Ha… I Made You Look

There is a series of commercials that are playing here in Florida advertising the Geico Insurance Company. I love the commercials taglines. One of the taglines is “did you know that old McDonald was a bad speller”? (I love that one) There is another commercial that’s asks, “Did you know that Pinocchio is an awful motivational speaker”? There’s one more that I saw that that sparked my heart and initiated a thought. This tagline asks the question, “Did you know that there is an oldest trick in the book”? This centers around the trick we all have played when we were younger, remember? You would say to a friend or a sibling, look over there is a (fill in the gap) and the other person would turn their head and look. Then you would start laughing and say, “I made you look”.  

What came to my mind was the event that took place in the Garden of Eden between Eve and the serpent. I said to myself there is an oldest trick in the book and he made her look. Unfortunately many today are still falling for this ploy. Understand this truth is not relegated to just religion so if you are reading this blog entry and not religious keep reading. Truth is truth. In Genesis 3:1-6 we find the serpent saying to Eve “has God indeed said”? He must first get you unstable; he must get you to second-guess yourself. Verse six says and when the woman saw or when the woman “looked” and interpreted in her own mind and heart that this tree was good for food, (something that would sustain her), pleasing to the eye, (something that would externally validate her choice) and something to be desired to make one wise, she took some and ate of it. Just in looking, window-shopping, can make you discontented in what you already have. The primitive root word for Serpent means, to hiss, i.e. whisper a (magic) spell; generally, to use enchantment. This also is the same word, which means bronze in Hebrew in Numbers 21:9. It means shiny as brass.  Side note… why did it not appear strange to Eve that this creature was communicating with her? She did not appear to question the source, let alone the directive.This particular creature unlike any other had a mesmerizing effect on Eve. The real spirit, within this serpent that approached Eve was the shining one, presenting an aura of beauty and smooth words of half-truths. He sold the adventurous yet false possibilities but clever left out the devastating destination. You shall not surely die, he said. What concept did Eve have of death? She had never been down this road before, she never even seen death, so how could she understand its ramifications. His beauty awed her, his “hiss” enchanted her and she listened to his whisperings. Question…how many times have situations, circumstances, curiosity, frustration, boredom, successes, inferiority complexes, pride, fame, fear, familiarity, and impatience “hissed” and “made you look”? Why did it seem strange to other people in your life that you, one who have so much going for themselves, would listen to the “hiss”? Smoke this, do that, sleep with them, snort this. How many of your acquaintances tried to warn you not to “look”? And while you were looking, something far more valuable was being taken from you, not by force but by your choice.

In our childhood whenever someone fell for that trick nothing usually was lost but juvenile pride or maybe sometimes a piece of candy or a cookie was taken while your head was turned. However, in the case of the oldest trick in the book, the woman lost sight of who she was. She averted her focus from her position, her value, what she already possessed, to submit to the “hiss”. The “ hiss” of the serpent enticed Eve to listen to him and to seek something falsely greater. It caused her to lose sight that she was already one with the Greater One.

What do you think is more powerful: physical strength or the power of words? Words have a way of affecting us. Words can hurt or energize. They can either bind or release you. Words can strengthen or tear down. Words can worry you or set you free. The power of a few words is amazing. 

Generally, when people get their own way with others or wish to deceive or enslave others, they do it with words; they want others to agree with their point of view, give them what they want, do what they ask and buy what they are selling. From the car salesman’s hard sell, the hammering of TV commercials, the relative’s request for a loan, the seduction and/or assault of words is continuous.

Words have the power to manipulate other people’s thinking, behavior, and focus. The world has been affected in many ways as a result of voices. Voices speak to you daily to sway you from the fold of rightness, fairness and integrity. You hear the “hiss” on the job. You hear it at home. Our kids are hearing conflicting “hissing” voices. Our lives are being filled with unnatural “hissing” voices from the entertainment world. You can’t take in the sound of these voices and not be affected. They will cause you to look. The voices of the world tell us that you can pull the trigger on a gun and you won’t be held accountable. These voices promote promiscuity, adultery, pornography, the chase of money and unethical lifestyles. The voices say you can be anything, say anything, or do anything and you will be all right in the end.

When it seems your life is bombarded with voices after voices and your soul is confused, all you need to do is listen to the VOICE that speaks clearly. There are many voices that vie for our attention, but only one voice that calms the troubled waters of our soul. It is God the Father’s voice that can resurrect the dreams, calling and purpose that we have given away. We were created to reign over His creation not to be enslaved by it. It is his voice that can call light into a dark situation. Even if you may have “looked”, His voice will still search you out in the cool of the day and ultimately reconcile you back to Himself. There are many voices in our world today. Who’s voice are you listening to?

After 3….. It is time to GET UP.

Let’s revisit last week briefly. Why do I say Wednesday Christ was crucified instead of the traditional Friday? Without getting into it too deeply, Passover as described in Lev. 23:4, 5 indicates on the 10th day of the first month, Nisan, [roughly equivalent to April on our calendar], every family of Israel was to take a lamb, without blemish, and separate it from the flock. On the evening of the fourth day the Passover lamb was killed, cooked, and eaten during the night. This feast begins the celebration of the exodus from Egypt. If the clock begins on Palm Sunday, and the day of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is day one. Wednesday is day four. Also remember the Jewish day begins at 6pm NOT midnight.

The period between ‘good Friday’ and ‘resurrection Sunday’ does not equal three days and three nights (72 hrs.). How can we show that as a timeline using what Jesus Himself called “the ONLY sign” that He would give indicating who He was? (Mat 12:39 – 40) How does Good Friday to Resurrection Sunday add up to make three days and three nights (72 hrs.)?  It doesn’t. Let’s look. Buried at sundown, (Good Friday (night)), Saturday (day) Saturday (night), Resurrection (Easter Sunday (day))…Total = One day and two nights! (36 hrs.)

The days on the Jewish calendar BEGAN and ENDED at sundown, not midnight. They viewed a day as NIGHT and then DAY, rather than viewing a day as DAY and then NIGHT as we do in the western culture.  This is important when it comes to counting the three days and three nights. But what about the need for Christ to be taken from the cross and buried before the Sabbath, you might ask.

The day following Passover began the feast of unleavened bread. The first and last days were “High Sabbath” days. “High Sabbath” days are mandatory rest and preparation days. This means Passover is also the “preparation day” for the “High Sabbath”. Jesus was crucified on Passover. His body was laid in the tomb just before sunset, when the “High Sabbath” of the Feast of Unleavened Bread began. His body lay in the tomb for the first three days of this feast.

 Three days and three nights – in the heart of the earth. Wednesday Jesus is on the cross from approximately 9am until His death, around 3pm. His body must be in the grave before the “High Sabbath” day, 6pm. Let’s look at the possible timeline:

The first night and day (Thursday): Wednesday 6pm to Thursday 6pm.

The second night and day (Friday): Thursday 6pm to Friday 6pm.

The third night and day (Saturday): Friday 6pm to Saturday 6pm.

Jesus is resurrected before sunset or sometime closely afterwards.

The women find the empty tomb very early on Sunday morning.

The women had to wait till the High Sabbath and following night passed, before going to the market to purchase the materials for His anointing. Then the second day they had to prepare everything. This was a long process and then they would have to again stop for the Regular weekly Sabbath to pass. The third night and day are the regular Sabbath.  At sundown, (on what we would call Saturday night), is exactly 72 hours after Jesus’ body was placed in the tomb – When the third night and day had passed – Jesus rose from the dead. 

The pronouncement He is NOT dead, He is alive.

Why 3 days? Why not 2 or 4? In thinking about this I believe it has to do with the belief widely held that the spirit of a “dead” body hovered around the body before three days. In that time span the spirit could renter the body, otherwise the death verdict was final. Looking back on the Lazarus event, in order to show the glory of God, Jesus delayed His going to Lazarus after receiving the news of his illness in order to allow for “3 days” to pass. Listen to His conversation with Martha and Mary, they truthfully declared that the “3 day” period has passed and Lazarus has been dead for four days. Perfect! Jesus declares to them “I am the resurrection and the life”. In other words, there will be no doubt, when Lazarus is resurrected (in the original Greek – “stand up”), that Jesus did it.

It was common for the family to visit the gravesite in Biblical times 3 days later for final verification of death. They would roll the stone away and check just in case. But in a similarity of His decision concerning Lazarus, Jesus was in the grave 3 days and night…dead. But He IS the resurrection; he is the “stand up”. As he declared “NO MAN” takes my life, I have the power to lay it down and to pick it up again or stand up. So after the 3^rd, He “stood up”, and the verdict was given…He is not dead.

About 2 months ago here in the states (I believe in Mississippi), a man apparently died and was pronounced such by the county coroner. Just as the attendant in the morgue was going to remove the body from the body bag after many hours, the bag started violently moving and the occupant was fighting to be free of the that plastic stifling enclosure. Can you imagine how you would react if you were the attendant? Apparently, there was a misdiagnosis. But this man was not going to be content to be imprisoned and given over passively to that conclusion. There was still life to live.

That leads me to my final point. There are human abilities that we have and those abilities are accomplished through three means…thought, word or deed. There are times to where all three of those abilities sometimes cease to bring forth results. They are seemingly lifeless, inert and unresponsive. It is in that time when Jesus can call forth the resurrection, the “standup power” to the more abundant life. I know sometimes we can feel like our dreams, aspirations, calling, relationship, finances, health, has been lifeless so long that it as Martha said about her brother to Jesus, it stinks. But even after the fourth day when it seems like there is no hope, no way he is still the resurrection the standup and the life. The Word of God declares that He came to give us life and that more abundantly. The situation might appear to be dead and beyond our human abilities but Jesus the Christ is the RESURRECTION and the LIFE. So if it’s after your three day or even during your three-day death experience. Understand this, because He got up you to can get up. It is Resurrection day. Get up and LIVE!

Huh Jesus…did you notice Wednesday’s itinerary?

Today is what we call Palm Sunday. This religious holiday commemorates the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in the days before his crucifiction. The people cried out, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” Hosanna meaning:“save I pray thee; keep; preserve” (whenever a person would come to a king for help with his needs, he would use the word Hosanna…so here the people are acknowledging Him as King and Deliverer.)

It was a common custom in many lands in the ancient Middle East to cover, in some way, the path of someone thought worthy of the highest honour with branches and leaves.

All of the Gospels report that people gave Jesus this honor. In Mark, Matthew, and Luke they are reported as laying their garments and cut branches on the street. John is the only Gospel to specifically mention palm branches. The palm branch was a symbol of success and victory.

According to scholars, the prophecy often quoted as having been fulfilled by the Palm Sunday entry by Jesus into Jerusalem reads as follows: (Zech. 9 NIV)Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you,righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey,on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The place name Jerusalem (pronounced Yerushalaim in Hebrew) is a combination of two words. The first is “yeru” meaning “flow”. This word has several applications such as the flowing of water in a river, the throwing of something as being flowed out of the hand or as the flowing of a finger in the sense of pointing out the way one should go. The “shalayim” is from the word shalom, which means to be complete or whole. When these two words are put together they mean something like “pointing the way to completeness”. No wonder the Hebrew people were told to look towards Jerusalem.

A word study in the New King James version for SHALOM says: Completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord, to be fully paid.

I just had a “Nu Mind” thought. Jerusalem, a place where flows a completed, fully paid for, “finished” work. (the death of Christ… FINSHED He would declare)

Obviously, for us followers of Jesus, we know Him to be King so the accolades given to Him upon His entrance is not a revelation, but what indicates Him to full fill the sacrificial lamb’s definition besides just a proclamation?

When Jesus entered Jerusalem I can only imagine what someone would have said if they saw His itinerary for the week. Let’s take a look. Imagine YOU are one of the disciples with him that week. Pick one, any one. Well I might shy away from the one called Judas BUT that is up to you. (smile)

You arrive on “Palm” Sunday, the crowd is praising and giving Him “rock star” treatment and you as one of His disciples are receiving a little overflow love also, I would imagine, correct? Great week ahead, you think. This is a major national festive holiday celebrating a MAJOR historical event (Passover), in the most important city in your nation, where the whole nation is gathering. This may or may not be your first time here for the Passover and Feast Holidays. It takes place every year but this time it’s different. This time the crowd is recognizing the one you are following. It is getting a little hard to push down the spirit of pride, is it not? Wow…if the first day of this trip is starting like this I can only imagine how good the rest of the trip will be. Say Jesus, what’s on the rest of the week’s itinerary? He hands you what is on schedule for the week.

Jesus, I see Monday we will go to the temple. You will probably upset some people as you overturn their money tables even though you will correctly quote Isaiah saying “My house shall be called a house of prayer” but the moneychangers have made this sacred holy place a “den of robbers”. That should be interesting to see although I do not see that going over very smoothly.

Tuesday we will visit Lazarus, Mary and Martha, nice. I always did like them. They are good people. There is nothing like being with good friends on holiday. Their hospitality is always of the highest loving quality. Yes, Tuesday should be a great day. After we leave their house later on Tuesday evening we will have a Passover meal together. That sounds really good Jesus. Oh and I see you have scheduled some prayer time for yourself in the Garden of Gethsemane. I would think you would move that schedule up a little bit, it seems late to be going out that time of night but prayer anytime is always good. Plus Tuesday is a full day.

Let’s see! Wednesday, Wednesday…uh Jesus…did you notice Wednesday’s itinerary? Capture, accusation, trial, conviction, scourging, torture, CROSS, DEATH!!! What is going on? You are the King, the Messiah all of Israel have been waiting and looking for your appearance.

Yes I am the King, I hear Him reply, but this week…I am the Lamb of God and MUST fulfill that role.

Does He? Yes I think so.

It was expected that a traveler would obtain a “sacrificial, unblemished” lamb from the “priestly shepherds” enter Jerusalem and care for and examine that lamb before sacrificing it on the fourth day. So in that timeframe, the lamb would be acknowledged to be perfect, having no faults. Not only did Jesus fulfill this feast symbolically, but also quite literally. On the Palm Sunday, Jesus rode down the Mount of Olives on a colt. He was crucified four days later on Passover. In that time there was an intimacy with those He came to be the prefect sacrifice for, and upon examination by Pilate the verdict came from his mouth, “I find no fault in Him” (which could indicate he looked for fault).

Why do I say Wednesday Christ was crucified instead of the traditional Friday? Without getting into it too deeply, Passover as described in Lev. 23:4, 5 indicates on the 10th day of the first month, Nisan, [roughly equivalent to April on our calendar], every family of Israel was to take a lamb, without blemish, and separate it from the flock. On the evening of the fourth day the Passover lamb was killed, cooked, and eaten during the night. This feast begins the celebration of the exodus from Egypt. If the clock begins on Palm Sunday, and the day of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is day one. Wednesday is day four. Also remember the Jewish day begins at 6pm NOT midnight.

The Lamb of God… the one that God’s full fiery wrath would be applied to for mankind in order to reconcile us back to the father. Jesus through John 12:32 says and this is Jesus talking,” And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all [men] unto me”, this is from the King James Version. The original text in Greek reads like this “and I if might be elevated from the earth, all I will haul to myself”. God the Father forsook Jesus so that you and I would never be forsaken. All that we would have suffered through billions of years of eternity—the grief, the pain, and worst of all, the complete separation from the presence of God—Jesus experienced. And He experienced all of this for us. The judgment was made and the sentence carried out. The price was paid in full, once for all. He did not pay the price because of His sins, because He was sinless but He took the penalty, the sentence, the punishment, the separation that should have been mankind, all of mankind upon Himself. We could never pay for our sins. We could never become our own sacrifice. That goes against the very plan of God from the beginning. Christ, indeed is the Lamb slain before the foundation.

She did What? WOW!!!

The more I look, the more I realize how the Word of God is synchronized. Sometimes because of our lack of understanding of the culture and times of 2 thousand years ago we put things in the context of our own specific culture and reasoning. Obviously that presents a problem. Each culture, each country produces its own uniqueness and to really appreciate the history, the music, the tradition and other nuances one must try to become acquainted with those different aspects. So when we read the Word of God, for an example, we must understand the culture, the time and the people the Scripture is addressing. How does it line up with other factors found in Scripture?

We will be in the season, within a few weeks, where Christians will be remembering the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus the Christ, commonly known as Easter. It is also the same time of the Jewish Holiday Passover. Coincidence, no I think not. Maybe, just maybe in order to bring even more clarity of the perceived ending chapter of Jesus’ earthly life, we need to go back to the beginning.

Luke 2:6-14 – “And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger. Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.””

As an American, chances are one of the first songs you learned as a child was “Mary had a little lamb”, remember? “Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb…Mary had a little lamb, its fleece was white as snow….” I believe upon close inspection we will find yes, it is true. Mary indeed had a little Lamb.

Have you ever wonder why the shepherds were out watching over their sheep at night? Who were these Shepherds that the angels made the announcement found in Luke 2:11-12? How did the shepherds know where to go to find this babe? Why did they not have any hesitation or discussion as to what direction to take? After all it was not like the angels gave them a location. The answer is simple. These were not ordinary shepherds. They were “Priestly Shepherds” and the sheep they were guarding were “Sacrificial Lambs” which were used during the Passover. Because these particular sheep were used for sacrifice they had to be watched 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These sacrifices had to be perfect and anyone wanting to buy a lamb for the Passover would come to Bethlehem to be guaranteed of getting “the best”. Bethlehem was considered in that day the “Holding Pen” for the “Sacrificial Lambs” so on this night Bethlehem became the “Holding Pen” for God’s Sacrificial Lamb, Mary’s baby. Is it no wonder that the angels would appear first to these “Priestly Shepherds” and they would be the ones to first join Mary and Joseph in welcoming “THE ULTIMATE” sacrificial Lamb, Jesus Christ. If this indeed is true, then the nativity scene we traditionally see at Christmas with the baby Jesus surrounded by cattle, and sheep and donkeys in a lean to shelter is not a reasonable picture of this birth event. I point back to my initial comments in understanding the times and culture. If truly Christ was born in a special place for special sheep for a special event then the environment would have to be favorable for the expected outcome.

MICAH 4:8 “And thou, O tower of the flock (Migdal Eder), the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem, O tower of the flock” –

Migdal Eder was the watchtower that guarded the Temple sheep that would be the sacrificed in Jerusalem. Again these were not just any sheep and the shepherds who watched over them were specifically trained for this job. They were educated in the requirements and it was their job to make sure that none of the animals were hurt, damaged, or blemished.

Migdal Eder was where the shepherds would watch over their flock from the second story and the first story was where the newborn lambs were placed from the fields of Bethlehem. The shepherds would wrap the newborn lambs in SWADDLING CLOTHES to protect the body of the lambs which would be offered as sacrifice at the Temple just about four miles away in Jerusalem. Swaddling clothes were used to tightly bind the new lambs from being bruised and injured by thrashing around. I imagine it provided a form of comfort just like when a human baby is wrapped in a blanket at birth. The lambs would be laid in a manger until they had calmed down. They immediately understood where to go to find the newborn Messiah, Jesus Christ. He would be found where the angel had told them, wrapped in SWADDLING CLOTHES lying in a manger in the lower floor of the tower of the flock, Migdal Eder. Jesus was born in Bethlehem where all sacrificial lambs were born, and died in Jerusalem where all sacrificial lambs were killed. He was born as the Lamb to be sacrificed to take away the sin of the world.

Abraham saw the arrival of the Lamb. When he was going to offer up Isaac, Isaac asked where was the sacrifice. And Abraham said, my son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering:

In order for Christ to be the Passover Lamb of God, He would have had to fulfill the role in its entirety. The Lamb had to be born in Bethlehem, without blemish. He would have to be a male and in the prime of life as a one year lamb was accept to be in prime strength. A man in his early thirties is to be assumed to be in his prime.

In John 1:29 – John proclaimed, “Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.” In other words this is no ordinary man, this is the “Lamb of God”. Yes it is true!! Mary really did have a little Lamb! What other events significantly point out the fact that He indeed is the ‘sacrificial’ Lamb of God? We shall see next week.

Briefly, a couple things I saw in writing this blog post. First, the shepherds were not watching the flock from the comfort of the second story of the tower at night. When the enemy, wolves, bears and lions are most likely to strike in the darkness of night, they were in the field to protect. They took their call to guard, protect and serve seriously, boots on ground, realizing the value of those charged to them. What say you Pastors and Ministry Leaders? Second let’s give the innkeeper a break. There was no room in the inn because there was not supposed to be any room in the inn… and it’s not the innkeeper’s fault. In order to fulfill and satisfy Christ’s end, Mary and Joseph could not get in at the inn. Here a thought some of you have tried to get in with the in crowd and try as you might, you never really get in. It could be because you are pregnant with something special and it cannot be delivered in the company of the “inn” crowd.