My “Granny Jo” gave me my first taste of an Oreo Blizzard from Dairy Queen. That alone would place her in the annals of the earth’s finest. The eulogy my cousin gave sums up her life and impact nicely, so I won’t add anything else to it. The church building was standing room only, a testament to how much she was loved, and I was honored to give the opening prayer, the text of which is below.
Our Father in Heaven,
Creator of all things in Heaven and in Earth, we praise you for your mercy, for your grace.
Be with us today as we mourn the passing of a woman who spent her life in the service of others. And above all, spent her life in the service of her family. As we commemorate her memory, be with us. Comfort us.
And while we mourn, help us to remember that we do not mourn as those who have no hope. As you told us through your apostle:
“Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”
So may our Granny Jo find rest from her labor. May her good deeds follow her, and clothe her with honor. May she drink rich wine in your kingdom forevermore. And may her legacy live on in us, her children.
When the Devil tempts Jesus, he saves his best play for last. In Matthew 4:8-10:
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”
Why did Satan save this temptation for last? Because the nations, the kingdoms of the world, are exactly what Jesus came for. He wanted the nations. He desired them. That’s part of what the definition of a temptation is. You have to want the thing being offered. And here the Devil is offering something Jesus desires. The nations of the world. But with a shortcut. A presumption. Here would be another Adam eating of yet another forbidden fruit. Another Fall.
But no. Jesus would not accept the nations as a gift from Satan. He would lay claim to them on the field of battle. He would only accept them by right of conquest.
There is a striking detail mentioned during Mark’s account of Jesus walking on water. Mark 6:48-50:
And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” (ESV)
In the very moment of performing an action that gave a glimpse of the divine, Jesus has a very human moment. He intended to pass by the boat unnoticed, and failed in what he intended. The Incarnation was real, down to the flesh and bone. Jesus was human in every way, and as High Priest at the right hand of the Father, human still.
We see something similar at the wedding in Cana, where it seems Jesus is goaded by his mother into his first miracle. Turning water into wine, which John calls a manifestation of his glory (John 2:11), was an unplanned favor for his mom. God in the flesh, divinity mixed with the seemingly mundane.
We also know he could be taken off guard and surprised, as he was at being confronted with the centurion’s faith (Matt. 8:10).
This should give us great assurance. When Scripture tells us that he empathizes with our weaknesses, it is no mere lip service.
“…the tabernacle was modelled for polemical purposes, at least in part, on mobile Egyptian military tent camps that consisted of almost exactly the same three-part structure with the same measurements and that was oriented eastward (courtyard, inner reception area and the innermost chamber, where an image of the divine Pharaoh was flanked by two winged creatures!)” (Beale, The Temple and the Church’s Mission, p. 64)
Beale then goes on to describe that Egyptian military tents were even surrounded by four camps of troops, just like Israel in the wilderness. The tabernacle was Yahweh’s war headquarters.
This is given greater strength when we read the description of the Israelites in Exodus 12:41, which says that “all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.” Also translated “divisions” or “forces.” This is military language to describe God’s people just after we have been told that they have plundered the Egyptians. Just after God has made war against the gods of Egypt.
The tabernacle was making fun of the pretensions of Pharaoh. It was a slap to the face of worldly idolatry.
Once upon a time, there was a house that had a sewage leak in the basement. The family had no idea where it was coming from, and as the mire got deeper by the minute, they made an emergency call to a plumber. The plumber came by, took a glance down the basement stairs, and turned to the husband and wife with his verdict. “First things first,” he said. “You need a water filter for your kitchen sink.”
The husband and wife, confused, asked how that would help with their basement situation.
The plumber shook his head and said. “It won’t, not directly. But it will make your water cleaner and help it taste better. You’ll be happier and healthier in no time. I guarantee it. I can install one tonight.”
The husband, getting a little angry now, and speaking a little slower, said “What does a filter have to do with sewage leaking into our basement?”
The plumber got a little indignant himself, and said “Nothing. But the quality of the water you drink is very important. Don’t you care about what your children are drinking? Trust me, I’m a professional.”
This plumber sounds absurd, but Christians should be careful about falling into the same trap. “All sins are equal in the eyes of the Lord” goes the mantra.
It sounds holy. And it sounds pious. It has a nice ring to it. But is it true? Is it actually Biblical?
Every sin is against a holy God, and against Him only do we sin (Psalm 51:4). We are all guilty and deserve death (Romans 6:23).
James 2:10-11 says that if you fail to keep the law in one point, you are accountable to the whole law. All of these together can sometimes tempt us to flatten all offenses and treat them all as equal, and to think that God treats them all as equal.
But we’re going to deconstruct this notion. And we’re going to start with everyone’s favorite punching bag: the Pharisees.
Jesus and the Pharisees
One of the warnings given against any kind of hierarchy of sin is that it will tempt us toward pride, to act like the Pharisee who looks over at the sinner, and thanks God that he is not like him (Luke 18:9-14). It would allow us to look down at the murderer when we are sinners ourselves.
But our pride is creative. It usually doesn’t need any help to inflate. While the sin and temptation to act like a Pharisee is perennial, we often are blind to what the sins of the Pharisees actually were, even though Jesus spells it out time and again.
What were some of his actual criticisms of the Pharisees?
My “Granny Jo” gave me my first taste of an Oreo Blizzard from Dairy Queen. That alone would place her in the annals of the earth’s finest. The eulogy my cousin gave sums up her life and impact nicely, so I won’t add anything else to it. The church building was standing room only, a testament to how much she was loved, and I was honored to give the opening prayer, the text of which is below.