Day 40 ~ Lamb of God (John 1:29)

One day Napoleon Bonaparte gathered all his top officers together around a table. Laid across that table was a large map. He pointed to a small red spot on the map. He pounded his fist on the table, and raged: "If it weren't for that red spot, I could conquer the world!" That spot was Great Britain. It is not hard to imagine Satan gathering his top generals around him to strategize. He surveys the giant map before them. Then he points at a red spot on the map and rages, "If it weren't for that red spot, I could conquer the world!" If we could move in we would see that the red spot is Jerusalem, and specifically, Gethsemane and Calvary. And red is the right color. Red is the color of blood.

God had made a covenant with Israel. He had sworn that the wages of sin was death. Spiritual death separates one from God. And yet God desired to make Israel His people and to commune with them, and to dwell in their presence. Therefore, God decreed that Israel should sacrifice by shedding blood. The sacrifice represented the sinner before God, and its blood was shed as the penalty for sin. Animals were the substitute for man. In Egypt, when the Angel of Death passed over the Hebrews the lamb was firmly established as the symbol of the sin-offering before God. The lamb was a symbol of God's mercy toward Israel. Every year at Passover the temple nearly burst with activity as the priests sacrificed thousands of lambs for the sin-offering. This blood only temporarily covered the sin of Israel. It was to be repeated yearly. But God had prepared a lamb from before the foundations of the world. The Lamb would be a permanent, eternal and infinite sacrifice. This Lamb would be God's own Son.

When Jesus came to Bethabara to be baptized, John saw Him coming and declared "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29) Noted scholar Geza Vermes of the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies pointed out that the title Lamb of God does not necessarily always refer to the sacrificial animal. In the Aramaic of Galilee the word talya, literally "lamb," had the common colloquial meaning of "male child". Even in English, we will use the word "kid" to mean "child." Anciently the same was common. When Jesus came to Jairus' house and raised his dead daughter, he looked upon her and said "Talitha cumi" or little lamb, arise (Mark 5:41). The female equivalent of Talya is Talitha, literally "ewe lamb" and figuratively "girl." Thus, John the Baptist or even the Galilean disciples who followed Jesus would have recognized in the title "Lamb of God" the same thing as saying "God's Kid" or the "Son of God."

Jesus was born in Bethlehem while shepherds kept watch over their flocks by night, probably during the lambing season. He may have been born in one of the very grottos which the shepherds used as protection in the night. The sheep they watched were the flocks which would be taken the few miles to Jerusalem and sacrificed in the temple. They were closely watched for they needed to be without spot or blemish. Jesus walked free of sin. He was without spot or blemish before God. As such He could die a substitute for another, because He had no sins of His own to pay.

At about 3 o'clock on the day of Passover, the temple gates were opened and the men of Israel poured into the court with the lambs which they would sacrifice before God. A knife was drawn across the lamb's carotid artery and the blood drained into a cup. The cup was passed from priest to priest, who stood in a line, and poured (or sprinkled) the blood upon the temple altar. God's altar ran red as the blood came before Him as the price for sin. When Jesus died upon the cross and gave up the ghost it was 3 o'clock. The Lamb of God died, his blood sacrificed before God and spilt on Moriah's hill, even as the temple lambs died. Where the blood fell was the red spot on the map, where Satan could not conquer, and where he lost the world.

"Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, [as] silver and gold…But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:18-19).

Day 39 ~ Comforter (John 14:18)

There are four unsung heroes in the New Testament. Four friends who carried a buddy on a stretcher to the house where Jesus was teaching. Unable to get to Him through the door, they open up a section of the roof and let the stretcher down through the ceiling. Jesus, upon seeing THEIR faith forgives the sick man of his sins and heals him. (Mark 2:3-12). We all need friends like that. Sometimes, though, people are in need in ways that are not so physically obvious. They need a friend to lift them up, to listen and just encourage them.

To encourage someone is to put courage in them. In Latin, the word cour means "heart." We give someone heart. In the New Testament the word is Parakaelo, PARA, meaning "beside, near, with, alongside," and KALEO, meaning "to call or summon." In scripture the Holy Ghost is called the Paraclete, literally the "one who comes alongside." Jesus promised the Holy Ghost to His apostles, to walk beside them, to lift them, to encourage them. He also promised himself as a paraclete "I will not leave you comfortless (encourage-less); I will come to you" (John 14:18). The translators chose to render this word "paraclete" or encourager with the English word "comforter."

On the night of Gethsemane Jesus took His three closest disciples with Him into the inner Garden. He knew that His hour was upon Him. The Great Atonement could be wrought by Him alone. But He takes Peter, James and John with Him. There are many reasons why they went with Him, and one of them is because He needed them. They were there to encourage Him, to come alongside, give heart, and encourage. They were His friends. He asks them repeatedly "watch with me." In the sorrow "even unto death" Jesus felt the need for His friends to lift Him and to help Him go on through the darkest hour. He was in need of comfort.

In Matthew 26:41 He says to the three, "the spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak." The usual interpretation is that the disciples were weak because they kept falling asleep. And that is true. But also, Jesus was a mortal man. His flesh was weak, too. He was spiritually prepared to do all that was required, but physically He was being ripped apart. His body was breaking down under the stress. The agony was such that He was falling on His face, He was sweating blood. Three times He comes back to His friends. They were not awake. Perhaps, the simple act of thinking of them and checking on them relieved some of the pressure of the moment. Perhaps, it was a temporary diversion. The JST of Mark 14:43 has the disciples saying to Jesus "The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak." In other words "we're doing the best we can." Maybe, they knew they were also there to encourage the Lord but found they could not endure Gethsemane's gloom.

Jesus completely submitted His will to Heavenly Father. And in doing so, the spirit was completely withdrawn from Him as He became "sin for us." In that hour, without His mortal friends to help Him, the Spirit withdrawn from Him as He endured the wrath of Hell, The Father did send comfort to His son. "And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him" (Luke 22:43). The effect was positive because the next verse reads that "being in an agony he prayed more earnestly" (v 44). The angel was the paraclete that gave encouragement.

Jesus repeatedly told Peter, James and John to pray "lest ye enter into temptation." Gethsemane, though the night was tortuous, would later become a source of strength and encouragement to the apostles as they went forth in Christ's name. It is easy to accuse them of weakness and apathy as they slept. But Jesus was encouraging them and preparing them for greatness to come. He knew what they would become.

In China, there is a special bamboo. Once planted the bamboo does not grow for four years. All during those four years it has to be watered and cultivated. If neglected during the first 4 years it never grows. The fifth year it does. It often reaches a height of 90 feet. We have great potential, evidenced by the price paid for us. We just need comforters to encourage us along.

Day 38 ~ The Resurrection (John 11:25)

(The characters in the following are fictional, but they represent real people and real dialogues. This was originally written in 2003. The research and the players have progressed since that time)

Prof : So you see its really all in the genes. Dr. Hamer's excellent research shows that the tendency
that some people have to "believe" in God is nothing more that a genetic predisposition. It is literally hard-wired into your biology. The gene is VMAT2. It is why some, like you believe in the unseeable, the unprovable and the unknowable. Whereas, some like me, are free from the effects of VMAT2 and are not so affected.

Believer : But Professor, how do you explain the spirit and the peace that comes from knowing that God exists. I have had these spiritual experiences, and I know these things are true. I didn't just make them up. I have received answers in prayer.

Prof : But that is exactly the point. VMAT2 carriers have mood-altering chemicals in their brains which make them perceive that they are having a spiritual experience when actually it is just free flowing brain chemistry. Read Matthew Alper's work. His research postulates that we all have a "god spot" in our brain. A biological remnant from pre-historic ancestors who needed it for community and ritual to survive in a harsh world. We no longer need it. It is just a genetic determination, like some are able to curl their tongues and some can't.

Believer : Well, what about Christ? Was He a liar then? Was He just a phony? And what about all those who followed Him and saw miracles and wonders?

Prof : My friend, I hate to tell you this but there is no proof that such a person as Jesus actually existed. The "New Testament gospels" are a late fourth century creation. But let's assume that they are real testimonials. Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Moses, Joan of Arc, Joseph Smith and others of that type, no doubt were profoundly affected by VMAT2, except they weren't satisfied as being mere followers. They saw themselves as God's mouthpieces. Jesus even claiming to BE God. It really is quite remarkable.

Believer : Well, let's just stick with Jesus. What about the miracles? The signs?

Prof : Well, again, I have to say that we have no real witnesses of miracles. But say the stories are handed down by actual disciples in Jesus' day (if He existed at all). They would have seen what they wanted to see - it is cosmogeny of the brain. VMAT2, again. They wanted to perceive the miraculous in the common, to see the supernatural in the natural. In some cases, it would have simply been "stone soup." Nobody claims they have any food. Jesus talks one person into sharing what he has, and soon everybody is pulling out their secret stashes of food. Viola, Jesus has done a miracle and they were all fed. Healings and exorcisms done by the power of suggestion. Maybe even some trickery involved.
Believer : Okay, say I go along with all you say - what about the body?

Prof:  What? The body of evidence? I just laid that all out for you. What didn't you understand?

Believer : I'm sorry, I meant, where is the body of Christ? The tomb is empty, Professor. You say there is no proof that Christ existed. But there is. The gospel testimonies were canonized in the fourth century, but they were written in the first. Secular historians confirm Jesus' existence. We have as much proof of His life as any man of his age. He lived. He was executed by Rome. Those are facts. Now suppose everything else you say is true. I ask, where is His body? If He is still in His grave than all His enemies had to do was produce the body. But it is not there. Did His followers steal the body? The penalty for Roman soldiers leaving a guard post was death by flogging. And Christ's enemies would have had an explanation to deny a resurrection. So no, they didn't. Did the soldiers fall asleep? Even less likely. Whatever happened in that tomb was without human intervention, and yet, it is empty. Professor, make any argument you want to explain away an "irrational" belief in God, but there is no explaining away the physical proof of the empty tomb.

Day 37 ~ Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53)

When Christ came to Gethsemane, He told eight to stay at the outer garden and He took Peter, James and John with Him into the inner garden. And oddly, even though their Master and close friend was suffering, bleeding and enduring tremendous agony, it appears they decided to take a nap. Many sermons have been given with the topic "sleeping through Gethsemane." True, we do have a tendency to miss the greatest and most important things. But is that what happened in Gethsemane? Did the three disciples really "miss" what was happening? Is it really that simple?

When my son, Steven, was just a few months old, he fussed and cried for a bit while his mother tried everything she could think of to calm him. He didn't want fed, changed, or even held. She was baffled by what could be wrong with him. Finally, she stripped off his clothing to see if he was being poked or irritated somehow by his clothing. She took his feet out of their little footies and found out that somehow he gotten a thread twisted around his toe. In fact, it was twisted so tightly that his toe was swelling around the thread. We couldn't get at it to remove it or cut it. We had to take him to the doctor's office to take care of the situation. Obviously, it was very painful for Steven. The thing that amazed us was that after an hour or so of crying, Steven went to sleep. As he slept, his face had a troubled look upon it and his breathing was shallow and rapid. The little guy was obviously in great discomfort, but nonetheless, he had gone to sleep. Health professionals know that this is a protective mechanism that babies and children use when they are under great duress. It is known as the General Adaptive Syndrome. Adults also show this ability to fall asleep when mental strain is such that they cannot handle it. The mind actually starts to shut down and it stops processing information. People will sleep to protect themselves from strain and trauma. Grief and depression are most often the cause in the adult syndrome. They sleep for sorrow.

When Christ became "sin for us" in Gethsemane, He took upon Himself such a burden that the grief and anguish caused even He, the Son of God, to be "exceeding sorrowful unto death." So great was His mental anguish that he apparently suffered hematidrosis, a condition where the strain is so great that the capillaries burst and mingle blood with the sweat. His physical distress was such that He was at the threshold of death. Yet, He had obtained His life from His Father and would not die until it was time. He alone could suffer so and live, for His life could not be taken until He laid it down.

But this was not so for the disciples. They were mere men and could not handle this type of stress upon their systems. We read that even though Jesus left them a stone's throw distance away, they too seemed to be profoundly engulfed in the thickening mists of Gethsemane's horrifying gloom. In JST Mark 14:36 we read that the disciples were sore amazed and very heavy in their hearts. Luke 22:45 is even more clear for as Jesus "rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples," the JST reads "he found them sleeping; for they were filled with sorrow."

Though they had not understood it, Jesus had prophesied that they would partake of Gethsemane's bitter cup with Him. Salome, the mother of the sons of Zebedee, had come asking that her sons have a place at Christ's right and left hand. He replied, "Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" Uncomprehending they replied, We are able. "And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with" (Matt 20:22-23). Usually, this verse is interpreted to mean that the disciples would face martyrdom just as their Master had been crucified. Yet John the Beloved was included in Jesus' statement and he was not killed for the Faith. But they did share the cup in the Garden. They drank of it in Gethsemane, where Jesus "cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take [your] rest: it is enough" (Mark 14:41). They had experienced what they could bear. They had partaken in small measure of the same cup. But only Jesus could drink fully of the cup and drain it to the dregs.

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?

Day 35 ~ Creator (Isaiah 40:28)

I am on the road to see both the sunset and sunrise for most of the year. I have to tell you that there are some which are so breath-taking that I have to pull over and take a good long look. Brilliant colors swell and fade, leaving me awestruck by God's handiwork. Just when I think I've seen the pinnacle of beauty along comes another that supersedes all others. No two are ever alike. Beauty surrounds us. Creation is literally bursting with pleasing and inspiring variety. And it is always changing. The Lord is forever changing the face of His creation and making new beauty.

The Lord made man as the crowning work of the creation as recorded in Genesis. He placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He gave commands to them. They transgressed and were cast out. But it wasn't the end. Adam and Eve didn't blow it for the human race. The creation wasn't over. Mankind was never meant to stay in the Garden. The creation wasn't complete.

1 John 3:2 says "it doth not yet appear what we shall be."

It amazes me how many different metaphors there are for God's continual work of creation in us. And how scary it is that most of those metaphors sound like the process is painful. In Jeremiah 18, the prophet is told to go down to the potter's house. He watches the potter as he shapes a vessel in his hands. But somehow the vessel goes wrong. So the potter takes the nearly complete and hardening clay and breaks it and reshapes it upon the wheel. God calls himself the potter and we are the clay. There are times when we must be broken on God's wheel if we are to be useful.

Then there is the refiner of Malachi 3. God sits as a refiner of silver. He takes the impure silver and puts it into the hot fire where it sputters and flares as the impurities are literally burned out of it. The heat is intense. But the wise refiner knows just how hot the fire and just how long the baptism until we can come forth shining as the sun. The work of creation goes on.

When C. S. Lewis' wife died, he noted that God's plan placed Him in the role of surgeon who must continue a surgery even though the patient is awake and violently protesting. Yet, the Physician must continue else "all the pain up to that point would be useless" and all would be in vain. We knew this. We accepted it. We wanted it.

If only we could see life like Chris Tomlin writes:

    I want to live like there's no tomorrow                I want to give like I have plenty
    I want dance like no one's around                       I want to love like I'm not afraid
    I want sing like nobody's listening                       I want to be the way I was meant to be
    Before I lay my body down                                  I want to be the way I was made.

Foolishly there are those who resist God in their lives. They don't understand the plan. They believe that man is, as Morris West writes, "Conceived without consent" and "wrenched whimpering into an alien universe." They want God to have nothing to do with their "creation," because they do not understand the plan.

In Hanover, Germany, a cemetery contains an unusual gravestone. A woman who didn't believe in God directed in her will that her burial place be made so secure that just in case there was a resurrection it couldn't touch her. Huge slabs of granite were fastened together with heavy steel clamps and securely placed over her grave. Engraved on the marker were these words: "This burial place must never be opened." In time a small seed germinated just beneath the edge of the stone. As it grew into a tree and its trunk got bigger, the heavy slabs were gradually shifted and the steel clamps were wrenched from their sockets. The massive pieces of granite could not withstand the dynamic life-force within that small seed. Man cannot thwart the creative power of God. It will not be complete until "all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth" (John 5:28-29).

Day 34 ~ Bright and Morning Star (Revelation 22:16)

Of all of God's creations and designs, perhaps none have captured the imaginations of men more than the stars. They are a wonder. Mankind has watched the heavens since Adam. Even today, when we have moved our entertainment indoors we still are fascinated with the stars. Most "experienced" people can remember where they were when astronauts walked on the moon. Younger members of society have been fascinated with Star Wars and Star Trek. We want to reach out to the stars, even though they remain so very far away.

Have you ever stood outside on a clear night and looked up at the heavens? The stars can be so magnificent. They are so bright and so captivating. As your eyes adjust to the darkness you can see more stars in the spaces between the really bright ones. After a moment or two more, you can see more stars behind those ones and in the space between those. Soon you see the whole sky as a wonderful mosaic of twinkle and light.

So how many stars are there? Well, if you can answer that question then you can answer how many grains of sand are on the beach, or how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. We don't know. NASA is currently mapping the position and brightness of 100 million stars. That sounds like a lot. But it really is only a drop in the cosmic bucket. Physicists estimate that there are about 400 billion stars in our Milky Way. Science offers numbers in the field of 3 thousand million billion stars (that's a 3 followed by 16 zeroes) in the universe. NASA alleges that there are zillions of uncountable stars. Yes, they actually use the word - zillions.

As you look into the beauty of the heavenly scene it is hard to not think of God's mighty hand, and of how truly small we are in the face of such majesty. Stars keep us humble. Have you ever seen that picture of the Milky Way with a little arrow pointing to a little insignificant speck on the edge of the swirl of galaxies. The arrow reads "You are here." We feel very small. We should. We are insignificant in the cosmic dance of the universe. Yet the spirit cries out to us the mind-numbing reality that we are God's children and all that we see was created for us. It is a staggering reality. Yet there it is - an object lesson of galactic proportions. So it should seem no wonder that as the Father gave unto us the gift of His Son, that He would publish it upon the grand easel of the heavens.

Samuel the Lamanite prophesied unto the city of Zarahemla of the coming of Christ into the world. He gave signs of His coming, among which we read in Helaman 14:5 "And behold, there shall a new star arise, such an one as ye never have beheld; and this also shall be a sign unto you." How big and how bright was this new rising star which was greater than any they had ever beheld? Did the entire world see the Star of Bethlehem and wonder at its appearance? When Christ returns at the ushering in of the Millennium He shall appear as the Bright and Morning Star which heralds in the coming of a new and brighter day. The dark night of ignorance, wickedness and despair will be shattered in the brilliant light of brand new day. The whole world will behold the brightness of that star.

At Christmas we remember the magi, or wise men, who followed a star so hopefully and so faithfully to their determined but unknown destination. They saw a phenomenon in the heavens and it led them on. As we remember that star we can also remember the purpose served by all the stars. They stir our hearts to wonder and to ponder and to praise. They lift our minds and hearts and imaginations toward God. The star of Bethlehem shone brightly on those nights. But it was not the only star or the most important star. The wise men also had a star within that enabled them to see the star without. Though it is no longer manifest in the heavens, that star still exists today. Today we may still follow a brilliant star - the star in our heart that leads us to Christ.