In church on Sunday, Pastor Micah was talking about "atonement". Under the Old Covenant, atonement was made by the priest for the people of the nation (Aaron, at the time of these commands). Leviticus 16: 20-22 describes something really profound called the "substitutionary atonement".
Leviticus 16: 20-22 "When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting, and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites - all their sins - and put them on the goat's head. He shall send the goat away into the desert in the care of a man appointed to the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert."
It's an obvious enough parallel. Christ carried our sins on his body on the cross. He was the scapegoat that made atonement for our sins. We've heard it a million times. But I feel God calling me to reexamine my heart in all of this.
I was talking to my small group this morning about how difficult it can be to receive God's unconditional love. It's easy to know "Jesus loves me". We sing songs all of the time in church of the Father's love. But when it comes down to it, how deeply do we fully receive the unconditional LOVE of God?
My mentality was always performance-based. I felt that I had to clean up my act, quit drinking, quit smoking, read my Bible every day for a week, and then maybe God would stop being mad at me and we could have a real relationship. Even at Mercy, I would read my Bible furiously, try to finish our assigned materials faster, and stress myself out trying - trying - trying.
One day God stopped me and spoke into my heart... "Why are you trying to earn my love?"
I said, "I'm not!" (Because clearly, God misunderstood my motives...)
He gently replied, "Yes you are."
I argued back "NU-UH!"
It was quiet for a moment, but I could sense His presence. Like He was waiting. Finally, I humbled my heart and said, "That's all I got". *shrug*
It's hilarious to me now. But isn't it strange how we sometimes respond to God's convictions?
This was the point that God was trying to make:
Romans 5:6-8 "Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to Him." (The Message)
Selah. Pause a minute and think.
Don't let these stories and metaphors and churchy-rhetoric distract you from the mind-blowing message of God. We don't have to have some high priest put together an elaborate ritual, lay hands on a goat, confess my sins to it and send it into the desert. Christ made the final atonement. It's not something that demands a repeat performance. Christ took care of it. And God sent Jesus because he LOVES you. He loves me. He loves us. Passionately, deeply, unconditionally.
You can't earn His love. As Pastor Micah said, "There may be retribution, reconciliation to make, consequences... but never will we ever have to atone for our sins again."
And that's LOVE.
Romans 8:39
"Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture... None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing -- nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable -- absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us."
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
expect the unexpected
I know that I have at least two posts that refer to John the Baptist, but there is yet another lesson the Holy Spirit is teaching me through his story.
Yesterday, we started with the book of Mark in the New Testament. It opens with an awesome statement about the foundation of the Christian faith. (As a writer, I can think of no more powerful way to begin a story...)
Mark 1:1 "The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the son of God." BOOM.
Then the second character to grace the stage is John the Baptizer.
Mark 1:4 "And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins."
In early January, I blogged about the significance of the relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus. (linkback) John and Jesus were cousins, contemporaries, and both in "ministry". The respected one another deeply, each understanding his own role in the kingdom story. John recognized Jesus as the One, the Messiah, when he was still in his mother's womb. Luke 1:41 He was privy to the voice from heaven that spoke to Jesus in Mark 1:11, saying "You are my Son, whom I love, with you I am well pleased."
All four gospels speak in varying detail about the calling of John as a prophet to prepare the way of the Lord. John the Baptist knew his role, and he knew the Christ. But I absolutely cannot shake this particular passage out of my mind. It is so profound an example.
John had been arrested and put into prison. Mark 6:17-20 says "Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound an put in prison. He did the because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had married. For John had been saying to Herod, 'It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.'"
Jumping over to Matthew 11, we see this interesting exchange.
Matthew 11:2 says, "When John heard in prison what Christ was doing [in all of His miracles], he sent his disciples to ask him, 'Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?'"
(insert mine)
These words are highlighted in magenta for me. Why was John the Baptist sending his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the One? He knew! Of course he knew... it's all over the gospels.
Jesus did not meet John's expectations. He wanted the Savior to come into the world and kick some Roman tail! He wanted to see God's perfect Kingdom come to earth and end the suffering of the people. He wanted to see Jesus the Christ elevated to King of Israel. In the least his cousin, the Son of God, could get him out of his death sentence.
I can imagine John sitting in a prison dungeon, knowing he is going to die, thinking, "Really, Jesus? You are the Savior of the world. Come save me. I don't deserve to die in here."
I would be thinking the same thing. What an incredibly discouraging time it must have been for our great John.
But Jesus doesn't leap in and spring him for his prison. He doesn't drop everything He's doing in his ministry to try to somehow bail out His friend and cousin. Jesus must stay true to the calling of His Father. He had to continue to "go about doing good". See, there was a much larger picture at play. Who knows how things might have played out if Jesus had cancelled His speaking engagements to detour over to Herod's palace?
So Jesus says these words, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." (Matthew 11:4-6)
In short, Jesus is saying, "I'm doing what I am supposed to be doing. Hold on tight to your faith. It's not invested in vain. Trust God." I can almost hear the pain that must have shrouded Jesus' voice. He loved John the Baptist.
Sometimes Jesus Christ doesn't come through for me in the way that I'd expect Him to. Sometimes, I'm in so much pain that I ask "Jesus, are you for real?"
Life is crazy. There are amazing victories and crushing defeats. So it goes on planet Earth. But I hear Jesus saying, "Hold on tight to your faith. Trust God." Even when things do not play out the way I expected them to.
Yesterday, we started with the book of Mark in the New Testament. It opens with an awesome statement about the foundation of the Christian faith. (As a writer, I can think of no more powerful way to begin a story...)
Mark 1:1 "The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the son of God." BOOM.
Then the second character to grace the stage is John the Baptizer.
Mark 1:4 "And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins."
In early January, I blogged about the significance of the relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus. (linkback) John and Jesus were cousins, contemporaries, and both in "ministry". The respected one another deeply, each understanding his own role in the kingdom story. John recognized Jesus as the One, the Messiah, when he was still in his mother's womb. Luke 1:41 He was privy to the voice from heaven that spoke to Jesus in Mark 1:11, saying "You are my Son, whom I love, with you I am well pleased."
All four gospels speak in varying detail about the calling of John as a prophet to prepare the way of the Lord. John the Baptist knew his role, and he knew the Christ. But I absolutely cannot shake this particular passage out of my mind. It is so profound an example.
John had been arrested and put into prison. Mark 6:17-20 says "Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound an put in prison. He did the because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had married. For John had been saying to Herod, 'It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.'"
Jumping over to Matthew 11, we see this interesting exchange.
Matthew 11:2 says, "When John heard in prison what Christ was doing [in all of His miracles], he sent his disciples to ask him, 'Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?'"
(insert mine)
These words are highlighted in magenta for me. Why was John the Baptist sending his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the One? He knew! Of course he knew... it's all over the gospels.
Jesus did not meet John's expectations. He wanted the Savior to come into the world and kick some Roman tail! He wanted to see God's perfect Kingdom come to earth and end the suffering of the people. He wanted to see Jesus the Christ elevated to King of Israel. In the least his cousin, the Son of God, could get him out of his death sentence.
I can imagine John sitting in a prison dungeon, knowing he is going to die, thinking, "Really, Jesus? You are the Savior of the world. Come save me. I don't deserve to die in here."
I would be thinking the same thing. What an incredibly discouraging time it must have been for our great John.
But Jesus doesn't leap in and spring him for his prison. He doesn't drop everything He's doing in his ministry to try to somehow bail out His friend and cousin. Jesus must stay true to the calling of His Father. He had to continue to "go about doing good". See, there was a much larger picture at play. Who knows how things might have played out if Jesus had cancelled His speaking engagements to detour over to Herod's palace?
So Jesus says these words, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." (Matthew 11:4-6)
In short, Jesus is saying, "I'm doing what I am supposed to be doing. Hold on tight to your faith. It's not invested in vain. Trust God." I can almost hear the pain that must have shrouded Jesus' voice. He loved John the Baptist.
Sometimes Jesus Christ doesn't come through for me in the way that I'd expect Him to. Sometimes, I'm in so much pain that I ask "Jesus, are you for real?"
Life is crazy. There are amazing victories and crushing defeats. So it goes on planet Earth. But I hear Jesus saying, "Hold on tight to your faith. Trust God." Even when things do not play out the way I expected them to.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
the perfect prayer
I've been thinking about prayer this week, and how much my prayers have changed as I've grown closer to the One I love. Both in Trinity's (@ trinityomaha) Sunday morning service last week and in Hearts (@heartsomaha) this past Tuesday, we've been discussing the concept of going from "familiar" to "follower".
Thank God we live in the US, where we have the liberty to become as "familiar" with Christianity as we like! We are free to attend the church of our choosing on any given day of the week, we are free to openly discuss religion at Starbucks or Village Inn, and we are free to read a Bible, or the Koran, or the Communist Manifesto. We have freedom to familiarize ourselves with whatever ideology we please. And I'm grateful for that! I believe that God intends for us to seek Him, not have Him forced upon us by a government.
But I came to a point where familiar was suffocating, and "civilized religion" (as Erwin McManus calls it) became a cage. It was placid and static and life-stealing. I was surrounded by hypocrisy and noise. Eventually, I just tuned it out and let it blend into the background, like a bad commercial or paid programming. It wasn't until I became so desperate for God - so barbaric in my need for Him - that my relationship moved from "familiar" to "follower". At the time, I didn't fully realize that it was God I was searching for, but I was uncontrolled inside, like an animal clawing for something with a frenzied desperation. It was a hunger that drove me to one hundred different ends, but eventually, I found what I was looking for. Well, I should say, He found me.
I don't know what the journey from "familiar" to "follower" looks like for others. I feel like God has to be kinda loud with me because I can be so strong-headed. :) But I was thinking about how all of this related to prayer. I used to say to God what I thought He wanted to hear. Now please understand me, I believe there are many occasions where we use another's words in a prayer in an act of reverence or to be guided when we don't know what to say. In corporate prayer, especially, there must be thought and theology applied. I'm talking about personal, "prayer closet" time. Sometimes, on those occasions, our hearts need to cry out from the core of our beings and our minds need to take a break while the Holy Spirit inside of us intercedes.
If I was upset, I'd dumb things down in talking to God. I'd go through the ACTS model and make sure that I adored, confessed, and thanked before getting down to what I really felt. And usually, by the time I got to the supplication part, I felt stupid for asking anyway. This was, of course, because I was in the land of the familiar. I didn't understand who God is or how He sees me.
I am not a theologian or a Bible scholar. I don't claim to know much more than anything at all! But I'm looking at today's scripture and this verse rips my heart out:
Matthew 27: 45-46
"From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachtani?" -- which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
The commentary in my amazing Study Bible is strangely quiet about this. For good reason. I've heard many, many sermons preached on these two verses. I don't claim to have the "right" answers to this weighty passage. Here's what I do know: Jesus lived and died and never sinned. (1 Peter 2:22) Regardless of the multi-layered implications of this final, audible prayer of Jesus Christ, we know that He was not found "guilty" in screaming this from the cross.
Without going deeper, here is my one thought... Can we be so candid with our God? I, unlike Jesus Christ, am a sinner. I know it, God knows it, the world knows it! So why am I so afraid to say the "wrong" thing to God? He knows my heart - he knows my thoughts. Can't I just be honest? Because sometimes, when life hurts the most, or I am the most troubled or confused, I don't want to ask for peace and wisdom and favor. I want to ask the impossible questions like Christ did on the cross. Regardless of whether the premise of my prayer lines up with the doctrine I hold fast to be true, if it's what I'm thinking and feeling in the moment, I am not allowing God entry into my reality if I am not willing to be honest.
In my journey from "familiar" to "follower", I noticed that my prayers (for the most part, not ALL of them) went from "let these gifts to us be blessed" to "Abba... thank you. Abba... help me. God, WHY?" And it opened up a world of conversation that I never knew existed.
He already knows. He does. The only person I was conning was myself.
What is your perfect prayer?
Thank God we live in the US, where we have the liberty to become as "familiar" with Christianity as we like! We are free to attend the church of our choosing on any given day of the week, we are free to openly discuss religion at Starbucks or Village Inn, and we are free to read a Bible, or the Koran, or the Communist Manifesto. We have freedom to familiarize ourselves with whatever ideology we please. And I'm grateful for that! I believe that God intends for us to seek Him, not have Him forced upon us by a government.
But I came to a point where familiar was suffocating, and "civilized religion" (as Erwin McManus calls it) became a cage. It was placid and static and life-stealing. I was surrounded by hypocrisy and noise. Eventually, I just tuned it out and let it blend into the background, like a bad commercial or paid programming. It wasn't until I became so desperate for God - so barbaric in my need for Him - that my relationship moved from "familiar" to "follower". At the time, I didn't fully realize that it was God I was searching for, but I was uncontrolled inside, like an animal clawing for something with a frenzied desperation. It was a hunger that drove me to one hundred different ends, but eventually, I found what I was looking for. Well, I should say, He found me.
I don't know what the journey from "familiar" to "follower" looks like for others. I feel like God has to be kinda loud with me because I can be so strong-headed. :) But I was thinking about how all of this related to prayer. I used to say to God what I thought He wanted to hear. Now please understand me, I believe there are many occasions where we use another's words in a prayer in an act of reverence or to be guided when we don't know what to say. In corporate prayer, especially, there must be thought and theology applied. I'm talking about personal, "prayer closet" time. Sometimes, on those occasions, our hearts need to cry out from the core of our beings and our minds need to take a break while the Holy Spirit inside of us intercedes.
If I was upset, I'd dumb things down in talking to God. I'd go through the ACTS model and make sure that I adored, confessed, and thanked before getting down to what I really felt. And usually, by the time I got to the supplication part, I felt stupid for asking anyway. This was, of course, because I was in the land of the familiar. I didn't understand who God is or how He sees me.
I am not a theologian or a Bible scholar. I don't claim to know much more than anything at all! But I'm looking at today's scripture and this verse rips my heart out:
Matthew 27: 45-46
"From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachtani?" -- which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
The commentary in my amazing Study Bible is strangely quiet about this. For good reason. I've heard many, many sermons preached on these two verses. I don't claim to have the "right" answers to this weighty passage. Here's what I do know: Jesus lived and died and never sinned. (1 Peter 2:22) Regardless of the multi-layered implications of this final, audible prayer of Jesus Christ, we know that He was not found "guilty" in screaming this from the cross.
Without going deeper, here is my one thought... Can we be so candid with our God? I, unlike Jesus Christ, am a sinner. I know it, God knows it, the world knows it! So why am I so afraid to say the "wrong" thing to God? He knows my heart - he knows my thoughts. Can't I just be honest? Because sometimes, when life hurts the most, or I am the most troubled or confused, I don't want to ask for peace and wisdom and favor. I want to ask the impossible questions like Christ did on the cross. Regardless of whether the premise of my prayer lines up with the doctrine I hold fast to be true, if it's what I'm thinking and feeling in the moment, I am not allowing God entry into my reality if I am not willing to be honest.
In my journey from "familiar" to "follower", I noticed that my prayers (for the most part, not ALL of them) went from "let these gifts to us be blessed" to "Abba... thank you. Abba... help me. God, WHY?" And it opened up a world of conversation that I never knew existed.
He already knows. He does. The only person I was conning was myself.
What is your perfect prayer?
Thursday, January 28, 2010
blessed
Did I mention that I am having a blast reading through the NIV/Message Parallel Bible ?
It has the trusted, "accredited" NIV Biblical translation, and along side it Eugene Peterson's amazing modern-day language interpretation. There's a great description of it on the Amazon website.
Anyway... reading through Matthew 5:3-11
Jesus pulls his committed apprentices to him and tells them something very profound.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Beautiful passages. Very poetic. And if you grew up in the church, they're very familiar. But I've never really been able to appreciate the entire meaning of the words. Obviously Jesus found them to be a very important teaching point. Perhaps I should strive to understand? A lot of times, I'll ask the Holy Spirit for revelation. In this case, the revelation was The Message translation.
Check this out.
"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you, there is more of God and his rule."
"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you."
"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are - no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought."
"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat."
"You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full', you'll find yourselves cared for."
"You're blessed when you get your inside world - your mind and heart - put right. Then you can see God in the outside world."
"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you'll discover who you really are and your place in God's family."
"You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom."
Depending on where you find yourself today, one or another may pop out at you as something you can grab ahold of. I think I could read this list several times over several months, and each time it will mean something different to me. These are words from the lips of Jesus Christ. You can take ahold of them as promises to keep close to your heart. Let them wash over you, today. Let them bring you peace.
Selah.
It has the trusted, "accredited" NIV Biblical translation, and along side it Eugene Peterson's amazing modern-day language interpretation. There's a great description of it on the Amazon website.
Anyway... reading through Matthew 5:3-11
Jesus pulls his committed apprentices to him and tells them something very profound.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Beautiful passages. Very poetic. And if you grew up in the church, they're very familiar. But I've never really been able to appreciate the entire meaning of the words. Obviously Jesus found them to be a very important teaching point. Perhaps I should strive to understand? A lot of times, I'll ask the Holy Spirit for revelation. In this case, the revelation was The Message translation.
Check this out.
"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you, there is more of God and his rule."
"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you."
"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are - no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought."
"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat."
"You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full', you'll find yourselves cared for."
"You're blessed when you get your inside world - your mind and heart - put right. Then you can see God in the outside world."
"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you'll discover who you really are and your place in God's family."
"You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom."
Depending on where you find yourself today, one or another may pop out at you as something you can grab ahold of. I think I could read this list several times over several months, and each time it will mean something different to me. These are words from the lips of Jesus Christ. You can take ahold of them as promises to keep close to your heart. Let them wash over you, today. Let them bring you peace.
Selah.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Prophets, Priests, and Kings
Mark 1:1 - 4:25
Mark opens his gospel with the story of John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin. (The gospel of Matthew opens with the account of John's prophetic birth and specific anointing, and Mark's gospel opens with John's ministry.)
I'm reading this in The Message - by Eugene Peterson, and it strikes me that I really don't know anything at all about this "John the Baptist", except that he was a little off... he was different and a little wildish, and that he had this thing for dunking people in the River Jordan.
Mark 1:4-6 says, "John the Baptizer appeared in the wild, preaching a baptism of life-change that leads to forgiveness of sins. People thronged to him from Judea and Jerusalem and, as they confessed their sins, were baptized by him in the Jordan River into a changed life."
Isaiah said that JtB had come to prepare the way of the Lord. After 400 years of silence from heaven (the space between the Old and New Testaments in the Christian Bible) God sends one last prophet to Earth in John the Baptist. I'm so interested in this antiquated role that God gave specific people for specific times. These weren't just men who had the "gift of prophecy". They came with the voice, power, and authority of the Living God - in a different way then anyone after the cross.
I once heard a talk on Prophets, Priests, and Kings. That in the days before the Christ, God assigned certain people to do His work here on Earth. The role of the prophet was to speak FROM God TO the people. They carried the heart of an untouchable heavenly God to a world that did not understand Him. Prophets were God's ambassadors. The role of the priest was to speak TO God FROM the people. They carried the mantle of the sins of the nation of Israel before a Holy and terrifying God to seek atonement and blessing. They were sanctified (set apart) and considered "pure enough" to come before the presence of God and reunite Him to His people. And Kings were set up with the Authority to rule over God's people, communicating God's will in the form of the practical and every day. They spoke to specific circumstances and worked to unify and expand God's people's territory.
JtB was God's last prophet, because with the entry of the Messiah, Jesus encapsulated all three rolls - Prophet, Priest, and King. King David of the Old Testament (you know, David and Goliath) carried all three rolls as well (starts in 1 Samuel 16), but he carried them in the body of a fallen son of Adam. Jesus came as the perfect Son of God to carry these rolls without fault and usher in a new era of God's interaction with man. That is why David calls Jesus both Son and Master.
Ok, stick with me here, 'cause I'm really intrigued by this.
Here's what I'm curious about. Sometimes it helps me to define my role on this planet - my global part of God's story - by looking at the rolls of other great people that God chose to further His kingdom. Obviously, I have not been called as the Messiah. There can be only One. (insert Highlander theme song) But, like John the Baptist, I have been called to proclaim the way of the coming King.
I'm just different in that I am operating this side of the cross.
So I want to know,
1) Who is John the Baptist and what was the significance in his calling as a prophet of God? JtB was a key player in the pre-Christian Kingdom, and I want to know more about him. Jesus described him like this:
Matthew 11:11-13 "I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist... From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John." (NIV)
"But if you read the books of the Prophets and God's Law closely, you will see them culminate in John, teaming up with him in preparing the way for the Messiah of the kingdom." (The Message)
2) Jesus also says that "he who is least in the kingdom of heaven (the Christian Kingdom) is greater than he (JtB)". That's me... So what does that mean for my role in preparing the way for the Return of The King? I wana study John the Baptist, and I wana study the commission of the early church, because I feel that God is calling us to ramp it up and speak out in a new and different way in these days.
Christ is coming back. What is my role in that?
Follow me, if you want, as I stumble through this discovery. :) And please contribute your thoughts and revelations!! I'm just a journeyman. Same as any other disciple. (And that's you...)
Mark opens his gospel with the story of John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin. (The gospel of Matthew opens with the account of John's prophetic birth and specific anointing, and Mark's gospel opens with John's ministry.)
I'm reading this in The Message - by Eugene Peterson, and it strikes me that I really don't know anything at all about this "John the Baptist", except that he was a little off... he was different and a little wildish, and that he had this thing for dunking people in the River Jordan.
Mark 1:4-6 says, "John the Baptizer appeared in the wild, preaching a baptism of life-change that leads to forgiveness of sins. People thronged to him from Judea and Jerusalem and, as they confessed their sins, were baptized by him in the Jordan River into a changed life."
Isaiah said that JtB had come to prepare the way of the Lord. After 400 years of silence from heaven (the space between the Old and New Testaments in the Christian Bible) God sends one last prophet to Earth in John the Baptist. I'm so interested in this antiquated role that God gave specific people for specific times. These weren't just men who had the "gift of prophecy". They came with the voice, power, and authority of the Living God - in a different way then anyone after the cross.
I once heard a talk on Prophets, Priests, and Kings. That in the days before the Christ, God assigned certain people to do His work here on Earth. The role of the prophet was to speak FROM God TO the people. They carried the heart of an untouchable heavenly God to a world that did not understand Him. Prophets were God's ambassadors. The role of the priest was to speak TO God FROM the people. They carried the mantle of the sins of the nation of Israel before a Holy and terrifying God to seek atonement and blessing. They were sanctified (set apart) and considered "pure enough" to come before the presence of God and reunite Him to His people. And Kings were set up with the Authority to rule over God's people, communicating God's will in the form of the practical and every day. They spoke to specific circumstances and worked to unify and expand God's people's territory.
JtB was God's last prophet, because with the entry of the Messiah, Jesus encapsulated all three rolls - Prophet, Priest, and King. King David of the Old Testament (you know, David and Goliath) carried all three rolls as well (starts in 1 Samuel 16), but he carried them in the body of a fallen son of Adam. Jesus came as the perfect Son of God to carry these rolls without fault and usher in a new era of God's interaction with man. That is why David calls Jesus both Son and Master.
Ok, stick with me here, 'cause I'm really intrigued by this.
Here's what I'm curious about. Sometimes it helps me to define my role on this planet - my global part of God's story - by looking at the rolls of other great people that God chose to further His kingdom. Obviously, I have not been called as the Messiah. There can be only One. (insert Highlander theme song) But, like John the Baptist, I have been called to proclaim the way of the coming King.
I'm just different in that I am operating this side of the cross.
So I want to know,
1) Who is John the Baptist and what was the significance in his calling as a prophet of God? JtB was a key player in the pre-Christian Kingdom, and I want to know more about him. Jesus described him like this:
Matthew 11:11-13 "I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist... From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John." (NIV)
"But if you read the books of the Prophets and God's Law closely, you will see them culminate in John, teaming up with him in preparing the way for the Messiah of the kingdom." (The Message)
2) Jesus also says that "he who is least in the kingdom of heaven (the Christian Kingdom) is greater than he (JtB)". That's me... So what does that mean for my role in preparing the way for the Return of The King? I wana study John the Baptist, and I wana study the commission of the early church, because I feel that God is calling us to ramp it up and speak out in a new and different way in these days.
Christ is coming back. What is my role in that?
Follow me, if you want, as I stumble through this discovery. :) And please contribute your thoughts and revelations!! I'm just a journeyman. Same as any other disciple. (And that's you...)
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Storms and Snowdrifts
Matthew 14:13 - 16:28
Can I just pause for a moment on this simple, very profound example of Christ? 'Cuz I need to hear it.
Leading up to today's passages, in Matthew 14:1-12, the story talks about the be-heading of John the Baptist. John and Jesus Christ were cousins.
Heading over to Luke 1:41, Luke records that "When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit."(Mary was the mother of Jesus, and Elizabeth was the mother of John the Baptist)
John recognized Jesus in utero and was filled with joy.
In Matthew 3:13-17, John finally baptized Jesus after acknowledging Christ's authority and purpose on Earth. Then, in Matthew 11:11, Jesus recognized the great old-covenant power of John's commission. (He also recognized the new, more powerful authority in the new-covenant).
I say all of that to say that John and Jesus were not only cousins, they were friends, and they respected one another greatly. So, when Jesus got news that John had been executed, he was deeply grieved.
This is the great example I mentioned:
Matthew 14:13 "When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick."
1. He got alone. He let himself feel. He took some time out. He grieved. He probably prayed, and cried, asked tough questions, and questioned himself. Why didn't God tell Him to go get John out of jail? Whey didn't God continue to intervene in Harod's attitude? Were more people going to die because of Him? How many? He was a person, just like me. Same emotions, same vulnerabilities, same enemy.
2. The crowds had zero regard for His loss. When catastrophe strikes, I think what hurts the most is that the world continues to spin as if everything is OK. When I lost my dad, had a miscarriage, and any other number of life-shaking events, I wanted time to stop so that I could gather myself. But the world kept going. The calendar kept changing dates. Jobs still needed to be done, kids still needed to be cared for, groceries bought... And yes, people definitely stepped in and helped out! But sometimes, people are ready to stop helping long before my heart stops hurting.
3. (And this is what I need constant grace for) When He saw the crowds, even though they were stalking him to get, get, get from him... He had compassion for them (all 5000) and healed their sick. He grieved, prayed, and gave himself away some more. Probably no less in pain, but regardless, reached out, got beyond himself, and served.
That, for me, is what separates those who will be used by God, and those who have some more growing up to do. And I am absolutely speaking to myself. When I get overwhelmed... even in little things, like TODAY. And the kids are all stuck indoors at my house for almost a solid 3 weeks now, and we're all ready to kill each other, and the food I bought isn't lasting as long, and I'm hormonal, and I don't have time to read the Word or talk to my friends because every time I get 5 minutes, there's another explosion somewhere.... All I want to do is retreat into my room, pull the covers over my head and quit. Sleep. Revert.
But the example that Christ sets is, I need to go to my room, pray, cry, get settled with God, and get up, don't harden my heart, but have compassion. Serve my family. Get out of myself. And in that obedience there is blessing. Hopefully, the choice to move past pain will become easier the more I practice. :)
Thoughts?
Can I just pause for a moment on this simple, very profound example of Christ? 'Cuz I need to hear it.
Leading up to today's passages, in Matthew 14:1-12, the story talks about the be-heading of John the Baptist. John and Jesus Christ were cousins.
Heading over to Luke 1:41, Luke records that "When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit."(Mary was the mother of Jesus, and Elizabeth was the mother of John the Baptist)
John recognized Jesus in utero and was filled with joy.
In Matthew 3:13-17, John finally baptized Jesus after acknowledging Christ's authority and purpose on Earth. Then, in Matthew 11:11, Jesus recognized the great old-covenant power of John's commission. (He also recognized the new, more powerful authority in the new-covenant).
I say all of that to say that John and Jesus were not only cousins, they were friends, and they respected one another greatly. So, when Jesus got news that John had been executed, he was deeply grieved.
This is the great example I mentioned:
Matthew 14:13 "When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick."
1. He got alone. He let himself feel. He took some time out. He grieved. He probably prayed, and cried, asked tough questions, and questioned himself. Why didn't God tell Him to go get John out of jail? Whey didn't God continue to intervene in Harod's attitude? Were more people going to die because of Him? How many? He was a person, just like me. Same emotions, same vulnerabilities, same enemy.
2. The crowds had zero regard for His loss. When catastrophe strikes, I think what hurts the most is that the world continues to spin as if everything is OK. When I lost my dad, had a miscarriage, and any other number of life-shaking events, I wanted time to stop so that I could gather myself. But the world kept going. The calendar kept changing dates. Jobs still needed to be done, kids still needed to be cared for, groceries bought... And yes, people definitely stepped in and helped out! But sometimes, people are ready to stop helping long before my heart stops hurting.
3. (And this is what I need constant grace for) When He saw the crowds, even though they were stalking him to get, get, get from him... He had compassion for them (all 5000) and healed their sick. He grieved, prayed, and gave himself away some more. Probably no less in pain, but regardless, reached out, got beyond himself, and served.
That, for me, is what separates those who will be used by God, and those who have some more growing up to do. And I am absolutely speaking to myself. When I get overwhelmed... even in little things, like TODAY. And the kids are all stuck indoors at my house for almost a solid 3 weeks now, and we're all ready to kill each other, and the food I bought isn't lasting as long, and I'm hormonal, and I don't have time to read the Word or talk to my friends because every time I get 5 minutes, there's another explosion somewhere.... All I want to do is retreat into my room, pull the covers over my head and quit. Sleep. Revert.
But the example that Christ sets is, I need to go to my room, pray, cry, get settled with God, and get up, don't harden my heart, but have compassion. Serve my family. Get out of myself. And in that obedience there is blessing. Hopefully, the choice to move past pain will become easier the more I practice. :)
Thoughts?
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