Leviticus 5:18
And he shall bring to the priest a ram without blemish from the flock, with your valuation, as a trespass offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him regarding his ignorance in which he erred and did not know it, and it shall be forgiven him.
In every passage, every word, every bit of punctuation found in the Bible, there is Jesus. The Old Testament is filled with hidden references to the King. From the obvious Melchizedek to the subtleties of manna raining down from Heaven; from the image of a sacrificial lamb to the very garments worn by the high priest; Jesus is in it all. This because He is all of it! He’s concealed in the wisdom of God’s law and provision for His people.
In the New Testament we find Christ revealed. Every word spoken by Christ prior to His crucifixion, was a perfect representation of living into and fulfilling the law given to Moses by God the Father. He never violated a single statute. He never missed a single requirement. He lived and taught, perfectly, under the law. He did what no man had ever been able to do. He completely fulfilled the requirements of a just and holy God.
In Leviticus God made it clear that even if a person was to sin unintentionally or unaware of the law, he was guilty of violating the law. We hold true to this basic principle even today in our justice system here in America. Ignorance of the law is not a valid defense. But even in ignorance, God provided a way for His people. He left a provision wherein the priest was to make atonement for a man who committed an offense in ignorance; that man would then be forgiven. It was still the responsibility of the offender to bring a ram, but the priest would make the sacrifice. The priest would make atonement for the sinner. For every other sin the offender would kill the sacrifice, but for the sin committed in ignorance the priest would make the offering.
Travel with me if you would back to the New Testament, where Jesus is about to die. He’s been nailed to a cross and lifted up between two criminals. It is at this point that He says, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34 Even though He was suffering and ready to die, Jesus remembered the law and the words of His Father. He remembered that they, the religious leaders who brought Him to Pilate, were ignorant of their sin. They were still guilty, but it was the High Priest’s responsibility to make atonement for them. In ignorance they denied that Christ was the Messiah. In ignorance, because they thought they were killing a troublemaker, they brought the sacrificial Ram to the altar. As the High Priest, Jesus made a request to the Father for their forgiveness, on their behalf. Shortly thereafter Jesus, acting as High Priest, gave up His Spirit and died.
At that point in time the sins of all mankind, past, present and future, were punished in His body. The premeditated crimes, the acts of passion, and the ignorant violations were all nailed to the cross with Jesus. We can now rejoice in the gift forgiveness and eternal life found only through Jesus Christ!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
What Truth are we speaking?
Ephesians 4:15
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
I’ve been putting some thought into this scripture lately and wondering: what does it mean to speak the truth in love? Churches, in general, interpret this scripture to mean that on an individual basis it’s okay to point out someone’s sins. It’s okay, as long as you’re lovingly telling them how screwed up they are!
This teaching isn’t even close to Biblical truth. Anytime we use scripture out of context we run the risk of inserting our humanness into it. In this letter to the Ephesians, written by Paul, he isn’t writing about how Jonny is a raging alcoholic, or Martha is cheating on Bill and someone needs to tell her. He was writing to the church in order to keep them on track from a doctrinal standpoint. He was warning them about false doctrines and deceitful plotting by the enemy who is constantly trying to infiltrate the church. This wasn’t an all-inclusive “okay” to call out a brother or sister in Christ because they are caught up in a sin or sinful scenario.
I look at it this way; no matter how “lovingly” you tell someone that they are doing something wrong, it cuts and stings them. I don’t care who you are or how you said it, it’s going to hurt and it’s going to leave a mark. Taking it upon ourselves to point out others’ flaws would be contrary to the teaching that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. (Romans 8:1)
This scripture wasn’t written for people to use in relationships as a “gotcha”. It was written to keep the church body on the right path; that is, speaking the Truth in love. This involves teaching the Gospel of Christ’s grace in a loving and caring manner; it’s not just with love towards the body, but with true love and adoration for the Creator, for God. Paul was instructing the church to teach Jesus with love for others and for God.
When Jesus spoke in Matthew 7, He said don’t judge. He said that you have no right to point out another person’s flaws when you are filled with flaws. The only One who has any right to judge or correct behavior is the Creator, the sinless Lamb, Jesus the Christ. As evidenced by His own teachings, Jesus didn’t come to condemn but to save. (John 3:17) As evidenced by His own actions, He wasn’t here to tell people their sins, but to administer grace. (John 8:11) So why would we assume that Paul has given us authority to condemn, so long as it’s lovingly? He hasn’t! He’s instructed the church to continue teaching the grace and forgiveness found through Jesus Christ. He’s instructed the church to stay true to the simplicity of Christ, and not get led astray by false doctrine, religious rules, or crafty speakers.
When a brother or sister is caught up in sin, we aren’t authorized to “lovingly” tell them to cut it out; we are simply authorized to tell them the Truth in love. We are to speak Jesus back into their lives with love. (Walk in the Spirit -that is Jesus- and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16) Once Christ is back at the center of their lives, the sin will stop. It has to, because the Bible says it will! “...you SHALL not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” There’s no choice. Christ’s influence and His influence alone will lead you away from sin.
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.
I’ve been putting some thought into this scripture lately and wondering: what does it mean to speak the truth in love? Churches, in general, interpret this scripture to mean that on an individual basis it’s okay to point out someone’s sins. It’s okay, as long as you’re lovingly telling them how screwed up they are!
This teaching isn’t even close to Biblical truth. Anytime we use scripture out of context we run the risk of inserting our humanness into it. In this letter to the Ephesians, written by Paul, he isn’t writing about how Jonny is a raging alcoholic, or Martha is cheating on Bill and someone needs to tell her. He was writing to the church in order to keep them on track from a doctrinal standpoint. He was warning them about false doctrines and deceitful plotting by the enemy who is constantly trying to infiltrate the church. This wasn’t an all-inclusive “okay” to call out a brother or sister in Christ because they are caught up in a sin or sinful scenario.
I look at it this way; no matter how “lovingly” you tell someone that they are doing something wrong, it cuts and stings them. I don’t care who you are or how you said it, it’s going to hurt and it’s going to leave a mark. Taking it upon ourselves to point out others’ flaws would be contrary to the teaching that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. (Romans 8:1)
This scripture wasn’t written for people to use in relationships as a “gotcha”. It was written to keep the church body on the right path; that is, speaking the Truth in love. This involves teaching the Gospel of Christ’s grace in a loving and caring manner; it’s not just with love towards the body, but with true love and adoration for the Creator, for God. Paul was instructing the church to teach Jesus with love for others and for God.
When Jesus spoke in Matthew 7, He said don’t judge. He said that you have no right to point out another person’s flaws when you are filled with flaws. The only One who has any right to judge or correct behavior is the Creator, the sinless Lamb, Jesus the Christ. As evidenced by His own teachings, Jesus didn’t come to condemn but to save. (John 3:17) As evidenced by His own actions, He wasn’t here to tell people their sins, but to administer grace. (John 8:11) So why would we assume that Paul has given us authority to condemn, so long as it’s lovingly? He hasn’t! He’s instructed the church to continue teaching the grace and forgiveness found through Jesus Christ. He’s instructed the church to stay true to the simplicity of Christ, and not get led astray by false doctrine, religious rules, or crafty speakers.
When a brother or sister is caught up in sin, we aren’t authorized to “lovingly” tell them to cut it out; we are simply authorized to tell them the Truth in love. We are to speak Jesus back into their lives with love. (Walk in the Spirit -that is Jesus- and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16) Once Christ is back at the center of their lives, the sin will stop. It has to, because the Bible says it will! “...you SHALL not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” There’s no choice. Christ’s influence and His influence alone will lead you away from sin.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
"Time to make the donuts."
Exodus 16:14
And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground.
The people slept; God provided. While they were safe and warm in their tents at night, sleeping and dreaming, God was working. He was preparing them breakfast. Like the guy in the old Dunkin’ Donuts commercial, God was preparing a tasty treat for the people, one that would be ready to eat as soon as they woke up.
It’s interesting that God would choose to rain down His manna, His bread, at night. Even more interesting is that He would have it fall on the ground outside of the Israelites’ tents. Why not just supernaturally fill up the containers where they sat inside the tent? It was important to God that, while there was no work done by the people to make the bread or receive the bread, they would have to physically come out to gather the bread. In the dark of night, while they were resting, God was working to provide nourishment for them. He would set the bread outside of their doors, ready for collection. All they had to do was step out of their tents and there it was.
Inside their tents was a closed off little world. They found safety and security in the arms of their loved ones at night. They could find solace during the day. Perhaps they would go inside the tent to hide from the perils of life. Who knows? However you look at it, God wanted them to step out of their comfort zone in order to receive His blessings: in this case, bread!
Today, we have our own little tents that we live in. Sure, we have our houses, but what about our hearts and our minds? We have drugs, alcohol, anger, body image, guilt, regret, sexual sin, and so much more. All of these things, while deadly to our lives and our families, seem to bring us comfort. We feel secure in our addictions. But God wants us to come out to receive His blessings. Open the doors and step out of what we think is comfortable into the light, where He has laid out His Bread of Life for us to gather up. We can gather as much as we need. Daily, just like the Israelites, He provides for us the exact amount that we’ll need. All we have to do is collect it. No kneading dough, no hot ovens, just pick it up and eat it. When we go to get our daily Bread, it will never be too much or too little, always the right amount. (Exodus 16:17-18 “The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.” )
Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life, was born at night. He came to earth while everyone else was sleeping. There was no work done by any one person in convincing God to come to earth. He chose to come while everyone was asleep (i.e., no work was being done) to illustrate that works are futile. In the dark of night, while the people were in their houses, Jesus was born. He was born in a stable, outside. For whatever reason, there was no room at the inn that night. The Bread of Life came down and was laid outside in a manger. When the world woke up the next morning they found that God had provided Bread from heaven that would give them eternal nourishment. His name is Jesus.
And when the layer of dew lifted, there, on the surface of the wilderness, was a small round substance, as fine as frost on the ground.
The people slept; God provided. While they were safe and warm in their tents at night, sleeping and dreaming, God was working. He was preparing them breakfast. Like the guy in the old Dunkin’ Donuts commercial, God was preparing a tasty treat for the people, one that would be ready to eat as soon as they woke up.
It’s interesting that God would choose to rain down His manna, His bread, at night. Even more interesting is that He would have it fall on the ground outside of the Israelites’ tents. Why not just supernaturally fill up the containers where they sat inside the tent? It was important to God that, while there was no work done by the people to make the bread or receive the bread, they would have to physically come out to gather the bread. In the dark of night, while they were resting, God was working to provide nourishment for them. He would set the bread outside of their doors, ready for collection. All they had to do was step out of their tents and there it was.
Inside their tents was a closed off little world. They found safety and security in the arms of their loved ones at night. They could find solace during the day. Perhaps they would go inside the tent to hide from the perils of life. Who knows? However you look at it, God wanted them to step out of their comfort zone in order to receive His blessings: in this case, bread!
Today, we have our own little tents that we live in. Sure, we have our houses, but what about our hearts and our minds? We have drugs, alcohol, anger, body image, guilt, regret, sexual sin, and so much more. All of these things, while deadly to our lives and our families, seem to bring us comfort. We feel secure in our addictions. But God wants us to come out to receive His blessings. Open the doors and step out of what we think is comfortable into the light, where He has laid out His Bread of Life for us to gather up. We can gather as much as we need. Daily, just like the Israelites, He provides for us the exact amount that we’ll need. All we have to do is collect it. No kneading dough, no hot ovens, just pick it up and eat it. When we go to get our daily Bread, it will never be too much or too little, always the right amount. (Exodus 16:17-18 “The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.” )
Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life, was born at night. He came to earth while everyone else was sleeping. There was no work done by any one person in convincing God to come to earth. He chose to come while everyone was asleep (i.e., no work was being done) to illustrate that works are futile. In the dark of night, while the people were in their houses, Jesus was born. He was born in a stable, outside. For whatever reason, there was no room at the inn that night. The Bread of Life came down and was laid outside in a manger. When the world woke up the next morning they found that God had provided Bread from heaven that would give them eternal nourishment. His name is Jesus.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Grace Filled
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
Are you religious? Are you worshiping God along with everyone else in your house? Are you giving to the poor and praying to God, always? Are you like the man, Cornelius, found in Acts 10? This was a Roman man living under Jewish Law. He was a man who saw and recognized the power and authority of God and chose to live according to His statutes and requirements. He submitted his family and his entire household to the requirements of the Law, and Acts 10 goes on to tell us that God heard him when he prayed.
This man, Cornelius was a Gentile, a Roman, who had made a choice to live according to the religious law of the Jewish people. He desired a right relationship with God, the Creator of all, and was willing to alter his lifestyle to fulfill any requirement that would bring him closer to Him. As a result of his desire to draw close to a holy God, Cornelius was visited by an Angel who told him to send out some men to get Peter.
Then there was Peter, the rock as Jesus called him. Peter, who had been a man who embraced the law as well, but who had the blessing of knowing the Man of Grace, the Lord Jesus Christ and understanding the New Covenant. Peter also got a supernatural gift. He was blessed with a dream in which God showed him all kinds of animals, birds, and reptiles. It was a dream in which God told Peter, through the Jewish Law, that it’s okay to preach to Gentiles as well as to Jewish people. God told Peter that nothing was unclean that He had made; not food, and certainly not people.
So Peter went to the house of Cornelius and told him and his family about Jesus. He gave them a gospel lesson, telling them about Christ and His miracles, His death, and His resurrection. The Bible tells us that while Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit came into the house and filled everyone there, Jew and Gentile alike. Everyone who heard the name of Jesus, and the gift of His Grace proclaimed, was filled with the Holy Spirit.
While there were blessings to be had by Cornelius and his household for practicing God’s law and living into a lifestyle of do good-get good, there was something even greater to be brought to them by understanding the gift of God’s grace. Cornelius was blessed that day with a new understanding that it’s not through the law that we receive God’s ultimate blessings, but through His grace.
Incidentally, Cornelius means strong willed, full of desire. Peter means rock. Some say that Peter’s name and his personality is a representation of the Law, the Ten Commandments. So here was a man, full of desire to fulfill the law, to be close to God, and there was God, wanting desperately to reveal His true gracious self to him. So He sent Peter, a representative of the Law, to fill the longing desire in Cornelius’ heart with the grace and forgiveness that can only be found in the redemptive blood of Jesus Christ.
Today I ask; are you fulfilling some law, some duty to God in order to gain His favor? Are you trying to draw near and impress Him with your works and your deeds? He loves you through that, but not because of that. Stop for a moment and realize that Jesus’ grace is all you need. His grace is greater in glory and blessings than works and deeds can ever be. And because we are clothed with His righteousness, His perfect fulfillment of the law, there is NOTHING we can do to achieve a greater blessing.
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
Are you religious? Are you worshiping God along with everyone else in your house? Are you giving to the poor and praying to God, always? Are you like the man, Cornelius, found in Acts 10? This was a Roman man living under Jewish Law. He was a man who saw and recognized the power and authority of God and chose to live according to His statutes and requirements. He submitted his family and his entire household to the requirements of the Law, and Acts 10 goes on to tell us that God heard him when he prayed.
This man, Cornelius was a Gentile, a Roman, who had made a choice to live according to the religious law of the Jewish people. He desired a right relationship with God, the Creator of all, and was willing to alter his lifestyle to fulfill any requirement that would bring him closer to Him. As a result of his desire to draw close to a holy God, Cornelius was visited by an Angel who told him to send out some men to get Peter.
Then there was Peter, the rock as Jesus called him. Peter, who had been a man who embraced the law as well, but who had the blessing of knowing the Man of Grace, the Lord Jesus Christ and understanding the New Covenant. Peter also got a supernatural gift. He was blessed with a dream in which God showed him all kinds of animals, birds, and reptiles. It was a dream in which God told Peter, through the Jewish Law, that it’s okay to preach to Gentiles as well as to Jewish people. God told Peter that nothing was unclean that He had made; not food, and certainly not people.
So Peter went to the house of Cornelius and told him and his family about Jesus. He gave them a gospel lesson, telling them about Christ and His miracles, His death, and His resurrection. The Bible tells us that while Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit came into the house and filled everyone there, Jew and Gentile alike. Everyone who heard the name of Jesus, and the gift of His Grace proclaimed, was filled with the Holy Spirit.
While there were blessings to be had by Cornelius and his household for practicing God’s law and living into a lifestyle of do good-get good, there was something even greater to be brought to them by understanding the gift of God’s grace. Cornelius was blessed that day with a new understanding that it’s not through the law that we receive God’s ultimate blessings, but through His grace.
Incidentally, Cornelius means strong willed, full of desire. Peter means rock. Some say that Peter’s name and his personality is a representation of the Law, the Ten Commandments. So here was a man, full of desire to fulfill the law, to be close to God, and there was God, wanting desperately to reveal His true gracious self to him. So He sent Peter, a representative of the Law, to fill the longing desire in Cornelius’ heart with the grace and forgiveness that can only be found in the redemptive blood of Jesus Christ.
Today I ask; are you fulfilling some law, some duty to God in order to gain His favor? Are you trying to draw near and impress Him with your works and your deeds? He loves you through that, but not because of that. Stop for a moment and realize that Jesus’ grace is all you need. His grace is greater in glory and blessings than works and deeds can ever be. And because we are clothed with His righteousness, His perfect fulfillment of the law, there is NOTHING we can do to achieve a greater blessing.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Lamb of God
Luke 2:7
7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
Because Caesar Augustus had ordered a census, everyone was going back to their home town. The houses were filled with families. The inns were filled with people from all around. By the time Joseph and his very pregnant Mary arrived there was no place left for them to stay. Since there were no rooms available at any of the inns, they stayed in a stable. A barn, that’s where the Son of God would have to be born.
I’ve been thinking this through, and these are the questions that I have. Was Jesus born in a stable because there was no room at the inn? Or, was there no room at the inn because Jesus had to be born in a stable?
I’ve heard the first question before and the answer given was true, to a degree. If I might explain. It’s been said that Jesus was born in a stable to show that He’d taken on the lowliest of positions. He wasn’t born into luxury, but He became the least of all men. He submitted Himself to poverty, to nothing, so that we could live our lives based on His example. His birth in a stable was to show us that we must be willing to step down, to be humble, to submit to authority, to surrender all of our luxuries, in order to gain the blessings and the richness that God has prepared for us.
Yes, Jesus did do all of those things, but not so that we would have to do the same in order to gain favor in the eyes of God the Father. In some cases, we may be required to submit to authority, to give up our luxuries, to humble ourselves, to surrender our riches, but not to gain favor or blessings. We are called to do those things because God has already given us all that we’ll need to get through tough times, not so that we’ll get a blessing through tough times.
Now, the second question. I think this question leads more towards the real reason Jesus was born in a stable and not in an inn. I’ve never heard this preached before, and maybe this idea is a stretch. Could it be that God, before there was time, planned to have Caesar call for a census not just for the sake of bringing Mary to Bethlehem to fulfill the words of the Prophets, but for something even greater? Could it be that God was hiding a small secret in the very birth story of His Son? A prophecy of sorts? I think yes. I believe that there was no room at the inn because Jesus had to be born in a stable. Where else would a Lamb be born?
John 1:29 refers to Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” It’s symbolism, I know. But if we believe that Jesus did fulfill all of the Law, all of the sacrificial requirements, then how hard would it be to think that, as a Lamb, He had to be born in a stable. How many lambs have been born in houses or hotels or inns? There is more to the story of Jesus being born lowly and poor in a barn in Bethlehem then just a cute Christmas play. There are things hidden in scripture that the Spirit longs to reveal to mankind about the King of Kings. The Lamb of God was born in a stable where lambs ought to be born. The Bread of Life was laid in a manger, where grain is put out for consumption.
7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
Because Caesar Augustus had ordered a census, everyone was going back to their home town. The houses were filled with families. The inns were filled with people from all around. By the time Joseph and his very pregnant Mary arrived there was no place left for them to stay. Since there were no rooms available at any of the inns, they stayed in a stable. A barn, that’s where the Son of God would have to be born.
I’ve been thinking this through, and these are the questions that I have. Was Jesus born in a stable because there was no room at the inn? Or, was there no room at the inn because Jesus had to be born in a stable?
I’ve heard the first question before and the answer given was true, to a degree. If I might explain. It’s been said that Jesus was born in a stable to show that He’d taken on the lowliest of positions. He wasn’t born into luxury, but He became the least of all men. He submitted Himself to poverty, to nothing, so that we could live our lives based on His example. His birth in a stable was to show us that we must be willing to step down, to be humble, to submit to authority, to surrender all of our luxuries, in order to gain the blessings and the richness that God has prepared for us.
Yes, Jesus did do all of those things, but not so that we would have to do the same in order to gain favor in the eyes of God the Father. In some cases, we may be required to submit to authority, to give up our luxuries, to humble ourselves, to surrender our riches, but not to gain favor or blessings. We are called to do those things because God has already given us all that we’ll need to get through tough times, not so that we’ll get a blessing through tough times.
Now, the second question. I think this question leads more towards the real reason Jesus was born in a stable and not in an inn. I’ve never heard this preached before, and maybe this idea is a stretch. Could it be that God, before there was time, planned to have Caesar call for a census not just for the sake of bringing Mary to Bethlehem to fulfill the words of the Prophets, but for something even greater? Could it be that God was hiding a small secret in the very birth story of His Son? A prophecy of sorts? I think yes. I believe that there was no room at the inn because Jesus had to be born in a stable. Where else would a Lamb be born?
John 1:29 refers to Jesus as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” It’s symbolism, I know. But if we believe that Jesus did fulfill all of the Law, all of the sacrificial requirements, then how hard would it be to think that, as a Lamb, He had to be born in a stable. How many lambs have been born in houses or hotels or inns? There is more to the story of Jesus being born lowly and poor in a barn in Bethlehem then just a cute Christmas play. There are things hidden in scripture that the Spirit longs to reveal to mankind about the King of Kings. The Lamb of God was born in a stable where lambs ought to be born. The Bread of Life was laid in a manger, where grain is put out for consumption.
If
Leviticus 1:1-2
1 The LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting. He said, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When anyone among you brings an offering to the LORD, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.
The Law was given so that we could be reconciled through our offerings to God. It was strict and precise. It was daily and it was mandatory. It was demanding. But I realized something: even in the Law, Grace abounds.
God, in all of His infinite wisdom, even managed to work the Grace that would be fully manifested in and through Jesus Christ into the giving of His sacrificial law. I realized this the other morning while reading the first chapter of Leviticus. I’ve read Leviticus before, and usually thought, “Huh, that was.....um...interesting.” But, since discovering that the Old Testament is about Jesus concealed and the New Testament about Jesus revealed, the Bible has taken on new meaning.
I’ve always read in the past about the bull, the goat, the sheep, and the birds that were to be offered and thought about how much blood must have been around the temple. I’d wondered about the sheer number of animals that were sacrificed and the work that the people had to put into making those sacrifices on a daily basis. But I never thought about God’s provision in dictating what should be sacrificed.
There is one word that jumped out to me over and over again as I read through this first chapter in Leviticus. That word is “if”. “If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd....” Leviticus 1:3 “If the offering is a burnt offering from the flock.....” Leviticus 1:10 “If the offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of birds....” Leviticus 1:14 Why all the “if’s”? Then it hit me, God was making a provision, through Grace, for each individual regardless of economic status or community stature. While His Law is demanding, He showed Grace in making it demanding on a individual level so that every person would have an opportunity for atonement.
How much more glorious an opportunity do we have now to experience His grace through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ! God, in His perfect justice system, made it possible to reconcile the sinner to Him based on the blood of a bull, a goat, or a bird. How much more blessed we are today, that He decided to make Himself the sacrifice! He’s taken away all of the “if’s” that existed before and the work that went along with them and replaced them with Jesus’ free gift.
1 The LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting. He said, 2 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When anyone among you brings an offering to the LORD, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock.
The Law was given so that we could be reconciled through our offerings to God. It was strict and precise. It was daily and it was mandatory. It was demanding. But I realized something: even in the Law, Grace abounds.
God, in all of His infinite wisdom, even managed to work the Grace that would be fully manifested in and through Jesus Christ into the giving of His sacrificial law. I realized this the other morning while reading the first chapter of Leviticus. I’ve read Leviticus before, and usually thought, “Huh, that was.....um...interesting.” But, since discovering that the Old Testament is about Jesus concealed and the New Testament about Jesus revealed, the Bible has taken on new meaning.
I’ve always read in the past about the bull, the goat, the sheep, and the birds that were to be offered and thought about how much blood must have been around the temple. I’d wondered about the sheer number of animals that were sacrificed and the work that the people had to put into making those sacrifices on a daily basis. But I never thought about God’s provision in dictating what should be sacrificed.
There is one word that jumped out to me over and over again as I read through this first chapter in Leviticus. That word is “if”. “If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd....” Leviticus 1:3 “If the offering is a burnt offering from the flock.....” Leviticus 1:10 “If the offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of birds....” Leviticus 1:14 Why all the “if’s”? Then it hit me, God was making a provision, through Grace, for each individual regardless of economic status or community stature. While His Law is demanding, He showed Grace in making it demanding on a individual level so that every person would have an opportunity for atonement.
How much more glorious an opportunity do we have now to experience His grace through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ! God, in His perfect justice system, made it possible to reconcile the sinner to Him based on the blood of a bull, a goat, or a bird. How much more blessed we are today, that He decided to make Himself the sacrifice! He’s taken away all of the “if’s” that existed before and the work that went along with them and replaced them with Jesus’ free gift.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Do you hear what I hear?
Matthew 27:25
And all the people answered, Let His blood be on us and on our children!
It’s funny how sometimes the things we say have different meanings to the people to whom we are speaking than what we intended. We may inadvertently offend a person or a culture just by saying something that we think is completely harmless. We may ask for something and get exactly what we asked for, only not at all what we asked for. What?
Take this story from my wife, Maggie. When we moved to North Carolina from Vermont she had to get a job as a waitress at IHOP. On her first night, someone came in and ordered tea to drink. Being a northerner, Maggie went and poured the person a cup of hot tea and returned to the table. When she put it down, the customer exclaimed, “What is that? I ordered tea!” Maggie replied, “That is tea.” What she didn’t realize was that in North Carolina, unlike in Vermont, when someone orders tea, they want a tall glass of sweet, ICED tea. Because these two people were from two completely different areas of the United States, a simple “tea” had two different meanings.
The same holds true for what happened in Matthew 27. The Jewish leaders had brought Jesus before Pilate to be crucified. Pilate, however, after talking with Jesus was ready to release Him back to the crowd, finding no fault with Him. But the people wanted Him dead. Imagine Jesus and Pilate standing side by side, and these famous words come to rest on their ears, “Let His blood be on us and on our children!” Pilate, being from Rome, heard one thing. But Jesus, being from Heaven, heard something completely different. Pilate and Jesus both chose to give the people what they had requested.
Pilate, being of this world, answered as we have all been taught; He handed Jesus over to be crucified. He responded in a human way to what we have all assumed to be a human statement. Jesus, who came from Heaven, answered in a spiritual way. What the people shouted as a statement of rebellion against their Messiah, Jesus answered as a prayer request, because He is the Messiah. Instead of hearing what Pilate heard, Jesus, in my opinion, heard the crowd say, “God, let His blood be on us and our children!” It was a request for the ultimate atoning sacrifice, not a request for blame!
Just like the story of Joseph in the Old Testament, everything that they meant for harm, God used for good. The people cried out for the blood of Jesus to be upon them, that they be held liable for His death. God, in His infinite grace, chose to hear their speech and thoughts as a request for redemption. In hearing their cries through His grace, God allowed His only Son to be crucified, and fulfilled their every desire, whether they realized it or not.
The blood of Christ is now upon them and their children. It’s on us and our children. It’s washed clean the sins of the world, past, present, and future. The Sacrifice was once for all men for all time.(1 Peter 3:18) Now it’s just a matter of accepting the gift.
And all the people answered, Let His blood be on us and on our children!
It’s funny how sometimes the things we say have different meanings to the people to whom we are speaking than what we intended. We may inadvertently offend a person or a culture just by saying something that we think is completely harmless. We may ask for something and get exactly what we asked for, only not at all what we asked for. What?
Take this story from my wife, Maggie. When we moved to North Carolina from Vermont she had to get a job as a waitress at IHOP. On her first night, someone came in and ordered tea to drink. Being a northerner, Maggie went and poured the person a cup of hot tea and returned to the table. When she put it down, the customer exclaimed, “What is that? I ordered tea!” Maggie replied, “That is tea.” What she didn’t realize was that in North Carolina, unlike in Vermont, when someone orders tea, they want a tall glass of sweet, ICED tea. Because these two people were from two completely different areas of the United States, a simple “tea” had two different meanings.
The same holds true for what happened in Matthew 27. The Jewish leaders had brought Jesus before Pilate to be crucified. Pilate, however, after talking with Jesus was ready to release Him back to the crowd, finding no fault with Him. But the people wanted Him dead. Imagine Jesus and Pilate standing side by side, and these famous words come to rest on their ears, “Let His blood be on us and on our children!” Pilate, being from Rome, heard one thing. But Jesus, being from Heaven, heard something completely different. Pilate and Jesus both chose to give the people what they had requested.
Pilate, being of this world, answered as we have all been taught; He handed Jesus over to be crucified. He responded in a human way to what we have all assumed to be a human statement. Jesus, who came from Heaven, answered in a spiritual way. What the people shouted as a statement of rebellion against their Messiah, Jesus answered as a prayer request, because He is the Messiah. Instead of hearing what Pilate heard, Jesus, in my opinion, heard the crowd say, “God, let His blood be on us and our children!” It was a request for the ultimate atoning sacrifice, not a request for blame!
Just like the story of Joseph in the Old Testament, everything that they meant for harm, God used for good. The people cried out for the blood of Jesus to be upon them, that they be held liable for His death. God, in His infinite grace, chose to hear their speech and thoughts as a request for redemption. In hearing their cries through His grace, God allowed His only Son to be crucified, and fulfilled their every desire, whether they realized it or not.
The blood of Christ is now upon them and their children. It’s on us and our children. It’s washed clean the sins of the world, past, present, and future. The Sacrifice was once for all men for all time.(1 Peter 3:18) Now it’s just a matter of accepting the gift.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Meditation
Joshua 1:8
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Well, there’s a promise to grab onto! Meditate in the Word day and night and it will make your way prosperous and you will have good success. What is meditation? Is this some ritual where we sit in silence and ponder what the Word of God says? To a degree, yes, but it is much more then that. The word “meditate” comes from the Hebrew word “hagah” which means to ponder, imagine, groan, roar, and speak.
Surely that shines a new light on how we are to meditate in the Word both day and night. It’s not simply a matter of reading it and sitting quietly pondering what mystery God has hidden deep in the text; we are to be saying it, declaring it, and consuming it throughout the course of our days.
Have you ever said something, and then said it again with a different emphasis on a different syllable? Have you ever phrased a sentence and then said it in a completely different way, accenting different words? My father-in-law used to say, “I held her but for a moment.” Then he would say, “I held her but for a moment.” There’s a difference, right? It’s all in how you say it. The inflection you use, the pauses you create, have the ability to change the entire meaning of what is being said. This holds true for God’s word. While reading it silently may yield a revelation, speaking the same verse out loud may change the meaning entirely.
Yesterday I heard a preacher quote Genesis 22:8 “And Abraham said, ‘My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering’: so they went both of them together.” I heard it exactly how it is written here with an implied “for” between the words “provide himself”. Then, I spoke the same verse out loud to myself. Something completely different came out of my mouth than what I just heard on the TV. I said, “And Abraham said, ‘My son, God will provide Himself, a Lamb, for a burnt offering’: so they went both of them together.”
Instead of hearing God providing for himself a lamb, I heard God will provide Himself to be the Lamb. Both times I heard the truth, but it was only when I spoke the Word out loud that the full Truth was revealed.
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Well, there’s a promise to grab onto! Meditate in the Word day and night and it will make your way prosperous and you will have good success. What is meditation? Is this some ritual where we sit in silence and ponder what the Word of God says? To a degree, yes, but it is much more then that. The word “meditate” comes from the Hebrew word “hagah” which means to ponder, imagine, groan, roar, and speak.
Surely that shines a new light on how we are to meditate in the Word both day and night. It’s not simply a matter of reading it and sitting quietly pondering what mystery God has hidden deep in the text; we are to be saying it, declaring it, and consuming it throughout the course of our days.
Have you ever said something, and then said it again with a different emphasis on a different syllable? Have you ever phrased a sentence and then said it in a completely different way, accenting different words? My father-in-law used to say, “I held her but for a moment.” Then he would say, “I held her but for a moment.” There’s a difference, right? It’s all in how you say it. The inflection you use, the pauses you create, have the ability to change the entire meaning of what is being said. This holds true for God’s word. While reading it silently may yield a revelation, speaking the same verse out loud may change the meaning entirely.
Yesterday I heard a preacher quote Genesis 22:8 “And Abraham said, ‘My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering’: so they went both of them together.” I heard it exactly how it is written here with an implied “for” between the words “provide himself”. Then, I spoke the same verse out loud to myself. Something completely different came out of my mouth than what I just heard on the TV. I said, “And Abraham said, ‘My son, God will provide Himself, a Lamb, for a burnt offering’: so they went both of them together.”
Instead of hearing God providing for himself a lamb, I heard God will provide Himself to be the Lamb. Both times I heard the truth, but it was only when I spoke the Word out loud that the full Truth was revealed.
Friday, December 3, 2010
The WAY in a manger?
Luke 2:7
7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
It’s not all that hard to find Jesus Christ in the Christmas story. I took a stab at it, and lo and behold, there He was in second chapter of Luke. So I decided to find His crucifixion in the Christmas story. Somewhere in this beautiful account of the Savior of mankind being born an innocent baby has to be a pointer, an arrow that directs us toward His ultimate sacrifice.
I’ve often heard people ask the question, “If Jesus was God, did He know what was going to happen even when He was a baby?” The first problem with this question is “if”. Asking “if” implies that there is a possibility that He isn’t God. So I’ll address that first. Yes, Jesus is God. Now, on to the second half of the question. Since the answer to the “if” question was yes, then it stands that the answer to the second half would have to be yes as well. Since Jesus is God, then He knows what is going to happen to Him in the future.
Now that we’ve established Jesus is God and He knows His future, even as a baby, we come back to the first question, which has now become the third question: is there a hidden pointer to the crucifixion in the birth story of Jesus? Of course I believe the answer is yes. But what is the pointer? For that, a vocabulary lesson.
The New Testament was written in Greek. The Greek word for swaddling is sparganoo, from the root word sparganon, which means “to strap or wrap with strips....to confine movement”. The next word is manger, translated from the Greek word phatne, meaning a feeding trough or stall. What was the purpose of a manger? It was a place where food was laid out by the shepherd for the flock to come and eat.
Now I can tie this all together for you. Baby Jesus’ entire body was wrapped in strips of fabric, restricting His movement and keeping Him safe. Later in life, Jesus was whipped with strips of leather that wrapped around His entire body while His movement was restricted. Baby Jesus was laid down in a manger made of wood to rest. Jesus, the Christ, was laid on a cross made of wood to give us rest. Finally there is His placement in the manger. Obviously this was a busy time in Bethlehem, so surely we can assume there were a lot of animals in town as well. Somehow, however, Mary and Joseph managed to find a manger that was empty and they filled it with this baby. The ultimate importance of this story is Jesus being placed in a basket where food goes. Later, during the Last Supper, He refers to Himself as the Bread and tells His disciples to eat.
Jesus didn’t come just to be the food, but also to be the shepherd. His words, not mine! (paraphrased) Not only does He want us to eat freely, but He continually lays out more for us. Every day we go to Jesus the richness of His glory supplies us nourishment. Every time we wake up hungry, He is our supply and our supplier. Jesus, through His death and resurrection, became the freely offered food for us, His flock. He took our sins, our faults, and our curses with Him to the cross, and in exchange He gave us His grace, riches, and righteousness. He knew, even as a baby, that He would die to restore our relationship. He designed even His birth story to show the magnitude of His grace and the abundance of His sacrifice.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
It’s not all that hard to find Jesus Christ in the Christmas story. I took a stab at it, and lo and behold, there He was in second chapter of Luke. So I decided to find His crucifixion in the Christmas story. Somewhere in this beautiful account of the Savior of mankind being born an innocent baby has to be a pointer, an arrow that directs us toward His ultimate sacrifice.
I’ve often heard people ask the question, “If Jesus was God, did He know what was going to happen even when He was a baby?” The first problem with this question is “if”. Asking “if” implies that there is a possibility that He isn’t God. So I’ll address that first. Yes, Jesus is God. Now, on to the second half of the question. Since the answer to the “if” question was yes, then it stands that the answer to the second half would have to be yes as well. Since Jesus is God, then He knows what is going to happen to Him in the future.
Now that we’ve established Jesus is God and He knows His future, even as a baby, we come back to the first question, which has now become the third question: is there a hidden pointer to the crucifixion in the birth story of Jesus? Of course I believe the answer is yes. But what is the pointer? For that, a vocabulary lesson.
The New Testament was written in Greek. The Greek word for swaddling is sparganoo, from the root word sparganon, which means “to strap or wrap with strips....to confine movement”. The next word is manger, translated from the Greek word phatne, meaning a feeding trough or stall. What was the purpose of a manger? It was a place where food was laid out by the shepherd for the flock to come and eat.
Now I can tie this all together for you. Baby Jesus’ entire body was wrapped in strips of fabric, restricting His movement and keeping Him safe. Later in life, Jesus was whipped with strips of leather that wrapped around His entire body while His movement was restricted. Baby Jesus was laid down in a manger made of wood to rest. Jesus, the Christ, was laid on a cross made of wood to give us rest. Finally there is His placement in the manger. Obviously this was a busy time in Bethlehem, so surely we can assume there were a lot of animals in town as well. Somehow, however, Mary and Joseph managed to find a manger that was empty and they filled it with this baby. The ultimate importance of this story is Jesus being placed in a basket where food goes. Later, during the Last Supper, He refers to Himself as the Bread and tells His disciples to eat.
Jesus didn’t come just to be the food, but also to be the shepherd. His words, not mine! (paraphrased) Not only does He want us to eat freely, but He continually lays out more for us. Every day we go to Jesus the richness of His glory supplies us nourishment. Every time we wake up hungry, He is our supply and our supplier. Jesus, through His death and resurrection, became the freely offered food for us, His flock. He took our sins, our faults, and our curses with Him to the cross, and in exchange He gave us His grace, riches, and righteousness. He knew, even as a baby, that He would die to restore our relationship. He designed even His birth story to show the magnitude of His grace and the abundance of His sacrifice.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Breaking the Law
Exodus 32:19
19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.
Anger. It’s something with which I personally struggle. It may be something that you wrestle with as well. There are different types and degrees of anger. There is good anger and evil anger. I think the context of any given situation and the reason for the anger is what ultimately determines its validity.
In the case of Moses, this was a righteous anger. This was a holy agitation that welled up deep within him as he came down the mountain. Moses had just been face to face with God Almighty and had been given a strict set of rules for all of mankind to keep. He had spoken with the Creator. He witnessed Him (God) form tablets of stone and engrave with His finger the rules for righteousness, the Ten Commandments. The very first rule, the primary and most important rule, was to not make an idol or other god and worship it. More than that, God specifically told Moses, “I AM the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me!” Exodus 20:2-3 But what did he find as he came down the mountain? Not only had they made false gods, but they gave their gods the credit for the Exodus!
So what of it; where’s the parallel? Moses’ anger was, in essence, God’s anger. He was acting on behalf of the Creator. I’m sure we can all relate to taking up a fight or cause on the behalf of another. Well, the same was true for Moses. Moses burned with righteous anger towards the people of Israel. He was enraged and he threw the stone tablets down. He broke God’s perfect written word. After just playing mediator between God and Israel on the top of the mountain, he came down to find the entire nation acting like fools! Moses quickly gathered together a group of men who were for the Lord and they killed about 3000 people that day.
God in heaven is just and holy. He knows, as He did in the days of Moses, exactly what we are doing all the time. But we have a mediator, too. His name is Jesus. Long before coming to earth, He spoke to the Father on our behalf. Then He came, not to carry the law for condemnation, but to fulfill it. And just like Moses’ anger needed an outlet, so to did that of a just and holy God. So He, the Father, focused His anger on the law as well. This time instead of breaking rocks that had the word written in them, He broke His only Son who is the Word. Through God’s outpouring of wrath and anger on Jesus, through His breaking of the Law, we now have unmerited righteousness in the eyes of the Father.
19 When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain.
Anger. It’s something with which I personally struggle. It may be something that you wrestle with as well. There are different types and degrees of anger. There is good anger and evil anger. I think the context of any given situation and the reason for the anger is what ultimately determines its validity.
In the case of Moses, this was a righteous anger. This was a holy agitation that welled up deep within him as he came down the mountain. Moses had just been face to face with God Almighty and had been given a strict set of rules for all of mankind to keep. He had spoken with the Creator. He witnessed Him (God) form tablets of stone and engrave with His finger the rules for righteousness, the Ten Commandments. The very first rule, the primary and most important rule, was to not make an idol or other god and worship it. More than that, God specifically told Moses, “I AM the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me!” Exodus 20:2-3 But what did he find as he came down the mountain? Not only had they made false gods, but they gave their gods the credit for the Exodus!
So what of it; where’s the parallel? Moses’ anger was, in essence, God’s anger. He was acting on behalf of the Creator. I’m sure we can all relate to taking up a fight or cause on the behalf of another. Well, the same was true for Moses. Moses burned with righteous anger towards the people of Israel. He was enraged and he threw the stone tablets down. He broke God’s perfect written word. After just playing mediator between God and Israel on the top of the mountain, he came down to find the entire nation acting like fools! Moses quickly gathered together a group of men who were for the Lord and they killed about 3000 people that day.
God in heaven is just and holy. He knows, as He did in the days of Moses, exactly what we are doing all the time. But we have a mediator, too. His name is Jesus. Long before coming to earth, He spoke to the Father on our behalf. Then He came, not to carry the law for condemnation, but to fulfill it. And just like Moses’ anger needed an outlet, so to did that of a just and holy God. So He, the Father, focused His anger on the law as well. This time instead of breaking rocks that had the word written in them, He broke His only Son who is the Word. Through God’s outpouring of wrath and anger on Jesus, through His breaking of the Law, we now have unmerited righteousness in the eyes of the Father.
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