Shavuot - Jesus' Festival of Weeks/Pentecost

Shavuot - Jesus' Festival of Weeks

Shavuot/Weeks/Pentecost
 

Our journey through the Jewishness of Jesus ends with Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks.  Shavuot occurs seven weeks (seven sevens, or a week of weeks) and one day after the Day of Firstfruits (Easter).  Because Shavuot is 50 days after Firstfruits, it is also called Pentecost, from the Greek work "pentaconta" meaning 50.  

Shavuot in the Old Testament
 

Shavuot is one of the three pilgrimage festivals in the Old Testament, where Israelite men were expected to journey to Jerusalem to worship.  Unlike the other pilgrimage festivals of Tabernacles and Passover/Unleavened Bread which last 7 days, Shavuot is only a one-day event (ironically, since it's called the Festival of Weeks!).

Like the other pilgrimage festivals, Shavuot has both an agricultural component, and a connection to the Exodus story.  The timing of this holiday corresponds to the collection of the first wheat crop, and thus an opportunity to give thanks to God that the first full crop has been collected.  In the Exodus story, 49 days after Passover is approximately the time when the people arrive at Mt. Sinai and receive the law and the 10 Commandments.
 


Shavuot in the New Testament
 

Because of its brevity and timing, Shavuot was the least well-attended of the three major festivals.  Nevertheless, huge crowds of Jews would have flooded the city from all over the world.  In Acts 2, we see these crowds, representing many languages.  

In Acts, the Holy Spirit descends upon the disciples on Shavuot.  After Jesus ascended into heaven, he sent the disciples back to the city; then, on the same day that Israel received the law, the church received the Spirit.  This is traditionally called "the birthday of the church."

The Dust of the Rabbi - Tying It Together


In both the Old and New Testaments, Shavuot is a day where God miraculously "comes down" to us and equips us to respond to his great salvation (of the Exodus/the Cross) by beginning a new way of life with him.  Note that the salvation precedes our response, and that even our response is a gift of God.

Most critical in this holiday is the shift from the Old to the New.  In the Old Covenant, God journeyed with us, but remained external, living in a tabernacle in our company.  In the New Covenant, God the Holy Spirit tabernacles in us.

Extras:
 

We finished our "Prayer Book of the Rabbi" series last week; however, I wanted to include one final resource on prayer and the Psalms, Jesus's prayer book.  This is a video with Bono (lead singer for U2) and Eugene Peterson (bible scholar, translator of The Message) and their reflections on the book of Psalms.  This is well worth your time - I hope you'll check it out.

You Do Not Know What You Are Asking

The Prayer Book of the Rabbi


Jesus consistently teaches that we are to pray boldly for God's intervention in our lives and world.  A few examples:

"Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (Mark 11:24)  
"If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it."  (John 14:14)  
"Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find."  (Luke 11:9)
"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him?"  (Matthew 7:11)

Yet almost every Christian has asked God for something and not received it.  Even the most desperate prayers for the sick, poor and forgotten (prayers that seem to be clearly "in Jesus' name") occasionally languish without resolution, despite the Scriptures above.

What do we do when God is silent in the face of our prayers?  What do we do when God says "no" to our requests?

 

Sitting and the Right and Left Hand of the King

In Mark 10:35-45, James and John, sons of Zebedee, approach Jesus with a request.  They say, "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory."  Jesus' response is telling.  He replies, "You do not know what you are asking."

How often do we make requests of God without knowing the full significance of what we ask?  I imagine we do this daily.  Like with James and John, God's unwillingness to grant our requests is often rooted more in his love and protection of us than in our perception of the Lord's distance and indifference.

James and John also discover that their prayer has collided with God's plan.  Jesus says, "To sit at my right and at my left is not mine to grant; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared."  Again, while God will respond to our prayers, and while he involves us in his plan of redemption, the Father never allows us to endanger his larger design for salvation.

Our prayer requests must always be filtered through the lenses of God's sovereignty and God's provision; for he will give us only "good gifts," whatever we may ask of him.  How can these two ideas help you wrestle with your own "unanswered" prayers?
 

Extras:

Our second Scripture this week, Psalm 139, reminds us of both the providential plan of God, and also his loving care for us since before our birth.  Furthermore, Psalm 139 affirms God's foreknowledge of all his creatures.  We are "fearfully and wonderfully made."  God's foreknowledge extends to every aspect of our lives; for example, the psalmist writes, "even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely."  

Understanding the fullness of God's loving plan of our lives is beyond our capability.  Indeed, the psalmist exclaims, "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it."  Yet this knowledge speaks again to the extraordinary love of the Father, Son and Spirit for their world.  Rather than becoming tangled up in the complexity of thoughts that are above our own, let us instead affirm our gratitude to God for his unending faithfulness and mercy to us.

Jesus, Son of David, Have Mercy on Me

The Prayer Book of the Rabbi
 

Because Jesus lived a sinless life, he never offered a prayer of confession.  Yet for all of us who follow him, confession remains a critical component of our spiritual lives and our relationships with God.

Each week we offer a "Prayer of Confession" as a congregation, admitting our sinful actions and thoughts and asking for Christ's forgiveness.  Because that prayer must speak for our entire family of faith, it tends to incorporate broad themes and concepts.  But like in any relationship, we also must make time for specific, personal apologies and forgiveness-requests.  Because of our innate selfishness, and because all sin is first and foremost against God, we should find ourselves regularly confessing to our Father and asking for his mercy.

Psalm 51 - the Story of King David
 


King David was a "man after God's own heart."  As King, he had immense capacity to work good for his people and his God.  And, when David sinned, he did so in proportion to that same capacity.  David's most famous exploit involved committing adultery with Bathsheba, then murdering her husband, Uriah (one of David's 30 closest friends) to cover up his sin.  You can find the full account of that story in 2 Samuel 11-12.

After the prophet Nathan confronts David, the king has a change of heart; overwhelmed with his regret, sorrow and shame, David prays Psalm 51.  In this Psalm, David says,


Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
    and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and sustain in me a willing spirit.


In the midst of our own struggles with sin, we too need a clean heart, and a new and right spirit.  Scripture promises that, "if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9).

However, we need more than the occasional prayer in the "big" sins of our lives; following Jesus requires us to live a life of confession, constantly bringing our flaws to light and allowing our Father to restore to us the joy of his salvation.

Extras:
 

The prayer of Blind Bartimaeus, "Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me!", appears not just in Mark 10:46-52, but throughout the New Testament.  Perhaps most famously, a version of this prayer comes from Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:9-14.  From these passages, we receive what is often called "The Jesus Prayer."

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.


In seasons when we cannot find the right words to say, the Jesus Prayer can be almost a mantra.  More than merely a prayer of confession, this cry for mercy is applicable to innumerable life situations.  Though the Jesus Prayer emerged in the eastern Orthodox tradition, from the Egyptian deserts during the 5th Century, today it can be heard on the lips of Christians around the world.

 

Eloi, Eloi, Lema Sabachthani?

The Prayer Book of the Rabbi


No prayer in Scripture evokes more sorrow than that offered by our Savior on the cross - "Eloi, Eloi, Lema Sabachthani", or "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

These heartbreaking words remind us of the terrible price Jesus paid for our sins; not just the physical suffering, but the cosmic separation between the Father and the Son that stems from the Selfless One bearing the penalty of our self-centeredness.

My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?  

In the account from Mark 15:25-39, Jesus cries out to his Father, and for the first time, hears nothing in response.  No voice from heaven proclaims "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased", and no "angels waited on him" as occurred at his baptism and after his temptation in the wilderness.  Instead of comfort, Jesus hears only an awful silence.

This silence reveals a critical concept.  Jesus is not speaking in hyperbole; he has been forsaken by his Father.  On the cross, God "imputed" our sin upon Jesus, and Jesus' righteousness upon us.  At the moment of crucifixion, therefore, Jesus took upon himself all the sin that ever was or ever will be.  He became abhorrent to his Father, and there was a divorce in the Godhead - a separation of the Trinity that lasted for three days.  When we proclaim that Jesus "descended into hell" in the Apostles Creed each week, we confess that Jesus endure that divine divorce; a fate far worse than any fire or brimstone or darkness that we could ever imagine.

And yet, this is not a story without hope.  Jesus prays the first verse of Psalm 22 (My God, my God, why have you forsaken me), knowing full well how that Psalm changes in tone after the sorrow and suffering:

"From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me.  I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you." (v21-22)
"All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD; and all the families of the nations shall worship before him." (v27)


Through his cross, Jesus will bring all the ends of the earth and all the families of the nations to his Father.  And after the cross, Jesus will still stand in the midst of his loved ones and praise the name of his Father, who will raise him from the grave.

Extras

Psalm 22 is an enormously important Psalm in the story of Jesus and throughout the New Testament.  Here are just some of the places Psalm 22 is quoted.

Jesus quotes verse 1 here in Mark 15:34.  
The crowds quote verse 8 to Jesus in Matthew 27:43.
The Gospel author quotes verse 18 in Mark 15:24, as a fulfilled prophecy about the Messiah.
The author of Hebrews quotes verse 22 in Hebrews 2:12.

 

 

 

 

 

Not What I Want, But What You Want

The Prayer Book of the Rabbi
 

Last week we discussed Petitionary prayer, aka "Asking God to do stuff."  We mentioned that Moses, in Exodus 32:11-14, famously talked to God and "the LORD changed his mind."  This week, we tackle the other half of that conversation; when we ask God, not to change his mind, but to change ours.  Balancing these two aspects of petitionary prayer is one of the great challenges of the Christian prayer life.

Not What I Want, But What You Want

In the Garden of Gethsemane (see Mark 14:32-42), Jesus offers up a desperate and heartfelt prayer to his Father.  Knowing what is to come, Jesus prays "Abba, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me."  But then he adds a caveat that enables salvation itself; "But not what I want, but what you want."

In the moments of his deepest fear and distress, Jesus chose not to pray with the goal of changing his Fathers' heart, but rather his own.  We too, are called to follow this example of prayer and submission.

How do we know when to pray with certainty, and when to pray with submission?  Perhaps the connecting thread is the knowledge of God's will.  When Jesus prays with certainty, it is not merely because he wants something, but because he knows it is in his Father's will to heal the sick, or raise the dead.  In Gethsemane, while he understandably dreads the cross and the burden of sin, his Father's will still remains clear.  And so, Jesus prays against his own desires, and for the desire's of his Father's heart.

Where are we expected to model the same submission of Christ to God's will?  Are we willing to pay the cost, as Jesus did, of seeking God's wants over ours?

Extras: 


Psalm 40 is one of Scriptures' most beautiful prayers for patience and trust in the LORD.  In the seasons where we are called to submit our wants to those of God, patience and waiting become essential Christian disciplines.

The band U2 wrote a fantastic version of this Psalm, simply called "40."  Click here to see that song performed live.

Whatever You Ask for in Prayer ... It Will Be Yours.

Prayer Book of the Rabbi


One of Jesus' most complicated instructions for prayer comes from a conversation in Mark 11:12-26, where Jesus says,

"Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you.  So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." - Mark 12:23-24

How do we apply this teaching?  Does Jesus mean to imply that every prayer is merely a referendum on the quantity and quality of our faith, and that sufficient faith can accomplish anything we ask?  Are we really to pray so boldly that we presume to instruct God on what we want him to do?

Whatever You Ask For in Prayer ...

In this passage in Mark, Jesus begins by cursing a fig tree (seemingly somewhat below the dignity of the Son of God).  When the disciples return later and see that the fig tree has wilted, they are shocked; Jesus then uses this as a teachable moment about the power of prayer.

Praying with confidence, as Jesus does at the fig tree, is a critical component of the story of Scripture and especially of the miracles of Jesus.  We are enjoined to utilize prayer not merely as a comfort or crutch, but as a springboard for radical trust.  This requires us to pray in such a way that God is able to answer - with enough specificity that we are forced to take a risk in our prayers, and with enough clarity that we can tell, without a doubt, whether or not God granted our request.

Jesus does not suggest here that prayer can turn God into a divine vending machine; only that our Father knows how to give us good gifts if we but ask in faith.

This brings up several two critical elements to the practice of prayer.  First, we are NOT to believe that prayer is a "faith test"; not all prayers go unanswered because of our lack of faith.  Second, prayer cannot become a substitute for action in the midst of a crisis.  Rather, we are expected to pray as though we can do nothing, and then live as though we (Christ-in-me) can do everything.

Extras:

The great challenge with this passage is that it stands in opposition to other passages about prayer (for example, next Sunday's prayer from the Garden of Gethsemane - "Not what I will, but what you will"). 

C.S. Lewis has a marvelous essay on the balancing of these two types of prayers.  It's called "Petitionary Prayer: A Problem without an Answer" from his book, Christian Reflections.  The book is excellent and well worth a read, but you can download just the essay here as well.  This is essential reading for this topic!

 

The Prayer Book of the Rabbi

The Prayer Book of the Rabbi

Sunday we will begin our final section of our Dust of the Rabbi series - The Prayer Book of the Rabbi.  This new series emphasizes the imminence of God - His closeness to us - and our ability to respond to Him through the gift of prayer.  Our Scriptural focus during this series will be on the Psalms (the prayer book of Jesus)  and on Jesus' own teaching on the topic throughout the Gospel of Mark.

Prayer is both a great comfort and a great source of confusion to so many people.  Communicating with the Creator of the Universe brings many questions.  How do you talk to God?  What do you talk about?  How do you listen?  Are there some topics that are inappropriate for God?  Even the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Lord, teach us how to pray."


Between Passover and Pentecost:
The Imminence of God
 

This period between the holidays of Passover/Easter and Weeks/Pentecost is a particularly appropriate time to consider the Imminence of God and our communication with Him.  

In the Old Testament, the time between the Feast of Passover and the Feast of Weeks marked the journey from the Red Sea to Mount Sinai, where God made His covenant through Moses with the people of Israel. The Feast of Weeks (so named because it falls seven weeks after Passover) was both a celebration of the first harvest, and more importantly, the giving of the Law and Covenant on Mount Sinai. During the journey to Mount Sinai, God was present with the Israelites as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire at night; on Mount Sinai, the LORD spoke to all the people, gave the Ten Commandments and the Law to Moses, and appeared to Moses, Aaron and seventy elders.

In the New Testament, that same period between Passover and Weeks is the period between Easter and Pentecost (Pentecost was the Greek name for the Festival of Weeks; pente=50, or the number of days in seven weeks plus one).  For forty days after Easter, Jesus was present with the disciples and appeared to a great many people.  Then, a week after He ascended into heaven, on the Festival of Weeks, the Holy Spirit came from God to the apostles and birthed the church.

In both the Old and New Testaments, this season was one of the intense experience of God's amazing presence, culminating in the giving of a new way of life as the people of God. As we look forward to the Festival of Weeks, we too will seek and experience God's presence through the amazing gift of prayer. And we hope, as well, that as we become a people of prayer, we also might discover a new way of living in the Kingdom of God.

Extras:
 

In the Jewish world, this season between Passover and Weeks is called "Sefirat HaOmer", or "Counting the Omer."  From the Day of the Firstfruits, we count 49 days until Pentecost.  This season is seen as one of reflection and preparation, like that for a bride purifying herself for her wedding day.  For more information on the practice and season of "Counting the Omer," visit this page on Chabad.org.

Palm Sunday: The Final Passover

The Passover Preparation
 

This Sunday marks the conclusion of our Passover Preparation focus, as we will remember Jesus' return to Jerusalem for the third and final Passover of His ministry.  During this final journey to Jerusalem, Jesus is hailed as the Messiah by great crowds of people, who wave palm branches and lay down palms and cloaks for his donkey to walk on as He travels to the holy city.

So much is in the background during this moment!  We are reminded that the immediate cause of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem is His desire to honor and obey God's commandments by observing the Passover meal.  It is extraordinarily significant that the most important week and work of Jesus' life occurs on the anniversary of God's greatest work of salvation in the Old Testament.  We recognize, as well, what an incredible encouragement the reminder of God's saving power must have been to Jesus, who was preparing to face the greatest trial of His life.

Palm Sunday: The Final Passover
 

The story of Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem is recorded in all three Gospels; our text for Sunday comes from John 12:12-19.  This moment in John is overshadowed by the resurrection of Lazarus (the fulcrum of the Gospel of John), which continues to add fame to Jesus, increase His danger from the religious authorities, and foreshadow His own resurrection.  

Consider the significance of this religious festival, celebrating the redemption of Israel from slavery in Egypt, during a time when Israel is once again conquered, this time by the Romans.  A similar situation is found in Ezra 6:19-22, where the people returned from the Babylonian exile yet remained under the authority of yet another conquering power.  

The celebration of Passover is a reminder that God is mightier than the kingdoms of the world; yet the message Jesus conveys is a complex one.  The mighty God comes into His city during a celebration focused on His awesome power ... while riding a lowly donkey's colt.  Of course His disciples did not understand!  So often we find that the redemption we are desperately longing for is not the redemption we really need.  Which does God offer us today?
 

Extras

 
The shouts of the crowd are clearly for Jesus; however, they are not spontaneous declarations of faith.  They are quotes from a group of Psalms (120-134) called the "Psalms of Ascent."  These were Psalms sung by the pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem to celebrate the holy festival days.  Interestingly, the most famous shout, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD," comes from Psalm 118, just before the Psalms of Ascent.

We will celebrate the Passover meal as a congregation on Maundy Thursday, just as Jesus and His disciples would have done.  You will need to register for this meal, either on our website or by calling the church office at 715-359-6467.

Purim, Jesus' Festival of Lots

The Passover Preparation

During Lent, our Dust of the Rabbi series has been focused on the Passover Preparation.  This Sunday, in the midst of a focus on the holiday of Passover, we observe another holiday - Purim, the Feast of Lots.
    
Purim (literally meaning "Lots" in Hebrew) is the remembrance of God's salvation of His people through Queen Esther.  The holiday is so named because the enemies of the Jews cast lots to determine the day and month that they would murder all the Jewish people.  While the entire book of Esther is devoted to recounting these events, Esther 9:24-28 offers a brief summary of the events and the command to perpetually observe the holiday of Purim.

Purim, Jesus' Feast of Lots
(A Passover Story)

In Esther, we learn that Haman son of Hammedatha contrived the first genocide against the Jewish people.  During the time after the return from exile in Babylon, the Persian Empire, which conquered the Babylonians and released the Jews, remained the dominant power in the Middle East.  While the Persian Kings released the Jews from their exile, they did not make them a free people; the lands and people of Israel remained part of the Persian Empire.  Some of our ancestors chose not to return to Israel, but instead remained in the foreign cities where they had lived for the last seventy years.  Amongst those who remained were a man named Mordecai and his niece Esther.  
 
Ultimately, Esther becomes Queen of Persia by marrying King Ahasuerus (also known as Xerxes) and courageously uses her new position to stop Haman's plot. Thus, Purim is a Passover story because both tell a similar tale; a foreign empire enslaved the Jews and threatened their very existence, and God responded by saving our ancestors and turning the intended violence back upon the perpetrators.  The repetition of history is clear - just as God saved the people from Pharaoh in Egypt, so too He saves the people from Haman in Persia. 

 However, Purim is a Passover story in another sense as well.  While the holiday is celebrated on the 13th day of the 12th month (the day chosen by lot for the destruction of the Jews), the majority of the story takes place almost a year earlier, during the week of Passover.  In fact, Esther holds a Passover banquet (a meal on the day of Passover itself) to persuade the King to save her people. How extraordinary is God's timing?
 
Both Purim and Passover foreshadow God's saving work in Jesus Christ.  But Purim also makes participating in God's salvation a realistic goal for us individually - Esther is no Moses, and yet God works mightily through her. How are you called to be a part of God's plan of salvation?  Where have you been placed "for such a time as this?"  

Extras
 

This is the only holiday mandated in the Old Testament that is not ordained in the Torah (the books of Moses).  
 
Esther is the only book in the Bible that never mentions God. For this reason, many people debated over whether it was appropriate to include Esther in the canon.  Ultimately, our ancestors agreed that the absence of God by name only emphasized His obvious presence throughout this Passover story.

The Second Passover of Jesus' Ministry

The Passover Preparation

In Exodus 13:11-16, the LORD claims as his own all the firstborn males of Israel.  These are all those who would have died in the tenth plague, but for the protection God offered them and the death of the lamb on their behalf.  The LORD commands every Israelite parent to "redeem" their firstborn sons from himself; this becomes a special offering, or tax, paid to the priests for the purpose of supporting worship.  

This instruction continues until Jesus' day, when Joseph and Mary paid the redemption price for Jesus; though of course, Jesus, the LORD himself, was the first Israelite who did not require that redemption.

"When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord  (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”),  and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”  - Luke 2:22-24


The Second Passover of Jesus' Ministry

The feeding of the 5,000 occurs in all four Gospels, as Jesus miraculously multiplies five loaves and two fish into food for an enormous crowd.  In John, Jesus uses this as an opportunity to teach the disciples that he is the new bread from heaven, mirroring and yet surpassing the manna that sustained the Israelites in the wilderness after the Passover.  

This story occurs just before the Passover feast (see John 6:1-15) and beautifully connects God's redemption with his ongoing provision in our lives.  As in the original Exodus story, God saves us for a purpose, with an intent to bring joy and blessing, and as part of a larger plan for our lives.  That plan includes caring for us as his children, and providing us our daily bread.

In the Gospel of John, the immensity of this act so astonishes the crowd that they decide to "come and make him (Jesus) king by force."  Jesus, being uninterested in earthly power, withdraws.  We are often guilty of a similar mistake; after experiencing the awesome love and provision and grace of our God, we seek to use those gifts to fulfill our own dreams, rather than listening for the dream of God.

Extras

At Tagba, the traditional site of the feeding of the five thousand, there is an ancient church with a beautiful mosaic on the floor.  It looks like this picture.  Notice that there are only 4 loaves and 2 fish; the fifth loaf is Jesus himself, the bread of heaven.

After the feeding of the five thousand, there are twelve baskets of leftovers.  These are often seen as a reference to the 12 tribes and the 12 disciples.  In contrast, after the feeding of the four thousand (not recorded in John) on the Gentile side of the lake, there are seven baskets of leftovers; one for each of the seven Gentile nations of Canaan.

The First Passover of Jesus' Ministry

The Passover Preparation

Next time you feel stressed or overwhelmed with the tasks in your life, consider this; Jesus had only three years for his earthly ministry.  Three years in which he called the disciples, taught them the gospel, revealed to the kingdom of heaven, and equipped them to build the church and change the world.  That's some extraordinary productivity!  

We estimate that Jesus' earthly ministry was approximately three years long BECAUSE of Passover.  There are three Passover celebrations recorded in the Gospel of John - 2:13, 6:4, and 13:1.  The record of these annual holidays is the only means we have of measuring the length of Jesus' active season of teaching and preaching.

The First Passover of Jesus' Ministry

In this first Passover Celebration, Jesus travels to Jerusalem, as he likely did every year of his life; Passover was a pilgrimage holiday.  We are told that he entered the Temple and found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, along with money changers at their tables.  He makes a whip of cords and drives them all from the Temple grounds, and says "Take these things out of here!  Stop making my Father's house a marketplace!"  (For the full account, see John 2:13-25).  

Jesus has likely seen these money changes and sacrificial salesmen in the Temple literally hundreds of times throughout his life; but now that he has officially begun his ministry, he asserts his authority and seizes this opportunity for teaching and instructing the people.  

Why is Jesus so offended and angered by this "marketplace" atmosphere?  We are not given great clarity on this question.  The salesmen and money changers are serving an important, functional purpose; they enable those who travel a great distance to purchase animals for sacrifice.  Perhaps it is the commercialization of what was once a sacred act that strikes him as so abhorrent.  

In the book of Exodus, we are instructed to cleanse our homes before the Passover, not unlike Jesus cleanses the Temple.  In Exodus, however, it is leaven that must be purged.  Passover is immediately followed by the "Festival of Unleavened Bread," during which no leaven can be found in the home of any Israelite, upon thread of exile from the community.  The first instructions for this purging come from Exodus 13:1-10.  The roots of this practice stem from the first Passover, when the Israelites left Egypt in such haste, "the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls wrapped up in their cloaks on their shoulders" (Exodus 12:34).  But by Jesus' time, the purging of leaven had become a spiritual exercise as well as a physical one; "leaven" came to refer to any sin or uncleanliness that needed to be removed from our homes or lives.  Thus, in "purging" the Temple, Jesus is also claiming it as his home - "my Father's house."

Extras: 

Scripture speaks of both the Passover and of the Festival of Unleavened Bread.  Technically, the Passover is a one day event on the 15th of Nisan (the first month of the Hebrew calendar).  However, the Passover is followed immediately by a 7 day celebration called Hag haMatza, or the "Festival of Unleavened Bread."  So the entire holiday season spans 8 days.

There is one unnamed festival in the Gospel of John, found in John 5:1.  It is possible that this is a Passover celebration, which would mean that Jesus' ministry was four years rather than three.  However, most scholars assume this was a different pilgrimage holiday, either Weeks (Pentecost) or Booths.  

The cleansing of the Temple occurs in all four Gospels.  However, in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the cleansing happens in the last week of Jesus' pre-resurrection life.  In John, the cleansing happens at the beginning of his ministry, rather than at the end.  Several possible explanations exist for this.  One is that John the Evangelist places the story here to teach us something unique about the significance of Jesus' work in the Temple.  Another is that Jesus simply purged the Temple twice, years apart.  This might further explain the dire consequences that befall Jesus after the second cleansing.

The Passover Lamb of God

The Passover Preparation

Central to the Passover story is the Passover, or paschal, lamb.  In Exodus 12:1-13, the Israelites are instructed to take a young lamb, a year-old male, and to slaughter it at twilight before the Passover.  Over time, this becomes known as "Preparation Day."  

They are then instructed to take some hyssop, dip it in the blood from the lamb, and cover with blood their doorposts and the lintels of their homes.  This blood becomes the protection for the Israelites when the destroyer comes to strike down all the firstborn; he will see the blood on the doorframe and "pass over" that home, sparing all inside.  Significantly this is the only plague of the 10 where the Israelites are required to take any action on their own behalf.

The Passover Lamb of God

In the Gospel of John, Jesus is explicitly connected to the Passover Lamb.  When John the Baptist first encounters Jesus in that Gospel, he exclaims, "Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (See John 1:19-34).  That proclamation continues to reverberate throughout the Gospel.  Jesus is crucified in John on "the Day of Preparation" (John 19:14), the same day upon which the lambs would be sacrificed.  As he hangs on the cross, a branch of hyssop is used to covey a sponge of vinegar to Jesus' lips (John 19:29).  Again and again, we are reminded in John that Jesus fulfills the role of the Passover lamb; through his blood on our lives, we are spared from death.  Jesus' death on the cross causes Death to "pass over" us forever.

Like the plague of Passover, this salvation is the gracious act of God; we cannot earn it.  However, also like the Passover, this salvation does require our response and acceptance.  We cannot make the destroyer pass us by; but we must cover the doorframes of our hearts with his life's blood to be saved.

Extras

The term "Agnus Dei" has become famous in Christian art and music.  The painting above of the lamb prepared for slaughter is called "Agnus Dei" and was painted by Francisco de Zurbaran around 1635, for example.  Contemporary Christian music and hymns often use this title as well.  It is simply Latin for "Lamb of God."

In the Book of Revelation, John sees "a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne" of God (Revelation 5:6).  This is the title that Jesus retains for the rest of Revelation 5 and 6.  There is a powerful and fascinating dichotomy from the "Lion of Judah" and the "Lamb of God," and yet both titles are used in this same passage to refer to Jesus.  Jesus' identification with the Passover Lamb stretches even to Revelation and heaven itself.

The First Passover

The Passover Preparation

 We are now in the season of Lent - the forty day period during which we prepare for the death and resurrection of our Lord.  The beginning of Lent also connotes a new section of our Dust of the Rabbi series: The Passover Preparation.  The Passover story is an extraordinary one.  For both our Jewish ancestors, and Christians today, no event in the Old Testament is more significant than the Exodus; it is the account of salvation that prefigures the work of Jesus.
 
Just as we annually look towards to the Easter story, so too our Rabbi looked ahead each year to a holiday celebrating God's salvation of His people.  As we focus on the Passover this season, let us marvel at the wondrous plan of God; the same Man who celebrated the salvation of Passover each year of His life would Himself become the Passover Lamb who provides salvation for the world.  

The First Passover

The Passover is a challenging story for our modern sensibilities.  The Israelites, who entered Egypt during the lifetime of Joseph and Jacob, had grown into a numerous people.  Four hundred years later, their sheer size had sufficiently intimidated the Egyptians into taking preventative measures; the Pharaohs enslaved our ancestors and put them to forced labor.  God, who hears the cries of His chosen people, sends Moses to Pharaoh to demand that the Israelites be released.  When Pharaoh refuses, God through Moses performs the Ten Plagues.  The last of these plagues is the Passover, where the angel of death comes and strikes down all the firstborn throughout Egypt, both human and livestock.  The Israelites, however, are not killed, because the angel "passes over" the houses who slaughter a lamb and put blood on their doorframes.  For the full account of this plague, see Exodus 12:21-41.
 
This punishment seems severe, even in light of the previous genocidal behavior of the Pharaoh who commanded the murder of every Hebrew boy (Exodus 1:15-22).  Yet the focus of the story is not on the suffering of the Egyptians, but the protection offered by the blood of the lamb for the Israelites.  God's love for the Israelites is personal; in Exodus 4:22 God instructs Moses, "Thus says the LORD: 'Israel is my firstborn son.'"  The line is drawn; either God's firstborn son will go free, or Pharaoh's firstborn son (and those of his people) will die.  Ultimately, God saves and protects His firstborn son, Israel, from even the angel of death.  
 
In this context, the familiar words of John 3:16 take on a radically new shape.  In Exodus, God saves Israel, who He calls His firstborn son, from the final plague of death in Egypt.  In John, God gives His only Son, Jesus, unto death on a cross, for the sake of God's love for the world.  In the first account, God saves His son from death by the blood of lambs; in the second, God's Son saves us from death by His own blood.  The story is different, and yet the same.
 
We are a people of Passover.  Thanks to the Son, we are daughters and sons as well.  Thanks to the Savior, we are passed over by the death we deserve.  Thanks be to Jesus for the good news: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life."
 

Extras 

The Seder meal, which we will celebrate on Maundy Thursday, and which our Lenten Small Groups are studying during this season, was a creation of rabbis in the early 1st and 2nd Centuries AD (and some elements were added even centuries later).  The development of the Seder came partly from the rabbi's desire to teach Torah to everyday Jews outside of the Temple system, and party as a needed replacement for the Temple observance after 70AD, when the Roman armies destroyed the Second Temple.

Because the Old Testament requires Jews to travel to Jerusalem and offer sacrifices in the Temple there, it is no longer possible to follow a purely Biblical Passover celebration.  However, the meal that Jesus shared with his disciples in the Upper Room on the first Maundy Thursday most likely had many of the elements of the modern Seder.

Worship the LORD, and Serve Only Him

Scriptures that Shaped Their Author

In Ephesians, Paul speaks about how we are to respond to the the temptations of our spiritual enemy. Paul writes,

"Put on the whole the armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.  Stand, therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your wait, and put on the breastplate of righteousness.  As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.  With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."  - Ephesians 6:10-17

Note that the only offensive weapon we are given is the word of God, which Paul calls "the sword of the Spirit."  Of course, Jesus has many other weapons and powers at his disposal during his temptation in the desert.  Yet he chooses to limit himself to those same tools that have been given to us.  His use of the word of God as a defense and offense against the devil reminds us that like Jesus, we too can defeat the powers of evil with nothing more than God's Word and our faith.


Worship the LORD, and Serve Only Him
 

In this third and final temptation, reported in Matthew 4:8-11, Satan takes Jesus to "a very high mountain" to show him all the kingdoms of the world.  Satan offers to give Jesus them all, if Jesus would only fall down and worship him.

Is this a real offer?  Are we to believe that Satan has the power to fulfill what he is promising?  Scripture suggests that perhaps there is some validity to Satan's claims.  In the Gospel of John, Jesus calls Satan "the ruler of the world" (see John 12:31 and 14:30).  In 2 Corinthians 4:4, Paul refers to the devil as "the god of this world."  In the first letter of John, we are told "that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one" (1 John 5:19).  None of this invalidates God's ultimate authority.  For we know that "the most high God has sovereignty over the kingdoms of men" (Daniel 5:21).  But God, in his sovereignty, has given us over to our own choices and sins.  Thus the world is often contrasted with the church; the church is the family of God, and the world is in rebellion against God and in service to God's enemy.

Understanding the depth of the world's alienation from God and affiliation with Satan is critical if we are to understand what Jesus truly did for us.  It is not for just "the good people" that Jesus came.  Instead, "God so loved the world" - the world in arms against him - "that he gave his only begotten Son."  It is in the depth of our disloyalty that Jesus gives his life for us.

This offer in the final temptation then, is a real one.  Satan proposes that he will give up his claim on our allegiance, if Jesus would simply bend the knee.  In a way, this is the same exchange that God the Father and God the Son intend; the life of Jesus for the lives of all people.  This would allow Jesus to accomplish his purpose without the cross and all it's suffering.

Jesus knows, however, that without the cross there can be no eternal change in the lives of mortals; the sin that lives within us would not disappear even without Satan's direct influence.  Moreover, Jesus knows that no kingdom not allied with God could endure.  Thus he banishes his enemy and continues his journey to Calvary.

Extras

Jesus' Scripture reference in the third temptation comes from Deuteronomy 6:10-15.  It is not a direct quote, like the other two citations, but it is a clear restatement of 6:13.  Significantly, this passage is immediately preceded by the Shema, the famous verse from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 which Jesus cited as the greatest commandment, and which we have been using as our call to worship throughout this series.  As Satan asks Jesus to worship him, Jesus is certainly reminded of these famous words:  

"Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.  You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."
 

Do Not Put the LORD Your God to the Test

Scriptures That Shaped Their Author
 

What are the passages of the Bible that are closest to your heart, that you draw upon in your moments of greatest need?  In the midst of temptation and suffering, being able to recall verses from memory is an extraordinary comfort.  St. Paul tells us that Scripture is the only weapon we have against our true enemy; he instructs us to "take ... the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
 
Jesus models this response to temptationfor us during His time in the wilderness.  He is tempted three times by Satan, and after each temptation, He responds with the sword of the Spirit - a quotation from Scripture.  Last week, when tempted to turn stones into bread, Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 8:3 stating, "man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."  This week, in Matthew 4:5-7, Satan brings a different, but related temptation.  He takes Jesus to Jerusalem, to the pinnacle of the Temple itself, and says, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down."  Then Satan does something extraordinary; he quotes Psalm 91, saying "it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"

Do Not Put the LORD Your God to the Test
 

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Satan is familiar with Scripture; even in the Garden of Eden, He twisted God's words to tempt Adam and Eve into disobedience (see Genesis 3:1-5).  Yet we are powerfully reminded that we need more than a passing familiarity with the Bible to contend with our spiritual enemy.  We need to understand the overarching messages that run throughout Scripture so that we can read and interpret individual verses in context.
 
Satan's temptation is more than a misunderstanding of Scripture; it strikes to the heart of Jesus' identity as the Messiah.  Will Jesus follow the path set out by His Father that leads to the cross, or instead skip ahead to the "coming on the clouds" conclusion?  This decision is fundamental to His entire ministry, and extremely relevant in our context today.  Too often we want to be Christians on a different path than Christ.  While he chose the difficult journey that led to the cross, we would prefer a safer road with less suffering.  We are always trying to be Christians without the cross, but no one knew this temptation like Jesus Himself.  Yet He chose not to overwhelm the entire Jewish people with an extraordinary event (as God did in the Exodus) but instead to let the message, rather than the miracles, drive His ministry.  
 
Jesus' response is from Deuteronomy 6:16-25.  He says, "again it is written, 'do not put the LORD your God to the test.'"  In it's context in Deuteronomy, Moses is reminding the people of the time they demanded a miracle from God and threatened to return to Egypt if He would not perform it.  The temptation to put God to the test, to demand yet another miracle, is common to us today.  Jesus reminds us that God is not subject to our rules or expectations, nor can we "box Him in" with our theology or reading of Scripture.  Instead, we are called to submit our wills to His.  Where are you inclined to put God to the test?  What would it mean to submit to His plan, rather than submit Him to yours?

Extras
 


The passage that Moses refers to is found in Exodus 17:1-7.  This is only two chapters after the parting of the Red Sea and the victory over the Egyptians.  It is extraordinary that after such an amazing sign, the Israelites so quickly turn on God and demand another!
 
This is perhaps part of the reason that Jesus chooses a different pattern in His ministry; while performing many signs and miracles, Jesus does not produce wonders on the same scale as those that occurred during the Exodus.  People often remark that God doesn't seem to do miracles anymore, and that if God did do something amazing, perhaps it would be easier for people to believe.  Our history, however, tells us differently.  Abraham believed God before ever seeing a miracle; the Israelites saw all the wonders of the Exodus and days later threatened to reject God.  Perhaps there is more than we know to Jesus' response to Thomas, "Have you believed because you have seen me?  Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." (John 20:29).

One Does Not Live on Bread Alone

Scriptures That Shaped Their Author
 
 

Jesus' ministry is saturated with Scripture and Scriptural themes; we have only scratched the surface of the multitude of Old Testament passages that impacted the life and ministry of our Rabbi.  We have not had time to discuss, for example, Isaiah 61:1-2, which Jesus quotes at the beginning of His ministry in Luke 4, or anything from Matthew 5, where Jesus reinterprets many of the laws of the Old Testament.
 
But our next three weeks will focus on a different set of Old Testament verses.  As we consider Scriptures That Shaped Their Author, we will focus on the three passages that Jesus turned to in the midst of one of His greatest trials - the temptation by Satan in the wilderness.  We highlight these verses because they are of special significance to our Rabbi; they are close enough to His heart and mind that it is to these texts that Jesus turns when in conflict with the evil one.  

Man Does Not Live by Bread Alone
 

After His baptism, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where he fasts for forty days and forty nights.  At the end of this time, He is famished, and Satan comes to Him and says, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."  (Matthew 4:1-4).While Jesus performs many miracles throughout His ministry, this time He chooses to simply quote from Deuteronomy 8:3, stating, "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."
 
In each challenge of Satan, Jesus is tempted to use His divine power to spare Himself the difficulties of mortal life.  This could lead Jesus to repeat this choice in later aspects of His life, especially at the cross.  The temptation to be Messiah without suffering is perhaps the most dangerous and appealing temptation that Satan can offer Jesus.  However, the challenge to turn stones to bread holds another, equally dangerous temptation for Christ (and ourselves).  It is the temptation to honor and obey God based on what He will do now, instead of what He has done already.
 
We face this trial constantly in our modern lives.  When we see or experience great suffering, we naturally ask and hope that God will miraculously alleviate that pain.  This is very biblical.  However, it can lead us into a dangerous situation where we are inclined to be angry with God, or even reject Him, when He does not do as we ask.  We can quickly develop a "what-have-you-done-for-me-lately" theology.  But Jesus reminds us, through His use of this quote from Deuteronomy, that true faith resides in what God has already done for us.
 
In Deuteronomy 8:1-10, Moses reminds the people of God's provision for them during their forty years in the wilderness.  In the same verse that Jesus quotes, Moses reminds the people, "[God] humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."  When Jesus quotes this verse to Satan, He is not only pointing out the similarities between Himself and the people of Israel; He is also demonstrating the meaning of faith.  Jesus does not need to see stones turn into bread, because through Scripture Jesus has already experienced the miracle of manna, the bread from heaven.  Likewise, while we hope to see miraculous healings in our lifetime, through the pages of the Bible we have already experienced the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  In the light of that miracle, we no longer need new signs from God (though we certainly appreciate them when they come).  The message is simple; if what God has already done (from the manna to the resurrection) is not sufficient to move us to place our trust in Him, then nothing that He could do today will ever convince us.

Extras
 

 
In this passage Jesus teaches us the proper way to read the Bible.  Too often we try to cram the stories of the Bible into the larger narrative of our lives.  This leads to dangerous theology - "Because Jesus cured the blind man, He will surely cure me," or "Because God punished the Egyptians, He will surely smite our enemies as well."  We err when we believe that the extraordinary story of Scripture can be fit into our individual lives.  
 
Instead, we are called to fit our lives into the larger narrative of God's story.  This leads to theology like that of Jesus, where we do not need for a miracle to make bread, because we have already experienced the miracle of manna in our reading of Scripture.  A proper reading of the Bible leads us to find ourselves in its pages.  We were slaves in Egypt, but God saved us with a mighty hand.  We were hungry, but God fed us from heaven.  We were hungry, and God made a meal for us from five loaves and two fish.  We were slaves to death, but God broke death's hold by resurrecting us with Jesus.  When you read the Bible as Jesus does, it becomes more than a book of stories and laws; it is your personal history with the Maker of the Universe.

The Son of Man, Coming on the Clouds of Heaven

Scriptures That Shaped Their Author
 

Jesus' most dramatic claim in the Gospels is that He is equal to God - that He is God in the flesh.  In John 10:30, He states, "I and the Father are one."  Moreover, Jesus describes His relationship with God as a Father-Son relationship.  Although there is no previous basis for the concept in Judaism, Jesus claims that He is literally the Son of God, who created the universe and sustains it daily together with the Father and the Spirit.  Jesus explicitly makes the claim to be the Son of God again and again throughout Scripture (for example, John 5:24-25). 
 
 Nevertheless, "Son of God" is not Jesus' favorite title for Himself.  Instead, the vast majority of the time when Jesus refers to Himself, He calls Himself the "Son of Man."  Jesus calls Himself the "Son of Man" seventy-nine times throughout the Gospels, and twenty-nine times in the Gospel of Matthew alone!  This is a strange title; at first glance, it appears as though it would apply to any human male.  Yet Jesus uses it as a Messianic, even divine, name.  Where does this use of "Son of Man" come from?  

The Son of Man
Coming on the Clouds of Heaven
 

 The prophet Daniel, who clearly had a significant impact on Jesus' thinking, speaks of a vision of the end times.  In his vision, after a series of monstrous beasts that represent empires, there comes "one like a Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven."  This "Son of Man" is presented to the Ancient of Days (God), who gives Him an eternal kingdom.  You can read the vision in Daniel 7:9-14.
 
Jesus not only uses this story to identify Himself; He also quotes this line directly in Matthew 24:30 and 26:64.  It is clear that a huge portion of Jesus' self-identity comes from this passage.  In the midst of His earthly ministry, Jesus chooses to reinforce to Himself and His disciples that there is more to come - that the same man who seems 100% human is in fact also the divine being described in Daniel 7.  Notice that in Daniel He is called "one like a son of man" - in appearance mortal, but in reality much more than merely human.  
 
The return of Jesus on clouds with power and glory is essential to His entire ministry and self-identity.  Do we recognize the same significance of the return of Jesus today?  What would it mean to live in light of His promised return?   

Extras
 

 
The mainline denominations (Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Episcopalians, etc) have tended to avoid any discussion of the return of Jesus in recent years, as though it is a topic that is too confusing or too unbelievable to discuss.  On the other hand, much of the non-denominational world has obsessed with the end of the world - fixating mainly on the book of Revelation and "Christian" fiction like the Left Behind series.  We need to reclaim the doctrine of the Second Coming and reground it in the person of Jesus.
 
If we want to know what the return of Jesus will be like, we should NOT go first to Revelation.  Instead, we should go first to the source - Jesus Himself.  He speaks of His return in every Gospel.  For example, read Matthew 24:15-31.  Then, after reading Jesus' account of His return, we should try to compare other Scriptural accounts into what Jesus says - not the other way around!
 
For more fun with Daniel and Jesus, note also that Matthew 24:15 is a reference to Daniel 9:27.

Loving Subversively Under the Empire


Advent in the Empire


Last Sunday we discussed the calling to challenge the empire directly; this Sunday we consider how that challenge is lived out in light of Christ's example.  It can often be difficult to frame our resistance in the context of loving our enemies; it seems as though violence is ultimately a more effective means of overthrowing evil, violent men.  And yet, the Maccabean revolt that culminated in Hanukkah lasted only 100 years; Jesus' revolution continues 2,000 years after His death and resurrection.


Dust of the Rabbi: Loving Subversively Under the Empire
 

Nothing unravels the systems of the Empire like the love that Jesus embodies.  In Luke 6:27-36, Jesus gives what is often called "the Sermon on the Plain."  This set of commands is more than merely moral teaching - it is designed to radically reshape our understanding of community, economics, relationships, and conflict.  To love subversively means that we can effect more transformation through our faithfulness to these commands than through all the political maneuvering and mass media and commercialism of our modern Empire.  Violence will not be overthrown by violence, but by the suffering servant (Isaiah 53:1-12).  Greed will not be overcome by financial regulators and anti-trust suits, but by giving to everyone who asks of us.  
 
Jesus models this life for us in His radical love that accepted and overcame even suffering and death.  We then are called to challenge the empire by a subversive love that undermines the pillars of all empires: power, greed, violence, self-centeredness, indulgence, entertainment.  Look over the last century and note the impact of even one person following Him faithfully (Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa).  If all the disciples of Jesus truly embraced His commands, how do you imagine the world would be today?  Do we choose to ignore the tools Christ gave us because we think they will not work, or because we think they are not worth the work they require?


Extras:
  

In the midst of this Christmas season, we have the opportunity to challenge the empire's assimilation of our holiday.  The institutions of the secular Christmas industry (from Santa Claus and elves to Macy's Christmas sales) are designed to focus our time and wealth on the purchase, giving and acquisition of things.  And yet, our money is entrusted to us by God so that we might use it for His Kingdom.  How can you make loving subversively a part of your holiday season, refocusing on Christ in the midst of a culture focused on commercialism?  

Challenging the Empire: Jesus' Festival of Dedication

Advent in the Empire 
 

Jesus and our Jewish ancestors had a great deal of experience living under imperial oppression.  Often this required striking a difficult balance between living faithfully for God and also accommodating, as much as possible, the ways of the empire.  Scripture is full of men and women who negotiated this balance:  Joseph, Daniel, Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, etc.
 
However, sometimes an empire arose that was so explicitly in opposition to God that no balance was possible.  Pharaoh's Egypt was one such example.  Pharaoh set himself up directly in conflict with the LORD, and the LORD brought plagues and disasters upon Egypt in response.  Over 1300 years later, another king, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, an emperor of the Seleucid Empire (which included Israel), similarly placed himself in conflict with God and His people.  Under such regimes, the only option left to God's people is to challenge the empire directly.  This does not require use of military force (for example, no military force is used by God's people in the Exodus story); but it does require a disciplined rejection of the right of the empire to rule.  The story of Hanukkah is one such conflict where God's people emerged victorious against overwhelming odds.

Dust of the Rabbi: Challenging the Empire:
Hanukkah, Jesus' Festival of Dedication
 

The story of Hanukkah is found outside of the Protestant Bible (in 1 and 2 Maccabees, located in the Catholic Bible between the Old and New Testament - you can read 1 Maccabees here.).  Nonetheless, the conflict between the faithful Jews and Antiochus IV is historical and inspirational.  Moreover, by the time of Jesus (almost 200 years later), Hanukkah, which means "Dedication" in Hebrew, was a significant Jewish festival that Jesus Himself attended (See John 10:22-42).  
 
Many scholars believe that portions of the Book of Daniel refer to this very conflict.  In Daniel 7:1-14, Daniel speaks about a series of four empires, depicted as wild beasts, and on the final beast there is a final horn with "eyes like human eyes in this horn, and a mouth speaking arrogantly."  This horn is believed to represent Antiochus IV.  Ultimately, in verses 11-14, the kingdom of this beast is destroyed and a new kingdom ushered in by "one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven."  As in the Exodus story, God's response to this king is overwhelming.  Indeed, in the historical account of Hanukkah, the faithful Jews, who were vastly outnumbered, defeated army after army until they finally liberated Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple that Antiochus had defiled.
 
The question for the follower of Christ, then, is twofold:  First, under what conditions are we called to challenge the empire, instead of living faithfully and counter-culturally within it?  And second, as Christians, what does challenging the empire look like?  Jesus explicitly rejected the sword as the means to challenge empires (Matthew 26:51-54), so we must find alternative methods of transforming the political powers around us.  Perhaps we find the best model of that Christ-like work in the non-violent resistance of modern heroes like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi, who explicitly tried to follow the example of Jesus as they took on the empires of their day.  

The Hanukkah Story
 

From the fall of Judah in 586 BC to the first celebration of Hanukkah, the Jews consistently lived under the rule of foreign empires. The Babylonian Empire, which led the Jews into the exile, was overthrown by the Persian Empire in 539 BC. The Jews were allowed to return to the land of Israel, but remained subjects of the Persian Empire. When Alexander the Great overthrew Persia and entered Jerusalem in 332 BC, little changed for the Jewish people. So too, when Alexander died and his kingdom was divided amongst his generals, and Seleucus began the Seleucid Empire, the people of God simply exchanged emperors yet again.
 
 However, in 175 BC, a new emperor arose in the Seleucid Empire. This emperor took on the name Antiochus IV Epiphanes ("Epiphanes" meaning "Manifest" and being short for his self-proclaimed title, "Theos Epiphanes" or "God Manifest"). Antiochus IV not only called himself God Manifest, but he attempted to force the Jews to abandon their worship of the LORD and to adopt Greek customs and religions. The persecutions that he unleashed against the Jewish people were horrific. Unlike any other previous time in their history, the Jews were threatened not because of who they were or what land they occupied, but specifically because they refused to reject the faith of their forefathers. Ultimately the persecutions and desecrations of their faith led the religious Jews into armed revolt. Their leaders were Mattathias the Hasmonean and his son Judah the Maccabee (from whom the rebel armies took the name "the Maccabees").
 
After three years of guerrilla fighting, the Maccabees reclaimed the temple in Jerusalem in 165 BC. During the preparation for rededicating the temple ("Hanukkah" means dedication), they found only enough ritual oil to light the temple lamp for one day. But miraculously, the oil lasted for eight days - the exact time necessary to prepare more of the sacred oil. 

Living Faithfully Under the Empire

Advent in the Empire

During this Advent season, we continue to reflect on the significance of our God's decision to be born amongst a conquered and oppressed people.  Our God sets Himself up in contrast and opposition to the political powers of this world: against Pharaoh in Egypt, against the Canaanite rulers during the conquest, and even against the corrupt kings of Israel and Judah, His own people.  Part of that opposition comes in speaking dangerous truths to power, as we discussed last with the story of John the Baptist.  For those who follow our Rabbi, however, this begs another question.  How are we to live faithfully under the empire?  For the Christian today, just like the faithful under the Romans, there is a constant conflict between the systems and structures of the kingdoms of this world and those of the kingdom of God.   

Dust of the Rabbi: Living Faithfully Under the Empire
 

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus' enemies attempt to trick Him with a question about paying taxes to the Roman emperor (see Luke 20:20-26).  Jesus' response reminds us that living in the empire brings a constant stream of potential compromises.  Will we participate in a system of entertainment that glorifies sex and violence?  Will we participate in a system of economics that exploits the poor and centralizes wealth in the hands of a few?  Our participation seems to require a compromise of our faith as well.  Yet Jesus does not instruct us to simply withdraw from the Empire, for to do so would be to abandon any hope of welcoming its people into the kingdom of God.  Jesus helps us to wrestle with how to live faithfully in the systems of the Empire while we wait for His return and the establishment of the kingdom of the true King of Kings.
 
While our circumstances in America today are dramatically different than those of the Jews under the Romans, the lure of political power and solutions can still distract us from our Rabbi's voice.  Even in a free country, we are called to be "strangers and foreigners on the earth ... [who] desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one."  (Hebrews 11:13-15).  As we find ourselves increasingly comfortable in the kingdom of our Heavenly Father, we must find ourselves increasingly uncomfortable in the kingdoms of this world, even those founded upon principles of freedom.  What does it mean for us today to be a people who give to America what is America's, and to God what is God's?  How can we be thankful for the privileges of living in our nation, and yet also maintain our first love and loyalty to a different King?


Extras

Hanukkah is the only holiday celebrated in our Dust of the Rabbi series that is not instituted in the Old Testament; the events surrounding Hanukkah took place during the period between the Old and New Testaments. However, we do know that Jesus celebrated Hanukkah(see John 10: 22-23). The story of the Maccabees and the rededication of the temple is described in 1 and 2 Maccabees, books included in the Catholic and Orthodox Bibles but considered non-canonical for Protestants. 1 and 2 Maccabees are part of what we Protestants call the Apocrypha; books that neither we nor the Hebrews believe are inspired by God. However, while they are not Scripture, they are books of our faith (not unlike something written by St. Augustine or C.S. Lewis) which can instruct us on both the history and faith of our ancestors.