That's Crazy Talk! (Part 1)

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born?” (Acts 2:1-8)… we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?” (Vv. 11-12).

It seems to be a phenomenon that is all too sought out in the life of the Christian. Some seek to learn it, some believe that it is given as evidence of the indwelling Holy Spirit at the point of salvation. Some believe that it is a secret prayer language between the believer and God. Some take it seriously, while others are nonchalant about it. Many believe that it has ceased, while others believe that it is alive and well. It is the spiritual gift that receives the most focus as evidence of the Holy Spirit being a force upon the believer and it transcends many denominations from Pentecostalism, to Catholicism, to Charismatic Baptists. So what is it?

Tongues. It should make sense to you, my faithful three readers, that after a blog post detailing the biblically defined works of the Holy Spirit, and also reiterating that the Spirit is a person (He), not a force (it), that I should address the spiritual gift of tongues. Why? Because many seek to learn it. Because many believe that it is the evidence of salvation (and if they can’t speak in tongues then they question their salvation). Because many believe that it is evidence of the Holy Spirit’s indwelling and working in their lives. Because many believe that they can get closer to God by speaking this special “prayer language”.

1.       What is tongues? Many in the modern church (mostly Pentecostal and Charismatic) believe that speaking in tongues is a necessary element of the Christian life. They believe that in speaking this ecstatic language that they are living proof of the indwelling of the Spirit. Some believe that this gift just happens upon you, while others believe that it has to be learned and will actually teach it to you by saying things like (for example) “bananarama homina homina hum”, or something to that effect. If we look at what transpired during the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, then it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what is going on. There were many men from other nations who heard the tongues that were being uttered by the believers and apostles. They heard the works of God being spoken in their own language. The word “tongues” literally means “languages”. These Christians were speaking other languages that were understood by all of these foreigners. But why such a strange thing as giving these the sudden ability to speak foreign languages? It would seem if we read the context that these men understood Peter with one accord, so they obviously must’ve been bilingual to also understand their native languages as well. I will get to the second reason why God had them speak in tongues later, but for right now the first reason is to witness. It says “we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God…” (V.11). I cannot tell you what the apostles were saying to these men in their various native languages, but further on in Acts 2, after Peter delivers his “hit ‘em In the heart” sermon, 3000 were saved. I am assuming that these bewildered sojourners were among them. So we should conclude that there was some good gospel preaching going on with these “wonderful works of God”. This should be very profound biblical evidence that tongues is actually an established intelligent language, not uncontrolled, unchecked gibberish. Anytime I hear someone say “we speak in tongues at my church”, I always want to ask them “Oh really? What languages do you speak?”

2.       Tongues as a sign of salvation. The second issue with tongues is that many claim that it is the sign of salvation. Why? Because as we see at the beginning of our passage the Holy Spirit entered into the believers and then they spoke in various languages. This, of course, points to the errant thought that the Holy Spirit is a force that makes you do crazy things, and not a person that is also “the helper”. He helped the apostles by giving them the ability to witness to these men. You may ask “Why did He do that when these men were bilingual? Wasn’t it then unnecessary to have the apostles speak in their native language?” Well that is a very good question and I am glad that you asked it. However, the answer to that question is the second reason why God gave them the gift of tongues and I will speak on that next time. But, for now, the issue at hand in this paragraph is the issue of salvation’s evidence. To say that the sudden ability to speak languages (or gibberish these days) is the evidence of salvation is an error. It is true that the apostles spoke in tongues once the Holy Spirit indwelled them, however, the Bible does not mention that the 3000 began to speak in tongues as well. It is true that the Gentiles at Cornelius’ home began to speak in tongues (Acts 10:44-46), as well as John’s disciples (Acts 19:5-6), but what about the Ethiopian eunuch? As a matter of fact, when we read the account of Paul’s salvation and conversion in Acts, nowhere does it mention that he spoke in tongues. He does speak of this ability in 1 Corinthians 14 (which I will discuss next time), but it did not take place at his conversion and to say that it did in those instances, yet was not recorded, is an assumption at its best. It’s very easy to put an assumption into the Bible and make it a doctrine when you speak into the text, versus allowing the text to speak.

3.       Tongues as a special prayer language. The third issue regarding tongues is that it is assumed to be a special prayer language. This is the very common argument once a cessationist has proven that tongues is an actual spoken language and isn’t a sign of salvation. It especially shows itself as the excuse for one to speak gibberish, since that is exactly what modern tongue speaking is. However, such a thing as a “special prayer language” does not exist and is unbiblical anyway. Many believers cite 1 Corinthians 14 as evidence that this nonsensical speech is a prayer language, however that is not true and I will cover that next time. First of all, when the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, He said “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen” (Matthew 6:9-13). You will notice two things here- Jesus gives a model as to how to pray, and also uses words, not gibberish. As a matter of fact, Jesus spoke against “vain repetitions” in verse 7. The Greek word for this is battalogeō, which means “to repeat the same things over and over, to use many idle words, to babble, prate.” So basically Jesus said not to speak in tongues (gibberish). Second, Jesus would have wanted what is best for his followers and would not have sold them short. So if there is in fact a special prayer language that God desires, then wouldn’t you think that Jesus would have taught that to them instead? Why would He have kept this “special prayer language” from them? Another little nugget regarding gibberish as being a special prayer language is that many who practice it say that it is to bypass Satan and his demons because they evidently have the ability to stop our normal prayers from reaching God. Again, unbiblical. Not to mention, as we may recall from Job 1, that Satan still has to answer to God.

4.       Tongues as an undiscovered language. After agreeing that biblical tongue speaking is in fact an actual language, many who partake in modern tongue gibberish will say that it is not gibberish, but is in fact a true undiscovered language. This view poses a major problem. If God is in fact delivering, through His Spirit, undiscovered languages to believers then we are to assume that there are also undiscovered people who speak these languages. However, with almost all of these believers, God is not ordering their steps to these undiscovered lands in order to preach the gospel. Therefore, The Great Commission is made null and void and through contradiction to His word, God is made out to be a liar. If God is blessing His believers today with undiscovered languages then He certainly will call them to preach it to the undiscovered lands.

The reason why I have decided to discuss tongues this time is not to bash any favorite worship activity for certain believers. It is a follow up to my last blog post regarding the work of the Holy Spirit. As I had mentioned He is a “helper” who works to edify other believers and to glorify God- two things that cannot be done when the believer acts out of control. Losing control and speaking gibberish, or choosing to train oneself to do so, does not help but instead creates confusion. The events in Acts 2 prove that the tongues that were spoken were indeed intelligible languages that were understood by those who were visiting Jerusalem, not babbling. One of the main reasons for this event was to witness to these men. However, there is a second reason why they spoke in tongues and that can be found in 1 Corinthians 14, the other chapter that gives a great amount of attention to tongues. That will be for next time…

 

Did Jesus Die?

Ah yes! Easter/Resurrection Sunday 2017. The “Super Bowl” of Sunday church services. This is the day that pastors look forward to the most, I suppose. The pews are more full than usual with visitors, both unsaved first timers and folks who satisfy the wrath of God by attending church on this one day out of the year. Preachers are sweating the message as this one needs to count. This message needs to hit them in their heart. The Holy Spirit needs to convict them so that they choose salvation this day and follow Christ. Messages of second chances and redemption roll from pulpits across the globe. But… I am not a preacher, nor am I pastor, so I am going to break the rules and speak on something completely off the wall. This week for my special Resurrection Sunday message I am going to address two questions that are raised by the skeptics: Did Jesus actually rise from the dead and walk out of the tomb, and if so, then did He actually die to begin with?

Did Jesus Rise From The Dead?

To many of our atheist friends the notion that Jesus had risen from the dead three days later is as absurd as Jesus being born of a virgin. However, many times during His earthly ministry Jesus had predicted His death and resurrection. Even the story of the bronze serpent on a pole in Numbers 21 is a type of Jesus’ crucifixion. But the question that remains is whether Jesus walked out of His own grave. Jesus said “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” (John 10:17-18). Jesus did just that as He gave up his Spirit when He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Scripture says “But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” (Matthew 28:5-6). Later “...as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, ‘Rejoice!’ So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.” (v.9). Now any skeptic would say that these women were delusional and hallucinating. This leads us to the next event: “Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying, ‘Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.’  So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.” (Vv. 11-15). These guards were the same ones that fell out when the angel appeared to them (Vv. 3-4). There are many theories that the skeptics rely on to disprove Jesus’ resurrection. But one does not need to stray far from this story from the guards and the priests to see the evidence. Their unraveling reveals the resurrection.

Traditionally, if a Roman soldier fell asleep and allowed the prisoner to escape, then he would be put to death. “But when Herod had searched for him and not found him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death.” (Acts 12:19), this occurring after an angel freed Peter from prison. Also, “And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself.” (Acts 16:27). Could it be that the guard, thinking that he allowed the prisoners to go free because he was sleeping, thought it would be best to take his own life than to be put to death for his shameful failure? It appears that you would certainly be put to death if you were a Roman soldier who failed to keep guard. But we do not see that with the case of the “disciples stealing Jesus’ body while the guards slept”. Why? First, if we read the context, we see that this story is in response to his resurrection, not of the disciples actually stealing the body. Second, the guards were not asleep, but became “as dead men” when they witnessed the angel rolling back the stone (Matt. 28:4). So, biblically speaking, the guards were the only eyewitness to the resurrection. Third, we can assume that the guards and leaders acknowledged that Jesus did indeed rise because they were expecting it, which is why they sent guards to keep watch and why they fabricated this story instead of assuming that the guards actually fell asleep and were lying about the resurrection. They knew that what the guards were telling them was the truth. Some of the refutations to the Jewish leader’s story are: “1) If the guards were sleeping, how did they know that the disciples stole the body? 2) There is no way that the disciples could possibly have overcome the guard. 3) It is preposterous to believe that the disciples died for a lie that they created.”^[1] That last point is the most important. Who on earth would choose to be tortured and killed for a fabricated story? The apostles preached Jesus crucified and resurrected and not a single one of them cracked under pressure and confessed that they had taken Jesus away and buried Him elsewhere. Also in the Scriptures, we see Jesus appear to His disciples in a physical form and not one of an apparition. He was able to have Thomas stick his hand into His side (I wonder what that felt like. Awkward?), and even eat fish- two simple things that only a physical form of a person can accomplish. So that leads us to the next question…

Did Jesus Die?

As a skeptic, it makes sense: If someone can prove to you that Jesus walked out of the tomb, and you are convinced, then He must’ve not died to begin with. There are many theories that abound with this one. One of them is that Jesus simply passed out from exhaustion and was revived by the burial spices. However, something happened after Jesus died that would crush all of the skeptic’s arguments. “Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.  But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.” (John 19:32-34). The water and blood here is significant. “This gathering of fluid in the membrane around the heart is called pericardial effusion, and the fluid gathering around the lungs is called pleural effusion. This explains why, after Jesus died and a Roman soldier thrust a spear through Jesus’ side (probably His right side, piercing both the lungs and the heart), blood and water came from His side just as John recorded in his Gospel.”^[2] According to Scriptures Jesus had suffered this flooding in his heart and lungs. So, even if the scourging, beating, crucifixion, and piercing did not kill him, this alone would have if it had not already signified his death. Who on earth could survive such fluid building up and suffocating such vital organs? Who on earth could survive having a spear go through their heart and their lungs and then three days later move around as though it was a flesh wound? The piercing and flow just solidified the fact that he was dead.

As Christians, we know that Jesus died as it was necessary for Him to be our final sacrificial lamb. If He had not died then our sins would not be atoned for and we would still be dead in them. If He had not risen then there would be no hope for you and me to be renewed in redemption, justification, and sanctification. Jesus would have been just another martyr who died for a cause. To the skeptics that is exactly who He is- a good man who died for what He believed in. However, as those who are redeemed, we know what they don’t…

He is risen and He lives!

In Christ Alone!

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[1] House and Holden. Charts of Apologetics and Christian Evidences. Grand Rapids,MI.: Zondervan, 2006..

[2] Michael S. Houdmann. "Why did blood and water come out of Jesus' side when He was pierced?” http://www.gotquestions.org/blood-water-Jesus.html.

 

Who Is Jesus Christ (Part 3)? The Lord

“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9-11).

I must confess something embarrassing. For many years I had read the above passage and thought to myself that Jesus was the name above all names. But when paired with Acts 4:12 (“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”), I often wondered if it was blasphemous for anyone else to have the name “Jesus”. What about all the Mexican men named “Jesus” (pronounced “Hey Zeus!”)? Should they have the name Jesus? Can they possess the name that is above all the others? What on earth were their parents thinking to name their child with a name that is only reserved for Jesus (not “Hey Zeus!”)? However, if you read the context of Philippians 2:9-11, it isn’t “Jesus” that is the name above all others. It isn’t “Jesus” that no other name shall be given in which we shall be saved by. No. Although it is true that His name is Jesus, it is His name in verse 11 that is the name above all others that no one else shall possess: “Lord”.

I would seriously hope that no one claims to be “Lord”, even if his name is “Hey Zeus!” However, for Jesus it is more than a name, it is who He is, and as we see above in Philippians 2, that every knee shall bow. This includes those in Heaven (the saints who have gone before us and angels), those on earth (the redeemed believers), and those below (the demons and Satan. Yes. I said “the demons and Satan”). Let’s take a moment to explore these three groups.

First is the group that is in Heaven. In Revelation 6:9-10 it says “I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’” These martyred believers stand before Jesus, calling Him “Lord”. Also in Revelation it says “The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!’” (4:8). Aside from these four creatures, we also see the angels proclaiming the lordship of Jesus Christ: “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’ (Revelation 11:15). And I heard the angel of the waters saying: ‘You are righteous, O Lord, The One who is and who was and who is to be, Because You have judged these things.’” {16:5). These angels not only proclaim that Jesus is Lord, but also backup those claims by the evidence that Jesus is Lord and King of the earth, but also Judge.

Second is the group that is below the earth. You may be wondering how I come to the conclusion that the demons and Satan acknowledge Jesus as Lord. In Luke 4:41 it reads “And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of God!’ And He, rebuking them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.”. Also “When [the man who was demon possessed, Legion,] saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before Him, and with a loud voice said, ‘What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You, do not torment me’ For He had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.” (Luke 8:28-29). James 2:19 says “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!”. The demons recognize who Jesus is in that He is more than man, but also Lord. He holds command over the demons. They wreak havoc until Christ arrives and tells them to get lost. One should note that in the scriptures men failed to always cast out demons (Mark 9:17-29), but the demons had no choice but to obey Jesus every time. Also, regarding Satan, we read in Job 1:6-12 a conversation where Satan had to get permission in order to smite Job. He was allowed to bring about great destruction, but God would not allow him to destroy Job. As you can see, the demons and Satan recognize the Lordship of Jesus and know that they are under His authority.

Third is the group that walks upon the earth. Mankind will all eventually bow before Jesus and confess that He is Lord. For believers this happens now in their lifetime. Romans 10:9-10 states “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” The Greek word used for “Lord” in this passage is kyrios, which means “he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord”. Essentially what this passage is saying is that you agree and believe that Jesus is master and that you choose to make Him master of your life. It is a conscious choosing of faith and obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. A life that has made this choice of confession to the lordship of Jesus goes something like this: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2). Of course there are many other passages that we could explore, but for the sake of our attention spans we will avoid them. However, regarding the unbelievers, they will bow before Christ as well. But unfortunately for them it will be too late as they had chosen to reject Christ in this lifetime and will bow in the afterlife. “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15). All of humanity will stand in Heaven before Christ, but is your name in the Book of Life? Will you bow to Christ now and make Him Lord of your life, or will you wait until you realize that He is indeed real and that He is indeed Lord as He sits upon His throne judging you before casting you into the lake of fire?

Jesus left His throne in Heaven as God the Son (or Son of God) and came to earth as the Son of Man. In doing this He experienced what we experience in life, all the way down to being formed within the womb of Mary. He experienced all that any man can experience here on earth. In doing so He is able to intercede on our behalf to the Father as the High Priest who offered up the perfect and final sacrifice to atone for our sins-Himself. In Hebrews 1:2 it states “[God] has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things…” an in Colossians 1:15 it says “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” The word usually translated “firstborn” does not mean that Jesus was the first created being, but that He was given the rights of the firstborn heir. In Colossians 1:18 it says “And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.” He may have preeminence over all things. Why?

Because He is Lord!

In Christ Alone.

 

Who Is Jesus Christ (Part 2)? The Son of Man

My family and I once attended a Barnes and Noble to look for some books for the children. My eyes glanced up to a display of books that are part of a “Who Was…” series (“Who Is…“when it is written about someone who is still living). Some of the people that these book focus on are Albert Einstein, George Washington, Muhammed Ali, etc. I was surprised to find that they had one titled “Who Was Jesus” (there we go with that “was” thing that I had mentioned in Part 1). My curiosity got the best of me and I skimmed a few pages. I wasn’t surprised to find that this Jesus wasn’t born of the Virgin Mary, nor was He God incarnate (or the “Son of God”), but that He was a “good moral teacher”. The title “Son of Man” would be a more fitting description for those who do not know who Jesus truly is or deny His deity. It is better described as His humility, or Him in the human flesh form. This is when Jesus hungered (Matthew 4:2), thirst (John 19:28), cried (John 11:35), and bled (John 19:34). It can also be viewed as a descriptive form of his humility in that he was born of a woman (“man” as a collective representation of “mankind”) and that He was raised by a man in His earthly father Joseph. Jesus also refers to Himself as the Son of Man in that He was claiming to fulfill prophecy as the Messiah. In Daniel 7:13-14 it says “I was watching in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.” Jesus was essentially saying that He was the one who Daniel prophesied about when He claimed the title the “Son of Man”.

In Part 1 I had briefly touched on the divinity of Jesus with His title “The Son of God”. I had just briefly touched on what it meant when He had called himself the “Son of Man”. However, to grasp these two titles we need to ask the important question: If Jesus is God then why did He come to earth as man? There was once a hit secular song by an artist by the name of Joan Osborne called “One of us”. In the chorus she sings “What if God was one of us? Just a slob like one of us. Just a stranger on the bus. Tryin' to make his way home.” (Some of you are all like “Oh yeah! I remember that song.”) In reality God did endure being a slob like one of us. He could have chosen to remain in Heaven and enjoy all of His glory and praise. But no. He chose to come here as one of us and endure the same hardships that you and I face. He traded His crown for thorns. His royal robe became a robe of blood. Can you imagine the creator of Heaven and Earth hanging on a cross as folks mocked him? Can you imagine trading praises from the heavenly host for jeers and scorn? Why would anyone do that? Why would any God so chose to be humbled in that way?

Philippians 2:5-7 states “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.” (NASB). Jesus chose to set aside His place in Heaven and instead come as a humble man. In doing so He did three things: He showed us who God is, became a High Priest, and became the Lamb who was slain. These three things are very important and they deserve a deeper look.

The Mirror of God

Jesus said in John 14:7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” Jesus revealed to us who God is. Studying the life of Jesus we see love, compassion, and mercy as He dealt with the sick and the poor, both physically and spiritually. He didn’t limit himself to just Jews, but even Gentiles (Mark 7:24-30). He said in Mark 2:17 “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” He also showed us righteous anger and judgment as He flipped over tables and chased the money changers out of the temple. We can learn that God too is merciful and desires repentance (2 Peter 3:9), but at the same time will judge those who are living outside of His will, whether saint (Hebrews 12:7-11), or sinner (Matthew 13:41-42).

The High Priest

Hebrews 2:17 states “Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” What exactly does this mean? In the Old Covenant the High Priest entered into the Holiest Place in the temple to offer sacrifices for himself, as well as the people of Israel. The most remarkable thing about Jesus is that He was without sin, whereas the High Priest still had to atone for his. “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:14-15). Jesus, in His flesh, felt everything that we do. He walked with nowhere to lay his head. He knew thirst and hunger. He knew ridicule and mockery. He felt pain. He cried. He bled. He died. You get the point. Therefore, as or High Priest, He can have sympathy for what we endure because He endured them too during His pilgrimage here on earth. This He understands as He is our mediator in Heaven before God, as the High Priest was the mediator between God and the people. “And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1 John 2:1).

The Lamb Who Was Slain

In 1 Peter 1 it states, “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (vv. 18-19). This statement harkens back to the sacrificial lamb that was used by the High Priest during the Day of Atonement. This lamb was to be free of any defects and any spots. In other words, pure and one could say “perfect” for the sacrifice. As I had mentioned earlier from Hebrews 4 that Jesus was without sin. Therefore, He was the perfect sacrifice. Further in Hebrews the author states “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people’s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.” (Hebrews 7:25-28).

The verse from Hebrews 7 is a great summary for the point that I am trying to make. Jesus offered up himself as the perfect and final sacrifice. Only the High Priest could do such a thing to intercede for the sins of the people. Jesus acted as the High Priest by offering himself as the final sacrifice to atone for our sins. He continues to act as intercessor through His blood for those who believe on Him. So we see evidence from this verse alone that Jesus was the slain Lamb, as well as the High Priest. But what set him apart from all the other High Priests that His sacrifice was the final one and that God would accept it as that? “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission [of sins]. Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.” (Hebrews 9:22-28).

As High Priest He offered a final sacrifice. But it is a sacrifice whose atonement isn’t for once at a set point per year, but is ongoing for everyone who believes and confesses their sins (Romans 10:9), always interceding on our behalf. This He did as the perfect Lamb because He chose to be the sacrifice in our place because we deserve to die instead for our transgressions. But He, as God the Son, chose to die so that we may live.

I may have briefly touched on Jesus’ divinity in Part 1 and the reasons for His becoming the “Son of Man” this time, but honestly I can’t do such a great truth the justice that it deserves while being brief. Next time I will finish this series by exploring the “Name above all Names”.

Who Is Jesus Christ (Part 1)? The Son of God.

It isn’t a coincidence that I have followed up a series about the decay of morality in our modern society, as well as a decay within the walls of our modern church, with a series about Jesus Christ. After all, I did say that the hope for both to turn around was to set their eyes upon The Christ. But, in order to effectively set our eyes upon Jesus, we need to understand who Jesus is. Notice that I didn’t say who “was” Jesus. To use the term “was” would imply that the person in question had existed and ceased to exist. This would apply to many historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Elvis, but it does not apply to Jesus, who sits at God’s mighty right hand and lives through the Holy Spirit. As the old hymn says, “You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.” But to grasp Jesus, we need to focus on His various attributes. He called Himself the “Son of Man”, but He also was the “Son of God” and He also possessed the “name above all names”. This week I would like to focus on His divinity as the Son of God.

It seems almost as an idea to scoff at. A mere mortal man who walked the earth was also the Son of God. But not just the “Son” of God, but also God incarnate, or the second person of the Trinity, God the Son. Jesus Himself proclaimed to be God. In John 10:30 He said “I and My Father are one.” He also said “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.” (John 5:17), this after healing on the Sabbath. The response from the Jews? “Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.” (v. 18). Not just did Jesus (here and in other various places) claim to be God, but even His disciples understood it. “But Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. Also we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’” (John 6:68-69). “[Jesus] said to [the disciples], ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’” (Matthew 16:15-16). The demons understood that He was the Son of God. “And suddenly [the demons] cried out, saying, ‘What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?’” (Matthew 8:29). Even Satan knew that Jesus was the Son of God when he tempted him in the wilderness in Matthew 4 when he constantly tried to trick Jesus into sinning by saying “If You are the Son of God…” To claim that Jesus was indeed God is a bold proclamation and a hard pill to swallow for many who do not understand Christianity and God’s Word. In John 6 many of the people who were following Jesus turned away because they found His teaching on His divinity as being hard to take. Is Jesus truly God?

In Hebrews 1 the author writes “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” (Vv. 1-4). The author not just states that Jesus is heir of all things, that He created everything and upholds that creation, and that He is above the angels, but that Jesus is the “express image” of God. The Greek word that is being used here is charaktēr, which denotes that something is the exact reproduction in every aspect to something else. Jesus isn’t like God or possesses some of God’s characteristics, but He is God in every aspect. He even said “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?” (John 14:9-10). He also said in John 17 “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (V. 21). It should be noted that Jesus confirmed that He and God are one by simply using one word…”us”.

Jesus and various New Testament writers may have proclaimed that Jesus is the “Son of God”, or in actuality “God”, but is there truth to that statement or is it just lunacy? Jesus had mentioned in John 14 “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.” (Vv. 10-11). One of the things that verified Christ’s divinity and backed up His claims are the various works that He performed. He did what no one had done before Him and no one after Him has been able to do (although heretic Kenneth Copeland once claimed to have stopped a tornado by simply telling it to go away). Jesus had the power over the elements when He turned water into wine, the power over nature when He calmed the sea and walked on water, the power over infirmities when He made the blind, deaf, dumb, and lame whole again, and the power over death when He called Lazarus out of the grave. However, there is no clearer evidence to Jesus’ divine claim as to His power over His own life and death. In John 10 He says “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.  No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”(Vv. 17-18). That is a bold proclamation! That one can actually decide when to die and when to come back to life is a ridiculous notion. How many people do we know had actually made the choice as to which breath was going to be their last? We see later in John’s gospel, as Jesus was hanging on the cross, it says “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” (John 19:30). The Greek term for the phrase “gave up” is paradidōmi. This term denotes giving, delivering, and permitting or allowing. It means that the one who had something (in this case Jesus’ spirit) had given it over or allowed it to be taken. Can any mortal man give his life away or even give death permission to come and take his life away? Who do we know that walks as flesh and blood actually has the power over death to allow it to stop our hearts from beating? Who do we know that walks as flesh and blood that has to give permission to death in order for it to stop us from breathing? As far as I know no one has that kind of power over life and death. But Jesus…. Jesus had that power. He always had as He created, and He always will as He sustains as the heir to all things. Jesus is the “Son of God”, which is more than just being begotten offspring. As the Jews had determined, it makes Him equal with God.

I could go on and on about this. Just ask my former professors. My 5-8 page assignments turned into a 15 page assignment. I just can’t stop talking about how great is our God. But that leaves an important question. If I have succeeded in briefly describing Jesus’ evidence of divinity and convincing you of such, then why on earth would God the Son leave His throne and the glories of Heaven to come to this filthy and wretched place in order to suffer like the rest of us? Even to the point of being mocked, beaten, tortured, and suffering a criminal’s death upon a cross? We will see next time when we explore the “Son of Man” and the Lamb who was slain.

             

Decay Pt.1: The Beginning of the End

No time in the history of American civilization has the depravity of man been on display as the most recent election year in 2016. When I was growing up I remember men with integrity and character being the nominee of their respective party and I am certain that it had been that way since the beginning. I remember a big tantrum being thrown during the 1992 presidential race because both George Bush and Bill Clinton were accused of having affairs. As a matter of fact, we all know what became of Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. An adulterous affair and the following cover-up were certainly the black cloud that threatened Clinton and his presidency. America wanted honest men. Men who stood for something and were faithful to their country, their families, and their God.

However, 2016 was different. The decay became evident, yet many Christians and conservatives couldn’t see it, and many anti-Christians and liberals failed to believe it. The sphere of decay was evident before the nominees were even named for the Republican and Democratic parties. Marriage had slipped into nothingness as men began marrying men, women began marrying women, pedophiles began to cry out for the same privileges, and men and women continued to treat the sacredness of their marriage as if it was just some passing new flavor at Starbucks. You don’t like it? Throw it out and get something else! The innocence of the children continued to dissolve as they grew up too fast on Twitter. And a million innocent babies never got to see the sunshine, stars, and moon.

These things shouldn’t have surprised anyone because we knew that eventually we would get there. The most baffling, however, is that the police became the enemy. Black lives were the only ones that mattered as officer after officer took a bullet and left behind children and wives. As a matter of fact, if you even said that “all lives mattered”, you ran the risk of being assaulted because to state such obvious truth was “racist”.

If you disagreed with the left, you were a foolish bigot (especially if you were a Christian who disagreed with homosexuality). If you disagreed with the right, you were called a “libtard”, among other things. Hate became redefined as simply disagreeing with or questioning someone else. More and more mankind split itself right down the middle in America. We became a nation divided with wounds split wide open for the whole world to see and the blood flows like the Nile.

Then came the election. There were many to be chosen. Men of honesty, integrity, character, and faith. However, on one side, we chose an angry, foul-mouthed narcissist with multiple marriages who, despite his “Christian faith”, has nothing to repent of. On the other side we chose a woman who has a track record of dishonesty and lying and had ample evidence stacked against her before she even became the nominee. And she won!?! Even though socialism has failed every nation that has tried it, there were a lot of people who really wanted the socialist to take her place as the nominee. This is what we wanted as leaders. Despite our choices this is what we chose to lead us. This has become the American people’s idea of good leadership.

During the debates both candidates fought and spewed insults that were even below that of two fifth graders fighting by the monkey bars during recess. And their supporters followed suit against the other side. It became a contest as to see who could insult the other the worst. But the worst of the worst came after the election. Trump supporters were beaten in the streets by Clinton supporters. The insults increased and people were smeared just as much as the blood that was in the streets. Rioters looted and destroyed property because the election didn’t turn out the way that they wanted. Hatred reigned supreme. Over two months later, the day after Trump’s inauguration, the fires still burned as many women marched in the streets, dressed as their own perverted genitalia, holding signs spewing hate, rioting still, and cursing those who they had seen as a threat to their cause. But how can we call the mass murdering of unborn children a “cause”?

I was once a “metal head” and one of my favorite bands then was Tool. On one album they have a song called “Right in Two” and there is a lyric that has returned to my mind in these recent days:

Monkey killing monkey killing monkey.
Over pieces of the ground.
Silly monkeys give them thumbs.
They make a club.
And beat their brother, down.
How they survive so misguided is a mystery.

            How did we get here? Men exchanging sexual relations and vows with the like, women as well? Brother killing brother over political differences? Christians being persecuted over their beliefs that have been intact since the beginning of creation? Bullies bullying bullies over their differences of opinion? Crimson rivers flooding their banks? Eyes fixated upon darkness in lust? God in the grave and mankind upon the pedestal?

And society calls it good!

How did we, as the evolutionists would like to say, become like the Neanderthals?

Black vs. white vs. citizen vs. non-citizen vs. gay vs. straight vs. woman vs. man vs. family vs. urban vs. rural vs. upper class vs. middle class vs. lower class vs. veteran vs. pacifist vs. well off vs. welfare vs. you vs. me vs. America vs. everyone else vs. thugs vs. police vs. media vs. truth vs. common man vs. Hollywood vs. Christian vs. atheist vs. my rights vs. your rights….

Republican vs. Democrat…

Conservative vs. Liberal…

Trump vs. Clinton…

But…

THIS ISN’T ABOUT POLITICS.

It Is Finished

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” (John 19:30, KJV).

We have to ask ourselves this Resurrection Sunday, as with any day of our Christian lives, “what was finished”? We know that Jesus’ earthly ministry was done, as He had given up the ghost, or His spirit. But was it that simple? Many atheists and followers of other religions would surely like to think so. They would love to believe that Jesus was entombed and rotted away like the nice man that He was. But was He more?

…It is finished…

First, we should note, is that Satan’s reign was finished. In Genesis 3 God said to the serpent “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (3:15). Since man’s fall in the Garden of Eden it was prophesied throughout the Old Testament that there would be a Savior. Sin is the poison the Satan serves us. We are born in it (Psalm 51:5, Romans 3:23). And the wages of sin are death (Romans 6:23). So how can we be saved from this imminent death that is guaranteed to us, the sinner? “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10). If we believe that Jesus is the Christ and has indeed risen, and confess that we are a sinner in need of saving, and that only Christ can save (John 14:6), then we shall be saved from Satan’s “death grip”. “For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” (Romans 6:20-22). “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” (Romans 6:18). Lots of great theology in the book of Romans.

Second is that religion was finished. What? Isn’t Christianity a religion? It is classified as one, but it is really a faith that draws upon the work of the Holy Spirit and not a system of laws and rules in order to gain righteousness. In John 8 we find the scribes and Pharisees bringing a woman to Jesus who was caught in adultery. They said “Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?” (8:4-5). Jesus’ response was “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.” (8:7b-9). Jesus caused the self-righteous religious elite to turn their eyes inward. Their own system of laws that they strictly adhered to wasn’t enough to save them from their own sins. They had no choice but to drop each stone and walk away. Again, in Romans 6: “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” (6:14). However, it is important to remember “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (6:15-16, ESV).

Third is that any debate of Jesus’ deity was laid to rest. Notice it says that “he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost”. The Greek term for “gave up” is paradidōmi, which means to surrender or deliver. Typically, one does not involuntarily surrender or deliver something. It is done by choice. Jesus said “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” (John 10:17-18, emphasis mine). Jesus chose to die once His work was finished. Death did not defeat Him at the cross, He chose to draw His last breath. This leads us to…

…the resurrection. Notice in John 10:18 Jesus said “…and I have power to take it again.” Jesus made the decision to rise again. His earthly ministry was finished, but He was not. Satan was finished at the cross, as was death. Jesus also proved by His power that He was indeed who He said He was….

“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:13-17).

In Christ Alone.

The Family Tree of Jesus

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah,  and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations (Matthew 1:1-17).

If we are familiar with the gospel of Matthew, then we should also be familiar with the opening verses of scripture- the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:1-16). Matthew’s list is both extensive and intriguing. His list does differ greatly from the list that is found in Luke’s gospel (Luke 3:23-38). Let’s look at those differences starting first with Matthew’s version.

The first thing that I find intriguing is that there are four particular women found in Matthew’s list: Bathsheba (the wife of Uriah, v.6), Rahab, Ruth, and Tamar. First is Bathsheba. What makes her so intriguing in this list was that she was an adulteress. As we may remember, she too had relations with David and conceived while Uriah was at battle. She was just as guilty of adultery as David was for taking her (2 Samuel 11). Second is Rahab. She was a prostitute in a pagan land. She also hid spies from Israel who were spying on Jericho from the townspeople who were looking to capture them. The spies were successfully hidden and allowed to return to their people unharmed. Third is Ruth. She was a Moabite woman who had no ties to the chosen Israelites. She came from a nation of idolatry and no knowledge (or relationship) to Yahweh. Then we have Tamar. She, while grieving over the death of her husband(s) (who were the sons of Judah), decided to cover herself with a veil and approach Judah, her father-in-law. Judah had mistaken her to be a prostitute and they had “relations” and she conceived. What an interesting gal, that Tamar! What is interesting is what became of these women. The adulteress Bathsheba married David and eventually gave birth to Solomon and continued the royal line to the Messiah. She was forgiven her sin, and our long-suffering God did not destroy her for her sin. The immoral pagan prostitute Rahab and her family was spared death during the overtaking of Jericho because she helped out the spies. “But Rahab the prostitute and her father's household and all who belonged to her, Joshua saved alive. And she has lived in Israel to this day, because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.”(Joshua 6:25, ESV). Her offspring were also part of the lineage of the Savior. What became of Ruth other than having a book written about her? She, being a widow without a future, was “redeemed” by her husband Boaz, who married her and produced children into the Davidic line that leads to Christ. She had a choice to return home to her Moabite idols, but Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16). She was not just devoted and loyal to her mother-in-law, but also to Naomi’s God. She sought the God of Israel. Speaking of in-laws, what about Tamar who had a “thing” with her father-in-law? Her twins (particularly Perez) are part of that line of descendants to Jesus. The key word here is “redemption”. Bathsheba, Tamar, and Rahab were all forgiven their sins, and Ruth was forgiven her idolatrous background. They all were “grafted in” to the Israelite family and had a part in what the people were chosen for (see Romans 11:11-24). I believe this was a shadow of the grafting in of the Gentiles as God’s people (through Christ) and that was Matthew’s intent.

Both versions do include David, thus showing that Christ has a right to claim David’s throne. They also include Abraham, thus showing that Christ was also a Jew and not a Gentile and possibly showing the Jews that He is their promised Messiah through lineage.


The key differences are of course the names. “Matthew is following the line of Joseph (Jesus’ legal father), through David’s son Solomon, while Luke is following the line of Mary (Jesus’ blood relative), though David’s son Nathan. Through either line, Jesus is a descendant of David and therefore eligible to be the Messiah” (http://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-genealogy.html).

When God Came Down To Our Level

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14).

This past Thanksgiving weekend my family and I visited my mom, who lives over an hour away. As we were in her living room, she came running down the hallway shouting “Look out the window. Quick!” We peeked out the window and saw a crane standing by the creek. I am talking about the bird crane, by the way. Not the big construction crane. However, my boys would have been more than ecstatic to see the latter. Anyway, my mom, sons, and myself tip toed out the front door to take a peek at the sight. This thing was HUGE. It was probably as big as my six year old and its wingspan taller than me. My four year old, however, couldn’t see it. I kept telling him which direction to look, but he still had no idea in which direction to go. So I stooped down to his eye level and pointed my finger right before his eyes in the direction of the crane. About the time that he saw it, it flew off.

This event reminds me of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. For much of the Old Testament years the Israelites strayed and turned away from God. Then they came back. Then they strayed again and so on. From their grumbling and disbelief in the wilderness (Numbers 14), to their on and off idolatry during the times of the prophets, they were like sheep without a shepherd (Mark 6:34). They were being tossed to and fro in their theology (Ephesians 4:14). They were accustomed to pagan idolatry, seeing as this was what surrounded them constantly. This explains their demand to see a physical image of God that they could worship (the golden calf, Exodus 32). Then there was the “Intertestamental Period”. This was 400 years of silence, SILENCE! There were no revelations or prophecies from God. How deafening was this silence! How many generations passed who remembered the last of the prophets? All that was left were stories of what God did, and said, to their ancestors. Silence.

Then that silence was broken when John the Baptist came upon the scene and ushered in Jesus Christ. Jesus came to save us from our sins, but also to restore a new covenant with us that we may have a closer (and holier) walk with God. Through His example, we can know the nature of our God. We can know how to love. To love our neighbor. To love our Savior.

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian (Galatians 3:23-25). Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God (Romans 7:4). Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God (Romans 5:2).

My stooping down to my son’s level to point out to him what he wanted to see is much like God coming down to our level (veiled in the flesh of Christ) to show us what we needed to see- a saving faith.

In this the love of God was made manifest among us that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him (1 John 4:9).

Merry Christmas and God bless!