Immanuel

עִמָּנוּאֵל
Ἐμμανουήλ
Immanuel. God with us.

One of my favorite chapters of all literature carries this theme. Perhaps this Christmas is an altogether appropriate time to share it: "God With Us"


"His name shall be called Immanuel, . . . God with us." "The light of the knowledge of the glory of God" is seen "in the face of Jesus Christ." From the days of eternity the Lord Jesus Christ was one with the Father; He was "the image of God," the image of His greatness and majesty, "the outshining of His glory." It was to manifest this glory that He came to our world. To this sin-darkened earth He came to reveal the light of God's love,--to be "God with us." Therefore it was prophesied of Him, "His name shall be called Immanuel."
By coming to dwell with us, Jesus was to reveal God both to men and to angels. He was the Word of God,--God's thought made audible. In His prayer for His disciples He says, "I have declared unto them Thy name,"--"merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,"--"that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them." But not alone for His earthborn children was this revelation given. Our little world is the lesson book of the universe. God's wonderful purpose of grace, the mystery of redeeming love, is the theme into which "angels desire to look," and it will be their study throughout endless ages. Both the redeemed and the unfallen beings will find in the cross of Christ their science and their song. It will be seen that the glory shining in the face of Jesus is the glory of self-sacrificing love. In the light from Calvary it will be seen that the law of self-renouncing love is the law of life for earth and heaven; that the love which "seeketh not her own" has its source in the heart of God; and that in the meek and lowly One is manifested the character of Him who dwelleth in the light which no man can approach unto. (full chapter)

Between Two Worlds

“Whooooooottt”

In a vacuum of context, one word text messages can be meaningless. But I knew exactly what this one meant. Yesterday Stanford released admissions decisions to early applicants at 3pm. Hence, when 3:10pm rolled around and a high school friend who had applied texted me, “Whoooooottt”, the message was clear.

Later I was able to meet up with him (naturally, a campus visit was the first thing on his mind).  It was neat to see him processing, recognizing the reality and significance of the admissions offer. I think a few times I saw it begin to hit him.

But the odd thing is, although he can now claim Stanford as “his school”, it isn’t quite yet. At least, not fully. He’s still a high school student.

Hence a tension. He’s caught between two worlds. Two realities. In the upcoming months he’ll undoubtedly struggle with this “senioritis”.

Incredibly, my high school friend's present experience parallels that of many of history’s greatest patriarchs of faith, such as Abraham. Note how the Bible describes them:

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country.  (Hebrews 11:13-16a)

They experience the tension: living in this world while having accepted the promise of the heavenly one. Hence, they live as “strangers and pilgrims to the earth.”

Still today – or rather, especially today –  the Christian looks at the world around him and recognizes that it is not his home. He sees creation groaning in anticipation of the great soon coming graduation. “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:19).

So we wait, between two worlds, as we learn daily how to live as a heavenly citizen while an earthly resident.

Ascending to the Lowest

The setting is ancient Israel. The prophet Isaiah is denouncing the king of Babylon -- political archenemy to the Israelites. But in the midst of his "proverb against the king of Babylon" we notice a change in the tone.

How you are fallen from heaven, 

O Lucifer, son of the morning! 

How you are cut down to the ground, 

You who weakened the nations! 

For you have said in your heart: 

‘I will ascend into heaven, 

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; 

I will also sit on the mount of the congregation 

On the farthest sides of the north; 

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, 

I will be like the Most High.’ 

Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, 

To the lowest depths of the Pit. (Isaiah 14:12-15)

Fallen from heaven? This isn't about a political enemy, but a spiritual adversary.

Once called Lucifer, son of the morning, he occupied heaven. Yet, he ends up in the "depths of the pit". How?

I was recently talking with a philosophy professor about how a perfect being could choose to do wrong.  The question we debated was why wouldn't God simply create beings who would never choose to do wrong? But if they are guaranteed to always choose rightly, is it still a choice? What defines a choice? How do choices happen?

And that is how such philosophical word games often go, seldom resolving much. Fortunately Isaiah wasn't a philosopher but a prophet. Rather than toying with the meanings of words, he offers us an insight to the heart of the matter. Lucifer's heart.

Note what Lucifer desired: to ascend, exalt above, sit on the mount, the north, ascend above. He desired to go up. Not just to be like the Most High by reflecting Him, but to take his place, even ascend above him. But desiring the highest, he fell to the lowest.

And where did He fall too? Revelation records that "the great dragon was cast out [of heaven], that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him" (12:9). Enter the talking snake of Genesis.

But this is where things get personal. No longer is this a story about a distant star gone dark; we're now on home territory.

Many greats grandma Eve enters into dialogue with the snake. The particular topic, fruit eating, isn't as important as the decision she is being called to. God had presented command and consequence: don't eat it, you'll die. The snake presents an alternative: eat it, "you will be like God".

Catch that? "Like God". It's the same as the snake, formerly Lucifer, had desired. Not the "likeness" that brings one into harmony with God and His commands. No; this is the envious likeness that seeds rebellion. To stand in His place, even above.

The snake's offer was attractive. Eve "saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate."

Notice, contrary to the command, she declares the tree as "good". In the creation context, this is highly significant.

Remember? God created. Then He saw what He had made and declared that "it was good". Seven times in the first chapter of Genesis and a few more in the second God determines what is good and what is not.

Now, rather than exercising judgement to recognize the fruit is not good by God's command, Eve places herself in the position of God and attempts to utter a contrary declaration: the tree is good for food.

Like Lucifer, Eve and along with her Adam attempt to stand in the place of God, even to act against and above Him.

And like Lucifer, humanity falls.

What does this fall mean? Surprisingly, a genealogical record offers insight:

This is the book of the genealogy of Adam. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created. And Adam lived one hundred and thirty years, and begot a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth. (Genesis 5:1-3)

Adam made in God's image. But notice Seth in Adam's likeness. Post-fall, we descendants find ourselves with the image of fallen Adam marring the originally intended image of God.

Which means the spirit of Lucifer and of our first parents -- the created desiring to stand in the place of and even above the Creator -- we should expect to find rampant in society today.

We should expect our religious systems to be corrupted by it. We should expect the aims of our nations to be tainted by it. We should expect our relationships to suffer because of it. We should even expect our own hearts to be plagued by it.

Simply put, we should expect to be wholly fallen, entirely lost. Fated with the fallen star to dwell in that pit forever.

By trying to take God's place, we cut off our dependence on Him. And created without Creator, life without daily Life-giver, is not a possibility. So we perish.

But we're still here. This signals hope. We'll explore this hope in another blog post.

Letter to a Young Moon

Dear Luna,

First let me congratulate you -- it is a great honor being chosen as a moon. You now have a high task before you, to light the night sky of your planet. As you know, many of your planet's residents dwell in darkness; they're depending on you for light.

Undoubtedly, your lunar experience will be filled with many highs and lows. However, as a fellow moon, I thought it prudent to write to you some words of advice.

The most important thing to remember: you don't generate light, you reflect it.

I know you were taught this in your training, but young moons too often forget it. They begin to think there is some energy in themselves, some natural merit, that sets them apart and turns them into a natural light source. They forget that they are just dusty rocks, naturally cold and dark. There is but one light source in this system, the Sun. All the light you will ever shine will originate in him.

Therefore, keep your focus on the Sun. Don't let the darkness discourage you; as long as you stay in the Sun's presence, you'll reflect his radiance.

Unfortunately, periods will come when you let something get between you and the Sun. You'll let your planet, who it's your job to light, cut off your view of the Sun. Once again, you'll be dark and reminded of your natural state. But don't be utterly discouraged! This is a crisis, but it'll also serve as a reminder: you don't generate light, you reflect it. In this dark period, seek out the Sun. His light is still shining, waiting to illuminate you.

There is one final warning I must offer. It is shameful to say, but I must report it. There is another way in which moons fail their illuminating duty. Again, it is born in the moon's pride. He begins thinking too highly of himself, of his ability to light, and so he begins to climb into a more exalted place of the sky till he finds himself in the Sun's spot eclipsing the light to his planet.

You see, us moons were never purposed to light the whole sky. Only to magnify and point back to the Sun's light. When we attempt to stand in his position, the result is utter darkness. The day appears as night. An eclipse.

But this needn't be. Just remember: you don't generate light, you reflect it.

So seek out the Sun and dwell in his presence. It really is the greatest honor to have been chosen to abide there and reflect his awesome light.

"We are to be centers of light and blessing to our little circle, even as He is to the universe. We have nothing of ourselves, but the light of His love shines upon us, and we are to reflect its brightness."

Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, p. 77

Cleansing (Part 5)

// Check out part 1, 2, 3, and 4 before continuing.

Our last post could very well have concluded this series. For we have now witnessed the assurance that we won't taint Jesus with our uncleanliness, but that He will cleanse us. Furthermore, He desires to come into intimate healing contact with us; this is no burden for Him. Indeed, this is a high point to conclude.

And some days I'm satisfied with stopping there. But other days I recognize that there is a world of individuals around me who are also in desperate need of cleansing: of experiencing healing from their sin-state brokenness. So what does all this fountain talk mean for them? We don't need go far to find out.

We already begun looking at Jesus' encounter with the women at the well in John 4. This is where Jesus declared, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst." He declared Himself to be the fountain of living water. But notice the very next words Jesus says, "But the water that I shall give him twill become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." Drinking of the fountain, we become a fountain.

Notice the same idea is repeated a few chapters later in John. Jesus cries out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” (7:37b-38)

We see this happen in the woman's account. After meeting Jesus, the fountain, she goes and acts as a fountain to her community testifying of Jesus.

Now, be careful, the woman's role as a fountain is not the same as Jesus' role as the fountain. She declares to the community what Jesus has done in her life (4:29) and "many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified" (4:39). But don't miss what they tell the woman after meeting Jesus, "Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world."

Her role is simply a channel. She testifies how the fountain has cleansed her and brings her community to the Source so they can experience the same cleansing. This is how she is serving as a fountain.

The proverbs give some practical advice on how we can be used as fountains to out communities (our families, peers, co-workers, random people on the street, and so on). Here's one:

The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, But violence covers the mouth of the wicked. (10:11)

The focus is on words. Could God be calling me to breath life into my community through the words I speak? How will this calling influence my lunch-time conversations, my facebook posts, my complaints, my 30 second encounters with the cashier?

Another related proverb:

The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death. (13:14)

Let's face it, I've got plenty of friends headed into "snares of death". Here I'm challenged to intervene. I don't think this means I act proud, holier-than-thou, supposing to know more than I do. But I'm willing to call them out, or perhaps better yet, to listen to them speak. As much as they sometimes pretend, I don't think too many people actually enjoy spending time in those "snares", along with the emptiness and shame that follows, anyway.

Ultimately, I follow Jesus' example. He's the one who ate with sinners, but as the living fountain, the meal would end with selfish tax collectors giving away half their goods to the poor (cf. Luke 19). Jesus didn't spend time with sinners because He thought there was something magical in His presence; He was intentional. His words, conversations, and teachings all poured forth life.

May God continue the work of creating us each into such fountains of life today, that we may better direct our communities to the Living Fountain, the Source of Life, the True Cleanser.

Cleansing (Part 4)

// Check out part 1, part 2, and part 3 before continuing.

For a moment, let's return to our original encounters with the leper and the woman in the crowd. They're now less confusing as we realize that Jesus the fountain of living water -- or "source of eternal life" as Hebrews puts it -- isn't made unclean by the unclean.

But don't be satisfied with the stories yet; there's more to them. Notice the story of our leper happens in Matthew 8, directly after Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Our text suggests that the leper had listened to the sermon (8:1), had recognized that Jesus "taught them as one having authority" (7:29), and hence by faith proclaimed "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." He realized the power in the words of Jesus.

The very next story in Matthew also emphasizes the authority in Jesus' words -- this is where Jesus speaks and instantly heals a centurion's servant who is sick a great way off.

Jesus' words carry creative authority: they spoke the world into existence, healed at a distance, even brought a dead man back to life, surely they could heal a leper.

But remember our story. Jesus didn't just command the leper clean, but He "put out His hand and touched him". That touch is what caused our initial confusion. But now that touch testifies to an awesome truth: Jesus didn't just want to heal the leper, He desired to be intimately close to Him.

Scenes of creation come rushing to mind. God speaks light, seas, trees, elephants and the like into existence. Surely He could have declared "Let there be man", but instead He kneels down, shapes Adam, breathes into Him. The scene with Eve is equally intimate.

Here with our leper Jesus is displaying the same desire for intimacy as He did thousands of years prior in Eden. Everything has changed since Eden -- man is sinful, cursed, wretched, has rejected God, and is deserving of God's wrath -- but God hasn't changed. He still desires to pour out His affection. To be close to the miserable and make them whole again.

Now to the story of the woman in the midst of the crowd. She is the complete opposite of the leper: she desires to touch Jesus and avoid His words. And so she does, touching the hem of his cloak. It heals her, but Jesus calls her out. It was terrifying ("she came trembling"), but it drew out of her a response: "she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately".

Now why would Jesus do this? She was already healed, isn't that enough. But perhaps Jesus was interested in more than her physical healing. He has her announce the desperateness of her situation and the healing she found in Him, then explains "your faith has made you well".

Maybe Jesus knew what would have happened otherwise. How years later the woman might have remembered how she managed to steal healing power from a mighty prophet. She might have felt good about that achievement, but what hope would it give for further, deeper healing?

So Jesus leaves no room for confusion. She hadn't accomplished to heal herself, she had spent 12 years ill, but now it was faith in Christ that had healed her. And if that's the means of healing, then there is hope for further healing (physical, emotional, spiritual). More than leave healed, she can now "Go in peace" knowing the One who heals.

Last post I asked what this means for us, today. I'll let you draw your own applications, but there's two points that stand out to me. The first is that not only is Jesus capable of healing, He is desiring. Sure, we found a clause in Leviticus that says He could come into contact with the unclean, but more incredible is that He did. He stretched out His hand. Perhaps Jesus doesn't seeing healing as a burden, but as a joy.

When I recognize the uncleanliness of deep seated sin in my life (character shortcomings, habitual sins, and the like), I certainly shouldn't think that I can't come to Jesus because it'll taint Him. Fountains don't become unclean. But moreover, I shouldn't think the task of healing is somehow burdensome to God. He desires to be intimate with me, reaching out His healing hand. Jesus is still declaring, "I am willing; be cleansed."

Second lesson. Don't be shy about healing. Perhaps like the woman in the crowd, I too often try to sneak into the throne-room of God and obtain His healing power while going unnoticed. I slip whispers for victory over sin and character development into my prayers, trying to nab a bit of God's power. But when I do such, I know God's heart is crying out for me to stop, to recognize my condition, and to exercise real faith in Him.

Cleansing is not a product God manufactures; it is the result of coming into intimate relationship with Him. He invites us to be open with Him and so that we too may "Go in peace".

// Continue to part 5.

Cleansing (Part 3)

// Check out part 1 and part 2 before continuing.

Let's explore this fountain idea. We'll look at a few passages referring to fountains, wells, or springs -- in each case the same Hebrew word is used as that of our spring (ma `yan) of Leviticus 11.

The first couple occurrences of this word are simply references to physical water sources. For example, it shows up in the flood account ("the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up"), later in describing land boundaries (see Joshua 15:9, 18:15), and so on. However, in the writings of the prophets we begin to see fountains/wells used in spiritual metaphors. Notice how Isaiah 12 uses the word:

And in that day thou shalt say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

Similarly Joel prophecies that "a fountain shall flow from the house of the LORD" on the day of the LORD.

New Testament prophecy also anticipates drinking from "wells of salvation." The final scenes of Revelation include God declaring to the redeemed, "I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts."

Fountain. Salvation. Clearly connected.

How does Jesus figure into all this? To understand, we must look at a Jesus encounter. As we may expect, the setting is an old well.

Picking it up in John 4 we read:

So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.
Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.
Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”
Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst."

Jesus both compares and contrasts Himself with Jacob's well. That well offers water; Jesus offers living water. He is the well of living water. A fountain, or spring, of life.

This is more than a nice sounding title. For starters, it is immediately legally significant. It means our Levitical clause (11:36) explains how Jesus wasn't in violation of the law by touching the untouchable and then acting unaffected. For He didn't become unclean. Springs don't.

It's also interesting to go back over our first stories thinking in fountain terms. For instance, recall when the woman in the midst of the crowd touched Jesus and she was healed. Jesus knew something had happened because He "perceived power going out" from Himself (Luke 8:46). That is, healing power flowed out of Him.

But Jesus' fountain identity is about far more than resolving legal questions or giving a new perspective on some otherwise familiar stories. For while these are good things to do, it falls short of addressing the heart questions we have: "What does this mean about Jesus, about me, about our relationship, today?" Good question -- it's the one planted on my heart too. It'll also be the topic of our next post.

// Continue to part 4.

Cleansing (Part 2)

// Check out part 1 before continuing.

Last time we were left with a challenge: to discover the clause of the Levitical Law explaining why Jesus could come into contact with the unclean and remain clean. We noted that it probably wouldn't relate to Jesus' identity as High Priest, as the laws concerning High Priests are very sensitive regarding ritual purity.

Let's try another angle. Besides High Priest, Jesus is also our shepherd. Perhaps there is some law saying when shepherds are out attending their flock they don't have to worry about touching unclean things (lepers, pigs, and the like). Sounds promising -- but I haven't found such a law in Leviticus.

There are some other identities of Jesus we might try, but to what avail? The entire point of the Levitical law seems to be to indicate how contagious this "unclean" condition is. Being unclean is serious, so dealing with it is serious; definitely not something to be ignored!

And so it ought be. We discussed before that the Levitical laws are practical (like hospital procedures today) to prevent disease from spreading. But they are also typical, that is symbolic. More than dealing with common diseases and teaching us to avoid unhealthy foods, the unclean laws display the total wretchedness of the human condition. We are sinful; we are unclean. And fixing this problem, Leviticus indicates, is going to take a lot. It's going to require the Sacrifice -- one so significant that Leviticus tries to unpack it through several sacrifices and rituals.

So it makes sense that we're not finding an easy out -- one that lets priests or shepherds avoid the reality of the problem of uncleanliness. If we did, perhaps we could just go herd sheep and avoid the need for the Savior.

A portion of Leviticus that really drives home this point -- the spread and depth of uncleanliness -- is in Leviticus 11. The immediate context is regarding unclean animal flesh.

32 Anything on which any of them falls, when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it is any item of wood or clothing or skin or sack, whatever item it is, in which any work is done, it must be put in water. And it shall be unclean until evening; then it shall be clean.33 Any earthen vessel into which any of them falls you shall break; and whatever is in it shall be unclean:34 in such a vessel, any edible food upon which water falls becomes unclean, and any drink that may be drunk from it becomes unclean.35 And everything on which a part of any such carcass falls shall be unclean; whether it is an oven or cooking stove, it shall be broken down; for they are unclean, and shall be unclean to you.

If uncleanness touches your clay pots, smash them! Perhaps this is partly practical as clay is porous and we'd expect the uncleanness to get into the clay beyond washing, while a piece of cloth can be washed clean. But there is also the spiritual dimension -- uncleanness is deep, it is a core issue, a light scrubbing won't fix it. The Talmud (ancient Jewish commentary) actually records an interesting debate about unclean ovens. The question: if someone smashes an oven that has become unclean, then cements the pieces back together, is it still unclean? (read it here)

However, check out how our passage continues:

36 Nevertheless a spring or a cistern, in which there is plenty of water, shall be clean...

An exception! Springs abounding in water remain clean. Again, this makes sense. About a week ago I was visiting one of the springs here in Florida. This one is a bit of an attraction: people take inner tubes to the head of the spring and float them on down. The current flowing out is surprisingly powerful -- I tried swimming against it and stayed stationary. Stick something unclean in that spring and all the uncleanliness will just get washed away.

So could this be it? Is there some sense in which Jesus is a spring, or a "fountain" as the KJV translates, full of plenty of water? I'd like to suggest so*. Can you think of some Scriptures that support this idea? There are plenty, and in the next post we'll explore a few of them.


*The suggestion of this fountain clause applying to Christ and His contact to the unclean is not original; I first came across it in the commentary of the Andrews Study Bible.

// Continue to part 3.

Cleansing (Part 1)

Some stories in the gospels confuse me. Here's one that opens Matthew 8:

¹ When Jesus had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. ² And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”
³ Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
⁴ And Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”

Did you catch it? Jesus just "put out His hand and touched" a leper. You don't do that. I'm not saying you shouldn't touch a leper because they are the outcasts of society and it might ruin your social reputation. If that was all that Jesus was doing, He would be a compassionate Jew we should admire. But that's not it. You see, touching a leper is illegal. I'm talking Levitical law illegal. Check out Leviticus chapters 13 and 14. They are all about isolating the leper -- he is "unclean" and everything he comes into contact with (clothes, houses, it all) also becomes unclean.

This makes sense. I remember a couple years ago when I walked into a hospital ER and told the front desk lady, "I recently got back from Papua New Guinea and today I coughed up blood." Like the leper in the story, I was quick to be isolated. I got my own room and bathroom and all the doctors and nurses who visited wore masks and other protective gear. At some point, my mom who was with me asked one of them, "Should I be wearing a mask too?" Their response of "Oh, it's too late for you" wasn't promising. They suspected TB; turned out to just be a nasty case of pneumonia.

So these isolation and cleansing laws of Leviticus are practical. Moreover, they are God-given. The point: a first century Jew shouldn't be neglecting them. Interestingly, in our story Jesus ordered the former leper to uphold the law by showing himself to the priest (vs. 4). So then the question, why does it appear Jesus is disregarding the law Himself!

A second story. May be familiar, but it's just as confusing. We pick it up in Luke 8:

⁴³ Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, ⁴⁴ came from behind and touched the border of Jesus' garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.
⁴⁵ And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”
When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”
⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” ⁴⁷ Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.
⁴⁸ And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” 

We'll come back to this story a couple times. But what to note right now is that following the Levitical laws about lepers are ones pertaining to bodily discharges. In particular, Leviticus 15:25-30 deal with this woman's case. And here again they declare her as unclean. This explains why she only touched "the border of His garment." Uncleanness is contagious; the woman knew in order to be healed so had to touch Jesus but doing so would make Him (at least ritually) unclean. So she just touches the border -- maybe she thinks this will make it easier for Jesus when He goes through the ritual of bathing His clothes to clean them.

But again, something outrageous happens. It's not that touching Jesus heals the women, although this should make us look to Jesus as a powerful prophet. The outrages thing is Jesus never goes through the rituals to cleanse Himself. The story picks up with Him traveling to heal a man's daughter. No time out, no ritual, no washing. Again, Jesus seems to be disregarding the Levitical law.

My question is "why?". I believe there are two possible answers (although, feel free to suggest another).


The first is that Jesus actually did disregard the Law. But this route contradicts Jesus' own teaching that He lived in perfect obedience to all the Law (cf. John 8). Furthermore, it leads to a theological mess (if Jesus can override the Law, then why did He come to die to satisfy the demands of the Law?).

The second is that the Law handles Jesus uniquely. Just as Leviticus had differing requirements (for foreigners, Israelites, heads of house, priests, etc.) that were of the same Spirit but differed in some details, so when it comes to Jesus we may expect some details of how the Law applies to Him to differ (if only because He is different from the typical first century Jew). Same Law, same Spirit, just a few details that differ. This makes sense, for Jesus is our "High Priest" (cf. Hebrews) and certainly a High Priest's obligations to the Law are different than those of, say, a typical first century Jew.

But in this case pointing out that Jesus is our High Priest won't solve the problem. There are rituals for High Priests to cleanse themselves after coming into contact with the unclean as well. Jesus didn't follow these, I suspect because in these stories He wasn't serving as High Priest. So this sends us on a search. Our task is to inquire of the Levitical law and see what clause Jesus was tapping into that let Him touch the untouchable. And that's exactly what we'll do in the next post.

// Continue to part 2.

Luke 2:39-45

³⁹ So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. ⁴⁰ And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.
⁴¹ His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. ⁴² And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. ⁴³ When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; ⁴⁴ but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. ⁴⁵ So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him.

Mary and Joseph travel home from the Jerusalem temple carrying Jesus along. The scene repeats some years later, although this time there is no Jesus following the parents leading.

Mary and Joseph walked, according to custom, expecting Jesus to follow.

How do I do the same? How do I walk by the ritual ways of my faith, rather than consistently examining if Jesus is with me, if I am letting Him lead my life? After all, God’s people are those who not only keep His commandments but also are actively following Jesus (Rev. 14).

More boldly, how do churches (even my own) do the same? Do they continue in traditions and customs where God was once seen leading? Or do they seek where is God leading today? Are congregations active in scripture study and prayer, letting God lead them into new practices, new methodologies, and even new doctrines? Or do they continue to rely on an old creed or some other rigid set of beliefs as the leading force in how they understand God?

Please, don’t misunderstand me. I love church history. Individuals like Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Wesley, and Miller were led to bring to sight a clearer picture of God. But we cannot be content to stand where they stood. We must continue to let God lead. We must be ready to discard 99 long-cherished errors for 1 newly-understood truth. Challenge years of worship history for a day of worshipping in “spirit and truth”.

How? Mary and Joseph “returned to Jerusalem”. So also, let us return to the model of the apostolic church. Searching the scriptures, praying for God’s leading, ready to believe/do whatever He may reveal. As individuals and as communities, let’s go back to following the Christ rather than the creed.

Luke 2:36-38

³⁶ Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; ³⁷ and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. ³⁸ And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

 Simeon had testified that Jesus was Messiah, but a single testimony was not considered compelling in Judaism. Two or three were needed (cf. Deut. 19:15). Enter Anna, our second witness.

Like Simeon, she was old and faithful, making her testimony more compelling. But also, neither were in an official temple position (such as priest). Incredibly, we don't have the testimony of any priest who should have been the first to recognize the Christ baby. Instead we have a widow, who despite her faithfulness, vary well may have been marginalized by her religious community (how easy it is to do the same today to the old "odd balls" of the church!).

Perhaps that is why she wasn't able to witness to everyone about this child. Just "those who looked for redemption". Already we see two groups emerging. One who has fallen into the trap going through the ritual but forgetting the meaning ("time to go to temple, to pay tithe, etc."). And the other group who still longs for redemption.

As outward actions are probably similar, I'm sure it's difficult to separate the two groups, which is probably a good thing for us. So instead of judge, let's examine our own hearts and ask ourselves, "If my next time at Church an Anna speaks to me, will I listen? Do I long for redemption?"

Maybe it'll change our whole Church experience; especially the way we relate to the old "odd balls".

Luke 2:22-35

²² Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord ²³ (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the LORD”), ²⁴ and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”   ²⁵ And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶ And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. ²⁷ So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, ²⁸ he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said:
       ²⁹ “ Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace,
      According to Your word;
       ³⁰ For my eyes have seen Your salvation
       ³¹ Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
       ³² A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
      And the glory of Your people Israel.”
³³ And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against ³⁵ (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

The book The Desire of Ages provides some powerful insights to these verses. Take a moment to read the relevant chapter here.

Luke 2:15-20

¹⁵ So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” ¹⁶ And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. ¹⁷ Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. ¹⁸ And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹ But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Notice the progression:

Hear. The shepherds had just heard the news from an angel that Christ was born in Bethlehem.

Believe. Now we witness them believing the reported event “has come to pass”.

Act. And so they determine to act in response, “Let us now go to Bethlehem”. The action is a manifestation of the belief.

Encounter. As a result, they encounter the Savior, “the Baby lying in a manger”. Had they had failed to act, they wouldn’t have encountered Him. But how can those who believe not act?

Share. Having “seen” Him, they make “widely known” the news. Notice, it is after this personal encounter with the Savior that they are able to share the news of Him in such a way that people “heard” and “marveled”. And so the process is primed to repeat.

Praise. The scene closes with our shepherds “glorifying and praising God” thanks to what they had “heard and seen”. Again we witness the news ("heard") accompanied by the encounter ("seen"); the repeated story along with the original personal testimony.

Hear. Believe. Act. Encounter. Share. Praise.

Luke 2:8-14

⁸ Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. ¹⁰ Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. ¹¹ For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 

¹⁴ “ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Jesus is born! Time to announce the news. The first to hear are “shepherds living in the country”. The news of “great joy” is that “Christ the Lord” has come as “a Savior” for “all people”. Not just all His favorite people. Not even all good people. But all people. This is the will of God, to save all (cf. 2 Peter 3:9).

Perhaps it is not surprising considering the manner of His birth that the news is first told to shepherds, rather than princes and kings. We’re beginning to catch on to the lowliness that will characterize Jesus’ life, contrary to our conceptions of God. Likewise, the shepherds would have expected to find “Christ the Lord” in some glorious set up, hence why the angel needed to warn them that He was in a “manger” (that is, an animal feeding trough).

But then there is glory. The shepherds were surrounded by the “glory of the Lord”. And the angels sung “Glory to God in the highest”.

Glory permeates the news of the birth, suggesting an important truth. The incarnation, God entering humanity as Jesus, was not contrary to His divinity. He didn’t lower Himself despite being God. He lowered Himself because He was God.

Commentators have explained that a possible translation for Paul’s description in Philippians 2 of the incarnation is “Christ Jesus, who—precisely because he was in very nature God—did not consider equality with God to be ground for grasping . . . ” (more on this).

God doesn’t have to be like this. His first priority could be Himself. And maybe such a god would still be glorious. Perhaps. But here we see God more interested in saving others than comforting Himself (after all, laying in a feeding trough is probably uncomfortable). Not disinterested in self, just more interested in others. It sounds offensive to God’s glory and supremacy, I know. But it is this selfless character that makes Him all the more glorious. That is why when then angels witnessed this truth (since even angels struggle to understand God’s character; cf. Rev. 12), they sung “Glory to God in the highest”.

Luke 2:1-7

¹ And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. ² This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. ³ So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.⁴ Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. ⁶ So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. ⁷ And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The first chapter of Luke was building up to an event. Gabriel announced to Zacharias the coming of the Lord (1:16,17). Then this same messenger repeated the news to Mary, announcing the soon coming “Holy One” called “the Son of God” (1:35). Elizabeth declared Him the “blessed fruit of [Mary’s] womb” (1:42). And Zacharias concluded with a powerful prophesy about the “Dayspring” who would “give light to those who sit in darkness”.

Now chapter two opens “it came to pass”, language suggesting the fulfillment of the prophecies. Here it is, the moment we’ve been waiting for… “a decree went out for Caesar Augustus”. What? Boring historical details. Then something about Quirinius. Come on Luke, this isn’t the time to play historian. Announce the Dayspring, the Lord, the Holy One.

So we continue. Joseph and Mary travel to Bethlehem. Now this is promising. Long before it had been prophesized of this city,

“But you, Bethlehem, Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting”. (Micah 5:2)

So our excitement returns as we see the people move into place. Then it happens. He is born. Put “in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn”.

It’s a story I’m well familiar with, but never did I realize how shocking it is. No room in the inn? He should be born in a palace! Put in a manager? Outrageous! But that is the point. Had He been born in a palace, we would read and think, “Good, surely He deserves such treatment.” We would be wrong. This is divinity stepping down into humanity. The most magnificent palace falls exceedingly short of the home and glory He left behind. His unbecoming birth leads us to exclaim, “He deserves more!” Then we begin to realize how much more. The Holy One had every right to remain in heaven – distant, supreme, self-interested. But a selfless love compelled Him. A love for us. He lowered Himself to exalt us. He entered darkness to guide us into the light. “Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves.” (Desire of Ages)

Truly, we serve an awesome God!

Luke 1:67-80

⁶⁷ Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:

⁶⁸ “ Blessed is the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited and redeemed His people,
⁶⁹ And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of His servant David,
⁷⁰ As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets,
Who have been since the world began,
⁷¹ That we should be saved from our enemies
And from the hand of all who hate us,
⁷² To perform the mercy promised to our fathers
And to remember His holy covenant,
⁷³ The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:
⁷⁴ To grant us that we,
Being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
⁷⁵ In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.
⁷⁶ “ And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,
⁷⁷ To give knowledge of salvation to His people
By the remission of their sins,
⁷⁸ Through the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;
⁷⁹ To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

⁸⁰ So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.

God’s promise of a son fulfilled, Zacharias prophecies. His prophecy is an address to his newly born son (vs. 76), it is a response to the crowd’s earlier question of “What kind of child will this be?”, and it is a song of praise “Blessed is the Lord God."

Notice Zacharias speaks of events soon to take place, but does so in the past tense. Thus he doesn’t just speculate about what will happen, but declares the absolute certainty of its happening – as if God has already “visited”, “redeemed”, and “raised up”. Why can he be so certain? Because God has been declaring these things “since the world began” by “His holy prophets”.

When Adam first sinned, he became afraid of God (Gen. 3:10), fracturing the human-Divine relationship. But God had a plan to restore this relationship and he gave glimpses of this plan to Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, and to all His children through the generations via His prophets. God’s plan was to restore man so that he might again “serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him.” A plan to allow man to once again enter into the presence of God.

The task of Zacharias' son John would be to join the long line of prophets who explained this plan to God’s people, that is “to give knowledge of salvation to His people.” Salvation entails God’s “tender mercy” leading to the forgiveness (or “remission”) of our sins. But how does this work? Can God simply forget our sins? Not easily. The problem: if God just forgot our sin, that we violated His law, then He would undermine His law. But God’s law is a reflection of Him, it is holy and unchangeable. It perfectly governs all His creation. If God removed His law it wouldn’t solve our problems; rather the absence of His law is the cause of our problems already. To undermine it would only wreak further chaos.

And so although God’s mercy longs for reconciliation, His justice in accordance with His law demands recompense. Enter the “Dayspring”, “the Highest”, “the Lord”. God is burdened and conflicted over humanity, and so He enters humanity. The Dayspring, as the morning dawn, will “give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death”. This shadow of death is our just punishment for having broken God’s law. But the Dayspring who brings light is entering our land of darkness. How this will solve the mercy-justice paradox is still unclear, but what is certain is that every step He takes will be guided by both tender mercy and supreme justice. By walking in this balance among us the Dayspring will “guide our feet into the way of peace”.

Dayspring, I pray today, guide my feet into the way of peace. Bring me to where I may serve you without fear, in holiness and righteousness. I long to join the redeemed in their eternal praise, “Blessed is the LORD God!”

Luke 1:56-66

⁵⁶ And Mary remained with [Elizabeth] about three months, and returned to her house.
⁵⁷ Now Elizabeth’s full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. ⁵⁸ When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her.
⁵⁹ So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. ⁶⁰ His mother answered and said, “No; he shall be called John.”
⁶¹ But they said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” ⁶² So they made signs to his father—what he would have him called.
⁶³ And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, “His name is John.” So they all marveled. ⁶⁴ Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God. ⁶⁵ Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. ⁶⁶ And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, “What kind of child will this be?” And the hand of the Lord was with him.

Let’s focus on Zacharias. Recall that since before Elizabeth’s pregnancy he had been mute as he had not believed Gabriel’s promise of a son. Here we find an extra detail: “they made signs to [Zacharias]” (vs. 62). Apparently he has also been deaf. Thus for nearly a year Zacharias experienced silence. No longer was he making noise nor was he distracted by that of his neighbors, instead he was able to fully focus on the words of God that Gabriel had spoken.

This is unusual. God doesn’t often pull us away from the world in this way. True, at creation He instituted the Sabbath as a sacred retreat from the weekly noise for us to commune with Him in a special way. And we experience similar retreats in our daily devotionals. However, we spend most our lives amongst the noise and struggle to follow a soft-voiced God in a shouting world.

So why the nine month retreat of silence for Zacharias? What profound reality was God desiring to have him understand? The answer lies in Gabriel’s message to Zacharias.

Remember Gabriel had promised a son to the old barren couple. New life which was clearly not from their dying selves: a reminder that God is still Creator! Zacharias had been long serving God, but perhaps amongst the ritual he failed to fully appreciate this essential description of God. The Bible begins with the creation narrative for more than just chronological reasons. God’s first revealed identity is as Creator. This bears witness to both His supremacy (the power to create) and His love (the desire to create). Interestingly, the Bible teaches that like Zacharias the world will forget this vital identity of God and hence He will send a special end-time messenger to remind them (see Rev. 14:6,7).

God as Creator is enough to contemplate, but Gabriel’s message had a second part: the lifework of Zacharias’ son was preparing the people for the coming Lord. This Lord, how would He come and what would His life look like? The priest Zacharias didn’t haven’t to leave the temple to find out. Every piece of furniture, every sacrifice offered was a description of this coming messiah. The temple services indicated His work would be the work of redemption, repairing the broken relationship between God and man by resolving the sin problem. Undoubtedly, as Zacharias carried out his work in the temple during his retreat of silence he begun to rediscover the foreshadowing significance of the many sacrifices and services (cf. 1:23).

Creator God. Redeemer God. For nearly a year he had the privilege to rediscover these truths and understand them in greater light. Most incredible of all, God had honored him to be a part of it. No wonder when asked he wasn’t slow in following the angel’s instruction to name his child John. And no wonder when “his tongue [was] loosed” that “he spoke, praising God”.

The multitude of relatives and neighbors didn’t really get it then. After all, for the last year they had likely been distracted by noise. But these happenings made an impression (vs. 66). God was patient with them, and surely over time some of them also beheld and rejoiced at the same truth: God is our Creator-Redeemer. A double testimony of His unrestrained love for us.

Luke 1:46-55

And Mary said:
“ My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.”

I suspect, like the Proverbs, that every line of Mary’s song is rich in meaning. One could easily pick out a verse and ponder over it’s meaning (try it!). Yet, I also suspect that the lines together are forming a story – the human story. It goes something like this:

Mary “magnifies the Lord”.  But why not magnify herself? Because she is in a “lowly state” in need of a “Savior”. Lowly state refers to more than her social and economic conditions, but to her human condition. The selfishness, the incompleteness, the corrupt taint to even the most noble of actions. When you’re proud you suspect everyone except you has this problem, and when you are honest you suspect you have it worst of all. This is human experience.

But the story doesn’t end there. God has “done great things” for the lowly Mary. Not deserving them, this must be described only as “mercy”. While the great things consist of daily blessings large and small, the greatest is the God-child Jesus she is to mother. Somehow, which Luke still needs to explain, His human experience will transform our human experience by revealing God’s fullest “mercy”. This mercy is extended to those who “fear God”. Not the fear that causes one to cower; instead the fear of reverence that causes one to “rejoice”.

But it seems not all are with Mary in experiencing the mercy of God. Notice God “scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts”. The mighty and rich don’t fare well either. Who is this God, extending mercy on some and harshness on others? A later revelation adds insight when God laments that He cannot help His people because they say “I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing” and do not realize that they “are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, naked” (Rev. 3:17). Strong language demonstrating God’s awesome desire for us to come to Him with all our needs that He may fulfill them. Recognizing that we are “hungry”, we come to Him and are “filled”. Insisting that we are “rich”, we refuse to let him feed us and remain “empty”.

Does it sound too good to be true? Mary provides a historical example as evidence: the way God took care of “Israel” when they let Him. Deuteronomy records that God carried Israel “as a man carries his son” (Deut. 1:31). But the song's focus isn't just on the past. This same God of “mercy” reigns today and will be true to all the promises He spoke to our spiritual “fathers”.

Have you experienced the truth of this story-song? Then pick up the tune of rejoicing and magnify the Lord for His goodness and mercy.