Shine

When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb in 1879, he had a particular purpose in mind. Namely, the light bulb was created to emit light. It was wired to work a certain way and perform a certain task. To use it for purposes other than that for which it was created would result in disaster.

Baseball, for instance.

Have you ever tried to play baseball with a light bulb? Me neither. That’s because we know it would end badly. The light bulb would break and no longer be able to provide light as it was intended.

Imagine that you decided to go ahead and try it anyway. Chances are, it would take about one pitch for the light bulb to shatter to pieces.

Now imagine someone came along, got down on his hands and knees in the dirt, and began putting the light bulb back together. Imagine that when he was finished, after hours of diligent labor, the light bulb not only worked again, but shone even brighter than before. Would you ever play baseball with a light bulb again? Of course not. Lesson learned.

The truth, though, is that we play baseball with light bulbs every day.

God wired us to work a certain way. He created us for a particular purpose – namely, to represent and reflect His heart and character every moment of our lives.

Sin willfully and purposefully goes against what God originally intended for our lives.

It’s like playing baseball with a lightbulb.

Our sin shatters us.

But on the cross, Jesus put the pieces back together.

He restored us to our original condition, able to once again represent and reflect the God who made us, to once again shine as we were meant to shine.

Let’s stop working against our design and begin working with and for our Creator.

He knows far better than we what He intended when He made us.

It Is Finished

The night God rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt, He commanded that, every year, every family was to sacrifice a lamb on Passover.

Thousands of families sacrificed thousands of lambs that day.

Jesus celebrated Passover with His disciples the night before He was crucified. The lamb they ate that night was part of the family sacrifice.

The next day, there was one sacrifice made in the Temple in the morning and one sacrifice made in the afternoon on behalf of all of Israel. In other words, it was a national sacrifice.

The first sacrifice was made at nine in the morning. When that lamb had been slaughtered, a priest would blow the shofar, a trumpet of sorts, fashioned out of a ram’s horn.

It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. (Mark 15:25, NLT)

I wonder if Jesus could hear the shofar blowing from the Temple as the Roman soldiers pounded the nails into His wrists. I wonder if, just for a moment, all of the people passing by quieted at the sound announcing that the sacrifice had been made.

The second sacrifice was made at three in the afternoon.

Darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. The light from the sun was gone. And suddenly, the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn down the middle. Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last. (Luke 23:44-46, NLT)

As the shofar blew for a second time that day, again announcing that the sacrifice had been made, Jesus drank the last drop from the Cup of God’s Wrath. The perfect, eternal sacrifice had been made.

“It is finished!” (John 19:30, NLT)

Jesus, on the cross, did what no lamb could ever do.

As the perfect man, He is the perfect substitute.

As the eternal God, He is the eternal sacrifice.

And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices. (Hebrews 10:18, NLT)

Jesus is the Lamb sacrificed once and for all.

And so, it is finished.

Read Hebrews 10:11-18 and reflect on how the old covenant foreshadowed the new covenant that Jesus initiated.

Don't Miss It

Jesus hung on the cross for six agonizing hours.

Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Mark 15:34, NLT)

This passage has incited a lot of debate about what it means for God to have abandoned Jesus.

But what if Jesus wasn’t trying to start a debate? What if Jesus was trying, one last time, to get through to the crowd of onlookers? What if Jesus was trying, one last time, to show them who He was?

Remember, in Jesus’ day, the Jewish people knew their Bibles inside and out. The rabbis could quote a single line and expect their audience to know the rest of passage by heart.

This is what Jesus did. He used His last breath to quote the first line of Psalm 22. This song by King David looked forward to the coming Messiah – the One anointed by God to bring deliverance to Israel.

It’s as if Jesus is crying out, “Don’t miss this! Pay attention to what’s happening here! Everything is unfolding exactly how David predicted it would!”

Listen to just a couple of the parallels between Psalm 22 and the accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion.

David wrote that Jesus would be mocked.

Everyone who sees me mocks me.
    They sneer and shake their heads, saying,

“Is this the one who relies on the Lord?
    Then let the Lord save him!
If the Lord loves him so much,
    let the Lord rescue him!” (Psalm 22:7-8, NLT)

“He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! So he is the King of Israel, is he? Let him come down from the cross right now, and we will believe in him! He trusted God, so let God rescue him now if he wants him! For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” (Matthew 27:42-43, NLT)

The Roman soldiers would break the legs of their victims to speed up death. But David predicted that none of Jesus’ bones would be broken.

I can count all my bones. (Psalm 22:17, NLT)

So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. (John 19:32-33, NLT)

David said that Jesus’ enemies would gamble for HIs clothing.

 They divide my garments among themselves
    and throw dice for my clothing (Psalm 22:18, NLT)

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his robe, but it was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. So they said, “Rather than tearing it apart, let’s throw dice for it.” (John 19:23-24, NLT)

David even predicted the crucifixion six hundred years before crucifixion was invented.

They have pierced my hands and feet. (Psalm 22:16, NLT)

They had nailed him to the cross. (Matthew 27:35, NLT)

Jesus didn’t want anyone to miss what was happening.

He doesn’t want us to miss it either.

So, let’s not. Let’s not miss who Jesus is and what He has done. Let’s not miss His sacrificial love. Let’s not miss His offer of forgiveness.

Let’s not miss it.

Read all of Psalm 22 and consider where else you see it pointing to Jesus.

Look to the Cross

The disciples were shocked and terrified when Jesus was arrested. But they shouldn’t have been. Jesus had told them exactly what was going to happen.

“Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die. Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked, flogged with a whip, and crucified. But on the third day he will be raised from the dead.” (Matthew 20:17-19, NLT)

Judas had betrayed Jesus.

Pilate had sentenced Jesus to death.

But Rome was known for brutality. They made their executions as long and painful as possible.

Pontius Pilate ordered that Jesus be flogged before His crucifixion with a lead-tipped whip.

This type of whip, often used in Roman torture and execution, was braided with metal balls and pieces of jagged glass.

It tore the flesh to ribbons – from the shoulders all the way down to the back of the legs. The merciless flogging cut down to the bone and even exposed the organs.

When the flogging was finished, the soldiers threw a purple robe over Jesus’ raw back. They pounded a crown of sharp thorns into His skull. They struck His already bleeding head with a reed stick they had used as a royal scepter in their mockery. They bowed down before Him in feigned worship. “Hail! King of the Jews!”

When they finally tired of their barbarous game, they lifted the heavy crossbeam onto Jesus’ bloodied shoulders and led Him through the busy streets of Jerusalem to be crucified.

The Romans were crucifying five hundred or more Jews every day, so it was more efficient to leave the vertical beam in the ground and force their victims to carry the horizontal crossbeam.

The flogging depleted Jesus’ strength. Every step felt heavier than the last. Every slight stumble along the way sent shooting pain through His beaten body.

The Roman soldiers called to a passerby – a man named Simon of Cyrene – and demanded that he carry the cross the rest of the way.

Then the soldiers nailed him to the cross. They divided his clothes and threw dice to decide who would get each piece. (Mark 15:24, NLT)

The nails were driven between the bones in His wrists and through His feet. His arms were stretched just far enough to dislocate His shoulders. As His body weakened and the pain intensified, He could no longer lift His body up to draw in air.

It was excruciating.

We often imagine that Jesus was crucified on a distant hill far from the bustle of the city.

On the contrary, the Romans were fond of crucifying their victims right outside the city gates, along the road, at eye level. It was humiliating.

See, crucifixion wasn’t just a method of execution. It was a message.

Don’t mess with Rome.

A sign was fastened above Jesus’ head, announcing the charge against him. It read: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” (Matthew 27:37, NLT)

The sign was intended to mock Jesus’ wild claims. But they got it right.

He is, indeed, the King.

He is the King who stepped down from His throne to take up the cross for His subjects.

If you ever wonder if you matter to God, look to the cross.

If you ever wonder if you are even seen by God, look to the cross.

If you ever feel insecure, inadequate, worthless, abandoned, hopeless, isolated, alone, disappointed, disregarded, or marginalized, look to the cross.

If you are ever in doubt about the love of God, look to the cross.

Read Matthew 27:27-44 and reflect on what Jesus did on the cross. Review this passage whenever you are doubting His care for you.

The Fifth Cup

The Passover meal was built around four cups of wine – one for each of the four promises God made to the nation of Israel.

Jesus instituted what we call the Lord’s Supper with the third cup – the Cup of Redemption.

In the book of Matthew, Jesus says, “Mark my words—I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.” (Matthew 26:29, NLT)

Jesus was referring here to the fourth cup – the Cup of Restoration.

So, Jesus and His disciples finish their meal and leave for the Mount of Olives. His disciples, tired by the late hour and relaxed by the wine, drift off to sleep. Jesus, though, was wide awake with the anguish of what lay before Him.

“[Jesus] went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Mark 14:35-36, NLT)

The Passover meal is over. The four cups have already been taken.

So, what cup is Jesus referring to?

Listen to what the prophet Jeremiah wrote:

This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup filled to the brim with my anger, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it. When they drink from it, they will stagger, crazed by the warfare I will send against them.” (Jeremiah 25:15-16, NLT)

The Jewish people of Jesus’ day would pour a fifth cup at Passover – but they wouldn’t drink from it.

This is the Cup of God’s Wrath.

Remember, Jesus didn’t drink from the fourth cup of Passover. That cup, the Cup of Restoration, is also known by another name. It is the Cup of Protection.

In other words, Jesus is readying Himself to drink from the Cup of God’s Wrath without having taken the Cup of Protection.

This fifth cup is the cup Jesus prays will pass.

He is already beginning to experience the torment of the cross ahead – the physical and spiritual anguish – and He begs His Father to let this cup pass.

“Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

The first four cups are cups we don’t deserve. The fifth is the cup we certainly do.

The wrath of God is not irrational fury or reckless anger.

God is a just God. His wrath is an outworking of His justice.

But it is also an expression of His love.

A loving God could not possibly let the sin that has wreaked havoc on our world go unpunished.

The problem is that we, the objects of His love, have also become the objects of His wrath through our sin.

The love of God and the justice of God meet on the cross. Jesus takes the cup we deserve and offers us the four cups that we don’t.

On the cross, after six excruciating hours of drinking from the Cup of God’s Wrath, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” (John 19:28, NLT)

In this moment Jesus asks, “Is there anything else I need to drink, God?”

A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:29:30, NLT)

It is finished.

He drank it all.

Every. Last. Drop.

Take time to read Matthew 26:36-44 and reflect on what Jesus did in drinking the Cup of God’s Wrath on your behalf.

The Scent of a King

The Passover celebration is quickly approaching. Jesus’ enemies are conspiring. Time is running out – and Jesus knows it.

He has dinner one evening in the house of a man named Simon.

While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head. (Mark 14:3, NLT)

Imagine this scene for a moment. Everyone is laughing and talking and eating and enjoying an evening together when a woman – who was not invited to the dinner party – bursts through the door.

She rushes over to Jesus. The room falls completely silent as they watch. She breaks open a jar of perfume worth a year’s wages and begins to pour it on Jesus’ head. The smell of the perfume fills the room.

This is a holy moment.

This is how you anoint a king.

Days earlier the crowds were cheering as Jesus rode into Jerusalem. They waved the Zealot flag and shouted “Hosanna! Save us!” They called for a revolution. They recognized Him as King, but totally misunderstood what kind of King He intended to be.

Now, before a small gathering of friends in a quiet Bethany home, another recognizes Him as King and, perhaps, understood exactly what kind of a King He intended to be.

The others begin to murmur about her extravagant gift. What a waste! That perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor!

I imagine that, until this moment, Jesus’ eyes have not left hers. Now, as the others begin to berate her, He comes quickly to her defense.

“Leave her alone. Why criticize her for doing such a good thing to me? You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me. She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time. I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.” (Mark 14:6-9, NLT)

Jesus has been predicting His death since near the beginning of His ministry and no one got it.

Is it possible that she alone had understood? Is it possible that she alone realized that this King intended to die for His subjects?

We don’t know. What we do know is that in anointing His head she proclaimed Him as King.

An entire bottle of nard – the expensive ointment she had used – would have lingered on Jesus for days.

It would have lingered as the Roman soldiers arrested Him.

It would have lingered as He stood before Pilate and then before Herod.

It would have lingered as His back was lashed open by the flogging.

It would have lingered as they shoved a crown of thorns onto His head.

It would have lingered as He carried His crossbeam through the crowded streets of Jerusalem.

It would have lingered as they drove nails into His wrists and feet.

It would have lingered as hung there with His arms outstretched under a sign that said, “Jesus, King of the Jews.”

Even through the smell of sweat.

Even through the smell of the blood.

Jesus went to the cross smelling like a king.

Jesus was buried smelling like a king.

And when, three days later, He left the empty tomb behind and claimed victory over sin and death, I think He came out still smelling like a king.

Read Mark 14:1-9 and try to imagine watching this moment unfold. As we read more of the story in the coming days, try to remember the lingering scent that follows Jesus to the cross.

The Heart of Lent

This Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent – the forty days leading up to Easter.

Christians around the world fast during this season as a reminder of the self-denial and self-sacrifice of Jesus.

To be honest, I haven’t given anything up for Lent in, well, years.

It’s not that I don’t appreciate the call to self-denial and self-sacrifice in preparation of the celebration of Easter.

It’s just that that’s not why I ever participated in Lent.

I participated in Lent because, consciously or not, I understood it to be an opportunity to drop a couple of pounds under the guise of spiritual discipline. I never gave up sugar so that I could better reflect on the self-denial and sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. I gave up sugar because I wanted a better body.

I’m not saying that anyone who gives up sugar – or anything else, for that matter – must have a skewed heart or skewed motives. If sugar is an addiction for you, giving it up may, in fact, serve as a reminder that Jesus gave Himself us so that we could be free from any and every stronghold. So, please don’t hear condemnation for what you’ve given up in the past or intend to give up this year.

I’m telling you about me. I’m telling you about my heart and my motives.

I have a remarkable propensity for taking what is intended to fix my eyes on Christ and twisting it so I can keep my eyes on myself.

Maybe you can relate.

If you can, let’s, together, agree to do Lent differently this year.

If we give up anything, let’s make it that which places us, rather than Jesus, at the center of the story.

After all, Lent is not about what we can do for ourselves.

Lent is about remembering what Christ has already done for us.

When Love is At Stake

It's crazy what people will do when love is at stake.

In 2007, former astronaut Lisa Nowak got caught up in a dramatic love triangle. She was in love with a man who was in love with another woman. So, overcome with anger, she donned an adult diaper and set out on a cross-country road trip to confront her rival. The media, of course, had a field day with the story. It didn't help that she was armed with a BB gun and a black wig.

Commenting on this woman's absurd behavior, cartoonist Tim Kreider quipped, "When love is at stake, you do not waste time on rest stops."

Nowak, it seems, was not so much driven by love as by jealousy and it would be hard to defend her behavior, given that there is reason to believe she intended to attack her ex-boyfriend’s new love interest.

As I thought about the foolish love of this woman, I thought about a greater love that, to so many, looks equally foolish.

"The message of the cross," wrote the apostle Paul, "is foolish to those who are headed for destruction." And I can see why.

On the cross, a man who claimed to be God hung naked and bloody. The media, of course, had a field day with the story. They humiliated and ridiculed him, laughed at him and mocked him as he slowly suffocated. Why in the world would anyone willingly submit themselves to something as scandalous as the cross?

Love.

Love compelled the God of the universe to step down from His throne and don human skin. Love compelled Him to befriend the lowest of the low, to engage the outcasts, to dine with prostitutes and tax collectors. Love is what compelled Him to sacrifice His life for the very ones who murdered Him.

It's crazy what people will do when love is at stake.