The Passover Lamb

Happy Palm Sunday. Okay, I am a day late. But to be fair Sundays are incredibly busy in my life right now. This past weekend we had a lock-in Friday night into Saturday Morning and then Youth Group on Sunday night.

I was thinking about Palm Sunday as "Spazz" and his puppet friends explain the meaning of Easter through a parody of "Thriller" but the late great MJ.

And as I was thinking a random thought invaded my mind. I thought, "How much more would we love Jesus if we knew the Old Testament?"

Now, to be fair, knowing the Old Testament or the New Testament or any creed or belief is meaningless without leaning into a personal relationship with Jesus. I think of many Jews in the first Century, or even today. They knew about the prophecies about the coming Messiah but didn't recognize Him when he didn't fit into their understanding of who God was.

I wonder how many times this is the case? We miss what God is doing because He doesn't fit into our box of what God should look like.

God sure does some strange things. At least from my understanding of life. For example, If I were God I would have never thought about giving up my only Son to be murdered on a cross and by his death buy back his sons and daughters (us!). But that is why it is good that God is God and that you or me is not God.

God is always in the business of rescuing. He is close to the brokenhearted. I believe that when He looks at the hurting his heart breaks. But it is in those moments of heartbreak and sadness that we open ourselves to hear and receive from God.

He knew we had a sin problem. Saint Paul later, reflecting on his conversion, viewed sin as death. He said, "The wages of sin are death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

And when there is a problem God is on the move.

God started with a man. He started with Abram. A old man. And through that man he developed a covenant to bring redemption to the world.

Many years later God's people (The Isralities later called the Jews) were in Egypt. They were in slavery and were very oppressed. So the Lord sent a man named Moses to speak to Pharaoh to request for their freedom. The Pharaoh continued to deny Moses his request. As a result God chose to send Plagues to try and soften Pharaoh's heart. The final of these plagues lead to what is now known as the "Passover."

The Lord wanted to show Pharaoh he was serious and gave His People instructions on how to avoid this plague. He told the Jews to take a lamb, an innocent and pure and best lamb, and kill it. They were to take the blood of the Lamb and place it on their doors that night. When the Lord went through Egypt He would know to pass over their houses instead of killing their first born.

There are some amazing connections between that Jewish holiday of Passover and what Jesus did for us.

1) The Lamb Connection

Jesus, who was perfect. 100% man and 100% God did not contain sin. He was completely pure and without sin. He, being like the Lamb, in the Old Testament shed his blood for us on the cross so that when the Lord looks at us He no longer sees our sin.

If you are a Christian you celebrate the Jewish holiday of Passover without even knowing it. God has given us the chance to take the blood of the Lamb and apply it to our lives. The Question for us is to we apply it to the "door" of our lives?

2) The Week connection

In the Old Testament there is another connection that relates more directly to Palm Sunday. The Jews were taught to bring their best lamb to the temple to be killed for their disobedience. They needed to bring that lamb one week in advance. They needed to do this in order to prove that this lamb was without defect. It would be looked at and made sure it didn't die in that time period. And at the conclusion of the few days. The lamb was killed and they were freed to go.

In the same way Jesus entered in to Jersualem as their King. People waved palm branches and cried, "Hosanna to the son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven."

The word Hosanna means, "Save us!"

The first century Jewish population viewed Jesus as their earthy king. They thought he was there to save them from the evil Roman empire. They didn't realize that Jesus actually knew that Rome was going to destroy the temple a few years later (See Matthew 24).

Jesus had a bigger plan. He was going to save people from their sins and begin to build his kingdom. And as we know from reading the rest of the story, "Jesus is coming back!"

This is good for those who have the "blood of Jesus" on their doors but bad for those who have harden their hearts to the message of the Gospel.

Jesus is our passover Lamb. The one who has come to bring you and I life. As we enter into this holy week may each one of us reflect on our relationship with God. Have we allowed the work of Jesus to transform our life?

The shame game

One of the biggest misconceptions I have noticed recently is that people have a difficult time telling the difference between guilt and shame. 

Guilt is when you do something wrong and you feel bad about it. This is good. If you didn't feel guilty for doing something wrong you would continue to do the injustice. 

Shame is when do something wrong and even after you ask for forgiveness you still feel bad about it. Shame can cause people to go down some serious roads that are not fun. Including but not limited to low self-esteem, depression, cutting, and even taking one's on life. 

In some cultures shame is an important aspect of life. Last week, I heard a missionary that was stationed in Japan, tell a heart wrenching fact. This was that in Japan shame is important. But they think it is honor that they are protecting. Let me explain: In Japan if you do something wrong you do not ask for forgiveness but you bow down until you believe it has been long enough. In addition, their culture holds perfection as the ideal. If one is under such pressure they go into their room and do not come out for a very long time. This is very common in Japan. In addition, the most honorable way to die in Japan is to take one's own life. Countless people have died because they cannot live up to the standard of their society. 

What about you? Have you ever felt shame. "Shame on you," someone might utter. Do they realize what they are saying? Words are powerful. They have the power to kill and the power to heal. Which way are you choosing to use your words today?

This topic of shame gets even more personal when we talk about religion. Religious shame is the worst because it pends eternal damnation if you do not listen to what I have to say. Religion was never meant to be about controlling another person but expressing love. 

I think of my religious upbringing and of my current occupation. (as a youth pastor). How much shame have parents put on their children to live a life without mistakes? They do this primarily because they themselves have made mistakes and they would be heartbroken for they made the same mistakes. 

The good news is that you do not have to live in shame. Shame is a lie. You are good enough. You have a purpose. I believe that if you are reading this that you have a purpose because you have a father in Heaven that loves you. 

No matter what you have done or what has been done to you. He loves you. I believe that. I am a Christian. I believe that Jesus was and is a real person and is really God. That he died the death that we deserved so that we could live the life that he deserved. He was the prefect sacrifice for your, mine, our sin. 

If you struggle with shame I want to let you know that you are not the first person and you will not be the last. This is a universal issue. Some deal with it more than others. Did you know that the first humans dealt with shame?

This story is at least 6,000 years old (depending on how you date the earth. I believe it is older than 6,000 but that is a discussion for another time).

The story includes God creating the first humans. Adam and Eve. (not Adam and Steve). I know I am very insensitive and I repent of that in JESUS NAME!

Anyhow, God creates the first humans and places them a garden. He calls this place Eden. Eden is wonderful. There is an all you can eat buffet of food, a life time of no work, and the best gift ever they were both naked. 

This place is perfect except for one thing. A serpent. Some made this story literal, some don't. Some make the serpent the devil while others say he is a representation of evil. If you need to believe this story is literal then that is okay and if you are on the other side of the boat and believe that this story is a legend you can still learn a lot as well.

God instructs the person humans that they may eat from any tree in the garden except for the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil." He tells them that if they eat from the tree that they will surely die.

Enter the serpent.

He approaches Eve (the woman) and asks her a question: "Did God really say you should not eat from any tree in the garden?"

Eve responses but adds something to what God says, "God said, 'You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"

Did you catch it?

You must not even touch it! God didn't tell her that. Of course we all do that. We imagine what people think or say to us and add in shame. 

She was fearful. God gave them a good rule. He knew that if they knew the implications of their sin that not only would they be filled with shame but all the other negative emotions in the world. God was trying to spare humankind from having to deal with death and hatred and pain. But He also knew that humans needed to posses free-will. 

The serpent tells the woman that if they eat from the fruit they will be like God knowing good and evil. But the question we must ask is why did they want to be more like God? After all if one reads back a few pages in the Bible he or she will realize that God created humans in His image. 

They were already like God! They just didn't trust him. They had pride in their own ability. 

The shame game continues as God goes into the garden to find Adam and Eve. The first thing they do is hide. They hide because they realized they were naked. 

The shame game turns into the blame game as each person begins to blame the other for their error. 

God could not shamed them and killed them and started over again. But instead he had a different plan. He didn't give them a get out of jail free card. There were consequences to their actions. But he made them a promise. The promise was that one day He would send His Son Jesus who would be the seed of the woman into the world to save the world from their sins. 

What a promise. What a loving loving daddy. That even though we were in the right. We disobeyed the God of the universe. He thought of a plan of redemption. 

Adam and Eve should have felt guilty. They disobeyed God. When you do something wrong I give you permission to feel bad about it. Because you feel bad you will make sure things are renewed. I also want to give you permission not to feel shameful though. 

I want to encourage you to realize that when you make a mistake that your mistake is not your identity. You are a son or a daughter of God. You were created in the image of God and made with a purpose. I pray that you find your identity as a children of God and find vision and purpose in your life.