Jewish Feasts: Shadows into Sharpness

 

When you look closely, the Jewish Feasts have ongoing relevance for the future and are far more than simple tradition alone; they are feasts appointed by God Himself (Lev. 23:2, Ezek. 44:24). They all point to Jesus as Messiah in some context.

Hebrews to Revelation Key Themes

There are a number of overlapping themes from Hebrews to Revelation. I have charted them here as a study tool. I pray and trust it will be beneficial to you as you intently and intentionally study God's Word.

Each book presents a special theme of Christ. This painting represents Jesus speaking with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4) when she acknowledges the Christ is coming, and Jesus declared Himself to be He (Jn. 4:25-26).

Photo credit: "The Samaritan Woman Speaking with Christ at the Well" by Professor He Qi, One Gospel - Many Cultures, Radopi B. V., Amsterdam - New York, NY 2003.

Hebrews to Revelation chart created by Toward the Goal. You are welcome to share it (referencing this site), download it and/or improve it for your personal use.

Esther - Book Analysis Chart

Crazy Love and Crazy People: What I'm Reading and Listening To

Crazy Love

When I told my wife that I was reading Francis Chan's Crazy Love, she was excited because she thought it was a book about marriage.  Her and me.  But in a way, it is a book about marriage (and her and me too), because it's about how we should live excitedly for Jesus and His Bride, the church.  

In his introduction, Chan sets the scene with the words,

This book is written for those who want more Jesus. It is for those who are bored with what American Christianity offers. It is for those who don’t want to plateau, those who would rather die before their convictions do.

These words gave me hope that we are not the only people disappointed with the complacency of the Western Church.

Although Chan refers to the "American Church" frequently, I believe that we could interchange that term for "the Western Church".

I haven't always felt this way either.  I was a solid young Christian who did the Christian things and lived the Christian life, but some years ago, I was fortunate to have a pastor-friend who challenged me to read God's Word enthusiastically, listen to the Holy Spirit, and seek to glorify Jesus. Some years later, a "crazy" guy visited our church and talked about the Acts model. It triggered a lot of thinking and studying of Acts (and other New Testament books) before I understood the church-proper as Jesus intended it to be. Our visitor was not so "crazy" but biblically minded!

A few more years on, then I did some formal tertiary studies at Bible College and found other like-minded people. And you don't have to go to Bible College to find them!

Chan makes it clear that this is not a church-bashing book.  It's more about our personal accountability to obey.

The majority of believers on this earth find it laughable that we could reduce the call to follow Jesus and make disciples to an invitation to sit in [a] church service.  (p. 180)

Crazy People

Casting Crowns sing a song titled "Crazy People" highlighting the life of a Christian walking by faith, trusting God and talking to Jesus.  Spoiler alert: just a few of my favourite lyrics following...

Who builds a boat with no clouds in sight...

Who brings a bible into a public school...

Who’s not afraid to go against the flow...

Who talks to Jesus like he’s real...

(These lines don't rhyme because I've just picked some lines from random verses - you'll have to listen to the entire song for proper lyric context!)

The link to Casting Crowns' Crazy People Official Lyric Video is here: Official Lyric Video

And Lead Singer Mark Hall's short story behind the song here: Story behind the song 

It appears the band has not released an official music video, but I found a live rendition here and here.

Be encouraged: there are other men and women out there who are on fire for Jesus. People might think they are crazy too, but they are wholeheartedly pursuing the work of Jesus.  This is what Crazy Love and Crazy People are about.

 

References:


Chan, Francis. Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God (p. 23). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.  (06/02/2020)

Casting Crowns YouTube Channel, Crazy People (Official Lyric Video), Provident Label Group LLC, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.

Essential Worship YouTube Channel, Casting Crowns - Crazy People: Song Session.

Huckabee's Jukebox YouTube Channel, Casting Crowns LIVE "Crazy People" | Jukebox | Huckabee.

 

 

Do you ever doubt? 4Q521

Do you ever have doubts about your faith?  It's only natural. Peter had doubt (Mt. 14:31). The disciples had doubts (Lk. 24:38). The father in Mark 9 had doubts, "I do believe; help my unbelief." (Verse 24).  Even John (ie. John the Baptiser) had doubts about Jesus.

When John was imprisoned, he sent a delegation to ask Jesus if He was the Messiah, or if they should expect another:

When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”  (Mt. 11:2-3 NIV)

But Jesus was no stranger to John. John already knew who Jesus was as the Holy Spirit had previously revealed Him to John in the desert:

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”

Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him.  And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’  I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”  (Jn. 1:29-34)

John baptised Jesus as the Messiah:

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.  But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.  (Matt. 3:13-15)

Immediately following His baptism, in John's presence, God declared that Jesus was His Son (Mt. 3:17).  

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.  And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:16-17)

 John was aware that Jesus was the Son of God, the long-awaited Messiah.  So when John sent the delegation to ask Jesus if He was the Messiah, or if they should expect another, he already knew the answer, but needed reassurance.

Jesus said, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see. The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor." (Matt. 11:4-5). Jesus drew a comparison with Is. 42:7 in the context that He was the Messiah; the One Who would come, sent by God. The shadow of the One to come as described in Isaiah 35, 42 and 61 described Him as One, "to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness." (42:7) But Jesus knew that John was not going to be released from prison, and in His lovingkindness, did not mention release of the prisoners to John that day. Nonetheless Jesus did have a very encouraging message for John as he did mention the raising of the dead. He reminded John of the hope of eternal life regardless of his release from prison!

Don't lose heart:  Jesus' response to John is just as relevant and encouraging for us today.

I have based this blogspot article on Dr. Mark Bailey's message, "An Ancient Manuscript and the Messiah" in which he focused on the similarities of the ancient parchment 4Q521 and Matthew 11:5.  4Q521 being document number 521 from the Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in the 4th cave of Qumran.  I could not hope to present it as eloquently as Dr. Bailey; you can see and hear his message here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NOSUPdiKW4

 

God's Plan for Israel Chart

 

What I'm Listening To: Flawless

Flawless, by Mercy Me

Mercy Me's 2014 song "Flawless" is embedded with deep theology, the main message being that faith in Jesus makes you perfect.  

The lyrics are good, but it's the 2015 official music video imagery that adds so much impact.  The real people depicted in the video clip who are accompanied by silent words on the screen remind us that we are not alone in our struggles.

As the music video progresses and God's grace becomes more and more evident, vivid visual changes occur to the band.  No spoiler alerts, but watch it here:  Official Music Video

How faith in Jesus makes us perfect, and the sound theology of this song:

All salvation is achieved by Jesus, and Jesus alone.  Nothing that we can do or have done makes us worthy of God's grace.  Ephesians 2:8-9, "For it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast."

John 3:16 tells us the magnitude of God's love for us:  "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."  

Upon a person receiving salvation, a number of things occur simultaneously.  This list of the works of God toward a sinner who is saved may be the subject of a future blog, but for now these will suffice to demonstrate the theology of Flawless:

We are redeemed.  God cannot tolerate sin, and for Him to entertain a relationship with a sinner is inconceivable; but the work of redemption has already been done by Jesus who died in our place.  No longer does God see us as sinners; He sees us through the lens of Jesus' own sacrifice.  Jesus' blood redeemed us.  That is, His blood purchased us from death. We are perfect because we are redeemed.

We are reconciled.  Our previous broken relationship with God has been restored to a perfect relationship.  That is, we have been made righteous and suitable to be in relationship with God because of what Jesus has done.  Imputed righteousness is found in 2 Cor. 5:20, "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."  Just as you may reconcile your accounts with your budget at the end of the month, we have been reconciled to come into line with God's standards.  We are perfect because we are reconciled.

We are forgiven.  God's forgiveness is not temporary, requiring ongoing sacrifices like in the Old Testament, but it is permanent and once-for-all.  Romans 8:1 teaches us that we are no longer condemned, and we are reminded at the end of the chapter that nothing can separate us from God's love (vv. 38-39).  We are perfect because we are forgiven by God.

Lyrics

There's got to be more
Than going back and forth
From doing right to doing wrong
'Cause we were taught that's who we are
Come on get in line right behind me
You along with everybody
Thinking there's worth in what you do

 

Then like a hero who takes the stage when
We're on the edge of our seats saying it's too late
Well let me introduce you to amazing grace

 

No matter the bumps
No matter the bruises
No matter the scars
Still the truth is
The cross has made
The cross has made you flawless
No matter the hurt
Or how deep the wound is
No matter the pain
Still the truth is
The cross has made
The cross has made you flawless

 

Could it possibly be
That we simply can't believe
That this unconditional
Kind of love would be enough
To take a filthy wretch like this
And wrap him up in righteousness
But that's exactly what He did

 

No matter the bumps
No matter the bruises
No matter the scars
Still the truth is
The cross has made
The cross has made you flawless
No matter the hurt
Or how deep the wound is
No matter the pain
Still the truth is
The cross has made
The cross has made you flawless

 

Take a breath smile and say
Right here right now I'm ok
Because the cross was enough

Then Like a hero who takes the stage when
We're on the edge of our seats saying it's too late
Well let me introduce you to grace grace
God's grace

 

No matter the bumps
No matter the bruises
No matter the scars
Still the truth is
The cross has made
The cross has made you flawless
No matter the hurt
Or how deep the wound is
No matter the pain
Still the truth is
The cross has made
The cross has made you flawless

 

No matter what they say
Or what you think you are
The day you called His name
He made you flawless
He made you flawless
 

No matter the bumps
No matter the bruises
No matter the scars
Still the truth is
The cross has made
The cross has made you flawless

 

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Ben Glover / Robby Shaffer / Nathan Cochran / Mike Scheuchzer / Barry Graul / Solomon Olds / Bart Marshall Millard / David Garcia Arthur

Flawless lyrics © Universal Music - Brentwood Benson Publ., Spirit Catalogue Holdings S.a.r.l., D Soul Music, 9 T One Songs, Spirit Two Nashville, Ariose Music Group Inc.