Heavy Grace

 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God; so He got up from the meal, took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist.  After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples'  feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him...When He had finished washing their feet, He put on His clothes and returned to His place.

 (John 13:3-5)

There is a beautiful picture here in these verses from John's gospel.  Jesus takes off His outer garment - the one with the tassels all Jewish men wore which symbolized God's authority.  In its place, He wraps the rag of a servant around His waist and begins to wash the disciples' feet.  As Jesus washes their feet, He dries them with the towel, transferring the dirt from them onto Himself. 

The next day He would do the same for us.  He would take the dirt of our sin and our shame and transfer it onto Himself as He hung on a cross to die.  The Apostle Peter writes:  "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross."  (1Peter 2:24) 

It is a heavy grace He freely offers us when we come to the Cross. 

It cost Him everything, yet He did it willingly. 

He took off the dress of a King and put on the garb of a servant, ready to wash the dirt from our feet, ready to wash the sin from our lives.  Ready to die on a cross for you and for me.

Heavy grace.

This time of year especially, it is good to pause and remember the weight of grace, the heavy burden, the heavy cost of it all.

Jesus Saves

Master - Lord - Son of David - Son of God - the Christ

Rabbi - Teacher - Messiah

King of the Jews

All titles of our Lord; all used by His disciples and others, whether in acknowledgement of who He was or in derision of who He claimed to be.  But there was one who simply called Him "Jesus" without any other title attached; one who probably never witnessed any miracles of His, never heard any teachings of His, never saw His compassion on those who suffered:

"Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom."
(Luke 23)

There is something about that most intimate moment when the thief on the cross realizes who Jesus is and what He offers that no one else can:  Jesus saves.  And in those last few moments on the cross, when the thief came just as he was - with nothing to offer but everything to gain - he was the first to call Him by the name of a friend.  No titles, simply 'Jesus'. 

"Just as I am, thou wilt receive

with welcome pardon, cleanse, relieve

because thy promise I believe,

O Lamb of God, I come, I come."

(Wm. Bradbury)



Watch With Me

"My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.  Stay here and keep watch with Me."  (Matthew 26:38)

It was a night of remembering and it was a night of watching.  It began at sundown, as do all days of the Hebrew calendar.

It was Passover, a night when Jews recalled the mighty acts of God who delivered them from the cruel bondage of Pharaoh.  God had told them to take the blood of an unblemished male lamb and put it on the door frames of their homes.  That night when the Lord passed through the land to strike down the Egyptians and saw the blood on the door frames, He would pass over that home and not allow the destroyer to enter. (You can read the story of the first Passover in Exodus 12.)Since that time Jews all over the world celebrate Passover each Spring, in accordance with all the Lord commanded them. 

Jesus celebrated Passover that last week with His disciples.  As people streamed into Jerusalem to offer their lambs in memory of the mighty act of deliverance from God 1500 yeas earlier, Jesus came to Jerusalem to become the Lamb who would deliver us from the destroyer.

After Jesus and His disciples had eaten the meal the night of the Last Supper, they went to Gethsemane.  Our Lord, knowing His time had come, took Peter, James and John with Him to pray.  He said to them: 

"My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.  Stay here

and keep watch with me."      (Matt. 26:38) 

We know from the story in the gospel accounts, that they did not keep watch with Him; that during a time of great crushing sorrow, Jesus' closest friends fell asleep.  Alone in the garden and in great agony, our precious Lord sweat drops of blood.  Returning to His friends He said: 

"Could you not keep watch with Me for one hour?"    (Matt. 26:40)

These words from our Lord are so much more poignant when we know the story behind them.  When God first brought His people out from slavery, He told them exactly how they were to commemorate that great event as a Passover Feast to the Lord throughout all their generations.  At the end of the instructions He told them:  "Because the Lord kept watch that night to bring them out of Egypt, on this night all the Israelites are to keep watch to honor the Lord for the generations to come."  (Ex. 12:42)  In obedience to that command from God, the Jews would stay up after eating the Passover meal.  They would pray and sing songs and recite scripture.  They would 'keep watch' to honor the Lord for His mighty act of deliverance.

When I discovered the full meaning of Jesus' question to His disciples - "Could you not watch with Me for one hour?" -  it brought tears to my eyes.  My tears were for our Lord Who endured this crushing time without His beloved friends by His side.  My tears were for the disciples, who must have been so confused and afraid upon waking to see the betrayer Judas arriving with the chief priests, elders and an armed contingent - ready to arrest their Lord and lead Him to the cross.  But my tears were also for me because I knew had I been there, I too would have failed Him.

I know in my life there have been many opportunities to 'watch' with our Lord, to spend time alone with Him, to contemplate all that He has done for me by His mighty act of deliverance on the Cross.  Opportunities where He has invited me to an intimate time with Him in the garden, opportunities when He has invited me to share in His sufferings.  Many times I have failed. Yet He still calls, He still beckons:  Watch with Me!

May we all find time this Passover Season to watch with Him.

Agnus Dei - Hearts Set On Pilgrimage Part 2

"Blessed are those whose strength is in You, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.  As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs."  (Psalm 84:5,6)

We call it the Triumphal Entry or Palm Sunday.  It's the Sunday prior to Easter when we remember Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey in fulfillment of prophecy.  The city was crowded with tens of thousands of Jews celebrating this week of Passover.  As He rode into the city people took palm branches and went to meet Him, shouting, "Hosanna!"  "Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!"  "Blessed is the King of Israel!"  

Much would happen in the next few days.  He would teach each day at the Temple as the chief priests and leaders sought ways to kill Him.  He would share a final Passover meal with His beloved disciples.  He would be arrested and tried in the dark hours of the night, betrayed and abandoned by His closest friends, and led out to be crucified on a tree. 

The passage above from Psalm 84 speaks of those whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.  They will pass through the Valley of Baca and make it a place of springs.  "Baca" means weeping.  This is a valley of tears, a place where there is no oasis or comfort.  I'm reminded as I read of Jesus' last week that He too, in a sense,  had to pass through a Valley of Weeping.  It's called the Kidron Valley.

Historical records from Jesus' day indicate there may have been as many as 250,000 lambs sacrificed during Passover.  The blood from those lambs along with the water used for ritual purification drained from the Temple altar into the Kidron Valley.  The gospel writer John says:  "When He had finished praying, Jesus left with His disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley." (John 18:1)  This would be His final journey with His disciples across the Valley to the Garden of Gethsemane.  They had eaten the Passover lamb together.  In a few short hours, Jesus would become the Passover Lamb. I wonder as He walked through this Valley of Weeping, dark and crimson from so many sacrificed lambs, did the hem of His own garment become stained with the blood?

Let's go back to that Palm Sunday when He came riding on a donkey to choruses of praise.  It was symbolic in those days for a king who came in peace to ride into a city on a donkey; if he came as a conqueror, he would ride a horse.  What was going through Jesus' mind that Sunday as He entered the Holy City?

When He came on a donkey...
     was He looking ahead to one day coming on a horse?
When He received praise from the Nation of Israel...
     was He looking ahead to receiving praise from every Nation?

The Book of Revelation talks about that day.  I am reminded when I think of Jesus riding on a donkey that there will come another day when He will ride a horse:

"I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True...His eyes are like blazing fire and on His head are many crowns...He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood..." (Rev. 19)

A robe dipped in blood.  A Lamb Slain.  A Savior crucified for my sins.  Because He set His heart on pilgrimage to walk through the Valley of Baca - the Valley of Weeping where there is no oasis or comfort - He has made it a place of springs, a  place that gives life.  It starts at the Cross.  Oh that I too might have a heart set on pilgrimage.