Hey guys, what’s going on? We’re in the final series of the Creation series based on Genesis 1!
- The Ten Commandments aka The Ten Words
- Evening and then Morning
- Exod 34
- John 1:14
- Romans 3:21-26
- The Reason Why Moses Wrote Genesis One <–Bonus Post! next week that will transition to the next series,so stay tuned to find out!
When I was a kid, I loved going to library and studying various cultures. I studied the Mongols for a long time, especially in Junior High, and then my dad told me about Steven Pressfield’s book, The Gates of Fire. It is an account of the Battle of Thermopylae.
For those of you unaware, the Battle of Thermopylae was the pyrrhic victory of Xerxes and his Persian army against the mighty 300 Spartans and 400 Thebans. The Persian king suffered such heavy losses that he backed off to recover, giving Greece time to prepare for the next battle.
Soon after I finished reading the book, I voraciously studied everything I could on Spartan culture and her battles.
I was in awe of the Spartan king who laid down his life at the narrow pass. No doubt, the Greeks listening to Jesus describing the path to life as a difficult and narrow pass would think of Leonidas and the famed 300 soldiers.
So when I heard a movie was in the making, I was really excited for it. Then 300 came out.
I loved the overall movie, but there were several weird parts I would definitely have cut out of the script. Also, the Spartans were masters of war, not just beefy tanks on the battlefield. They wouldn’t have exposed their vital organs and chest. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the movie.
There was a documentary that came out from the History Channel that I found really intriguing, but ultimately not at all helpful. I read other expert historians in the field that completely disagreed with the documentary.
But the documentary explained the movie 300, and the movie 300 illustrated the documentary
The Gospels are to Movies as Romans is to Documentaries
And that’s exactly what the Gospels and the Book of Romans is like. Romans is like the documentary, and the Gospels are like the Movie to illustrate what is being said. I doubt that the History Channel writers ever knew the movie producers of 300, but they were so moved by a real historical event, that they each set to work on content creation.
Likewise, I doubt Paul the Apostle spent a lot of time with John, though they did meet, both parties were so moved by the same event that they set to work on their individual books.
Unlike the documentary and the movie of Thermopylae however, we can always rely on the Bible. It is not simply a book on Theology, it’s a book of history. God is very concerned about detailing truth in real space and time. God is not so concerned about writing on and on about his glory, as he is detailing real events in space and time. If you’re a Seminarian, Reformed or in College to be a pastor, I want you to read that previous sentence again.
The Gospel John
John could easily be Netflix series, or a Hulu Original Series! Each episode has two parts: Jesus drops some truth at a Religious event to Religious folks, and gives unimaginable indelible grace at a social event.
There are several two-part episodes (Jesus speaking with Nicodemus at night, Jesus meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well during high noon), and they are meant to be compared and contrasted.
They all lead up to chapter 13. Right before chapter 13, there’s a stunning event. There’s a religious Feast, and all the Jewish people and the Non-Jewish people from around the world, even Greeks, are coming to see Jesus. Travel was expediated through the Roman Road system, so people from all across the known world were coming to see Jesus, and he drops a line that must have stunned the audiences!
Before we get to that line, I want to bring up the contrasting context of chapter 12, which the Resurrection of Lazarus!
Lazarus was sick and on the verge of death, but instead of going straight to Lazarus to heal him, Jesus intentionally delays. He allows Lazarus to die, suffer the pain of death and everyone around him to mourn for three days. This is best way to get ahold of everyone’s attention! If the miracle of changing the water into wine caused the spread of the word, gossip and the talk to spread, how much more would a man coming back from the dead cause the message to go forward!
But one would think, that being Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent, Jesus would be fairly emotionless. But in fact, he does something rather unexpected, at least to me. He does something very, human. He weeps, he mourns, and he cries.
One would think that with all that power, he would show himself as God, but Jesus empties himself of all his power becoming just like us. He limits his omnipresence to an earthly body. He fully relied on God the father to give him power to do things, like raise people from the dead.
Jesus answer of grace at a social event, was to first cry. This is the answer to the problem of pain. You see God the Father is not a monster, nor indifferent to our hurting, nor a cold and mean-hearted dictator. God the father shows us in Jesus Christ, who he really is. God gives everyone space.
What God is like
He’s like a land owner who leased out farm land to people. He gives seed according to each one’s ability. Then he goes on a long trip. During that time, he fully expects when he comes home for harvest, that everyone is faithful to plow the land, sow seed, and carefully watch over the crops.
Why does he leave? Why does he give space? It is because he so wonderful and glorious, that if he would show himself, even Satan himself would bow down and worship God! But then we wouldn’t truly be free. If anyone sees God, he would be beside himself, fall down, and worship him. But God made us with free will, free choice. He fully expects everyone to make wise decisions and he shows up at key moments in our lives.
So in that space, mankind can choose good or evil. Just like Adam in the Garden, we are given the choice to do things God’s way or our way. Then at harvest time, we shall reap what we sow.
Now Lazarus was sick because he lives in a world where we all get sick, this wasn’t cosmic justice or God the Father striking him. He was sick because we simply live in a world with germs, and we don’t fully understand the human body or have all the medical remedies. Yet he was suffering. Finally he dies.
Jesus’ timing was incredible. He approaches the tomb, much like God approaching Adam and Eve in the Garden and does something extraordinary. He weeps. But why is he crying? He’s going to raise him from the dead in a few moments!
The answer actually comes from part 2, the Religious Festival in John chapter 12. The chapter even starts with mentioning Lazarus and Mary, to refresh our minds on the resurrection.
Jesus speaks at the festival where lanterns were hung, and a town that’s normally dark at night, has light! We in the modern world lose the appeal, but for them, this was a time when night time wasn’t so scary, but rather pretty and comforting. Jesus stands up and says he’s the Light of the world, and whoever believes in him walks not in darkness but in Light.
What Light is Jesus talking about? Why is Jesus crying at the tomb, and then talking about Light?
Jesus saw the Greeks coming, and his disciples told him that people were coming to see him from the ends of the world. Jews and Greeks alike were coming to see Jesus. You might be tempted to think, so what? Two groups out of countless others? No, ‘Jews and Greeks’ was a shorthand or abbreviation of saying, the whole world. Instead of naming all the nations, they simply mention Israel and the Greeks.
Jesus becomes extremely sorrowful, even to the point of having dread, anxiety, panic attacks, and severe terror wave over him as he realizes his hour is fast approaching, in less than a week’s time.
If you’ve been following along in the series, we’ve seen God the father call the world into existence with 10 words. If you want a refresher [In The Beginning – Find Your Climb!]. He brought all the animals to Adam, his covenant partner to name and call each animal. He brought all the animals to Noah, for rescue. He brought he nations to Solomon, so Solomon could teach them. And now Yahweh God the father is bringing all the nations to Jesus, the greater Solomon, the greater Adam, so that he could redeem the world.
Recall, that it was Jesus who was the first to perform perfectly the 10 Commandments in Genesis 1. When Adam went into a deep sleep, a covenant was made between Yahweh and Adam. If Adam should fail, he will be punished accordingly for his duties or lack thereof, but would not die. Jesus feels dread because he was the one that made the covenant with Adam. He was the one that walked through the animals being cut in two, while Abraham his covenant partner was asleep, just like Adam.
Jesus would be the one, while we are faithless, to pay the penalty. What penalty? Recall there were 5 curses being brought into the world from God’s first two covenant partners, Adam and Noah. When God met with Abram, who name was changed to Abraham, he greets him with 5 blessings! Why?
Because Jesus would overturn the curses. One of the curses that came into the world was death. When Jesus overturns the death of Lazarus, he demonstrates that he can and will overturn the curses! Jesus also weeps, but for himself? No, he weeps for the pain in this world!
God is not cold and distant, he watches with white hot zeal for his people. He mourns with those who mourn. He weeps with those who weep. He cares deeply and tenderly for his children! Jesus weeps for the pain and misery that sin and sinners have caused. Shame, misery, pain, and sorrow had a sign in the ancient world, actually straight from the beginning: thorns and thistles.
It was a curse that was both physically true, and metaphorically true. Now it is no doubt, hard for us to grasp, how thorns could be shameful. Imagine walking by someone with the sign, “Pedophile” hung around his neck. Who wouldn’t recoil at that? In ancient culture, kings were gardeners. When they weren’t writing laws or tending their courts, they were out gardening. It was a sign of utmost dignity to have a beautiful garden!
So citizens under the king would also have vineyards and gardens, to show solidarity and faithfulness to the king. But if you passed by someone where thorns and thistles overran a wall, it was a sign of great shame!
Thorns also are simply painful! Who hasn’t experienced pricking a finger on a sharp thorn! I was cutting wood and grabbed a piece that had thick 5″ to 12″ thorns on it. It was dark and couldn’t see, but the pain when I felt it was intense!
Jesus weeps for you and me, for the shame we have felt, the pain we suffered. When I worked at UPS, I would quietly go about my business. The workers there were some of the most base and immoral people I’ve ever seen. The joking that carried on, the guys scrolling through one porn site after another, the derogatory comments and the rest never stopped. I worked the overnight shift for 2 years. During that time, I had 5 different girls come up, and as we were talking they each told me how they were raped.
I’ll never forget how I felt. I had zero answers. They knew I was a Christian, and the question of “where was God when I got raped?” was heavy in the air, and I just sobbed my eyes out. I prayed with them, but to see the heart wrenching shame they felt, the pain they experienced was intense. Thorns and thistles.
What is God like? Are you sure he’s not cold and distant? The Bible in the book of Romans says that Jesus is the Righteousness of God, and he appeared to show and prove that God in fact is righteous. It looks like God spared one sinner after another, starting with Adam in the Garden of Eden, all the way down the line. It looks like God refuses to do his job, and no one is going to hell.
But God is vindicated because Jesus himself, lines himself up with the wrath of God to bear it. He himself would take our place. What is God like? God himself, has thorns and thistles slammed on his head as a crown of mockery. He is not ashamed of us, he is not afraid of us, he embraces us and all of our imperfections. He wears our thorns and thistles as his crown.
Why didn’t Adam and Eve die, that makes it seem like God is not just. But God pours out the wrath of God on Jesus instead, because Jesus is the one who made the original covenant with Adam, and everyone else, that whoever believes in him, would not perish but have eternal life.
That’s what Romans 3:21-26 is all about! That’s what the Gospels so graphically portray! Jesus takes our places, thus vindicating God the father, and upholding his end of the deal.
Now whatever the Law says, it says to those under the Law, so that every mouth be stopped and the whole world become accountable to God. For by works of the law, no one is justified in his [God’s] sight, since through the Law comes knowledge of sin.
But now the Righteousness of God has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the Righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all and all who believe! For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God being justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a public display of propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he passed over sins previously committed to show his righteousness now at the present time, so that he might be the just, and the justifier of the one who has faith in Christ Jesus!