40 Days Closer to Christ

What if they decided to hold a concert and every member of the orchestra showed up with their instruments tuned anyway they wanted? I’ve been to a few middle school concerts and I have to tell you that it wouldn’t be good. There must be some standard to which all the instruments are tuned, or else you end up with a cacophony. But not only do the instruments need to be tuned, but they need to be tuned to a Master note.

In my house I have three guitars. (Actually since my kids played rock star with one of them only two are playable, but for illustration purposes lets suppose all three can be played.) If I tune one of them to with a pitch pipe or with an electronic tuner than I am pretty sure that it is conditioned for optimal performance. Now I can go to the second guitar and tune it by the first one. And I can get around to tuning the third one by using the second. Theoretically, all three should be tuned up just right. But if I strum a note on the third one, and check it with the tuner, more than likely it will be a little flat or a little sharp. It is just not quite in tune. No matter how good my ear is, a little variation sneaks in as they get tuned down the line. All three guitars have different tones and pitches but if they are all tuned with the electronic tuner and to the same standard then they sound good together.

It is the same way with us. We can get pretty close to where we should be in our spirituality, in our righteousness, and in our walk with God by sharpening ourselves against each other, but we will always be a little off. We need to go back to the Master to make sure that we are where we need to be. It is Christ alone who is the standard by which we measure ourselves. And it is by Him alone that we will be able to perform as we should. That is why we take forty days leading up to Easter and use it to draw closer to Christ and to reestablish our discipleship.

Forty days is the optimal period to form a new habit, to establish a new practice, and to change the pattern of your life. 40 Days – Closer to Christ is an activity (we won’t use the word program) that can change your life.

Forty is a significant number in the scriptures. When God brings about change, the scriptures often represent a significant event as having a forty day duration. Noah’s world was changed forever in forty days. Moses saw God face to face and in forty days received the word which is still the basis for law and government. The city of Nineveh repented in sackcloth and ashes and turned away God’s wrath in the space of forty days. David became a hero after all Israel cowered under Goliath’s forty day challenge. Elijah lived by faith for forty days after God sustained him with one meal. The disciples were given the mysteries of the kingdom as they were taught by the Lord during an intensive forty day seminar after the resurrection. Jesus prepared with a forty day fast for a ministry which culminated in the salvation of mankind.

We can grow closer to the Savior as we study His life and His appearances throughout scripture. We become the people we should as we strive to lead a life of diligent discipleship. In these forty days we can review and renew the vital things that bring us to the Lord. We can refresh our memories and recall the eternal truths of who God is, who we are, and how we can have a close relationship with Him. 40 Days – Closer to Christ is an opportunity to more fully develop that relationship, so that we may see as we are seen and know as we are known.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Day 36 ~ King of the Jews (Matthew 2:2)

In 1926, Dr. James Allan Francis preached on “one solitary life.” His sermon concludes that all the armies, navies, parliaments, and kings “put together, have not affected the life of mankind on earth as powerfully as that one solitary life.” True. But the jist of the piece is that Jesus was great even though he was an obscure itinerant preacher of peasant stock. In reality, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Jesus was the legal heir to Israel’s throne. He was far from unknown. Not only that, but His kingdom was a strategic foothold in Rome’s control of the eastern Mediterranean. Consider these few facts:
  • Joseph, heir to David’s throne, lived in Galilee just outside of Herod’s immediate attention. Joseph did not live in Bethlehem, for Herod had a palace there. Instead he lived in Nazareth where any approaching army could be seen for thirty miles in three directions. Nazareth also was on the Jerusalem Road and all information would pass through town. Nazareth seems a pretty decided location for the displaced king of Israel. It would have been folly to challenge Herod. Herod was not only powerful but he was a friend of Caesar, and had Rome’s support. Jesus also very rarely walked openly in Judea. He mostly went when crowds and commotion hid Him from authorities.
  • When Mary was found to be pregnant, Joseph worried over the right course to settle the matter. We often think of his putting her away privily as a kindness. Actually, it was the only “safe” option. Marrying her, if she were known as a woman of loose morals, would cast doubts of legitimacy on not only Jesus, but upon any future children’s true parentage. Also, putting Mary off publically would bring dishonor to the house of David and create doubt as to Joseph’s sense of judgment. Putting Mary away quietly was the only politically expedient course of action for a royal candidate.
  • When Herod slaughtered the innocents the family fled to Egypt. More Jews lived in Egypt than in Israel at that time. Joseph would be known, sheltered and provided for by the Jews in Egypt.
  • Jesus was often greeted with cries of “son of David.” The people knew who he was. He walked openly as David’s descendent and heir. The Triumphal entry was no fluke. His correct pedigree caused His disciples to proclaim Him Messiah, and they also argued over who among them would be greatest in His kingdom. The scribes and Pharisees could not dispute His claims until someone informed them of the circumstances around His birth. They spread lies of His paternity - hinting that His father was in reality a gentile. Mary was a Jewess, which was not in doubt, so Jesus was still a Jew. But His royal claim would be destroyed. Only a son of David could be the Messiah.
  • When Jesus returned to Nazareth, He returned as a visiting dignitary. He was given the seat of honor in the Synagogue. He was not just a returning son, He was a VIP.
  • At the Roman trial, Pilate never once denied Jesus’ claim to the throne of Israel. He asked Jesus if He would now try to claim His crown and restore His kingdom to Jewish control. To Pilate the issue is the intent, not the right. Pilate even tried to save Jesus - political prisoners were valuable.
  • The soldiers charged to scourge Jesus took extra delight in heaping abuse upon Him. There was evidently much built up rage against the rebellious and often seditious Jews. Now they had their true King, and the Romans took extra care to inflict upon Him the frustrations of their Judean post.
  • When Pilate asked the crowd “shall I crucify your king?” the crowd did not deny Jesus was their king. They didn’t protest His legitimate claim with arguments of “He is not the king” or “He lies to His claim.” Instead, they reject their true king for a foreign one - “We have no king but Caesar.”
There are dozens of proofs that the Jews knew Jesus was the true heir of David. They rejected Him out of political and economic expediency. They rejected him out of the sin-riddled hardness of their hearts. When given the chance, they rejected Him. Pilate’s question is still valid to us today - with all the evidence at our disposal that He is the Son of God, we are still asked, what will ye do with this Jesus?
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