The Passover

Before Jesus was crucified, he celebrated the Passover with his disciples. The Passover was Israel’s celebration of God’s deliverance from Egypt. On that day, the Jews sacrificed a lamb, and smeared some of its blood on the lintel, and door posts of their houses. The blood marked that house as having people, who belonged to the God of Israel. Judgment would pass by that house. That night, they ate bread made without yeast. They needed to eat, but they needed to hurry, because they were preparing to leave their current life, and current home, behind.

During the meal, Jesus made several things very plain to his disciples. (Although, what he told them was so foreign to their thinking, judging by their actions in the next few hours, that the did not understand what Jesus was saying.)

First, he was going to be betrayed by one of his disciples.

Second, he was going to be delivered over to those who hated him, and killed.

Third, his death was, in reality, like the Passover lamb. His blood, like the lambs, would mark those who were his, and protect them from God’s judgment. His body was like the bread, sustenance leading to a new life.

This new Passover meal was a celebration of deliverance from a different cruel master – sin – and a transition to a new promised land.

Greatest in the Kingdom

Biblical prophecy can be like looking at a range of mountains. Individual peaks rise up, and appear to stand right next to each other. However, in reality, there is a valley between them.

When the Jews read the Scripture, they saw prophecy concerning God’s Promised One. They saw the Promised One on the throne of Israel, ushering in a golden age of peace and prosperity.

So, maybe, it’s not so strange for one woman, who believed that Jesus was God’s Promised One, and therefore, that the golden age was coming very soon, to ask Jesus to give her sons high positions in his kingdom.

She, like many of the Jews, saw the Reigning King mountain peak, but missed the Suffering Servant mountain peak. So, Jesus had an opportunity to teach two lessons.

First, in God’s kingdom, love rules. So, those, in the highest position, give the most. They are servants. Service is not just physical labor. Generosity is also service. Teaching, and encouragement, to enable people to live improved, more optimal lives, is also service. But, in all cases, a servant gives himself, and his resources, to meet needs, and to make someone else’s life better.

And that leads to the second lesson. God is a servant. And God’s Promised One is a servant. God’s Promised One in one particular way – by giving his life to ransom the world. To pay the price, so that each, and every person, living in the past, present, and future, can be delivered from sin, the devil, and the world, and brought into God’s family, and kingdom.

Not everyone will choose to receive this gift. But there is a gift for everyone, bought, and paid for.

Lazarus

Jesus received a message from his friends – Mary, Martha, and Lazarus – that Lazarus was very sick. Scripture goes great lengths to inform the readers that Jesus, and these three, have a very close relationship. Yet, Jesus remains where he is, on purpose, for two more days.

Jesus knows that if something is not done, Lazarus will die. He stays because God will move in Lazarus’ life as a powerful demonstration of who he is, and what he can do.

So, Jesus and the disciples return to Bethany. And Mary, and Martha, go to him. They go separately, but they have similar conversations with Jesus. “If you had been here …”

Life, and wholeness, is not derived from a set of rules. Life is derived from a relationship with a person. And to demonstrate that, Jesus has men remove the stone, that covers the tomb. And he calls Lazarus to come back form the dead. And Lazarus walks out of the tomb.

Life, whole, and optimal living do not come from following a system. They come from following a person.

Religious Behavior

The religious leaders did not like Jesus, because he did not behave like a religious teacher should. He did not follow their system.

Jesus did have expectations of behavior too. He expected each person to have a relationship with Father. And each one practice it with sincerity, genuineness, and authenticity. He expected each person to live expressing love to other people.

The Pharisees – or, at least, some of them – seemed to make a habit of publicly, and obviously, demonstrating that they kept the system. Were they saying: “All this is not my fault.” ? Or were they saying: “Look how good, noble, devoted, and pious I am.” ?

People don’t do family things to be noticed. People do family things, because they love their family. Because they like to be with, and do things with, their family.

We are part of God’s family. We ought to be with him, because we love him, and he loves us. “Doing our religion” ought to be a demonstration of that love. Giving to meet needs, prayer, worship, fasting – all of these should be natural moves of a heart motivated by love.

Prayer

And Jesus discusses prayer in other ways. Once, we have given our allegiance to Jesus, we become part of his family. And, as his child, we can approach him directly. We come to him through the work of Jesus. But, now we have our own relationship with him.

And Jesus encourages us to go to him with whatever is on our hearts, our needs, and our desires. And because he is our Father, he listens to us. Really listens with 100% focused attention.

And his inclination is to grant whatever we ask. His heart yearns to fulfill whatever is on our hearts.

He obviously does not. A child may yearn intensely to have “gummy worms” every day for dinner. It is actually cruel to grant that request. No matter how much we may like, and want, “gummy worms,” a consistent diet of “gummy worms” does not lead to optimal living.

And our hearts should become like his heart. Jesus told his disciples to pray for more workers in the harvest. How often do we pray this? How often is our hearts aimed at those who do not know him? His heart yearns for in increase of his family. Does ours?

The Pharisee and The Tax Collector

Jesus told another story about a Pharisee and a tax collector.

Both went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee praised God, because of his right standing through is obedience to God’s Law. The tax collector begged for mercy, because all he saw was his own sin.

I have a theory about the Pharisees. (As it is a theory, it may be true, but it might also not be true.) They read the Scriptures, and saw all the places where God said: “You are my people. I will bless you.” Then, they looked at history: the Philistines, Assyria, Babylon, and Rome. And they said: “That’s not good. What happened?”

So, they read more Scriptures: “Obey me, and I will bless you. Disobey me, and you’re in trouble.” The, they looked at more history, and said: “Oh, yeah. My bad.”

The say that the bad, that happened to Israel, was a result of their disobedience. So, to get good results, they needed to work hard at obeying God. So, they asked: “How do we obey God?” And they studied, and they mapped it all out. They developed a system. Obey the system, you’re good with God. Disobey the system, and you’re the cause of all the bad stuff.

So, the Pharisee, praising God in the temple, is saying: “I’m keeping the system. So, I know God is pleased with me. The bad stuff is not my fault.”

They did work hard to obey God, but it was in all the superficial areas. They tithed, but the were not loving, merciful or compassionate. They should be obeying all of God’s word.

The tax collector was honest with God. He knew he sinned, and could only stand before God if God extended mercy, and grace. The Pharisee was deluded, because he only obeyed part of the Law. And the easy part at that.