Dear Family and Friends,

One thing I noticed during my pre-pastoral days was that people are pretty good at hiding their true nature. Especially when they’re at work.

But when we met on a golf course or over a meal, the facade usually fell like the walls of Jericho. It was like meeting a whole new person.

Have you noticed that you see a different side of a person, perhaps a truer picture of a person’s character, when you change your perspective?

That said, the last few books I chose to study were written by Messianic Jews. Why? I simply want to better know the Jesus we’re following. And one way to do so is to see Him from a fresh perspective.

For Jesus was a Jew, I am not. His choice of words, His actions, and His ways with others reflected His cultural norms, not mine.

These books offered a fresh perspective and new insights into the nature of God the Father and that of His Son Jesus.

And because of their deep Hebrew understanding of the Old Testament, the authors’ offered fresh perspectives on reading the two Testaments as one.

For example, when we read the four accounts of the crucifixion we normally don’t look for meanings behind the small details. Details like:

“The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head.” John 19:2 NIV

“When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there,” Luke 23:33 NIV

“When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. ‘Let’s not tear it,’ they said to one another. ‘Let’s decide by lot who will get it.’” John 19:23-24 NIV

Many of us assume the crown of thorns was just a painful way of mocking Jesus. But why thorns? Let’s remember that when Adam sinned, God cursed the ground and told Adam the ground would produce thorns and thistles. (See Genesis 3:17-18)

Jesus died on a tree we call a cross. It was another tree, one that grew in the Garden, that led to the death of Adam.

Crucifixion not only killed a person physically, the shame of nakedness also killed a person’s dignity. And like Jesus, Adam was naked when he died of a broken relationship with God.

As we can see, the Fall in the Old Testament was interwoven into the Crucifixion. On that Friday, God brought what had gone wrong in the Garden back into focus. The thorns, the tree, and the naked shame were set in place – to be reversed.

And then the world went dark for three hours. “It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining.” Luke 23:44-45 NIV

Why three hours? And why three in the afternoon?

Numbers have special meanings in Judaism and the Bible. For example, the number seven means completeness, as in God’s creation.  

The number one stands for union and oneness, as in God. The number two stands for division.

As in the Trinity, the number three stands for harmony, including harmony between the first two numbers. Three is the mediator that dissolves conflict and creates harmony.

So, in those three hours from noon until three, what was once a broken relationship between God and man, became one of harmony.

In the darkness, justice met grace. Our righteous yet merciful God provided The Way back for us.

But let’s not dwell in the darkness. And instead focus on what happened at three in the afternoon, just as Jesus uttered the words, “it is finished.” (See John 19:30)

The sun began to shine again. Light returned to the world. In a replay of God speaking light into existence (Genesis 1:3), the light of Jesus overcame the darkness of the world. And with that light came hope for mankind, for you, and for me.

As we begin to close, let’s look at this last verse. “Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.” John 19:34 NIV

Jesus had already given up His spirit when His side was pierced. Out of the side of Jesus flowed new life, the blood of the new covenant and the water of baptism and new birth. New life was made possible by Jesus.

And lest we forget, out of the side of Adam came a rib, one that also gave new life – to woman.

We end by going back to a statement made earlier – Our righteous yet merciful God provided The Way back for us.

Yes, our God is gracious and merciful beyond understanding. We did nothing to deserve His mercy. But there is something we can do in return.

We can be grateful.

In love always,