Collateral Damage (four)

Another parable put he [Y’shuaJesus] forth unto them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”
Matthew 13:24-30

Out back I’m watering today. It’s cool, though the last few days have been dry and windy, which dries the ground out. While during the hottest days of summer, we often water selectively, today I’m watering a large area using an irrigation sprinkler. Water covers both what we have planted as well as those nature has provideds for us. Some call them weeds. They’re really just plants we will eventually remove as we have the opportunity. Unlike the owner of the field to which Y’shuaJesus was referring in the scripture, we won’t let them grow to harvest. But there are many times I think about this scripture when I’m inadvertently stepping on a new shoot while navigating around in the garden area. G-d’s more concerned with collateral damage than I, for which I’m exceedingly pleased.

In Genesis chapter 18 we find the Lord considering what to do with a couple of very evil towns. Finally, He decides to destroy them both. He tells Abraham about His plan. “And Abraham drew near, and said, ‘Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?’ ” Genesis 18:23

Matthew Henry comments: “Here is the first solemn prayer upon record in the Bible; and it is a prayer for the sparing of Sodom. Abraham prayed earnestly that Sodom might be spared, if but a few righteous persons should be found in it. Come and learn from Abraham what compassion we should feel for sinners, and how earnestly we should pray for them. We see here that the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Abraham, indeed, failed in his request for the whole place, but Lot was miraculously delivered. Be encouraged then to expect, by earnest prayer, the blessing of God upon your families, your friends, your neighbourhood. To this end you must not only pray, but you must live like Abraham. He knew the Judge of all the earth would do right. He does not plead that the wicked may be spared for their own sake, or because it would be severe to destroy them, but for the sake of the righteous who might be found among them. And righteousness only can be made a plea before God. How then did Christ make intercession for transgressors? Not by blaming the Divine law, nor by alleging ought in extenuation or excuse of human guilt; but by pleading HIS OWN obedience unto death.”

So, while a couple of wicked towns and their inhabitants are destroyed, Lot and family are saved. Again proving G-d is concerned with collateral damage.

Yet we continue to live in a world in which we are persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, even murdered. There are laws enacted to protect people in America from discrimination of all forms. Some of those people actively engage in acts that are forbidden by G-d, as spoken of in His Word. Yet I know, from firsthand experience, that employers restrict some Christians from the exercise of their religion. Such restrictions, discrimination, is forbidden under the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America. Pagans in America are free to preach their religious views, approving of activities that are anathema to Christians, yet Christians are all to often restricted from expressing the love of G-d by sharing the Gospel message.

These are trials in which we must endure. Sometimes we suffer the collateral damage from the simple fact that we live in a fallen world. Additionally, “. . .[G-d’s] judgements [are] in all the earth.” Psalm 105:7 These are not the wrath of G-d, to which we will not be made a part. We endure in the knowledge that the righteous live eternally—even if they fall “asleep” in Y’shuaJesus, they will be awoken. Though we today suffer various calamities along with pagans in this fallen world, there is a wrath coming to Earth in which we shall not partake. Y’shuaJesus said so. Believe. Prepare today and endure to the End.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Collateral Damage (three)

For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened. Matthew 24:21,22

Despite various trials and persecution—tribulation—we learn from the Bible of G-d’s continued concern for His Elect. G-d demonstrated it, and recorded it to encourage us. G-d has been straight with us. Take Matthew 24, for instance. The disciples have commented on the Temple. These disciples are beginning to understand that thought Y’shuaJesus is Messiah, it’s not as they’d expected: He isn’t yet the Messiah who came to conquer. These disciples have yet to understand entirely Y’shuaJesus’s role as a suffering servant Messiah, either. So when they commented on the Temple, Y’shuaJesus seized this moment as an opportunity to share a little insight with them. He could easily have introduced the subject with something like: Hey, remember when I sent you out in pairs to preach? I gave you power, told you everything would be alright. Well, there’s a future coming that’s gonna be a bit hairy. There’s some things that will happen before I establish my Kingdom on Earth. There are gonna be some trials and suffering amongst y’all.

Matthew Henry commented on the question the disciples asked about when the destruction of the temple was to take place: “But Christ, in his answer. . . looks further than their question, and instructs his church, not only concerning the great events of that age, the destruction of Jerusalem, but concerning his second coming at the end of time, which here he insensibly slides into a discourse of, and of that it is plain he speaks in the next chapter, which is a continuation of this sermon.”

Zephaniah describes these particular times in this way: “Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one consent.” Zephaniah 3:8,9.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine upon those who are counted as His Sheep. May the rest of the peoples be stirred to seek the LORD before His indignation and fierce anger are poured fully poured out upon the Earth.

Collateral Damage (Two)

Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen. Psalm 44:11

After World War II, many of the Jewish people scattered about the world returned to the land that had been home to their descendents. When the British administrators of that land departed, the Jews were left to fight for their land. Despite the difficulties involved, Israel was reborn. I’ve heard it said by Jews in Israel that there, at least, they belong, for as prosperous as they may have been elsewhere, they were still second-class citizens.

A “True-Born” Gentile Believer renounces his or her worldly citizenship, accepting the second-class status of Christian. In fifty-one nations on Earth, to do so is illegal, and punishable in many of those countries by death.

The True-Born Believers, Gentile and Jewish, are scattered throughout the world. Perhaps we aren’t being slaughtered each day, every day, where we live. Perhaps we think it can’t happen, either. Such were the thoughts of millions of Jews in days prior to Germany’s reign of terror, the days leading up to Kristallnacht

“Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, or Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of coordinated attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938, carried out by SA stormtroopers and civilians. German authorities looked on without intervening. The attacks left the streets covered with broken glass from the windows of Jewish-owned stores, buildings, and synagogues.” (from Wikipedia)

In the days of Noah, people were living ordinary lives, going about their business as if nothing was about to happen. Noah preached righteousness, and followed G-d’s plan preparing for the waters to rise and engulf a world turned against the LORD, the One True G-d.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Collateral Damage

He [is] the LORD our God: his judgments [are] in all the earth.
Psalm 105:7 King James Version (KJV)

Bagels with cream cheese and lox (cured salmon... — Bagels with cream cheese and lox (cured salmon) are considered a traditional part of American Jewish cuisine (colloquially known as lox and a schmear). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A good breakfast. I enjoy sitting in a diner and having a nice omelette. It’s even better when served with a poppyseed bagel, toasted, that I slather with butter. Ummm. Good. I’ve often thought that if there were no place close by to have a good breakfast, I wasn’t meant to live there, and should move on.

An open Bible. Better than the breakfast is the Bible, open on the table before me. Reading it. And occasionally someone will comment, nicely, about this. Sometimes omeone will begin a conversation with me, which I thoroughly enjoy. I can only remember one time when someone laughed about my choice of morning reading. But, at several inches over six feet in height, it’s no wonder.

Today it’s BB’s Bagels. The diner is built to appear like a 1950s-style roadside diner. It’s often packed with people enjoying breakfast, or just a bagel and coffee. There are an endless variety of conversations to listen to, if I choose. The ceiling is low, painted panels, with a recessed channel the entire length made with stained wood strips. A row of lights illuminate the counter area. Tables with chairs and booths make up the remainder of the seating area. While in the American Fifties, the metal chairs would be chromed, here they are painted black, matching the torn, worn, Naugahyde-covered booths.

Looking out the window, I look out across an outdoor seating area. A breeze plays with newly sprouted leaves on the trees lining the road. The morning sun reflects from windshields and chrome on cars and trucks passing quickly headed to some destination I can only guess. If not for the style of vehicles, and the clothing worn by waitresses and customers, I could be back in America’s Baby Boomer year. From our perspective today, those were the “Good Ole Days.” Days of endless summer. Days filled with laughter. They were the days before, while in school, we practiced diving beneath our desks while the teachers pulled the blackout draperies across the wall of windows in our classroom. Before the “Cold War” that consumed us. That was before we learned about “Free Love.” That was before we learned to die in jungles a long way from home all the time questioning “What are we fighting for?”

We thought that hard work would always bring prosperity. That the Good always win, Evil always loses. We thought we were righteous, and we carried that thought in our actions around the world. We sent dollars to feed those less fortunate, less blessed. We sent missionaries to save a people who didn’t know the truth. We thought that would keep our economy growing.

But we were wrong. We thought we were immune to the judgements of a Holy and Triumphant G-d.

Sitting on the torn, worn Naugahyde-covered booth, looking out on a perfect day, having enjoyed my omelette and bagel, and a second cup of rich, bold coffee, I could easily forget the trials of a nation of people who think they “are all that. . .” That is to say, a nation of people who think they deserve the fruits of their labor. In churches across America, the cry is “Pray for our Nation.” We quote “If my people will humble themselves, pray. . .” and we think that will do it all. We think our economy will rebound and everything will be alright.

I think, rather, we should say, “We tried,” and follow that in humility, in honesty, saying, “But we tried on our own.” We need now to say, “The LORD is G-d and we kneel before the Lord Y’shuaJesus saying, “Come, Lord, Come!”

PS I walked out of the diner to an overcast sky. The cool, humid breeze feeling like a storm coming. Only a patch of blue left open to the sun, where it shined on the spot I could see from inside.

Perspective!

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine upon us that we may know You!

Trials and Such

The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: to whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. . . (Acts 1:1-3)

Holy Spirit painting (Photo credit: hickory hardscrabble)

The time between the Rescurrection and the Ascension is forty days. This in-between time was filled with visits from Y’shuaJesus. The visits, I think, were to bolster the faith of those who just weren’t sure about Y’shuaJesus’s mission. Some had believed He was to be a physical savior for the nation of Israel, freeing it from the Roman Empire, leading a Maccabee-type revolt. Others just didn’t understand at all. Disciples discussed the events among themselves. Like the disciples on the road to Amaoz. The disciples all needed to feel the burning in their hearts of the presence of Y’shuaJesus. They needed to be reminded of their true missions.

This time between also must have been a time of trial. The number of days between the Resurrection and the Ascension caught my attention. Forty. It is the number of days Y’shuaJesus was in the wilderness, tempted. It was the number of years Israel spent wandering in the desert. It was the number of Ali Baba’s thieves. (It’s okay to smile, this isn’t your trial/test.) There were a lot of forty-year periods in Moses’s life. After being tossed into the river, he was groomed to be an Egyptian prince for forty years. Then he let his anger get the best of him, and spent forty years in the wilderness. As if eighty years of testing weren’t enough, he gets called back to Egypt to rescue a rather stiff-necked people, and suffer trials with them for another forty years. Not such a great retirement package!

It seems to me our own lives are times in between. I’d thought perhaps we were here just waiting. But it looks more like we’re also being tested the whole time here. Even if we’ve experience a moment of Power from on High, a Pentecost of our own with an in-filling of the Holy Spirit, we are still in test mode. Isn’t life in Messiah exciting? He called us, like He called His disciples and Apostles. He walked with us a while, like He did with them. Then He leaves us for some testing and tribulation, stopping by every now and again to make sure our faith is bolstered, that we remain strong.

But oh, how glorious are those time in His embrace!

And His Spirit He gave to us to give us His Strength, His Power. No, not to get out of the test, but to deal with it. There’s a line in one of the Lord of the Rings books, in which Frodo is in a very dark and gloomy forest. He says something in about it certainly not being a sunny walk in May. He’s scared. He feels lost. Then he looks ahead and sees the sun, shining onto the end of the path. It’s like that with our lives, I think: we aren’t just walking a nice path along the river’s edge. We are running a track meet, an obstacle course, jumping hurdles. There is a promise to a feast for the winner. And we are all winners in Messiah, if we have given ourselves to Him, if we’ve accepted His way of salvation. All will eventually acknowledge Y’shuaJesus. All will eventually knell before King Y’shuaJesus and declare that indeed He is Lord. Will we do it now, while it is still Day, before the Night comes to take some away?

Thank you Lord Y’shuaJesus!

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Daily Living or Living Daily

That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:5

There is a way in which we must daily live. The fundamentals of such living are summarized in the Ten Commandments, taught by Y’shuaJesus as given in the Gospels, taught by the Apostles, and taught in churches throughout the world. These are rules that we apply to our daily lives. I have observed that a pastor may speak to the congregation about tithing, and use the “Old Testament” references to augment a call to add greatly to the collection plate. On the other hand, I’ve not heard a pastor preach about a baby’s circumcision being performed on the eighth day after birth, though. It seems to me, there is an arbitrary nature to which scriptures to apply. It seems we are able to pick and choose which rules to follow. Now, as far as circumcision is concerned, Paul brought that before a council of Jewish Believers in Y’shuaJesus while on a trip to Jerusalem. The result: Gentile Believers became exempt to circumcision. They don’t have to follow the Law, as given by Moses, and the Jewish traditions are not theirs. In other words, there is a certain amount of pick and choose going on here.

Now for the observant Jew there are the 613 Divine commandments inscribed in the holy Torah. These are Mitzvoth. Daily living could appear as somewhat mechanical, basic, fundamental. Just understand all the commandments, and follow each one with heart’s intent. Actually, following the Mitzvoth is not so mechanical after all. It has been ruled “that unless one performs a Torah-ordained mitzvah with conscious intent, he has not fulfilled his duty and must perform it a second time with the proper intent.” So daily living must be intentional, performing Divine commands, or not performing negative commands, or restrictions. You have to do this and this, not do that or that, and if you miss doing one, you need atonement. And even if you did a particular Mitzvah, but without the proper intent, then do it again. Get Atonement! Over and Over and Over.

For both Gentile and Jewish Believers, Y’shuaJesus fulfilled the Law by becoming a one-time-is-all-that-is-needed ATONEMENT. We are now one Chosen People, Gentiles, once wild, now grafted into G-d’s cultivated olive tree along with those Jews who are now complete in Y’shuaJesus.

Now, all Believers, have a requirement, an obligation, that is perhaps more strict, more difficult to adhere to than moral codes and traditions. We are called to live daily. This is living deeper. It is more intense. There is a call to both Jewish and Gentile Believers living out daily the faith. It’s not about picking and choosing rules to follow or things to stay away from each day. It’s not about whether or not we’ve followed with intent 613 Divine ordinances. It is living each day in that particular day, with intent. It is life daily with the Spirit of G-d as our compass, directing us in our walk with Y’shuaJesus.

The Apostle Paul talked about putting on the armor of G-d. We put on this armor daily. Each day is today. Yesterday is remembered, but not dwelt upon. We put aside the “I could have. . .” and the “I should have. . .” We offer tomorrow to G-d in our prayer each day, and focus on today. We live in this one lone day, living our faith. It is living daily in the power of G-d, our Creator, our Savior.

Living Daily is being aware each and every moment of Today, as long as it is Today. Aware of G-d’s presence in the world, in our hearts, in the activities in which we partake. Which is the greatest commandment, Y’shuaJesus was asked. With intent, we live daily loving G-d and loving our neighbors in the manner we love ourselves. We are like the disciples walking the road to Amaoz. We may not recognize Y’shuaJesus as He walks alongside, but we do feel our hearts burn. We talk to Y’shuaJesus as we walk. We pray, as the Apostle Paul spoke of, in the Spirit more than anyone else. We are aware in the Spirit when a brother or sister needs prayer. We are conscientious, thoughtful, focused, yet aware always of what is around us and before us. And the Word of G-d is a lamp to show us where we stand, and a light to illuminate the path ahead. We know when to go right, when to go left. We know!

Lord, enable us to live daily with You. Amen.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Post-Holiday Blues

Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And when they saw him, they worshipped him. . . (Matthew 28:16,17)

Today, the day after Resurrection Day 2012, school buses on their way to collect children, compete with cars driven by people headed off to work. I suppose, if things are similar in other homes as mine, the kitchen floor could use a good cleaning and there are lots of clothes to be washed as well as a few dishes missed yesterday. Dinner tonight is left overs from yesterday’s meal. So many things to occupy our thoughts each day, I suppose there is little time left for some sort of Holiday Blues to set in.

There was a different sort of activity set before the disciples on the day after the first Resurrection Day. Imagine the surprise, the delight, when Mary announces that the Lord is in fact alive. Not only that, He will meet them all in Galilee. Imagine the clamor as the disciples pack up and head out. It’s not a short way to go, either. No car to drive, no bus or train to take. Walk or ride are two options available. The only two. With somewhere around 80 to 100 miles to cover, the disciples would have been eager to begin their journey. How long did it take them? What did they think about during the journey?

Three days or four, dusty roads, threatened with bandits, plagued by thirst and hunger, anxious to I suppose and certainly tired—even exhausted. Finally they arrive at the mountain where they’d been appointed Apostles of the Lord Y’shuaJesus. “And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.”

Some doubted? What did Y’shuaJesus look like to them? The two disciples on the road to amaoz didn’t recognize Him until they broke bread with Him. Was that true of some at the reunion on the mountain in Galilee? Can we blame them for doubting? Where they doubting Him or themselves?

Will we know Y’shuaJesus, will we recognize Him when we see Him face to face? I pray so!

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Resurrection Day

Matthew 28 — KJV
1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
5 And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7 And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.
8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
9 And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshiped him.

This is the Day The Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. We remember not the bunnies, the eggs, that have nothing to do with the Messiah. Rather we remember the Lord is Risen. Praise the Lord. We remember that Adam disobeyed G-d, and that death is the punishment. We remember the Cross upon which Y’shuaJesus, fully G-d, fully man, took our place in death. We remember that death could not hold our Lord. We remember that Y’shuaJesus is risen. He is Lord.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine, today and everyday. . .

Passover Tonight

Today, mis-named “Good Friday,” was always called “Black Friday” by my mother. No, not the black friday shopping days that seem to follow so many of the Christian Holy Days. Black Friday because it is the day in which we mourn our sins and that a Holy Innocent took them upon Himself, for us.

The Ten Plagues in a Nutshell
from Chabad.org
Moses and Aaron repeatedly come before Pharaoh to demand in the name of G-d, “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me in the wilderness.” Pharaoh repeatedly refuses. Aaron’s staff turns into a snake and swallows the magic sticks of the Egyptian sorcerers.

Pharaoh still refuses to let the Jews go. Moses warns him that G-d will smite Egypt. Pharaoh remains impervious. G-d begins to send a series of plagues upon the Egyptians. In the throes of each plague, Pharaoh promises to let the Children of Israel go; but he reneges the moment the affliction is removed.

1) Aaron strikes the Nile, the waters turn to blood;
2) Swarms of frogs overrun the land;
3) Lice infest all men and beasts. Still, Pharaoh remains stubborn;
4) Hordes of wild animals invade the cities,
5) a pestilence kills the domestic animals,
6) painful boils afflict the Egyptians.
7) Fire and ice combine to descend from the skies as a devastating hail. Still, “the heart of Pharaoh was hardened and he would not let the children of Israel go; as G-d had said to Moses.”

The people of Egypt have suffered too much. They beg Pharaoh to let the Jews go. When Moses comes to warn Pharaoh of the eighth plague, Pharaoh says: You say that you want to go serve your G-d? I’ll let the men go, as long as the women and children stay behind. No, says Moses, we must all go, men women and children, cattle and herds. Pharaoh once again refuses.

The next plagues descends upon Egypt.
8) a swarm of locusts devours all the crops and greenery;
9) a thick, palpable darkness envelops the land.

The Israelites are instructed to bring a “Passover offering” to G-d: a lamb or kid is to be slaughtered and its blood sprinkled on the doorposts and lintel of every Israelite home, so that G-d should pass over these homes when He comes to kill the Egyptian firstborn. The roasted meat of the offering is to be eaten that night together with matzah (unleavened bread) and bitter herbs.

Then G-d brings the tenth plague upon Egypt, all the firstborn of Egypt are killed at the stroke of midnight of the 15th of the month of Nissan.

Let us remember Y’shuaJesus and look forward to Sunday, the Day of Resurrection! Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Passover 2012

And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever. Exodus 12:11-14

Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us. 1 Corinthians 5:7

This Friday, at sunset, begins passover. It is known as פֶּסַח pesach, which comes from “pretermission, that is, exemption; used. . .of the Jewish Passover (the festival of the victim), passover (offering).”

The weeks preceding pesach are spent in much house cleaning in search for bread crumbs. It is quite an activity in which all members of each household are involved—young to old. I hadn’t realized Christians from some denominations also follow this part of the Law, too.

What does leaven symbolize? It has long been thought of as a metaphor for sin. Just as we’ve spoken of, before communion, we search ourselves looking for any sin in our lives. Passover and Resurrection Day are forever linked to communion. Y’shuaJesus is the Lamb of G-d—the Lamb slain whose blood covers us, keeping us from the Angel of Death. We celebrate communion to remember Y’shuaJesus, that His body and blood were given for us. It seems appropriate that we should, before Resurrection Day, which also called by the pagen name of Easter, search for bread crumbs containing leaven, not only in our lives but throughout our homes.

While this is all good, I wonder if there is a deeper meaning to leaven than that of sin only. In Luke 13:21 Y’shuaJesus says of the Kingdom of Heaven: “It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.” I read that many reconcile this as being the one time in a hundred where leaven isn’t a metaphor for sin. Yet it just doesn’t seem reasonable to me. Matthew Henry comments on Luke 13:21: “You expect [the Kingdom of Heaven] will make its way by external means, by subduing nations and vanquishing armies, though it shall work like leaven, silently and insensibly, and without any force or violence. A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump; so the doctrine of Christ will strangely diffuse its relish into the world of mankind: in this it triumphs, that the savour of the knowledge of it is unaccountably made manifest in every place, beyond what one could have expected, 2Co_2:14. But you must give it time, wait for the issue of the preaching of the gospel to the world, and you will find it does wonders, and alters the property of the souls of men. By degrees the whole will be leavened, even as many as are, like the meal to the leaven, prepared to receive the savour of it.”

So to speak of leaven, one is speaking of something that is silent, working almost mysteriously within—sin does that, doesn’t it? Y’shuaJesus warned of the leaven of the Pharisees. Their doctrines, traditions, interpretations of the Law, and even their hypocris, that would all work within those that adhere to their leadership. Leaven. Y’shuaJesus said to seek first the Kingdom of G-d. It will also work within us, slowly, silently, mysteriously. The Word of G-d, made flesh in Y’shua, made flesh in us.

Yet go back to the woman hiding the leaven in three measures of flour. There’s a view that even here leaven is sin hidden within the ingredients that the loaf is made from. There is a belief that the loaf is symbolic of the church, which is G-d’s Kingdom on Earth, and that the leaven is false beliefs and false doctrine hidden withing the ingredients so that these deceptions are passed on to all who partake of the loaf. An extreme example of the way an entire nation can become captive to a bizzare notion is the propaganda machine developed by Hitler prior to World War II. The leaven of his deception grew slowly, silently, until it permeated most all in the nation of Germany. The German people were mentally poisoned to hate the Jewish people, gypsies, virtually anyone that did not adhere to their Aryan cultural view of themselves. Extreme nationalism gave rise to the Hitler youth movement. No one questioned the authority of the Third Reich, of Hitler, of his agents, until too late. When they did, they were eliminated. The world, it seemed, went crazy. Sixty million people died as a result of Hitler’s leaven. Two atomic explosions rocked Japan.

Could the church of the twenty-first Century become permeated by false beliefs? The Apostle Paul said: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) It’s not that there may be evil lurking in heavenly places, it’s that THERE IS evil lurking. It is leaven in the church. Sin!

Proceeding pesach, we rid the leaven within our homes. We celebrate the feast of passover with the knowledge of Y’shuaJesus as the pesach lamb. On Sunday we celebrate the empty tomb, the resurrected Lord. And we rejoice!