Epiphany

As we progress through the liturgical calendar, we have remembered with eager anticipation Christ's second coming, and we continue our twelve day celebration of His birth. Tomorrow is the day on the calendar called Epiphany. Epiphany is celebrated by remembering the coming of the Magi and the three gifts they gave to Jesus. The Magi did not meet Jesus until he was a toddler, so we wait until after the birth celebration to remember their coming.

Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, the men who wrote the song In Christ Alone, also wrote a song called Joy Has Dawned about the Christmas story. The third verse says "Shepherds bow before the Lamb, gazing at the glory. Gifts of men from distant lands prophesy the story. Gold, the King is born today. Incense, God is with us. Myrrh, his death will make a way; and by His blood He'll win us."

The first time I ever heard this song, I had not thought too much about the prophetic significance of these three gifts; but hearing their meaning, even in an abridged fashion, gave me such a deeper understanding of the significance of the coming of the Magi. It also inspired me to dig deeper into the issue.

When I started thinking about other accounts of gold and incense in the Scriptures, I found some interesting connections. Gold is primarily mentioned in the constructions of the Tabernacle, the Temple, and Solomon's Palace; while incense is primarily mentioned in rituals for the Tabernacle and the Temple.

The Temple and the Palace would eventually be destroyed by Babylon, and all the gold would be stolen. The nations of Israel and Judah would fall, but would one day be restored. This restoration, though, would be incomplete. The most visually obvious evidence of this incomplete restoration is the absence of the smoke of God's presence in the rebuilt Temple.

It has been said that during the second Temple period, priests would burn an incredible amount of incense to make it feel as if the smoke had returned, if only for ritual appearance. Eventually, the second temple would also be destroyed by the Romans, and the nation of Israel was never again be united by a single place of worship.

Jesus received a gift of gold, something reserved for the King and for the Temple. Jesus received incense, something used in worship to signify a closeness to God. But Jesus also received myrrh, a burial spice.

Jesus referred to his own body as a temple that would be destroyed, and when it was destroyed, burial spices were placed in his tomb to mask the smell of decomposition. On the first day of the week after Jesus' death, a group of women were on their way to the tomb with burial spices when they discovered the tomb to be empty.

The first temple had been destroyed and robbed of its glory hundreds of years before Christ's birth, and the second temple would be destroyed 70 years after His birth and would rob the Israelites of their basic religious traditions. But Jesus could not be destroyed. He died, but death was not a strong enough captor.

I believe the Magi knew exactly what was to come. They knew enough from the Jewish Scriptures to find Jesus, and I believe they understood the 300+ prophecies about Jesus birth, life, and death much more than any Jew at the time. I believe that this intense study of the Scriptures was a large contributing factor to their delay in finding Jesus, as they wanted to honor Him with the most appropriate of gifts. These foreigners understood that the King had come, that He was God incarnate, and that His death would bring salvation to all the world.

Even the Rockstars will Cry Out

On my way to church this morning I was listening to NPR Weekend Edition, and an interview with the punk rock band Bad Religion took place concerning their new Christmas album:

(Full Transcript)

This particular back and forth with host Rachel Martin and band members Greg Graffin and Brett Gurewitz really grabbed my attention:

MARTIN: There's a little humor and irony in doing a Christmas album. I mean it's like that old standby that, you know, every musician who has been around the block a few times comes out with a Christmas album. This is something that you're doing a little tongue-in-cheek.

GRAFFIN: Oh, absolutely. The band's name is Bad Religion and we have a long history of questioning religion and social norms and being skeptics and so forth. So we thought that that would make it a really fun thing to do.

MARTIN: And these are not secular songs, we should point out though. You could've done, you know, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." These are religious Christmas hymns.

GUREWITZ: I would disagree. I think that all of these songs are secular. Even though they have their roots in the pulpit or in the church setting, virtually everyone who celebrates Christmas has heard these songs. And so, it's not Bad Religion that has made them ironic. It's kind of a secular society that's made Christmas ironic.

The band admits that they recorded this album as a joke; to mock the songs and to keep with the tradition of secularizing the sacred Christmas holiday.  Their album covers eight classic Christmas Carols (six of which are found in most if not all Christian hymnals).  As much as they had fun making fun of Christians with this album, ultimately the joke is on them.  They produced a quality album for a people group that would not normally listen to these songs willingly, and the message of these songs (at least for the six songs excluding White Christmas and Little Drummer Boy) is the Gospel!

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Christ, by highest heaven adored;
Christ, the everlasting Lord;
late in time behold him come,
offspring of a virgin's womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
hail th' incarnate Deity,
pleased as man with men to dwell,
Jesus, our Emmanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the new born King!"

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
risen with healing in his wings.
Mild he lays his glory by,
born that we no more may die,
born to raise us from the earth,
born to give us second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
"Glory to the new born King!"

In this song, they claim that Jesus is God, that he came to live as man, and that he came to as a reconciliation for sinners.

O Come All Ye Faithful

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels;

O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

Sing, choir of angels, sing in exultation;
O sing, all that hear in heaven God's holy Word!
Give to our Father glory in the Highest;

All Hail! Lord, we greet Thee, Born this happy morning,
O Jesus! for evermore be Thy name adored.
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;

In this song, they claim that Christ is Lord and that Father deserves all glory.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times did'st give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

In this song, they call for Jesus to come and save his people from exile and hell; and they claim that God in his majesty gave us the Law.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

God rest ye merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember, Christ, our Savior
Was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan's power
When we were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

In Bethlehem, in Israel,
This blessed Babe was born
And laid within a manger
Upon this blessed morn
The which His Mother Mary
Did nothing take in scorn
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

From God our Heavenly Father
A blessed Angel came;
And unto certain Shepherds
Brought tidings of the same:
How that in Bethlehem was born
The Son of God by Name.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

In this song, they admit that we have gone astray, and they claim that Jesus came to save us from Satan for that very reason.

What Child is This?

What Child is this who, laid to rest
On Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet,
While shepherds watch are keeping?
This, this is Christ the King,
Whom shepherds guard and angels sing;
Haste, haste, to bring Him laud,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Why lies He in such mean estate,
Where ox and ass are feeding?
Good Christians, fear, for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.
Nails, spear shall pierce Him through,
The cross be borne for me, for you.
Hail, hail the Word made flesh,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Raise, raise a song on high,
The virgin sings her lullaby.
Joy, joy for Christ is born,
The Babe, the Son of Mary.

In this song, they claim that Jesus pleads for sinners, and that he died on the cross for them.

Angels We Have Heard on High

Angels we have heard on high
Sweetly singing o’er the plains,
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their joyous strains.

Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
Which inspire your heavenly song?

Come to Bethlehem and see
Christ Whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King.

In this song, they proclaim "Glory to God in the Highest!"

(I won't go into these two, but they are included on the album as well)
White Christmas
Little Drummer Boy

Throughout the album, they claim that we are sinners in need of reconciliation with God, that Jesus who is God came to earth to die for sinners, and that through his death we can be saved from hell and reunited with God.  Furthermore, many people will buy this album, enjoy the "joke", and be presented with the Gospel message whether they realize it or not.

In Philippians 1:15-18 (ESV) is says:

Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

In this passage, Paul states that the preaching of the Gospel for any reason, selfish or otherwise, is something to rejoice over.  This holiday season, through this band as well as many other secular bands, the Gospel will be preached.  As Christians, we should pray for the ears of the lost to be opened to the Good News that is Christ Jesus and his arrival on Christmas day.

Hope

When I was growing up, my church would celebrate Advent by having families stand on the stage and read a short script before lighting that week's candle. One year, our family was asked to light the pink candle. My younger brother, who was born tongue tied, still had a speech impediment; and we still reenact the moment of lighting the candle by saying "Today we wight the pink candew of joy." Even this past Friday, my father quoted this over dinner as my now 25 year old brother gave his obligatory chuckle. The story is one of many that I have of growing up celebrating Advent; and since growing up, there have been many years where I did not celebrate Advent, and I always missed it.

Today, we celebrate the first Sunday of Advent, a day that is remembered by Christians around the world as a day of Hope that Christ will return. As we wait for his return, this hope drives us to do the mission of the Gospel. It keeps us vigilant and helps us remain in the light. With it, we look forward to a time where war will end and peace will endure. Without it, we have no promise worth living for.

Advent is a time of waiting. We wait for Christ's second coming, but there was a time of Advent where the world waited for his first coming. This time began after the first sin but before Adam and Eve left the garden. With the first sin came the need for salvation, but hope wasn't seen until the curse of the serpent in Genesis 3, "He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heal." Sin and death would be beaten, but at a cost; and the world began to hope for the one who could pay that cost.

Hope is seen again in Genesis 8. The world was going to be destroyed by water, but a remnant would be saved, and the line from Adam to Jesus would remain. Abraham first saw hope in Genesis 12 when God promised to take this childless man and turn him into a mighty nation, and he would be reminded of the hope of this promise time and time again. He shared in hope with his son, Isaac, in Genesis 22 when the LORD rewarded Abraham's faithful act of obedience and provided a ram for the sacrifice. Jacob had many opportunities to see hope as he grew, and despite the many times he took it upon himself to gain prosperity, he would eventually see hope for the promise as a man wrestling with God in Genesis 32. Judah would see hope in Genesis 49, as his father blessed him, and the scepter would never leave his hand.

Many more would see hope in the days of Moses as throughout the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, God would preserve his stiff necked people through grace and mercy, while also administering justice and showing his holiness. Hope was seen by Rahab, the prostitute who saved the spies in Jericho; and by Ruth through Boaz, her kinsman redeemer. Hope was seen by Jesse, whose youngest son, a lowly shepherd, was anointed to be king.

Hope was seen by David who slew the giant; and by his son, Solomon, who asked for wisdom. While many of his decedents would turn from the LORD, God still kept his promise and hope remained through a handful of faithful kings. Hope was seen by Jehoshaphat who repented from his wickedness. Hope was seen by Joash who followed the wise council of the priest Jehoida. Hope was seen by Uzziah whose death was mourned by the prophet Isaiah. Hope was seen by Hezekiah who restored temple worship. Hope was seen by Josiah who loved the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might.

Hope remained despite wickedness, despite exile, despite the darkening of the temple. Hope remained as a young girl gave birth in a stable, for there was no room in the inn. Hope was realized by a handful of shepherds and by a caravan of wealthy astronomers. Hope was realized by Simeon and Anna at Jesus' dedication at the temple. Hope was realized by the multitudes, by the faithful followers, by the twelve, and by the inner circle.

Hope for the first Advent reached its end when our LORD was bruised for our iniquities and crushed for our sins. For three days, hope seemed lost, but it was realized anew as Christ conquered death and rose from the grave. The first Advent was over; and after Christ ascended into the clouds, the angels brought the news of a new Advent. Christ would return, and with him paradise.

It is important to understand the first Advent, from its inception to its culmination, for with it we see God's faithfulness to fulfill his promises, despite our incredible shortcomings. We have ultimate hope that his new promise to return will come to pass. It is also important to understand that hope is not a naive belief that something we wish for will happen in the face of the immeasurable odds. Instead, hope is the anticipation of the arrival of that which has already come to pass.

From October 1st 2006 to August 11th the following year, I learned a great deal about hope. On October 1st, Renee said "Yes" when I asked her to be my wife, and on August 11th she said "I do." For the ten months in between I lived with the knowledge of what was to come. The oh so fickle word "girlfriend" gave way to the much more secure "fiancé", but we both longed for that word to change to "wife". The closer we got to the 11th, the greater this hope grew; and as I watched her walk down the isle, I experienced the culmination of hope in a way I had never experienced before. Several times since then I have experienced hope's culmination as we unpacked the last box in a new home, and twice I have experienced it in a hospital delivery room; but nothing compares to seeing Renee for the first time in her wedding dress.

I do not find it a coincidence that Ephesians 5 uses the marriage metaphor to compare Christ's relationship with the church to that of a man and his wife. As Christians, we have said "Yes", but we have not yet said "I do." Christ has bought the church. We have salvation by faith through grace. We have complete forgiveness of our sins. Nothing can change any of that, for it is finished. Our hope now rests in the promise that Christ will return for his bride, and hope fuels the process of sanctification that every Christian is still going through. During this time of Advent it is extremely important for us to remain vigilant in the hope of Christ's return. In Matthew 24:36-44 it says:

36 But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.
37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark,
39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left.
41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left.
42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.
44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

In this passage, we learn that there will be no warning when Christ comes again. There is no "Save the Date". Instead, we must be vigilant not to let our guards down as we wait for Christ's return. Hope drives us to be vigilant. It drives us stay awake. My oldest daughter, Zuzu, demonstrates vigilance when she knows her grandmother is coming to visit. Renee and I have to be very careful when we tell Zuzu that Gaggie is on her way, because there have been a few times that Gaggie got caught in traffic, arriving well after Zuzu's normal bed time. When this happens, Zuzu will stay awake, because she does not want to miss even one second of time with her grandmother. Like my little girl, we must be vigilant, ever waiting, so that we won't miss any precious time with our LORD. The longer we wait, the easier it becomes to lose hope; but when we begin to lose hope, we must remind ourselves that we serve a God who has faithfully kept his promises in the past and will continue to faithfully keep his promises. If we lose hope, we will fall asleep, as the disciples fell asleep in the garden at the time Jesus needed them the most. We will cease to do the work of the kingdom. We will allow ourselves to fall into temptation and darkness.

Romans 13:11-14 commands us to make war with darkness:

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.
12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.
14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

We cannot remain vigilant in the darkness, and we cannot hope to walk in the light without first putting on the armor of light. This armor, later described as "the Lord Jesus Christ" is done through prayer and the study of the Scriptures; learning who Christ is and striving to be like him. We must be proactive to fight sin and continue down the path of sanctification. It is impossible to be both hopeful and passive. Instead, hope is a stimulant, just like the coffee that gets us through finals week; and it fuels us in our fight against the darkness. And as we fight, we hope for a day of peace, when our weapons of war will be transformed into tools for work, as described in Isaiah 2:1-5:

1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it,
3 and many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
5 O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.

During this time of peace we so hope for, there will be no more darkness. As the hymn "On Jordan's Stormy Banks" says "All o'er those wide extended plains shines one eternal day, where God the king forever reigns and scatters night away." Part of the LORD's reign will be to scatter the night away, and this involves the judgement of the wicked. There will be no more war for all who oppose God will be judged.

Psalm 122 speaks to this judgement and the peace to follow:

1 I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD!"
2 Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem-built as a city that is bound firmly together,
4 to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
5 There thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! "May they be secure who love you!
7 Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!"
8 For my brothers and companions' sake I will say, "Peace be within you!"
9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good.

Our time of vigilance will lead to a time of rest. Our time of war will lead to a time of peace. Our time of hope will lead to eternal fulfillment as we fellowship with Christ Jesus face to face. Today, as we remember this hope, we remain vigilant for Christ's return, and we wear the armor of light to make war with darkness. Tomorrow, our hope will culminate as Christ will judge the wicked and transform our instruments of war into instruments of peace.

It is said that this time of year breeds depression as people chase after the things of this world. We can never have enough, and people are always demanding more. I saw a picture in the newspaper on Friday of a child asleep in a shopping cart at 4 AM, all so his mother could capitalize on the Black Friday deals. The commercialization of Christmas has taken away more than the true meaning of Christmas, it has taken away all of Christmas. For many, year after year of chasing after things has led to severe discontentment; and this discontentment has taken away hope for satisfaction, for satisfaction can only be found in Jesus.

Today, if you are lacking hope in this season, I pray that you are able to find it in Christ. He has come to give us hope for a new life free of sin and death. We hope for the day that we no longer need to hope; but until then, we pray "O come, O come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel."

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

This passage, found in Genesis 2:24 and echoed in Ephesians 5:31, provides for us the perfect definition of marriage.

The first important image we see is a man leaving both “his father and his mother”.  He is not leaving “his father and his father’s wife” as if to assume a different woman than his mother.  Likewise, he is not leaving “his mother and her husband”.  This implies a longevity of marriage, that a man and his wife remain married for the long haul.

The second important image we see is a man being united with his wife.  He is not being united with his girlfriend, his fiance, or his wives.  Neither is he being united with his husband.  He is being united with his one and only wife.

The final important image we see in this verse is the two becoming one flesh after the man being united with his wife.  This carries two important points of marriage simultaneously: that sexual relationships take place within the confines of marriage and that sexual union carries a great weight with it, such that the man and wife are considered to be one in the eyes of God.

We see in this passage a permanent union between one man and one woman with sexual abstinence until after the marital union.  Not only this, but we also see a pattern of this definition of marriage with the man’s father and mother.

This Biblical definition of marriage has been under attack for many years now.  In fact, we even see this issue under attack in the pentateuch.  Nothing that we face today is new, and the Biblical definition of marriage will remain if the church continues to fight for it.

The reason why we must fight for it is found in Ephesians 5:32, the very next verse after the one we have been looking at.  It says, “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”  Christ is the man and the church is the woman mentioned in verse 31.  

Christ pursues the church as his one bride.  Christ pursues her in purity.  Christ pursues her for an eternal union.  This perfect metaphor loses its weight if we refuse to fight for marriage.  Christ loved the church so much that he died to make her pure.  Refusing to fight for marriage takes this sacrifice for granted.

I am not so naive to assume everyone here has a perfect marriage.  In fact, I do not assume anyone here has a perfect marriage, free of selfishness.  Christ's pursuit of His bride, though, gives us the grace we so dsperately need; and as we move forward, we fight with this grace in hand.

As we take communion, we remember Christ’s body which was broken and His blood which was spilled out.  He died to redeem the church, and while this act of Communion is done to remember His death in fellowship with our brothers and sisters, our marriages represent his ultimate love to the world around us.

Few narratives are recorded in all four Gospels (see comments for more information), so when we find an account in all four, we must note that it is significantly important to the Gospel narrative.  Similarly, if a passage found in two of the synoptics is affirmed in John, it carries a similar Gospel weight.

One story that is found in Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9, and John 6 is the Feeding of the Five Thousand.  While there are other miraculous feedings recorded in the Gospels, this is the only one found in all four.  Knowing this, it can be easy to wonder what the Gospel significance in this particular story holds over any of the other feedings.

The significance is multiplied by the fact that the very next passage in Matthew, Mark, and John is Jesus Walking on the Water.  This is not the only account of Jesus calming a storm, but it is the only one told by more than one author.  Both passages carry import Gospel weight, and this weight is seen by their juxtaposition.

Jesus miraculously feeds a multitude in the wilderness, then he divinely protects his disciples as they cross a body of water.  It is essential that these two events happen back to back, because they reflect another account of a juxtaposed feeding in the wilderness and divine crossing of a body of water safely.

In Exodus 14, God leads His people through Moses to the edge of the Red Sea.  As the Egyptians are approaching, they cry out to God, and he guides them across the sea on dry ground to the other side.  After a time of rejoicing, God immediately provides water (Exo 15) and bread (Exo 16) in the wilderness.  

God led His people across the water safely, and God fed the multitude in the wilderness.  The accounts in the Gospels do more than just tell of two interesting miracles Jesus performed.  They affirm Jesus Christ is God.  

The reason why the order of events are switched is also important.  There is a poetic device where a pair of words, images, or ideas are repeated in reverse order; and the reverse is always to draw attention to the importance of the words, images, or ideas.  This device is called a chiasm.

“Chi” is the Greek letter “X”, so if you imagine the two thoughts written out, then reversed in the line underneath, you would need to draw an “X” to match the original ideas together.  I do not believe it is a coincidence that the word “Christ” in Greek begins with the letter “X”, and that the letter “X” resembles a Cross.

The God claim in the chiasm is further expanded in Mark’s narrative of the walking on the water.  In Mark 6:48, it says that Jesus “meant to pass them by.”  On the surface, this sounds like it meant that Jesus meant to cross the sea unnoticed; but this does not agree with God’s omnipotence.  If God is all powerful He would neither need to cross the sea (even on foot!) nor would He ever accidentally be seen crossing the sea if it was His intention to pass by unnoticed.

“Pass them by” must then mean something else.  

In Exodus 33, Moses is on Mount Sinai with God, and God offers Moses a chance to have anything.  Moses asks God to show him His glory.  This was not a little task, because a full on view would kill Moses.  Instead, God places Moses in a crack in the mountain; and as God “passed him by”, Moses was able to catch a glimpse of His glory out of his peripheral vision.

Jesus did not intend to walk passed His disciples unnoticed.  Just the opposite!  He meant to show His disciples that He was God.

.

After the crossing of the Sea of Galilee, Matthew and Mark depict a narrative of Jesus’ healings, but John’s Gospel shares a narrative of Jesus being approached by many of the five thousand who had recently been fed by Jesus.  They asked him for more bread and Jesus told them that more bread would only lead to more empty stomachs.  What they really needed to be satisfied was to eat of His flesh and drink of His blood.

Today, we hear this language and we are familiar with it.  We eat his flesh and drink his blood every week, and we are about to do so again; but when Jesus said these words, there was no context of communio, and the multitude was perplexed to say the least.  But, to those close to Jesus, to those who truly did seek him and trust him, this eerie message made perfect sense.

In Luke’s Gospel, after the feeding of the five thousand, instead of Jesus walking on the water, Luke skips to another narrative that is recorded in all four Gospels -- Peter confessing the Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.  Peter witnessed the feeding, he even took home a basket of leftovers; he witnessed Jesus walking on the water and even joined Him momentarily; and when Jesus told the crowd to eat His flesh and drink His blood, he said “Yes.”  

Later, he would partake in the first communion, in full belief that Jesus was God.  Today, we join with him.

“Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad”

These words begin a prayer that every good Jew prays at least twice daily.  It means “Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is One.”  This simple phrase, found in Deuteronomy 6:4, and even just the first word, “Shema”, represents the entirety of the prayer.  The prayer goes on to command Israel to write these words on their doors and gates, and to even wear this written word on their hands and on their foreheads.

Even I decided a few months ago to have it permanently written on my arm.  Now, my tattoo is a gross misrepresentation of a literal translation of this passage; but I still did it for reasons explained later in the passage.  This prayer begins with a call to worship, and the remainder of the prayer explains why for two broad reasons: for the work God has already done for us, and for the work He has yet to do.

Deuteronomy 6:5 states “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”  This should be easily recognized as Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees when they asked Him which command was the greatest.  The Pharisees were among the good Jews quoting this passage three times daily and wearing the scrolls on the foreheads and hands.  They had this passage written on their doors and gates.  Yet, they failed to understand it’s meaning, or they would have known just great it was.

Something you might notice is a difference to the passage in Mark 12:30, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”  This word wasn’t simply added out of the blue.  It was added while translating the Hebrew to the Greek (see comments for more information).  When we say “I love you with all of my heart”, we meant it “I love you with every fiber of my being.”  The Greeks used a similar translation to what we have now, but in the Hebrew language, heart meant more “I love you with everything I believe” working in both “fiber of my being” and “knowledge and understanding”.

With this understanding, we should take Deuteronomy 6:5 to mean “Love the LORD your God with every fiber of your being, with everything that you think, with everything that you do, and with everything that you feel.”  The prayer does not end there, though.  It gives examples of how we can love Him, by obeying the Scriptures with our hands and our heads, and by using the Scriptures to guard our homes and our families.  By using Scripture to faithfully equip the next generation to faithfully equip the next generation.

But the prayer does not end there either.  It goes on to explain why we should worship Him.  We worship Him because he saved us from the bonds of Egypt and the bonds of sin and death.  He sent His Son as our Passover lamb so that our sins would be fully atoned for.  Not only that, we worship Him for the land he is about to give to us, filled with houses we didn’t build and cisterns we didn’t dig; a life of fulfillment we do not deserve but have been given nonetheless.  So we worship Him, not just in private with our hearts and our minds, but we physically take the bread and cup with one another.

The prayer also says that we do these physical things so that one day when our children ask us why--when my daughters ask me why we take communion, why we get baptized, why I got this tattoo--we can share the Gospel with them, so that one day they might share in this worship with us.