stopped on the Mount of Olives, but took Peter, James and John with him and went further. He was greatly distressed and troubled, and told them clearly, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death." He was crying out to his very closest friends, letting them know He needed their loving support. He asked them to remain there and He went a little further, fell to the ground and prayed a prayer we model - but not with the same consequences: "Abba (Papa), Father, all things are possible for you. If you can, remove this cup from me. Yet, not my will but yours be done."
Jesus was fully God and fully human - and the human part didn't want to go through with the plan.
He could have aborted the plan. But He didn't.
When Jesus came back to Peter, James and John, his question was addressed to Peter: "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
Again Jesus went away to pray. Again He returned and they were sleeping. And a third time He went away and prayed - and this time, He told them they'd slept enough, the hour had come for Him to be betrayed.
Immediately, just after he spoke, Judas came up to him, called him Master, and kissed Him on the cheek - the signal for the guards to seize Him.
Valiant Peter's impetuous response was to cut off the ear of the servant of the high priest. In Mark's gospel there is no mention that Jesus healed the servant - but He did. His arrest was dramatic. Swords and clubs. Judas the betrayer's kiss. One young disciple running off into the night naked, as the linen cloth he was wrapped in was torn from him in an effort to detain him. But they all fled.
The captors led Jesus to the High Priest, with Peter following safely at a distance, and Mark says that all the chief priests, elders and scribes came together. These were the very people Jesus had called a Viper's Brood. I can imagine the 'righteous' indignation they exuded, and the surreptitious way they they were gathered. Clandestine, in the middle of the night. Summoned with hushed whispers from their beds. What they were about to do was illegal, and their actions escalated with unparalleled momentum as they positioned themselves to do what Herod the Great had failed to do at Yeshua's birth in Bethlehem 33 years earlier. They were intent on destroying The King of the Jews. It was political for them, just as it was for Herod. Jesus rocked the political boat.
They viewed Him as a dissident who compromised the safety of their status quo. They had to maintain balance. They had to keep peace with Rome. Jesus and His followers made that tenuous at best. They just didn't know He really was the Messiah. Yet, interestingly, during questioning, they asked Him that very question, "Are you the Messiah?"
He answered, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." Instead of falling down in worship, they called it blasphemy, and used the words of His truth to condemn Him as deserving death.
What He experienced that night was too horrible for words. By midnight He was arrested, and in those early morning hours of Friday, April 3, 33 A D, He was spit on, hit, slugged, beaten with a whip that tore chunks of flesh out every time it struck, mocked, ridiculed, denigrated in every possible way. All of God's justified wrath against mankind for the punishment of every sin that had ever been or ever would be committed - including my sin - was poured out on the Lord of Glory, incarnate. Righteousness demanded that sin required punishment. Jesus bore all of that sin in His body, and all the loneliness of betrayal, all the suffering, all the sorrow, all the agony and humiliation so I could have LIFE, and have it to the full.
As horrible as 'The Passion of the Christ' is to watch, it barely touches the surface of the reality of the intense horror of that night. All hell broke loose. Satan had a brief moment when he thought he had won.
Jesus was tossed back and forth between authorities on earth, authorities who had no clue what they were doing. There is no room for blame. The Jews didn't kill Jesus. Sin killed Jesus. He came to seek and save that which was lost. What was lost was a right relationship with God - and God's only way to redeem what was lost was to pay the price. He did it all to mend the severed relationship created by Adam and Eve's sin. Through the first Adam sin came into the world. The second Adam (Yeshua ha Meshiach; Jesus the Messiah) brought the opportunity for restoration. After the horrible, horrible night, as soon as it was light, he was taken to Pilate, who was the authority for the Romans. Pilate gave in to the mob and gave the final edict condemning 'The King of the Jews' to death.
From 9 am to 3 p m Jesus hung on the cross, impaled with 3 nails to hold Him there. His last living acts were forgiveness and love. His dying brought forgiveness and love.
Year after year, we read the last words He said; we read about the agony He suffered. The Old Testament prophesied it. The New Testament records it. What really matters is: do we receive it?
He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. Surely He bore our sorrows, and by His stripes we are healed. But we have to choose whether or not to accept the gift.
But for His disciples and followers that day, what they saw was the One they believed in hanging between heaven and earth, being mocked and humiliated by passers-by. They were broken, confused, questioning. Their spirits were crushed. Awful doesn't begin to portray what they felt. Their feelings were real. Their faith was destroyed. They were without hope.
The disciples certainly experienced the darkness that came over all the earth from noon to 3 p m. It mirrored the darkness of their hearts. But they didn't have all of the details written for us in the Gospel accounts. At that point, they didn't know the Centurion who stood next to him as He died on the cross proclaimed at the moment of His death, "Truly this man was the Son of God."
Truly, He is.
Mark's edition of Fridays' events is recorded in Mark 14:26 - Mark 15 (all).
Thursday, April 21, 2011
LENT 2011, Day 38
This year, the Jewish Passover began on Tuesday the 19th of April. In reality, it began Monday evening after sundown. That is how Jewish days are counted - from sundown to sundown. Obviously sundown fluctuates all year - so they have to pay attention more keenly than we do. Our day ends and begins at midnight. Always.
The beginning of the Passover was on Thursday the year Yeshua presented Himself as the One John the Baptist proclaimed when he said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29). That means, technically, it began at sundown on Wednesday night. Just as a point of reference, the Passover celebration lasts 8 days.
Jesus and His family went 'up to Jerusalem' from their home in Nazareth for the Passover annually (Luke 2:41). When he was 12 years old, after the days celebrating the Passover, when his family was on their way back to Nazareth - and assumed he was with their group - Jesus was back at the temple chatting with the teachers of the law (Luke 2:42-50).
Jesus knew about Passover - from His family - from His heavenly Father - and from the perspective of the teachers of the law. He knew that He was the fulfillment of the prophecies, and the fulfillment of Israel's hope. He was (and is) the Messiah!
When the Passover was first instituted, it was the final straw in getting Pharaoh to let the Hebrew people (the Israelites) leave Egypt. Pharaoh's heart was hardened for every other plague. After all, the Jewish people were the slave labor of Egypt. If they lost their slaves, their entire way of life would change. They wouldn't have anyone to do their work for them - with all that implies.
But God's redemption for Israel was determined and designed - to the day! God instructed His Hebrew people to take a lamb into their homes, to kill it and put its blood around the doorway to each home where the lamb would be eaten. Then to stay in the house and not go out. He also instructed that they make unleavened bread to take with them on their journey for when they were freed. Every instruction, every element, was instructive for then as well as for the future.
In that first Passover (c.+-1446 B C), the Angel of Death visited Egypt. As promised, for those who had the blood of the lamb over their doorpost as instructed, the Angel of Death 'passed over' that house; and for every family who didn't have the blood of the lamb over the doorpost every one of their firstborn males died that night, from the eldest to the youngest. That meant that all the people of Egypt (who didn't have the blood over the doorposts) lost all of their firstborn sons. In abject grief, Pharaoh let the Hebrew children go. They were ready for the instruction to move out - and they did.
The Jewish people celebrated that day from that time forward. Annually, they retold the story of the exodus - of God's salvation. That salvation was through the blood of the lamb. When Jesus was 33 years old, they had been celebrating passover for some 1479 years. They all knew what it stood for, and why they celebrated. It was a celebration of freedom from horrible oppression - and now, in 33 AD, Jesus completely changed the reason for the celebration.
When He sat down with His disciples in the upper room that Thursday evening, they had all of the prescribed elements of the traditional Passover. Two disciples had spent the day preparing it. It was tradition - something they'd done with Jesus since He began His ministry - but this year was different. He abrogated the former traditional story and made it all about Him.
When he took the unleavened bread and broke it as was the custom of the Passover feast, instead of the familiar words they'd all been raised with and knew by heart, He said, "This is my body broken for you." Before they could even grasp what He was saying, He raised the cup, and as they waited to hear the familiar instruction of its meaning, He said, "This is the new covenant in my blood, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Drink all of it...."
Whoa. What did He just say?
They knew about the Old Covenant with Abraham. It was instituted about 2090 B C - give or take a few years.
And they knew about the very specific sacrifices of The Law instituted under Moses for the forgiveness of sin. That happened in the desert when the Wilderness Tabernacle was built and instructions were mandated. They knew what had to be done historically for the forgiveness of sin. Now Yeshua, the Messiah who was (in their minds) supposed to come to rule and reign and wipe out the terrible scourge of Roman rule was saying what????? It didn't compute.
I'm going to take a little bunny trail here (after all it is almost Easter.) Sorry. Enough of the tongue-in-cheek humor....
Bringing up the wilderness tabernacle is my segue. Jesus was the fulfillment of every element of that tabernacle. It was the foreshadowing for all He was and is.
The altar for animal sacrifice: He became the sacrifice. His blood atoned for our sin.
The lavar for washing: He is the water of life. He promised that anyone who drinks of Him will never thirst.
The table of shewbread: He is the bread of life....
The candelabra (the Menorah): He is light. In Him there is no darkness.
The altar of incense: He sits at the right hand of the Father and He prays for us.
The Ark of the Covenant: Jesus fulfilled the law. The law was instituted as a mirror so man could see there was no way he could live up to the law; The old covenant man had to live under was the law. The new covenant was in His blood. He shed His blood for our sins. He paid the price.
The Mercy Seat: He is mercy. God ordained Mercy to be a companion to Law, and Jesus was that mercy personified, the One who made God accessible to us. In fact, that is what happened at the moment of His death, when the very thick curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was torn in two from the top to the bottom.
From the time the Wilderness Tabernacle was constructed in the Sinai desert (c. +-1444 B C) until 33 A D when the veil was torn in the Temple located on Temple Mount in Jerusalem, a high priest had been going in to the Holy of Holies just once a year to stand before God, in His presence, to bring atonement for the sins of the people accumulated for the entire year. It was on one such Day of Atonement +-1 BC that Zechariah was visited by an angel who told him Sarai would have a son - John the Baptist.
I really have to stop this bunny path. It could get completely out of hand....
The point is: Jesus knew all of that history - both as God (who instituted it) and as man (who honored it).
Now - He was saying, pretty much, "Hey guys, when you get together after this for Passover, instead of being about celebrating your ancestors being freed from slavery in Egypt, celebrate me. Remember my death until I come back. When you drink the cup, remember my blood poured out for you for the forgiveness of your sins. When you break that unleavened bread, and hear it crack, remember my body that will be broken for you. Remember me."
They didn't get it. Not yet. A lot of people still don't get it. I pray that this year there will be people who do. People who for the very first time, realize what Jesus (Yeshua) did for them on the cross. But - I'm getting ahead of the story.
Obviously I didn't stick to Mark's gospel today - but highly recommend reading the gospel accounts!
From the time of the beginning of Jesus' last supper - that Passover dinner that changed the night for all time - the events of the subsequent 24 hours were set in motion.
In truth, that year, Judas Iscariot had already agreed to betray Jesus - and he was there, feigning love - even dipping into the same bowl Jesus dipped into to eat from.
Soon after that, Jesus would tell him, "Go do what you must - but do it quickly."
The story of the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed, and his disciples fell asleep, comes in just moments.... But the message to us is 'remember' - When you eat this bread (unleavened always at Passover) and drink this cup, remember....
When we have the 'blood of the Perfect Lamb, Jesus the Messiah,' over the doorpost of our hearts - He grants us eternal life. Death in this life is not the death to be feared - but eternal death is. Original sin broke the relationship between God and man. The foreshadowing of that payment was years and years of the shed blood in animal sacrifice. But Jesus changed all of that. He became the blood sacrifice required for all time - reaching back into history and forward to eternity. On that Thursday of Passover - the Perfect Lamb presented Himself to His disciples as the payment for all sin for all time. The timing was no accident.
Amazing love, how can it be, that you, my King, would die for me?
The beginning of the Passover was on Thursday the year Yeshua presented Himself as the One John the Baptist proclaimed when he said, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29). That means, technically, it began at sundown on Wednesday night. Just as a point of reference, the Passover celebration lasts 8 days.
Jesus and His family went 'up to Jerusalem' from their home in Nazareth for the Passover annually (Luke 2:41). When he was 12 years old, after the days celebrating the Passover, when his family was on their way back to Nazareth - and assumed he was with their group - Jesus was back at the temple chatting with the teachers of the law (Luke 2:42-50).
Jesus knew about Passover - from His family - from His heavenly Father - and from the perspective of the teachers of the law. He knew that He was the fulfillment of the prophecies, and the fulfillment of Israel's hope. He was (and is) the Messiah!
When the Passover was first instituted, it was the final straw in getting Pharaoh to let the Hebrew people (the Israelites) leave Egypt. Pharaoh's heart was hardened for every other plague. After all, the Jewish people were the slave labor of Egypt. If they lost their slaves, their entire way of life would change. They wouldn't have anyone to do their work for them - with all that implies.
But God's redemption for Israel was determined and designed - to the day! God instructed His Hebrew people to take a lamb into their homes, to kill it and put its blood around the doorway to each home where the lamb would be eaten. Then to stay in the house and not go out. He also instructed that they make unleavened bread to take with them on their journey for when they were freed. Every instruction, every element, was instructive for then as well as for the future.
In that first Passover (c.+-1446 B C), the Angel of Death visited Egypt. As promised, for those who had the blood of the lamb over their doorpost as instructed, the Angel of Death 'passed over' that house; and for every family who didn't have the blood of the lamb over the doorpost every one of their firstborn males died that night, from the eldest to the youngest. That meant that all the people of Egypt (who didn't have the blood over the doorposts) lost all of their firstborn sons. In abject grief, Pharaoh let the Hebrew children go. They were ready for the instruction to move out - and they did.
The Jewish people celebrated that day from that time forward. Annually, they retold the story of the exodus - of God's salvation. That salvation was through the blood of the lamb. When Jesus was 33 years old, they had been celebrating passover for some 1479 years. They all knew what it stood for, and why they celebrated. It was a celebration of freedom from horrible oppression - and now, in 33 AD, Jesus completely changed the reason for the celebration.
When He sat down with His disciples in the upper room that Thursday evening, they had all of the prescribed elements of the traditional Passover. Two disciples had spent the day preparing it. It was tradition - something they'd done with Jesus since He began His ministry - but this year was different. He abrogated the former traditional story and made it all about Him.
When he took the unleavened bread and broke it as was the custom of the Passover feast, instead of the familiar words they'd all been raised with and knew by heart, He said, "This is my body broken for you." Before they could even grasp what He was saying, He raised the cup, and as they waited to hear the familiar instruction of its meaning, He said, "This is the new covenant in my blood, poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Drink all of it...."
Whoa. What did He just say?
They knew about the Old Covenant with Abraham. It was instituted about 2090 B C - give or take a few years.
And they knew about the very specific sacrifices of The Law instituted under Moses for the forgiveness of sin. That happened in the desert when the Wilderness Tabernacle was built and instructions were mandated. They knew what had to be done historically for the forgiveness of sin. Now Yeshua, the Messiah who was (in their minds) supposed to come to rule and reign and wipe out the terrible scourge of Roman rule was saying what????? It didn't compute.
I'm going to take a little bunny trail here (after all it is almost Easter.) Sorry. Enough of the tongue-in-cheek humor....
Bringing up the wilderness tabernacle is my segue. Jesus was the fulfillment of every element of that tabernacle. It was the foreshadowing for all He was and is.
The altar for animal sacrifice: He became the sacrifice. His blood atoned for our sin.
The lavar for washing: He is the water of life. He promised that anyone who drinks of Him will never thirst.
The table of shewbread: He is the bread of life....
The candelabra (the Menorah): He is light. In Him there is no darkness.
The altar of incense: He sits at the right hand of the Father and He prays for us.
The Ark of the Covenant: Jesus fulfilled the law. The law was instituted as a mirror so man could see there was no way he could live up to the law; The old covenant man had to live under was the law. The new covenant was in His blood. He shed His blood for our sins. He paid the price.
The Mercy Seat: He is mercy. God ordained Mercy to be a companion to Law, and Jesus was that mercy personified, the One who made God accessible to us. In fact, that is what happened at the moment of His death, when the very thick curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was torn in two from the top to the bottom.
From the time the Wilderness Tabernacle was constructed in the Sinai desert (c. +-1444 B C) until 33 A D when the veil was torn in the Temple located on Temple Mount in Jerusalem, a high priest had been going in to the Holy of Holies just once a year to stand before God, in His presence, to bring atonement for the sins of the people accumulated for the entire year. It was on one such Day of Atonement +-1 BC that Zechariah was visited by an angel who told him Sarai would have a son - John the Baptist.
I really have to stop this bunny path. It could get completely out of hand....
The point is: Jesus knew all of that history - both as God (who instituted it) and as man (who honored it).
Now - He was saying, pretty much, "Hey guys, when you get together after this for Passover, instead of being about celebrating your ancestors being freed from slavery in Egypt, celebrate me. Remember my death until I come back. When you drink the cup, remember my blood poured out for you for the forgiveness of your sins. When you break that unleavened bread, and hear it crack, remember my body that will be broken for you. Remember me."
They didn't get it. Not yet. A lot of people still don't get it. I pray that this year there will be people who do. People who for the very first time, realize what Jesus (Yeshua) did for them on the cross. But - I'm getting ahead of the story.
Obviously I didn't stick to Mark's gospel today - but highly recommend reading the gospel accounts!
From the time of the beginning of Jesus' last supper - that Passover dinner that changed the night for all time - the events of the subsequent 24 hours were set in motion.
In truth, that year, Judas Iscariot had already agreed to betray Jesus - and he was there, feigning love - even dipping into the same bowl Jesus dipped into to eat from.
Soon after that, Jesus would tell him, "Go do what you must - but do it quickly."
The story of the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed, and his disciples fell asleep, comes in just moments.... But the message to us is 'remember' - When you eat this bread (unleavened always at Passover) and drink this cup, remember....
When we have the 'blood of the Perfect Lamb, Jesus the Messiah,' over the doorpost of our hearts - He grants us eternal life. Death in this life is not the death to be feared - but eternal death is. Original sin broke the relationship between God and man. The foreshadowing of that payment was years and years of the shed blood in animal sacrifice. But Jesus changed all of that. He became the blood sacrifice required for all time - reaching back into history and forward to eternity. On that Thursday of Passover - the Perfect Lamb presented Himself to His disciples as the payment for all sin for all time. The timing was no accident.
Amazing love, how can it be, that you, my King, would die for me?
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
LENT 2011, Day 37
Wednesday, as far as stated days in the Bible, was quiet. I'm tempted to just copy and paste my blog from last year. It was a good reminder for me of some things I need to pay attention to - but I can't ignore the passages I left dangling yesterday.
We don't know specifically what Jesus was doing on Wednesday - but it is probable He went back to Bethany Tuesday night after teaching in the temple and teaching His faithful followers on the Mount of Olives. On Wednesday, He could have just spent the day quietly with his dearest and closest friends. He could have spent the day alone. He could have spent the day responding to people who came out to Him. We just don't have a record of that day.
So - I'm going to backtrack to Tuesday's menu.
Mark 12 addresses Jesus' final public teaching to the crowds who constantly surrounded Him. The Parable of the Tenants pointed the finger squarely at the listeners' ancestors, and subsequently at them: those who had killed the prophets, and those who would kill the Son. He laid claim in that parable to being the stone the builders rejected.
Next the Herodians and Pharisees tried to manipulate Him through flattery into saying something they could use against Him politically. He cleverly failed to participate in their ploy, and in doing so, gave us another great saying, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
Next the Sadduccees took their shot. They didn't believe in the resurrection of the dead, but they tried to bait Him with a man-sized issue. What is interesting is that He does give them a thorough answer. He knows men's hearts - and theirs must have truly wanted to try to reconcile what they had been taught with what He had claimed....
Jesus makes it clear that there is no marrying in heaven, and makes it clear that those who precede us in 'death' are alive, not asleep as some teach, for He is the God of the living. I've wondered about that, having heard various arguments. He makes it crystal clear. I'm paying attention!
Next a scribe comes up, and upon hearing that Jesus is giving great answers to the questions put to Him, he inquires, "Which commandment is the most important of all?"
Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
Jesus didn't give the scribe just one commandment. He distilled the entire 10 commandments into 2. Love God. Love others. The message of the cross. The cross reached up to heaven with its perpendicular timber - and stretched out to man with its parallel crosspiece. Jesus was soon to live out the message He proclaimed.
I find it interesting that the scribe, in his response, only included heart, mind and strength - leaving out soul. But he did convey that loving God, and loving others as much as loving self was more significant than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices one could offer. He was so close - not far from the kingdom of God, according to Jesus’ response....
That is a risk for mankind today as well - to be close, but miss the most important part - a changed soul. Man's heart can desire to do what is right - but without a changed soul, which can only be accomplished through the sacrifice of the Lamb, it falls short. We can be close to the kingdom of God, and still not be part of it.
That Tuesday - yesterday - as Jesus taught in the temple, he left people with a lot to think about: (1) How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David when David himself, through the power of the Holy Spirit, called him Lord? (2) Beware of the scribes who look pious on the outside yet who 'devour widow's houses.'
And after delivering that invective, He sat down opposite the treasury where people were bringing their offerings. He noted that many rich put in large sums - but that the widow's offering was all she had.
Those who are wealthy should give large sums. What they gave should have been being used to help those in dire straits as well as supporting the priests and the temple activities. That was good. This is not a message saying they should have done less.
I have to wonder a bit at what His point is, because on the surface it appears that the widow giving her final penny is a message of her giving up hope. What was a penny going to get her anyway? Certainly not enough to live on. It was a desperate moment.
Again, Jesus knew her heart. Her final act could well have been a plea to God for His sustenance. She had nothing left. She was empty. Only He could make a difference on her behalf. Only He could save her. If God didn't intervene, she would die. But, she could have just crawled off in a corner and died without bringing her last farthing. Her pittance expresses both desperation and hope. And she brought it to God.
The message for me is one of absolute emptying of self - laying my all on the altar. It is a message God reminded me of earlier in the week. I get caught up too easily in what people think. It really is irrelevant, except to the degree it clouds the gospel. I am not my own. I am bought with a price. And the life I now live I live by the grace of the One who came - and lived - and died so that I might have life and have it to the full. A full life is one that begins its eternal voyage here and after this cocoon time finds fullness in Heaven.
In the daily living out of my life I am constantly cajoled for believing - but I do believe! Jesus the Messiah is the source of the hope that is in me - and if I do not praise Him, the rocks will cry out!
As Jesus came out of the temple that day, one of his disciples commented on the structure of their temple - what wonderful stones - what wonderful buildings. And Jesus said to him, "So you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down." [His prediction was made in +-33 A D - and in 70 A D it came true.]
After Jesus left the temple on Tuesday he took Peter, James, John and Andrew up on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple. I can see it in my mind's eye. They had thought about what he said at the temple site - about the enormous stones being thrown down, and they asked him, "When?"
We need to understand that their mindset was still enmeshed in their misconception that Jesus was going to become King immediately. They had been taught that the Messiah was going to come and vanquish their enemies. They had the fervor of the crowds from Palm Sunday - just two days earlier - as a touchpoint for 'their reality.' What Jesus said made no sense to them in their preconceived script. But, later, it would - and it does to us: In the ESV Mark 13:5ff quotes Jesus response, saying:
"See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he!' and they will lead many astray. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.
"But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved...."
There is a lot more in chapter 13 - - but I'm going to stop there. While we can apply this to ourselves as well, His audience was His beloved - the Jews. He came to His own and His own did not accept Him. They were looking for their Messiah - but He didn't fit their script. They looked at the surface instead of digging. They discounted Him without knowing the facts.
Their prophecies said he must be born in Bethlehem. He was. He was of the Tribe of Judah, in the lineage of David. Prophecy said He would be born of a virgin. He was. His parents fled to Egypt - so out of Egypt God called Him. Another fulfillment. There were so many affirmations: the shepherds; the prophetess, Anna; Simeon. His baptism. His miracles. His message. Even His death. All prophesied. All came to pass.
And now looking back over the past +-1978 years since His death: the pain that has prevailed for the Jewish nation of Israel because of their rejection. The gargantuan stones of the temple were cast down. Israel was cast to the wind - foreigners in foreign lands and among foreign ways of thinking. But the amazing grace of God was displayed in fulfilling His prophetic promise that they would become a nation again. That happened in 1948. Miraculously.
Wednesday - certainly a lot on Jesus' mind. His disciples were blindly focused on preparing themselves for an anticipated earthly Kingship - while He was preparing Himself for His Kingdom.
We don't know specifically what Jesus was doing on Wednesday - but it is probable He went back to Bethany Tuesday night after teaching in the temple and teaching His faithful followers on the Mount of Olives. On Wednesday, He could have just spent the day quietly with his dearest and closest friends. He could have spent the day alone. He could have spent the day responding to people who came out to Him. We just don't have a record of that day.
So - I'm going to backtrack to Tuesday's menu.
Mark 12 addresses Jesus' final public teaching to the crowds who constantly surrounded Him. The Parable of the Tenants pointed the finger squarely at the listeners' ancestors, and subsequently at them: those who had killed the prophets, and those who would kill the Son. He laid claim in that parable to being the stone the builders rejected.
Next the Herodians and Pharisees tried to manipulate Him through flattery into saying something they could use against Him politically. He cleverly failed to participate in their ploy, and in doing so, gave us another great saying, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
Next the Sadduccees took their shot. They didn't believe in the resurrection of the dead, but they tried to bait Him with a man-sized issue. What is interesting is that He does give them a thorough answer. He knows men's hearts - and theirs must have truly wanted to try to reconcile what they had been taught with what He had claimed....
Jesus makes it clear that there is no marrying in heaven, and makes it clear that those who precede us in 'death' are alive, not asleep as some teach, for He is the God of the living. I've wondered about that, having heard various arguments. He makes it crystal clear. I'm paying attention!
Next a scribe comes up, and upon hearing that Jesus is giving great answers to the questions put to Him, he inquires, "Which commandment is the most important of all?"
Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
Jesus didn't give the scribe just one commandment. He distilled the entire 10 commandments into 2. Love God. Love others. The message of the cross. The cross reached up to heaven with its perpendicular timber - and stretched out to man with its parallel crosspiece. Jesus was soon to live out the message He proclaimed.
I find it interesting that the scribe, in his response, only included heart, mind and strength - leaving out soul. But he did convey that loving God, and loving others as much as loving self was more significant than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices one could offer. He was so close - not far from the kingdom of God, according to Jesus’ response....
That is a risk for mankind today as well - to be close, but miss the most important part - a changed soul. Man's heart can desire to do what is right - but without a changed soul, which can only be accomplished through the sacrifice of the Lamb, it falls short. We can be close to the kingdom of God, and still not be part of it.
That Tuesday - yesterday - as Jesus taught in the temple, he left people with a lot to think about: (1) How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David when David himself, through the power of the Holy Spirit, called him Lord? (2) Beware of the scribes who look pious on the outside yet who 'devour widow's houses.'
And after delivering that invective, He sat down opposite the treasury where people were bringing their offerings. He noted that many rich put in large sums - but that the widow's offering was all she had.
Those who are wealthy should give large sums. What they gave should have been being used to help those in dire straits as well as supporting the priests and the temple activities. That was good. This is not a message saying they should have done less.
I have to wonder a bit at what His point is, because on the surface it appears that the widow giving her final penny is a message of her giving up hope. What was a penny going to get her anyway? Certainly not enough to live on. It was a desperate moment.
Again, Jesus knew her heart. Her final act could well have been a plea to God for His sustenance. She had nothing left. She was empty. Only He could make a difference on her behalf. Only He could save her. If God didn't intervene, she would die. But, she could have just crawled off in a corner and died without bringing her last farthing. Her pittance expresses both desperation and hope. And she brought it to God.
The message for me is one of absolute emptying of self - laying my all on the altar. It is a message God reminded me of earlier in the week. I get caught up too easily in what people think. It really is irrelevant, except to the degree it clouds the gospel. I am not my own. I am bought with a price. And the life I now live I live by the grace of the One who came - and lived - and died so that I might have life and have it to the full. A full life is one that begins its eternal voyage here and after this cocoon time finds fullness in Heaven.
In the daily living out of my life I am constantly cajoled for believing - but I do believe! Jesus the Messiah is the source of the hope that is in me - and if I do not praise Him, the rocks will cry out!
As Jesus came out of the temple that day, one of his disciples commented on the structure of their temple - what wonderful stones - what wonderful buildings. And Jesus said to him, "So you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down." [His prediction was made in +-33 A D - and in 70 A D it came true.]
After Jesus left the temple on Tuesday he took Peter, James, John and Andrew up on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple. I can see it in my mind's eye. They had thought about what he said at the temple site - about the enormous stones being thrown down, and they asked him, "When?"
We need to understand that their mindset was still enmeshed in their misconception that Jesus was going to become King immediately. They had been taught that the Messiah was going to come and vanquish their enemies. They had the fervor of the crowds from Palm Sunday - just two days earlier - as a touchpoint for 'their reality.' What Jesus said made no sense to them in their preconceived script. But, later, it would - and it does to us: In the ESV Mark 13:5ff quotes Jesus response, saying:
"See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he!' and they will lead many astray. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.
"But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved...."
There is a lot more in chapter 13 - - but I'm going to stop there. While we can apply this to ourselves as well, His audience was His beloved - the Jews. He came to His own and His own did not accept Him. They were looking for their Messiah - but He didn't fit their script. They looked at the surface instead of digging. They discounted Him without knowing the facts.
Their prophecies said he must be born in Bethlehem. He was. He was of the Tribe of Judah, in the lineage of David. Prophecy said He would be born of a virgin. He was. His parents fled to Egypt - so out of Egypt God called Him. Another fulfillment. There were so many affirmations: the shepherds; the prophetess, Anna; Simeon. His baptism. His miracles. His message. Even His death. All prophesied. All came to pass.
And now looking back over the past +-1978 years since His death: the pain that has prevailed for the Jewish nation of Israel because of their rejection. The gargantuan stones of the temple were cast down. Israel was cast to the wind - foreigners in foreign lands and among foreign ways of thinking. But the amazing grace of God was displayed in fulfilling His prophetic promise that they would become a nation again. That happened in 1948. Miraculously.
Wednesday - certainly a lot on Jesus' mind. His disciples were blindly focused on preparing themselves for an anticipated earthly Kingship - while He was preparing Himself for His Kingdom.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
LENT 2011, Day 36
On the Tuesday of what we call Holy Week Jesus, the teacher, taught. Mark 11:20-26 (ESV) tells us 'in the morning they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.' Peter is the one who notices and comments. And Jesus uses the visual as a teaching opportunity - just as I suspected without reading ahead....
But what a lesson. I can't completely get my mind around it as stated. It is a portion of Jesus' teaching that can be taken totally out of context. I do know that it begins with 'Have faith in God.' I have to believe that the faith we have in God demands we come into alignment with Him in the process of faith - and that in the living out of that faith, we will be led by the Spirit, and asking within God's will.
If these verses were just taken out of the context of a faithfully-lived life, they would be terrifying. But - when the Holy Spirit inspires the prayer - and our faith rises up from that inspiration - miracles happen. God-sized miracles!
Mark 9:24 comes quickly to mind. “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (2011 NIV).
God has been teaching me more about prayer recently. Several years ago He let me know He wants me to spend time with Him early in the morning. That time prepares me for the day. But - He has also made it very clear to me that it is the 'effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous man' that makes the most difference.
I can't even be righteous without having His Son as my Savior as the initial requirement - and righteousness means living as God wants me to live - living in obedience. He has very recently brought the reminder of the story of Elijah on Mt Carmel to mind. The prophets of Baal hollered and worked themselves into a frenzy - cutting themselves and 'praying' fervently to deaf Gods. Elijah's prayer was God-inspired and completely effective. I have to be careful not to let the leaven of the Pharisees infect my prayer focus. It isn't about the amount of time, but the effectual fervency of the prayer. And like the father in Mark 9, sometimes I have to pray, "I believe; help my unbelief."
One of the very significant things I do note about this instruction to the disciples who were with Him is that he makes it very clear that the level of their forgiving others is the level that God will measure out to them in His forgiveness. That is huge - and confirmed in the prayer model He gave His disciples in what we call 'The Lord's Prayer.' "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."
(I grew up in a church that said trespasses instead of debtor - then spent 38 years in a church that used the word 'debtor' - - and find the word 'debtor' speaks more clearly to the debt I owe the Lord that informs my forgiveness of others.)
The point is that forgiveness is a huge part of living out a faithful Christian life. In fact, we can't truly claim to be Christian without it. Forgiveness always sounds so commendable in theory - but when 'it' (whatever the it may be) is done to us, suddenly we want to rationalize being justified in our reactions and unforgiveness. It is a reality that hits us squarely between the eyes. Life, as we know it, is full of injustices - yet we are commanded to forgive. What we will learn when we do is that forgiveness releases us from the temptation to bitterness and isolation. Choosing forgiveness is freeing. But - we can't do it without the Holy Spirit's help....
In Mark 11:27-33 Mark lets us peek in on another confrontation at the temple with the chief priests, scribes and elders. Jesus had proclaimed His authority often enough. They were just trying to bait Him - and instead, He asked them a question they didn't dare answer. We have to remember they were just trying to catch Him in His words so they could find reason to accuse Him. He wasn't helping them out - and they were going to have to resort to lies to accomplish their intended goal.
Tuesday was Jesus final day of public teaching - and the day He gave what we refer to as the Olivet Discourse. There is a LOT to explore for Tuesday.
See Mark 12 & 13
But what a lesson. I can't completely get my mind around it as stated. It is a portion of Jesus' teaching that can be taken totally out of context. I do know that it begins with 'Have faith in God.' I have to believe that the faith we have in God demands we come into alignment with Him in the process of faith - and that in the living out of that faith, we will be led by the Spirit, and asking within God's will.
If these verses were just taken out of the context of a faithfully-lived life, they would be terrifying. But - when the Holy Spirit inspires the prayer - and our faith rises up from that inspiration - miracles happen. God-sized miracles!
Mark 9:24 comes quickly to mind. “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (2011 NIV).
God has been teaching me more about prayer recently. Several years ago He let me know He wants me to spend time with Him early in the morning. That time prepares me for the day. But - He has also made it very clear to me that it is the 'effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous man' that makes the most difference.
I can't even be righteous without having His Son as my Savior as the initial requirement - and righteousness means living as God wants me to live - living in obedience. He has very recently brought the reminder of the story of Elijah on Mt Carmel to mind. The prophets of Baal hollered and worked themselves into a frenzy - cutting themselves and 'praying' fervently to deaf Gods. Elijah's prayer was God-inspired and completely effective. I have to be careful not to let the leaven of the Pharisees infect my prayer focus. It isn't about the amount of time, but the effectual fervency of the prayer. And like the father in Mark 9, sometimes I have to pray, "I believe; help my unbelief."
One of the very significant things I do note about this instruction to the disciples who were with Him is that he makes it very clear that the level of their forgiving others is the level that God will measure out to them in His forgiveness. That is huge - and confirmed in the prayer model He gave His disciples in what we call 'The Lord's Prayer.' "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."
(I grew up in a church that said trespasses instead of debtor - then spent 38 years in a church that used the word 'debtor' - - and find the word 'debtor' speaks more clearly to the debt I owe the Lord that informs my forgiveness of others.)
The point is that forgiveness is a huge part of living out a faithful Christian life. In fact, we can't truly claim to be Christian without it. Forgiveness always sounds so commendable in theory - but when 'it' (whatever the it may be) is done to us, suddenly we want to rationalize being justified in our reactions and unforgiveness. It is a reality that hits us squarely between the eyes. Life, as we know it, is full of injustices - yet we are commanded to forgive. What we will learn when we do is that forgiveness releases us from the temptation to bitterness and isolation. Choosing forgiveness is freeing. But - we can't do it without the Holy Spirit's help....
In Mark 11:27-33 Mark lets us peek in on another confrontation at the temple with the chief priests, scribes and elders. Jesus had proclaimed His authority often enough. They were just trying to bait Him - and instead, He asked them a question they didn't dare answer. We have to remember they were just trying to catch Him in His words so they could find reason to accuse Him. He wasn't helping them out - and they were going to have to resort to lies to accomplish their intended goal.
Tuesday was Jesus final day of public teaching - and the day He gave what we refer to as the Olivet Discourse. There is a LOT to explore for Tuesday.
See Mark 12 & 13
Monday, April 18, 2011
LENT 2011, Day 35
Mark 11:12-19
A lot of my post today comes from last year’s blog. The major difference is that I deleted what other gospels added, and focused primarily on Mark.
As Jesus was walking back to Jerusalem from Bethany on Monday morning he cursed a fig tree that had no figs – but Mark lets us know it wasn't even fig season.... I have to assume it was for the purpose of creating a teachable moment for Him to demonstrate His authority over absolutely everything. Mark inserts the sequential story of what happened next in their day – then comes back to the fig tree later. I’ll do the same – but with the cue that we will return…tomorrow.
Bethany was a 2-mile walk from Jerusalem - a village nestled near the base of the east side of the Mount of Olives, to the east of Jerusalem. Bethphage was along the route to Jerusalem, a very small village on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives is a long hill - not just a peak.... It helps me visualize better when I have more information.
Jesus destination in Jerusalem was the temple. When he entered that Monday, he was infuriated because the profiteers had made it a den of robbers. Jews had come 'up' to Jerusalem from all over Israel as well as from other surrounding countries to celebrate the Passover. The poor and those who traveled long distances were dependent on purchasing the doves (pigeons) they would have to have for their sacrifice after they arrived in Jerusalem. They could only make those purchases with local coins, which necessitated there being money-changers, and the money-changers were short-changing the customers. Jesus tossed them all out. They were in business to line their own pockets, not to provide a fair-market-value service.
I don't believe this is an indictment on garage sales, bake sales, church auctions, and other appropriate fundraisers held in churches, as some have tried to make it. If they had a 'helping service' that truly helped, offering a fair exchange, I do not believe it would have invoked Jesus' ire. His act is a model for what should elicit righteous indignation in us: inequities and abuses that deny rights, denigrate, and devour. His house is to be a house of prayer. He is to be the priority. Serving others in His name is to be the model. Those who were ripping off the faithful were doing it out of greed.
I do pay attention to the fact that Mark lets us know when evening came they went out of the city. (Matthew tells us Jesus spent the night in Bethany again.) The chief priests and scribes were intent on finding a way to destroy Him. Staying out of their way until it was the time God defined had been an issue for several months, and in this last week, when their fervor in their quest escalated, it was no different. Jesus was responding the God's will in every move He made.
A lot of my post today comes from last year’s blog. The major difference is that I deleted what other gospels added, and focused primarily on Mark.
As Jesus was walking back to Jerusalem from Bethany on Monday morning he cursed a fig tree that had no figs – but Mark lets us know it wasn't even fig season.... I have to assume it was for the purpose of creating a teachable moment for Him to demonstrate His authority over absolutely everything. Mark inserts the sequential story of what happened next in their day – then comes back to the fig tree later. I’ll do the same – but with the cue that we will return…tomorrow.
Bethany was a 2-mile walk from Jerusalem - a village nestled near the base of the east side of the Mount of Olives, to the east of Jerusalem. Bethphage was along the route to Jerusalem, a very small village on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives is a long hill - not just a peak.... It helps me visualize better when I have more information.
Jesus destination in Jerusalem was the temple. When he entered that Monday, he was infuriated because the profiteers had made it a den of robbers. Jews had come 'up' to Jerusalem from all over Israel as well as from other surrounding countries to celebrate the Passover. The poor and those who traveled long distances were dependent on purchasing the doves (pigeons) they would have to have for their sacrifice after they arrived in Jerusalem. They could only make those purchases with local coins, which necessitated there being money-changers, and the money-changers were short-changing the customers. Jesus tossed them all out. They were in business to line their own pockets, not to provide a fair-market-value service.
I don't believe this is an indictment on garage sales, bake sales, church auctions, and other appropriate fundraisers held in churches, as some have tried to make it. If they had a 'helping service' that truly helped, offering a fair exchange, I do not believe it would have invoked Jesus' ire. His act is a model for what should elicit righteous indignation in us: inequities and abuses that deny rights, denigrate, and devour. His house is to be a house of prayer. He is to be the priority. Serving others in His name is to be the model. Those who were ripping off the faithful were doing it out of greed.
I do pay attention to the fact that Mark lets us know when evening came they went out of the city. (Matthew tells us Jesus spent the night in Bethany again.) The chief priests and scribes were intent on finding a way to destroy Him. Staying out of their way until it was the time God defined had been an issue for several months, and in this last week, when their fervor in their quest escalated, it was no different. Jesus was responding the God's will in every move He made.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
LENT 2011, Palm Sunday
I went back to my blog posts from last year to remind myself of the timeline for the daily journey Jesus walked that last week of His life. I plagiarized a little of my own writing, i.e., copied and pasted a bit when what I said then fits ideally this year as well, but most of what I comment on is fresh. That's intentional. In the interest of time it would be so easy to just copy and paste last year's to this year - - but I want to take the journey again. It forces me to take each step.
Mark 11:1-11
I have to skip Mark 10 to be on the right day for what was going on in Jesus’ life. Mark 10 tells us Jesus was heading in the direction of Jerusalem – and also about the healing of blind Bartimaueus as they were leaving Jericho.
It reminds me that when I see through Mark’s eyes, he tells the things that impressed him…but I miss some other things that are significant to me. My focus this year is on Mark – but I can’t just ignore the things he ignores.
However, even from Mark we know exactly where Jesus was on this particular Sunday. Mark tells us that as they drew near to Jerusalem, just outside Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead to the village they were approaching to keep a divine appointment with a colt.
Mark doesn’t tell us it is a donkey’s colt – we know that from other sources. The two disciples went as directed, appropriated the colt, and brought the colt to Jesus; threw their cloaks on it for Him to sit on, and Jesus rode the previously unridden colt into Jerusalem (about 2 miles).
Many in the mass of people who gathered threw their cloaks out in front of the colt for Jesus to ride over, while others spread leafy branches they had cut from the fields. The procession included people who walked in front and behind, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” 'Hosanna!' means 'Save Us!'
Zechariah prophesied this event 500 years before Jesus rode into Jerusalem from Bethphage. His prophecy was one of the reasons the Jewish people were looking for their Messiah. And by Jesus’ fulfillment of that prophecy, He was visibly and boldly proclaiming that He was the One who was prophesied to come - and in that moment they believed that!
I love Zechariah's prophecy: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt the foal of a donkey."
They believed Him to be the Messiah – and they believed the time had come for Him to oust the Romans, rule in majesty and right all wrongs. They were jubilant – and wrong. Oh, He was due the praise and honor they gave Him – but His kingdom was not the kind they were anticipating. Jesus didn't fit their script. Not then. That part is yet to be fulfilled.
Mark tells us that Jesus went to the temple - but it was late, so he returned to Bethany with his 12 disciples. That makes me pay attention. It reminds me that Judas was with him, hearing all of the clamor. He had lived in close proximity to Jesus, heard his teachings, heard the deserved praise and adulation….
Having stood so recently on the Mount of Olives, I am able to clearly visualize coming up over the hill from the area of Bethany and Bethphage - then reaching the top of the mount and going down it and up to Mt Zion to the temple. What I can't reconstruct as readily is the reality of the circumstances of that moment - and how truly amazing it was. The people had heard all of their lives that a Redeemer - the Messiah - was coming. Now they were buying into the proclamation that this humble man was the One. They were defying Rome.
This is what the disciples had waited for: for Jesus to proclaim His rightful place as King. An earthly kingdom was what Satan had tempted Jesus with during the 40 days in the desert - His 'get-out-of-cross-bearing-free card.' Jesus had already declined - and in this moment of exuberant exaltation, He ignored the pleas of the Pharisees and permitted those in the procession to proclaim His deity. It was a truly triumphal entry to those with eyes to see - but they didn't have those eyes.
How His heart must have broken, knowing what He knew.
On the Jewish calendar the day was Nisan 10. History recounts that this was the day pilgrims presented their Passover lamb for inspection. The lamb had to be perfect: spotless, with no defect. They would live with the lamb in their tender care until they killed it to bear their sins on Thursday, the day of Passover.
Our Perfect Lamb presented himself as well that day. Jesus had waited to come up to Jerusalem until just the right time. He had stayed away, avoiding confrontation until precisely the right moment. Now the time had come. What John the Baptist proclaimed when he saw Jesus 3 years earlier was being fulfilled. When John saw Jesus coming toward him where he was baptizing at the River Jordan, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
Today in Jesus' journey we too proclaim, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." The perfect Lamb.
Hosanna!
[Just as I left for 8 a m worship I heard on the news that there has been a terrible series of tornadoes on the East coast - the Carolinas were specifically mentioned. The news report said that it is the worst the area has ever had - so the first thing I checked when I got home was for TV coverage. There was none so I checked for online news. At least 39 people have died. It seemed like such compelling news to me - but it's obviously not a media focus. I'll have to wait for the 6 o'clock news for TV coverage it appears.]
Mark 11:1-11
I have to skip Mark 10 to be on the right day for what was going on in Jesus’ life. Mark 10 tells us Jesus was heading in the direction of Jerusalem – and also about the healing of blind Bartimaueus as they were leaving Jericho.
It reminds me that when I see through Mark’s eyes, he tells the things that impressed him…but I miss some other things that are significant to me. My focus this year is on Mark – but I can’t just ignore the things he ignores.
However, even from Mark we know exactly where Jesus was on this particular Sunday. Mark tells us that as they drew near to Jerusalem, just outside Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead to the village they were approaching to keep a divine appointment with a colt.
Mark doesn’t tell us it is a donkey’s colt – we know that from other sources. The two disciples went as directed, appropriated the colt, and brought the colt to Jesus; threw their cloaks on it for Him to sit on, and Jesus rode the previously unridden colt into Jerusalem (about 2 miles).
Many in the mass of people who gathered threw their cloaks out in front of the colt for Jesus to ride over, while others spread leafy branches they had cut from the fields. The procession included people who walked in front and behind, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” 'Hosanna!' means 'Save Us!'
Zechariah prophesied this event 500 years before Jesus rode into Jerusalem from Bethphage. His prophecy was one of the reasons the Jewish people were looking for their Messiah. And by Jesus’ fulfillment of that prophecy, He was visibly and boldly proclaiming that He was the One who was prophesied to come - and in that moment they believed that!
I love Zechariah's prophecy: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt the foal of a donkey."
They believed Him to be the Messiah – and they believed the time had come for Him to oust the Romans, rule in majesty and right all wrongs. They were jubilant – and wrong. Oh, He was due the praise and honor they gave Him – but His kingdom was not the kind they were anticipating. Jesus didn't fit their script. Not then. That part is yet to be fulfilled.
Mark tells us that Jesus went to the temple - but it was late, so he returned to Bethany with his 12 disciples. That makes me pay attention. It reminds me that Judas was with him, hearing all of the clamor. He had lived in close proximity to Jesus, heard his teachings, heard the deserved praise and adulation….
Having stood so recently on the Mount of Olives, I am able to clearly visualize coming up over the hill from the area of Bethany and Bethphage - then reaching the top of the mount and going down it and up to Mt Zion to the temple. What I can't reconstruct as readily is the reality of the circumstances of that moment - and how truly amazing it was. The people had heard all of their lives that a Redeemer - the Messiah - was coming. Now they were buying into the proclamation that this humble man was the One. They were defying Rome.
This is what the disciples had waited for: for Jesus to proclaim His rightful place as King. An earthly kingdom was what Satan had tempted Jesus with during the 40 days in the desert - His 'get-out-of-cross-bearing-free card.' Jesus had already declined - and in this moment of exuberant exaltation, He ignored the pleas of the Pharisees and permitted those in the procession to proclaim His deity. It was a truly triumphal entry to those with eyes to see - but they didn't have those eyes.
How His heart must have broken, knowing what He knew.
On the Jewish calendar the day was Nisan 10. History recounts that this was the day pilgrims presented their Passover lamb for inspection. The lamb had to be perfect: spotless, with no defect. They would live with the lamb in their tender care until they killed it to bear their sins on Thursday, the day of Passover.
Our Perfect Lamb presented himself as well that day. Jesus had waited to come up to Jerusalem until just the right time. He had stayed away, avoiding confrontation until precisely the right moment. Now the time had come. What John the Baptist proclaimed when he saw Jesus 3 years earlier was being fulfilled. When John saw Jesus coming toward him where he was baptizing at the River Jordan, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
Today in Jesus' journey we too proclaim, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." The perfect Lamb.
Hosanna!
[Just as I left for 8 a m worship I heard on the news that there has been a terrible series of tornadoes on the East coast - the Carolinas were specifically mentioned. The news report said that it is the worst the area has ever had - so the first thing I checked when I got home was for TV coverage. There was none so I checked for online news. At least 39 people have died. It seemed like such compelling news to me - but it's obviously not a media focus. I'll have to wait for the 6 o'clock news for TV coverage it appears.]
Saturday, April 16, 2011
LENT 2011, Day 34
Today in sequence is Mark 9.
Tomorrow is Palm Sunday and beginning tomorrow I will follow Jesus' last week leading to His resurrection. I'm so glad I know the end of the story. But - the journey is still painful.
That's so with the earthly journey as well. Today marks the first anniversary of the date a lovely lady named Melanie went to be with the Lord. I only got to know her through the process of her battle with cancer - and then, only through the faithful email updates her husband sent out - but in that, I shared their journey, and have watched him grapple with losing her.
He knows the end of the story. She is with the Lord. She is happy and healthy and whole - but his loss is palpable. The first year has been really, really hard for him. Every day is the 'first' without her. Everyone experiences grief differently, but one thing I know for certain: Jesus walks with us through our grief. He knows grief inside out. And He cares.
On this day +- 1978 years ago, Jesus was preparing Himself for the week ahead. He knew what was coming. His disciples didn't.
Approximately 6 months before this Jesus took Peter, James and John and went up on a high mountain, where Moses and Elijah came down and Jesus was transfigured into a being who glowed gloriously. Again - I love Peter's response: 'Hey, this is great. Just you, Moses, Elijah, James, John and me. Let me build us little cabins - and we can just stay here.' It felt good!
We have this wonderful post-resurrection view that lets us shake our heads and roll our eyes at Peter's perspective. But - I know I'm no different. I like the feel good times - - and rather deplore when things get painful and messy - yet the one guarantee of life is that it is going to change - - and painful and messy are just par for the course.
But - - what I love seeing in this account is that Jesus provided his inner circle the opportunity to see His deity clearly +-6 months before all hell broke loose. Just like at His baptism by John, God's voice spoke from heaven, "This is my beloved Son." This time God also told them, "Listen to him."
As they were coming down the mountain Jesus told them not to tell anyone until after he had risen from the dead. They did keep quiet....but they didn't understand. About 4 months after that event, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead - an event that occurred just about 2 months before His own death. Jesus talked a lot with them about His impending death during the last several months before he died but they just didn't get it - it didn't compute.
In fact, they were still hung up on the kingdom idea they had grown up with and they, in their total humanity, were thinking about who was going to be greatest in His kingdom. Jesus knew their hearts and read their minds - and in that teachable moment He declared, "If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all," then he took a little child in His arms and used him as an object lesson for acceptance. Basically: care for a child in my name, and you are caring for me. Care for me, and you are caring for God. The word in different versions varies: accept, welcome, care - but we get the idea. It is another of the "as you have done it to the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me" messages.
They will remember. They will welcome. They will care. And so must we.
This is another rich chapter. I haven't even hit all of the highlights - but I have enough to chew on for today.
As for Jesus, stepping back to that year...He was probably in Bethany, since that is where He was the night before (Friday) - for dinner - the dinner where Mary anointed him with the expensive perfume, raising greedy Judas' hackles. On Saturday we know what He would have been doing. It was his final Sabbath on earth. He would have been in worship at the local synagogue. He was faithful in worship. Faithful in prayer. Faithful in following.
Tomorrow is Palm Sunday and beginning tomorrow I will follow Jesus' last week leading to His resurrection. I'm so glad I know the end of the story. But - the journey is still painful.
That's so with the earthly journey as well. Today marks the first anniversary of the date a lovely lady named Melanie went to be with the Lord. I only got to know her through the process of her battle with cancer - and then, only through the faithful email updates her husband sent out - but in that, I shared their journey, and have watched him grapple with losing her.
He knows the end of the story. She is with the Lord. She is happy and healthy and whole - but his loss is palpable. The first year has been really, really hard for him. Every day is the 'first' without her. Everyone experiences grief differently, but one thing I know for certain: Jesus walks with us through our grief. He knows grief inside out. And He cares.
On this day +- 1978 years ago, Jesus was preparing Himself for the week ahead. He knew what was coming. His disciples didn't.
Approximately 6 months before this Jesus took Peter, James and John and went up on a high mountain, where Moses and Elijah came down and Jesus was transfigured into a being who glowed gloriously. Again - I love Peter's response: 'Hey, this is great. Just you, Moses, Elijah, James, John and me. Let me build us little cabins - and we can just stay here.' It felt good!
We have this wonderful post-resurrection view that lets us shake our heads and roll our eyes at Peter's perspective. But - I know I'm no different. I like the feel good times - - and rather deplore when things get painful and messy - yet the one guarantee of life is that it is going to change - - and painful and messy are just par for the course.
But - - what I love seeing in this account is that Jesus provided his inner circle the opportunity to see His deity clearly +-6 months before all hell broke loose. Just like at His baptism by John, God's voice spoke from heaven, "This is my beloved Son." This time God also told them, "Listen to him."
As they were coming down the mountain Jesus told them not to tell anyone until after he had risen from the dead. They did keep quiet....but they didn't understand. About 4 months after that event, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead - an event that occurred just about 2 months before His own death. Jesus talked a lot with them about His impending death during the last several months before he died but they just didn't get it - it didn't compute.
In fact, they were still hung up on the kingdom idea they had grown up with and they, in their total humanity, were thinking about who was going to be greatest in His kingdom. Jesus knew their hearts and read their minds - and in that teachable moment He declared, "If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all," then he took a little child in His arms and used him as an object lesson for acceptance. Basically: care for a child in my name, and you are caring for me. Care for me, and you are caring for God. The word in different versions varies: accept, welcome, care - but we get the idea. It is another of the "as you have done it to the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me" messages.
They will remember. They will welcome. They will care. And so must we.
This is another rich chapter. I haven't even hit all of the highlights - but I have enough to chew on for today.
As for Jesus, stepping back to that year...He was probably in Bethany, since that is where He was the night before (Friday) - for dinner - the dinner where Mary anointed him with the expensive perfume, raising greedy Judas' hackles. On Saturday we know what He would have been doing. It was his final Sabbath on earth. He would have been in worship at the local synagogue. He was faithful in worship. Faithful in prayer. Faithful in following.
Friday, April 15, 2011
LENT 2011, Day 33
I would be remiss if I whisked past the end of Mark 8 without comment. It is, perhaps, redundant for me to write about the incident when Simon Peter proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah - but what strikes me in Mark is the brevity with which he reports that. I cannot slip past it so easily. I was just there 2 months ago - in the area of Caesarea Philippi - at the opening of the cave they referred to as 'The Gates of Hell' where Peter proclaimed the truth of who Jesus was.
There is so much fluctuation in what we see the disciples 'understanding' in their journey with Jesus. They miss the point so often - then in this moment, Peter gets it right.
However, that is what makes the timing of the next reported interaction so significant. Jesus' timing for explaining to his disciples what must be begins in earnest at this point. He tells them clearly that He must suffer and die and after three days rise again. I love Peter for his response. All he heard was the die part - not the resurrection part - and his response was from a heart of love...well, that and his pre-programmed expectation.
I can imagine his reactions to be something like: No, no, no - - that's not the way this is supposed to work. What do you mean, die.... You're the Messiah. You've said you are. You're supposed to rule over all the earth - be our King. You can't die.
Peter was human. In his humanity He had heard the teachings that the Messiah would come and right all the wrongs - and He knew Jesus to be the Messiah - the one who would do that. He didn't understand His methods - but clearly, he was to rule and reign forever - and surely it was only a matter of time before Jesus would set up His earthly kingdom and rule the world. They were under the heavy hand of Roman rule, straining against the political and financial burden of that reality - and Jesus was the Messiah. What did he mean 'die?'
He didn't even hear the part about resurrection.
The problem was, Jesus' proclamation didn't fit Peter's script. And Peter didn't understand the true agenda God had ordained and how it had to play out.
What hard words for Peter to hear: "Get behind me, Satan!" Peter wasn't Satan - but his thoughts were not God's thoughts. He had his mind set on what would feel fair to him - the overthrow of Rome and Jesus the Messiah ruling in majesty beginning a s a p. And - the reality was that Jesus was fully God and fully human. The human side of Him didn't want to suffer and die with all of the pain that promised - and the God part of Him couldn't bear to stand the repulsiveness of the sin, so He had to steel Himself to face the cross without reservation. It was what He came to do - and it was getting close. He needed His friends to understand and support Him. He didn't get that response. Their ears were not ready to hear - and they certainly weren't seeing with God's view.
We face the same risk. We can be intimately close to Jesus one moment - and totally out of the loop the next if we don't align our way of thinking to His. Prayer is how we do that - not the 'prayers' where we try to become His counselor and let Him know what our agenda is and ask for Him to bless it - - but prayer that brings us contritely before Him, waiting to hear His voice, and hear what He directs.
The end of chapter 8 is clear.
The ESV states: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
In the 2010 revision of the NIV it reads: Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
(I grapple a little with the intent of the inclusive language.... But the content is not changed, so I guess it is irrelevant. But - I am paying attention to comparing. Like I said, some changes they've made are improvements - like called Jesus Messiah instead of Christ. Christ is from the Greek translation of Messiah. Messiah is from the Hebrew. I like going back to the original. On the other hand, I'm perfectly capable of comprehending that 'man' is universal terminology for people, not offended that women aren't mentioned as well.... I get a little edgy about overdone political correctness. Sometimes it is a thorn in my side.)
There is so much fluctuation in what we see the disciples 'understanding' in their journey with Jesus. They miss the point so often - then in this moment, Peter gets it right.
However, that is what makes the timing of the next reported interaction so significant. Jesus' timing for explaining to his disciples what must be begins in earnest at this point. He tells them clearly that He must suffer and die and after three days rise again. I love Peter for his response. All he heard was the die part - not the resurrection part - and his response was from a heart of love...well, that and his pre-programmed expectation.
I can imagine his reactions to be something like: No, no, no - - that's not the way this is supposed to work. What do you mean, die.... You're the Messiah. You've said you are. You're supposed to rule over all the earth - be our King. You can't die.
Peter was human. In his humanity He had heard the teachings that the Messiah would come and right all the wrongs - and He knew Jesus to be the Messiah - the one who would do that. He didn't understand His methods - but clearly, he was to rule and reign forever - and surely it was only a matter of time before Jesus would set up His earthly kingdom and rule the world. They were under the heavy hand of Roman rule, straining against the political and financial burden of that reality - and Jesus was the Messiah. What did he mean 'die?'
He didn't even hear the part about resurrection.
The problem was, Jesus' proclamation didn't fit Peter's script. And Peter didn't understand the true agenda God had ordained and how it had to play out.
What hard words for Peter to hear: "Get behind me, Satan!" Peter wasn't Satan - but his thoughts were not God's thoughts. He had his mind set on what would feel fair to him - the overthrow of Rome and Jesus the Messiah ruling in majesty beginning a s a p. And - the reality was that Jesus was fully God and fully human. The human side of Him didn't want to suffer and die with all of the pain that promised - and the God part of Him couldn't bear to stand the repulsiveness of the sin, so He had to steel Himself to face the cross without reservation. It was what He came to do - and it was getting close. He needed His friends to understand and support Him. He didn't get that response. Their ears were not ready to hear - and they certainly weren't seeing with God's view.
We face the same risk. We can be intimately close to Jesus one moment - and totally out of the loop the next if we don't align our way of thinking to His. Prayer is how we do that - not the 'prayers' where we try to become His counselor and let Him know what our agenda is and ask for Him to bless it - - but prayer that brings us contritely before Him, waiting to hear His voice, and hear what He directs.
The end of chapter 8 is clear.
The ESV states: “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
In the 2010 revision of the NIV it reads: Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
(I grapple a little with the intent of the inclusive language.... But the content is not changed, so I guess it is irrelevant. But - I am paying attention to comparing. Like I said, some changes they've made are improvements - like called Jesus Messiah instead of Christ. Christ is from the Greek translation of Messiah. Messiah is from the Hebrew. I like going back to the original. On the other hand, I'm perfectly capable of comprehending that 'man' is universal terminology for people, not offended that women aren't mentioned as well.... I get a little edgy about overdone political correctness. Sometimes it is a thorn in my side.)
Thursday, April 14, 2011
LENT 2011, Day 32
Mark 8
Mark tells us about another mass feeding. 4000 people have been with Jesus for 3 days - and Jesus once again gives them far more than they need - proving His ability for abundantly supplying all of man's needs....
The one thing that does astound me is that they'd experienced a prior miraculous feeding - yet they question, "How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?" You'd think they'd be saying, "Great! We're ready to do whatever You ask, Lord." Great reminder for me! How many times has Jesus 'come through' for me? How many times do I question how He's going to pull it off in the present situation? Sorry, disciples. I shouldn't judge you so quickly. I am humbled by the reminder.
I pay attention to the wording in Mark - it appears that there were just 5000 present the prior time - and 4000 this time. My understanding was that there were 5000 men plus women and children - - so I guestimated a conservative 10,000 for that first picnic. The number is somewhat irrelevant - but I'd like to be accurate in what I report....
Last time it was 5 loaves and 2 fish for a huge crowd. This time it is 7 loaves and a few small fish. Jesus, the Bread of Life, providing the bread of necessity for physical sustenance.
Then Mark moves to another story of bread. This time it involves leaven.
I don't bake much any more - but I used to make the most amazing cinnamon roles from a recipe that had to be done from scratch, which means using yeast - aka leaven. It doesn't take much yeast to make an enormous bowl of dough - but if it wasn't added, the other ingredients mixed and baked alone, would make a cracker - not a bread. One of the things about leaven is that it completely changes the ingredients it is added to.
The leaven of the Pharisees was their litany of rules. Their rules generated hypocrisy. Jesus keeps the instructions simple. Believe. Follow. Be Holy. Seek. Obey. Love.
There definitely is a manual for living we are to follow. It is the Bible, and the Bible alone. All of the other additions that man has concocted are superfluous - and leaven. The Bible is our plumb line. It, and it alone.
The simple truth is...simple. It is hard to follow - but the instructions are simple!
Man looks on the outward appearance. God looks on the heart. Even if a man could follow 614 specific rules to the letter, just following rules would not make him right with God. Our salvation is not about what we do - but about what Yeshua aka Jesus did for us on the cross. That is where Salvation begins.
It is not that we have a freedom to sin, as some would try to pervert this to mean - - it is that we have freedom from sin. We are not sinners any more. Once we accept the Messiah as our Savior and Lord, we are identified by his name. In the Greek they referred to our predecessors as Christ-ones (English translation). The word Cristos translated to English: Christ is the Greek word for Messiah. It isn't that Christians don't ever sin - they just aren't identified that way any longer.
Sinner + saved by grace = Christian.
I recall a clever math equation I saw on a shirt one time:
1 Cross + 3 Nails = 4-given. That is simplistic, I know.... Jesus suffered so much more than having 3 nails driven through his hands and feet. But it makes the point clear. Forgiven is a wonderful word. It is something completed - all done - and it was done for us on the cross.
Grace isn't free - that's why it's grace. He paid the price. Since He paid it all - there is nothing I can do to earn my salvation. But - my response to His love costs all I have to offer....
It occurs to me that a current leaven issue is the 'go along to get along' tendency. We cannot compromise truth and still have any semblance of truth. God does not need us to defend Him - but we need to declare our defenses from His Word - not what 'feels right in the moment.' We face challenging days - just as Jesus and His disciples did. We have to watch out for leaven, too.
That's enough to share for today. I keep getting caught up in wanting to address everything in each chapter, This is a rich, rich chapter. I could say a lot more - but some of that would be redundant since I recently reported on the trip to Caesarea Philippi.... I keep having to remind myself: this is a blog - not a Bible Study.
Mark tells us about another mass feeding. 4000 people have been with Jesus for 3 days - and Jesus once again gives them far more than they need - proving His ability for abundantly supplying all of man's needs....
The one thing that does astound me is that they'd experienced a prior miraculous feeding - yet they question, "How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?" You'd think they'd be saying, "Great! We're ready to do whatever You ask, Lord." Great reminder for me! How many times has Jesus 'come through' for me? How many times do I question how He's going to pull it off in the present situation? Sorry, disciples. I shouldn't judge you so quickly. I am humbled by the reminder.
I pay attention to the wording in Mark - it appears that there were just 5000 present the prior time - and 4000 this time. My understanding was that there were 5000 men plus women and children - - so I guestimated a conservative 10,000 for that first picnic. The number is somewhat irrelevant - but I'd like to be accurate in what I report....
Last time it was 5 loaves and 2 fish for a huge crowd. This time it is 7 loaves and a few small fish. Jesus, the Bread of Life, providing the bread of necessity for physical sustenance.
Then Mark moves to another story of bread. This time it involves leaven.
I don't bake much any more - but I used to make the most amazing cinnamon roles from a recipe that had to be done from scratch, which means using yeast - aka leaven. It doesn't take much yeast to make an enormous bowl of dough - but if it wasn't added, the other ingredients mixed and baked alone, would make a cracker - not a bread. One of the things about leaven is that it completely changes the ingredients it is added to.
The leaven of the Pharisees was their litany of rules. Their rules generated hypocrisy. Jesus keeps the instructions simple. Believe. Follow. Be Holy. Seek. Obey. Love.
There definitely is a manual for living we are to follow. It is the Bible, and the Bible alone. All of the other additions that man has concocted are superfluous - and leaven. The Bible is our plumb line. It, and it alone.
The simple truth is...simple. It is hard to follow - but the instructions are simple!
Man looks on the outward appearance. God looks on the heart. Even if a man could follow 614 specific rules to the letter, just following rules would not make him right with God. Our salvation is not about what we do - but about what Yeshua aka Jesus did for us on the cross. That is where Salvation begins.
It is not that we have a freedom to sin, as some would try to pervert this to mean - - it is that we have freedom from sin. We are not sinners any more. Once we accept the Messiah as our Savior and Lord, we are identified by his name. In the Greek they referred to our predecessors as Christ-ones (English translation). The word Cristos translated to English: Christ is the Greek word for Messiah. It isn't that Christians don't ever sin - they just aren't identified that way any longer.
Sinner + saved by grace = Christian.
I recall a clever math equation I saw on a shirt one time:
1 Cross + 3 Nails = 4-given. That is simplistic, I know.... Jesus suffered so much more than having 3 nails driven through his hands and feet. But it makes the point clear. Forgiven is a wonderful word. It is something completed - all done - and it was done for us on the cross.
Grace isn't free - that's why it's grace. He paid the price. Since He paid it all - there is nothing I can do to earn my salvation. But - my response to His love costs all I have to offer....
It occurs to me that a current leaven issue is the 'go along to get along' tendency. We cannot compromise truth and still have any semblance of truth. God does not need us to defend Him - but we need to declare our defenses from His Word - not what 'feels right in the moment.' We face challenging days - just as Jesus and His disciples did. We have to watch out for leaven, too.
That's enough to share for today. I keep getting caught up in wanting to address everything in each chapter, This is a rich, rich chapter. I could say a lot more - but some of that would be redundant since I recently reported on the trip to Caesarea Philippi.... I keep having to remind myself: this is a blog - not a Bible Study.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
THE 2011 NIV
They've revised the NIV. New for 2011. The last copyright was 1984, which was a long break, considering their other copyright dates were 1973 and 1978.
The reason I noticed is that I do a lot on Bible Gateway for comparisons - and since I noted that they had updated to a 2011 copyright date, and I am working on the final stages of the children's musical I decided I'd better compare the scripture passages I use in the musical with the newest edition.
There are no earth-shattering theological changes so far - but there are a lot of little changes in just the verses I am using. Now the dilemma: stay with the old, go with the new; or use some of the other texts I've compared these verses in - - such as the New King James Version.
It is yet another reminder that the most certain thing we can count on is change - and the familiar is so - well - familiar.... Sort of like Mom's cooking.
I grew up on the King James. It is what most of my memorization is from. In other editions I find myself getting the gist of the meaning - but not the precise wording. But - - when the NIV came out and I learned that it was from older texts - so plausibly more accurate - I started using it. Then we had a pastor for 10 years in Montesano who used the New English Bible - and I grew attached to it. In the past year, my daughter talked me into purchasing an ESV - and I appreciate it. I've read The New Century version for comparisons as well as several others, but the NIV (1984) was my go-to foundation that I compared everything else to.
Now it's 'new' again. More politically correct in some ways - - with more inclusive language - - but without compromising the truth of the gospel in anything I've read so far. It just catches me off guard. And - - in some cases, a definite improvement. I'll share some of the specifics I've found later just for the fun of sharing - - but for now I choose to be grateful that I paid attention to the date change - so I can make a choice with God's leading for which version to use for each of the verses in the musical. God's timing is perfect - and the most certain thing I can count on is 'change.' Those are important lessons to remember.
The reason I noticed is that I do a lot on Bible Gateway for comparisons - and since I noted that they had updated to a 2011 copyright date, and I am working on the final stages of the children's musical I decided I'd better compare the scripture passages I use in the musical with the newest edition.
There are no earth-shattering theological changes so far - but there are a lot of little changes in just the verses I am using. Now the dilemma: stay with the old, go with the new; or use some of the other texts I've compared these verses in - - such as the New King James Version.
It is yet another reminder that the most certain thing we can count on is change - and the familiar is so - well - familiar.... Sort of like Mom's cooking.
I grew up on the King James. It is what most of my memorization is from. In other editions I find myself getting the gist of the meaning - but not the precise wording. But - - when the NIV came out and I learned that it was from older texts - so plausibly more accurate - I started using it. Then we had a pastor for 10 years in Montesano who used the New English Bible - and I grew attached to it. In the past year, my daughter talked me into purchasing an ESV - and I appreciate it. I've read The New Century version for comparisons as well as several others, but the NIV (1984) was my go-to foundation that I compared everything else to.
Now it's 'new' again. More politically correct in some ways - - with more inclusive language - - but without compromising the truth of the gospel in anything I've read so far. It just catches me off guard. And - - in some cases, a definite improvement. I'll share some of the specifics I've found later just for the fun of sharing - - but for now I choose to be grateful that I paid attention to the date change - so I can make a choice with God's leading for which version to use for each of the verses in the musical. God's timing is perfect - and the most certain thing I can count on is 'change.' Those are important lessons to remember.
LENT 2011, Day 31
Mark 7 has 37 verses packed with punch. Mark sets up the first lesson of what Jesus teaches very well. The Pharisees and scribes were all about following specific rules. In fact, they had made those traditions their doctrine - replacing God's commandments with rules made by men. Their worship was in vain because they worshipped from their view of what was right instead of from God's view of what was right.
I am only 8 verses into the chapter and I am stopped short. I am, by nature, a rule follower - but I am also a child of God's grace. I understand the point of what Jesus is teaching. Those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth. And - it isn't about what we do - that's not the focus. It's about what He did.
The reality for my morning is - I have to read and run. My self-imposed 'rule' is that I made a commitment to write every day in my blog as my discipline for my Lenten journey - but I made a 10 a m appointment - and I have to go soon to do what I scheduled.
Today would have been Melanie Stewart's 51st birthday. She got to celebrate her 50th birthday surrounded by those dearest to her. The next day she and her husband headed back to the hospital to get updated testing done - to assess her condition. 3 days after her birthday - on April 16th, 2010 - Melanie took her last breath in this life - and emerged to her new life, whole again - in the presence of the Lord.
The hard part was and is for those left behind - particularly her husband. Grief is hard - even as Christians, when we know the eternal destiny of the person we grieve for. It takes time - but I know beyond a doubt, that even in those darkest moments, the Lord is there. Not because we necessarily tangibly feel His presence through the pain - but because He promised.
Shortly after Melanie went to be with the Lord, I made a commitment to grow my hair out to donate to Locks of Love in her memory. I have chosen today - the date of her birthday into this world - to have her best friend cut my hair. More about that later....
And more of this chapter later.... It is too rich not to delve into!
.................
It is 2 p m. I am back. My hair is short - - and I have the pictures to prove it. It was tender, precious and a ton of fun! I didn't expect that as a bonus!
There is so much to balance in this chapter. However, when I distill the first section, I realize that it comes down to the difference between our doing what we think would please God – and what truly pleases Him. He is honored by obedience to Him – by living out our lives in response to His ever-present leading, not by an ill-placed artificial devotion of pompous piety.
And he uses dirty hands as an object lesson to make His point. In fact, He declared that nothing going into a man can defile him (and I will add – spiritually). He wasn’t saying we shouldn’t wash our hands, or use wisdom about what we eat – those things can make us physically ill. What He was telling them was that they were so caught up in their rules that they had missed the point. True worship has to come from the heart. True worship yearns for pleasing God. True worship places us in right relationship with God and changes lives.
The defiled life is reflected in a life lived out in sin. “What comes out of a person is what defiles him,” Jesus says. “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” It is those things that keep us from having healthy relationships with God - or with others. They defile. They destroy.
The next lesson in Mark 7 is a hard one for Gentiles to read. Jesus came to the Jews first and foremost. They are the ones who are chosen - but we are grafted in! I can accept that. They are His firstborn - but we are dearly cherished as well.
This chapter of Mark ends with Mark relating a story of Jesus' healing of a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment. Apparently I have never paid close attention to this account before. I thought I knew all of His healing stories - but I didn't remember the details of this one. Jesus took the man aside - and in private, he touched his ears - then Jesus spit (presumably on His finger) then touched the man's tongue.
This is a great chapter to the people with germ fettishes.... It starts with people eating without washing first - -yuck! And ends with sharing saliva! My reaction to those specifics is just to shake my head.... Really, Lord, you are so unpredictable! Thank you for that - thank you for catching me off guard and making me once again aware that Your ways are higher than my ways. You truly do all things well.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
LENT 2011, Day 30
Mark 6 is my sequential reading for today. What a chapter. There is so much to take note of.
This chapter begins with the story of Jesus' rejection in Nazareth - where His parents returned after King Herod the Great died. Jesus lived in Nazareth from the age of 2 - until He began His ministry at age 30. In the timeline of our story, He has adopted Capernaum as his home base - but our story today has him back at his 'home' in Nazareth for a visit.
I'm reminded of the large signs that grace so many cities in our travels, proudly declaring "Home of 'whomever their local hero or star is'." In Payette, Idaho, the sign is for Harmon Killebrew. He was born there, and when he became famous, the town honored him. Jesus didn't get a sign like that in his day.
I was just in Nazareth in February. Certainly the hills hold more homes now than then - but the general topography of the area is hill country. At the Church of the Annunciation, they have excavated and honor the home where they believe Mary was when the Angel Gabriel appeared to her and said, "Don't be afraid." (I love how angels always say that....) I love being able to visualize the general locale where Jesus grew up - knowing that those hills knew His feet - and provided Him quiet places of reflection and prayer even as a child.
Many of the people of Nazareth would have been along on that trek to Bethlehem for the Feast of the Passover when Jesus, who was 12 years old at the time, stayed back at the temple to talk to the religious elite while the group from Nazareth traveled toward home. I'm pretty sure he got a bit of a reputation in his close-knit town for that escapade - but Mark likely doesn't know about that incident.... Luke is the one who recorded it for posterity.
In Mark, however, we do learn the names of several of Jesus' siblings. Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus - but after his birth, Joseph and Mary had James, Joses, Judas, Simon - and sisters (plural, but not named). Even His immediate family were not yet noted among the believers. Another 'family thing' I note here is that Joseph is no longer mentioned - so I must assume he had died by this time. Again, the reminder that the Bible is the Cliff Notes' version of Jesus life!
Anyway, here they were in Nazareth - people questioning how this kid of suspicious beginnings could have the knowledge He had - and wondering how could He heal and perform miracles. He was just a local carpenter. Mark states that Jesus marveled because of their unbelief. I think Mark marveled at their unbelief - but Jesus knew their hearts and could read their minds. They didn't just doubt like Thomas would later on - they completely disregarded Him and His authority. They had Truth right in front of them - and most of them rejected Him. Mark says they took offense at Him. He got that assessment right. There were a few Yeshua, the local lad, was able to heal, though very few.
What a contrast from other areas where people received Him with joy - even if they followed Him for the miracles, the miracles drew them to Him - and then they had an opportunity to hear His teaching. He wasn't accepted in Nazareth - but as He went about to other villages, He was accepted.
In fact, there was so much to be done that Jesus sent out his 12 disciples, in pairs, giving them authority over demons. They preached repentance, cast out demons, healed the sick - and all of this activity even came to the attention of Herod Antipas 'up' in Jerusalem.
Just a little bunny trail on the Herods.... Various Caesars ruled Rome. Israel was under Roman rule - and the Herods were established as non-Jewish rulers of Israel under Roman authority. King Herod the Great was the one who was in power when Jesus was born. He was the one who ordered all of the baby boys under the age of 2 killed in his attempt to kill this 'King' the entourage of wise men told him about.
After he died his kingdom was divided into several parts - each ruled by a different heir. The one who ruled in the area of Jerusalem was Herod Antipas. He is the one who had John the Baptist beheaded - just to keep a promise to a sensual teenage dancer who pleased him. Mark tells us the story in retrospect...as a postscript to letting us know that Herod had heard about Jesus because of the miracles of Jesus and His disciples.
After the disciples returned to Jesus following their simultaneous ministry tours, they told Him all they had done and taught - and His response was to invite them away to a desolate place for some rest and recuperation. Great modeling for effective ministry. However, it appears what they actually learned is that in ministry there is no rest! They were recognized - and just like the paparazzi and mob mania of today, the crowds recognized and ran ahead of them - so that when they landed on the other shore in the 'desolate' area, the crowds were already there waiting for them. And the One who was the Lamb (and also the Shepherd) had compassion on the sheep of His pasture. This story is familiar - Jesus' feeding of 5000 men plus the women and kids who were along.... No small feat.
What I love - in addition to Jesus' amazing miracle - is the picture of obedience of the disciples. They had come to Him and told Him it was getting late and therefore time to send the people away - because they were in a desolate place and there was no food. Jesus response was "You give them something to eat." He instructed them to find out how many loaves were available. In other words, he knew one kid had packed a lunch! The disciples came back and reported what they had found. In asking about through the crowd of 10,000 or so...they had found 5 loaves and 2 fish. The fish were a bonus. I know they just came back from casting out demons and healing people in Jesus' Name - but this was new territory. In their other ministry roles, they were modeling what they had seen Jesus do. He gave them authority, and they accepted the yoke placed on their shoulders, but this was monumental. It had to seem impossible - but they obeyed.
For 3 years they experienced Jesus' miracles and teaching firsthand - and were even vessels through whom His miraculous powers were made known to others - but when they got to the end - and things got tough - and the script didn't follow the one in their heads - they ran. I need to keep all of the story in mind leading to Calvary.
Mark 6:45ff records the story of Jesus' walking on the water. After they fed the crowd, He made His disciples get into a boat for the trip back to the other side. Mark notes that their destination was Bethsaida. Jesus stayed behind to dismiss the crowd and to pray. From where He was praying he could see they were having a hard time making progress against the headwind. Mark says He went to them walking on the water - but that He meant to pass them by. He also tells us that the disciples didn't 'get it' when Jesus performed the miracle of feeding the people. This should have been proof positive of His divinity. Their understanding was clouded by their preconceived ideas of the type of government the promised Messiah was going to bring.
The crowd was blind to the reality of who He was, something that would be poignantly clear later in Jerusalem at His final Passover celebration as a crowd-turned-sour would shout for his death.... But the disciples didn't really get it either, and they were privy to so much more than the crowds.
What we learn in the remainder of the chapter - beyond Jesus so clearly displaying His deity by walking on the water - is that they missed their intended destination because of the winds, and landed instead at Gennesaret. It had taken them all night to cross the Sea of Galilee - and now they were faced with more crowds. So much for R & R....
This chapter begins with the story of Jesus' rejection in Nazareth - where His parents returned after King Herod the Great died. Jesus lived in Nazareth from the age of 2 - until He began His ministry at age 30. In the timeline of our story, He has adopted Capernaum as his home base - but our story today has him back at his 'home' in Nazareth for a visit.
I'm reminded of the large signs that grace so many cities in our travels, proudly declaring "Home of 'whomever their local hero or star is'." In Payette, Idaho, the sign is for Harmon Killebrew. He was born there, and when he became famous, the town honored him. Jesus didn't get a sign like that in his day.
I was just in Nazareth in February. Certainly the hills hold more homes now than then - but the general topography of the area is hill country. At the Church of the Annunciation, they have excavated and honor the home where they believe Mary was when the Angel Gabriel appeared to her and said, "Don't be afraid." (I love how angels always say that....) I love being able to visualize the general locale where Jesus grew up - knowing that those hills knew His feet - and provided Him quiet places of reflection and prayer even as a child.
Many of the people of Nazareth would have been along on that trek to Bethlehem for the Feast of the Passover when Jesus, who was 12 years old at the time, stayed back at the temple to talk to the religious elite while the group from Nazareth traveled toward home. I'm pretty sure he got a bit of a reputation in his close-knit town for that escapade - but Mark likely doesn't know about that incident.... Luke is the one who recorded it for posterity.
In Mark, however, we do learn the names of several of Jesus' siblings. Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus - but after his birth, Joseph and Mary had James, Joses, Judas, Simon - and sisters (plural, but not named). Even His immediate family were not yet noted among the believers. Another 'family thing' I note here is that Joseph is no longer mentioned - so I must assume he had died by this time. Again, the reminder that the Bible is the Cliff Notes' version of Jesus life!
Anyway, here they were in Nazareth - people questioning how this kid of suspicious beginnings could have the knowledge He had - and wondering how could He heal and perform miracles. He was just a local carpenter. Mark states that Jesus marveled because of their unbelief. I think Mark marveled at their unbelief - but Jesus knew their hearts and could read their minds. They didn't just doubt like Thomas would later on - they completely disregarded Him and His authority. They had Truth right in front of them - and most of them rejected Him. Mark says they took offense at Him. He got that assessment right. There were a few Yeshua, the local lad, was able to heal, though very few.
What a contrast from other areas where people received Him with joy - even if they followed Him for the miracles, the miracles drew them to Him - and then they had an opportunity to hear His teaching. He wasn't accepted in Nazareth - but as He went about to other villages, He was accepted.
In fact, there was so much to be done that Jesus sent out his 12 disciples, in pairs, giving them authority over demons. They preached repentance, cast out demons, healed the sick - and all of this activity even came to the attention of Herod Antipas 'up' in Jerusalem.
Just a little bunny trail on the Herods.... Various Caesars ruled Rome. Israel was under Roman rule - and the Herods were established as non-Jewish rulers of Israel under Roman authority. King Herod the Great was the one who was in power when Jesus was born. He was the one who ordered all of the baby boys under the age of 2 killed in his attempt to kill this 'King' the entourage of wise men told him about.
After he died his kingdom was divided into several parts - each ruled by a different heir. The one who ruled in the area of Jerusalem was Herod Antipas. He is the one who had John the Baptist beheaded - just to keep a promise to a sensual teenage dancer who pleased him. Mark tells us the story in retrospect...as a postscript to letting us know that Herod had heard about Jesus because of the miracles of Jesus and His disciples.
After the disciples returned to Jesus following their simultaneous ministry tours, they told Him all they had done and taught - and His response was to invite them away to a desolate place for some rest and recuperation. Great modeling for effective ministry. However, it appears what they actually learned is that in ministry there is no rest! They were recognized - and just like the paparazzi and mob mania of today, the crowds recognized and ran ahead of them - so that when they landed on the other shore in the 'desolate' area, the crowds were already there waiting for them. And the One who was the Lamb (and also the Shepherd) had compassion on the sheep of His pasture. This story is familiar - Jesus' feeding of 5000 men plus the women and kids who were along.... No small feat.
What I love - in addition to Jesus' amazing miracle - is the picture of obedience of the disciples. They had come to Him and told Him it was getting late and therefore time to send the people away - because they were in a desolate place and there was no food. Jesus response was "You give them something to eat." He instructed them to find out how many loaves were available. In other words, he knew one kid had packed a lunch! The disciples came back and reported what they had found. In asking about through the crowd of 10,000 or so...they had found 5 loaves and 2 fish. The fish were a bonus. I know they just came back from casting out demons and healing people in Jesus' Name - but this was new territory. In their other ministry roles, they were modeling what they had seen Jesus do. He gave them authority, and they accepted the yoke placed on their shoulders, but this was monumental. It had to seem impossible - but they obeyed.
For 3 years they experienced Jesus' miracles and teaching firsthand - and were even vessels through whom His miraculous powers were made known to others - but when they got to the end - and things got tough - and the script didn't follow the one in their heads - they ran. I need to keep all of the story in mind leading to Calvary.
Mark 6:45ff records the story of Jesus' walking on the water. After they fed the crowd, He made His disciples get into a boat for the trip back to the other side. Mark notes that their destination was Bethsaida. Jesus stayed behind to dismiss the crowd and to pray. From where He was praying he could see they were having a hard time making progress against the headwind. Mark says He went to them walking on the water - but that He meant to pass them by. He also tells us that the disciples didn't 'get it' when Jesus performed the miracle of feeding the people. This should have been proof positive of His divinity. Their understanding was clouded by their preconceived ideas of the type of government the promised Messiah was going to bring.
The crowd was blind to the reality of who He was, something that would be poignantly clear later in Jerusalem at His final Passover celebration as a crowd-turned-sour would shout for his death.... But the disciples didn't really get it either, and they were privy to so much more than the crowds.
What we learn in the remainder of the chapter - beyond Jesus so clearly displaying His deity by walking on the water - is that they missed their intended destination because of the winds, and landed instead at Gennesaret. It had taken them all night to cross the Sea of Galilee - and now they were faced with more crowds. So much for R & R....
Monday, April 11, 2011
LENT 2011, Day 29
The chapter that should have been yesterday's is Mark 5. Mark 4 placed Jesus in a boat with his disciples - Jesus asleep, the waves threatening the disciples' lives. Jesus calmed the storm. Even the wind and the waves obeyed Him.
In the first story in chapter 5, a legion of demons obey him. At Legion's request, Jesus sends them out of the 'insane' man into a herd of 2000 pigs - who all promptly dive off the cliff into the Sea of Galilee and drown.
Again, their response baffles me. Instead of falling at Jesus' feet in worship and adoration - acclaiming Him for the amazing miracle He had just performed - they were afraid and begged Him to leave. In some cases when Jesus healed someone he told them to be silent - but not this time. Rather than let the man go with Him, he instructed him, "Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." The man obeyed. Mark reports that he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. His mini-missionary journey!
That's what we are to do: tell our story as it is connected to His. I am a child of His grace. He has forgiven me soooooooooo much! And He lets me sit in His presence with Saints.
In fact - what a segue to one of my favorite stories in the New Testament. Mark records it in this chapter. I have to set the stage to tell the story properly.
Jairus - who is one of the big whigs at the synagogue - one of the rulers, Mark says - comes to Jesus and falls at His feet. He's heard - maybe even seen - what Jesus has done for others. Perhaps he was even one to whom others who were healed showed themselves when they were sent to be proclaimed ceremonially clean.... We aren't given details - but however Jairus learned, he knew. He came to Him with humility and confidence. Jairus' daughter was near death, and his only hope was in Jesus. He fell at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come heal his daughter, knowing that if Jesus would just lay His hands on her, she would be well. And Jesus went with him.
As they hustled along to Jairus' house a huge crowd followed, and in that crowd was a woman who had been unclean for 12 long years. She had spent all of her money on doctors to no avail. According to Jewish law, no one could sit on a chair she sat on, or sleep in a bed she slept on. She couldn't go to the synagogue - or to Jewish celebrations. Her illness created incredible isolation. She knew she wasn't supposed to be where anyone would touch her - because of her uncleanness, but she didn't care any more. She had one compelling mission - to touch the hem of Jesus' garment. She wormed her way through the crowd - and succeeded in her quest. She was physically healed immediately.
Jesus could have kept going and found her later. He, too, was on a mission - to heal Jairus' little girl - but he stopped dead in his tracks and asked one of the goofiest questions anyone in a crowd could ever ask, basically, "Who touched my clothes?" As Jesus looked around to see who it was, the woman came, trembling in fear, and confessed. And he called her daughter.
I love, love, love this story. She was impure, rejected, isolated, broken. She met the Master. He made her clean, accepted, embraced and whole. He did her a huge favor by drawing attention to her. It was a public profession of her healing - so there was no longer a reason for others to avoid her for her impurity and uncleanness. He healed her - and gave her back her life - an even better life than she had before, for now she had Him....
Of course, while she delayed Him, the horrible happened.... We see the stories knowing the end - but in that moment what happened was awful. Jairus' daughter died. I can imagine the tenderness of His eyes as He looked into Jairus' eyes in that moment and implored, "Do not fear. Only believe." Poor Jairus. A man can only take so much. At great risk of his reputation - when nothing else had worked - when his 12-year-old daughter was at death's door - he went to Jesus, falling at Jesus' feet in public - in view of the scoffers and Pharisees - and now his daughter was dead - yet Jesus told him, "Only believe."
It's mind boggling. I believe 'as long as there is life there is hope'...but death pretty much closes that door for me.... People were already at the house weeping and wailing. Jesus took her parents, Peter, James and John in with him, took her by the hand and told her to get up. She did. Then he told them no one should know - and to give her something to eat.
Backstep. I get the eating part. It's sort of a commission to 'go live life' - but the 'no one should know'? Hello? There is a whole crowd of weepers and wailers just outside the door who think this kid is dead - and her dad is an important public figure who just threw himself at Jesus feet in public. What do you mean "no one should know?"
Casting out demons. Healing. Raising from the dead. (He said just sleeping.) Wow! What joy to read Mark again - fresh! Writing about what I read forces me to read it fresh and new. I even notice that in the Gospel Mark refers to Simon already as Peter - even though he wasn't actually Peter yet.... That's because he wrote it after the story was complete. After he knew his new name. Just a bit of trivia...but I notice.
My friend gave me a book to read about a week ago. At first I told her I didn't have time - then she shared a little bit of what it was about, and told me it is an easy read. Not only was it a quick read, it was delightful!
The book is titled "Heaven is for REAL" - and it is on my list of recommended 'must-reads' now. Since the book I had was borrowed, I went to Costco and purchased 6 of them to share. I had just completed a book written by a survivor of the holocaust and then this one. The contrast was amazing.
Actually 'Night' by Elie Wiesel is also on my 'must read' list now. It is the account of the holocaust I had just read. It is graphic and horrific. I wonder if my faith could have sustained me through such horrors. He lost his completely.
God knew I needed an upper.... 'Heaven is for REAL' certainly records a journey of pain - but the culmination of that journey is pure joy - and lots of food for thought. Buy it. Read it. Be amazed. Pass it around.
It brought up a couple of things that made me raise my eyebrows - food for thought - and for those details to be confirmed, I'll have to get to heaven....
The poignant reminder in 'Heaven is for REAL' is that it wasn't just while Jesus was alive on the earth that He performed miracles. His miracle-working activity is still alive and well. Thank you, Lord!
In the first story in chapter 5, a legion of demons obey him. At Legion's request, Jesus sends them out of the 'insane' man into a herd of 2000 pigs - who all promptly dive off the cliff into the Sea of Galilee and drown.
Again, their response baffles me. Instead of falling at Jesus' feet in worship and adoration - acclaiming Him for the amazing miracle He had just performed - they were afraid and begged Him to leave. In some cases when Jesus healed someone he told them to be silent - but not this time. Rather than let the man go with Him, he instructed him, "Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." The man obeyed. Mark reports that he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. His mini-missionary journey!
That's what we are to do: tell our story as it is connected to His. I am a child of His grace. He has forgiven me soooooooooo much! And He lets me sit in His presence with Saints.
In fact - what a segue to one of my favorite stories in the New Testament. Mark records it in this chapter. I have to set the stage to tell the story properly.
Jairus - who is one of the big whigs at the synagogue - one of the rulers, Mark says - comes to Jesus and falls at His feet. He's heard - maybe even seen - what Jesus has done for others. Perhaps he was even one to whom others who were healed showed themselves when they were sent to be proclaimed ceremonially clean.... We aren't given details - but however Jairus learned, he knew. He came to Him with humility and confidence. Jairus' daughter was near death, and his only hope was in Jesus. He fell at Jesus' feet and begged Him to come heal his daughter, knowing that if Jesus would just lay His hands on her, she would be well. And Jesus went with him.
As they hustled along to Jairus' house a huge crowd followed, and in that crowd was a woman who had been unclean for 12 long years. She had spent all of her money on doctors to no avail. According to Jewish law, no one could sit on a chair she sat on, or sleep in a bed she slept on. She couldn't go to the synagogue - or to Jewish celebrations. Her illness created incredible isolation. She knew she wasn't supposed to be where anyone would touch her - because of her uncleanness, but she didn't care any more. She had one compelling mission - to touch the hem of Jesus' garment. She wormed her way through the crowd - and succeeded in her quest. She was physically healed immediately.
Jesus could have kept going and found her later. He, too, was on a mission - to heal Jairus' little girl - but he stopped dead in his tracks and asked one of the goofiest questions anyone in a crowd could ever ask, basically, "Who touched my clothes?" As Jesus looked around to see who it was, the woman came, trembling in fear, and confessed. And he called her daughter.
I love, love, love this story. She was impure, rejected, isolated, broken. She met the Master. He made her clean, accepted, embraced and whole. He did her a huge favor by drawing attention to her. It was a public profession of her healing - so there was no longer a reason for others to avoid her for her impurity and uncleanness. He healed her - and gave her back her life - an even better life than she had before, for now she had Him....
Of course, while she delayed Him, the horrible happened.... We see the stories knowing the end - but in that moment what happened was awful. Jairus' daughter died. I can imagine the tenderness of His eyes as He looked into Jairus' eyes in that moment and implored, "Do not fear. Only believe." Poor Jairus. A man can only take so much. At great risk of his reputation - when nothing else had worked - when his 12-year-old daughter was at death's door - he went to Jesus, falling at Jesus' feet in public - in view of the scoffers and Pharisees - and now his daughter was dead - yet Jesus told him, "Only believe."
It's mind boggling. I believe 'as long as there is life there is hope'...but death pretty much closes that door for me.... People were already at the house weeping and wailing. Jesus took her parents, Peter, James and John in with him, took her by the hand and told her to get up. She did. Then he told them no one should know - and to give her something to eat.
Backstep. I get the eating part. It's sort of a commission to 'go live life' - but the 'no one should know'? Hello? There is a whole crowd of weepers and wailers just outside the door who think this kid is dead - and her dad is an important public figure who just threw himself at Jesus feet in public. What do you mean "no one should know?"
Casting out demons. Healing. Raising from the dead. (He said just sleeping.) Wow! What joy to read Mark again - fresh! Writing about what I read forces me to read it fresh and new. I even notice that in the Gospel Mark refers to Simon already as Peter - even though he wasn't actually Peter yet.... That's because he wrote it after the story was complete. After he knew his new name. Just a bit of trivia...but I notice.
My friend gave me a book to read about a week ago. At first I told her I didn't have time - then she shared a little bit of what it was about, and told me it is an easy read. Not only was it a quick read, it was delightful!
The book is titled "Heaven is for REAL" - and it is on my list of recommended 'must-reads' now. Since the book I had was borrowed, I went to Costco and purchased 6 of them to share. I had just completed a book written by a survivor of the holocaust and then this one. The contrast was amazing.
Actually 'Night' by Elie Wiesel is also on my 'must read' list now. It is the account of the holocaust I had just read. It is graphic and horrific. I wonder if my faith could have sustained me through such horrors. He lost his completely.
God knew I needed an upper.... 'Heaven is for REAL' certainly records a journey of pain - but the culmination of that journey is pure joy - and lots of food for thought. Buy it. Read it. Be amazed. Pass it around.
It brought up a couple of things that made me raise my eyebrows - food for thought - and for those details to be confirmed, I'll have to get to heaven....
The poignant reminder in 'Heaven is for REAL' is that it wasn't just while Jesus was alive on the earth that He performed miracles. His miracle-working activity is still alive and well. Thank you, Lord!
LENT 2011, Sunday, April 10
I am writing on Monday for Sunday!
I missed a day of writing in my blog - and it's O K! I felt bad momentarily this morning when I realized I had missed being faithful in writing in my blog - but God isn't upset with me about it....so I'm choosing not to be either.
Sunday was a day of incredible blessing.
I had the joy of leading worship music in the 8 a m worship service. I prepared faithfully, both in practice and in prayer. And I still messed up! You are wondering how that is a blessing! But it was! Even when we do all we are supposed to do, there can be glitches. It was O K. That was the blessing! I was able to release it without battering myself - though the thought flitted through my mind that I might not be asked to fill that role again. I started singing the words to the wrong tune - the tune for the next song. The first three words were the same for each song - it was an easy error. The point is: usually when I make a mistake that is all I can see. Not this time. I stopped. Apologized, proclaiming, "God is perfect. I am not. I was singing the wrong tune and need to start over." We did.
The afternoon had its own blessings - between worship services - but the one I want to share was our 5 p m Singspiration.
Our last Singspiration was in May 2010. About 60 people attended - and asked for more. So - I expected the same people to show up - and perhaps a few more. The group that was able to make it totaled a group the size of Jesus and his disciples - and we literally got to sit at Jesus' feet, just as they did. Those who came, came to worship, and we did. We sang in honor of our Lord and Savior - about the blood He shed to pay the price for our sin, and then we sang praise songs. Our part of the service - of our musical offering to God - concluded with the reading of Revelation 5 and singing "Worthy is the Lamb Who Was Slain." I announced that we would have a time of personal prayer, and following that, our pastor would conclude in prayer.
As we praised, the sweet, sweet presence of the LORD filled the place where we were sitting. It was palpable. We were sitting at His feet. I knew exactly what it felt like for 'His train to fill the temple."
God taught me a long time ago not to walk by feeling but by faith - but I can testify to how wonderful it is to have that kind of experience of God's presence in a group - knowing that everyone in the room feels that same sweetness. We didn't want to leave.
God was pleased. What pure joy to know you have been part of something that pleases God. I am so grateful for that opportunity in that moment.
And - He forgave me for not writing my daily blog.... But I am still sorry I didn't. I made a commitment to do this daily - and I can't 'fix' that. I don't take my commitments lightly. Thank you, LORD, for Your loving forgiveness!
I missed a day of writing in my blog - and it's O K! I felt bad momentarily this morning when I realized I had missed being faithful in writing in my blog - but God isn't upset with me about it....so I'm choosing not to be either.
Sunday was a day of incredible blessing.
I had the joy of leading worship music in the 8 a m worship service. I prepared faithfully, both in practice and in prayer. And I still messed up! You are wondering how that is a blessing! But it was! Even when we do all we are supposed to do, there can be glitches. It was O K. That was the blessing! I was able to release it without battering myself - though the thought flitted through my mind that I might not be asked to fill that role again. I started singing the words to the wrong tune - the tune for the next song. The first three words were the same for each song - it was an easy error. The point is: usually when I make a mistake that is all I can see. Not this time. I stopped. Apologized, proclaiming, "God is perfect. I am not. I was singing the wrong tune and need to start over." We did.
The afternoon had its own blessings - between worship services - but the one I want to share was our 5 p m Singspiration.
Our last Singspiration was in May 2010. About 60 people attended - and asked for more. So - I expected the same people to show up - and perhaps a few more. The group that was able to make it totaled a group the size of Jesus and his disciples - and we literally got to sit at Jesus' feet, just as they did. Those who came, came to worship, and we did. We sang in honor of our Lord and Savior - about the blood He shed to pay the price for our sin, and then we sang praise songs. Our part of the service - of our musical offering to God - concluded with the reading of Revelation 5 and singing "Worthy is the Lamb Who Was Slain." I announced that we would have a time of personal prayer, and following that, our pastor would conclude in prayer.
As we praised, the sweet, sweet presence of the LORD filled the place where we were sitting. It was palpable. We were sitting at His feet. I knew exactly what it felt like for 'His train to fill the temple."
God taught me a long time ago not to walk by feeling but by faith - but I can testify to how wonderful it is to have that kind of experience of God's presence in a group - knowing that everyone in the room feels that same sweetness. We didn't want to leave.
God was pleased. What pure joy to know you have been part of something that pleases God. I am so grateful for that opportunity in that moment.
And - He forgave me for not writing my daily blog.... But I am still sorry I didn't. I made a commitment to do this daily - and I can't 'fix' that. I don't take my commitments lightly. Thank you, LORD, for Your loving forgiveness!
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