High Noon

The Showdown

The showdown was at High Noon.  The Hero at one end of the street.  Ready to stand for all that is good against all that is evil.  

The bad guy waits just a few yards down the same dusty road.  He has terrorized people for as long as anyone can remember.  Bystanders look on, peaking out to see just who will win.

Duel at Skull Hill

But this showdown wasn't in Dodge City.  Not Tombstone.  This wasn't the OK Corral.  

This was Skull Hill.  And this ultimate showdown between our Good God and the evil one occurred at high noon in Palestine some 2100 years ago.

Three Bloody Hours

According to Mark, Jesus' crucifixion actually began at 9am (Mk 15:25).  For three long, arduous hours Christ hung on Calvary's cross.  He was the object of abuse from all in attendance.  

Sometime before High Noon, Luke records the tender conversation between a dying Jesus and the repentant thief (v40-43).  Three long, excruciating, bloody hours.

Darkness at Midday

It's noon.  High Noon.  Using Jewish time-telling, Luke describes it as "about the sixth hour" (v44).  But this was not like any other midday.  It got dark.  VERY dark.  

This can't be explained astronomically as an eclipse since this was during the full moon of Passover.  This is divine darkness.  All throughout the OT, the Day of the Lord and God's judgment are always associated with darkness (Is 5:30; 13:10-11; Joel 2:1-2; Am 5:20; Zeph 1:14-15).

The Great Exchange

God is pouring out His wrath on sin.  As Jesus takes on all our sin for all time, the Father must punish Him.  This divine darkness was a super-concentrated version of the Day of the Lord.  

It is the Great Exchange that Luther described.  The One who never sinned became sin for us so that we could actually become the righteousness of God (2Cor 5:21).

Unlike a classic movie gunfight, this showdown at High Noon actually involved more than just two persons.  While Jesus stared down Satan and sin, the Father punished His Son for the sins of the world.

Torn at the Temple

Meanwhile, strange things were happening inside the temple (v45).  According to Mark, God ripped the massive, heavy curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from top to bottom (Mk 25:38).  

Thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus, the presence of God is now open to all (Heb 10:19-22).  We can come boldly before our holy God because of what Jesus did at the showdown at High Noon.

A Life Laid Down

Luke only records Christ’s last words on the cross.  "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit!" (v46).  In reality, Jesus wasn't killed.  He died willingly.  He only gave up His life when He was good and ready (Jn 10:17-18).  

As we see throughout Christ's passion, God is in complete and total control of the entire process.  Also, note that Jesus cried out in "a loud voice."  Another indication that He was not on the brink of physical death, but willingly gave His life into the hands of His Father.

Once again, this incredible week drips with prophetic words from the OT.  Jesus doesn't just yell some random, pain-filled plea.  Again He quotes from the OT.  This time it's a direct quote from Psalms 31:5.  His death is a fulfillment of centuries of Scripture.

He Breathed His Last

This showdown doesn't end like those in the movies.  After three dark hours, the Hero dies.  "And having said this, He breathed His last" (v46).  The corpse of the One so many had hoped would save them hangs limp and bloody on the cross.

Then another amazing moment occurs at this scene of capital punishment.  The lead executioner makes an announcement.  The Roman centurion, the man in charge of killing Jesus and two other convicted criminals, tells the crowd, "Certainly this Man was innocent!" (v47).  

For the fifth time in just a few short hours, Christ is said to be not guilty (v4, 14-15, 22, 41).  I must understand that Jesus was the sinless Lamb of God who died for sinful me.

The showdown at High Noon is over.  Our Hero is dead.  But the story is not over.  Not in the least.

©2017 

Jay Jennings

Wicked Wednesday

Horrible Hump Day

Fire up the Flux Capacitor for Jerusalem during Passion Week. Specifically for Wednesday. The biographers of Jesus give us nothing but crickets about what the Lord did that day. Most likely He hung out at Lazarus’ house in Bethany.

However something very horrible happened on this Hump Day. Dr. Luke tells us this was the day Judas Iscariot and the Jewish leadership colluded to kill Christ. 

This is Wicked Wednesday. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s back up and take a running start at this story.

God’s Plan for Passion Week

It would be VERY easy to ignore Jesus’ eschatological (that's a two-dollar seminary term for "the end of time") teaching at the temple in Luke 21 as we turn the page to chapter 22.  But they are VERY much related.  

Don’t forget that Christ taught that God has a grand, elaborate, and very precise plan.  Not only is He in total control of that eventual and unavoidable day of judgment, but He also has a grip on the events of Passover week.  Call it a death grip.

As a matter of fact, we see that God set the supernatural agenda for Jesus’ Passion in Scripture centuries before.  Luke describes how “the Feast of the Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover” (v1).  This is the annual festival God commanded to commemorate His liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.  

The Passover and the Passion

Moses described the first Passover in detail in Exodus 12-13.  Each family was to kill a lamb and spread its blood on the front door.  When the destroyer went from house-to-house killing every first born male, he would pass over houses painted with the blood of the lamb.  

In preparation for their quick escape from Egypt, God’s chosen people would eat only bread without leaven.  There was no time for it to rise and there was no time to lose.  They must move fast once Pharaoh lets them leave.  

The Ultimate Passover

What we see in Luke 22 is the celebration of the Ultimate Passover!  The Perfect Passover Lamb would die.  His Perfect Blood would be spilled and cover us from destruction!  What Moses wrote a couple of thousands of years before foreshadowed this week in Jerusalem.

The Axis of Evil

Luke describes how the ultimate Axis of Evil came together on this very Wicked Wednesday.  “The chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put Him to death” (v2).  The chief priests were made up mostly of Sadducees, the religious liberals.  The scribes were predominantly Pharisees, the religious legalists.  

They hated each other.  But these enemies found one thing they could agree on.  They had a common enemy.  Jesus must be eliminated.  He must be killed.  

Paralyzed by the Polls

Public opinion paralyzed these religious leaders.  The good doctor writes that “they feared the people” (v2).  They clearly understood that Jesus had won the crowd with His amazing entrance into the city and His teaching of the temple.  

Meanwhile, their approval ratings are in the toilet. But they were unwilling to make a difficult choice because of the fear of the people.  So they plotted to wait until Jesus was alone in order to take Him out.  But how would they be able to do that without starting a riot?

Satan Enters Judas

In verse three we see the next two partners in the Axis of Evil come together.  Satan himself enters Judas Iscariot.  The serpent who began it all in the garden had taken possession of one of Jesus’ closest followers. It may come as no surprise that Judas was one who handled the money.  

Satan entered Judas because it was easy.  Judas’ own sin and duplicity opened the door for the Devil to walk right in.  What a powerful reminder to do everything our power to confess our own sin in order to keep our heart soft toward our Savior.  Our enemy is constantly looking for his next Judas.

Solving the "Jesus Problem"

In verses 4-6, we now witness all four partners of the Axis of Evil conspiring together.  Judas sneaks away to meet with the chief priests and the commanders of the temple police force.  They brainstorm how they might eliminate their “Jesus problem.”  

Eventually, they come up with a plan.  Judas will tip them off when and where Jesus will be away from the crowd.  He’ll provide invaluable eyes-on-target intel they can use to move on.  

And don’t forget the price.  Thirty pieces of silver.  This was the price of a slave or an ox (Ex 21:32).  In case you’re wondering, God hinted at that very price tag back in Zechariah 11:12-13. 

Flipping the Script

You see, despite all of the conniving by this sinister conspiracy, God is in complete control of these events.  The chief priests, scribes, Satan, and Judas have no idea that He is actually using their evil hearts to pull off His jaw-dropping plan of salvation.  

God will flip the script.  He’ll turn the worst crime in history into His greatest blessing. 

If this is the ultimate Passover and they are the ultimate Axis of Evil, then this is the ultimate expression of that incredible truth Paul wrote to the Romans.  "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose" (Rom 8:28).

You Mean Evil, God Means Good

It’s the same idea that Joseph mentions back in Genesis.  His brothers finally had enough of Joe being their dad’s favorite and sold him to slave traders to get him out of their hair.  Little did they realize how God would use their own wicked plot to eventually save their own hides.

When a massive drought results in a critical shortage of food back home, Joe’s brothers hit the road for Egypt to find something to eat.  The next thing you know, they’re standing in front of the second most powerful person in the country…who just happened to be...yeah, you guessed it...their little brother!  Gulp.

This would be the moment that most of us who’ve been bullied by big brothers would have been waiting for.  But not Joe.  He sees God’s plan in everything that has happened.  “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive" (Gen 50:20).

Passion Week Putty

Which points us back to Wicked Wednesday of Passion Week.  Religious power brokers, a disciple defector, and the satanic snake would seem to be an unbeatable combination.  What appears to be an unstoppable Axis of Evil is just putty in the hands of our Almighty God!

It may be Wicked Wednesday, but God is still in control.  He’s still on the throne.  As a matter of fact, He specializes in reversing curses no matter the day of the week.  Don’t believe me?  Just wait until Sunday and swing by the Jerusalem cemetery.

©2017 

Jay Jennings

Home for the Holidays

Perry Como was right. There is no place like home for the holidays. Christmas. New Year’s Day. Thanksgiving. Easter. These special days bring back a flood of memories of family and friends. When you spend one of the holidays far away, it’s just not the same. The food just doesn’t taste right. 

Just ask the Israelites. Ezra tells the story of their first Passover at the temple in Jerusalem in a long, long time (Ez 6:19-22). They’ve spent the past 70 years almost 1,000 miles away from under the thumb of the Babylonians and then the Persians. Seventy years away from the Promised Land. Seventy years since they celebrated the Passover at the temple. Now God has brought them back home to Jerusalem. The people have rebuilt the temple where they can celebrate the holy days once again. 

There is no place like home for the holidays.

Ezra sets the calendar for us. It’s “the fourteenth day of the first month” (v19). One check the Hebrew calendar tells a couple of things. It’s the month of Nissan, which falls during our March and April. It’s the first month of the year 516 BC. It’s almost 70 years from the day the Babylonians bulldozed and burned the first temple (586 BC). But Zerubbabel and the boys have just finished the massive rebuilding project just a few weeks ago (Ez 6:15). Don’t touch anything. The paint’s still wet. 

The reconstruction of the house of God wasn’t without it’s complications. Sixteen years ago, there was the notorious Samaritan sabotage (Ez 4:1-5). God’s people had just hit town after their captivity when a bunch of local yokels threw a monkey wrench into their plans to rebuild the temple. 

The LORD uses a pair of prophets to light a fire under the Israelites and get the work cranking again (Ez 5:1-2). And there was the time some local bureaucrats stopped by to see if this project had all the proper paperwork (Ez 5:3-12). Once the home office clears all that up (Ez 6:1-12), things really rolling. Eventually, the Hebrew people cut the ribbon at the grand reopening of the new temple with a huge cookout (Ez 13-18). Think of getting your home ready just in time for the holidays.  

Just a few weeks after this massive shindig, it was time for one of the biggest days on the Jewish calendar. “The returned exiles kept the Passover” (v19). That’s the ceremony that remembers God’s deliverance of His people after more than 400 years in Egypt. Moses wrote all about it in Exodus 12. In the days before they hit the road, Yahweh tells the Hebrews to observe a rather gruesome yet important moment of worship. Each family is to find a male lamb that has absolutely no flaws. 

Here’s where it gets more than a little gory. They are to kill the little lamb and then use its blood to paint their front doors. Later that night, God would “pass over” those homes while the angel of death kills the firstborn males. The LORD tells Moses that His people are to celebrate this Passover every year on the anniversary of that wild night in Egypt (Lev 23:4-8). Before we freak out over all the blood and death, we need to remember that this is a picture of what God does later for us on a cross outside of Jerusalem. More on that later. Hang with me.

It’s appropriate that the first holiday the Israelites celebrate at the rebuilt temple is Passover. Just as God brought the Jews out of Egypt to the Promised Land, He’s now  brought them out of captivity like their ancestors. It’s the Exodus 2.0. At the Temple 2.0. Just as Moses instructed them, “they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the returned exiles, for their fellow priests, and for themselves” (v20). They were together again. At the temple again. Celebrating the Passover again. 

There is no place like home for the holidays.

But Ezra drops a bit of knowledge about this particular Passover. “It was eaten by the people of Israel who had returned from exile, and also by every one who had joined them and separated himself from the uncleanness of the peoples of the land to worship the LORD, the God of Israel” (v21). It’s one thing for Jews to keep the Passover. I mean, God commanded them to do it. 

But we see another group of people who’ve come to celebrate the holiday. Gentiles. God has moved in their hearts to turn from their sin and toward Him for salvation. They’ve ditched the filth of their former lives in order respond in worship to the God of Israel. 

All throughout Scripture, we see God continually reaching out beyond His chosen people and graciously inviting and including non-Jews. We see little glimpses of it here and there throughout the Old Testament. But once Jesus heads back home to heaven, He throws the doors of the party wide open to whole world. 

Passover is followed by another high holy day. “They kept the Feast of the Unleavened Bread seven days with joy” (v22). Again, make sure you check out all the details back in Exodus 12. These consecutive holidays are kind of like Christmas and New Year’s are for us today. This is a week long celebration God’s goodness and provision to His people. There ain’t no party like a God’s people party, ‘cause a God’s people party don’t stop! 

This wasn’t some grim ritual. It was a PAR-TAY! Twice, Ezra talks about the joy that filled the joint. And he makes it clear Who brought the joy. It was God! “For the LORD had made them joyful” (v22). They remembered who He was. They remembered what He’s done. When we think back on all He’s done, it’s time to PAR-TAY!

So what’s the deal with all the blood and guts at Passover? Just why does it have to be so gross? God uses this remembrance to point to the day when the Lamb of God would come to take away the sin of the world (Jn 1:29). Just like the spotless and flawless little male lambs that would give their lives, Jesus would live the sinless life that we fail to live. Just like the blood covered the front doors of the Jews so that God’s wrath would pass over their homes, Jesus’ blood covers us so that God’s wrath passes over you and me. 

Passover is bloody because Jesus’ death in our place is bloody. Jesus is the ultimate Passover. It’s just another fantastic example of how the entire Bible points to THE Hero of THE Story. Jesus doesn’t just show up unannounced in the Gospels. God has been dropping major clues for thousands of years beforehand.

We celebrate the Lord’s Supper in a very similar way to the way the Hebrews celebrated Passover. At the Passover, the Jewish people remembered what God did to free them from slavery in Egypt and pointed to the day when Messiah would come. At the Lord’s Supper, we remember what God did to free us from slavery to sin and point to the day when Messiah will return. And one day, we’ll all be home together with Him. 

You see, there’s no place like home for the holidays.