Where is everybody?

No one showed up for the feast…………

In the news this weekend, I read about a grandfather who invited his six grandchildren to dinner. He made enough hamburgers for each of them to have two. He made plenty for everyone. Only one of the grandchildren showed up. Grandpa did say it could have been a miscommunication and they would try again. He missed his grandchildren. He wanted to be with them. He wanted to see them, spend time with them, share a meal together, reach out to them and ease his own loneliness. He was grateful for the one, but the empty seats at the table was more painful than the joy brought by the one.

I needed that story. You see, I had a party too, and very few showed up. Last weekend, my family threw our big annual birthday bash. We have 3 birthdays in a row in our family so we combine them for one big celebration. We just moved last year closer to all of our friends and church family, so we were really excited about everyone who said they were coming to the party. We bought a feast! We prepared all the food in advance that could be prepared and stocked the cooler full of drinks. We cleaned the garage for the first time in a year and cleaned the house for the first time in what seemed like a year. We cleaned till we could clean no more, mopped the floors, washed the windows, vacuumed carpets, and finished the construction project on a new bedroom. The table was prepared even for folks who have been our enemies at times.

The night before the party, the phone calls started trickling in. One person said her children were sick with the flu. Another person said she overbooked herself and couldn’t make it. And the calls continued to pour in the next day. Some were sick. Some changed their plans and broke commitments. And others just plain didn’t call or message and got the wrong date. One right after another, our feast fell apart. Only those who always showed up when we lived at the old house were the ones to show up this year as well even though we are 30 minutes farther away from those particular people. They were still loyal, still there for us.

Jesus said in Luke 14:16-18a, 21-24, “A man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses.

                “Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the slave said, ‘Master, what you command has been done, and still there is room.’
                “And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.’”

I get it! I’ve been bitter towards this world. The news is full of every reason to cross my arms and turn my back. Because people are so thickly calloused (even Christians), I feel my own heart growing cold. The grandpa in the first story chose to consider possible reasons why his beloved grandchildren didn’t show up for the feast and he will try again. The master in Luke kept trying as well. Most days, I can hardly stand my own children’s bad attitudes toward each other. I don’t have reserves for witnessing to the lost who have every lame excuse in the book and under the sun about why they hate Jesus and Jesus lovers.

God has prepared a feast, folks!!!! He has spared no expenses! He has thought of every lavish thing beyond our comprehension to bestow his love upon us! He pulled out all the stops. He owns E-V-E-R-Y-C-R-E-A-T-E-D-T-H-I-N-G. He’s richer than Donald Trump or than Steve Jobs ever was. He MADE the soil upon which mansions are built. He has prepared a table before you in the presence of your enemies to lavish you there and show them the better choice you have made by choosing HIM. You have absolutely everything when you choose Him. Your rags here may not show it, but your time here is short. God makes longer term investments in us than we do in ourselves. You are not God. You’re not even A god. God so wants to be with you, to love on you, to reveal his glory and majesty to you, to celebrate life and friendship and companionship with you. He’s not going to bring the party to your throne on your terms. He has invited you to HIS HOUSE, to HIS feast! I know how he feels. Only a few are faithful. Only a few will come. His riches won’t run out or wear out. There is plenty for everyone.

But everyone has an excuse.

Good Friday Refuted

I want to talk about something that has misguided many believers in Christ and is only gaining momentum. Don’t worry, I’ll keep it limited to ONE of the many things that fit this description. It’s this thing called Good Friday. I will no longer remain silent as I have up to now for the sake of keeping the peace with the brethren. It can be easily refuted as it is based on a simple misunderstanding and poor computation.

I’ve very patiently listened to my brothers and sisters in Christ, so please afford me the great patience I have shown you. You see, in the Bible, John 19 emphasizes the fact that Jesus was slain on “the Jewish day of preparation.” Without a right understanding of the biblical holy days, one only has a basic understanding of the weekly Sabbath at best. However, embedded in the holy days are annual Sabbaths as well. Any time there is a Sabbath day, be it annual or weekly, the day leading up to it is a “day of preparation.” In the case of Passover, John 19 is describing the day leading up to Passover because Passover is an ANNUAL Sabbath.

Unfortunately, more and more believers are taking misguided teachers at their word, and coming to believe it for themselves, and thus perpetuate the notion that John 19 is referring to the WEEKLY day of preparation, which would be a Friday (Thursday sundown to Friday sundown). This is how Christians have come to believe Jesus was crucified on Friday.

But these very intelligent Christians also know how to do math. I implore you to use that intelligence right now, since you are one of those intelligent people.

As you may recall, Genesis Chapter 1 describes the very first day of creation being the first NIGHT and the first DAY, that is, from the time the sun sets one evening to the setting of the sun the following evening. One night, one day = the first day of time.

Jesus was confronted by a crowd of Sadducees and Pharisees in Matthew 12:39-42 who were demanding that he show them a sign to prove he truly was who he said he was. Jesus replied, “I already gave you a sign. No other sign shall be given to you except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the fish for 3 days and 3 nights, so the son of man will be in the belly of the earth.” Have you ever argued that Jonah was only actually in the belly of the whale for a day and a half and somehow that actually equaled 3 days and 3 nights? I sure hope not!  Then why would anyone argue that Jesus said 3 days and 3 nights, but really only meant 1 night (Friday night), 1 day (Saturday day) to sometime on Saturday night?

Here’s the math. Granted, I’m not too great at Algebra, but I taught my preschool class today how to count 3 days and 3 nights, so I am confident I’m not going to be over your head with this. Jesus’ tomb was found to be empty before sunrise on the FIRST day of the week, Sunday, implying that it became empty at some point during the night. Since he obviously arose at some point after the sun set the previous day, he could not be in the grave to the completion of that particular night.

So we back up further and do not count, what we would call, Saturday night. We know that Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane in the night when he was betrayed. We know he died at about 3:00 the following afternoon. We know that the Jewish people were in a hurry to find a tomb so his body would not be on the cross on the high day Sabbath. Joseph of Arimathea opened up a tomb he happened to own and placed Jesus’ body in it just before the sun set for the evening that would start the next day, an annual Sabbath. I can almost hear the closing of the day with the closing of the tomb. Thus began night #1 of the 3 days and 3 nights in likeness of Jonah in the belly of the fish. The vault is sealed: night #1. The sun comes up after that night and proceeds to execute the cycle of day #1. At this point I’ll give you a hint. If Jesus didn’t lie, which he didn’t, then he was crucified on what we would call Wednesday, and spent his first night in the tomb on what we would call Wednesday night. Count them in Western terms:

Wednesday night = night #1

Thursday day = day #1

Thursday night = night #2

Friday day = day #2

Friday night = night #3

Saturday day = day #3

Keeping with Christ’s teachings about the Sabbath and in fulfillment of the sign of Jonah, I believe Jesus arose from the grave just after sundown that Saturday night. The ladies only discovered the empty tomb Sunday morning before the roosters crowed; doesn’t mean that is when he came out.

Ok, so was that simple enough? THREE days and THREE nights. Enough with the “Good Friday” business!