August 22, 2024

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“This is what the Lord says: ‘I AM returning to Zion and to dwell in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.’” (Zechariah 8.3)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Our true identity is in God. Psalm 100 purposes it this way:

“Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.

Serve the LORD with gladness. Come into His presence with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us. We are His. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and bless His name. The LORD is good. His loving devotion endures forever. His faithfulness continues to all generations.”

The world today is struggling to create a measure by which it can be identified. It wants to be measured by itself and against itself. It does not want there to be any other universal standard of measurement by which it may be defined “for or against.” This is a subjective measure. Its fatal flaw is its subjectivity which allows the standard to change on a continual basis to meet its own need for validation. What it promotes is an infinitesimal permeation of options which only dilutes the truth of who and whose we are instead of refining all opinions to actuate the singular truth. As Jesus said to the disciples, “I AM the way, the truth and the life. There is no other means by which His presence can be entered apart from Me.” What we find in that particular singularity of Jesus as the Christ is a place where all people are able to find themselves. It is a truth of consensus and not one of majority rules. In the end, there will only be one measure and one standard of understanding life. That measure was the tenor of Jesus’ teachings which we find contained in the Gospels concerning Jesus’ ministry on earth as the Messiah, the Christ of God. That tenor is “righteousness.”

Even Jesus stopped the young ruler who approached Him with a titular measure of identity calling Him “Good Teacher.” Jesus responded, “Why would you call Me good when there is only One who is truly good? If you desire to enter into the fullness of life keep the commandments.” (Matthew 19.17) Some interpret this scripture as Jesus deferring to God who is His Heavenly Father and thus is the Heavenly Father of all. That being the case, then it is the nature and character of that “goodness” which is the true measure of life. In that measure we find that all of us fall short and thus reside in the category of “sinner.” Does Jesus include Himself in that category? Obviously, “He who was without sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God.” (Paul, 2 Corinthians 5.21) So, Jesus was not a sinner. He was deemed to be among the sinners by those who measured themselves by their own standard and called it God’s. The Young Ruler was the “visual aid” in teaching that lesson to all who were there in Perea east of the Jordan opposite Jerusalem. Even geographically, we are brought into an awareness of this “double-standard.” As the Young Ruler represented the Pharisees, Sadducees and Teachers of the Law whom the world might call “the righteous ones of God” assuming their title was the truth, it was then the Young Ruler who found himself lacking in a spiritual affirmation of the truth of authentic righteousness. What was that measure? Jesus instructed him to “Sell all that you have and give it to the poor. Commit yourself to being one of My disciples and follow Me to live out the life we have taken upon ourselves.” Of course, we know, as we have reviewed this story previously, that the Young Man did not do that and walked away. The theme of “walking away” becomes symbolic of unrighteousness. When the teachings of Jesus were too challenging, many who followed Jesus for the worldly benefits of food and drink and fame turned away. When the Pharisees confronted Jesus with their woman caught in her adultery, Jesus confronted them with their true identity and they “walked away.” Jesus proved to be the authentication of this singular standard of defining one’s identity. It was the measure of “righteousness.”

It is here that we see Jesus did not defer to God and claim Himself to not be God nor of God even though scripture tells us “Though He was in form the righteousness of God, He did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped.” (Philippians 2.6) Even here we must be keenly aware of the full parameter of the teaching. Here we find a hearkening back to the original temptation story from the Garden of Eden. It was the assertion of the Serpent, Satan the cast out Lucifer, that God did not want Eve and thus Adam to be “equal” with God knowing all that He knew as to what was good and evil. All Adam and Eve knew was obedience and prohibition. Their spiritual vocabulary did not yet contain “good and evil” or even “right and wrong.” Eve looked at the apple and “…saw it was good for eating.” She grasped the apple of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and took a bite. She, in turn, offered Adam the same opportunity which he grasped as well. It was then that they realized “Equality with God is not a thing to be grasped.” They were ashamed in that moment because “good and evil” became real life experiences. They knew who they were not because of their disobedience to God’s will. Jesus was confronted by Satan in the Wilderness with a similar opportunity to “grasp” an equality with the Cast Out Lucifer. Jesus refused knowing that such equality was not to be grasped. To grasp it would mean letting go of God and acting in disobedience to the mission and purpose of His own life. Now when Paul speaks to the Philippians concerning this identity of Jesus Christ it was with that awareness of being identified by the righteousness of God as His true nature, character and being. Paul wanted the Philippians to do the same and be the same. They were to be aligned then the mind of Christ. This was Paul’s hope for them throughout his letter of encouragement.

So, we are led to understand that similar assertion in the vision and explanation of it which was given to Zechariah. Jerusalem’s identity and Israel’s identity were validated not by their obedience to God’s word, which they were not, but by God’s obedience to His promise: I will be your God and you will be My people. This is mentioned seven times specifically in the Old Testament. It is the hope and consolation of Israel but demands an alignment to His word and the understanding of it practically in service and mission. So, when Jesus speaks of those people being the light of the world and the salt of the earth, He is speaking of their identity based on “the righteousness of God.” When God makes good on His promise to be His God in restoring the exiles, it is because of His being true to Himself. He cannot, nor will not, violate His own identity, His own law, His own covenant and His own nature. We see this in the two names which are mentioned in this verse. For Jerusalem, the name is “Faithful City.” It speaks of the marriage covenant as husband and wife. The husband remains faithful to his betrothed regardless of her “standard of living.” Think of Hosea and Gomer and the call of God to Hosea to take her back as his wife. I believe it is the names of their three children which Jesus scribed in the dust before the accusers of their woman caught in her adultery. Their names convicted them with the righteousness of God to restore Israel in spite of her adulteries. Consider also Jesus’ earthly parents, Joseph and Mary. When Joseph discovered Mary was with child knowing it happened not because of him, he sought quietly to divorce her (release her from the covenant vow to be married). He showed his true heart for the law and the righteousness which it inspired. But, he showed the depth of his righteousness when he accepted the word of the Lord concerning the child and took Him to be his own knowing He was the true Son of God.

The other name was “Holy Mountain.” It was on this mountain that the faith of Abraham was tested. And while God cannot be tested, His faith in Abraham was proved with his fearful obedience to the command of God. Abraham’s willingness to trust God even with the life of his son Isaac whom God had foreseen and foretold was the foreshadowing of what God Himself would do for the whole world. Of course, we know what was happening on Mount Moriah, some call Mount Zion or the Temple Mount, before the days of Zechariah. Perhaps the atrocities continued through the seventy years of exile up to the declaration of God to Zechariah and Joshua. The perversion of worship was staining the walls of the Temple desecrating it, defiling it and defaming it. It was not a “holy mountain” any longer in the eyes of Israel and the world. It was an evidence of mockery against God and those who claimed they were descendants of Abraham and the heirs of the Kingdom of God on earth. The seventy years of exile of those who were seen as leaders (good and bad) was a time of purging the Temple, the mount, the city and the population. It was a time of reflection so that the reconciliation of God and His people could be effected. No matter of sacrificial offerings, tithes, fasts, prayers and traditions would be sufficient to render the place and the population holy. They were an anathema to the very name of God. Yet, God in mercy, grace and love would by His own faithfulness and obedience bring holiness back to this place and these people. It would be God’s presence alone, in spirit and in truth, which would do this. Let it be said that the effort to make this place holy and sacred unto the Lord was built upon the desire of the people to make it so. What we may hear in Jesus’ words to the Temple leadership who countered Him on the Triumphal Entry demanding His disciples to be silenced that very truth. Jesus said, “Even if I did command them to be quiet, the very rocks themselves would begin to cry out in praise.” Yes, the place where God is “on earth” is holy. We should take our shoes off to walk in this place and honor God. The defining identity, however, becomes that of the people who are called by His name and who call upon His name. They shall be known as the righteousness of God.

Shall we? Is there not a lesson to be drawn from these words for our current culture and climate as a nation, a people and as the Church? Let those with eyes to see perceive and ears to hear listen.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, before we were conceived in the womb, You had already formed us in Your love and by Your Spirit brought us into being. Each one of us is blessed with the opportunity of doing right, being good and producing the fruit of the Spirit in order that others be fed the truth of that same love so that the two will become one. It is our soul’s sincere desire to embrace the oneness You have in mind so we would know we are Your people and You are our God. Lead us in that discovery of the truth and the manifestation of that love for us all. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.