Critical Race Theory

If you don’t know what critical race theory is, please read the article by Christopher F. Rufo reprinted in Imprimus. I am going to summarize it here, but you owe it to yourself to read the whole article and do some research on your own.

The core of critical race theory is the idea that white Americans, particularly white males, are automatically racist because they are white. “White supremacy” which used to be a term applied to neo-Nazis and Klu Klux Klan members has been broadened to include any white person who does not subscribe to critical race theory. The condition of “white privilege” automatically applies to all whites. Systemic racism is charged against the entire structure of government at all levels. Critical race theory teaches that the history of America is one of racial domination, abuse and atrocity. Students are taught to hate America because it is irredeemably racist and therefore it is evil. America is evil. Period.

The terminology used by proponents of critical race theory is deceptive. Diversity is one of their favorite terms. Diversity used to refer to the melting pot nature of American culture; anyone who wanted to assimilate could become a member of the American freedom experiment. Now diversity means bowing to the demands of critical race theory and subscribing to radical affirmative action and reparations. To oppose these policies is to prove racism or anti-diversity.

The second term popular with those who support critical race theory is equity. Many who don’t understand the movement think this is the same as equality; it is not. Equality means every person regardless of race or creed is entitled to the same opportunities granted under law. Equity signals a move to repair the systemic racism that critical race theory says is endemic to the American way. Equality means everyone gets an equal chance at success; equity means everyone except white persons get special privileges to atone for the generations of mistreatment by whites.

A close cousin to critical race theory is the WOKE mentality. It originally meant to be socially aware. People had awoken to the need for racial equality. It has come to mean being aware of social injustice as defined by critical race theory. In other words, if you are in agreement with critical race theory, if you are awake to the radical agenda of BLM, Antifa and any other socialist group that wants the demolition of America as we know it, you are WOKE.

I am going to make a jump that may seem illogical but wait. The controversy over COVID restrictions, especially wearing masks, fits into the same program. If you are against wearing a mask, if you question the efficacy of COVID vaccines, you are branded as being anti-establishment. If you consider the current COVID policies as establishment over-reach, you are a non-WOKE, not critically aware white supremacist. I know it seems a reach to equate COVID policies with racial issues, but this is the matrix we have fallen into. Government is good; if you are against government, you are bad. Help!

When I wrote “Obama isn’t the Problem” in 2012 I had no idea things would get this bad. That article suggested primarily that people who wanted government handouts would overwhelm those of us who think we should earn our benefits. Now we have come to the point where those who believe whatever the government says is true outnumber those of us who believe we should think for ourselves. Science and statistics do not support the government actions against COVID 19. Masks are not effective in spreading the virus or in protecting the wearers. Closing schools is not an effective measure against COVID. Killing businesses is not an effective measure against COVID. Sending COVID patients to assisted living facilities (Cuomo and Wittmer) is not the answer. But the masses of Americans are jumping off the cliff like lemmings despite the evidence to the contrary.

Sadly, if you read the Imprimus article I recommended, you can see how troublesome this situation is. I love America, but I love Jesus more. This is why “Heaven Always Matters Most” (WHAMM). I don’t care what your politics are; we cannot let the government tell us what to do or eventually they will tell us (as they have begun to do) that we cannot worship as we wish. Stand up. Stand for truth. Vote for people who are using reason instead of political rhetoric to back their policies. Unless we do this as Christians, we will lose the voice to say anything at all.

 

The Goodness of God When Trouble Comes

I would never say that I am happy to encounter trouble; that would be masochism. Nor will I say that I believe God will keep me from all trouble; that would be a denial of the words of Jesus: “In the world you will have trouble but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) The promise of God is that when trouble comes, He will be with me through it: “When [not if] you pass through the waters, I will be with you…. When [not if] you walk through fire, you will not be burned.” (Isaiah 43:2) Joseph was thrown into prison; Daniel spent a night in the lion’s den; Paul was chased by beasts, beaten by men, shipwrecked while in custody, but each of these situations revealed God’s hand to the troubled ones.

Yesterday, trouble came knocking at my door. Technically, it was the door of my RV which is my home, so the image fits. We were nearing the end of a ten-day trip from our winter spot in Arizona to Michigan where we plan to spend the summer. About thirty miles from our destination, a car came alongside, and the passenger was gesturing wildly and pointing to the back of our rig. I pulled over. About a quarter mile behind us there was a pickup truck on the shoulder; a man got out and walked into the weeds beside the highway. When I walked toward the back of my trailer to see what might be wrong, I was horrified to see that one of the trailer wheels was missing. Gone. A bare brake drum with three broken lug bolts stared me in the face. What the…?

The pickup eventually pulled behind the trailer, and the driver walked to me and said he had my missing wheel. He told the story of how it had flown off and bounced in the traffic, nearly hitting his truck and another car. He brought me the wheel and the mystery deepened. The center of the stamped steel wheel was ripped to shreds explaining why it had come off but offering no clue as to why it happened. I thanked him for retrieving the wayward wheel and drove slowly on the three remaining wheels to the next intersection where I could park in the back of a gas station.

With only two of the five lugs remaining on the drum, I couldn’t just put on the spare tire. My first thought was that I would have to have the missing lugs replaced. I began calling nearby service possibilities to get it repaired. Four calls netted one place that said they might be able to help. Since it was now 4:00 pm and they closed at 5:00, I needed a rush job. When I the service tech looked at my damaged drum, he thought the only fix was going to be a new drum. He thought he had one, so I rejoiced. My joy was short-lived as we discovered that his drum was not the same size as mine.

The service tech called another place, and they said they had the right piece. I rushed over only to find that it was the same wrong size the first place offered. They called another place and were told that they had the correct drum. The problem was that it was now a few minutes before 5:00 and they closed at 5:30. They were twenty miles away. In rush hour traffic. I punched the directions into my phone and punched the gas on the truck and said a prayer.

I made it with about ten minutes to spare. When the tech there looked at my drum, he was shocked. He asked what year the trailer was. I told him it was a 2020, and he was more shocked. He said they hadn’t seen drums that size in years. The only explanation he could think of was that the manufacturer of my trailer had a bunch of old axles lying around and used one on my new trailer. He said he could order one for $198.00 and it would be in sometime next week. I thanked him but said no thanks. I got back in the truck and headed back to the trailer to make another plan.

The service tech had suggested that I could strap up the axle with the missing wheel and drive slowly. The problem was that there is no place to hook a strap to lift the axle. Because I had driven several hundred yards on three wheels to get to the gas station, I decided to try to make the thirty-mile trip to our campground. The only further trouble I could imagine was a failure of the one tire being burdened with the weight meant for two. It was a cool day and a smooth road, so I decided to try it.

We made it in a little over an hour. We dropped the trailer in our spot at 8:00 and rushed to a restaurant that was open until 9:00 for supper. I was so happy to be there. That is the take-away from this sad tale. Even though I had spent over four hours from the emergency roadside event until I finally sat down to supper, I realized that I never lost control, yelled, screamed, cried or gave any other sign of my frustration. If you know me at all, you know that is a bona fide miracle. God granted me peace in the trouble.

So many things could have been worse. We could have been in the middle of nowhere. The wheel could have seriously damaged my trailer when it flew off. The wheel could have damaged another vehicle or even hurt someone. Had the good Samaritan truck driver not stopped and retrieved my wheel, I may never have known where it went. Had I not paid attention to the driver who signaled me, I could have driven on for miles before knowing what had happened. Had the imbalance caused the trailer to dip and swerve dramatically, it might have flipped over. Had my final miles not been a smooth, divided highway, I may not have been able to complete the trip. Had I not arranged for a late arrival at the RV park, I would not have been able to park in my spot. Had I not been trusting God to go with me through whatever came my way, I would not have been a happy camper. Not at all.

As if to underscore my experience with another’s testimony, Charles Spurgeon’s devotional for today included the following. “How comprehensive is the love of Jesus! There is no part of his people’s interests which he does not consider, and there is nothing which concerns their welfare which is not important to him…. It were a sad thing for us if this mantle of love did not cover all our concerns, for what mischief might be wrought to us in that part of our business which did not come under our gracious Lord’s inspection…. O my soul, tune thy harp to a glad song of thanksgiving! Go to thy rest rejoicing, for thou art no desolate wanderer, but a beloved child, watched over, cared for, supplied, and defended by thy Lord.”

I am no “desolate wanderer.” My heart is tuned to thanksgiving even though yesterday had some real sucky moments. Wherever I go and whatever befalls me and my little home on wheels, I rest in the love and care of Jesus. Even for the trailer wheels – like the counted hairs on my head and the sparrows He watches over. Take my little story of yesterday’s trouble as another proof that peace is available even in trouble. All you have to do is remember Emmanuel, God with us. He’s never failed me yet.

There’s Something Fishy About That Name

Name calling has gotten a bad rap in the modern world. Pre-European invasion Native Americans were masters at naming. In most tribes, individuals received a name at birth, and then when they matured, another was assigned that suited them in some way. The biblical Hebrews had a similar practice. Parents would sometimes name a child after a historical icon such as Joshua thus making two hopeful references since the name means “God saves.” In special instances, God gave the parents a name before the child was born. In one very special circumstance, a father named Joseph was told to name his first-born son Joshua.

Because of translation issues, many Christians don’t realize that the Jewish Messiah they worship was named Joshua by his parents at God’s command. The name we use comes to English through the Greek and Latin because the earliest New Testaments were based on those languages. Having been written in Greek originally, the name Joshua was translated as Iasus (Ἰησοῦς: Greek doesn’t have a letter “J”.) The Latin became Jesu. The morphing of one European language into the next until English finally appeared brought us to our familiar name for the Savior, Jesus.

I went through that etymology lesson to make it clear that when God told Joseph to give his son a name, it was clearly prophetic. As the gospel writer Matthew reports, God told Joseph, “You will call his name Joshua (God Saves) because he will save his people from their sins.” (Mt. 1:21) This seems to contradict the words of the prophet Isaiah from which Matthew claims the name was drawn in the next verse. Isaiah says the child will be called “Emmanuel.” There is no contradiction when you understand that many Jews would end up with two names once their destiny was made plain.

Having set the stage, I want to show why the Savior’s name is “fishy.” Early Christians were subject to severe persecution for following Jesus, so they developed several secret codes to make it possible to share their identity with Christ without alerting unbelievers who might want to harm them. One of these codes was the Greek word for fish: ichthus (ἰχθύς). This is genius on several levels. First, Jesus called His first disciples from among fishermen and promised they would become fishers of men. Then, as He continued His teaching, fish often played prominent roles in His lessons. Finally, fish were a staple of the first century diet of many people around the Mediterranean Sea, so the word was ubiquitous.

Even more interesting is what the early Christians did with the letters making up the word fish. Each letter was assigned a theological concept that formed the basis of their faith. What I am going to say in the following paragraphs is not new; there have been thousands of sermons penned on this, but I want to present my thoughts for your consideration.

The first letter in the Greek word for fish (ἰχθύς) is iota. This corresponds to the English letter “i.” As I have already pointed out, iota is the first letter in the Greek version of the Messiah’s given name, Ἰησοῦς. I have also already given the most significant meaning of the name: God saves. If you think of it as a Jew would, meaning Joshua, there is also a wealth of historical allusion. Moses’ successor brought the Israelites into the Promised Land. He led the nation in their military feats that validated God’s special care for them. The typology with the Messiah is undeniable.

The second letter, chi (χ), corresponds to the beginning of the word, Christ (Χριστός). Again, this is a Hellenization of the Jewish concept, “Messiah.” In Hebrew, messiah means anointed one; this is precisely what the Greek word christos means as well. This word is freighted with meaning. The Israelites were commanded to initiate prophets, priests and kings by the process of anointing. The ceremony involved pouring a special scented oil on the head of the anointed one, so much so that it ran down his body. Inasmuch as the Holy Spirit is represented as oil throughout Scripture, the analogy is obvious. Because Jesus is the ultimate prophet, priest and king, His anointing by the Holy Spirit is of great significance.

The third letter, theta (q), begins the Greek word for God (θεός). Over the centuries, there have been many debates as to what it means, exactly, to say the Jesus is God. The simplest explanation seems to me to be found in the Gospel of John. In the first verses of his gospel, John states clearly that the Word, another name for Jesus, was God. Various sects have tried to play with the language and make the plain truth of John somehow more complicated. The early Christians had no such difficulty; Jesus said plainly on more than one occasion that He claimed to be the “I Am.”* This was a clear statement of His identification with God, so much so that the Jews who heard Him and disbelieved wanted to kill Him for blasphemy.

The fourth letter in ἰχθύς (ichthus) is upsilon (υ) corresponding to the English letter “U,” which is the first letter in the Greek word for son (υἱός). To some people, this appears to contradict the claim that Jesus is God. They would ask how someone can be God and Son of God at the same time. The word “time” may provide the solution to this apparent contradiction. Before time, that is in all eternity past prior to the creation of our universe, the being we know as Jesus was co-equal with the being we know as God the Father. Paul makes this abundantly clear in the second chapter of Philippians. Jesus chose to shed something of what it meant to be God in eternity so that He could become the Son of God in time. This is the message of the incarnation: God became flesh so that mere humans could see the glory of God.

The unfortunate mistranslation of John 3:16 has caused much confusion about who the Son of God actually is. The phrase, “only begotten son,” seems to indicate that Jesus was born or came into being at some point in time. The commentary from the Faith Life Study Bible clears this up. “At one time, it was presumed that the term derived from the Greek words monos (“one” or “only”) and gennaō (“to beget”). The translation “only begotten” is based on this assumption. Subsequent manuscript discoveries produced evidence that the term actually comes from monos and the noun genē (“kind” or “type”). The term monogenēs therefore refers to uniqueness and has no inherent reference to chronology or origin.”

Jesus entered time as a unique being, never before or ever after duplicated. It is my belief that Jesus retains His God/Man status in eternity future. Jesus, the Son of God, submitted to His Heavenly Father during His earthly ministry, accomplishing what only God could do: He made atonement for the sins of all humanity by His death on the cross. God validated that payment by bringing Jesus, the God/Man, back from the dead in a glorified body and seating Him at the Father’s right hand as co-regent, a position similar to what had existed prior to the incarnation. The difference is that Jesus will forever exist as the glorified Son in His relationship to the Father and the Father’s adopted family: all believers from all time.

The last letter of ἰχθύς (ichthus) is the sigma (ς). This is the first letter of the Greek word for savior (σωτήρ). The meaning here is obvious: Jesus saved all who will believe on Him from an eternity separated from God. All humans from Adam onward are born alienated from the fellowship for which they were created. This state of alienation is known biblically as death. The only way to regain that fellowship, to be made alive again, is to be rescued, saved, by the power of the Cross of Calvary. What Jesus did on the Cross undid what Adam did in the Garden. There is no greater grace than the freely offered rescue that Jesus accomplished by His atoning death. He is the ultimate Savior.

So, the next time you see one on the bumper of a car, remember the full lesson in theology that fish represents. Jesus. Christ. God. Son. Savior. There’s nothing fishy about that.

 

*  The name of God given to Moses, I am that I am, or just I Am, has an interesting meaning in itself. By claiming to be “I Am,” God was telling Moses that He alone is the self-existing one. Everything else is created by and dependent on the one who exists from all eternity. Thus when Jesus called Himself the I Am, He was claiming eternal existence, a trait which can only be assigned to God Himself.

Have You No Shame?

The other day as headed out of the RV park for my morning ride in the desert I was shocked to see a woman reclining in a lounge chair next to her trailer wearing just her bra and panties. I told myself I must have been mistaken; it was surely a white bikini. When I returned from my ride, she was standing on her patio enabling me to confirm what I couldn’t believe: it was her underwear. I realize she was no more exposed than if she had been in a skimpy bathing suit, but something just seemed wrong.

This got me thinking about the guys with their pants sagging below their buttocks showing a swath of boxers. At this point sagging has become a fashion statement of sorts, but I wonder how many who practice it know its origin. It began as a way for men in prison to announce their status; it meant they had become the “property” of someone: they had been raped or had willingly given sexual favors to another man. The desire to be perceived this way is puzzling to me. This and the woman in her underwear say to me that they don’t care if the world knows they have low moral standards.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that worldly people have a worldly attitude. However, as I wrote some time ago in “Women’s Attire – Again!” even the church is slipping into worldly opinions when it comes to how women dress. I think the church is largely missing Paul’s admonition to the Ephesians, “And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather even expose them. For it is shameful even to speak about the things being done by them in secret.” These days, the shameful things aren’t even kept in secret. But they are still shameful even if some people don’t feel shame in doing them.

I know it is not my place to judge the world; Jesus will do that when the time comes. But I wonder if there is more the church could do to partner with the Holy Spirit in His task of convicting the world, “concerning sin… righteousness… and judgement.” It is the duty of the church to judge its own. It is also the responsibility of those of us who teach the Word to renounce, “shameful hidden things, not behaving with craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but with the open proclamation of the truth commending ourselves to every person’s conscience before God.” There are too many “crafty” expositors these days who find biblical license for things that are clearly shameful. And, sadly, it would appear that the collective conscience of the church is not what Paul would have expected.

We shrug when our politicians are caught in lies. We laugh at or swoon over ungodly entertainers who populate our TV programs 24/7. We wink at the rampant promiscuity and serial marriages plaguing our young people. We buckle under the rabid consumerism constantly washing over us in video and print to the point that material success and accumulation of objects become predominant over the nurture of our spiritual well-being. Not even our church gatherings have escaped the shamelessness as they elevate entertainment over content.

This will sound very old fashioned, but what we need is to go to the Cross. There we find legitimate shame. There we find the One who, “endured the cross, disregarding the shame” so that we might be given eternal life. I wonder if some Christians participate in shameful behavior because they are ashamed to identify with Christ before a fallen world. This is dangerous. Jesus warned that if we are ashamed of Him before men, He will be ashamed of us before the Father in Heaven. We need to stand beneath the cross and say with Paul, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation.” That is the only place we should have no shame.

Truth Dysphoria

Hate the sin; love the sinner. This may be a cliché, but it is nonetheless biblically correct. While we were still sinners, Paul asserts, God loved us enough to send His Son. According to John, we show ourselves to be children of God insofar as we love others. Because everyone is a sinner, this validates the cliché. However, our love for God also includes a love of truth because Jesus is the Truth. When we speak the truth in love as we are commanded, it is sometimes perceived as less than loving toward the sinner who denies the truth. This perception is unfortunate, but unavoidable.

When truth, logic, biological reality, and common sense are all abandoned in favor of a “popular” but contrary idea, one must wonder what forces are in play. For about ten thousand years (depending on your estimated date for creation of the universe), the concepts of male and female were defined according to the biblical account in Genesis. God created male and female and assigned each a role. Ever since Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden, there have been a few people in every generation who chafed under the roles their biological identity dictated under God’s economy. Toward the end of the last century, a small group of people began to insist that the traditional, logical meanings of male and female had to be replaced.

The new definition of male and female being forced upon the majority grows out of the discomfort felt by a minority of people who experience a disconnect between their biological identity and their psychological identity. The medical description for the condition these few unfortunates experience is gender dysphoria. According to Merriam-Webster, gender now has come to mean, “the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex.” Dysphoria comes from a Greek term meaning, “difficult to bear.” In other words, some people are uncomfortable with the “behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits” associated with their biological identity. Basically, they are at odds with their plumbing.

Until late in the last century, this kind of psychological struggle was considered to be an abnormality in need of therapeutic attention. As late as the 2015, a doctor from Johns Hopkins wrote that “transgenderism is a mental disorder that merits treatment.” He went on to say transgender people were at high risk for psychological trauma and a suicide rate 20 times higher than among non-trans people. It’s not hard to imagine why this would be so. Those people are denying a piece of reality that cannot be disputed. The fact that they don’t believe their body reflects their mind is evidence of dissociative behavior: they find themselves divorced from reality.

 If someone ignored the biological realities of his existence and believed himself to be a bullfrog, he would be considered insane. No legitimate psychologist would suggest that it would be an acceptable alternative lifestyle for that man to sit naked on the riverbank and eat flies. It would be unthinkable that that man and his fellow frogmen should force society to install frog ponds with lily pads in every public place. And yet, a small minority of people who are uncomfortable with the gender God assigned them at birth have been able to force their version of reality on the general population. In this new age, it is required for women to accept men in their restrooms, girls are being forced to shower with boys after gym class, and female athletes must complete against biological males. If one dares to dispute these new requirements, that one is labeled a homophobe and a criminal in many instances.

This madness has found its way into language as well. To use the “incorrect” gender pronoun when referring to someone who is uncomfortable with their birth gender is considered hate speech. The grammatical conventions that have underpinned all languages for millennia are being slaughtered on the altar of gender equality. This gender-confused minority in conjunction with radical feminists has convinced some publishers of the Bible to produce “gender-neutral” versions of holy scripture. The very book that should bring sanity to this crazy situation is being rewritten to accommodate the insane. One has to wonder where this will all end.

Paul warned the Romans that people who chose not to acknowledge God and His right to rule would be abandoned to foolish thinking.  He told the Ephesians that unbelievers would become, “hopelessly confused… because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against [the knowledge of God].” Paul seems to have foreseen what has happened; he told Timothy that toward the end, “some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.  These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.” In other words, truth-deniers would be found even in the church.

The problem facing believers in the Truth is how to handle these militant truth-deniers. In America, our representative, constitutional government is both a blessing and a curse. For over 200 years, we have been able to live under a government that was founded on Judeo-Christian values and, for the most part, maintained order based on those principles. Believers are learning the downside of representative government as recent events have moved masses of voters into positions that run counter to the tradition of the Founders of this country. America is being transformed into a pagan society.

If believers want to reverse the trend toward paganism, there are two battlefronts to address. The first is prayer. I have no doubt that the gender confusion issue is a ploy by the enemy of our souls to destroy the family as God designed it. Besides calling such ideas, “teachings that come from demons,” Paul reminds us that our battle is against, “evil spirits in the heavenly places.” We need to pray that the devil’s schemes will be thwarted, and fellow believers will be called to join in the spiritual battle.

The second front is political action. We must exercise our right to elect people who will return us to the Judeo-Christian basis upon which America was founded. Believers must also support with time and treasure organizations that are working to maintain principles based on truth as we know it. In addition to the many Christian groups that are fighting this battle, there are secular allies to consider. The organizations I recommend include the Heritage Foundation, Hillsdale College, the Association ofMature American Citizens (AMAC), the National Rifle Association, and the Convention of States. There are many others.

Standing for the biblical truth is becoming more difficult every day. Many in America have fallen into what must be called truth dysphoria; the truth makes them uncomfortable. This is not a new condition; certain people have always been uncomfortable with the Truth. What is new is the degree to which truth deniers have taken control of the reigns of power. Believers must take Paul’s advice and, “put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil.” Believers must stand for the truth. We must not allow the abandonment of the pattern set out by America’s founding fathers. Not just in gender issues, but in every part of society, truth dysphoria must not become the prevailing mindset in America.

Related posts: I Pray For America; America Held Captive; How Can They Think That; The Uncomfortable Subject; Loving Biblically

A Week to Remember

It was during this week twenty-some centuries ago that the people of Jerusalem, God’s chosen people, were mostly enthralled by the Messiah’s message. A small number of those present, primarily in the religious leadership, were not in favor of the new program; in fact, they saw it as a direct challenge to the power structure they had developed and hoped to maintain to their advantage. Even the large crowds who clamored for more of what they thought Messiah was offering were largely unaware of what the Kingdom proclamation really entailed. I think that is why the leadership could so easily sway their opinion on Friday.

Had the majority of the Jerusalem crowd that week heard Jesus say, “Take up your cross and follow me”? Had they heard Messiah say He came to bring division, “not peace but a sword”? Had they understood that the rest He promised came under a yoke? I don’t think so. I think many could have been from the same crowd who was fed by the lake and wanted more. Many could have been among those who demanded a sign to which Jesus replied with the sign of Jonah. There were doubtless many who, like the rich young ruler, were looking for the easy road to righteousness. With the Word made flesh before their very eyes, they preferred His works to His words.

What can you do for me now, Jesus? Quickly, before Friday comes, let me have another taste of that bread you promised. From our lofty position on this side of the Cross of Calvary, we can smugly scoff at their materialistic misunderstanding. We can pretend that we understand the brutal Friday that lay ahead of the Savior. His true mission was unclear to them, but we get it, don’t we? We can’t forget what happened on Friday, can we?

Do we remember, or are we more like the craven crowds or the disappearing disciples when it comes down to it? The disciples fled from the Master when He was arrested in the midnight hour. The crowds turned against Jesus Messiah when He was being prepared for the cross on Friday morning. When it became crystal clear that His talk about death and sacrifice was not just a metaphor, the physical reality turned the supporting throng into a sadistic mob, faithful followers into terrified turncoats. When the week ended, Jesus was alone – truly alone in a way we cannot begin to imagine.

When Jesus sweat blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, the human part of Him might well have been dreading the physical torture He knew lay ahead; any man would. When the ones he came to save had done their worst, and He hung suspended between heaven and earth, impaled hand and foot, the deepest reason for His garden distress became reality: He was separated from His Heavenly Father in a way He had never been in all eternity. “Why have you forsaken me?” may be the most pitiable, heart-wrenching words ever spoken by a man. Because this was not just a man; this was the Son of Man, brought to earth to do the unthinkable: die once for all men.

Do we remember why this had to be? Many can quote, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten son.” We claim to understand that He, “so loved the world.” But do we understand the purpose for the giving? Why was such a horrendous sacrifice necessary? To make sense of the events of the “Passion Week,” we have to remember a much older truth: the human race had become separated from the Heavenly Father by the disobedience of our representative head in the Garden of Eden. The price that was required to pay for that disobedience was death. For this reason, in Adam, all die.

“But God,” the two most beautiful words in the entire Bible, “made us alive together with Christ.” (Eph 2:4-6) It was much more than a week that came to a close that fateful Friday; it was the close of an epoch. Everything that had transpired from the first Adam to the Second Adam was preparatory. The death that reigned for two millennia was about to die. Life was going to be offered to all who choose to be realigned with the Second Adam. For two millennia, God had taught His people that blood was required to atone for the first Adam’s rebellion. Yet none of the oceans of blood poured on the altars of the past would lead to life; it would take supernatural blood to create a supernatural pathway to life. God had closed the door; God had to open the door.

When Jesus approached Jerusalem at the beginning of the week, He wept, not for the pain he foresaw but for the unbelief He knew was endemic. He wept because He too so loved the world, and from His divine perspective, He knew the world had come to hate Him. He spent six days that week in an effort to make the truth plain to His own people; on Friday, He spent six hours doing what only He could do. What Jesus accomplished on the Cross of Calvary certainly has physical, material consequences, but the greatest accomplishment is the spiritual victory over eternal death. Human beings would still have to suffer physical death, but the real enemy, the death that really mattered was taken off the board.

I quote at length from Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening for March 30. “Have your sins separated between you and your God, and is your heart at rest? O let me affectionately warn you, for it is a grievous thing when we can live contentedly without the present enjoyment of the Saviour’s face. Let us labour to feel what an evil thing this is—little love to our own dying Saviour, little joy in our precious Jesus, little fellowship with the Beloved! Hold a true Lent in your souls, while you sorrow over your hardness of heart. Do not stop at sorrow! Remember where you first received salvation. Go at once to the cross. There, and there only, can you get your spirit quickened. No matter how hard, how insensible, how dead we may have become, let us go again in all the rags and poverty, and defilement of our natural condition. Let us clasp that cross, let us look into those languid eyes, let us bathe in that fountain filled with blood—this will bring back to us our first love; this will restore the simplicity of our faith, and the tenderness of our heart.”

That is why we should remember this week.