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.
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