The death of God

I usually start off looking deep into the passage at hand. This section especially catches my eye, and rightly so. My mind cannot comprehend the dynamics that are taking place during this time – but in the natural and the spiritual realms. Not only that, but prophetically too. I will make note of that later, but those are my immediate thoughts concerning this passage.

I will start at John 19:16, instead of starting at verse 17 because it brings context to this passage. It does for me, at least.

It says, “Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified and the soldiers took charge of Jesus.”

Okay. Wow. This verse is completely over my head as it stands, but when we take the context of Luke 23 and throw it into the blender along with this verse, it creates a vacuum of overwhelming emotion threaded in with thoughts that are not worthy to be considered accurate regarding this verse.

This verse is saying that one with a lesser authority condemned the One who had all authority to death. That is insane in itself, but the most amazing fact of it all is that the King of Kings subjected Himself and followed through with all faithfulness and obedience concerning this decree. Not only that, but it says that “the soldiers took charge of Jesus.” In other words, human beings took charge of God. I do not have words to express that phrase – mainly the humility and obedience of God, who manifested Himself as man. Not only that (yes, I say that phrase a lot), but Jesus knew all of this must happen, according to prophetic Scripture. I must say, Pilate must have been terrified. The understanding of the kingship of Jesus was revealed to him. Jesus told him that He was the King of the Jews, and that His Kingdom was not from here. I wonder what the thoughts of Pilate were that night! There are several more questions that I would love to write down, but they are off topic. …oh well, I will write them down anyways!

Jesus is God. He is also fully man. He never once manifested less than fully God, and never once operated more than fully human. My question is this: When did Jesus start to remember (or, did He ever start?) eternity past? When did He start (did He ever start?) to remember what He told Moses, David, Isaiah, Zechariah, and the other prophets what He told them about Himself, especially concerning His death? That He would be pierced, no bones would be broken, betrayed for 30 pieces of silver, and others! Woah! …back on track…

I am not done with verse 16 and 17, but for sake of this paper, I will move on. I could spend hours upon hours elaborating on those two verses – so intense!

Verse 18 says, “Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.”

Okay, woah again. They pierced God to a tree and crucified Him like a criminal. That statement is gigantic! ACK! I am very thankful that God decided to put me into the family that He did, because I would absolutely hate having the crucifixion of God under my belt.

There is more to say on that point, but something that hit me awhile back (and is still hitting me) is that fact that during this entire scenario, Jesus was not a victim, but the VICTOR (Col 2:15)! I used to think, for some reason, that Jesus was just a poor fellow who had to do this and died because of an unfortunate ‘roll of the dice’. BUT I WAS COMPLETELY WRONG! Jesus knew the entire time what He had to do, how to do it, and did it for me! Nail by nail, my name echoed through His ears. Every lash and cut, thoughts concerning me filled His mind; not only me, but even those who crucified Him – those who pierced Him. God so loved THEM – those who killed His Son, that He gave His only Son… you know the verse. AH! SO CRAZY!

Zechariah prophesied in his 12^th chapter, “They will look to me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” This is talking about the Jews, but it is important for me to know that He, Christ, Jesus, Yeshua will accept those who forsake Him. It is so powerful, so full of love. How could anyone not follow this man, who is more joyful that any other man on Earth (Ps 45:7)!? Again, I am not done, but I *need* to go on to the other parts of the passage. I already wrote half the paper and only covered three verses, ha!

The 19^th verse is a very cool verse to ponder. It shows the understanding that Pilate had of Jesus’ kingship. Pilate posted it for all to see. He posted, “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” Of course, the people wanted it taken down, but Pilate replied in the same Gospel, “What I have written, I have written.” It is clear that someone in authority knew another in authority, but those who were not in ‘kingship’ authority did not catch on, for some reason. A similar scenario is when Jesus encountered the centurion with the ill servant. Authority understands authority. I think that is super interesting, and something to be considered as I grow in Christ.

Verses 23 and 24 convey a prophecy that has been fulfilled in the division of Christ’s clothes. I know there is a deep meaning to this section, but I not exactly sure if I have hit the gold mine. I would have to study this. It appears to have some juice with “The garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.” I have no idea if the garment meant something spiritual as well. Of course it literally happened, but garments could represent honor, or prestige, etc, and ripping it could represent the humility, or a foreshadow of the curtain being ripped. I have no clue. A fun study subject this will be for me in days to come!

Verses 25 – 27 are very interesting for me to think about. I almost feel guilty saying this, but it is worth ‘meditating’ that Jesus respected and honored women the way He did. In most cultures, women were the ‘sex’ object, or were used as currency. I am unsure how the Jewish people treated them, but it is safe to say that they were not given the honor due to them. The role of a ‘woman’ is clear to God, especially since all Christians will be the Bride of Christ. Albeit, not in a sexual way, but in a partnering way.

“As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then
” ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”
and to the hills, “Cover us!” ‘ For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

I felt it was necessary that I quoted this large chunk of Scripture in this part of the meditation. Jesus’ words in the ladder part of this passage are the most intense words I have read all day. Not that the other Scriptures I have read (Zechariah 14 for instance) were not intense, but these had extra punch on them as I read them. I felt compelled to copy them onto here. Do I have much to say about His words? A bit, but my understanding is very little concerning them, and they are too important for me to merely poke at with my weak understanding. I will let the words speak for themselves, rather than me trying to expound on them. Is not that true meditation, after all?

Jesus the Judge

In context to Mathew 22, Jesus just got done with the ‘harshest’ questions yet, asked by the pharisees, lawyers of the law, and the sadducees. From the greatest law of the entire law, question about the resurrection from those who did not even believe in the resurrection, and whether it is right or not to pay taxes. Not only this, but then Jesus returns the favor about asking them who is the Christ, referring to Himself! That was just to add context to this chapter what I will be mediating on, Mathew 23. As I think about this chapter, it is striking to me that that Jesus is so bluntly honest to whichever crowd He is talking to. That actually does not surprise me, but I see how that type of favor, power, or following can defect a teacher, preacher, or someone with a ‘platform ministry’. However, Jesus had no regard for His platform ministry. Temptation came to say what the people’s ear was wanting to hear, but He did what He said He would do, “I do/say what I see/hear the Father doing/saying.” He would say the honest truth, even if it hurt. Not only that, but He said it as a preparation warning as well, referring to the judgment words. In an overview of what Jesus is about to say in this chapter, a question comes to mind; a question that actually comes to mind quite a bit. Jesus was a prophet, a seer, apostle, evangelist, and everything else. That means that He would receive revelation in a vast array of different ways, from encounters, visions, dreams, angels, and everything else. In this chapter, He gives out information that no one would know unless it was revealed to him before hand by someone who already knew. In this case, it would be Jesus and God. Did the revelation He received come from above? Maybe He looked up and saw the clouds and they made word pictures? I have no clue. The ladder probably did not happen, but hey, it still could have. That is always a question for me in regards on how people received revelation. Amos, for instances, recorded how he received revelation. So did other prophets. However, Jesus never wrote a book, His disciples did, that may be why we are left hanging.

After the intense conversation with the lawyers, pharisees and sadducees, Jesus turns to the crowd, while the former are still listening, and rebukes them! He says something very profound, something that is key to understand, in any case, where leaders are put into place, but are not actively pursuing the righteousness of God. He says, “The teachers of the law and the pharisees sit in Moses’ seat, so you must obey them and do everything they tell you. –BUT DO NOT DO WHAT THEY DO, for they do not practice what they preach.” This is an alarming and staggering phrase. Not only that, but it is the first thing that comes out of Christ’s mouth concerning the current leaders of His day. He continues, saying, “They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” He goes on to address more problems that plague the leadership of His day. It is safe to say and guess that one of the reasons why Jesus is so passionate on this topic is because He is the True Shepherd. However, until Christ is given leadership of the Earth, others must be put in temporary leadership. If the leadership is corrupt and leading from wicked morals and heart values, that will slip and leak into the community and infiltrate their ranks. Jesus is addressing the temporary leadership of His flock. He is seeing that the leadership is not in line, and addresses that. More than that, He address the heart response and the motive behind their actions. Ever action is done through a motive. Fasting can be done in humility, or in pride. Prayer is the same way. So are good deeds. Playing a musical instrument is the same way. “Am I doing this to humble myself and to serve others in the same way Christ did, or am I doing this with selfish motives in hope that others will notice me and give me attention and praise me?” In all honestly, every single person does with most, if not all of every action they do.

He then corrects several issues that Jesus picked up on, which was one concerning titles. The rabbis wanted to be titled and called that, which was a sign of pride. Jesus corrects that with the next series of statements. He says that they all are brothers and sisters, and no one is to call the other one Rabbi, since they only have one Master. Nor are they to call anyone ‘father’, for they have one Father – God. Nor anyone ‘teacher’, for Christ is their teacher.

Then Jesus gives a KEY statement, which is critical to pick up on, and mediate on. He instructs, “The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”

This one phrase is a gold mine, and could easily have been taken part in more than four pages. Doing this chapter in only four pages hurts, because in each of Christ’s statements are a wealth to be uncovered. This is one concerning humility and pride is one of them. It is so critical that all the disciples found it important enough to include it in their Gospels, and for the future apostles to write letters concerning the issue. Not only that, but this VERY instruction will deem the fate of many and their roles in the Age to come, since it was spoken, “The Meek (humble) will inherit the Earth.” Wow!

He keeps rolling, adding intensity to every new phrase, hitting the nail with the hammer every time. He says something that blew the minds of the listeners, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.” What a statement! What must have the atmosphere been like when Jesus said this. What were the people thinking? I could only imagine, “They ones who are teaching us things concerning the Kingdom of Heaven are not going in, and they are not letting us go in? What?” I could imagine a ruckus begin to rise up in the crowd, then it would silence as Jesus began to say more intense statements, such as, “You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.” That is so intense! Ahh! What would Jesus say to the church today? The leaders today? Wow! I mean, those who preach the prosperity Gospel, and the other junk out there, scary!

Jesus keeps railing on the leaders, on how they lead a generation, yet they are blind guides. Not only that, but since they are blind, they, without realizing it, they teach their sheep to be blind too. Its like a blind man following a blind man!

He rebukes them for messing up laws concerning swearing. He uses logic and Scriptural laws to back up His claims. It must have been exciting to have been there in the crowd. I will want see the ‘reply’ video of this when I get to Heaven! After each of Jesus’ statements thus far, He has used a foundational statement or a pillar to back up His claims, this time, referring back to whoever swears by the Temple, swears by the One in it – THAT IS SCARY! Nowadays, when people preach, they have a introduction, body, and then a summary at the end. However, Jesus handled it differently. He hit it hard from beginning to end, then at the end, He stapled it down with a SUPER HEAVY statement! This is the structure for the rest of the chapter. He continues to rebuke and to let people know of judgment that was coming. A very scary situation!

God exists, right?

David, the Jewish king boldly proclaims in Psalm 14:1 that atheists are fools: The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” The verse continues to provide fruit for the choice of the atheist, but David is clear concerning the issue of the knowledge of God – regarding the existence of God. Let us then go into a Biblical journey, searching for evidence for the existence of our God, for Proverbs 2: 1 – 5 says, “My son, if you accept my words (believe in the Word of God) and store up my commands within you (write them on our hearts via memorizing, meditation or study)…and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will… find the knowledge of God.”

Even from the moment we open the Word (Genesis 1:1, “God created the heavens and the earth) to when we close it, (Revelation 22:21, “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God‘s people”) we clearly see the pattern of Scripture: the words on the page are living and breathing God. No where in Scripture is the subject or even underlying them devoid of God. From Genesis through the prophets, and weaving through the pages of the Gospels and the epistles of the Apostles, the ENTIRE collection of scared scrolls is FILLED with the knowledge of the Holy One. From encounter to encounter, dream to dream, prophecy to prophecy, the Word is filled and yet overflowing with information and structure concerning the existence and role of God. Let us look at some examples from Genesis then.

Genesis 1:1 says “God created the heavens and the earth”. We all know that verse and it, along side with John 3:16, are the two most memorized verses today. This verse says a lot with very few words. It describes the beginning of recorded time. It records the switch from a timeless vacuum to a finite system where things can be measured and calculated. I mean, imagine the process! The verse here and the ones following it are very simply put but imply a mountain of meaning. I mean, even VIEWING creation is jaw-dropping – imagine viewing the creation process! I would not know what it exactly looks like, but to see the glory of the Lord span out and to witness something come from nothing would be, well, absolutely incredible.

The passage goes on to tell the readers how God created the animals, the plants, creeping things and what not, and secretly tells the reader why everything is here. It punches the doctrine of evolution in the face, which makes me happy, and gives us faith that our God, the I AM, Yahweh – created all things for Him, through Him and by Him (Colossians 1:16).

Now that the basic foundation is laid concerning the existence of God regarding creation, a more personal aspect of His existence will be needed to be covered. If God claims to be who He claims to be, then God is a personal God, stretching out His hand to generations far and wide who follow Him and seek His face. David is a clear example of this reality.

Psalms 27:4 declares, “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.” What a claim by David! He is a human with human desires. He is the king of an entire nation and has every option to pursue any dream that he desires. Before I go on, I would like to remind myself, and others, that when we read the Word, that these are REAL people, not just letters. So many times we just read over the names and do not even consider that the people denied themselves and sought after something that would cost them all they had. This reminder needs to be refreshed in our minds daily as we read and venture into the wilderness of the Word.

Going back to the subject, David longed; and not only that, but DESIRED to spend the REST of his days before the living God. Something had to have sparked into David’s being in order for him to say such an incredible statement. If I took a poll of 1,000 high schoolers in this country and asked, “Would you want to sit before the beauty of the Lord for the rest of your life?”, their response would be ‘no’. Maybe one would choose yes, maybe one, but my point is that it takes something supernatural to hit our being in order to want and desire to sit before this God that we cannot see.

David saw many things in the spirit, since he was a prophet (Acts 2:29 – 30) and they deeply impacted him. From the coming Messiah being murdered (Psalm 22), to that same Man ruling and being begotten by the Father in eternity (Psalm 2:7). Also, throughout his life, which would take too long to cover, the presence of and intervention of God was experienced on nearly every occasion of significance. From his early days and his experience with Samuel, to the later end of his life with the rich history of his dreams, visions and miracle military victories that have no other explanation, except that God is God.

In my life, I have seen angels and demons with my eyes. I have seen prophecy come true. I have seen diamonds fall in meetings and people being healed and delivered from their sickness. I have seen people call out others by name and see the power of the Spirit come over them and they fall down like they have died. I have had dreams where I see the Son of Man shining in His glory. I long for more of an encounter with the Holy and I desire that my desire would be the same of David’s in Psalm 27:4. Jesus is King!

The road to the Cross

Before I even start to write, I want to lay the foundation really for myself concerning this period of time that took place. I cannot even imagine the humility that it would take for myself (making it personal) to be put under trial by false accusers who twisted my words, beaten to the form of a worm and beyond the form of a man, mocked for an identity that has already been proven again and again, spit upon by those who you have been with since the beginning of the ministry, hit with fists by those who have been in conversations with, forced to carry a heavy, splinter-prone cross up a hall to be nailed to it for a crime that is not a crime, that is true, and to be PURELY innocent in everyway without any form of sin, or justification. Now, instead of me, put God on that cross. To put it another way, God created the earth. He created the trees of the forest and the ore of the ground beneath. God created man in His imagine to live on the earth. He gave man the mind to harvest the trees from the forest and the ore from the ground. He gave man the intellect to cut the trees from the forest into wooden beams, and to refine the ore from the ground into iron. He gave them the understanding to create hammers from the wood and nails from the iron. God then became man. Man the put God on the beams of wood, and nailed Him to the cross with the hammer from the trees and iron nails of which they harvested from the ground.

Woah. Okay. I am getting too far ahead of myself. However, I wanted to give myself a future view of this mediation. God, help me!

Mark 14: 32 – 42 [prayer on the Mount of Olives]

Woah. Intense read. A lot is going on in this ten verse phrase, too much to cover in detail in four to five pages. Jesus goes to pray ‘with’ His disciples before He is lead away and is murdered. Different passages have to have been flowing through His mind at this point, Psalms 41: 9, Zechariah 13:7, Psalm 22, Isaiah 52 (last part) – 53… and others. He knows the hour of battle has come. In His human …ness… He cries out to God His Father, shedding BLOOD, ‘if it is possible, take this cup from me’. He knows it must take place, but it is an interesting dynamic to see that even though God in flesh has to go through human processes. That in itself is a subject of meditation… a huge subject. To think that God is subject to His own created order. I mean, He is, but like, He is God, so He does not HAVE to be, but He still decides to be. Adding to that, He willingly CHOSE to be subject to that process for ALL ETERNITY.

John 18:1 – 11 [Arrest]

Oh, how I love this passage! Part of me cringes, while the other part laughs! I cringe because men are given ignorant and arrogant orders to subdue God, whether they know it or not. They had full confidence in themselves to subdue this “Jesus”. I could imagine the look on Peter’s face, or any of the disciple’s faces for that matter when Jesus said, “I am He,” and the entire guard FELL DOWN. I would like to suggest that prayer has impact on words. He just came out of an INTENSE time of intercession and now, when He speaks, it is so strong that it knocks trained soldiers, equipped in armor to the ground. Other things happened that are interesting to think about, one being the stubbornness of the disciples, or just Peter in this case. It still… well, probably… did not click that Jesus had to die before He took control of Jerusalem. I love Peter, and have learned much from him.

John 18: 12 – 14, 19 – 24 [Trial]

This passage of Scripture never really struck out to me until now. There are a lot of little things in this section that I never caught before, especially with Jesus’ response to Annas’ question. I would have to look up the original language, but it appears that Jesus is completely confident in His teachings, and that they sunk in with the community that He was teaching a preaching – the Jews. He suggested that Annas asked them about what He said. I wonder why He asked Annas to do that. If Annas had asked the crowd, what would they have replied to him? And more importantly, how would Jesus have responded back to that? Would He have responded at all? These are the questions that come to mind. However, since those events did not happen, there is no use on speculating them, hence – moving on!

John 18: 28 – 40 [Before Pilate]

As I read through even the first part, it is incredible to me that these same people who wanted to kill him were worshiping Him only a WEEK earlier. Another thing that hit me is that they, meaning, the crowd, never intended on Jesus having some jail time, or just to get beat – they went straight for the jugular, execution! To many that may be obvious, but I never thought about that before. Even though I have read this passage many times, this story even more, and have heard sermons on it, I never really looked at the emotion of the text, if that make any sense. People are behind those words with real emotions. They are not just dead words on a page. People really worshipped Jesus on Palm Sunday, then the next week after that, they want to kill Him.

Something that stands out to me in this passage is that Pilate KNEW Jesus was a King. That is clearly seen in other Gospels as well. Not only that, but Pilate wrote “King of the Jews” on the board that labeled the crime of the one being killed. However, he wrote “King of the Jews” not, “saying he is king of the jews” – HUGE difference. It is weird that someone in political authority (Pilate) knew that someone else (Jesus) also had ‘political’ authority. Jesus obviously had much, MUCH more than just political authority, but Pilate saw the Kingship on Jesus.

Another thing is that the Jews forsake their Messiah for someone who had taken part in a rebellion and committed murder. They take the King of Life and kill Him, and exalt a man whose path looked similar to that of Satan’s. Hopefully he repented and got saved, but at that time, it did look that way. That adds a completely weird dynamic to the entire event!

John 19: 1 – 16 [Sentencing]

I LOVE THIS PASSAGE!. Not only did Pilate know that He was a King, but now the fear of the Lord hits him and now he knows that He is the Son of God! The moment the crowd tells him of His ‘crime’, he immediately runs back into the room to see if what the crowd has said to be true! As we know, it came out to be true.

Another point is that the Jews said something that I really cannot believe they said, although, they have said weird things in the past as well. They cried, “We have no king but Caesar!” What is up with that? Was it true? Or was it to get a political gain on Pilate? Did they had to know of the Scriptures and the promises; of the coming Messiah –the King, who already stood before them. I just cannot wrap my mind out that they cried that out in public to an authority. I have to guess that Pilate thought the entire crowd was insane! I mean, he saw a King, but they did not. He saw the Son of God, but they did not.

Patience of Jesus

Paul, writing to the Romans in around 55 AD says in the second chapter of his epistle, “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?” This verse and the context of this verse does not apply directly to the subject of this paper, but Paul communicated to the Roman Christians that God is RICH in patience. I am usually the one to over read those key adjectives and disregard them, but it has been made clearer to me that every single letter in the Word must be taken in high regard. Therefore, it is made clear in this verse, and many others (Romans 9:22, Galatians 5:22, 1 Timothy 1:16) that God’s supply of patience is rich and unlimited! What a thought! Since I am not rich in terms of money, the concept of being ‘rich’ does not register well with me. Yes, I am blessed and have more than what I need to survive, but I am by no means ‘rich’ regarding this culture; but when I look at others for examples – such as Bill Gates, lottery winners and other of that sort, the meaning of rich becomes clearer. They have attained so much wealth that they live carefree and host massive parties and get-togethers without even nicking their back accounts. Now, that example is infinitely inferior to God’s patience, but when I use that example, it makes a little more sense that it did before.

Another verse that I would like to mention, but not exactly expound upon is 1st Timothy 1:16 which I listed above. As I was researching ‘patience’, I ran across this verse. I have read this verse many times, but this time I really looked deep into the sentence and took it for what it said, “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.” Wow, just wow. UNLIMITED patience! Wow, that blows my mind. That verse will give context to the rest of my paper.

Let us now, through the paradigm of 1^st Timothy 1:16, at the years of Jesus that we do not know of: from age 12 to age 30. We have no information regarding Jesus’ life in a specific form in Scripture – none at all. We have ideas of what could have happened and the events that He partook of from researching ancient Jewish culture, but in regards to Scripture we are left on a treasure hunt. It says that Jesus, in Luke 2:40, that, “the child grew and became strong; He was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon Him.” That and the little tid-bit we have from Jesus’ incident at the Temple are all we have concerning His youth and young adult life. So where does patience come into this? Good question, and let us dive into this subject at a whole new level!

Jesus is God, as prophesied from Isaiah 9:6 (Mighty God, everlasting Father). He claimed to be God (John 8:58) and others called Him God as well (John 20:28, Matthew 16:16). Therefore, Jesus had the attributes of God in His Deity. He was fully human, but He was/still/will be FULLY God as well (Hebrews 13:8). This means that Jesus had the riches and the unlimited supply of patience just as God did. Let us explore those mysterious years of His life and let us brag on Jesus from His demonstration of being patient.

Jesus lived thirty years in obscurity as a human in the poorest region in Israel. He, as God, had every right to come out of His situation as a poor carpenter and begin to preach the Kingdom at a very early age – even the moment He was born. However, He decided that He would bare the brunt of humanity and its laws (that He designed) and to be ruled by them. In His patience, He waited thirty years before He began His ministry. We think all we need is four years of Bible school and we are ready to rock and roll. He had a different plan. He would wait and exercise patience for the Holy Spirit to endue Him with power and to call Him out from His obscurity into His ministry. Not only that, but as we look into that situation, we are once again blown away. We think that once we get the audible voice calling, THEN we start. However, Jesus was then driven into the wilderness for yet ANOTHER time of waiting. This time, an extra forty days – but He is embracing fasting this time as well. He is then released into ministry after that period.

That completely stuns me that God would have the patience to wait for that long before His own mission would begin. That God would wait 30 whole years before telling people about Him and about His ways. I know I am not going to great detail on these points, but I am just giving evidence in Scripture for the patience of God.

Another example, which again blows my mind, is that He does not openly tell others (until John 8, for example) that He is God. He waits (patiently) until the Holy Spirit downloads the revelation to people that He is speaking to.

These are just a few examples of the patience of Jesus that blow my mind. It is clear throughout the entirety of Scripture (even when Jesus appears as the Angel of the Lord in the Old Testament) that God is patient. Not that He is part patient, but FULLY patient. The entirety of His being is patient. That goes for love and other attributes of His as well.

James says, in his letter to the scattered twelve tribes of Israel, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to wrath.” This means that Jesus was the same way. Jesus is patient even in the affairs of others, concerning listen and speaking! WOAH!

Why this waste?

Mark 14:1Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him.

Sometimes, well, probably most of the time when I read, or used to read Scripture, I would casually read a statement similar to the one above this sentence. I never really took into consideration that the very people whom made covenant with Jesus in ages past now wanted to kill Him. Not only that, but in passages like John 8, they called Him a demonized foreigner! What? How could they? God was walking among them, and demonstrating His kingdom, but they did not see it! I appreciate these journals because they actually make you think about the Word, rather than just read it. Reading it slowly, contemplating about what exactly is going on, the different dynamics – everything that this assignment does has helped me more concerning reading the Word. So, when this verse comes up, Mark 14:1, all these different questions come into my head; not only that, but the context and purpose of the verse and why it was even put into Scripture in the first place. Anyways, another striking point concerning this verse is the last two words of it, “kill Him”. …………….wow. It is hard for me to picture that the leaders of the nation (in a spiritual since) were, as Jesus called them, “blind guides”. They were even less than the foolish virgins in Matthews 25. They fasted, prayed, did the ‘good works’, but their hearts were FILLED WITH EVIL. Jesus’ intention on good works, prayer and fasting is laid VERY clear in Matthew 5 – 7. It is about the heart and relationship, not the works themselves. Man (or gal…whoever is reading this), I need to started actually reading the Bible again – how it is supposed to be read. I looked up on google…

Mark 14:2 “But not during the Feast,” they said, “or the people may riot.”

Not much to say about this verse. It may contain insights into the heart of the

pharisees, but that is not made clear. I will not lead between the lines, and unknowingly

judge the pharisees.

Mark 14:3 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

Wow. This is the meat and potatoes of this entire passage. It shows many, many facets of the diamond – Jesus, who is God. Otherwise, this passage shows us what God is like, His personality, who He enjoys to be around, His leadership style… among other details. Not only that, but it also shows the response of the human heart when that revelation is made known. There is much to think about in this passage… the city of Bethany, Simon the Leper’s house, and the offering.

The topic of thought – why the city of Bethany? Why would God go to visit there of all places? Too many questions can be asked concerning that choice. I looked up “Bethany, Israel” on Google, looking for information related to that city. The small search that I undertook was helpful, but did not supply enough information to actually think about… for instance, if it was a wealthy city, if important figures lived there, et cetera. I would expect the city to be poor over-all, with very little ‘renown’ as a whole I may be wrong, but that is what it seems to be, especially if lepers may live there…?

It is important for me to know that Jesus, or God with skin went to spend time with the lepers… the sick… the down traught… the helpless… the shameful… those who were not as fortunate as others… the poor… the ‘condemned’… wow. I could go on and on about this…the heart displayed in Christ in this passage are so holy… so wonderful that it feels goofy of me to write about it on a page. Not only did Jesus do this once, but it is seen throughout the Gospels that He does this OVER AND OVER AND OVER, His HEART are for those who are in need… wow…

Last in order, but not least in importance is the offering that Jesus was given. This really sets the stage for what is to come with the rest of the passage. The other two points set it somewhat, but this really kicks it off. A poor woman gives her inheritance to the Christ. What a exclamation of love! Her whole entire future rested upon this inheritance! That bottle of perfume represented her finical future and security. That obviously did not matter to her. Now, I love whoever preached on this subject, that Mary did not just get up and grab a random bottle and broke it upon Jesus; oh no! This was a thought through plan. It would be the same as your dad saying, “Here is $60,000. It is your inheritance.” To make matters more applicable, you are poor. There is more to say about this, but I will save it for later in the passage. Even then, there is much more to say, but I have no idea how to put it into words because it provokes me. This woman, Mary, was not wasting this perfume, she was investing it. It was the most wise investment ever. Not that she would ‘gain’ money, although, in the Kingdom, “Giving is more blessed than receiving” is true, but it is a public sign of love. The Gospel is love. God is love. Jesus is the embodiment of God, who is love. Jesus is love. So when a human, who is made in the imagine of love acts in love, a divine exchange occurs. Something shifts in both the heart of the giver, and the receiver. The one who gives says, “YOU ARE WORTH IT!” The One who receives replies, “YOU HAVE TOUCHED MY HEART!”

Mark 14:4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

There are some key words that I want to expound on here for my sake. First off, it is made ‘almost’ clear that the result of the errant rebuke in the latter part of the verse started with gossip. The first sentence makes it clear that those who were present knew Mary, knew about her inheritance, the worth of it, and saw her bold, public sacrifice. They ‘indignantly spoke to one another’, making it clear that they did not first talk to Mary about her gift. They gossiped. Of course, Jesus heard them, and so did Mary. It would probably have been expected that Mary would have known that the people present, mostly men would have reacted the way they did – but that did not stop her.

Second point is that they used the word “WASTE”. This says many things. It said: it was wasteful of Mary to waste her entire inheritance upon God, clothed in flesh. This is clearly foolish. They judged her, and from their pride, they rebuked her.

Mark 14:6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

Wow. Just wow. Jesus gave the perfect answer, which is always does. That is not surprising, but the content of what His response was – especially to Mary. What an honor to be in the Gospel! WOAH!

10Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. 11They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

Mark is known for it being the most credible book in terms of accuracy of events in a time-line. Meaning, the book is laid out from A to Z, not A – K, Z – Y, then M – P, etc. It is laid out how it happened. Therefore that means that right after this event happened with Mary, Judas immediately went to betray Jesus. This is bizarre. We know he stole money from the treasury, so was this act of giving related to his betrayal?

Matthew 5:1 – 10

Verse 1 – 2: And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

Carrying on from the chapter before, Jesus sees the crowds of people before Him and begins to proclaim the “constitution of the kingdom of God” to these unsuspecting Jews. The disciples were present and probably just as unexpected as the crowd. The context to this sermon is not one of mere teaching, but demonstrating the gospel of the kingdom. Chapter barriers can destroy the progression of the narrative and the Sermon on the Mount would bring much more clarity if we looked at the verses just before chapter 5. Jesus went about preaching the gospel of kingdom and demonstrating it. He did not just say, “Repent, thy sinners!”, but said, “Repent, for My kingdom is here! Come, taste and see!” Therefore, when reading the sermon on the mount, it would be helpful to read it through the lens of the preceding verses. From the context of Jesus’ ministry style, it would be consistent that while He was teaching, He was demonstrating too! What if, during His, ‘do not worry about your life’ section, He was indeed opening up blind eyes – further conveying the message of supernatural provision and leadership? It is clear that Matthew did not write down everything that Jesus did, it is worth while to dive into our ‘holy imagination’ with the Holy Spirit’s guidance with the context of these Scriptures.

Verse 3: Blessed (happy) are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus begins His declaration with the most unexpected sentence which translates, “Happy are you who know you cannot do what I am about to say – for the kingdom of God belongs to you.” This sentence has many layers and many different expressions, but nonetheless it is a three fold declaration: #1: There is a blessing, or a reality of satisfaction when a person receives the revelation of brokenness and disqualification from works and responds in (#2) humility. #3: The promise for such a response is a kingdom with all its benefits! What a promise! Since the kingdom of Heaven is such a vast subject, only a little bit will be expanded upon here. The kingdom that one will inherit in fullness (although there is an entrance now) is such, “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away”, which are the principals of the City that descends from Heaven. However, on a more temporal level, Matthew tells us what the kingdom of Heaven looks like until that day only a few verses before, “[and He was] healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.” The kingdom of God is not one of mere human wisdom and persuasive speech, but of the demonstration of the Spirit’s power. When we choose to die and follow Jesus, in faith, we receive our healings – we receive our miracles, we receive our freedom because He paid for it on the cross. That is the kingdom that we have been grafted into and that is the kingdom that will come from above, of which, Christians have exclusive access to.

Verse 4: Blessed (happy) are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Jesus continues by giving a paradox – we can be happy yet mournful. He is saying that there is relief and a measure of fulfillment in realizing and acting upon revelation that leads us to a mournful place of crying out to God for forgiveness, grace to overcome sin, healing – whatever it may be. This, I believe, is a direct response to His first point. He says we cannot do what He is about to say, then He says there is a blessing to those who react rightly – in a mournful spirit, clothed in humility. He gives a promise for those who embrace this reality: [divine] comfort. This is a powerful reality when it is joined together with His first point. They really are two different sides of the same coin. He cannot attain the righteousness that God requires in and of ourself. This is utterly terrifying. How can we then come into the presence of God then? How can we be forgiven of our debts and be reconciled if we cannot attain it? Once this reality hits us, we then have a response. We either then disqualify the religion, disqualify ourselves and continue in ignorance, or we throw ourselves to the dust in a mournful spirit, crying out for the blood of Jesus to cover our sins and to have mercy on our souls! This response will bring, to say the least, comfort. For those who have been joined with Christ through faith, this reality is PRICELESS! Oh, the sheer mercies of God! How I have owed Him more than I could ever pay, and He paid it for me by throwing Himself on a tree. His mercies are new every morning and He removes my sin as far as the east is from the west! How gracious is our God! How wonderful is He! He delights in mercy!

Verse 5: Blessed (happy) are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Jesus is quoting Psalm 37:11. He also gives the same proclamation as the above verses. He gives a promise, a requirement, and another promise. For all those who are meek or humble, they will literally govern the planet in the next age, as those who are last shall be first and those who will be the slaves shall be kings in the next age. Jesus is the primary example of this (Phil 2:5 – 11). Jesus also was the example in this verse. He was not just giving a ‘one liner’ to be awed by the crowd, but He lived this reality, as the Son of Man did not come to be serve, but to serve and to be a ransom for many. Jesus, the night of His death, also girded up a towel and washed His disciples feet – the duty of a slave. Jesus, the King of Glory, the Everlasting God, the God who clothes Himself with light unapproachable and rays of glory, became poor so that we, who were poor, could become rich. He who received incessant worship from everlasting past also was birthed in a feeding troth, far away from palaces and halls of ivory to a pair of confused and poor Jewish parents, who were not even officially married. This is not empty preaching, but a mere understatement. He who will be my King and the Ruler of all the kings of the Earth was and is still indeed the most meek Man. . .

Verse 6: Blessed (happy) are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Those who give themselves to a lifestyle of humble response of the revelation originally given from the LORD to Moses in Deut 8:3 (man shall not live by bread alone) will be happy! That was a mouthful. What does that sentence practically mean? To merely (try to) understand and comprehend the principal of Moses’ words are not enough to experience the truth that Jesus is speaking of in regards to fulfillment/happiness. If I only know the revelation being given yet I do not respond, I no longer am ignorant and I am now responsible for this new divine understanding. However, if I respond to this revelation (the Words of God are required to live more than food) in meekness, then I shall receive this promise that Jesus gave. Looking at the surface, this application does not seem to fit the description of the verse, however, if we look into the content of the Words of God themself, we find very quickly that humans are not able to fulfill the Law at the measure that God requires. We then become guilty and when we respond in meekness, we then begin to hunger and thirst for righteousness as if it truly was our food – and God will give to us the manna from Heaven to fill ourself. It needs to be clear that Jesus said, “Blessed are those who HUNGER AND THRIST” … not, “Blessed are those who ARE RIGHTEOUS”. This is important because humans cannot attain righteousness by their own doing. Righteousness is a Person and faith in what that Person did – when I was still a sinner, God died and gave Himself for me. Therefore, when we begin to see Him for who He really is, follow Him and deny ourselves, and begin to hunger and thirst for His ways, then He is faithful to fill us with grace to obey/love with all humility.

Verse 7: Blessed (happy) are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Oh the joy of receiving mercy! I am guilty of the wrath of God in the lake of unceasing fire! I deserve to be utterly destroyed in the utmost vehement flames of the all consuming wrath of the Most High God! Yet … I have been given mercy. The ‘debt’ I have owed Him, I could not repay. I owed more than a thousand lifetimes of good works (yet works do not merit righteousness in and of themself). Despite my lineage, heritage, citizenship, race, abilities and friends, I was damned to Hell forever – until Mercy gave Himself for me and opened an impossible door for man to open by themselves – reconciliation with God. Jesus has been anointed with the oil of gladness more than His companions and He was the Man who also extended freely the most mercy. Therefore, if I was forgiven such an unpayable debt, how much more should I forgive those who could repay me? Even if they could not repay (physically or emotionally), it would not surpass the crime of shaking my fist at God, openly displaying my rebellion against Him and His ways and breaking His holy Law. . . and Him forgiving me by giving Himself to be hung on a tree. In this verse the Gospel is laid bare. Jesus expounded on this topic later in this sermon (chapter 6) when He says, “If you do not forgive sins of those who sin against you, neither will your Father in Heaven forgive your sins.” Later in His preaching ministry, Jesus gives the powerful parable of the king who forgave a poor man’s debt, one of which he could not owe. We are the poor man, who could never repay our debt, and the King is our God – who gave Himself to repay the debt. Likewise, if we do not forgive those who offend us, neither will He, because He forgave such a great debt and we should be honored to participate with Him in the administration of mercy!

Verse 8: Blessed (happy) are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

This verse contains in essence the Sermon on the Mount. Throughout His message, Jesus hits the outward manifestations of what occurs in the hearts of man. He seeks to have our hearts shine with light that comes through love (obedience) to Himself. He does not want those who practice what the pharisees do, who clean the outside of the cup but leave the inside filled with all kinds of ungodliness. He wants our hearts washed by the water of the Word and to be refined by fire, because once our heart is transformed, then our motive behind our actions are transformed as well; not to leave out the actions themselves as well. The promise is just as ridiculous as the others – we shall see God! What does that exactly mean? I really have no idea, however, it seems to be consistent with Scripture that those who give themselves to God with their whole being will experience the benefits of their actions, which translates to favor, provision, blessing, anointing, manifest presence, and revelation. That is not a comprehensive list. However, there are those who do not give themself to the LORD wholeheartedly and Jesus still extends unusual favor to them, as He sends the rains on the good and evil and causes the sun to rise on just and unjust. A paradox indeed, yet those who forfeit all will gain it all.

Verse 9: Blessed (happy) are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

The testimony of those who bring peace will be recognized as sons of God. It is interesting that Jesus would phrase it that way, as He Himself said that He did not come to bring peace, but a sword, and Paul’s ministry history contained phrases such as, “They who turn the entire world upside down”. However, instead of political peace being mentioned here, Jesus was talking about a peace that brings reconciliation – both to God and to man. To God as in those who preach the Gospel, and those who demonstrate that Gospel to man. It is one package, not two. For when one hears and responds to the Gospel, they are brought into peace before God – no longer being at enmity of Him. Secondly, when the Gospel is preached and rightly demonstrated, Heaven comes to Earth. There are no cripples in Heaven, so when Heaven is brought to the Earth, those who could not work now jump and shout for joy! Peace is brought to their bodies. Therefore, the testimony of these men and women will be, “they truly are sons of the living God.”

Verse 10: Blessed (happy) are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus bookends with the same promise as His first – the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus explains that those who experience and endure persecution for righteousness’ sake (it is four fold – one cannot receive rewards for merely experiencing persecution alone. They must endure. For to fall in the midst of persecution in the act of denying Jesus is to deny Him before man, in which He will deny that one before His Father. Also, to be persecuted for your favorite type of food yields no reward, but only under righteousness’ sake do we receive a great reward.). Again, the reward is a literal kingdom and the benefits that comes with it; which is another subject in itself. This promise is unconceivable. Paul makes mention of it in some regards when he says, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” If we endure hardships in this life, which is only a vapor, we will receive an ‘eternal weight of glory’, which is surely related to the promise of the coming kingdom!

The justice and mercy of Jesus

James 2:12 – 13 says, “Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” I do not have a full grasp on what the entirety of this verse means, but the last part is what sticks out to me. It says, “Mercy triumphs over judgment!” This phrase will set the stage for everything that I will say from here on out concerning this topic. If I may, let us use this phrase as the ‘paradigm’ or the ‘lens’ of which we use to look at the topic at hand; which is the paradox of the judgment and mercy of God!

As we know, God is not just a sum collection of what we call Him, but He is the full embodiment of the attributes that He posses. In other words, God does not merely ‘have’ kindness, or God does not merely ‘have’ love, but rather; He is kind and He is love in its fullest and true form. Another important facet which is incredibly important to consider is that God does not exercise one attribute at the expense of another. Therefore, when God acts, all His attributes are manifested in the fullest extent. It is paradox in its fullest form.

To put words into a physical form, let us consider the situation in the first part of John 8. Jesus, who is fully God, looks upon a woman who has committed her life to a life of sin. She has sold her priceless body for mere metal coins that are barely enough to get her by day to day. Her crime is fully deserving of death, and everyone around her knows it. They have the proof as well, since they caught her in the very act of adultery. According to the Law, which was given by God, AKA: Jesus, she should be stoned to death to rid the people of Israel of someone who brought reproach upon the Lord. Faced with this decision, Jesus kneels down on the ground and begins to write in the dust. He is silent, but His fingers display a message which is critical in understanding the role of Jesus as a judge. Many scholars debate this point, but I believe that He was showing that He Himself wrote the Law of which they use to accuse this woman of loose morals. He was showing them that He knew what true justice was.

We all know what happens – Jesus saves the girl. With His divine wisdom and understanding, He addressed the situation perfectly. He addressed the ‘experts’ of the law and the pharisees, whose souls were bound in religion. His sentence in verse 7, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” addressed those who wished to stone her. It told them that they are truly not worthy to judge another, since they are sinners as well. He then addressed the woman in sin and told her to leave it. This is divine judgment or evaluation on the current situation. He demonstrated the perfect will and justice of Heaven with two sentences.

However, we must look at this scenario from another perspective, but still keeping the mercy and love of God in full view. Jesus, who is fully God; who wrote the Law had full right to call down fire from Heaven upon the lady and consume her. It would have been perfectly just for Him to do so. However, He demonstrated His mission, which He makes clear in Luke 9:55 – 56, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”

Psalm 5:7 says, “But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house; in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple.” I would like to point out that David’s definition of God’s mercy is a complete understatement in this verse. Although it may touch us now, it falls infinitely short of God’s true mercy. It is the same with His other attributes as well. David will say that the righteousness of God reaches to the Heavens, or His wisdom is a deep as the ocean waters. They are incredible pictures to us, but the true revelation of the attributes of God is that they are infinite – never ending. However, let us look at this verse to really see what David is saying.

David gives the ground of his standing in the first phrase, “by Your great mercy”. He does not say, “by my righteousness” or “by the works of my hands”, but “by Your great mercy”. This is David’s confidence. It is not in the fact that he did this or that exploit, or walked the old grandma across the road enough times. It is in the raw revelation that God has a great multitude of mercy! Again, that phrase falls infinitely short compared to the true amount of mercy that God can exert.

The second part of the verse is less critical to the paradox of both the judgment and mercy of God, but it is extremely important to know that it is by the mercy of God towards us that allows us to come near to Him by the blood of His Son, Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 53:4b says, “…yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted.” There are other verses that talk about the judgment of God that was exerted on Jesus, but this one is very clear. It is made very clear that Jesus was stricken, smitten and afflicted by God. Jesus became sin and experienced the judgment that we were suppose to undergo for our sin. On the cross, He took up our infirmities, our sorrows and our iniquities (Isaiah 53:4a), just as a sin/guilt offering would do as seen in the Old Testament.

It is the mercy of God on us that He sent His only Son to the cross to bear our penalty. We are granted mercy by the blood of Jesus and we are ushered into the kingdom of the Son who He loves. Such a glorious Gospel!

Cultivating the gifts of Holy Ghost

As a Christian, it is critical to know where I function in relation to the entire body of Christ. As given by example, if the foot did not know what the foot was suppose to do, then the body would stumble about, with a cripple – making ministry inefficient. In the same regard, if the eye brows did were not present, they body would suffer, even though not much notice is given to them. The eye brows allow for the eyes to work at ease and with maximum efficiency. In the same way, the Body of Christ should function. If a prophet did not know he was a prophet, then the body would miss out on correction, edification and direction. If one was a worship leader, then the body would miss out on internal ministry and Holy Ghost inter-workings; or using the eye brow example – if someone had the gift of helps, but did not help anyone, then the body and unbelievers would be missing out on edification. Therefore, it is critical that I know where I stand in regards to my gifts and that I know when and how to use them properly.

Since the Bible is the plumb-line for all doctrine (2^nd Timothy 3:16 – 17), I should look there for guidance in which gifts I have been freely given. However, before I go looking into the Word of the Living God, I must look to see which gifts God has given me that operate overtly more than the others.

As I look into my past, two gifts that stand out the most would be: revelation (dreams), and prophecy.

Ever since I was little, I was dreaming. When I was 7 or so years old, my first dream came to pass. In the dream, it was given that two tornadoes would hit downtown Nashville. We move two years later, and during that year, the tornadoes hit. I did not think anything of it at the time, but now I appreciate and cultivate that specific gift by writing all my dreams down. I tend to have two to three dreams a night as well.

In regards to prophecy, I have been on several ministry trips and, although other gifts will function, I feel the most comfortable prophesying and encouraging.

In the Old Testament and same with the New Testament, dreams were often given to men of God (and others, to very ungodly men) to give direction in a time of critical importance. Joseph, who I am named after oddly enough, as early as Genesis 37, was dreaming. He was also in his youth years (around seventeen years old). This is comforting to me, because although God can work in whatever ways He wishes; it is shown very early on in Scripture than even young men can dream dreams! Later in his life (Genesis 41), he ended up, by gift of Revelation, interpreting dreams, with accurate interpretations by the Spirit of God.

Another example from Scripture is actually a prophecy given by God, which was spoken through His servant, Joel. It says, “…your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.” Now, the prophet proclaims that the elderly will dream, and the youth will see visions, but the point is that there will be a measure of the gift of revelation in the seeing realm that all age groups will be able to participate.

There is no reference to Jesus ever having dreams, although, it is probably understood that Jesus did have dreams. I could only speculate where He could have had dreams, but there would be no point since it does not clarify that Jesus dreamt in Scripture.

In the New Testament, there is no reference to the Apostles having dreams, which surprised me, however, in the book Acts, in Chapter 10, Peter goes into a trance, which would be a similar state to a dream, but at the same time, entirely different. He receives a revelation of God and acts accordingly.

The other gift I highlighted was prophecy. In the Old Testament, prophecy in terms of edification took place many, many times. It was more specific than, “God loves you”, but nevertheless, it was prophecy. An example would be when Samuel prophesied over David in 1^st Samuel 16. For David, I am quite sure that it was edifying, due to that he would be chosen by God to act on behalf of the people as king. Not to mention that he was anointed in the presence of his brothers!

In the New Testament reality, concerning Jesus and prophecy, Jesus declares that Peter will deny Him three times. Now, this is probably a word of knowledge, but I will use it for the sake of prophecy and edification. At the same time, you may ask, “How is that edifying?!” Well, I will look through this passage in Matthew 26 through the lens of Peter AFTER he denied the Christ. If Jesus had never prophesied to Peter concerning his denial, I wonder what the outcome would be – or how it would have turned out differently. Knowing myself, it would have edified me afterward because it would have shown me that God knows all, and that He is willing to love me even after I deny Him! Oh – how glorious!

Another New Testament reference would be when in Acts 21 where a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea and took Paul’s belt and tied it around his own hands and feet and prophesied persecution towards Paul. Again, this may sound like another bizarre passage to consider edifying, but looking through the future lens, if I were on the mission field and someone told me that persecution was coming my way, it would build me up, because I would be expecting it and could prepare, rather than going on my own way and suddenly being confronted with evil men, trying to possibly kill me. These are several references and illustrations in Scripture that depict where my gift functioned, how it effected people, and why it is important.

Is God really a servant?

Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” John 8:58 says, “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” Matthew 20:28 says, “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

In three verses I proved that Jesus, who is fully God, has forever been a servant, since everlasting. Since before He spoke the universe into being (Genesis 1:1), humility reigned in the heart of the Almighty One; not only the Father, but the other two Persons of the Trinity as well (Matthew 11:29).

Try to imagine the community of the Trinity in eternity past – each serving the other with utmost humility! The community of three people is a very interesting dynamic that causes amazement, study and worship on our vantage point. As we read the Scriptures and peer into what is made known to us by prophets and other sources of legitimate revelation, key components are unlocked concerning this mystery of the Godhead: Three in One, All serving the Other.

Stuart’s articulation of the scenario is hard to surpass, or even difficult to reproduce accurately, so I will paraphrase him.

In our last class, which was regarding the servant heart of God, Stuart laid out a scenario that most anyone has been in and has experienced.

Paraphrasing him, without quoting, “Imagine three people are hanging out,” he says, “one person will always be left out.” Stuart then turns and speaks the next phrase to the other part of the class, “That is why the social dimension of the Trinity is so amazing, because they have been in perfect communion since before the beginning of time.”

Put yourself into that situation. I have been in that scenario many times, mainly because while I was in middle school, I had a very small circle of friends. One of them in particular was both my twin brother’s and my best friend at the same time. We were always in each other’s company throughout most the week. After school, we would usually go to his house to play. While we would play army, or whatever else young kids do, ‘sides’ would subconsciously form as the games would progress. After the end of each game, one person was ALWAYS left out. Even if we were all on the same team, two individuals were always ‘closer’ at the end. It was never ‘fair’. That is why the thought of three Persons from everlasting-past interacting with each other and they still are the happiest People ever blows my mind!

Therefore, if the Trinity is the object of our meditation, then we must consider the social dimensions as well – not just the Three in One paradox.

Let us now look at specific examples given in Scripture. Time and time again, the servant heart of God is expressed. From His mere interaction with creation from Genesis (Genesis 2) to His Son’s revelation when all things in Heaven and on Earth unite (Revelation 22) – God’s expression of humility through serving has been clearly demonstrated. There are way too many examples of this, so let us just view one… which is the most important one.

Philippians 2 is a mine that has no end in terms of the potential revelation gained from reading and gazing at the truth of this passage. Since I have a limited amount of space, I will keep each comment as short as possible. Philippians 2:3 says, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” God is not a liar or a hypocrite, and when instructions are given in Scripture, it is clearly seen that God has already done the commandment to the fullest extent already. Therefore, that means that God esteems others better than Himself! He who clothes Himself in garments of unapproachable light (note: His garments – what does His ‘form’ look like then?) esteems beings, who He created, and since He is God, they are infinitely lower than Himself; higher than Himself! Yes, there is much more to be said about this, but there are other points which need to be addressed.

The next verse, Philippians 2:4 says, “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” This means that God does not look out only for His own interests, but also for the interests of others. This is profound! The infinite God considers others! Not only that, but their interests! Jesus said Himself, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” (Matthew 7:14) and, “Do to others what you would have them do to you. (Matthew 7:12)” That clearly shows that God does those things already!

Philippians 2:5 reaffirms the glorious claims of the statement before by telling the Philippians, “Let this mind be in you which is also in Jesus Christ”! That means that everything He just said is in Jesus!

Now, Philippians 2: 6 – 8 give, in my opinion, the greatest example of the servant heart of God. It says, “who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

The passage speaks for itself. 1) God became man. 2) That man became a slave 3) in obedience, humbled Himself to the most painful death imaginable – death on a roman Cross! Each of those points someone could write a book on, but those are what Paul highlighted in this passage. Who is our God?