The Chain of Custody and the Chains that Were Broken

 

As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

- Matthew 27:57-61 -

Make no mistake.  The events that took place immediately after Jesus' death are historical.  They are the legal evidence of the day.  These are the witnesses of the day.  There were no other types of recordings other than eyewitness accounts.  No videos, no photographs, no voice recordings.  All that was available was the testimony of those who were there to see the event.  And if anyone wanted to talk to them to confirm what had occurred, they were quite possibly still alive when the written account of Matthew was "published", per se.

Who were these eyewitnesses?  In these verses we have Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joses.  In the rest of the chapter, the witnesses include many women (v. 55), Roman guards (v. 54) and chief priests and elders (v. 41).  (The thieves that were crucified with Jesus were, of course, not available for a chat.)

The Gospel of Matthew is very dry and matter-of-fact about these accounts, but he was, after all a former tax collector whose chief skill is documenting accounts.  Therefore, it seems obvious to follow that he was making an account of this event to ensure that Jesus' death was clearly and legally documented.  Many to this day continue to refute the fact regardless of the legal evidence of the day.

But the prophetic significance of the witnesses in these verses must not be lost.  To understand the significance of Joseph of Arimathea putting Jesus' body in his own new tomb, we go to Isaiah 53:9.  "He was assigned a graves with the wicked and with the rich in His death."  This highlights the fact that Jesus' atoning sacrifice was for all - not only for the wicked, but also for the rich; not only for the rich, but also for the wicked.

As to the witness of the women, there is no old testament prophetic reference.  But there is an inference that the women who were involved in Jesus' life were also significant in His death.  Their status in the Kingdom was, in a word, promoted.  Indeed, the barrier between life and death was not the only thing that had been shattered, but many other curses as well.  In this case, the curse of women being subservient to men, as had been judged by Jahweh in Genesis 3:16.  Indeed Paul also recognized this in Galatians 3:28.

It is impossible to diminish the significance of the event of the cross.  By the event of the cross, I am meaning that we must include Jesus' resurrection.  It is a real event.  But more than this, what was witnessed had a reverberating impact in unseen realms, removing the delineations of time, space, matter and energy.  And, of course, removing all social delineations.  The spiritual aerodynamics, so to speak, have changed with those three days in which the proverbial sound barrier was forever broken.

Learn to fly in this new way!

The Cosmic Crux

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

- Matthew 27:50 -

All the beatings, mockery and false accusations of the previous 24 hours.  All the rebellion, derision and sin of all the ages culminated in this moment.  A sacrifice for all humanity.  A sacrifice for each soul that has or ever will be.

Jesus Himself was on the event horizon of doubt in verse 46, channeling (per se) the first verse of Psalm 22.  And yet in His most desperate hour, the Father sends someone from among the mockers to tend to His needs and let Jesus know that He had not forsaken Him.

In His greatest weakness, Jesus was revealing the height of His perfect strength (2 Corinthians 12:9).  So then, when His body released His spirit a chain of events released a dissembling of all that made natural sense.  The curtain of the temple ripped apart, an earthquake suddenly shook the land, and many holy people rose from the dead (vv. 51-53).

It's no wonder, for the Creator of all that is seen and unseen - the One who had always held all things together (Colossians 1:16-17) - had just completed the ultimate intent of Yahweh. It was an ultimate intent that all eternity hinged upon.  It was, quite literally, the spiritual Big Bang upon which all events past, present and future reference their existence.

Instead of sinking into the event horizon of doubt, Jesus had plunged headlong into the event horizon of reality.

And we are the grateful benefactors.

Why a Cross?

 

There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it.

- Matthew 27:34 -

Why was Jesus crucified on a cross?  We know he was offered as a sacrifice to pay for the sins of every soul, but he could have been sacrificed in a countless number of ways.  He could have been beheaded, His throat slit, hung by a rope, dismembered, poisoned... Cain's lust for another's blood has never run dry since that travesty when he killed his brother.  Indeed, it has only grown more creative over the millennia.

To understand this, we need to go to Psalm 22.  This was a prophesy of the method of execution of the Messiah to come.  It also includes a prophesy of the resurrection and Lordship, but that is not the focus here.

In Psalm 22, David is ostensibly experiencing the Messiah's execution through His eyes, flesh and soul.  In this passage, the Messiah 

• cries out to God, asking why He has forsaken Him.
• is surrounded by others who despise Him.
• is mocked.
• is counted as a criminal.
• is pierced in the hands an feet.
• is stared and gloated at.
• has His clothing gambled over.
• To quote aboutbibleprophecy.com, "There are other descriptions in Psalm 22 that sound like an accurate description of what would happen to the Messiah being crucified, such as the disjointing of bones, the drying up of a person's strength, an intense sense of thirst, a heart melting like wax (Jesus was stabbed in the side with a spear during his crucifixion), and being 'poured out' of one's body. When Jesus was stabbed, blood and water poured out from the wound."

Of particularly impactful note, this Psalm predates this method of execution by about 600 years; that particular art of torment had not been invented yet.

The Son of Man's intent, even from birth I would submit, was to not only be sacrificed for Man. But it was also to show us that it had been His intent from the fall or even the creation of Man.  And finally, He determined that He was to pour His heart and soul into this by refusing to be anaesthetized of the agony of His entire being.

Such is not only the depths of His love for us, but also His passion for us.

Behold the manner of His love! (1 John 3:1)

 

So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?”

“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.

“Barabbas,” they answered.

- Matthew 27:17,21 -

Pilate and the chief priests had no clue what was transpiring.  But Matthew is giving us the the privilege to understand a glimpse of it by revealing it in this passage.  Jesus Barabbas means "the Lord saves the son of a father".  Who is the father of humanity?  Biblically, that would be Adam.

Jesus ostensibly took Barabbas' place.  What was the occasion of this substitution?  It was Pilate's custom to release a prisoner on the feast of Passover leading into the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  I submit that it was a diplomatic gesture to the Israelites in commemoration of the time when God set the prisoners free from their captivity in Egypt.

But there's a deeper understanding. Barabbas was guilty of murder and insurrection (Mark 15:7).  He was captive, but he was also guilty - even guilty of murder.  Jesus, the Son of the Father had become the One who would set the son of the father [Adam] free!  

In the oblivious actions of others, Jesus was quietly declaring His impending intent to set the captives free (Isaiah 61:1).  Matthew highlighted it for us so the reader would understand that He was setting the guilty prisoner free by taking on Himself the punishment that was due us.  And what is at the center of the implementing this plan?  It was blood.  The innocent blood of the Passover Lamb would soon set the guilty captive free, and that Blood was about to be upon "all the people" and on their children.

Jesus is a Four-Dimensional Chess Master, who orchestrates events and sets people in place at just the right time to carry out and reveal His loving and just intentions.  

We must not ever underestimate His wondrous sovereignty!

Godly Sorrow, Hearts of Stone, and Guilt unto Death

 

Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

“I have sinned,” [Judas] said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” 

The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 

- Matthew 26:75 - 27:6 -

In the middle of all the chaos, Jesus stayed the course of His ultimate destiny to save humanity from themselves.  But with all this, it is important to notice the attitudes of those whom His life had already touched.

Peter had sworn to stand and defend Jesus.  He had emphatically declared this in the context of brotherhood and the shelter of the Son's presence.  But Jesus knew the deceitful intentions, be they good or bad, of an unredeemed heart.  And when the rooster crowed, He had remembered that Jesus called it right, and it cut Peter to the core of his soul.  His soul was in bitter agony with sorrow.

For whatever reason, Judas had betrayed Jesus into the hands of those who wanted Him dead.  Once he realized what he had done, he was overcome by guilt.  His own sense of guilt compelled him to suicide.  Maybe the burden of guilt brought him to reckless depression.  Maybe it brought him to unbridled panic.  Nevertheless, he went straight to a fatal place of self condemnation. 

The religious elite, pious in their self righteousness, refused to own up to their own wickedness.  Pride had hardened their hearts, even as Pharaoh had done after having released the Israelites from Egypt.  They knew what they were doing, recognized it as evil, yet had set their faces as flint and continued in their nefarious intent.

These are merely three ways the human soul will react to sin, but Jesus paid for our base nature nevertheless.  The good news is the believer knows the other side of the cross!  How we react to our sin in the face of who He is and what He's done is critical as we walk out this relationship with Him, as we work out our salvation this side of eternity.

What Price Freedom?

"The silver trump of freedom had roused my soul to eternal wakefulness.  Freedom had now appeared, to disappear no more forever.  It was hear in every sound, seen in every thing.  It was ever present to torment me with a sense of my wretched condition.  I saw nothing without seeing it, I heard nothing without seeing it, and felt nothing without feeling it.  It looked from every star, it smiled in every calm, breathed in every wind, and moved in every storm."

- Frederick Douglass, The Autobiography of Frederick Douglass -

Freedom is a strange and beautiful thing.  Unless the soul knows what it's like to exist without it, it cannot be desired.  Many have lived without it, and yet have never hungered for it.  Many have lived with it, but have never cherished it.  All souls need the most ultimate form of it.

Few will reach out for it.

The United States of America has set up a framework by which all have the liberty to pursue it.  It has taken a couple hundred years for the framework to be extended to all, from a governmental standpoint.  Nevertheless, I firmly believe that we are there.

And yet the human souls within this land do not take advantage of this framework and continue to submit themselves to slavery.  The slavery to their own flesh.  The whimsical compulsions of another's manipulations.  The whimsical compulsions of others' thoughts.

Listen to the voice of the One Who formed you in your mother's womb!  In this listening you will find the desire and embracing of your true freedom.

God’s Treasure, Treasure Chest, and Treasured Ones

This is what the Lord Almighty says: "In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory," says the Lord Almighty. 8 "The silver is mine and the gold is mine," declares the Lord Almighty. "The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house," says the Lord Almighty. "And in this place I will grant peace," declares the Lord Almighty.

Haggai 2:6-9

Yahveh promises to shake up the world’s status quo to the degree that all nations will flock to lay hold of the world’s most precious commodity, that is, his personal holy presence. This will happen literally as a result of when he fills the second temple with his glory. Yahveh goes on to describe himself as possessing all silver and gold, that is, everything in the Temple treasury belongs to him. All the nations that come to him in his temple to get his presence will become his precious possession.  Yahveh promises that the glory of the second temple will exceed that of the first temple built by Solomon, and, within its precincts, Yahveh promises to dispense peace. The end purpose of the tabernacle and temple was for God and man to live together in peace. Jesus achieves this goal through his cross, burial, and resurrection.

The Old Testament has no record of God’s glory ever coming to the second temple like it gloriously manifested in Solomon’s temple (2 Chronicles 7:1). Yahveh’s shimmering and pulsating glory left the first temple, as recorded in Ezekiel 10, never to return until the arrival of “God in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:19) as recorded in the New Testament! The Ancient of Days visited at least once in Christ when Jesus was 12 years old (Luke 2:41-52), and later as God’s man on a mission from God (Luke 19:41-44). The glory of the second temple exceeded that of the first because Yahveh, mutually indwelling the Messiah, walked in it, cleansed it, taught in it, and healed in it (Matthew 21:12-17). To host the visitation of God in Christ was a privilege reserved for the second temple and not the first.

The mission of the Messiah was to reconcile humanity with God. This he accomplished under God’s guidance and help.

· Jesus is the priest of the New Covenant.

· Jesus is the atoning sacrifice of the New Covenant bringing us peace with God.

· Jesus is the resurrection and our blessed assurance in the New Covenant confirming God’s acceptance of his sacrifice and of us.

God’s acceptance is the foundation for our peace with him. The resulting reconciliation and union of God and Man creates the new temple in Christ.

Not only did God in Christ walk the temple precincts of the second temple, but God in Christ in his people also gathered to meet at the temple for worship, fellowship, and ministry (Acts 3:11, 5:12). So, in effect, the Messiah visited and ministered at the Second temple before his death and afterwards in and with his people! The second temple was doubly blessed! Yahveh’s promise in Haggai 2:9 has been emphatically fulfilled in Christ.

For a brief moment in time the spiritual temple in Christ resided in the physical temple in Jerusalem as promised by God. From there, forgiveness of sins and peace with God and peace from God was administered as promised by God. In due course, the river of God flowed out from that temple through the temple in Christ to cover the earth as promised by God in Ezekiel. That river, the Body of Christ, brought and continues to bring the wealth of God - his precious presence in his precious people - to all four corners of the earth. God lives in a temple “not made by human hands”. He lives in redeemed and regenerated holy humanity.

If you want to know God, go to Jesus! God’s precious personal presence, “the mystery of God”, is found today and everyday exclusively in Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” of knowing God (Colossians 2:2-3). God’s presence is buried in Christ and further buried in his people, the Body of Christ. We who live in Christ have Christ living inside. We are repositories and dispensaries of his precious presence, his glory, around the world today. As repositories of his wealth, we constitute his treasure. He is our treasure, but, in reciprocating fashion, we are also his treasure. Let us give away to others the God who lives inside and around us.

In summary:

· God is the ultimate treasure in life. Seek him!

· Jesus is the ultimate treasure chest revealing the depths of God’s love and power. Take the lid off and look inside the mind of Christ. Be greedy for God!

· We are God’s treasure house hosting God’s treasure chest and treasure. Share the wealth. Freely you have received, freely give!

Grace and peace.

John Reichardt

Fake News and the Divine Double-Down

 

The high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.”

“You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

- Matthew 26:63-64 -

We may think our modern criminal justice system has got serious flaws, but back in the day things were much worse!  For the Jews, the Sanhedrin were the equivalent of the Supreme Court for the people.  This "trial" was basically a kangaroo court.  It was conducted at night and in the High Priest's house (v. 58) - two of many reasons why the "trial" was illegal.  They tried to make it look legitimate by getting people to bring up false testimony, but none of those testimonies agreed.  They finally did get a couple witnesses to agree. (v. 60-61)  Jesus didn't respond - probably for a couple reasons: 1. It wasn't worth a response; it wasn't in His habit to repeat Himself.  2. In fulfillment of Isaiah 53:7.

But apparently Caiaphas became exasperated with it all and basically cut to the chase, asking Jesus "Are you the Messiah, the Son of God?"  Notice that he used the term "Son of God".  Jesus effectively said "yep".  He could have stopped there, but He doubled down by stating that He is a fulfillment of prophesy in the book of Daniel.  It is interesting that He used the term "Son of Man," as in the actual prophesy.  It's also probable that Jesus was equating the two terms.  Nevertheless, Jesus knew that this train needed a bit of a King-sized nudge - a nudge that ushered Him to execution.

It's critical to remember, especially as times are snowballing toward the end of things, that there are always two agendas at hand: the Agenda of Souls and the Agenda of God.  Jesus is unrelentingly committed to the Agenda of God.

Which agenda will you be committed to?

Behold What Manner!

 

Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

Matthew 26:53

Jesus had just finished stating to His Father that He was surrendered to launching Himself into the jaws of death (Matthew 26:42).  Why then would He say this, that He could beckon "legions of angels" to His aid?  He said this because He knew who He was.  There are times when our obedience to the Father's will may seem to come full against our identity.  To Jesus, though, this was not a conflict.  Rather, it was a challenge to Peter, and to His disciples within earshot: If I can submit to what I'm about to go through, so can you; it's time to put your sword away and step up to the true plan that is at stake.

After all, Jesus had given them the keys to the Kingdom.  It was their time to take the reigns of advancing the it on earth.

Again, Jesus had surrendered to the Father's agenda - that He pay the price for our brokenness, our sin.  Yet in the context of His arrest, He stated twice that this was happening to fulfill the scriptures (Matthew 26:54 and Matthew 26:56).  Is He really then just sacrificing Himself to make sure the prophecies are accurate?  No.  From the very first words, "In the beginning" (Genesis 1:1). the scriptures are the Father's agenda - which is to love us to a place of reconciliation through His Son.

Jesus is the consummation of the Father's heart for every human soul.  And only through Jesus is that consummation complete.  In Matthew 26, we have now fully entered into a place in this gospel where we can no longer use the words and actions of Jesus as a touchpoint to reflect upon the application of Jesus' words and actions to ourselves.  We are now in a place where we can only witness what Jesus is willingly going through and reflect with reverential gratitude on the massive act that is unfolding for us all.

The Journey of Surrender

He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

Matthew 26:42

Journeys are not always ones of physical will from start to finish; the journey's taking you there, whether you want or not you want to go there anymore. Like a train where you're not the engineer driving it, once you get on the ride it doesn't matter whether you change your mind along the way.

But you've still got to get on in the first place.  And that's completely your choice.  Your physical act of will.

Jesus had taken His disciples on a gut-wrenching journey of their souls.  They followed Him through conflict, demonic face-offs, mind-blowing miracles and teachings difficult to understand or even embrace.  In recent weeks, He had been warning them of His impending death and resurrection.  At first it was hard to comprehend but now they had come to believe it.  All they understood or saw was the death part.  Nevertheless they had come to know what was about to happen and it was very soon.  The one they had given their very hearts, minds and lives to follow was going to fate Himself into the hands of those who would kill Him.  This was more than they could bear, so they fell asleep in despair (Luke 22:45).

But Jesus' response to the challenges of the soul was to pray.  It had become His custom to get away and pray (Luke 5:16).  It was a reflexive response of His soul, like muscle memory.  He knew very dearly what He was about to go through, and didn't relish the thought - at all.  So He went to converse with His Father (pray).

The first time He went away, He appealed to the Lord - "if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me." (excerpted from Matthew 26:39)  He knew He was going to be beaten.  He knew He was going to have all manner of evil come against, even upon Him.  He didn't want to go through it, so He asked the Father if He could be saved from having to go through it all.

Either by silence or direct response, the response was a very flat "no".  Then He got up and went back to His disciples.  There, He saw them in their helpless state - bewildered to the point of slumber as to what was happening.  He knew they needed more than a Shepherd.  They needed a Savoir.  And it pushed the struggle over the edge.  He went back and said, "Since there's no other way than for Me to do it, then let's git 'er dun." (Matthew 26:42)

From that point on, He got on a proverbial train that took Him to that end.  Apart from Him taking back the right and power of His God-ness, He had given up control.  He had surrendered to the Father's agenda.

Indeed, by believing on Jesus (especially when baptized in Him) the follower has been crucified with Him.  But have you been to Gesthemane with Him?  Have you been on the journey of surrender with Him?  It's not a fair question though, in honesty.  Surrender is a daily intent of the will.

We just have to get on the train.

The Cup and Galilee

Matthew 26:29-35

precious are the moments
when the whispers of Jah are deafening
but the roar of human flesh
comes to me as cacophony

give me Your body
let me know Your blood
this is my choice
but to have no choice
but to follow You

i will be as Mary at Your feet
i will be as John at Your chest
i will be as Samuel
here i am! Lord speak.
here i am. Send me.

oh, but child, you can't do it on our own
'cos without Him, no, there is no home
burn the house, strip it clean
'cos without Him there is no home
scatter these ashes far, scatter them wide
for without the Shepherd, there is no home

for the Cup means nothing
if you don't drink it in
and He goes ahead to Galilee
to meet you there
after the Covenant is in you deep
deep on the other side

- revel8r, 7-11-20

Slavery and Reconciliation

[Judas Iscariot] asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver.

Matthew 26:15

Slavery is a wicked thing.  It comes in all forms and is completely colorblind.  It does not discriminate based on gender, race, creed or sexual preference.  It is a soul-thieving demon that has entered this world since the dawn of humanity.  And it still crawls across all lands including the United States.  Most prevalently it runs in sex trafficking, but it doesn't only run in that vein.

Yet regardless of whether slavery manifests itself in chains, locked rooms or physical exploitation, slavery is a common condition to every man.  It's common to us all as we have once been slaves to desire, anger, lust, greed, the bondages of the flesh.

And the One who would set us free from the captivity of our own slavery was bought at the price of a slave (Exodus 21:32).  What does this say of those involved?  That they considered Jesus' value as simply that of a slave according to the law's economy.

Jesus Himself knew that He was bound, even as a slave, to the destiny of reconciling the world to the Father.  Though He knew Himself as God, He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped (Philippians 2:6).  Rather He considered Himself as a slave for the price of humanity's reconciliation to God - so much more valuable to Him than thirty pieces of silver.

At the last Passover meal this side of the Great Wedding, He took the cup and said, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." He said it as a slave - a slave to the will of God.  A slave to His own desire for the joy of becoming the Bridegroom.

This  was the only time in the history of time itself when slavery had suddenly become precious - not because it was precious in its own rite.  It remained wicked even then.  But became precious, even priceless, because it unleashed freedom over all mankind.  Freedom to walk in the harmony with the ways of God.  Freedom to choose to obey His heart.  Freedom to know the Current Truth instead of the Cesspool of Lies.  Freedom to choose and know true Love.

Jesus' bondage to His own execution was the price of freedom for every soul.  For every soul has been doomed to slavery by the inheritance of Adam's seed since our very conception.

"For the Love of the Lord is a sure foundation.
Yes, the Love of the Lord is a sure foundation.

Don't let this Love go unrequited!
Don't let this Love go unrequited.

So let's paint a masterpiece of worship on the walls of the Heart of God!
Yes, let's paint a masterpiece of worship on the walls of the Heart of God.

And the Kingdom will rain down in torrents, on the earth of this silent planet.
Yes, the Kingdom will rain down in torrents, on the earth of this silent planet."

Distractions Fantastic

The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me.

Matthew 26:11

A woman was worshipping Jesus with fragrant perfume and tears of weeping.  He had suddenly become the center of the moment.  It was one of the last precious moments before His sacrifice.  It was a moment of personal, physical and intimate engagement with the ones for whom He came - the broken and the lost.

The disciples objected to this; they were indignant, even.  "Why this waste?" they asked. "This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor." Similar to the Pharisees in verses 3-5, they were focused on an agenda, be it personal or corporate.  Such are the distractions so very common to every man.

But likely, this perfume was still lingering in the vicious cocktail of senses that flooded His body as He hung on the cross.  It was the only sense that brought any comfort to Him as He hung there alone.  And so the joy set before Him may have sprung to life within His soul.  One could imagine that He conceived of the promise of a Bride consisting of the likes of this one woman.  This woman who sacrificed so much more than all she had just to worship Him in such an intimate way.

God is looking for ones like her.  No wonder Jesus declared that her act would accompany the gospel wherever it would be told.  For she refused to be distracted by the judgments and concerns of onlookers.

Set you heart with deliberate determined adoration - adoration in word and deed.  Refuse to let the concerns of this world distract you from engaging this Beautiful King.  This Lover of your soul.  This Vein of Precious Gold in a sea of base rock.

Purpose and Timing

Matthew 24:36 - 25:46

John Reichardt

5-30-2020

Jesus' response to his disciple's question regarding "the sign of his coming and the end of the age" is in many respects surprising, sobering, encouraging, and disturbing all at the same time. Few segments of any Gospel account cause us to, as Paul puts it, "consider the kindness and sternness of God..." (Romans 11:22). There is likely a reason for this. The "church age" or the "age of the Spirit" was at the threshold of human history (his death, burial, resurrection were imminent) when he responded regarding "the end of the age". His disciples at that point were still clueless (not their fault without the Holy Spirit living inside them) about what was coming upon the earth. They didn't have a grid of transitioning from the Old Covenant Age to the New Covenant Age to the Eternal Age. They had something else in their thinking. The early church in the nascent Age of the Spirit (and the church throughout history) would be quickly tested as to who the ultimate authority would be in their life.

Will it be the Jewish religious system (still around after his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension) or will it be Jesus? Will it be the Roman imperial state (still around after his prophesied destruction of the Jewish state in 70 AD), or will it be Jesus? Who is the real authority in all of life? Who is the real king of our lives? Who is our shepherd? Whose voice do we follow? As far as the church is concerned, Jesus is our king. We follow and obey him alone. Following his voice we end up where he calls us to be - at his side. That destination typically involves sacrificially loving others. The four parables before his death put realities and priorities on the table for all to see and grapple with.

These sayings of Jesus are disturbing on purpose. In effect, Jesus' authoritative words deliberately place the listener in a Preliminary Judgement Day so that we might meet him face to face ahead of the Transition Day and live! Live now. In the text we encounter his preeminent spiritual presence so that he might convict us of "sin and righteousness and judgement" (John 16:8). By hearing his voice in the text we are enabled to cross over from death to life (John 5:24). The recorded parable is the perfect place to visit and revisit the original speaker who spoke the parable from the beginning and continues to speak to us through those same words today. These parables are an invitation to a conversation with the first source, Jesus. The beauty of the Gospels (especially) is the opportunity it affords us to dialogue with it's original speaker by the Spirit of God. The God of encounter speaks in words that we can mercifully encounter him within repeatedly. In this regard, Bible reading and study is an utter joy. This is what happened to me when I first read these parables under the auspices of the Spirit. Upon reading these parables 40 years ago as an impressionable teenager, I was given a sobering glimpse of an undesirable future and I didn't want to be "that guy", an unfaithful steward, "moronic" bridesmaid, goat. We want to be faithful, wise, and a sheep. So, these parables are conversation starters with Jesus.

These words of Jesus give the reader a glimpse of the present ultimate reality where God encounters us in the ordinary, in the context of the grand scheme of things, and he speaks to us in heart to heart fashion before it all (literally) comes down at the End. Jesus' parables are about the End, but also about his authority then (at the End) and now. His words force the reader to accept or reject his words upon first reading/listening and repeated echoes in the mind (the parables are ear-worms) and thereby his authority as well in all of life as the Messianic King. The parables are so vivid that they not only arrest our attention but if we let them, the Master's words will master us. The beautiful thing then is that these parables are a mercy offered to the world, and should be received accordingly. We get to meet and greet our Maker way before meeting our Maker at the End. These parables constitute a prophetic second chance before we arrive at a time when need a second chance but its too late.

These parables are about then, but more so about now. The preservation of these parables are truly a mercy. This is the heart of Bible translators around the world: to preserve and promulgate the written word of God in a nation's language so that in the reading and the study of it they might encounter the Author of the text first-hand with only Jesus as the mediator. The goal of Bible translation and teaching is that we might all enter in and encounter the living Word in the written Word.
Parables have an otherworldly quality whose net transportative effect on the listener is that of listening to someone sharing a dream or vision. Parables permit the listener or reader to transcendentally enter or fall into the story to discuss invisible realities. The parable is an art form that pulls us in to speak to us personally like the quality of Isabel's art. In the judgement parables, Jesus let's us "put ourselves in the picture" (thanks Beverly for that exercise last night) of the final judgement ahead of time and where the criteria is clear and not arbitrary. The criteria of acceptance into humanity's next phase (after the transitory phase that is this one) is mercifully spelled out well in advance. God's sheep in God's flock have an ingrained personal relationship with him in this life that is naturally reflected in how we positively treat others in this life. These qualities are required in the people on Transition Day who will transition to the final state and become the reconstituted humanity in the Eternal Age. As someone has said, this life is a test for the one to come.

Our relationships in this life (with God and others) determine our continuance and participation in the next phase of human existence. Whatever all that entails (resurrection and immortality), it is designed by God and awaiting us securely as an inheritance in a heavenly lock-box. Our supernatural relationship with God is self evident in the ordinariness of life relationships. Those who love and are loved by God, love others. This criteria is simple (humble) and only appealing to the simple (humble), his sheep.

The Entrusting of the Father

Again, [at that time the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 25:1)] will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.

- Matthew 25:14

The master entrusted wealth to his servants, implying that he wanted that wealth back when he returned - nothing more, and nothing less.  Two of the servants put that wealth to work and made it grow.  One of them kept it safe out of fear for losing that wealth and incurring the master's wrath (a vain misconception, even indictment, of the master's character).

What if the economy had gone south while the master was away?  Who would have been the hero of the day?  Would the master have been angry or disappointed?

The master in this parable is Jawheh Himself.  And I know that the Father doesn't treat His children this way.  The heroes of the day are those who put the wealth He entrusts in them to work - not because they doubled his money, but because they took a risk.  If those investments fell flat on their face, I believe He would say to His children what any good father would say:  "Way to go, getting into getting into the game!  You gave it your best and that's what I'm wanting from you."

There's more to what we're here for than what we're here for.  And He has entrusted into us the mysterion of the Kingdom.  We should all rather be with Him in the Kingdom, away from this world of decay and entropy.  But while we're here, it takes faith to risk, and it takes risk to have faith.  And the returns on those investments are worth it all to Him - even His own Son.  We get to be witnesses of those returns, and He wants us to risk the wealth of the Kingdom to infect this world with life!

So fear of failure is beside the point.

Don't waste what He has given you.

Monarch

all that i was 

i see right now

like it is

like it was

like it is right now

and altogether new

like a diamond

in prism

throwing His colour

all around this room

as it was

i see right now

and altogether new

the Living Flame

the same and still

never again

changing as He always

is the same

like it was

as it is right now

and altogether new

and we journey through

always through

from shine to shine

His and mine

always through

to the other side

metamorphis in chrysalis

always through

to the other side

the same and still

never again

to the Living Wing

- revel8r -

The Symphony of Light

But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

Matthew 25:10

The parable of the ten virgins is an illustration of expectancy and preparedness, driven by desire.  For those who eagerly await the bridegroom (the wise virgins), they live their normal lives alongside those who are simply going through the motions (the foolish virgins).  Remember, both slept as they awaited the bridegroom.

But the wise virgins are prepared to live for the long haul; they've brought extra oil. For they know that it's their dependency on the oil (Presence of God) as the essential ingredient that keeps them burning with love for the Bridegroom until He comes to bring them into His home.

Until then, it's the lamp (the parameters of our faith) to hold the oil and the wick (our being) to draw the oil and bring fuel to the fire that light the room (this world).  Without the oil, doctrine becomes foolish religion.  Without our being, the oil has no conduit for the light.  But with all three working in a beautiful symphony, the darkness of the world is conquered.

Keep your lamps trimmed and burning!

The Hinge

From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land.

Mathew 26:45

The gospel of Mark tells us that Jesus was nailed to the cross at 9am (Mark 15:25).  Matthew marks the last moments of Jesus' life to be about 3pm.  In Matthew, the implementation of His execution took 27 verses.  Less than 5 minutes to read a very matter of fact narration of an excruciating, tragic event in the life of Jesus.

Six hours.  27 verses.  5 minutes.  The irony is not to be lost.

But vast amounts of sermons and books have been written since that day.  The event is memorialized yearly.

There's more to the cross than the crucifixion.  It is the culmination of the entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.  It is the beginning of a three-day event upon which all eternity, time, substance and space hinge.

And Jesus is at the center of it all.  His obedience, His blood and what it means to us.  His death and His resurrection are the linchpin on which everything holds together.  And if the soul will refuse to be nailed to this hinge, that person will separate into the eternal free fall of oblivion.

Jesus,
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  (Philippians 2:6-11)

all crowns tarnish in time
then rust then dust
and perish in the end
at pass forever to oblivion

yet there is one
fashioned first in thistle thorns
by mock and scorn of mortal hand
and mashed on precious brow

then ere third dawn
He stepped strong
from forsaken tomb
to claim His throne again
and that crown will never end

why seek the living among the dead?
do you not know our Dread Champion
has vanquished in conquest decisive
our fundamental foe
and did our hearts into
His glorious crown embed

- revel8r, 4-12-20

Difference in the Normal

For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

Matthew 24:38,39

When Noah got direction from the Lord, he and his family got to work. He was diligent about it until the job was done.  The project took years to be completed.  Probably decades.  During that time, it was very likely that he did not hear from God every day.  Very similar to a father asking his son to take care of a large project, he likely said "Git 'er dun, son."  And He left it at that.

But Noah could have said, "Eh! God's not keeping a close eye on me. Think I'll take a day off just because. How about cutting corners here and there?  What's a cubit or two anyway?" But he was diligent, and did everything God said to do.  (Genesis 6:22)

It was his job.  Just as his neighbors - the bricklayer, the blacksmith, the carpenter,,, the auto mechanic. The difference was that he was doing what God directed and how He directed.

So it is with us.  The Father has given us a destiny to complete.  Jobs to do.  People's lives to impact. He directs us along the way, but often leaves it to us to carry it out as He instructs. The difference is that we're doing it for Him as He directs.

Be the difference in a normal world.  In the end, He will return when we least expect it and will be blessed to see the difference.

This Bud's for You!

"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near."

Matthew 24:32

One of the questions asked by His disciples in verse 3 was, "What will be the sign of your coming?" After explaining that His coming will be amazingly obvious, He uses the lesson of the fig tree.  But is this lesson a metaphor of us or of the what we observe around us?  Are we the budding fig tree or are the events of life around us the budding fig tree?

As we see so often in the multi-layered Word of God, it is probably both.  In the first metaphor, we are the fig tree.  It's a picture of a tree coming out of dormancy after the long, cold winter.  We then feel His life surging through us again.  And when He returns, that life will be undeniable and we know it, even in our bones.

In the second metaphor, we will see things happening around us that speak of His imminent return.  Some are mentioned in the passage before this verse.  But further signs of a fig tree coming to life would be clear and unavoidable.  Things like:

1. Revivals across the globe that never fade, but grow and capture the world with a strength and power as never before seen since the beginning of time.
2. Healings en masse at a scale and power as never known before.  Epidemics eradicated only by the power of the prayer and declaration of the saints.  Titanium and plastic of prosthetics replaced by bone and cartilage.  Bones growing by inches.  All even as doctors scratch their heads. 
3. Entire graveyards being exhumed at the sound of trumpets.
4. Tsunamis brought to a standstill by the word of a single saint.
5. Leaders of nations brought to their knees in acknowledgement of His reign, regardless of political affiliations or convictions.  For every knee will bow before Him.

In either metaphor, the message is the same: don't worry about whether you'll miss His return.  It will be unmistakable to all, and all will know that His return (His kingdom notwithstanding) is at hand.

The Kindness of Christ

"If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened."

Matthew 24:22

Much, if not all of the first 28 verses of this chapter are considered to be a prophecy of the Roman siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.  The event was extreme and extremely bloody, and could be considered to have mirrored what Jesus described here.

His instructions in the passage are to flee when you see the destruction imminent.  Many were discovered to have indeed fled to the surrounding mountains during that time.  Could it be that they had indeed heeded the warnings of Jesus?

The kindness of God is not simply reflected provision or in outright protection; it's reflected in His warnings as well.  And if we ignore those warnings, resulting in personal (or even national) calamity then we have no one to blame but ourselves.

His love endures forever - as Father, as Lover and as Friend.

A Tale of Two Temples

"Do you see all these things?" he asked. "Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."

Matthew 24:2

After all the woes and condemnations that Jesus had declared, there really wasn't a lot for the Jew to hang his hat on so to speak.  They had been stripped completely bare, and knew it wasn't just directed at the Pharisees; it was directed at all.

What do you do when everything you based your identity in was laid waste?  Many search for vindication; they look for tangible signs of that which refers to anything that still maintains their stature as a people.  In this situation, buildings seemed like a good idea to the disciples.

But Jesus even takes that away with one prophetic word.  He then paints a picture that would put a scene from Mad Max to shame.  No.  Buildings, triumphs, wealth, culture - all are temples of vanity in the eyes of the King.  It's only when the gospel of the Kingdom is preached to the whole world - only when people have chosen to focus on that one ambition will His coming and the end of the age be imminent.  Only then will shrines and temples become irrelevant and the Son of Man returns to establish His manifest reign.

Turning at the Edge of the Cliff

"For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Matthew 23:38

After all the litany of woes and proclamations of hypocrisy and blindness, Jesus declares this.  Apparently, when the religious elite of Israel recognize the one who comes in the name of the Lord will be akin to the sounding of the last trumpet call. What an amazing day that will be, when religious ones turn to acknowledge Jesus as Lord over all!

Wait, what?  I thought the religious elite were too far gone to be able to come back.  After all, those declarations of woes seemed downright condemning, right?  No, for he declared that even they can return to the true ways of Yahweh.

But Jesus knew what was about to happen.  And why.  And he knew the rest of the story beyond that.  He knows that His sacrifice would be the work that would paint the threshold of the hearts of all that would acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior.  Even blind hypocrites who humble themselves and open their eyes to behold Him.  (See Genesis 12:1-29)

Think twice; there is hope even at the edge of a cliff.