Easter Sunday - An Inclusio Life

Luke 24:1-6

“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen!”

Can you imagine the scene? These women were obviously dedicated to Jesus and were probably very confused as they finished their Sabbath and prepared to embalm the Lord. Thoughts and questions must have whirled in the heads as they tried to make sense of what they had been taught by Jesus, and then what they had witnessed two days before. Something must have gone terribly wrong. Jesus said He was a King. They had high hopes that their lives would be different…but then He was murdered on a cross. How could it be? As the women made their way to the tomb that morning did they speak? Did they reminisce about the Lord? Did they smile at His memory? Did they walk in silence? Were their hearts grieving too much to be able to speak? Were they sad, or angry?

Once they arrived at the tomb and saw that the heavy stone had been removed from the grave, did they cling to each other before they went inside? Did they whisper questions to each other, or simply exchange confused glances? And what happened in their hearts when they saw the burial linens, but no body? Did they stare in disbelief? Did they rejoice? And as they were standing in wonderment, how did they feel when their eyes rested upon two gleaming men who suddenly stood before them? What did they truly think when they heard the words: “He is not here, He is risen!”?

My “something new” that I pondered this Easter Sunday was the fact that there were angels waiting at the tomb. The Gospels do not all agree on how many there were, or what they looked like, but the consensus is clear that there was definitely a heavenly being of some sort at the grave of our Lord. I thought about Jesus’ first night in our world and about the heavenly host singing to announce the news of His birth. And then, on the morning of His resurrection, there is an angel to praise about His rising as well. I never thought about it before, but it is a really precious image to realize that God used angels to announce the beginning and the end of Jesus’ time here on earth. A word comes to mind: “inclusio”.  Inclusio is a literary device used when reading Scripture. It is also known as “bracketing”. Basically, an inclusio is a portion of Scripture that begins and ends in the same wording, style or fashion. An obvious example of an inclusio Psalm would be Psalm 148 where it begins by saying in verse one: “Praise the Lord!” and ends in verse fourteen by repeating: “Praise the Lord!”

I thought about this word because I believe Jesus’ life here on earth was an inclusio life. It began with God’s angels and it ended with God’s angels. What a beautiful image!

And how thankful I am that those angels proclaimed such good news…the news of His glorious birth, but also the news of His victorious resurrection! Because of what Christ did on the cross, eternal life is attainable, a relationship with God is possible, and an abundant life is within reach…all because of Jesus Christ.

Praise to God for a LIVING hope!

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!”

1 Peter 1:3

Passion Week: Friday - I Know Not What I Do

The Crucifixion of Jesus

“As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.  A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then “‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”
    and to the hills, “Cover us!”’ For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Luke 23:26-43

I work in an elementary school with the 4 and 5 year old program. Today, on Good Friday, my class was beyond terrible. The children were rude, cranky and unkind at best. I was trying to do a project with them and ended up having to just stop the lesson because I was getting nowhere with them. I sat back and watched the chaos for a moment and suddenly a thought struck me.

Here I was trying to educate these children, having planned a fun interactive lesson and all they could do was be rude to me, decide they were not going to listen and generally goof off.

I gasped within myself as I realized this was a perfect picture of myself and Christ.

Jesus gave His very life so that I could have a real relationship with Him. Jesus carefully and lovingly plans my life so that I will grow in Him. Jesus redeems, protects and sanctifies me every single day.

And what do I do?

Give Him the time of day when I feel like it. Argue or complain when He gives direction for my life. Whine and gripe when things aren’t comfortable for me. Ignoring God’s will and being content to just do my own thing.

While watching my little students I also realized that they were unaware of how their behavior was affecting me. How much more so do I do this to my Lord!

And this is why You died, dear Jesus…to save me from my sin and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Thank you, Jesus, for the sacrifice You gave on my behalf. Thank you for forgiving me, especially when I “know not what I do”. Thank you for going to the cross for me!

Passion Week: Thursday - The Eager Desire of Christ

Luke 22:14-20

“When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”

After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

There are so many things that could be brought out of these few beautiful verses. Books have been written on this subject for centuries, so I am not going to be writing anything new. But I was looking for something new to think about while I read this passage. And I found it in Jesus’ words:

“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.”

The word “eagerly” struck me as almost out of place. This dinner was really not a happy occasion. The disciples were troubled, confused and simply didn’t understand what was going on. They were consumed with wondering who the betrayer was, why Jesus was telling them this was His last meal with them, and bickering about who was the greatest among them. Of course, we all know what Jesus was about to face and I am sure it was on His mind…but Scripture tells us He was eager. He was eager to be with His disciples and He was eager to have this last supper with them. Jesus was able to be joyful on this terrible night of betrayal because He understood that He was finally fulfilling the old covenant and creating a new covenant. This night was the launch of a new church ordinance that we continue in our own churches all over the world. The disciples were having Passover. They had been participating in Passover since they were in the womb. It was a ritual. It was a tradition. It was a habitual practice. I know that when I do something over and over again, if I am not careful, it becomes all routine and no passion and awe anymore. I wonder if the disciples were going through the motions of the evening, not really paying attention to the significance of the Passover they were participating in. And it is certain that they did not understand that their Passover was going to be the last of it’s kind for forever! They had no idea that the Passover that they knew so well was about to radically change in a matter of hours.

Oh, how we are like them! Sometimes we focus so much on our traditions and ceremonies that we forget the true meaning…or we forget that our practices are to help us in the furtherment of our relationship with God. Please be reminded that the significance of the Passover and the Lord’s Supper has nothing to do with what we add to it…but has everything to do with what Christ has done. And because of this Jesus said “eagerly”. The disciples (even Judas) did not ruin this meal for our Lord. They couldn’t ruin it because our Savior observed His meal in the light of what GOD was doing, not men. There is no benefit to tradition; there is only benefit in Christ.

What else can this teach us except to approach the Lord’s Table as Jesus did that night: with great eagerness and joy. Having love for things accomplished by God in the past, but also looking forward to that promised day when the kingdom of God shall come!

Passion Week: Wednesday - The Final Quiet Day

We come to the middle of our Lord’s last week on earth and we scratch our heads in amazement at the fact that Scripture does not record the events of this day. After all the things that Jesus taught or accomplished in the past few days, the silence of Wednesday seems to ring very loudly in our hearts. It is clear that Jesus was resting. Perhaps He spent the day by Himself. Maybe He spent it with His beloved disciples. Was the day spent in prayer? Was Jesus happy on this day, or did He spend the day in tearful agony?

There are so many possibilities for what could have happened on this day, but God saw fit not to record it. It was Jesus’ true final quiet day.

And what a lesson we can learn from this! When we know that we are about to undertake a major change in our life, we should follow in the footsteps of our Lord. We should take the time to focus on the Lord. We should take the time to be silent. If it was necessary for Christ to have a final quiet day, how much more should we seek solitude and prayer when we are faced with difficulties and change? Seeking God in silence is one of the most powerful things we can do for our relationship with Him.

I invite you to seek solitude sometime today, just as Jesus did. God is always in the silence waiting to comfort, strengthen and guide you.

Read and be encouraged in the silence of today…

“My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek.” Psalm 27:8

“The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8

"For His unfailing love toward those who love Him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. The Lord is like a father to His children, tender and compassionate to those who fear Him. For He knows how weak we are; He remembers we are only dust." Psalm 103:11-14

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.” Romans 8:1-2

As you read God’s Word on this day of silence, may you hear a joyful sound coming from your heart. A sound of the hopeful promise of God’s great things to come…

Passion Week: Tuesday - Jesus' Anointing in Bethany

 I cannot fathom what our Lord must have been feeling as He drew closer to the day of His death. The wrestle between His natures of Very God and Very Man must have been to such an extreme magnitude that only God would have understood. The searing pain of knowing what was to come surely made Him weak with dread, but the relentless love that He had for us continued to propel Him toward His death.

But not yet.

Today we come to a beautiful story of Jesus’ anointing found in Mark 14:3-8

“While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.”

There are so many things that could be said about this scene, but the idea of the perfume rang in my heart so strongly I could almost smell it.

The thought struck me…people are not usually embalmed before they die. This woman was acting in faith. She understood that Jesus was going to die. It is also apparent that she understood that Jesus’ death was going to be no ordinary one. She was doing a beautiful thing by simply showing Jesus that she had faith that He was Christ. Oh, how that must have put comfort in His weary, troubled heart!

But another thought struck me about this perfume.

This perfume that was poured on Jesus to prepare Him for burial would have been powerful enough to saturate Jesus’ hair, skin and clothes. That is something to think about. Would Pilate have smelled the perfume as Jesus stood in judgment? Would the soldiers have smelled the sweet aroma as they gambled for His clothes? Would the scent have wafted through the air as the Centurion exclaimed: “Surely this Man was the Son of God!”? What about when the nails were driven into His hands and feet? Would the executioner have smelled the perfume? Unquestionably someone would have noticed because it was a smell quite out of place. Can you imagine a sweet lovely smell in the midst of a horrid scene? It would have confused the brain…but not the hearts that understood. Of course Scripture does not tell us, but I believe Jesus took great comfort in the smell of that perfume. The beautiful aroma was a reminder that what Christ was doing on that cross was a beautiful thing. Imagine the last breath that Jesus took was breathing in that sweet perfume, reminding Him that His self-giving action was sweet. Sweet sacrifice. Sweet salvation. Sweet victory.

And what does this sweet-smelling perfume mean for us? 2 Corinthians 2:15 gives us a striking answer:

“Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.”

We, as Christians, give off a pleasant odor. God can smell it and He is pleased. According to this verse, we can encourage other Christians by our fragrance of Christ-likeness. But to those who do not know the Lord, they are confused by our smell. Just as our Lord’s burial perfume smelled sweet to those who believed, and smelled contradictory to those who did not believe. It is our calling to continue to be more like Christ. Perhaps others may be drawn to Him by our fragrance.

“Now thanks be to God which always causes us to triumph in Christ, and makes manifest the aroma of His knowledge by us in every place.” 2 Corinthians 2:14

Passion Week: Monday - The Cleansing of the Temple

On this day during Passion Week, our Lord goes to the temple. The temple was God’s sanctuary on earth. Perhaps, knowing His plight, Jesus just wanted to visit His Father’s house once more before His gruesome death. But when He arrived, He was more than displeased to find money changers there instead of true worshipers. It is one of the few times recorded in Scripture where Jesus displays righteous indignation.

“And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.” Luke 19:45 & 46

Though the Gospels do not specifically say so, Jesus’ cleansing of the temple seems to be a clear fulfillment of Malachi 3:1-3, a Messianic prophecy:

“See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness." 

In other words, Jesus' cleansing of the temple, is a direct fulfillment of this Old Testament prophesy. This was one of the salvific works that the Messiah was to do.

And what comfort we can take from this! For just as Jesus cleansed and purged the physical temple many years ago, we know from Scripture that we are now the temple of the Holy Spirit.

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” 1 Corinthians 6:19.

Jesus comes into our hearts and examines what is there and purges what is not of Him. The salvation of Jesus Christ is complete and finished for forever. We do not earn it or deserve it; it is given freely to us. Once we receive this amazing gift of salvation, we have subjected ourselves to God for Him to inspect our hearts on a daily basis so that we can grow to be more like Him. We bow to the Refiner’s fire because we desire to be in fellowship with Him. And what an awesome, wonderful, beautiful thing it is to be cleansed so that we can be a glorious temple for Him to reside!

Something that struck me is the fact that Jesus was truly angry when He saw ungodliness in the temple. This is such an example to us for our own hearts. We should become angry at the ungodly things we find there and waste no time in seeking to be rid of it. Our anger towards our sinfulness should drive us to Jesus and beg Him to purify us of our unrighteousness.

Of course, these thoughts beg the question…what do I need to invite Christ to purge in my own heart? What is there that is not of God? As difficult and painful as it may be, I must let the cleansing of the temple take place if I am to become more Christlike.

And because this is my one true desire, Lord, cleanse away!

Palm Sunday Musings - The Significance of a Donkey

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9

I challenge myself to discover something new that I have not thought about before when I read a passage that is very familiar to me. When I read this passage in Zechariah and then seeing the fulfillment in Luke’s Gospel, my “something new” seemed to jump out at me instantly…in the form of a donkey.

I find it fascinating that God took the time to make sure that the donkey was included in the prophecy for Jesus’ death. Why? Why a donkey? Why did Jesus have to ride on a donkey during His procession to Jerusalem? What is the significance of a donkey?

This is my “something new” that I wanted to meditate on for today on Palm Sunday.

A donkey, historically, is a beast of burden. It is an animal that carries a load which might be too much for a human to carry for long distances. A donkey is also a lowly animal, not placed in the category with the magnificent, majestic horse. The donkey is ordinary, humble, poor and simple in looks and in livelihood.

When I thought that through, I realized that the donkey is a crude picture of the Man Who sat on him.

A donkey is a beast of burden, while Jesus Christ took on the burden of the world. Christ died for our sins…that is the biggest burden of all times. Jesus sat on a donkey to give us a picture of the burden that He was carrying, namely, all sins committed and yet to be committed. That is quite the burden!

But that is not all this gentle donkey can tell us about Jesus. Christ went riding into Jerusalem as King. He IS King. But Jesus had to humble Himself to become a human. He lowered Himself and became a poor, humble, simple Man to walk among us for 33 years. My whole being shudders to think of what might be our plight if Jesus had not been willing to become lowly for our sakes.

I never thought much about the donkey that Jesus rode on that famous Palm Sunday. But now my heart has been opened and encouraged by the little animal who struggled under the weight of our Lord. He was a humble beast of burden, carrying our humble Savior Who would soon take away the sins of the world.

One more thought that I must add…

In light of what we just considered, do you find it precious to think about Mary riding into Bethlehem on a donkey? I consider Jesus’ birth to be a triumphant entry into our world. Palm Sunday could be considered the beginning of Jesus’ triumphant entry back into Heaven. And the fact that a humble donkey took Him to both places truly demonstrates God’s ultimate plan: that Christ take the burden of our sins, that He was humbly buried, that He was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and now is gloriously and majestically seated at the right hand of God Almighty, awaiting our own triumphant entry into Heaven. The only reason we can be triumphant is because Christ was first triumphant. And God chose to take our Lord to those places on a lowly donkey.

I am simply in awe.

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9