Diary of Judas, a betrayer (Tuesday)

At dawn the courts were crowded. Shopkeepers, shepherds, politicians, professors, mothers, soldiers, farmers…all were waiting for the rabbi’s words. The holidays had brought out the spectator in people and we joined the crowd expecting a confrontation. I was growing anxious that the rabbi would wait too long to declare revolution and miss his opportunity to use the mob of people crowding Jerusalem in a show of strength.

As noon approached, Eli, a disciple of the Pharisee Jacob bar’Hashuv, eased to the front of the gathered crowd. A few others were ribbing him and he carried a proud look in his eye.

“Rabbi, ” Eli started with a mocking tone. “We know that you tell the truth and teach God’s way. You aren’t concerned with what others think of you and you treat everybody the same. So give me your opinion. Should we pay Roman taxes or not?”

I swiveled to glance at the Roman soldiers stationed just inside the Beautiful Gate. They were listening and had perked up in case the rabbi’s answer sparked trouble.

Jesus looked at Eli, then turned and walked to the top of the steps where he could better see those in the crowd. He found the group of priests and Pharisees who had sent Eli and shook his head at them.

“Why the act? What are you hoping to accomplish by trapping me?” he asked them.

It was a well-laid trap. Because an affirmative answer could stir the crowd to abandon hope that this rabbi was to lead their revolution against Rome, hence freeing up the authorities to arrest him. And if he said, “You should not,” the Roman soldiers could arrest him as a troublemaker. Either way, they had something to gain and the rabbi something to lose.

My stomach tightened with tension and I remembered the words the rabbi had spoken to a group of Greeks earlier this morning. “Now is the time for this world to be judged, now the ruler of the world will be expelled.”[1] I hoped this would be the moment he stood against Roman tyranny.

“Show me a coin used to pay the tax,” the rabbi said.

Jacob bar’Hashuv coughed into his hand and motioned for someone to give the rabbi the coin. He exchanged a significant look with the Roman centurion, and the soldiers began to block the exits. People at the fringe of the crowd began to stir nervously as the soldiers moved.

A young boy pushed his way through the crowd and held a denarius up on his fingertips for Rabbi Yeshua[2].

“Who’s picture and name mark that coin?” he asked the boy.

The boy inspected the coin, glanced at Eli who frowned at the display of a graven image in the Temple and cried, “The Roman Emperor!”

The rabbi smiled encouragement at the correct answer.

“Then let the Emperor have what belongs to Him, and give God what belongs to Him!”[3]

The nervous crowd burst into laughter, and I felt my heart plummet. He would not take a stand against Rome. He means to compromise. His fight may be with the Jewish religious leaders, but not with the Roman oppressors. Yet what can Israel be without freedom from the Pagan legislation that enslaves us?

What has he been talking about for three years, if not his kingdom? What does he mean by, “The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified,”[4] if it is not to take the throne? Why does he wish to take his place among the martyred prophets when he could rule the vineyard?[5]

I have followed my rabbi for years. I have witnessed and tasted his power.[6] I know that he is a prophet and God is with him. Yet, I must conclude he is naive and too generous with the injustice facing our people. Is he a coward? I think not. He swings his tongue and hopes to change people’s hearts with words. He lacks the conviction that it will take the sword to free the people. Words alone will fail. Only words enforced with iron will free Israel. He must see the truth of this. I believe he is our deliverer, how can I provoke him to act? Yahweh help me.

The Diary of Judas, a betrayer: Monday’s Entry; Sunday’s Entry

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[1] John 12:31

[2] Hebrew for Jesus

[3] Matthew 22:21

[4] John 12:23

[5] Matthew 21:33-41

[6] Mark 6:7

The Occult* Property of God

I love little verses that pack a punch. One such nugget is Deuteronomy 29:29.

The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.

What are God’s secrets?

How can we even begin to know? But I would venture that the most pursued of all God’s secrets is knowledge of the future. Since ancient times, divining the events yet to come has equated power. This was occult knowledge, or secrets hidden from human sight. It involved magicians, astronomers, seers, prophets and shamans; all thieves trying to pilfer a glimpse of a time they did not own for the purpose of controlling the outcome for their benefit. Kingdoms rose and fell on the skill of its wise men.

In our western culture, we aren’t as ecumenical in our methods for divining the future. We scorn the dark arts as hokey-poky. Claiming our Christian roots, we detest the idea of crystal balls and fortune telling. Yet, many Christians tamper with the occult in a more sinister and pervasive way.

Worrying is poking around in the unknown.

What is worrying, but an attempt to answer our questions about the future (or something unknown) so that we can control its events? “What if my husband is cheating on me?” “How will I be able to cope if I fail this test?” “What will they think of me?” “[Insert your favorite anxiety here.]“

Worry is attempted theft.

This little verse makes it clear that if something is not revealed, it does not belong to us. Trying to take what is not ours, is stealing. Worrying about the unknown is forbidden. It is secret or occult (hidden) knowledge; off-limits.

God’s secrets are well-kept.

God is not keeping secrets FROM us, He is keeping secrets FOR us. It is to our benefit that we don’t know. When prodding about the unknown, we must be careful of THE LIE. “God isn’t telling you the complete truth. He is keeping something good from you. Why don’t you take it anyway?” A better woman than you are I fell for this deceit, so we must be humble enough to recognize it’s presence in our worry.

He has revealed much, but I’d rather have His secrets, thank you.

How often we despise His abundant, life-giving, forever gifts! The things revealed belong to us and to our children forever! Even if we spent our lifetime pouring over His Word, studying how to practice its truths and sharing our knowledge with others, we would still not tap the wealth of knowledge God HAS revealed about His reality. And that is just knowledge. God invites us to intimacy, “knowing” the eternal I AM.

Do you scorn what he has given, instead choosing to dabble in His occult property by worrying about what you do not know?

*Occult means knowledge of the hidden or secret.

If You are Sick, Please Stay Away!

What happened to the Christian practice of visiting the sick? It seems we have traded our compassion for judgemental quarantine along with the rest of society. Here’s a glimpse of our worldly mindset. Bear in mind, those who profess the love of Christ are speaking.

“Honey, don’t play over there. Jeanie has a runny nose.”

“A family who has had sick kids all week with a stomach bug are planning to attend my kids’ party this weekend!  How can I politely ask them to stay home, without hurting their feelings?”

“Did you see that kid coughing in the nursery? I’m going to get my child and go home. I’ve had enough of my kids being sick this year. I’m not going through that again.”

“How dare Bob come to work today spreading his germs around to the rest of us? I can’t afford to get sick.”

“What are the Johnson’s thinking, taking those beautiful children to the mission field? Who knows what kind of disease they will expose them to!”

I will not jump on the bandwagon and comment about the “irresponsibility” and “thoughtlessness” of the ill being present in public situations. We have become overbalanced on that issue. The church needs to hear some shouting on the other side of the scale to which I’ll lend my voice. WHY ARE WE AFRAID OF THE SICK? I think if you weigh your answer, you’ll find it wanting.

In the early days of Christianity, the Christians heroically embraced the sick in times of pestilence. Roman historians contrasted the concern of the Christians with the indifference of the general population. They were known for hastening to side of the unhealthy as others were rushing away. Christians stood out because they were not afraid of sick people. And this wasn’t the common cold or flu we are talking about, but plagues and poxes! It wasn’t a lingering cough or sore sinuses they were chancing, but a painful death, maybe without the same compassionate care they were offering others. It was nobility of the highest order, that had no thought for it’s own welfare.

 ”I was … sick and you visited me … ” Jesus said.

The righteous will reply, “Lord, when did we see you sick and visit you?’”

The King will reply, “The truth is, whatever you did for one of the least of my brothers, you did for me.”

I think its time we traded our vehmient self-concern for sympathetic regard; a kind touch instead of turning away; and a gift of hot soup instead of a cold shoulder.

Further resources

This site offers ten tips when visiting a sick friend.

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, preached a sermon reminding his flock to visit the sick. 

God is Out of Time

Let me rephrase that, lest you think I mean His time has run out.

God is not bound by time. He is time-less. He is without time. He has no past, no future. He is now and then. Time is God’s creature, enslaved to Him. God is outside the space we have grown familiar with as “time.” 

Forgiveness

I used to think of forgiveness in linear terms. What I did in the past, I have confessed, and it is forgiven. But, subsequent sins I was still culpable for. The realization that, to God, all my sins are His present reality helped me grapple with shifting guilty feelings. (Funny, how even language is wrapped in time tenses: are, was, will be, having been, etc.) When God forgave, he forgave me for actions that I hadn’t yet committed as well as past ones, because He saw all my time.

A friend of mine gave me this “a-ha!” moment when I shared my struggle with Ephesians 2:6. It says, “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” I was teaching through Ephesians, and wanted to communicate with passion, but this verse bugged me. I can’t teach, what I don’t get. The sentence hinges on the verb tenses; raised (in the past) and seated (present).

I asked, “Why is it so important that we are seated in heaven with Christ?”

“Maybe, because God doesn’t live in time, and we are already at his side?” my friend ventured.

“A-ha! Wow!”

New Life Now

In a brief study of space-time theories, I learned that scientists are speculating that time is one of up to eight other dimensions. This helps me grasp (Whether their theories are correct or not, the Bible is true.) how there can be reality outside of my own time at the same “time” as now. I am already at the throne of God in another “dimension” as a perfected daughter of the Father. I am already raised to New Life. I am sinless, now, in God’s world of no-time. Does that blow your mind? Rejoice in the glories of God! He is so other than us, I can’t wait to learn more about His mysteries.

Change Takes Time

This offers me encouragement. I’m enslaved by time. I must follow its rules. I have to be in it and progress through it like all other creatures. God wants me to live godly in my time, but it seems as if the changing process from a habitual sinner to a habitual do-gooder is taking forever! I fail more than I succeed, and take two steps back for every step foward, it seems. But the time it takes is irrelevant to God. He sees my life in total through the lens of Christ. Because my future is His now, I have the courage to keep on keeping on.

One more random thought… Jesus, unbound by time in God’s eternity, willingly submitted to time by becoming a man. He denied His eternity by taking a past and a future. He understands us time-creatures because he is one of us.