Jesus came to tear down the old temple and raise it up as a new, transformed temple (Jn 2.19ff.). In order to do this, he had to ascend through the temple fulfilling all of its types and shadows. The completion of this work was his glorification in the Holy of Holies, which, as it turns out involved the cross and the tomb. The glory of the only begotten was veiled behind a stone that enclosed him in a tomb.
On Sunday morning, the glory departed.
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On this Saturday, the Church calls this day Blessed Sabbath or more commonly, Holy Saturday. On this day, our Lord reposed (rested) from his accomplishments. Many throughout history also believe that Holy Saturday is a fulfillment of Moses’ words:
God blessed the seventh day. This is the day of rest, on which God rested from all His works . . .(Gen. 2:2)
The Church links this day with the creation account. On day seven Yahweh rested and enjoyed the fruit of his creation. Jesus Christ also rested in the rest given to him by the Father and enjoyed the fruits of the New Creation he began to establish and would be brought to light on the next day.
Holy Saturday is a day of rest for God’s people; a foretaste of the true Rest that comes in the Risen Christ. The calmness of Holy Saturday makes room for the explosion of Easter Sunday. On this day, we remember that the darkness of the grave and the rest of the Son were only temporary for when a New Creation bursts into the scene the risen Lord of glory cannot contain his joy, and so he gives it to us.
One perspective from which to read John’s Gospel is to follow Jesus as he walks through the Temple. Throughout his life, death, and resurrection, Jesus is ending the old Temple system by fulfilling its purpose.
John’s purpose in this is fairly clear from the beginning. The eternal Word who dwelt with God and was God “became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1.14). Jesus equates his own body with the Temple, telling the Jews to destroy it, and he will raise it up in three days (Jn 2.19).
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Jesus obviously knew a great deal about the Scriptures, demons, and healing people, but apparently, he didn’t know much about fishing. Simon, James, and John along with their fishing crews had been fishing all night on the Sea of Galilee and hadn’t caught anything. Jesus tells Simon to launch out into the deep and let down their nets for a catch. If Jesus knew anything about fishing in that region and with the sorts of nets with which they fished, he would know that you only use these nets at night. The nets were made from linen and were bright in the daylight hours. Fish could see and avoid them. This is why the fishermen fished at night and washed their nets in the morning (Luke 5.1ff.).
“Nevertheless, at your word I will let down the nets,” Simon faithfully acquiesces. None of the conditions were right. All Simon and his crew had to go on was Jesus’ word of command. In that command was the tacit promise that the venture would be a success.
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Romans 12:13: “Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”
Paul says we should seek to show hospitality; that is, we are to be on the lookout for showing hospitality. It is amazing that the Church today is eager to fulfill all sorts of proclamation duties, but hospitality remains hidden in the gift closet; unused. But our journey is always more pleasant when we walk together. Hospitality builds union and communion and mutual encouragement. “Let’s grab coffee.” “Come on over for some dessert.” “Join us for pizza.” It can be as simple as that. In these last three weeks of Lent, look at your calendar and try to have one family over a week for dessert or coffee or a meal. Try it, and you will see how joyful your journey will be during Lent.
What is Lent? we may ask. Every year as we enter into this season, we need to look at it afresh. It’s a season of profound healing to many; a season filled with echoes of forgiveness. Lent is the penitential season of the Church. Lent is the purple of royalty. Lent is the desert before the promised land of the Resurrection. Lent is the wilderness prison for Israel and simultaneously the way out of the wilderness. Lent teaches of the incurable disease of sin and yet the cure for sin. Lent is the long wait Jacob endured for Rachel. Lent is the “Thus saith the Lord,” when the devil whispers, “Who said ye shall be like God?” Lent is the sacrifices of incomplete priests and the exile of a perfect man so that we might be set free. Lent is the love of injustice poured on a just Man. Lent is fasting with hope. Lent is giving up idols and turning to the true icon of God, Jesus Christ. Lent is finding joy in the midst of suffering.
The Scriptures have a deep simplicity to them. They feed and nourish us from the first reading to the 100th. I understood this more vividly once I began reading and teaching the Bible to children. Not only are their little hearts warmed and their little minds enlarged in child-like faith, but so often is my own heart and mind strengthened by familiar ground revisited time and time again. These are ancient paths that become sweeter and richer with time.
The Psalms especially display this characteristic because they are not only meant to be read and studied and meditated on, but they are meant to be sung. What an incredible reality that we can simultaneously plumb the depths and exalt to the heights its glorious truths and do so with one voice alongside my children, the aged saints, and the young in faith. These are ancient songs that resonate with old and young alike.
While I was working through Psalm 46 some time ago preparing a sermon, these thoughts were ruminating through my mind; and there were three “notes”, three observations that struck a chord with me and seemed to set the tune for this wonderful song of war and peace.
The first note we hear is the blessedness that comes from God’s immutability. This simply means that God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. a This Psalm appears to have been written with a particular historical event in mind in the life of Israel. There are a couple of different opinions as to what event that might have been, but there’s no doubt that it was at a time of great uncertainty and danger for the nation as a whole.
The Psalmist begins by saying, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (v.1) The only way he could say that with confidence is to have fixed in his mind the firm belief that God Himself does not change; there is no shadow of turning with Him. The Psalmist looks back at what was and proclaims in the present what is. To serve an unchanging God is to elevate history beyond mere curiosity or cautionary tale or nostalgic recollection. History becomes one of the means by which God encourages and instructs His people. This is why a rejection of the worship of God eventually ends with a rejection of the importance and continuity of history.
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. – Romans 15:4-5 ESV
The second note we hear is the blessedness that comes from God as creator. Like so many others, this Psalm makes use of nature imagery like earth, mountains, rivers, and seas. Unfortunately, we live in a time that makes it very hard to appreciate the significance of this. C.S. Lewis, in his book, Reflections on the Psalms, is insightful and helpful on this point.
He explains that acknowledging the One true God as the creator of all things brings a separation between the Creator and creation that releases Nature from being divine and frees her up to be a symbol of the Divine. Let me give you Lewis’ own words.
“To say that God created Nature, while it brings God and Nature into relation, also separates them. What makes and what is made must be two not one. Thus the doctrine of creation in one sense empties Nature of divinity…But in another sense the same doctrine which empties Nature of her divinity also makes her an index, a symbol, a manifestation, of the Divine.”
In other words, only when the “created” speaks for and points to the “Uncreated” can it find its fullest expression and meaning. So earth, mountains, and seas are both real created things and instruments through which God reveals a greater reality, a more lasting reality. Thus, the song of the Psalmist establishes us as in the world but not of it. It is a Christianity that is earthy but not earthly.
The third and final note is the blessedness that comes from God as covenantal. We not only have a God who is immutable, and a God who is eternal, but we also have a God who is relational. And this covenantal relationship between the eternal God and his chosen people is the very thing that enables the Psalmist to say “[Because] God is our refuge and strength…therefore, we will not fear…” (v.1,2) The LORD is most wonderfully our LORD and we are His people. It establishes the connection between how we live and who God is. Our hearts can then be tuned to fill in the blanks with absolute hope, “Because God is _________, therefore, we (as His people) will _________.”
Let these notes resonate in our hearts and minds as we study and sing the Psalms. We serve the Lord of history, the Lord of life, and the Lord of love, and He is bringing us in harmony with Himself and one another.
Jonah 2:8 Those who pay regard to vain idols
forsake their hope of steadfast love.
Death is painful, but you know what is more painful—going through death trusting a false god. This is again Jonah’s theology coming through in this prayer of repentance inside the belly of the creature. He knows that the Ninevites pay regard to vain idols. He knows that without Yahweh their death experience will be filled with misery. He knows that their death will have no resurrection to life. And by living in such a way, the Ninevites have abandoned any hope. But Jonah is hopeful, and Yahweh remembers Jonah in his affliction. And Jonah remembers God.
Lent ought to bind our lives to the steadfast love of God. Idols cannot bind us to true love. Any earthly possession can be lost, but the love of God is treasured in God himself who is love. Jonah sought out an unwavering love in his deep distress and love rescued him.
Psalm 141:4 Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies.
On this 17th day of Lent, we are called to eat the right things. The meal of the wicked is tempting. At times, we salivate over it. Our flesh hungers for a table outside our Father’s house. But in the end, we become what we eat and we will be more thoroughly equipped to fight sin when we remember that the table ofevil is never ultimately satisfying. As Marva Dawn writes concerning sin: “Always its pleasure will turn to dust in our mouths.” The poet David says, “Let me not eat of their delicacies.” The Season of Lent is a call to eat at God’s table and to turn away all worldly delicacies. Lent is a call to fast from the wrong foods and eat the delicacies of Yahweh’s garden.
Guest post by Rev Sam Murrell
The liturgical season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and continues for forty days (not counting Sundays) up until Easter. It has traditionally been regarded as a time of reflection, introspection and personal renewal culminating in the celebration of the resurrection at Easter. By observing the forty days of Lent, Christians (in some sense) replicate Jesus’ time in the desert for forty days before He began His ministry. The Lenten season is a time to open our hearts to God’s sanctifying grace through the use of prayer, confession of sin, fasting, and alms-giving (Matthew 6:1-10).
Lent is one of my favorite times of the year because it forces me to take a close look at myself and my relationship with Jesus Christ. Lent reminds me of my need to rely on Christ’s grace and that I shouldn’t think too highly of myself.
When I first began to follow the Church calendar I simply mimicked what was modeled for me by my church. Over the years, however, I have come to realize that the Lenten season has the potential to be a season of great spiritual impact in my life and in the life of a congregation. Unfortunately, we have trivialized Lent by the way we choose to celebrate it.
In preparation for Lent, worshipers are exhorted to fast and abstain from things that hinder their walk with the Lord. It should be a season in which we attempt to lay aside every weight and the sin that too easily captivates our hearts and distracts us from running the race set before us (Hebrews 12:1). Hence, we are encouraged to die to self and symbolically ‘give up something for Lent’. Most Christians who acknowledge the season of Lent make vows that ultimately have little to no impact on their spiritual growth. They vow to give up such trivial things as chocolate, caffeine, a favorite show or some other soft habit. All the while, looking forward to the next Sunday when they will be able to suspend or take a sabbatical from their vow for the day (Sundays are feast days, therefore one should not fast or abstain from God’s good gifts on the Lord’s Day). This approach to Lent is not spiritually healthy, nor is it beneficial. It is my contention that we should reevaluate the way we celebrate Lent in order to better align our focus with Scripture. And how do I propose we do that?
I propose that instead of subtracting something trivial from your life like caffeine or candy, consider subtraction by addition. What do I mean? Consider temporarily adding something to life that requires you to give up some of your time in order to pursue it. For example, this year try to do something that will bring glory to Christ for the full forty days. Something with a kingdom focus. Specifically, I recommend you consider adding a daily, structured time of prayer to your schedule for Lent. I have decided that I will pray the office of Evening Prayer with my family as much as possible with my family this Lenten season.
I suspect I will miss a few nights, but I suspect I will pray more consistently with my wife during these days, as well. Lent allows us to start simple. We all can make one adjustment for forty days. You too may want to try to pray one portion of the Daily Office (found in the Book of Common Prayer) every day (Morning Prayer, Noon Prayer, Evening Prayer or Compline), except Sunday for the duration of Lent. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Noon Prayer can be done in as little as five to ten minutes. While that may not sound like much, the discipline of regularly praying the office will function as a daily “re-set” or reminder that God is an ever-present help throughout the day.
Lent is a great time to intentionally draw near to the Lord, using the ordinary means of grace (prayer, sacraments and the Word). Think about how you can add a more biblical focus to your life during Lent this year. Commit to reading the Gospels during Lent; if the Lord’s Day attendance has been an issue, commit to attending corporate worship all during Lent. If your church has an evening service that you rarely attend decide to attend every evening service during Lent. Make choices that will have a lasting effect on your life. Stop making trivial vows to the Lord. Eat your candy bar, after all, you’re going to go back to eating it on Easter.
Kuyperian Commentary Podcast
