Your Son Will Live

There was a certain royal official whose son lay sick at Capernaum.   

When this man heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea, 

he went to Him and begged Him to come and heal his son, 

who was close to death.

John 4:46-47

I love this story in the early chapters of the Gospel of John.  Jesus had left Judea and arrived in Galilee, where “the Galileans welcomed Him for they had seen all that He had done at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.”   Those things which they had witnessed were the first clearing of the Temple courts, and his subsequent healing of the infirm and paralyzed.  He also returned to Cana, where He had performed His first miracle at the wedding feast.  It was in the town of Cana that Jesus was approached by an officer from Capernaum.

The Scripture does not name this man, so with your permission, we will call him Thaddeus, who was evidently a royal official in Herod’s service. He pleaded with Jesus to come to Capernaum and heal his son, who had a terrible fever and was close to death. Jesus simply looks at the man and says, “Go home.  Your son will live.”  John says that, “The man took Jesus at His word and departed.”  Amazing.  What faith!  What courage!  On his way home, the Thaddeus was met by his servants, who brought the joyous news that the boy had recovered.  He asked exactly when the boy recovered; the servants replied, “The seventh hour.”  It was the time that Jesus spoke His words of healing.

Words of healing?  Yes – words of healing.  Jesus was the One of whom the Psalmist wrote: “He sends his command to the earth; His words run swiftly.”  He was and is the Creator God: “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth.  For He spoke and it came to be; He commanded and it stood firm.”  There was no need for Jesus to go to Capernaum.  All He had to do was speak the Word. 

Lessons in Mulch

Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name,

the name you gave Me, so that they may be one, as we are one.

John 17:11b

Although I have always known that mulch came in different shades of brown, this year I discovered that you can have the mulch color of your choice:  you can have black [a very deep brown which has always been my favorite, or red [my least favorite], or “deep forest brown,” which is just plain old brown mulch.  I went to the nursery the other day and bought five bags of the black mulch – a beginning purchase for my many containers and gardens.

One of my daughters asked me what in the world I needed all that mulch for.  I did not insult her by saying, “For the garden!”  She knows where I am going to put the stuff, but her question was, for what purpose?  Decorative?  Surely one could find a cheaper way to decorate!  No, my dear – it is for protection.  Mulch enables the soil to hold in nutrients and the precious water that rains down.  It is a protective layer between the roots of the plant and the sometimes overwhelming heat of the sun. 

In this prayer recorded in John 17, Jesus tells His Father that while He was here on earth, He protected His people.  Now He is following the path to the cross, the resurrection, and His ascension back to heaven.  He prays for His Father to release the protective layer that will cover His disciples from that moment until He comes again in glory – the comforting blanket of the Holy Spirit.

But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.  Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

John 14:25-27

Lessons in a Lily

See how the lilies of the field grow.

They do not labor or spin.

Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory

was dressed like one of these.

Matthew 6:28-29

Yesterday a colleague at work asked me if I would like to have an Easter lily to take home.  I declined, telling her that I didn’t really like them.  She looked at me as if I had three heads.  Not like Easter lilies?  Well, sorry, but I really don’t care for them.   I think it is because they fade so quickly, not like lilies that are planted in the ground, although some of them can be equally short-lived.

When I purchased this house at the beginning of last summer, however, these familiar words of Christ quoted in Matthew really came alive for me.  I have 3 large pecan trees in my back yard, and around the base of the middle one bloomed the most beautiful lilies I have ever seen.  Pure pink in color, they were breathtaking as they waved gently in the breeze.  When spring began to push aside the winter this year, I watched carefully for the first signs of the lilies breaking through the ground.  The stems are now about 18” tall, and the promise of those glorious pink flowers keeps me checking the back yard at regular intervals. 

God could have created this world in black and white and grey, but He chose to provide every color of the rainbow and then some.  My pink lilies do not wish themselves beautiful – God created them so.  They don’t worry where their next BCBG dress is going to come from, or if their Manalo Blanik boots are going to arrive in time. They are a product of the Creator’s hand – more beautiful than any fashion we can hope for or purchase.  If God takes care of the day lilies, He is guaranteed to have you in His heart and mind.                                                                                                                                                        

Zacchaeus was a Wee Little Man

 

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.

A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus;

he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.

He wanted to see who Jesus was,

but being a short man, he could not, because of the crowd.

So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore fig tree

to see Him, since Jesus was coming that way.

Luke 19:1-4

My middle daughter is a professional tutor in the Washington, D.C. area.  She travels a lot – at times as far south as Fredericksburg.  If those occasions are early in the morning, she calls me to chat [and to keep her awake].  This morning we were talking about my current gardening project, and somehow that morphed to Zacchaeus and the sycamore tree. She was pondering how in the world the very short Zacchaeus could have climbed the massively tall Sycamore trees that she has seen here in the eastern United States.  How, indeed?

As I looked at the text of this story in Luke 19, I noticed that the NIV Bible calls it a sycamore-fig tree.  Having never seen the “fig” part before [it certainly is not part of the little song I have been singing since childhood], I decided to do a little research.  I found that the American sycamore tree is actually a maple – often called the Great Maple.  It is a rapidly growing tree, reaching a mature height of fifty to sixty feet.  It is a native of Central Europe, especially the forests of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, etc.  This is not the tree that was growing in Jericho; if it was, a very short man most certainly could not have climbed it.

The tree that Zacchaeus scrambled up in his quest to see Jesus was a Ficus sycomorus, called a sycamore-fig or a mulberry fig.  This is a very large branched, thick tree, often characterized by lower branches that grow close to the ground, and edible figs [not of the greatest quality, however].   It is much easier to see how the little tax collector of Jericho could have scrambled up this tree and found a nice fat branch to sit on.  His ingenuity brought him face to face with the Master, a moment guaranteed to change his life forever.

Lessons in a Weed

You will seek Me and find Me

when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13

The gentleman who owned my home for many years before me was an avid gardener.  The lawn and landscaping around the home was his pride and joy.  In the later years of his life, the owner had a lawn service that came in to mow and maintain the lush grass.  I met the serviceman last summer, as he prepared the landscape to be turned over to the new owner.  He gave me his card, assuring me that he would be delighted to continue providing great service and a guaranteed spectacular lawn.

Suffice it to say that I did not have the money to pay a lawn service; last fall the grass did not receive its usual batch of chemicals.  I reassured myself that it would be OK – that I was perfectly capable of maintaining the lawn myself.  I cannot begin to describe my surprise and dismay when Old Man Winter departed, Spring made her glorious entrance, and my front lawn was a complete mass of weeds.  Between the nettle and the dandelions and their numerous cousins, there was hardly a patch of grass to be seen.  I was stunned!  Where in the world did they come from? 

As human beings, we are not so very different from the grass – crazy as that sounds.  There are a million weeds out there, waiting to implant themselves into the lawn of your soul.  They come in all varieties – a little lie, an unkindness act, a filthy word, inappropriate thoughts, a seemingly harmless addiction, slander, a coveting glance, a little flirtation.  One little thing can’t be all that bad, right? 

It’s never just one, though, is it?  Weeds are one of the most persistent things on earth.  The minute one buries itself in the landscape, it works quickly to propagate itself into many, many more. The weeds of sin are exactly the same.  Let one submerge itself in your mind, and eventually it will consume your heart from the inside out.    

Lessons in a Geranium

For He knows the way that I take…

Job 23:10

On the way to visit a friend last summer, I stumbled upon a little roadside produce market with a stunning array of flower annuals for sale.  The blooms were all beautiful and very healthy, but when I got to the geraniums, all I could do was simply stop and stare.  I have never utilized geraniums in my gardens or containers because of their usual orangey-red color which I don’t particularly like.  The geraniums in front of me, however, were deep red, bright white, two-tone light pink, two-tone darker pink, and a gorgeous cerise.  I filled two containers with mixed shades, and received compliments all summer long.

Yesterday, I had a delivery to make in the same area, so I stopped by to see if they had any similar plants.  The flower portion of the market had at least doubled, and straight in front of me as I walked up the path, were the same breathtaking geraniums.  At checkout, I remarked to the market owner that I had purchased geraniums from her last year, and their growth and glorious colors made a lovely display on my porch.  She replied, “I will only buy geraniums from one greenhouse.  I don’t know what the owner’s secret is, but the flowers that come from his hand far exceed all the others in the area.”

The greenhouse owner sows his seed, then carefully nurtures, feeds and prunes his plants until he has perfect specimens.  In just the same way, God has implanted in our hearts the seeds of His love and grace.  He tenderly nurtures our souls, feeds us through His Word, waters us with the Holy Spirit, and prunes us when necessary through the trials and difficulties that everyday human life brings.  Sometimes it is easy to feel that He has pitched us in the compost heap, or gone off to a distant garden, or whacked off far too many branches for us to continue living.  But I have seen the work of the Master Gardener, I have witnessed the glorious blooms produced by His hand, and I know in my heart that I would rather be in His greenhouse than any other “garden” on earth.

Day 10: Sunday of the Resurrection

Dogwood Series:  No. 10

Why do you look for the living among the dead?

He is not here, He has risen!

Luke 24:5-6

Happy Easter!

Resurrection Appearances on Sunday

At the empty tomb outside Jerusalem

Matt. 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-9

To Mary Magdalene at the tomb

Mark 16:9-11; John 20:11-18

To two travelers on the road to Emmaus

Luke 24:13-32

To Peter in Jerusalem

Luke 24:34; 1 Cor. 15:5

To the ten disciples in the upper room

Mark 16:14; Luke 24:36-43; John 20:19-25

Day 9: Sabbath

Dogwood Series:  No. 9

Day 9:  The Sabbath – In the Tomb

Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man who had not consented to their decision and actions.  He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he was waiting for the kingdom of God.  Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body.  Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth, and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid.  It was the Preparation Day and the Sabbath was about to begin.  The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how His body was laid in it.  Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes.  But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

Luke 23:56

Jesus’ body was placed in the tomb before 6:00pm Friday night, when the Sabbath began and all work ceased.  Though filled with unimaginable grief, the women and the disciples went to their homes to observe the Sabbath “…according to the commandment.” 

Across the silence of Jerusalem on that Saturday, there were three sets of individuals for whom this day would not be a respite. Their minds were filled with confusion, grief, guilt, anxiety, and a nervous uneasiness that robbed their peace and ate at their souls.

Pilate and His wife:  One can only imagine the conversation that took place in the bedroom of Pilate’s palace on Friday evening and Saturday morning.  The day before, Pilate’s wife had taken the extraordinary step of sending a message to her husband at court, saying, “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of Him.”  He had buckled under the political pressure, and now both of them were left staring at the ceiling, contemplating the ramifications of his actions.

The Religious Leaders:  Matthew records that the religious leaders broke every Sabbath law in their own books, symbolically defiling them in the process, by going to Pilate on Sabbath morning, requesting that the tomb be sealed and guards posted.  They told the prefect that they feared the disciples would steal the body and then proclaim that Jesus had risen.  In point of fact, they were terrified that Jesus would fulfill His own prophecy that “…after three days, I will rise again” [Matthew 16:21].  Pilate complied with their request.

Peter:  The Scripture does not give any details about Peter’s location after he fled the courtyard of the High Priest, or where he spent the hours of the Sabbath. One can only imagine the grief, guilt, and remorse that filled those lonely hours.  He had denied his Lord, his best friend, the One who he believed was the Messiah. Jesus had forewarned him of that very thing, but his proud nature ignored the counsel. Now his Lord was dead, and he could never take back the words or beg Jesus' forgiveness.  Whatever happened during those long hours on Saturday, when Peter emerged on Sunday morning, he was a changed man.

The activities that occurred on the Sabbath are recorded in Matthew 27:62-66 and Luke 23:56.

Day 8: Good Friday

Dogwood Series: No. 8

Again He asked them, “Who is it you want?”

They said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

“I told you that I am He,” Jesus said.

If you are looking for me, then let these men go.”

This happened so that the words He had spoken

would be fulfilled:

“I have not lost one of those You gave Me.”

John 18:7-9

For the life of me, I have never understood why this day is called Good Friday.  There was nothing “good” that happened on this day in Christ’s life. Because the Jewish day was reckoned from sundown to sundown, this Friday included Jesus’ betrayal by Judas and arrest in the garden, the desertion of the disciples, a false trial before the religious leaders, Peter’s denial, trials before Pilate and Herod, beatings and mockery, condemnation, the carrying of His own cross down the Via Dolorosa to “The Place of the Skull,” and His crucifixion with two other prisoners.

For some unknown reason, on this day of the Feast it was customary for Pilate to release a prisoner at the request of the people.  One would assume that the individual released would be someone, such as a politician, who was popular with the people, or perhaps someone wrongly accused, or someone needing medical clemency.  Pilate, desperately wanting a way to release Jesus, offered them the choice of Christ, or a murderous insurrectionist named Barabbas.  The teacher or the rabble-rouser.  The healer or the killer.  

Pilate recognized the political game afoot, but by this point, the religious leaders held all the cards.  Inciting the crowd to near riot, the priests played the puppeteers, demanding the crowd to call for Barabbas instead of “the King of the Jews.”  Those who watched His life, listened to His teaching, saw His healings, and shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David,” to their Messiah and king, now screamed “Crucify Him!”

“Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” 

asked Pilate, knowing it was out of envy 

that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.  

 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd 

to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.   

“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” 

Pilate asked them.

“Crucify him!”

“Why? What crime has he committed?”

But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them.  

 He had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.

Mark 15:9-15

The activities surrounding Jesus life on Friday are found in 

Matthew 26:47-27:66; Mark 14:43-15:47; Luke 22:47-23:56; John 18:1-19:37

Day 7: Thursday - The Passover

Dogwood Series:  No. 7

Go into the city and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you.  Follow him.  Say to the owner of the house he enters, “The teacher asks, ‘Where is my guest room, that I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’  He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready.  Make preparations for us there.”

Mark 14:13-15

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to celebrate the Passover meal, Jesus and His disciples met in a borrowed upper room.  At the very beginning of the meal, Jesus indicated that someone at the table will betray Him that very night to the religious leaders who sought His death.  The question of, “Lord, is it I?” went unanswered until Judas voiced those words.  The Savior answered in the affirmative, and Judas left the room.

Jesus took the bread and the cup – the chief elements of the Passover meal, and gave them new meaning:  the bread of His body broken for the world, the wine of His blood shed for our sins.  After the meal, the Scripture records that they sang a hymn.  What a beautiful thought that is – of Christ and His disciples singing together.  I am quite sure that for the rest of their lives, the disciples remembered the song they shared that night.

Afterwards, the company went to the Mount of Olives, in a garden area called Gethsemane.  After asking His disciples to pray for and with Him, Jesus retreated to a place of quiet reflection.  There, He agonized alone, praying for strength and courage to face what was ahead.  As the day faded from Thursday to Friday, Jesus wept and prayed.  The eleven remaining disciples, of whom it could certainly be said that “...the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,” slept through the entire process.

Abba, Father, he said, everything is possible for You.

Take this cup from me.

Yet not what I will, but what You will.

Mark 14:36

The readings for Thursday's activities are found in Matthew 26:17-30; Mark 14:12-26; 

Luke 22:7-23; John 13:1-30

Day 6: Wednesday - A Day of Silence

Dogwood Series:  No. 6

Heaven and earth will pass away,

but My words will never pass away.

Matthew 24:35

Wednesday is another day of silence in the Scripture record, but there is plenty of parables and lessons that appear to fall on Tuesday to spread over into Wednesday’s time, figuratively if not literally.

Matthew 24 indicates that at the end of the day on Tuesday, Jesus left the Temple and went to the Mount of Olives.  The disciples were gathered quietly with their Master, and someone voiced the question that was on most of their minds: “Tell us, when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age.” 

Jesus shared with His followers many details of the time of His return.  There would be those who would claim to be Christ and deceive many.  There would be natural disasters and famines throughout the world, but these would be only the beginning of sorrows.  There would be signs in the heavens and on the earth, and His followers would experience hatred, persecution and death. 

The Savior then shared three of His most significant parables:  The Ten Virgins, the Parable of the Talents, and the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats.  The Ten Virgins emphasizes the importance of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer.  The story of the Talents highlights the significance of utilizing the talents that God has given us to spread His love to the world.  The Sheep and the Goats gives the standard by which we will be judged:  Love your God with your entire being, and love all people as you love own life.

Come, you who are blessed by my Father;

take your inheritance: the kingdom prepared for you

since the creation of the world.

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat;

I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink;

I was a stranger and you invited me in.

I needed clothes and you clothed me.

I was sick and you looked after me.

I was in prison and you came to visit me.

...I tell you the truth, whatever you did for

one of the least of these brothers of mine,

you did for Me.

Matthew 25:34-36, 40

Day 5: Tuesday - Teaching in the Temple

Dogwood Series: No. 5

Jesus entered the Temple courts, and while He was teaching,

the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him.

“By what authority are you doing these things?”

they asked, “and who gave who this authority?”

Matthew 21:3

Tuesday morning, as Jesus is teaching the people in the Temple, the religious leaders approached and demanded to know by what authority Jesus was “doing these things.”  One can only imagine all that is included in “these things’:  chasing out the moneychangers and animal sellers, healing the sick, allowing the children to sing His praises, teaching His unorthodox lessons.  Jesus was not interested in debating these men, so He met their question with a question – promising to answer theirs when they answered His.

The question appeared harmless:  John [the Baptist]’s baptism – where did it come from? Was it from heaven or was it a product of men?  Seems easy enough, don’t you think?  Au contraire!  The religious leaders had to huddle and discuss their options, for they knew they were in a Catch-22 situation.  “If we say, ‘from heaven,’ He will ask, ‘then why didn’t you believe him?’  But if we say, ‘from men,’ we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”  My, my… what to do… They opted for no answer at all:  “We don’t know.”   Jesus replied, “Then I don’t have to answer your question either.”  Checkmate.

Jesus returned to teaching the crowds, starting with two parables aimed directly at the religious leaders.  They knew He was talking about them, and wanted to arrest Him on the spot.  But they were afraid of the people, so they turned and walked away.

Parable of the Two Sons 

Story:  A father asks his sons to work in the vineyard.One son says, Yes, and doesn’t.  One son says, No, and then does. 

Question:  Which son did what the Father wanted?

Moral:  John came to show the way of righteousness.  You didn’t believe Him, but the prostitutes and sinners did.  Even then, you never repented. 

Parable of the Tenants  

Story:  A Landowner sends his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the crop.  The workers beat, stone, and kill two different sets of servants.   

Finally the landowner sends his son, and they kill him as well.  

Question:  What will the landowner do?

Moral:  The Kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to those who will produce fruit.

Jesus’ teaching on Tuesday is recorded in 

Matthew 21:28-25:46, Mark 11:27-13:37, and Luke 20:1-21:36.

Day 4: Monday - Clearing Out the Temple

Dogwood Series:  No. 4

Then He entered the Temple area,

and began driving out those who were selling.

Luke 19:45 

Jesus traveled from Bethany to Jerusalem, and went directly to the Temple, which He had briefly visited the night before.  There He found the commerce of the synagogue in full swing.  The common people arrived to buy an animal for sacrifice.  Their “pagan” money was not useable within the Temple, so it had to be exchanged for Jewish coins.  As one can imagine, the exchange rate was astronomical. Then they had to buy the animals from the temple courtyard sellers, who were not there to give the people a bargain.

Jesus entered the Temple and drove out the money changers, overturning their tables and scattering their Jewish coins.  He drove out the animal sellers and dove merchants, and wouldn’t allow anyone to carry merchandise through the Temple.  “It is written,” He said to the people, “My house will be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers” [Isaiah 56:7; Jeremiah 7:11].

When the courts’ atmosphere changed from chaos to quiet, the blind and the lame approached Jesus, and He healed them.  Children were rejoicing and shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David.”  The religious leaders were angry, and accosted the Savior:  Do you hear what these children are saying?”  they asked.  Jesus again answered their outburst with Scripture.  “Have you not heard?  From the lips of children and infants You have ordained praise” [Psalm 8:2].  Jesus turned on heel and walked away, leaving the priests and teachers frustrated and speechless.  He left the Temple, and returned to Bethany for the night.

The activities of Jesus on Monday of Holy Week are found in 

Matthew 21:10-17, and Mark 11:15-18.  

There is a slight mention in Luke 19:45-46, but it does not give significant information.

Day 3: The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

Dogwood Series No. 3

The next day, the great crowd that had gathered for the Feast

Heard that Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem.

They took palm branches and went out to meet Him…

On Sunday, Jesus made a king’s entrance into Jerusalem.  Fulfilling a prophecy in Zechariah, He rode the path from Bethany to Jerusalem on a young donkey:

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!

Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem.

See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation,

Gentle and riding a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Zechariah 9:9

The crowds in the great city heard that Jesus was coming, and went out to meet him, waving palm branches and spreading their cloaks in the roadway.  The words they chanted were both ancient and modern, and identified the rider as the Messiah, the King of Israel:

Hosanna!

O Lord, save us!  O Lord, grant us peace!

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest!

Psalm 118:25-26

Many of the voices shouting, “Hosanna!” would soon be wailing, “Crucify Him!”  Jesus was fully aware of that, but the journey on a colt with the adoration of the crowd was necessary for the fulfillment of all that had been written, as well as to open the eyes and minds of the people for what was to come.  He accepted the praise amidst the hypocrisy, and when the Pharisees demanded that He hush the people, He replied, “If they keep quiet, the stones would cry out!”  [Luke 19:40]

So the Pharisees said to one another,

“See, this is getting us nowhere.

Look how the whole world has gone after Him.”

John 12:19

Day 2: Sabbath in Bethany

Dogwood Series:  No. 2

  

So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well,

for on account of him, many Jews were going over to Jesus

and placing their faith in Him.

John 12:10-11

The day after Jesus arrived in Bethany was the Sabbath.  The activities of that day are not recorded in Scripture.  Because we know that He arrived in Bethany on Friday, and left from there on Sunday, we can only assume that the Lord and His disciples observed the Sabbath in Bethany with Lazarus’ family.  Very possibly it was a literal day of rest, due to the excitement of the activities the night before.

On Friday evening, a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor by the family in Bethany.  The recording of this story in John’s Gospel is very short: Martha served the meal; Lazarus reclined at table with Christ and His disciples.  During that fellowship, Mary came in with a container of perfume – pure nard, poured it on Jesus’ feet, then let down her hair and wiped it with her tresses. [It should be noted that a respectable woman did not unbind her hair in public.]

This story is also related in Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, and Luke 7:36-50.  Matthew stated that the dinner was held at the home of Simon the Leper, the woman was unnamed, and the perfume jar was alabaster [also costly].  Mark related the same story as Matthew.  Luke’s story is very different.  A woman brought an alabaster jar of perfume, poured it on Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair; however, the woman was unnamed and was a prostitute, the dinner was at the house of a Pharisee, and Jesus confronted the Pharisee because of his thoughts regarding the woman and Jesus' treatment of her. All the same story?  Some say Yes, others say No.

In the Matthew, Mark and John accounts, there were those who objected publicly to the “waste of money,” claiming that the perfume should have been sold and the money given to the poor.  [John named Judas Iscariot as the complainer.]  Jesus hushed the whiners, commanded them to leave her alone, and called her act “a beautiful gesture” of respect and honor. They would always have the poor, but they would not always have Him.

I tell you the truth,

wherever the Gospel is preached throughout the world,

what she has done will also be told,

in memory of her.

Mark 14:9

 

And So It Began... Day 1: Bethany

Dogwood Series:  No. 1

Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived in Bethany,

where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

John 12:1

On a Friday afternoon, perhaps similar to the glorious spring day outside my window, Jesus arrived in Bethany and stopped for the weekend at the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus.  Just a short time earlier, Jesus had raised Lazarus after he had been dead for several days.  The hullabaloo that resulted from this amazing miracle caused Jesus to withdraw from public life, staying in the village of Ephraim near the desert. [John 11:54]

When the crowds arrived in Jerusalem at the beginning of the Passover season, they searched in vain for Jesus and His followers.  Congregating at the Temple, they questioned whether He would show up at all.  Many were well-acquainted with the animosity of the Scribes and Pharisees against the Teacher from Nazareth.  In fact, the religious leaders had given orders for Jesus’ immediate arrest when He was spotted in Jerusalem.

Much to their chagrin, the Savior is not on the Pharisees’ time clock; He is following the will of His Father.  Fully knowing that the cross is but a week away, He sought the companionship of His friends for the weekend.  What occurred there was another extraordinary event in the Teacher’s life on this earth.  This time, however, it was not of His doing.

He is There

We set our eyes not on what we see,

but on what we cannot see,

What we see will last only a short time,

but what we cannot see will last forever.

2 Corinthians 4::18

Max Lucado is one of my favorite devotional authors, always finding the heart of any message he is writing.  In his book, He Still Moves Stones, he relates:

…on the wall of a concentration camp, a prisoner had carved the words, 

 I believe in the sun, even though it doesn't shine,  

I believe in love, even when it isn’t shown,  

I believe in God, even when He doesn’t speak.

I try to imagine the person who etched those words.  I try to envision his skeletal hand gripping the broken glass or stone that cut into the wall.  I try to imagine his eyes squinting through the darkness as he carved each letter.  What hand could have cut such a conviction?  What eyes could have seen good in such horror?  There is only one answer:  Eyes that chose to see the unseen.

Whatever your circumstances are today – good or bad – there is One who is unseen working in the background – working all things for your good in any and all circumstances.  There will be times in your life when that simple statement will be very hard to believe.  Trust Him.  Even in your darkest hour, He has promised to be with you.  And He who has promised is faithful.

The Coming Days

He went away again, beyond the Jordan,

to the place where John was first baptizing,

and He was staying there.

John 10:40

For the next  few days, I would like to walk the journey that Christ took on His way to the cross and beyond.  As a church musician, I take this walk every year during Lent and Easter.  I never fail to be enthralled by the stories of that time, and always find something new that I had not realized before.

If any of you have a copy of the NIV Study Bible (mine is a hardcover printed in1985), there is a wonderful two-page drawing in the middle of the book of Mark, on pages 1524-1525.  This chart marks the path that I will follow.  The drawing is of Jerusalem and the surrounding areas, giving one a visual of the road to Calvary.

The life of Jesus is endlessly fascinating – His teachings, His methods of dealing with the twelve men at the core of His support group, His handling of the religious leaders and the political authority.  There is so much here for us to “chew” on , but time and space will impose their own limits to what can be put in a daily blog.  I hope you will read the passages in your own Bible, contemplating on what Jesus said and did during his last week here on this earth.  You will be blessed – I promise!

Goodbye for awhile...

I am the resurrection and the life…

John 11:25

I lost a friend yesterday – as did many other members of the church where I work.  I’ve only known her for a few years – a drop in the bucket compared to the 40+ year friendships that she had with other members of the congregation.  She was a charming, effervescent woman with a warm, welcoming smile.  She passed away yesterday morning after a long battle with cancer that metastasized until there were no further medical treatments left to try.

It is very difficult to lose someone you care about, and to watch the suffering of the one left behind – totally unprepared to go on alone.  There is a place in the heart that never quite recovers from the loss of a parent, a spouse, or a child.  Without the infilling of the love and compassion of God, and the support of family and friends, such bereavement would be unbearable.  Without the hope of the resurrection, it would be unthinkable.

 The Bible is full of promises that the end of life on earth does not constitute eternal nothingness. We have the hope in Jesus Christ that there is something more – an eternity of life and love in the presence of our Lord and Savior. 

Behold, I show you a mystery – we shall not all sleep,

But we shall all be changed,

In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,

At the last trumpet.

The trumpet shall sound,

and the dead shall be raised incorruptible.

-The Messiah by G. F. Handel