The Approaching Cross

   It is now mid-way through Holy Week. In my last post, I thought about Jesus' cleansing of the temple and it's significance. Following the events of the Gospels, it is now three days into the fateful week leading up to Christ's passion, and the silhouette of the cross is emerging over the horizon. Christ is occupied with furious confrontation and conflict with the religious leadership over the abuses  of their religious authority and their coming condemnation. I wonder what His feelings must have been in the midst of those events, knowing what was approaching with each passing hour.

   It's now evening as I write this, and the events of the Gospels take note of the plot that is being put together by the religious leadership to kill Jesus. Jesus and His disciples have left Jerusalem and are on the Mount of Olives, as He tells them of the prophetic events of the future; the chief priests, the scribes and elders of the people are assembled at the palace of Caiphas, the high priest, discussing how they might catch and kill Him; Jerusalem is full of worshipers, having come from all across the empire for the Passover. the The stage is now being set; the major actors are now being brought together as the pace of action ramps up to the climactic events of Christ's passion two days later. I thought of the description of these events in Luke's gospel:

"Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people. Then Satan entered Judas, named Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them. And they were glad, and agreed to give him money. So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude." - Luke 22:1-6, NKJV

   I can't help but thinking about the meticulous sovereignty of God, in His absolute and total control over every person and event in history, as I approach Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The sequence of events are complex and the characters are many - God the Father; God the Holy Spirit; God the Son; his disciples; the chief priests, scribes, elders, and the high priest; Judas Iscariot; Satan; Pontius Pilate and the Roman garrison at the Praetorium, who are yet to appear; the massive crowd of worshipers who have come to Jerusalem. The actors are playing their parts flawlessly - Judas has already sold himself to the fate that awaits him, and collected his ill-gotten money. In the high priest's palace, the decision has been made. Jesus and his disciples have retired for the night. Jerusalem at night is quiet as worshipers have made their way to their various inns and residences. The temple sits silent, the great veil separating the Holy of Holies from everything else in its premises.

   Thousands of years of prophetic history that began with God's promise in the book of Genesis, to send a Saviour after the Fall in the Garden of Eden are converging to their moment of fulfillment. All of heaven watches with anticipation and bated breath, as God's epic master plan from before the beginning of time unfolds and heads towards its inevitable and promised conclusion with clockwork precision. God has left no loose ends as the greatest demonstration of His power and glory begins to appear on the horizon of history. And at the center of this mighty converging of events is Jesus.

   As I immerse myself in Scripture, allow the Holy Spirit to bring the words on its pages to life, and carefully track the story 2,000 years later, there is the accompanying tension as I know what awaited Jesus in less than twenty four hours. Somewhere in the Roman garrison, the cross has been made by unwitting carpenters and kept ready for its intended purpose. The hammer and nails, forged by similarly unwitting craftsmen lie ready to be pounded into unresisting hands and feet. The whip used for scourging lies waiting for the body on which it will be used. The thornbush sits silently, its thorns ready to be cut and fashioned into a crown. Every one of them is there for a purpose, orchestrated by God for the part that He has intended them to play. There is not one unintended object that should not be there, not one wasted moment, not one event that happens by "luck" or "chance." 

   But at the same time, there is a tremendous sense of gratitude and wonder as I contemplate God's eternal mind and plan. Before He had even willed the first events of creation, He had seen and planned my own life. Knowing the kind of sinner and fool that I am, whose life would be hopelessly lost without Him, He had planned to draw me to salvation through faith in Him at the right time. He undertook this entire enterprise with the intent that I should see His glory in the Cross, be blinded by it and follow Him all the days of my life. I could only write the following prayer of gratitude as I thought over these things:

   Awesome God. Awesome God. I have no words to describe the love that fills my heart for You, that You would thus demonstrate your love for a wretched man like me. Master, what shall I do to show my gratitude? I am poor, my possessions are miserable, my mind is foolish and my hands are empty. I can only throw my heart and my life into your hands tonight. I will lose my life, that I may find it in You.

- The Wisdom Seeker

Judgement Begins At The House of God

Jesus cleanses the temple in a scene from
"Jesus of Nazareth" (1977)

   Today being the second day of Passion Week, I wanted to look at an event that caught my attention as I was reading through the Gospel of Matthew yesterday. It refers to Jesus' cleansing of the temple on the day following His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, which I reflected on in yesterday's post. On a personal note, I particularly like how this event is portrayed in the 1977 movie "Jesus of Nazareth" that I later watched as a child. The film makers imagined Christ paraphrasing the prophetic words of Isaiah 1:21 - "Jerusalem! The faithful city! She that was full of justice, has become a harlot!" - before proceeding to clean the temple.

   This event can be found described in all four Gospels - Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-17, Luke 19:45-46, and John 2:13-17. Of these, I thought I'd use the description provided by the Gospel of John here:

"The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” - John 2:13-17, ESV

   Christ never ceases to amaze. The day before, we saw His soul was in distress during His triumphal entry, as He anticipates His coming suffering under the full potency of the Father's divine anger against the sins of human kind. Now, He almost seems a different man. I used to hold to the popular perception of "gentle Jesus, meek and mild", and imagine Him as a "nice guy" when I was growing up. The more I am coming to know Him through Scripture, the more that I see that He is anything but a "nice guy"; we must never forget that this Person emerging through the pages of Scripture is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, the eternally existing and omnipotent Word through whom all creation was made.

   I was struck that Jesus, after surveying the goings-on in the temple, deliberately sat down and took the time to make a whip out of cords in an act of premeditated aggression. See the fire blazing in the Master's eyes! See the sinews of His strong hands, as He fashions the instrument of His anger! Christ makes no attempt to invoke diplomacy and engage in polite, negotiated conversation. The Lord of glory storms into His temple, people and animals fleeing before the lashes of His whip, as He kicks tables over and flings their money to the ground. What has made the Saviour so angry?

   No one needs ask; Christ Himself roars the accusation with pointed finger - "a house of trade!"; "a den of robbers!"  This is the reason for the Master's potent fury - the desecration of reducing His holy house into a place of commerce and profit; a department store! a foreign exchange counter! When God had first instituted the sacrificial system for worship and sin offerings in the Old Testament, He had commanded that each person was to personally pick and bring the best bull from his herd or lamb from his flock, or if too poor, turtledoves or pigeons. By the time of Christ, worship had lost all sense of truth, meaning or spirit. Corrupted by the emptiness of an external show of religious observances and devoid of true holiness, it had made a mockery of the spirit of God's law by turning the temple into a department store for the worshipper to buy the animals that he needed instead of bringing them himself. For those Jews coming from outside Israel to worship at Jerusalem, money changers had set up business to exchange their currency and buy the animals that they needed. Oh, how the righteous anger of Jesus must have burned as He saw this the previous day!

   It was as I was thinking over this passage that the words from the first Epistle of Peter hit me like a lightning bolt:

"For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” - 1 Peter 4:17, NKJV

   Dearly beloved, let us contemplate this verse during Holy Week - God is not mocked or partial; He will set His own house in order first before He ventures to judge those who do not belong to His kingdom. Christ will cleanse His church of every evil that corrupts and distorts His gospel, with stern measures if He has to. This is a very sobering thought, for the the temple of God is not to be found in humble parishes, church buildings or impressive cathedrals; it is not a congregation or denomination. No, indeed, for the Apostle Paul writing to the Corinthian church states the truth of the matter:

"Do you not know that you are God's temple and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.” - 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, NKJV

   If the Master were to come into my temple today, what would He see? Would I be able to look Him in the eye, or cast my eyes to the ground in shame? Would I hear the words "Well done, good and faithful servant!", or would I hear the kind of words that He used upon those who He drove out with whips in Jerusalem? Knowing that He will begin with me, is my conscience clear? Let us examine ourselves and if we find our temple in disorder, let us repent and confess our sins to Him, knowing that "if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1:19, NKJV

   See you in the next post for Passion Week!

- The Wisdom Seeker

Hosanna: "God, Save Us Now!"

"All Glory, Laud and Honour"
Image Copyright: The Sage

   Today is Palm Sunday, and there are only a few hours left before the day ends. Passion Week has begun, and I want, if possible, to post my thoughts as I go through the week this year. 

   With all that has been happening over the last two weeks, I wanted to do something different and experience a traditional liturgical service this Palm Sunday. So early today morning, I drove out to St. John's Vancouver [1], an Anglican parish situated in the Oakridge area. St. John's had been recommended by my mentor, as a church well known for faithful gospel-centered biblical preaching, while preserving the liturgical service that I had been wanting to experience again. And thus it happened that I drove out to the 9:00 AM service, wondering what it would be like and looking forward to the experience.

   The choir was just gearing up to sing the "Hallelujah Chorus" as I made my way to a pew in the back and took a seat. After this, I had the pleasure of rising with the rest of the congregation and singing the opening hymn, "All Glory, Laud and Honour", with a beautifully accompanied organ and choir. What a pleasure it was, to sing the words of this beautiful hymn after many years! I took a photo of the words and sheet music of this classic hymn provided in the service sheets, along with the little hand-made Palm Sunday cross that was given to each of us. As the service went by with the liturgical greeting, Prayer for Purity, recital of the Nicene Creed,  Lord's Prayer and other familiar elements of the service in the old English, I was looking forward to hearing the sermon. I was not disappointed, and thought I'd share the summary here.

    Titled "Jesus: Son of David", it focused on the excerpt of John 12:1-36, covering Jesus' anointing at Bethany, triumphant entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, his message about the grain of wheat and his prediction of his coming death.

   One of the new things that I learned through this sermon was related to the meaning of the word "Hosanna", shouted by the crowd as Christ enters Jerusalem:

 "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! The King of Israel!"

- John 12:13, NKJV

   It was pointed out that there is a particular and important meaning to the word "Hosanna!" (pronounced, “hoshi’a na”) when translated from the original Hebrew, particularly in this passage and places such as Psalm 118:25. The word, “hosanna,” literally means, “Save us, now!”, or "Save us now, we beseech you!" Thus, in this case, the crowd was shouting prayer of acclimation to Jesus as their perceived Messiah who was going to save Israel from Roman rule, without realizing what they were saying. Jesus was going to save, but in a shocking and completely unexpected way.

   Amongst many other interesting things that the Rev. David Short pointed out in his sermon, he focused on three aspects that Jesus prophesied out about his death that I wanted to share.

• It was a fruitful death. Jesus' famous words of the burial of a grain of wheat in John 12:24-25 are of interest here. A grain of wheat is not meant to be carefully placed in a display case, polished and dusted. It is meant to be buried. It is meant to die. The burial of a grain of wheat is essentially a funeral. Jesus' sole purpose for his entry into Jerusalem was to attend his own funeral. It was His Father's intent to send Him there for that express purpose. But Jesus also explains that in His one death, death itself would be reversed and an explosion of new life would occur - the lives of those who would be born into new life through His one death. Jesus also has this in mind for those who follow Him; it is more than self-denial, fasting, observances or sacrifices. It is facing our own funerals as grains of wheat in His hands, the complete surrender of our life and will to Him, just as He surrendered His life into His Father's.

•  It was a deeply troubling death. Unlike what we often imagine, Jesus was anything but calm, composed and stoic as He contemplates what is to come. John records His words: "Now my soul is troubled and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour." It is interesting to note Christ's great struggle with death, in comparison with those Christian martyrs who joyfully stated their desire to die for him. Some sang as they were burned alive. One who was being skinned alive said, "I thank you for this. Tear off my old garment, for I will soon put on Christ's garment of righteousness." But Jesus is afraid and anxious as He contemplates what is to come, and with good reason - the full, unrestrained flood of the divine anger of God against all of human sin is soon to be vented upon Him without any mercy. But Christ did it for us; despite His troubled and anguished soul, He did for us what we were incapable of doing for ourselves.

• It was a glorified death. Jesus' sole intent was the glorifying of the Father's name: "Father, glorify Your name." Jesus went on to explain: "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself." It is important to note that Jesus' road to glory leads to the slowest and most painful way to die. His death on the Cross is Jesus' glory, because two important things will happen, both then and in the time to come - people will be drawn to salvation, and Jesus will be the one drawing them. I found this to be a really important point highlighted in verse 32 and paid close attention to what Jesus is actually saying to the people who are questioning Him. Those that are drawn to salvation at the Cross don't come by their own free will or choice. They are brought there by God, who draws them by His own unshakeable will and omnipotent power. The "all peoples" that Jesus is referring to is not the whole world; it is those who God has planned to be drawn towards the Cross. Thus, from beginning to end, salvation begins and ends with God. He takes full credit for everything that happens. Praise God, what an awesome thing that He undertakes for us on His own initiative and power!

   As the time for Holy Communion drew near, these same themes were expressed in the preceding Prayer of Humble Access:

   "We do not presume to come to this thy table, O merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in thy manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under thy table. But thou are the same Lord, whose property is always to have mercy: Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to eat the flesh of thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and to drink His blood, that our sinful bodies may be made clean by His body, and our souls washed through His most precious blood, and that we may evermore dwell in Him, and He in us. Amen."

   As the service concluded with the customary greeting and benediction, I went home happy. I'm glad to be able to share these thoughts in this post, and look forward to writing more during Passion Week. I hope you all had a blessed Palm Sunday. See you in the next post!

- The Wisdom Seeker  

REFERENCES:

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[1] St. John's Vancouver