Holy Week Monday

Our Easter Week story continues on as we investigate Jesus's activities on Nisan 9, Palm Sunday and Nisan 10, Easter Week Monday. After riding triumphantly into Jerusalem, He went to the Temple to "present himself".  Before we get to Monday, though, let me make a point about Jesus' triumphal entry earlier in the day.  As the people shouted "Hosanna", while waving the palm branches in six directions (up, down, north, south, east, west, according to ceremony), they called Jesus "Son of David", a Messianic title.  For this brief moment, the crowd was acknowledging Him as the chosen Messiah of Israel.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout O daughter of Jerusalem: behold thy king cometh unto thee: He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass.

Zechariah 9:9

 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those following kept shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 As he entered Jerusalem the whole city was thrown into an uproar, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Matthew 21:9-11

So, what did Jesus do after arriving in town?  According to Mark He went straight to the Temple (Mark 11:11).   He "looked around", and then went back to Bethany for the night, since the hour was late.

I learned something while studying the events of Passion Week this week.  Did you realize that Jesus shook things up at the Temple more than once?  (Well, I guess if you count when He was 12 and taught the scribes and religious leaders, amazing them, that should count too; but that's not what I mean.)  The first time Jesus "cleansed the Temple" is recorded in John 2:12-17.  This, the more well-known story, also occurred at Passover, the first one of Jesus' 3-year ministry.  What I didn't realize was that He did something similar, but not the same, AGAIN the day after He rode into Jerusalem as the Son of David.

The scene is the Monday of Passion Week.  Jesus and His disciples return to Jerusalem, walking this time, and they enter the Temple.

And He entered the temple and began to drive out those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves; 16and He would not permit anyone to carry merchandise through the temple. 17And He began to teach and say to them, “Is it not written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS’? But you have made it a ROBBERS’ DEN.” 18The chief priests and the scribes heard this, and began seeking how to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, for the whole crowd was astonished at His teaching.19When evening came, they would go out of the city.

Mark 11:15-19

At first glance this incident seems very much like the one in John 2, but there are at least 3 important differences:
1.  In John 2:16, Jesus warns that the Temple must not be made a house of "trade", in some versions "merchandise", ἐμπορίου, in the Greek.  In Mark 11:16, the word translated (erroneously) as "merchandise" is actually "vessel" (translated as such in some versions),  σκεῦος in the Greek, as in a vessel in which you would carry a liquid. Totally different word!  Why does that matter?  In order for Temple sacrifices to continue, vessels had to carry the water, oil and blood here and there through the Temple.  When Jesus prevented the carrying of vessels through the Temple, He effectively stopped the Temple animal sacrifices.  Could it be He did this because He was about to become the final sacrifice for mankind?
2.  In the Temple cleansing recorded in John, Jesus did not heal people.  In Mark 11, He did.
3.  In the John account He prophesied that He would "destroy this Temple and raise it up again in 3 days", a reference to His death, burial and resurrection.  Because these words are not associated with His second Temple cleansing, we can assume they were not repeated, as He taught and spoke with the teachers of the Law.

Notice that the listeners to Jesus on this occasion of his "Lamb inspection" were of two viewpoints: 1.  the chief priests and scribes who inspected Him and found Him to be a threat; they were afraid of His teaching, His influence.
2. "the whole crowd" inspected Him and were "astonished at His teaching".

The only other significant occurrence that day (of which we are given record) is the (peculiar?) cursing of the fig tree, in Mark 11:12-26 and also in Matthew 21:18-22.  In Mark's account, the cursing of the tree occurred as Jesus and The Twelve walked into the city on Monday morning.  The evidence of it then having withered "from the root up" was seen as they walked back to Bethany Monday evening.  Matthew's account leaves out the intervening hours.  Regardless, in human terms, it happened "immediately" and in an extraordinary way.  Usually vegetation dies from the extremities inward, that is, from the bloom to the root.  Such was not the case here.  This fig tree died from the root, up.
Some of you will find this action by Jesus to be "disturbing".  However, that is because we are looking at it in human terms.  Jesus wanted to make a clear point to His disciples about the power of the spoken word and the miracle of faith.  So that they would remember, He used the fig tree as an object lesson.  Matthew 21:18-22 (NASB) - - -

18Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry. 19Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.

      20Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?” 21And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen. 22“And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”

We know from verses such as Hosea 9:10 and Joel 1:6-7 that the fig tree represents the nation of Israel.  In His cursing of this particular fig tree, Jesus is foretelling the destruction of Israel, forty years in the future.  In 70 C.E. General Titus, of the Roman army, destroyed Jerusalem, and the Temple, dispersing the people of Israel for over 1900 years.  The Jewish people wandered from country to country, without a homeland, until 1948, when Israel became a nation again.

Is "the fig tree" still "cursed"?  Why was it cursed in the first place?  Because it bore no fruit.  Israel, whom the fig tree represented, did not receive Yeshua/Jesus as Messiah.  And, even though Israel is now a discreet and sovereign nation, its people still have not, by and large, received their true Messiah.
Yet, that day will come. We are told by the Apostle Paul that it will come, in Romans 11:25-27.

25I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you will not be conceited: A hardening in part has come to Israel, until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

“The Deliverer will come from Zion;

He will remove godlessness from Jacob.

27And this is My covenant with them

when I take away their sins.”g

I look forward to that day.

To wrap up this Easter Week Monday, let's fill in our handy-dandy timeline chart.

Thursday sundown to Friday sundown	Nisan  8	Jesus arrives at M,M&L's house in Bethany earlier in the day.
Friday sundown to Saturday sundown	Nisan  9	Weekly Sabbath; no work or travel.
Saturday sundown to Sunday sundown	Nisan  10	Palm Sunday; Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem Jesus presents Himself at Temple; Passover Lambs are Selected (Lamb Selection Day)
Sunday sundown to Monday sundown	Nisan  11	Day 2 of Lamb with family Jesus curses the fig tree Jesus cleanses the Temple Jesus heals and teaches in the Temple Jesus and the 12 return to Bethany.
Monday sundown to Tuesday sundown	Nisan  12
Tuesday sundown to Wednesday sundown	Nisan  13
Wednesday sundown to Thursday sundown	Nisan  14
Thursday sundown to Friday sundown	Nisan  15
Friday sundown to Saturday sundown	Nisan  16
Saturday sundown to Sunday sundown	Nisan  17

Father, thank you for the beauty You reveal to us about Jesus' Passion Week.  Help us to remember the power of our spoken words, that You have placed the power of life and of death in our tongues.  May we use our words wisely!  Thank you most of all for You Son, the Son of David, the Son of Man, who forever eliminated the need for an animal sacrifice in the Temple, since He became the ultimate, forever-settled sacrifice on our behalf those many centuries ago.  In Jesus' name, amen.

10 Days That Changed the World (Passion Week)

I am fascinated with the parallels between the Jewish Passover and our Christian celebration of Jesus Christ's Passion Week.  As most of you know, the Jewish calendar1 and the Roman calendar of the Western world do not coincide.  The former is a lunar calendar, and the latter a solar calendar.

(So, I'm wading into the weeds.  This is really a Bible Nerds post, to begin a series of six.  If you don't want to go with me, go read Ann Voskamp for a few days.  That is not a "dis"; she and I just have very different styles and approaches.  I also want to issue the disclaimer that these are difficult interpretations.  I reserve the right to be wrong.  Remember, this is my bible study blog; I am studying.  Each year at Passover/Easter I have a tradition of re-examining the gospel accounts of Jesus' last Passion Week on Earth.  Due to the extreme confusion and upheaval at that time in the life of the disciples, the four accounts are quite muddled, even seemingly contradictory.)

In the blog we are going to look at the parallels between the gospel accounts, beginning today with Lamb Selection Day, which we celebrate as Palm Sunday, and the two days before, then moving on day-by-day through Resurrection Sunday (Easter). In the Christian faith, we do not often examine this too deeply, probably because of how differently the 4 gospels present the events.  

Sadly, and to our great detriment, in general, the tenets of Judaism and the Jewish feasts are largely ignored by Christianity.  Too bad...they contain rich foreshadowing of the life and work of Jesus Christ.  That is why, this week, we are going to examine the parallels between Passion Week and the Jewish feasts.  The timeline is most interesting...

So, onward.  What/When was Lamb Selection Day, and why does that matter?

Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the people of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 

(Exodus 12:3-6)

The New Testament text I'm focusing on today is Matthew 21:1-11.

Before we start, we must get our heads into the mindset of the Jewish calendar, in which 24-hour days begin at sundown of the "day" before and end at sundown of the actual calendar day.  This has been practiced by the Jews since God declared in Genesis 1 that "the evening and the morning were the first day" (Genesis 1:5).  It would be helpful to reinforce the meaning of Sabbath here also.  It is commonly known that the Jewish Sabbath is from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday. Later in this post I'll give you a template, which we will fill in as this Holy Week progresses. 

Let's begin with the events of Nisan 8, which are recorded in John 12.

1Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom he had raised from the dead. 2 So they prepared a dinner for Jesus there. Martha was serving, and Lazarus was among those present at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took three quarters of a pound of expensive aromatic oil from pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus. She then wiped his feet dry with her hair. 

Just before sunset as the Friday, Nisan 8 ended, Jesus arrived at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus (the three siblings) in Bethany.  He and his disciples had traveled all that day, presumably from The Galilee, a long journey.   It is not clear whether the dinner took place before the Sabbath started that Friday evening at sundown or after the Sabbath was over in the later evening hours of Nisan 10 (Saturday night). I tend to think it took place that evening He arrived; otherwise, the writer would have said, "after the Sabbath".  But, that's just my own conclusion.  Speaking as a woman, if I had the most honored Guest arrive at my house, tired, with an entourage of scraggly, tired disciples, I'd hurry up and fix some food before the Sabbath came (which precluded any "work").  It is also unclear when verses 9-11 of that chapter took place, but they occurred either right after Jesus arrived on Nisan 8 or on Nisan 9, the Sabbath. Regardless, John tells us that "the next day" (Nisan 10), Jesus journeyed to Jerusalem. That would have been on Nisan 10, and it was not a long distance, maybe an hour's donkey ride?  It was about a 2-mile trip. (We know this would not have taken place on the Sabbath of Nisan 9 because doing so would have violated all sorts of Sabbath restrictions on "work" and "travel".)

2Jewish historians agree and the scriptures record that the Passover lambs were selected on Nisan (also called Aviv) 10, five days before they were sacrificed on Nisan 14 (Preparation Day).  (Exodus 12:3-6) During this time period of 5 days, the lamb lived in the home of the family that had chosen it.  The sheep raisers of the Passover sheep were the Sadducees.  Only a Sadducee sheep was approved for the Passover sacrifice in Jerusalem; this made the Sadducees very wealthy.  At any rate, the Passover sheep, raised in Bethlehem (hello!), were brought into the city of Jerusalem through a gate called....you guessed it....The Sheep Gate, so that the people could select a lamb on Nisan 10.  The year Jesus died this day would have been a Sunday (Palm Sunday) which fits perfectly with a Thursday crucifixion.  We read in Matthew 21:1-11 that on Nisan 10, Jesus and the disciples were in Bethany.

The path from Bethany to Jerusalem went through Bethpage, a village very close to Jerusalem, wound through the Mount of Olives, on which olive trees and palm trees grew in abundance.  It was here that the crowd following Jesus picked up palm branches and began to shout Ho-sha-NAH!, "God save us", which in English we translate "Hosanna!".  This war cry of Jewish zealots wanting to overthrow Roman rule was part of the "Hallel" (Psalm 113-118), particularly Psalm 118:25-26, and was sung at Jewish feasts.  

"Ana Adonai Hoshia-na, Ana Adonai Hoshia-na. Ana Adonai Hatzlicha-na, Ana Adonai Hatzlicha-na.  Baruch Haba B'Shem Adonai."

English Translation:  "O Lord, please save us, Oh Lord, please save us.  Oh Lord, send us prosperity, Oh Lord, send us prosperity.  Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord."

With the other Sabbath lambs bound for slaughter, Jesus rode into Jerusalem through the Sheep Gate, on the northeast corner of the city wall, beside the Tower of Hananel, a name which means God's mercy.  In fact, another name for that Jerusalem city gate was the Mercy Gate.  (Hallelujah!) . At this same time, priests in the Temple were undergoing extensive preparations for the impending slaughter of the Passover (Pesach) lambs.  During the next four days, pilgrims flooded into Jerusalem.

Jesus, then, arriving in Jerusalem in the morning hours of Nisan 10 presented himself at the Temple for "inspection".  (We'll explore this tomorrow.) He was then in Jerusalem Sunday, Nisan 10, and each day of the rest of the week, fulfilling the five days of dwelling with "the family" before His crucifixion on the afternoon of Nisan 14.  There were two reasons that the Passover lamb remained with its family those 5 days leading up to Passover:
1.  So that the family could become attached to the lamb, their lamb.
2.  So the family could inspect the lamb, to make sure it was "without spot or blemish" or "without defect", as stated in the translation of Exodus 12 above.  The Korban Pesach (Passover Lamb) had to be the most perfect specimen available.

So, let's begin to fill in our chart!

Thursday sundown to Friday sundown	Nisan 8	Jesus arrives at M,M&L's house in Bethany sometime before sundown.
Friday sundown to Saturday sundown	Nisan 9	Weekly Sabbath; no work or travel.
Saturday sundown to Sunday sundown	Nisan 10	Palm Sunday; Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem Jesus presents Himself at Temple; Passover Lambs are Selected (Lamb Selection Day)
Sunday sundown to Monday sundown	Nisan 11	Day 2 of Lamb with family
Monday sundown to Tuesday sundown	Nisan 12	Day 3 of Lamb with family
Tuesday sundown to Wednesday sundown	Nisan 13
Wednesday sundown to Thursday sundown	Nisan 14
Thursday sundown to Friday sundown	Nisan 15
Friday sundown to Saturday sundown	Nisan 16
Saturday sundown to Sunday sundown	Nisan 17

Well, that is certainly enough for today.  We'll continue on this topic tomorrow, moving further into Passion Week.

Father God, it is such a treat to study your Word.  This timeline has been argued for centuries, and I don't presume to be "the one" who eventually gets it exactly right.  I bless Your Name, Jesus, for being my Passover Lamb, the Aleph-Tav of Exodus 12: 6, THE Lamb of God, the First and Last, the Alpha and Omega.  Thank you for dying for me and rising again, to purchase my salvation.  Amen.

Sources:

1   http://www.chabad.org/calendar/view/month.htm
2   http://www.fishingtheabyss.com/archives/137
3   http://biblehub.com/text/matthew/28-1.htm
4   http://reasonsforhopejesus.com/thursday-crucifixion-two-reasons-nail/
5 http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Spring_Holidays/Shabbat_HaGadol/shabbat_hagadol.html

Two Little Pesach Puzzles

Yesterday, while working at the pie shop, I had on the beautiful Star of David I bought in Old City Jerusalem last month.  I wear it often.  A customer asked if I was Jewish.  I replied that I am a Hebrew in spirit, that I am an adopted, grafted-in Hebrew.  The customer, a nice young man, is Jewish.  We both wished each other a blessed Passover and (him to me) Easter.

I dearly love the Jewish people and long to see them come to know Jesus.  I know this will happen as God continues to unfold human history.  How I would love to be able to be a greater part of seeing Him work this marvelous work!

This morning, I want to show you two mysterious particulars from the Passover (Pesach, in Hebrew) feast, which are simply extraordinary.  In the last post, I referenced a Passover Haggadah for Christians.  The Haggadah is merely a Jewish word for "script" or "text", literally "the telling".  It is the procedure and the verbiage which guide the Passover feast.  Non-messianic Jews reject the Christian views of Passover, that is, our applications of it to the life and work of Jesus Christ.  Note the following puzzles, however.

1.  The Zeroa
Passover seders (the traditional meal which marks the first night of Passover) have changed over the centuries.  If you recall from the first Passover, the most spotless, blemish-free lamb was to be killed (Exodus 12) in the doorway of the family home, and its blood spread, not only over the threshold (which would be inevitable), but also on the sides of the doorway and across the top, the lintel, making an endless, continuous circuit of blood.  The roasted lamb was then eaten as part of the Passover meal.
As the centuries rolled on, some changes have been made.  For example, if you were to attend a Seder today, only the roasted shank bone of a lamb would be featured.  The shank is called the zeroa.  We see this word in Isaiah 53, a chapter of the Old Testament that is no longer part of the Jewish cycle of readings in synagogue.  (Isn't that curious...) Christians can easily see that Jesus has fulfilled Isaiah 53 through His life, death, burial and resurrection.  Here is zeroa in that chapter:

1Who has believed what he has heard from us?^a
And to whom has the arm {zeroa} of the LORD been revealed?

John the Baptist most certainly recognized Jesus as The Lamb of God, and called Him such as Jesus walked up while he (John) was baptizing in the Jordan.  John 1:29 (ESV) - - -

Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.

2. The Afikomen
Again, this ceremony was not part of the original Passover feasts, though unleavened bread most certainly was.  This feature of a Passover celebration did not come into practice until, many believe, shortly before Jesus' time.  But, the truth is that God mysteriously inserted the practice, and no one is sure exactly when.  The word "afikomen" is a Greek word which means "the coming one" or "that which comes after"; in Hebrew it is "habba".
In today's Passover seders, unleavened bread called matzo figures prominently from beginning to end.
First of all, three pieces of matzo are used, in addition to the matzo provided for each participant.  The three pieces are wrapped in white linen, placed into a MatzahTash ("unity bag") and given to the leader of the seder, usually the father.  Before the meal begins, the leader takes the middle piece, the second piece, of matzo and breaks it in half, a ceremony called "yachatz" (to break).  Part of this piece (the afikomen) is hidden somewhere in the home.  Later in the seder, the children are asked to go search for the afikomen; the meal may not continue until it is found and returned to the father.  The afikomen is then consumed by the participants in the meal as the final morsel.
It used to be, in Jesus' day, that the passover lamb was the final morsel eaten at the feast on Nisan/Aviv 15, IF AND ONLY IF the meal was being eaten in Jerusalem.  Passover meals eaten outside Jerusalem featured the afikomen as "the last bite".  As previously stated, today, only a lamb shank is on the Passover table, and the final bite consumed is the afikomen.

In examining the symbolism here, from a Christian perspective, let's start with how Jesus made application of unleavened bread to Himself.  The account is recorded in all four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John).
The setting is a meal which occurred, I believe, at the conclusion of the Day of Preparation.  (My next few posts will detail a chronology for the 10 days leading up to Jesus' final Passion Week; so, I won't defend that statement here and now.)  On the table are unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine (wine).  At that meal Jesus refers to His body being broken for us:

19And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.

Luke 22:19 (ESV)

I wonder if the disciples remembered at that point that Jesus had referred to Himself as "the Bread of Life"?  (John 6:35, 51)

I am the living bread which came down from Heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever; 
and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
John 6:51

Other mysteries:
***The three pieces of matzo represent Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  The second piece represents Yeshua Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah).  He is our afikomen.
***The afikomen is broken and "hidden" (symbolizing Jesus' true personhood being hidden from traditional Jews even today, and also symbolizing His being hidden in the tomb for 3 days).  The afikomen's wrapping of white linen points to the holiness of the Godhead and also to the burial cloths of Jesus.
***The name "Unity Bag" is no accident.  It bespeaks the unity, the Oneness, of the Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
***The afikomen is searched for diligently by the children.  Indeed, the meal cannot continue until the afikomen is found.
Jesus said that anyone who seeks Him must become like a little child, approaching Him in child-like faith (Matthew 18:1)
God also promised that anyone who diligently seeks Him will surely find Him (Jeremiah 29:13).
Surely, when Jesus is found by a person, He is the "final morsel", because in Him is all the beauty and treasure of the Godhead revealed bodily.

For all The Fullness of The Deity dwells in him bodily.

Colossians 2:9 (Aramaic Bible in Plain English)

Oh the beauty of the Word of God, both Savior and Holy Bible!  How wondrous the way He reveals Himself to us in this Passover and Easter season!  Even those who do not yet know Him, the Savior of the world already come, unknowingly celebrate His finished work on earth, for our behalf.

In closing, hear Jesus' words, again, from John 6 - - -
(Jesus, a devout Jew, is speaking to His Jewish fellow men of that day.)

32Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

35Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 36But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 37All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 38For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.39And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

41At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

43“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 44“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. 45It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’^d Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. 46No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father.47Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48I am the bread of life. 49Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

Dear God, Three-in-One, Father, Son and Holy Spirit ...  Thank you for giving us Bread from Heaven, born in Bethlehem, the City of Bread, and "slain before the foundations of the world" were laid (Revelation 13:8).  Open the eyes of the blind to see You, to know You, in all your fullness today!

Oh precious reader!  Is the Savior drawing you to Himself today?

Sources:

https://jewsforjesus.org/publications/newsletter/newsletter-apr-2011/mysterious-passover-symbols/

Good, J. (1998). Rosh HaShanah and the Messianic Kingdom to come: an interpretation of the Feast of Trumpets based upon ancient sources. Nederland, TX: Hatikva Ministries.

Glowing in the Dark

Good morning!

Today's text is Isaiah 58:3-12.

In the yearly course of Jewish "feasts", holy convocations, certain days are designated as Sabbath days, whether they fall on a Saturday or not.  Did you know this?  It was "news to me" when I learned this a few years ago.... 
For example, March 30, 2018 is the beginning of Passover, a high holy day.  It falls on a Friday, but it is a Sabbath.  That makes two Sabbaths in a row!  I believe from my studies that it was this way the week of Jesus' Passion:  2 Sabbaths in a row, on a Friday and a Saturday.  At the end of this week (the week I'm making this post) I'll be reprising my Holy Week set of posts, which I do every year.  At any rate, moving on.....

One of the ways to worship on those special days was (and still is) is to "fast" (abstain from eating) for all or part of the day. An example of this is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which falls often in October.  These special feasts and holy days were instituted by God Himself thousands of years ago, and some Christians, particularly Messianic Jews, "keep" those holy days in a similar manner today.  I think that this is perfectly beautiful!  Nowhere in the New Testament do I read that first century Christians stopped practicing the Old Testament feasts that God instituted.  

If you would like to, for example, keep Passover on March 30 with a Christian perspective, Jews For Jesus has a great resource for doing just that.  And, by your sweet Christian sister, Gena, telling you about this now, you have time to order some copies to "make it so"!  Here's the link, and the whole family can be involved!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1881022803/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A1ZR7GJ75JCSA5&psc=1

You will want a copy for every person/reader participating, or one for every two people, because it is an interactive reading through the ceremony as you do it.

Allright, now, back to our text:
In Isaiah 58, God is addressing the practice of fasting on holy days, and exhorting His people to examine their hearts more closely.  In vs. 3, we see that the people are complaining because God seems to be ignoring them, despite their holy day celebrations.  In vs. 3-5, God explains why.

The people were wearing the holy clothes and doing the holy rituals (such as fasting), showing off their humility; but, all the while, they were treating their fellow man like garbage.  God was not impressed with such false piety then, nor is He impressed with it today. 

As usual, God is more interested in our hearts than in our outward rituals.  If our hearts are not right, our good behaviors are meaningless.  In other verses, this is emphasized:

"Tear your hearts and not your clothes."  (Joel 2:13)

In the Jewish culture, extreme agony of spirit was demonstrated by ripping the outer garment into pieces.

"To obey is better than making a burnt offering." (1 Samuel 15:22)

Here too, the focus was on the behavior that flowed from a right heart, than in the carrying out of religious rituals. 

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing(B) in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father,(C) who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

Matthew 6:5-6

Do we do this in our Christian faith?  Oh, well, let's see....
Do we ever stand up and lead in worship, then go home, close our doors and commit gross sin?
Do we ever teach our Sunday School class and then refuse to help someone in need, even when God makes it plain we are supposed to?
Do we ever pray pious prayers in public and then cut our loved ones to shreds with our vicious tongues?

Could it BE that the reason we are not reaching more people with the gospel of Jesus Christ is that we honor Christ with our tongues and our "churchiness", but our hearts are far from Him?  (Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:8)

Look at verses 6-9 (The Message):

"This is the kind of fast day I'm after:

To break the chains of injustice,

Get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts.

What I'm interested in seeing you do is:

Sharing your food with the hungry,

Inviting the homeless poor into your homes,

Putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, 

Being available to your own families.

Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once.

THEN when you pray, God will answer.

You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.' "

I have some friends - - - great Christian family - - - four years ago they heard about a homeless person whose family had abandoned him.  They took him into their home until he could get back on his feet, which took several months.  THIS!  This is being the light of Jesus to the world.  THIS is showing the world who our Savior is.

Verse 10 - - - 

"If you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,

Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,

Your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight."

Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, who is in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)

"Whoever wants to be great must become a servant.  Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave.  That is what the Son of Man has done:  He came to serve, not to be served - - - and then to give away his life in exchange for many who are held hostage."

Mark 10:45

Let's get the spotlight off of ourselves. Instead, let's pray that we would be given more opportunities to "glow in the dark", and that we would take those opportunities!

Father, I am so guilty of passing up opportunities to bless real people you put in my path.  It's so much easier to just....follow a formula of "Christian-ness" and pretend that You are pleased.  Help me, Lord!  Please forgive me and truly conform me into the image of Jesus, who poured His life out for us all, who "gave His life in exchange for many who are held captive".  In Jesus' name, amen.