Love to the Uttermost: A Holy Week Volcano

Those who were guarding Jesus mocked and beat him severely. They also made fun of him, blindfolding him and slapping his face and saying, “Prove that you are a prophet and tell us which one of us hit you!” They blasphemed and heaped insult after insult upon him. Luke 22:63-65

Today I read an excerpt from John Piper's book, Love to the Uttermost.  It was too good not to share.  So in this moment I share with you Piper's words, not my own.

A Holy Week Volcano

As I read these terrible words, I found myself saying to Jesus, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Jesus. Forgive me!” I felt myself to be an actor here, not just a spectator. I was so much a part of that ugly gang that I knew I was as guilty as they were. I felt that if the rage of God should spill over onto those soldiers and sweep me away, too, justice would have been done. I wasn’t there, but their sin was my sin. It would not have been unjust for me to fall under their sentence.

Has it ever bothered you that sometimes in the Old Testament when one man sins, many get swept away in the punishment God brings? For example, when David sinned by taking a census of the people (2 Samuel 24:10), “there died of the people from Dan to Beersheba 70,000 men” (2 Samuel 24:15). In another example, Achan kept some of the booty from Jericho and his whole family was stoned (Joshua 7:25). Maybe my experience in reading Luke 22 is a clue to the divine justice in this.

My Volcanic Rebellion

An analogy came to my mind. The hearts of humanity are like a molten mantle beneath the surface of the whole earth. The molten lava beneath the earth is the universal wickedness of the human heart—the rebellion against God and the selfishness toward people. Here and there a volcano of rebellion bursts forth which God sees fit to judge immediately. He may do so by causing the scorching, destructive lava to flow not only down the mountain which erupted, but also across the valleys which did not erupt, but which have the same molten lava of sin beneath the surface.

The reason I confess the sin of beating Jesus, even though I wasn’t there, is that the same lava of rebellion is in my own heart. I have seen enough of it to know. So even though it does not burst forth in such a volcanic atrocity as the crucifixion, it is still deserving of judgment. If God had chosen to rain the lava of their evil back on their own heads and some of it consumed even me, I would not be able to fault God’s justice.

We may wonder why God chooses to recompense some evils immediately and not others. And we may wonder how he decides whom to sweep away in the judgment. Why seventy thousand? Why not fifty thousand, or one hundred, or ten? Why Achan’s wife and not the greedy neighbor two tents down? I doubt that answers are available to us now. We are left to trust that these decisions come from a Wisdom so great that it can discern all possible effects in all possible times and places and people. How widely the lava of one person’s rebellion and judgment will flow lies in God’s hands alone.

And I believe from Romans 8:28 that, even though the lava of recompense overtakes me at a distance from the volcano, there is mercy in it. I do not deserve to escape, for I know my own heart. But I trust Christ, and so I know the judgment will be turned to joy. Though he slay me, yet will I trust him. For precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose. Romans 8:28

~ John Piper, Love to the Uttermost

More...Grace

This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise. 

 Galatians 3:17-18

I recently heard someone reading through the Old Testament comment that it seems like the God of the Old Testament is very different from the God of the New Testament.  Yet we have more than one instance of Scripture highlighting the unchanging nature of God. (Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8 are just two examples.) So why does the God of the Old Testament seem so judgmental and full of retribution while the God of the New Testament is so steeped in grace?

The believers in Galatia struggled to reconcile these aspects of God’s character as well. And Paul had a ready answer. He said that the covenant made with Abraham could not be annulled by the covenant, the Law, God made with Moses. (Paul makes the argument in Galatians 3 and specifically verses 15-29.) The covenant “previously ratified by God” (Galatians 3:17) refers to the Abrahamic covenant that God made with Abraham. The cutting of this covenant unfolds the beauty of God’s gracious character in stunning fashion.

We find the story of the making of this covenant in Genesis 15. God meets Abram (also known by his covenant name of Abraham) in a vision. In this vision God promises a great reward, which Abram interprets as the fulfillment of God’s original promise of land, descendants and a great name so that he would be a blessing to all the families of the earth. This, of course, has its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus.

To seal the deal, so to speak, God proves His intentions to Abram by cutting a covenant with him. God tells Abram to take three 3-year-old animals, a female cow, a female goat and a ram and cut them in half and lay each half across from the other along with a turtledove and a young pigeon. (Genesis 15:9-11) This is a signal to Abram that God intends to cut a covenant with him regarding His promise. He would have been very familiar with this concept as it was a traditional form of agreement making. (see Genesis 21:22-34)

Covenant cutting was a fairly common practice in those days. The parties participating would divide an animal such as a sheep or a goat. Each carcass half would have been laid on either side of a ditch dug in the ground. The blood draining from the animal would pool in the ditch. To cut a covenant literally meant to form a serious, binding agreement. To signify the gravity of the agreement, the parties forming the covenant would walk around the carcass in an infinity pattern, including through the bloody pool at the bottom of the ditch. The implication of this form of covenant cutting was that the agreement was so binding that if either party did not hold up the covenant agreement the offending party would pay for it with his life. I imagine the hem of the robes of the participants would become drenched in blood, a constant reminder of the covenant that had been made.

Most covenant ceremonies would have used one animal, or two at the most. Here there are three large animals (and two small)! The use of three in the Hebrew mind is like putting an exclamation point on the end of a sentence - it’s important in the very greatest sense! Abram instinctively knows this is a big deal and so he drives away the birds of prey that attempt to feed on the carcasses. (Genesis 15:11)  No doubt he was intending to actively participate in this venture.

At the close of the day, however, God causes Abram to fall into a deep sleep. While he sleeps God shows up again. He speaks the covenant over Abram as He makes His way through the carcasses. God doesn’t hold Abram’s feet to the fire. Abram never walks the bloody path through the animal pieces in an infinity pattern. God takes upon Himself all the responsibility for the covenant. He passes through the animals as both a smoking fire pot (a picture of God’s wrath) and a flaming torch (a light by which to see). Abram’s only participation is as an observer. The covenant is cut for him. He bears no consequence as he surely could not keep the covenant! Abram can’t stand up to God’s wrath - but Jesus (the Light - John 1:5) can - and He did!

The last verses of Genesis 15 summarize the agreement. “To your offspring I give this land…” (Genesis 15:18a) It is this statement that Paul highlights in Galatians 3:16... “Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, ‘And to your seed,’ that is, Christ.”   The covenant God made with Abraham that day isn't predominantly about land.  It is first and foremost about relationship. It was a firm and binding covenant with implications even to this day because the relationship God offered Abraham extends to all who believe. (Galatians 3:6-7) Jesus paid for the covenant with His blood. He makes no requirement of us but to believe.

In the Old Testament we readily see God’s wrath. But if we’re willing to look closely enough His grace is just as prevalent.

Identity Colors Everything

In this new creation life, your nationality makes no difference, or your ethnicity, education, or economic status—they matter nothing. For it is Christ that means everything as he lives in every one of us! Colossians 3:11

This past week in State College the life of a black man, Osaze Osagie, was ended by a police officer who chose to fire his weapon first when “threatened” by Osagie. As I write this, the Equality and Inclusion division of the state police are investigating the shooting. It looks to be a case of three gun and taser armed police officers against one man with a knife. Indeed the coroner has declared it a homicide due to multiple gunshot wounds. I wasn’t present at this shooting, but considering there were three officers to one man, this seems excessive.

One has to question the justice of this. And many have. While peaceable, the public outcry was immediate. The grief is real. It is felt most deeply by the black community, but the white community, especially the church, has joined their brothers and sisters in their grief. Osaze should have had as much of a chance to live as his white neighbor. The initial police report indicates that Osaze brandished a knife. A knife. By a man who felt cornered and overtaken and suffering from mental illness. Certainly three armed police officers could have subdued him! I admit this is merely my opinion, but a logical mind must admit the force that was used certainly seems disproportionate.

What was going on in the mind of the officer who fired his weapon? Only he can answer that. But I somehow have to wonder if this may have been a very different confrontation had he understood what the apostle Paul was teaching the believers in Colossae (and us!) regarding people who aren’t like themselves. “...Your nationality makes no difference, or your ethnicity, education, or economic status—they matter nothing.” (Colossians 3:11a)

For some in today’s American culture this idea of equality that Paul proposes may sound absurd. White supremacy is on the rise. And not just in the United States. Fifty Muslim Middle Eastern refugees who were slaughtered in Christchurch would tell you that. It certainly appears that for some, the color of skin or socioeconomic status or religious beliefs one holds make a huge difference. The shooter in Christchurch wrote a manifesto that suggested “that the white nationalist ideas behind violence and attempted violence in the United States and elsewhere influenced him deeply.” I don’t cite Christchurch to give less weight to #BlackLivesMatter, but rather to help show that this evil is prevalent in even the most unlikely of places.

In her book The Debt, Angela Hunt asks the question, “Why are we surprised when sinners sin?” I have often thought of this quote when I’ve encountered various forms of injustice and evil. I believe the apostle Paul recognized this. In fact, he see it in himself when he calls himself “the foremost of sinners.” And indeed, he tells the Colossian believers “That’s how you once behaved, characterized by your evil deeds.” (Colossians 3:7) The shooting of a mentally unstable black man may or may not be characterized as evil, but the problem still exists. Sin exists and every intention of our hearts is bent toward wickedness always.

Fortunately, this isn’t the end of our story. It may be too late for Osaze, but for us there is hope.

But now it’s time to eliminate them from your lives once and for all—

anger, fits of rage, all forms of hatred, cursing, filthy speech, and lying.

Lay aside your old Adam-self with its masquerade and disguise.

For you have acquired new creation life which is continually being

renewed into the likeness of the One who created you; giving

you the full revelation of God. In this new creation life, your

nationality makes no difference, or your ethnicity, education,

or economic status—they matter nothing. For it is Christ that

means everything as he lives in every one of us!

Colossians 3:8-11

In Christ, we can be new creations, new people. That evil, sinful heart doesn’t have to overtake us or our thoughts. We can begin to see people with the eyes of Christ rather than eyes of hate.

I am a recipient of white privilege. I didn’t ask for it. It is just part of what I receive because my skin happens to lack melanin, the pigment that gives skin its color. But I don’t have to embrace this as my identity. My identity is in Christ. It changes everything!

But I must do my part too. I must embrace #BlackLivesMatter because there is so much evil to overcome. I need to daily ask Holy Spirit to help me see everyone I encounter with His eyes. I need to consider every person I encounter as more significant than myself. I must abandon every display of selfishness and embrace a greater concern for what matters to others instead of my own interests. (Philippians 2:4) If I am diligent to be in Christ every day, following the motivation of His own heart, my actions, small as they may be, will make a difference. And in small part, I can give appropriate significance to Osaze Osagie.