30 AD: The Full Pascal Moon Lit the Other Side of the Jordan

In the Light of a Pascal Moon

The Pascal Moon lit the other side of the Jordan. The red hills were witness to a fateful day, when we put the King of the Jews up onto a piece of wood.

Almighty God Ungirded him,
eager to mount the Gallows,
Unafraid in the sight of many:
He would set free mankind.
I shook when His arms embraced me
but I durst not bow to the ground,
Stand fast I must.

Say you want a Revolution:
Revolutions often happen in the Rural Areas first. Revolutions then grow in strength and attack the Urban Center. Not this revolution. This revolution attacked the fortification first and quickly surrendered. Jesus was surprised when he saw the armed strength of the Roman Band. He replied, "Did you think you were coming to overpower a bandit?" He gently surrendered.

Was this a human movement?
Jesus left no written record. He had chosen twelve men to be witness of the day. These were ordinary men, not necessarily leaders who could make a movement happen. In fact scripture says in Matthew 11 "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and violent take it by force." He was telling his men that to bring the Kingdom to the people one can not use force. Humanistic force harms the Kingdom of Heaven.

Who were his men?
One of these twelve men betrayed him with a kiss. One of the twelve named the Rock (who would later be a significant part of church growth) had betrayed him three times in the course of a night.

What was the mission:
None of his twelve chosen men immediately understood the full light of The Mission. The mission was later defined.

Lasting Impression:
How did a simple movement, in a far off land, one prone to human failure, grow to effect me today in a far off non existent land?

Written while listening to the Podcast:
Groove Electric
Books Referenced:

Bruce F.F. New Testament History. Garden City, New York: Anchor Books, 1972.
Shelley, Bruce L. Church History in Plain Language Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1982.
Latourette, Kenneth Scott Christianity Through the Ages: New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1965.
Davie, Donald ed. The New Oxford Book of Christian Verse Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 1981.

Stepping Lightly on the Path

James 1
(My interpretation) We walked away from our protection. We decided to rebel. We caused a great strain. God was sad. He desired to have us walk gently on the tundra. He did not want us to waver on the walk. He wanted what was best for us. 'For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind." James 1:6 He did not deceive us. But we were deceived by the cunning alluring ways of the beautiful witch holding the apple. A good witch is never ugly. In fact witches are beautiful, because our perception of beauty creates an easy trap. We (us guys) loved the boobies and the booty. But did not see the strain pictures have on our relationships. As the prophet Nahum wrote, "And all for the countless whorings of the prostitute, graceful and of deadly charms who betrays nations with her whorings, and people with her charms." Nahum 3:4 So are we bound by the moral decay? No! We do not need to add more to the lines on our face. We do not need to walk hard. Because, Jesus walked into it for us. He helped us uproot our weeds. He burned the clippings in a great pile, a smell pleasing to the LORD. "Draw water for the siege; strengthen your forts; go into the clay tread the mortar; take hold of the brick mold." Nahum 3:15 As Matthew Henry said, "He is a strong hold for every believer in times of trouble, that cannot be stormed or taken; and he knoweth those that trust in Him."
Or as the Dashboard Confessional wrote:

"You throw yourself
Into their arms
Mistresses have all the fun
But no one's ever there to take you home

Box up your gloves and your
Down coats
Bound for the sun and the
West coast
Where upper crust tragedies abound

A tip for the girl at the
Coat check
The guy at the door and the
Bar back
They know your face
Oh so well

But movies never made you famous
All your dreams got lost or traded
And all you ever cared about got lost

But you were surely still an actress
Older men would find attractive
And all you ever dreamed of was the cost

Where there's gold, there's a gold digger

We are KOBE BEEF Awaiting the Slaughter House

Amos 4:1

We are the Kobe Cows of Bashen. We sit grazing on fine grains. We eat our ice cream. We are delighted. We build fine houses thinking they will always be there. We build up debts on our credit cards. Our houses become foreclosed. We become oppressed and poor because we do not turn the true source of our wealth. So run to him! Run to our LORD! Run to our LORD now.