The Words, not the Source [part 1 of 2] ...

High Priests of the ancient Jewish religion were always men, and men of the Levite tribe (with a few exceptions).  In fact, the priesthood overall was made up of men, scribes were men, and the Sanhedrin were men.  This was Jewish tradition since Moses until now.  If you were to seek out the word of God in the times of old, you would generally find it in men.  But that was then, this is now.  Not the days of you and I, but I am referring to the days of Jesus Christ.  In fact, one of the first people on planet earth to be told the good news of the gospel was a devout young woman named Mary.  She was told by an angel.  And it was confirmed by the Holy Spirit.  During the time of the silence of the father of John the Baptist, it was his very old wife Elizabeth, who had to recount the story of the gospel, and the role their son John (the baptizer) would soon play in it.  The coming of the Messiah was the bridge between the old religion and the new.  The need for Jewish sacrifice and symbolism was coming to an end.  The need for a singular Temple in which to perform rituals and rites was coming to an end.  And the need for the gospel of Jesus Christ was about to explode.  And the new gospel, the gospel of Jesus, was to include women in just as many proportions as it did men.  The new church was to look like the entire human family, not just the male side of it.

It is perhaps the most ironic phenomenon that during the time of Jesus, the Truth of the word of God could only be found from His lips.  Had you sought truth from the High Priest in the days of Jesus, you would have found only grievous errors, lies, hypocrisies, and a doctrine that would lead to the very death of Jesus the Son of God in a vain effort to preserve the ways of the past.  You would have been better off seeking truth from Mary the mother of Jesus, or Mary Magdalene the redeemed of Jesus, or Mary the sister of Martha and Lazarus who sat at His feet, or Martha who served Him, or Joanna, or from any number of women who stood by Jesus throughout His ministry.  The woman at the well of Samaria who becomes one of the greatest evangelists recorded in scripture for the cause of Jesus Christ.  The woman who merely touched the hem of His garment for healing and started a trend in that day that would rival the greatest of social media trends in our own, and had nothing but her own personal testimony to see it spread.  The new church would be filled with women commissioned by faith, and by calling, to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.  And the only truth that mattered was the story of Jesus.  And the only power behind that testimony was what Jesus did for you.  “Who” you were, did not matter at all, “what” you said was the difference between the past and the future.

But this change in church composition, and roles, would put many a soul to the test both in those days and in our own.  Throughout all of time, listeners have been unable to shed their own bias to the hearing of the truth, because the source from which it comes is not appealing to them.  The priesthood could not accept the truth from the mouth of Jesus, because He came from Nazareth, looked too plain and simple, had no social elitism; seemed more like a hippie than the Son of God.  Jesus baptized.  Jesus preached.  Jesus did the things he should have needed clearance and endorsement of the church of the past to do, but Jesus had no such clearance or endorsement.  Jesus did His own thing.  And the church of the day refused to hear it.  And if the ways of the past would not hear the Truth from the mouth of Jesus the Son of God, why on earth would they hear it from the mouth of broken down fisherman, societal rejects, and God forbid, women?  They would not.  Is it any different today? 

But as further testimony to the truth of the Bible, its author’s reveal the humiliations of the truth in what they write, not just the glory stories where everyone was a hero, and no one made any mistakes.  The first gospel commissions would be examples of just such stories.  Luke offers us one couched in the greatest world event we will ever know, the resurrection.  Luke writes to his friend about what we believe and why in the last chapter of his gospel, the 24^th chapter beginning in verse 1 it states … “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.”  When Luke uses the word pronoun “they” we get all warm and fuzzy and just assume this group is a mix of men and women, followers of Jesus intent on completing the preparation of Jesus’ burial that had been interrupted by the Sabbath falling on Friday evening at sunset.  But that is not quite true.  It was a group of folks, but it was only women, no men at all.  Firstly, men did not often prepare the dead as in Jewish tradition this was a very unclean work and required them to isolate themselves from society afterwards.  It was something like changing a toxic diaper that made you unclean for a while.  Women were just more willing to perform this duty, for love would drive them to it.

But the real truth behind the absence of men was set more in fear than anything else.  Now that Jesus was dead, killing his disciples, his closest followers in general was sure to be the next step of the angry Sanhedrin in order to stamp out all the loose ends and put the story of Jesus to death fully and finally, once and for all.  So the disciples were not out preaching in the streets, they were hiding in an upper room, afraid to venture one foot outside those shut doors.  Women faced all these same fears too.  And in addition, knew that if they were taken by enemies, they would be raped in the course of their torture, and still wind up enduring the same death their male counterparts would face in a situation like this.  Romans after all, had little sense of morality or respect, especially of Jews.  So when this company of women ventured out to complete the anointing of the body of Jesus, they had absolutely no idea what they would face or find in the process.  And what they found did nothing to calm their fears, at least at first.

Luke continues in verse 2 saying … “And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. [verse 3] And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.”  First, these women had no idea there would have been such a great stone rolled in front of the tomb to seal it.  But there it was having been rolled away from the door.  The great iron chains that once bound it to the tomb were snapped like so much tissue paper.  The Roman seal that promised death to any who would dare to break it was snapped in two without any hesitation or thought for safety.  And beyond all this, there was evidence of a great company of soldiers here guarding this place.  The remnants of campfires nearby with coals still orange with glow of heat from them.  Scattered Roman weapons, shields, armor, and soldiers clothing scattered about as if the entire company were caught by surprise and had themselves fled in terror.  But there was no signs of a battle, just the great stone rolled away (something women could have never done), and evidence of a terror that sent Romans running for their lives.  Jews could never have done this.  Romans were used to fighting Jews, even Zealots.  If it had been a battle, there would have been at least some blood and much less fear.  But there was not.

Beyond all of this, these women entered the tomb to do their work, and did NOT find the body of Jesus within.  What could have possibly happened?  Who could have done this, to take a dead body, even the body of Jesus, and for what purpose?  Hadn’t Jesus suffered enough, hadn’t they?  Their minds raced as Luke continues in verse 4 saying … “And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: [verse 5] And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?”  While their minds yet raced about where was Jesus, and why; all of the sudden two great men appear before them in shining garments.  These were no Romans.  Romans do not appear out of thin air.  These were no members of the Sanhedrin, the Sanhedrin have never worn robes of brilliant white light.  These were something way more than men, they were angels, perhaps cloaked to look as harmless as angels are capable of looking, but still pretty intense to a group of women already expecting the worst.

But then the words of the angels reach into their hearts and sound like deep music from within them.  The truth matters, the words matter, the source not so much.  Jesus is plainly gone.  And the angels have asked them, why do you seek the living among the dead.  This means Jesus is not dead.  This means Jesus is alive.  But how could this be?  Luke continues with the testimony of angels in verse 6 saying … “He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, [verse 7] Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. [verse 8] And they remembered his words,”  Jesus is not here.  He is RISEN.  Those words sink deep into the hearts and minds of every woman in this company.  They drop the spices prepared for His burial.  They don’t need them anymore.  Then the angels remind them of the very words of Jesus Himself about all of this.  He will be delivered to the cross, and be raised again on the third day.  Today is the third day.  Today Jesus has risen again.  The greatest news that could ever be told to human ears happens first NOT in the upper room to his cowering disciples.  But instead in an empty tomb where women have braved their own fears to come and finish the work of love they must do for the body of their Lord.  But there is no body here.  There is only the trumpeting of angel voice in their very souls proclaiming a Risen Lord.  After Lazarus they each know what this means.  Jesus is alive.  Jesus said all this would happen.  Their minds open up and they remember every nuance of His voice when Jesus uttered these very words.

The gospel starts here in an empty tomb.  The first commission begins here with a group of nothing but women.  They set out for the upper room.  But Mary Magdalene tarries.  Luke misses this part of the story, but the heart of Mary breaks at all of this and she begins to weep.  The news is just too much.  It is just too good.  Seeing a Man she mistakes as the gardener she begs to know from Him where they have moved the body.  Fear prevents her from believing what angels have already told her.  But the Man is Jesus and He calls her by name.  Now it is beyond real to her.  Now, nothing can make her doubt ever again.  Jesus tells her not to touch Him just yet, because He has delayed ascending to His Father at this point, to see if the sacrifice is enough.  He delayed for love of Mary.  He delayed for love of each of us.  He would have stopped to heal our broken hearts as surely as He longs to heal them today.  The news is solid.  The news is good news therefore gospel news.  Mary leaves the garden racing back to the upper room.  She will be behind the group, but has the same story to tell, this time from Jesus Himself.  The new church will begin with women.

Luke picks up again in verse 9 saying … “And returned from the sepulchre, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. [verse 10] It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles.”  Note what Luke states, they returned from the empty grave and told the whole story to the other eleven, AND to all of the rest.  It is here where Luke finally reveals it was “other women” who were with them at the grave.  We have no idea how many men and women were back in that upper room.  There could have been many.  We do know some of the women by name that gave this testimony.  Once again, the first carriers of the gospel bore a message from angels, backed by personal testimony of sight and sound.  And once again they are not believed by the men closest to them.  The men who heard the same words as the women did by Jesus Himself.  The men who saw the work of Jesus alive in these women, as Jesus had been alive in themselves as well over the last 3-4 years.  As Joseph the fiancée of Mary was ready to put her away until an angel spoke directly to him, so now the disciples were no more inclined to hear the words of these women and their testimony of this gospel, and of the truth, because of their own bias.

They resisted because these were women.  Luke says in verse 11 saying … “And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.”  Imagine, the gospel rejected, by those who should have been the first to accept it.  Because it looks to them like the idle tales of women chattering.  Some girl’s dream who is just unable to face the hard truth of the death of Jesus, which the men all had seen albeit from a distance much farther than that of the women.  But the gospel begins in humility.  The gospel grows in humble soil, and is stamped out upon the rocks of our pride.  You must humble yourself to hear the message of God to your soul, as that message may come from someone else, someone you deem unworthy, or not good enough to carry it.  But on the heels of the group of women who have brought this testimony to all this assembly of people comes Mary Magdalene running as fast as her feet would carry her.  She is ablaze.  She is on fire.  She repeats the story of the other women and now adds a new personal chapter of her own.  For she has met Jesus risen for the grave for herself.  She heard His words to come to tell them all.  She knows He is alive.  She has just spoken with a risen Jesus.  And she will not be dissuaded. 

While there are far more than 2 witnesses to all of this, the personal testimony of Mary Magdalene has begun to kindle a fire in the room.  Luke continues in verse 12 saying … “Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.”  Peter cannot take this anymore.  He decides to run to the grave and look at these things for himself.  John goes with him.  And they find exactly what the women have said, exactly as they have relayed it.  Except there are no angels in this place now.  Where the women went away with a gospel commission, Peter and John go away empty now wrestling with their own doubts and faith and memories.  The gospel begins in humility.  The women were humble enough to heed the words of the angels.  The men do not expect to find those words to be true, even though every evidence is as the women described it.  A great stone rolled away, something the women could never have done.  Great chains of iron that once bound the stone to the grave broken like tissue paper.  A Roman seal promising death, broken in half without a moment’s hesitation.  A camp deserted in fear outside the tomb with Roman leftovers everywhere.  An empty tomb with grave linens not scattered about, but folded neatly and left on the bench within the tomb itself.

Men left that place WITHOUT the gospel, because up to this point men had refused to embrace the gospel.  The women carried it.  The men did not.  The new church was here.  It began on Friday when the whole sacrificial system was fulfilled and torn down in the death of Jesus Christ.  It rested on the Sabbath day as Jesus had created and once again did; even in the work of our salvation, He rested.  And now on Sunday, the third day of the new church, Jesus rises and leaves the tomb with neatly folded clothes.  A robe of light will now once again cover our Lord.  In the new church, not like in the old one, the first folks to carry the gospel will be a company of women.  And the first soul to see a risen Jesus, even before Jesus resumes the work of our salvation and verifies the sacrifice with His Father God, is Mary Magdalene.  Mary is given the first gospel commission by Jesus Himself.  She is ablaze.  She carries fire in her testimony because it is a personal one to her.  No one can make her doubt ever again.  But whether we believe the message of God carried through her is up to us.

Are you ready to hear what God is trying to say to you, ignoring the source, and closely examining the words for the Truth He is trying to convey?  I don’t care what you believe about whether women should be pastors or not (despite my belief that Jesus is very clear about this).  Nor do I ask what you believe about any particular doctrine of your church or mine.  But I do ask - are you hearing the message of God that is intended specifically and only for you at this very moment of your life?  You were not meant to drift from day-to-day, following proscribed patterns of prayer, and fellowship, and study, but only to keep drifting from one day to the next.  Doing what you do, over and over again, but never really hearing what God wants you to do, what God will enable you to do if you but seek Him, and follow His instruction in your life.  To let God lead, we must start in humility, abandoning our ideas as the foolishness they are, and letting God retrain us how to think, how to love, and what to want.  In the process of our transformation will come a work each of us is intended to perform.  It will be different for each of us, as we are all different from each other.  So I cannot tell you what your work will be, but I can tell you, that you have one, and when you find it, and follow it, you will never be happier in your life.

Scripture offers us guardrails.  But only a personal relationship between you and Jesus will get you into the process of transformation, and engaged in the work of your particular life.  And if God sends you a message, meant just for you, examine the words, not the messenger, and find the peace Jesus has in store for you, even if in the middle of the raging seas well beyond your control.

And Luke was not yet done with the story of our first church and what it means to discard the messages Jesus has sent us …

 

God and Money ...

Organized religion is good at one thing – taking your donations. It does not matter which denomination, which belief system, or even which god is being advertised; open yourself a 501-C3 non-profit and you are off and running. Televangelists seem to be known first and foremost for the lavish presentations and pension for offering collection before any other characteristics. One such minister actually claimed God would kill him if he failed to raise one million dollars for his church. He lived. Since Christ has returned to heaven, why would He ask us to give our money to “His” work, could He not provide the funds Himself? Why does God seem to want our money, or does He?

The Bible states … “the cattle on a thousand hills are Mine” - loosely interpreted this passage shows that God considers Himself the rightful creator and owner of this world’s natural resources, beauty, and wealth. So why would He institute systemic giving of our wealth to His ministries or causes? The practice of tithing is first recorded by Abraham who gave ten percent of his increase to a priest of the Lord named Melchizedek. The minor prophet Malachi seems to reaffirm the practice much later in his days not long before the Messiah arrived. When Christ did arrive, it was common practice for the Pharisees and Sadducees to give even more than ten percent of their income towards tithing. They saw this as a business investment counting on God to return their monies with interest accrued, and they were not generally disappointed – despite their motives.

One could argue that since the tribe of Levi was faithful to God during the Mount Sinai incident, He sanctified this tribe as His priesthood. They would get no inheritance in the land of promise, but instead would receive 10 percent of the increase of all the other eleven tribes as their income. 110% if the math holds. But Levitical rights ceased at Calvary, and since then members of the Church have been the messengers of the gospel. Christ never really setup an organized church leadership, as He reserved this role for Himself. Christ said … “I am the shepherd, and you are my sheep.” Despite Catholic claims to the contrary Christ never set any one apostle above another, nor did the early Christian churches act as if He had. Differences and disputes were resolved in councils, sometimes agreeing to disagree. Religious hierarchies then are a creation of man, developed to organize great numbers of believers and increase the efficiency of our missions, but creations of man none the less.

When Israel left Egypt, they took with them the wealth of Egypt as payment for their slavery. Jewelry, golden statues, and other precious stones went with them into the desert and were maintained by the families there. When God gave directions to Moses on how to build a temporary sanctuary, Moses went to the people to ask for donations. The response was overwhelming. People brought so much gold, linen, and stones, that Moses had to ask the people to stop. When was the last time you saw a congregation give this much? And when was the last time you heard any preacher as you to stop giving, that it is more than enough - two things almost never seen in the modern Christian era. One might argue that this was easy for the Israelites to give up, since the items did not really belong to them anyway. They were ill-gotten profits for back pay. But this would not diminish the willingness of the Israelites who went most of their lives in poverty, to shed the little gold they had in service for the sanctuary of God.

And many generations later, David set about to do the same thing. His plans were more ambitious, and would require more of the people’s wealth. And true to form, the Israelites came through again. So much so, that David, like Moses, had to ask the people to cease giving. It was more than enough. Solomon who actually oversaw the construction of the Temple of God did such excellent work that this building became famous around the world. The Queen of Sheba came to visit it. The King Nebuchadnezzar came to raid it a bit, and then came back to destroy it after yet another unsanctioned rebellion by the Jews. But my question remains, why was Israel so willing to part with the golden wealth they had come by in service to God?

At the birth of Christ, Kings gave valuable treasure to His parents. It was this treasure that allowed Joseph and Mary to flee and live in Egypt while Herod sought to kill Jesus. Kings thought it a good idea to bring the best of what they had to offer, to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Later the early Christian church was organized around a communal philosophy that everyone gave everything into a central pot for distribution to those who had need. This was 100% giving of everything, not the 10% tithing we are familiar with today. And early Christians, like the Israelites who preceded them, willingly gave all they had.

Perhaps the secret to the willingness to part with this world’s wealth is found in proximity to Jesus. The closer one grows to Christ, the less gold holds any value at all other than what it can accomplish as a gift. It would appear the opposite is also true, those who are reluctant to give of themselves, tend to be far less Christ oriented than those who do. But perhaps the greatest secret of all was the one God knew, the real treasure of this world is not in its resources but in its people. His children are His greatest treasure, He values them above all else. Not just above all else in this world, but above all else in the entire Universe. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son ...” Immortal words of promise that define the meaning of love to the Universe. God gave it all. More than enough. Everything of greatest value was given to save His erring, obstinate children. There could have been no higher price to pay for our redemption than the one God our Father gave on our behalf. Gold He uses as cement, but your life was worth the torture and death of His only son to redeem you from evil.

So if people are what God values, then why does He continue to ask for our money, which He is not so crazy about? It has to do with building faith and trust. It makes no sense to give money to God, it is not logical, it is financially irresponsible, it probably does not even get used in the way He would really want it to. There are many reasons NOT to give. There is only one TO give; because He asked us to. Despite the lack of logic, despite the unwise usage of our precious funds, despite the suffering our families put at risk in order to give – we are asked to do just that – give Him back 10% of our increase, and then free will offerings over and above that. No emissary from God has yet emerged with a message saying we have given enough. We have simply not been released from this request. So why you ask?

The first reason is that every time you give, God gives back to you so that your needs are met. You do not go hungry. You do not go without housing, clothing, and the things you need. You may believe that giving God His due will cause you to lose all these things, but His blessings prevent it from happening. Over time as you are continually tested with the facts of financial discipline, and then confronted with the miracles of God’s methods – you build faith. You begin to see that God is faithful to every promise He makes us. He does indeed take care of us. He is indeed, the one responsible for if we eat or not. We begin to learn that He is in control, despite what logic may say and despite what accountants may recommend. God cares for us, His children. Now He does not do this BECAUSE we give. But we are able to see it demonstrated BECAUSE we give. We appreciate a bit more the fact we are eating when we know that we should not be, because we should be out of money by now. We appreciate a bit more knowing that God intervenes with us, because we put it to the financial test of His intervention. Demonstration makes faith a reality, not just a concept.

The second reason we are asked to give, is the change that occurs within us when we do. We begin to share God’s secret that the only real wealth in this world, are its people. Giving a dollar to a homeless man despite how he may use it, teaches you charity without judgment. Before long, you begin to realize the pain of the homeless man more acutely and begin to want to do more for him. That is the awakening of Christ within you. It is not natural to sacrifice your own wants, needs, and security to meet the needs of others; especially when they do not seem “deserving” of your help. Yet this is precisely what our Savior does for each of us, and we are ALL undeserving. Giving to meet needs can become an all-consuming passion, and at the same time be the most rewarding fulfilling experience of your life. This change can ONLY occur when you actually follow through and participate in systemic giving.

All the rationalizations, all the excuses, all the valid reasons in the world NOT to give, do nothing but perpetuate your own selfishness. Giving breaks the hold. Giving resets the attitude. Giving is the beginning of a new consciousness the world will not understand. Sometimes, our self-motivation and instincts for self-preservation are so highly developed we are not now willing to give. If this is our lot, we must take our stubbornness to Calvary and ask God to melt our hearts so that we can give. He will answer this prayer. Sometimes our instincts are only to give as a business investment, sure in the knowledge that we cannot out give God. If this is our lot, we must take our greed to Calvary, and let Christ replace our thirst for gain, with a thirst for serving others. Christ is able to give us the proper mindset to see the wisdom of giving. Are we then willing to ask for it?

Remember the next time you write out a tithe check, or give a poor person something of yourself – it is the changes in you that are the first priority of God in what you do. Your benevolence then goes to a place where it is needed, and God watches over how your money is spent and used. This is of less concern to us, as we are not asked to watch how the money is spent, just to give freely. It is in this giving that we become a new person. It is in this giving that the world becomes changed as well. Giving is intended to free us from the bonds of our selfishness. It is the only reason why God still asks us to give him of our money. Giving; is His gift to change us for the better.