The Passover-Shaped Ministry of Jesus

For so many of the years that I have been a part of church, communion has seemed to be something tacked on to a service, and then only 4-5 times a year.  For those in Protestant evangelical expressions of the church as myself this is pretty standard.  When communion has been offered, it has usually been either hurried through, or an event of morbid introspection when a Christian remembers how Christ died for his or her personal forgiveness of sin.  And while I don’t disagree with the fact that Jesus died for our sins I can’t help but wonder if Jesus didn’t mean something much, much bigger when he introduced communion to his disciples during that Passover meal just before he went to the cross (Luke 22:13-20 .)

Jesus could have achieved the work of Calvary at any point during the Jewish calendar.  Probably the day that would have made the most sense, at least to Protestant Evangelicals, would have been Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the most Holy day of the Jewish calendar.  Yom Kippur was a national day of atoning for the sins of Israel.  It was a day of repentance, fasting, prayer, and sacrifice.  It seems that the Day of Atonement would have been a better fit for what many Evangelicals have seen as the central reason Jesus came, namely, to forgive us of our sins.  Yet our problem is not simply that we need to be forgiven of our sins but that we need to be set free from sin.

Jesus did not come during Yom Kippur but during Passover because as New Testament Scholar N.T. Wright notes, “Jesus’ ministry had a Passover shape to it.”  Think of the night when Jesus introduced one of the central sacraments of the church – communion.  Jesus does this in the midst of celebrating the Passover meal with his disciples.  In doing this Jesus reconfigured the Passover meal around his Messianic work.  The bread and the cup were tied in with the symbolism of the very feast which was being celebrated that week in Jerusalem, a feast which had been celebrated by the Jews for over a thousand years commemorating how God heard the cries of his people in slavery and rescued them.  Passover speaks of the final decisive miracle God used to break his people out of slavery. 

What then do you think that Jesus might have meant by introducing communion in the midst of a Passover meal just before going to the cross.  I believe the meaning is pretty simple and pretty profound.  In the same way that the blood of a lamb was applied to the doorframes of the Hebrew people so that judgment and death would pass over so the blood of Jesus is being symbolically applied to the hearts of his followers as they take the cup of the New Covenant.  A new Passover is about to take place that will be cosmic in its scope.

Does the cup of communion speak of forgiveness of sins?  You bet, but so much more than that.  See, it is not just a matter that each of us has sinned, but we are also born into a world enslaved by sin.  Like the Hebrew slaves in Egypt we have been born into bondage, born into slavery.  We need only to turn on the news or to see this slavery all around: children growing up in poverty, abuse, addiction, corporate greed, war, murder and so on.  It is everywhere we turn.  Sadly it is even within us.  We are both victims of sin and participants in sin.  But the good news is that Jesus is the Passover Lamb of God who takes away not merely the sin of one group of people… but of the world!  His blood applied on our hearts, like the lambs blood of old in that first Passover is the decisive blow to sin and death.  God has heard our cries in slavery and has answered in mercy and compassion by sending his own son who took the form of a slave (Philippians 2:6-11) to bust us out of prison!

What was the purpose of the first Passover? 

Was it simply so that the Hebrew people could be forgiven of their sins? 

No, it was to set them free so they could begin an Exodus to the Promised Land.  This then sheds light on the cross of Christ.  As Paul wrote in Galatians 5:1 “It was for freedom that Christ has set us free.”  The cross and the resurrection aren’t simply about forgiving us of our sins so that we can one day go to heaven when we die, but rather the beginning of a New Exodus from sin and slavery. 

In the first Passover God got his people out of Egypt in one decisive act but in the Exodus God was getting Egypt out of his people (this part took a whole lot longer).  The Exodus was a time of miraculous provision in which God began to break that old slavery mindset off of his people by humbling them and causing them to come to him daily for provisions (Deuteronomy 8:2-5 ).  In the same way, as people of the New Passover, we have been decisively set free from the slavery of sin, and as people of the New Exodus, we are being renewed by Jesus Christ, our daily bread. 

The New Exodus is about following not a pillar of fire but of following King Jesus.  It is about learning to live by a new kind of life that is native to the promised land which we will one day experience in full.  So yes, in Jesus we are forgiven of our sins but more than that we are set free from the very slavery of sin and we are being formed into a new kind of people that are not identified by race, gender, nationality or even by the Old Testament Law but by Jesus, whose blood is upon our hearts. 

The Song and the Story Behind It - Not Be Moved

Below is a video we put together for Vineyard Worship about the story behind the writing of the song Not Be Moved.  This song was recorded as the title track for a new Vineyard Worship Album due out in a few weeks.  Not Be Moved was recorded in Atlanta a couple of months ago and lead by my good friend and fellow Vineyard worship leader - Diane Theil.  She did a great job on the song!

Thanks to David Reece for his mad cinematography skills on shooting and editing this clip.  

Christians and Politically Charged Facebook Posts

I missed the debate tonight but that’s okay because I can get plenty of passionately opinionated responses on Facebook as to who won! 

Tonight one of my Facebook friends left a comment on his status that he will be getting off of Facebook until November 7^th because he is sick of the political bickering on both sides.  Honestly I am very tempted to do the same.  One thing that particularly breaks my heart in the midst of this political season is how many Christians are so aligning themselves with one party or the other to the point that it comes across that they see their own opinions as being God’s opinion.  In other words if their candidate doesn’t win then evil has triumphed.  However, I think there is another kind of evil that is being propagated through social media that in my opinion is more destructive than the election of a certain presidential candidate.

I am not against Christians having political opinions.  The truth is that we all have opinions and hopefully most folks take great effort to make sure that our opinions are well-informed. However when any Christian becomes so vocal about a particular party or candidate it gives me pause because it is giving way too much weight to something which is certainly peripheral to the Christian faith.  The way some folks are posting on Facebook one might think that backing one of the two candidates is as important as any other matter of the Christian faith.  I am concerned because when this type of posture is taken it becomes a way of siding with the divisions of our fallen broken world and its systems rather than with the redemptive beauty of Christ. 

In the Apostle Paul’s day the world was just as divisive (actually probably more so).  And it was in that context Paul wrote the stunning words of Galatians 3:28-29

 “In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. That is, we are all in a common relationship with Jesus Christ. Also, since you are Christ’s family, then you are Abraham’s famous “descendant,” heirs according to the covenant promises.(The Message)”  

Whenever we, as Christ-followers, jump head-long into the political divisiveness of this world in a very public way we are not simply taking a political stand but endorsing and empowering the same barriers that keep people divided in our world.  The good news of the Gospel is that in Christ all of the identifiers of our world are made secondary in Him.  It doesn’t matter where you come from, what gender you are, what socio-economic class or race you are.  In Christ all of those divisions are made irrelevant or at least secondary. 

As people wishing to live in such a way as to announce the kingdom of God and the rule of King Jesus we are definitely taking a step back into slavery whenever we step into playing the same old divisive power game of the world.  I don’t think that this means that a Christian cannot have political opinions or even back a candidate, but when we do, it must be in a redemptive and reconciling way (we have some Biblical examples of this with Daniel and Joseph of the Old Testament). 

It would be good for us Christians to remember that the political system of Rome in the first century was both brutal and corrupt, yet neither Jesus nor Paul (or any of the disciples for that matter) spent any time railing against it.  They realized, as should we, that there is a kingdom more powerful than Rome and a king greater than Caesar.  They also realized that the foolishness and weakness of the Gospel would work like yeast through dough (in hidden and mysterious ways) and ultimately prove more powerful than Rome or Caesar. 

We must ask ourselves if the publicizing of our political opinions in such passionate and black-and-white terms is in line with the posture of Jesus and the apostles or if it is in fact a type of reasoning that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.  Whatever the outcome of the election our hope is in neither Romney or Obama but in King Jesus.

My hope is that democrats and republicans, anarchists and green partiers, libertarians an libertines, tea partiers and tea totlers, gays and lesbians, celibates and straight couples, rich and poor, black and white, illegal aliens and native Americans, protestants and Catholics, pro-guns and no guns would come to know Jesus as their king and to live in the reality of His kingdom.  May we live in such a way that tears down the barriers in our culture or society that stand against this end.

Listening Christians?

I suspect if non-Christians were asked for words or phrases to describes those in church, their responses would not likely include the phrase "good listeners".  Let's try and change that.  That's all I have to say...

Joining the Song, Reflections on Incarnational Ministry

A few months ago I watched a documentary called Throw Down Your Heart that followed genre-bending banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck as he traversed Africa from east to west re-introducing the banjo to African music.  Most folks don’t realize that the banjo is an instrument that originated in Africa.  For that matter, many don’t realize how much of American roots music (particularly bluegrass) was influenced by African slaves making music on banjos. 

I have been a peripheral fan of African music since I was young.  Many of my favorite albums as a teenager were by artists such as Paul Simon, The Talking Heads, and Peter Gabriel who fused African melodies and rhythms with rock music.  So from a music standpoint I was excited to see how Bela Fleck would incorporate African style music into his banjo playing.  But what I came across moved me in a much deeper way than I expected.

Here are a few observations on the documentary:

• He became a student of their music – As he traveled from town to town meeting with African musicians and singers he became a student of their particular regional style.  He didn’t try to get them to play bluegrass or pop music from the U.S. but instead listened and studied their music on their terms.

• Joining the song – When he finally joined the song of others his approach was that of musical conversation.  Again, he wasn’t looking for these people to back him up in his agenda but rather entered into what they were playing and joined it in a way that was every bit as conversational as musical.  His banjo playing didn’t dominate or take over their music but conversed with it.

• Transcendent music – As Bela Fleck joined these indigenous varieties of African music the result was something quite transcendent.  The music that came forth was somehow greater than the individuals playing it. The result was something bigger than either African or Western styles of music.  It’s as if their little piece of musical community brought them in touch with something beyond any of them.

• Rediscovery – There is no doubt that all forms of western music from Jazz to blues to rock and bluegrass would not exist apart from the influence of African music.  Bela Fleck came to Africa as a benefactor of African music to reintroduce them to an instrument that was lost on much of the continent.   He helped them rediscover something of their own music that has disappeared.  Sometimes outsiders have a way of reminding us of things that have forgotten because they bring a particular perspective which insiders can so easily miss.

I found that I was truly moved by this documentary and that it stirred something deep within me.  What I saw was a picture of incarnational ministry.  In John 1:14 we read “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out, true from start to finish. (The Message).”

I am absolutely floored when I think about how Jesus spent 30 years just living normal life as a human before he ever healed person or gave a sermon.  Jesus moved into our neighborhood, the world where we live and experienced life on our terms.  This idea is captured so poignantly in Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.  The very compassion of Christ is evidenced by the incarnation.

As the pastor of a church it is so easy to get caught up in thinking that the main success of a church is getting people to show up on a Sunday morning or getting people to attend this or that group or to participate in this or that program.  But I wonder if that kind of thinking is really backwards.  Perhaps our aim might be better expressed in not trying to get folks who are not in church to come to a Sunday morning service but instead to truly enter into the world of others.  

A couple of weeks ago I was talking to a woman in our church.  I expressed that I felt compelled to go to a local bar to begin getting to know some of the people in our community.  The only thing is that this particular bar is not really the type of place I would normally go.  I shared how I felt a little intimidated to go in there.  Her reply was “It’s interesting how you are talking about being intimidated to move out of your comfort zone and yet think of how intimidating it would be for some folks outside of church to come to a church service for the first time.  We expect them to get over their fear but we are not so easily willing to do the same.” 

When I reflect on the documentary it stirs my heart to want to be someone who can step into the world of others better—others who may be very different from me.  I spent so much of my life as one who was quick to tell others what they need to believe, but I long to be a better listener, to truly love others without an agenda.  I want to hear the song in the hearts of others and join the conversation, not to dominate or take over but to discover together what God is up to both in their story and my own story.  Perhaps we might just stumble upon some even greater music as we converse, music that draws us ever closer to the one who created us.

What Role Should Evangelicals Play in American Politics?

Below is a great dialogue between 3 generations of Evangelicals who have very well thought out views on the political involvement of Christians in America.  The conversation features Chuck Colson, Greg Boyd and Shane Claiborne and is moderated by Speaking of Faith host Krista Tippet.  Though no discussions seem to be more passionate and heated as those concerning politics and religion the dialogue was both respectful and informative.  I would hope that many evangelicals would check this clip out and wrestle through the issues a bit before simply jumping in to the political process.  While I tend to find myself agreeing more with Boyd and Claiborne, I really appreciated Colson's very thought out reasons for involvement in the political process.  The video is over an hour long but is time well-spent.  Check it out:

Tom Wright Covers Bob Dylan

Who says a Bible scholar has to be stuffy?  Tom Wright, one of the premier New Testament scholars of our day (and one of my favorite authors) was recorded doing a cover of Bob Dylan's "When the Ship Comes In."  Very Cool!

Launching a New Blog All About Worship

Just wanted to let all you wrestlers out there know that I started a new blog today on the subject of worship called THE RUINED.  The blog will be a bit more focused than the conversation here.  The blog will be specifically geared to those involved in leading worship whether musicians, singers or worship leaders.  So if you fit that category or know of anyone that could benefit from a conversation on that subject send them over.