Sin, Death and Cannibalism

Going into my study on the book of Leviticus, i must admit that i was fairly pessimistic. I have read the book before and could equate my reading time as a great high in Genesis (one of my favorite books in the Bible), a slight decline of excitement into Exodus with an incredible boring lull in Leviticus which carries me through the remainder of the Pentateuch. However, i am pleased to say that i am thoroughly enjoying my time in Leviticus and came across an incredible set of verses that i'd like to share with you.

The portion of scripture is highlighting the 'sin offering' which was the animal sacrifice that the Jewish people would make to atone (or amends for) their sin and is found in Leviticus 6:24-30. Now, i haven't made sense of every detail yet, but i find a striking resemblance here to some very common New Testament words of Jesus.

"The Lord said to Moses, 'The sin offering is to be slaughtered before the Lord ... it is most Holy... Whatever touches any of the flesh will become holy, and if any of the blood is splattered on a garment, you must wash it in a Holy Place... Any male in the priest's family may eat. It is most holy.'"

Here's a description of what Jesus did and said. "And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." Luke 22:19-20

The Sin Offering? One who takes away the sins of the world? One who washes clean? One who can be taken and eaten?

I'm reminded of my Catholic upbringing and one of the prayers that has been singed into my brain stem from weekly repetition...

"...Lord Jesus Christ, only begotten Son
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father
You take away the sins of the world
Have mercy on us
You take away the sins of the world
Receive our prayer..."

Now I've studied about the scapegoat and the laying on of hands by the priest and sending the goat from the camp and if you're unfamiliar with this story, i'd encourage you to study it out or stay tuned and we'll cover this in the future. However, this portion of scripture in Leviticus gives us insight into the words of Jesus - 'this is my body'.

'Body' in this context is the Greek word 'soma' which simply means 'the body of a man or an animal'. Flesh. Meat. Body. So, when Jesus is saying this, He's declaring that this bread was His actual flesh. Now i'm not going to debate transubstantiation right now, but i do want you to see the word picture that the disciples are seeing. They are quite familiar with Leviticus. They've learned about offerings their entire lives. They had read Leviticus 6 many times and now Jesus is standing before them saying, 'Take and eat my body'. What a vivid picture of Jesus telling them, 'Listen up guys! I am the sin offering. I am here to take away your sins and the sins of the entire world. You guys are worthy. You guys are my priests. You guys, come on, take and eat the sin offering today. This is it guys.'

So, what we see here is the realization that Jesus has come for a greater purpose than to be a great teacher. We see that Jesus is calling them out of a life of mediocrity and telling them that they were worthy to be called priests. We see that Jesus is saying, 'Yes guys. You are priests now. You have a mission and today I'm allowing you to see yourself, not as fishermen or tax collectors, but as priests. Priests for a Holy God. Take and eat.'

Now, in this same way, we are called to take and eat. We are called to partake in the Lord's supper. We are called to 'do this in remembrance of me'. Understanding that when we do, we are taking of the sin offering. We are receiving that free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. And we are accepting the realization that we are called to be God's priests on this earth. No matter what our occupation may be. No matter what our family may see us as. No matter what our history looks like. When we take and eat, we are lining ourselves up with the will and plans of God and saying, 'Yes!'

1 Peter 2:5-6 "As you come to him, the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

The sin offering has been made and we are encouraged to take and eat of it. If you've not made that decision in your life, i'd encourage you to stop, find a quiet place and spend some time communicating with God. You speak, but also be quiet before Him and allow Him to minister to you. His plans for you are great - take the first step today.

GP
http://www.gphintz.com/

A Tux to Talk About

Oftentimes, when i reach a more difficult passage to understand in the Bible, my first inclination is to simply skip over it or move on to the next concept, idea or parable. I had this temptation when i stumbled across Matthew 22, but fought it to comprehend.

I wanted to know what Jesus was talking about with the wedding feast and why did the poor sap get kicked out of the party just because he wasn't wearing the 'right' clothes. I mean, come on, i've been at weddings where the "distant cousin" comes in with jean shorts and a metallica t-shirt on, smelling of cheap beer and cat urine. Sure, many whispered of his arrival, but no one would kick him out. He was still family.

And this simple truth - family - is what i have discovered. The concept of wedding clothes here is very important; not only for the actual story, but for what the story represents to its listeners. Matthew 22 starts with a parable that's equated to the Kingdom of Heaven and a king who is preparing a wedding feast for his son. The people who were originally invited paid no attention and went back to their homes and some, who were left over, actually murdered those who had brought the invitations. When the king heard this he was ticked! He sent out his army, killed the murderers and destroyed the entire city. Then, he was still going to have a party so he sends some more servants back out.

These servants have only one agenda - 'Invite as many people as you can find'. In fact the king says, 'Go into the highways and as many people as you find - invite'. And this is exactly what the servants do. In fact, the Bible says that they invite both 'good' and 'bad'. (Matthew 22:10) I was intrigued by this verse and wanted to see what the Bible meant by 'good' and 'bad'. I found out that the word used for 'good' is "agathos" and means 'upright, honorable, good, pleasant, etc.' On the other hand, the word 'bad' is "poneros" and means 'of bad nature or condition and, in an ethical sense, evil or wicked'.

I found this comparison in another portion of scripture from Matthew - chapter 7. The Bible says,

'Every good tree brings forth good fruit while every corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that doesn't bring forth good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. By their fruit you should know them.' 7:17-20

Now 'corrupt' is the word "sapros" and actually means 'rotten, putrefied, unfit for use, worthless, etc.' And so we see that the fruit of 'good' or 'bad' is actually produced by what is inside - whether rotten or healthy.

At the actual wedding feast there is one man in our parable that is noticed by the king and this man is chastised for not having a 'wedding garment' on. This man was probably still wearing the clothes that he was out working in or that which he was sitting in the streets in. The man was speechless and the king has him bound and cast out of the party and into the darkness.

Now, i spoke of how i just wanted to skip this passage over. I didn't want to deal with the 'reason' behind this one individual being kicked out when all of the others were allowed to stay. None were 'religious' or 'worthy' of having an audience with the king. Why was this one chosen? The answer is simple. Not because of what he had, but because of what he didn't have.

The wedding garments were there. The wedding garments were available. My main trouble with this verse was seeing this wedding feast through the eyes of today. Imagining some derelict trying to tie a bow tie and putting on a cumberbum in order to partake in the festivities. However, the word for garments found in the King James is 'raiment' and is equated with an 'outer covering' or 'cloak'. This was something that he would "put on". Something that was available. Something that was there. Something that was accessible to all.

The Jewish audience would've been quite familiar with the passage that Jesus was alluding to found in Zephaniah 1:7-8 "Be silent before the Sovereign Lord, for the day of the Lord is near. The Lord has prepared a sacrifice; he has consecrated those he has invited. On the day of the Lord's sacrifice I will punish the princes and the king's sons and all those clad in foreign clothes."

The raiment that Jesus was speaking about was Himself. The disciples would be sent out to invite all - the good and the bad. There will come a day of reckoning where all will stand before the King and it'll be at that moment where we all will be seen for who we really are and if we have chosen to 'put on' the right clothes for the party.

Maybe you're hearing this story for the first time and it is making sense to you. Maybe you want to know that when you're standing at the wedding feast of God that He'll come to you and throw His arms around you. Maybe you want to put on this spiritual raiment today. Well, Jesus died and rose again so that we could have life and His gift of eternity is free. Simply turn to Him, ask for forgiveness and commit your life to follow Him. There's no prescripted prayer, just a heart that longs for their creator crying out for a relationship.

Be encouraged!

GP
http://www.gphintz.com/

Lineages: What's the Point?

Well, when I read the Bible I am often discouraged when i come across a large portion of scripture dealing with the family tree of some famous Bible character. You start out strong, but after about five verses of sounding out names which have way too many syllables, you find yourself skipping along to the end of that portion of scripture and to the next topic. This was true until i began trying to figure out who all of these mysterious names were that i came across in the book of Matthew.

Now, i love the fact that Jesus' lineage is so perfectly ordered. I mean, you have 14 generations from Abraham to David and then 14 generations from David to Babylon and then 14 generations from Babylon to Jesus. This made digging deeper easy for me because i could cut this big pie in thirds.

Today, let's just take a peek at the first 14 generations talked about in Matthew and a few highlights from their lives:

1. Abraham - This man has an incredible story that needs to be read by all. A few highlights are: God cutting covenant with Abram, God giving him his son Isaac at the age of 100, Meeting God as He was heading into Sodom, God's provision in every area of his life, etc. (If you are unfamiliar with any of these stories, please stop reading this and open up a Bible to Genesis 12 and start reading. I promise you that you won't be disappointed!)

2. Isaac - This is God's promised son to Abraham. He was born when Abraham was 100 years old and taken to the mountain to be sacrificed at the demand of God. However, God provided a ram to be sacrificed in his place at the last moment.

3. Jacob - I have an entire blog posting on Jacob, but a few quick facts are: He was a mama's boy, he deceived his dad and stole the blessing from his brother Esau, he fell in love with Rachel and was deceived into marrying her sister Leah before her and then ended up with their slave women also, he became the father of the 12 tribes of Israel, his name was changed to 'Israel' and he was the father of Joseph and the technicolor dreamcoat.

4. Judah - This one was the greatest shocker for me. God provides an entire section in the OT about Joseph, yet uses Judah in his lineage. Not only that, but Jacob's true love was Rachel and Judah's mom was the girl that Jacob didn't even want - Leah. Here we see God using something that was entirely out of the control or plans of Jacob for His glory! Now, Judah had three sons - Er, Onan and Shelah. Er got married to Tamar and he ends up dying. Onan is ordered to impregnate her and takes advantage of the task without following through on the obligation and God kills him. Judah promises the third son's seed to Tamar when he gets older, but doesn't deliver. So Tamar dresses like a prostitute and lures Judah in after his wife's death. He sleeps with her - not knowing who she is. She takes some of his possessions and later, when she's found pregnant, he wants to have her killed until she brings out his possessions, looks at her belly and says, "Who's Your Daddy?" (not really. i added that) So Tamar has Judah's babies - twins - named Perez and Zerah.

5. Perez - not much said about him

6. Hezron - or him

7. Ram - or him

8. Amminadab - with a name like that i wish the Bible talked more about him

9. Nahshon - not much said about him

10. Salmon - or him, but i bet he was a fisherman

11. Boaz - Now Boaz is important for two reasons. The first is that the Bible says that his mother was Rahab. Rahab is an important piece of the puzzle because her story can be found in Joshua two. At that point in her life she was a harlot, or prostitute, and decides to help Joshua's army by hiding them and protecting them. She is promised protection when they come back to destroy the city and her entire family is spared. Later, she marries Salmon and enters into the lineage of the Messiah.

12. Obed - His mother was Ruth. This is very important to understand because Ruth was from the land of Moab, which was a foreign land. This is a country who did not worship the Lord Jehovah as the Jewish people did. Yet, God brings Ruth to a land and brings her and Boaz together. God shows us that the Messiah is for all people through this simple act of allowing Ruth to be part of His lineage.

13. Jesse - not much is said about Jesse except for the fact that he was a father and he ended up having a son and this son has provided some of the greatest life lessons of all time as we've witnessed God's hand on his life. And this son was...

14. David - If you don't know about David, please stop right now and read about his life. From being a boy and chopping the head of Goliath off to his infidelity with Bathsheeba to the final blessing of his family, it is a page turner. He has brought me much understanding into the heart of God and i'm sure it'll do the same for you.

Well, there it is! The first 14 generations of Jesus highlighted in the book of Matthew. I hope you enjoyed, but most of all i hope that you'll look at those long, boring lists in the Bible as nuggets of truth that will encourage us to serve God in a greater way! Be blessed.

GP

http://www.gphintz.com/

From the Mouth of Peter

As I'm reading through my Bible I was amazed at a rapid succession of quotes that I found from Peter in the book of Matthew. Even though I understand that they weren't spoken in one fluid motion, they were put together by the author of Matthew for a reason. It looks at this disciple, Peter, and gives us an incredible insight to his faith, his temperament and his personality.

The first quote is probably one of the most famous 'Peter Quotes' around. It happens when Jesus and his disciples are in Caesarea Philippi and Jesus throws out a question to those around Him. (Matthew 16:13-20)

"Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

Now, this term - Son of Man - was used 43 times in the New Testament as a distinctive title of the Savior. And now Jesus wants to know who people are saying the Savior is. The disciples start giving their 'textbook' answers - all those things that they had been taught or have heard. 'Jeremiah' or 'Elijah' or some even said 'John the Baptist'. Jesus stops it and basically says - 'OK. That's what people are saying. Now, I want to know what YOU are saying. What about YOU?'

And you can just picture Peter jumping to his feet and saying 'You are the Christ the Son of the Living God!' This statement, in itself, took great courage. Even though he was in a safe atmosphere, others were threatened with their very life for making such a 'blasphemous' statement. But here you see Peter, unafraid of the consequences, speaking his heart. 'You are the Christ!'

Now this reckless abandon was as good as it was bad. In Philippi, Jesus ends up blessing Peter and calling him the rock that the church was going to be built on, but a short time later Peter is chastised by Jesus and called 'Satan' or the great deceiver.

This happens when Jesus begins teaching his disciples about what's going to come. He's telling them that He's going to suffer and that He's going to die and that He's going to be raised from the dead. Peter seems to space out on the last point because he grabs Jesus by the arm and takes him aside and rebukes him. Now, the word 'rebuke' can actually mean to discipline or train and you hear Peter's heart by his words:

"Never Lord! This will never happen to You!"

In Peter's mind, Jesus must've thought that he wasn't strong enough to protect him. Or maybe he thought that Jesus was just looking for some reassurance of his allegiance. And Peter communicates that 'come hell or high water' or 'over his own dead body' that he wasn't going to let anything happen to Jesus. His intentions were pure. His motivations out of love for Jesus. However, Jesus calls Him Satan, carnally minded and a personal stumbling block for him. Not quite the response that was expected for a vow of allegiance.

The Bible tells us that only six days later Jesus separates a few of his disciples and heads up the mountain. And it is at that moment that Jesus is transfigured and seen standing with Elijah and Moses. You can imagine the sight and the glory and power of the moment as these disciples, flesh and blood, fell to their knees before this heavenly vision. In this moment, one voice speaks up and it's Peter's.

"Lord, it's good for us to be here. If you want me to, I can go ahead and build three shelters. One for you. One for Moses. And one for Elijah."

Jesus doesn't say anything but I like to imagine that he had a grin and gave Moses and Elijah a wink. The moment ends and Jesus is left standing before his disciples as the man they knew so well.

When I look at Peter in these three distinct moments I see a man of passion and fire and one who was unafraid to let his voice be heard. He wasn't scared to answer the tough questions and give his ideas when they were asked (and even sometimes when they weren't). The scary part, as I read, is to understand that this freedom did bring a rebuke from Jesus.

It's important to understand that as we continue to ride the cutting edge of Christianity, we mustn't be afraid to step out and do some things which may seem unorthodox.

That we aren't scared to speak up and let our voice be heard.

However, we do have to be willing to listen to the voice of God and know that just because we're speaking... just because we're acting... just because we're doing, doesn't mean that we're always right.

I want to have the strength of Peter in my life, but I also understand that I need to have his humility to understand when I've misspoke or acted out of turn, I need to be willing to accept when I'm wrong.

It is this courage and action that will drive the church aggressively forward in these days. People are hungry for something that is real and someone who is real. We don't want perfection, but we do want action and we want hearts that are willing to move and act and shake the ground beneath our feet, even though we may sometimes fall and scrape our knees.

Thank you Peter for speaking. Thank you Peter for being so aggressive. I pray that more of us take aggressive Christianity seriously and have the strength to admit when we missed it. Let your example sear the hearts of Christians today!

GP