Fields of Blood ...

As crop choices go, attempting to plant blood is not going to yield much, except perhaps a harvest of horror.  So when a field anywhere in the world earns that title, it typically means something horrible must of happened there, and what is remembered most about this place, is death, and blood.  Back in Roman times blood was fairly common place.  The value of life perhaps at its lowest throughout history.  People died, so many the numbers are beyond the counting.  Not just soldiers who stood on the battle fields in opposition to the iron kingdom, but slaves because the whim of their masters took the slightest offense.  Those who did not pay the exorbitant taxes Rome demanded to fund the excess of a few, died without notation in lands far and wide, and again without the slightest hesitation.  The manner of death was as varied as Roman imaginations could invent in those times.  Death was never a mercy.  It was a final punishment meant to inflict pain on the dieing, and terror on those who were left behind and forced to witness it.  In this context, for a field to stand out above the others, and still earn the title to be known as “the field of blood”, something extreme must have occurred.  It did.

The story of this field begins with dark notarity.  The prophet Jeremiah foretells the tale of woe many centuries before it will come to pass exactly as he predicts.  In its own time, the field is seeded with silver.  It is silver steeped in betrayal, not just of one man to another, but of one species to the God who created them.  Blood money gives way to buy a field to be used as a cemetery.  And none of us will ever know just how much that cost took from the universe to purchase.  We caused God the Father, to watch us murder His Only Son, to shed not just innocent blood, but divine innocent blood, a thing no being ever thought possible.  This field would truly be a place where people would go to rest in death.  There would be no hope in this place.  And its title would stick with it for centuries, even in a Roman time, when that name might have been at best redundant.  Still it stood out.  For it is where our actions to kill God were noted.

Matthew penned his gospel to his contemporaries.  His goal was to meticulously outline to any believing, studying Jew, how all the prophecies of the Old Testament met their fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ.  Even when those foretellings were dark, steeped in blood and betrayal, and would appear to condemn us all.  Jeremiah was not a light-hearted comedian of his day.  He was a gloom-and-doom, truth-to-power teller of his day.  And let’s face it, nobody likes gloom-and-doom on any day.  Matthew continues detailing the story of the betrayal of our God, of his murder, and of our weakness and horror on display throughout the process.  He picks up in chapter twenty-seven in verse one, continuing from where the church leadership has taken the story to this point.

In verse 1 it continues … “When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: [verse 2] And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.”  Irony of ironies.  The church decides to hide all of the other Jews who had visited violence on their Roman oppressors.  But to the One who loves His enemies, they bind Him, beat Him, and take Him to Roman authorities in order to have Him executed by the power of the state; thus attempting to hide who was truly responsible.  But in truth this was Jews, killing the God of the Jews, because He loved too much, and hated not at all.  It is not how bitter you are, that puts you at odds with the world around you, the world is used to bitter.  It is not how much you hate, that puts you out of tune with society.  Society has more than enough hidden hatred to go around to consider any one hater a particular problem.  But love like Jesus, and you will be too much of an odd ball to ignore.  The world cannot understand that kind of love, and frankly would prefer to kill it, than have to accept it.  A pattern that dates back to before the beginning of our world in the first war ever in heaven; and now finds it ultimate fulfillment in the death of Jesus.

But Jesus did not just get here by accident.  A man put Him here.  Not just any man, but the most respected man of His fellow followers.  The disciple all the others wanted to be more like.  The popular, natural leader, the good-looking guy it would be easy for any of us to follow – all things being equal.  But Judas did not just put Jesus here by accident.  He did it on purpose.  He sealed it with a kiss.  He took money for his deed of betrayal.  Even if his motive was to force Jesus to become the King He was supposed to be, that did not work.  Judas saw all of this up close and personally.  Judas was allowed in to the trial by the High Priest because he was on “their” side.  He watched them put a bag of sorts over the head of Jesus, then hit Him, and ask Him to prophecy as to who did it.  Jesus knew who did it.  But despite their crimes, He still does not offer any of them condemnation.  For those who believe it is our job to point out the sins of others, they miss the example of Jesus who was silent while being sinned against.

Matthew continues in verse 3 saying … “Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, [verse 4] Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.”  Now Judas does one last act to see if he can undo what he has done.  He comes and makes a public confession of his sin.  He reminds these men, that Jesus is innocent blood.  By telling them Jesus is innocent, Judas hopes that those who live by the law, will be constrained by the law, to release the innocent and punish Him no further.  But these religious leaders who claim to live by the Law, in no way understand the Law, or the Law Giver.  The use manipulation of the Law, to accomplish what they already set about to do.  They do not wish to be led in their interpretations, they wish to be the sole authority by which men understand any interpretation.  They want control.  And they will kill to get it.  There can be no opposition.

This is human nature on display – even inside the church of God.  And it is no different for the centuries to come even inside of Christianity, nor of the churches who evolve from the reformation.  Men still kill, punish, and excommunicate, any who stand in opposition to their control.  It is a contest of man vs. God that began long ago and will see no end, until God Himself ends it at the end of all things.  The priests acknowledge the words of Judas, and respond in a chilling voice, “what is that to us?”.  The leadership does not care what Judas has done.  Nor do they care that Jesus is innocent.  Jesus is marked for death.  Judas helped get Him there.  If Judas is having second thoughts, that is his problem, not theirs.  They remain committed to seeing Jesus die.  Who cares what Judas thinks?  But Judas has now pushed himself over the edge of brokenness.  His plans have failed.  His last ditch effort to stop this farce has failed.  Jesus will die, and history will record the name of Judas as His betrayer, even though Jesus still called him friend when he was in the middle of betraying Him.  It is too much to take.

Matthew continues in verse 5 saying … “And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.”  Judas sees no way out.  How could anyone forgive this level of greed and betrayal?  How could anyone love him after what he has done?  He deserves death, plain and simple.  So Judas does to himself, what all of us are equally deserving of.  He kills himself.  And there is a critical lesson to be learned here.  Judas, still in isolation from any that might have comforted him, or reminded him how much Jesus loves, even murderers, or betrayers (like Peter); makes a rash decision he cannot undo.  While there is life there is hope.  When life is gone, there is only the waiting.  Judas lost faith in the power of salvation, and the power of re-creation of Jesus Christ.  If he had held on to that faith, that hope, Jesus would have done for Judas, what He does for you and I every single day. 

Suicide is not a shortcut to the heavenly gates.  It is a statement that no one else in the world matters more than me.  It happens in loneliness, when faith and hope are lost, and isolation keeps you from getting the comfort you need.  It happens because the victim decides he is of no value to anyone else, and does not test this theory by serving others and letting history decide his value.  It is usually not born of sacrifice (like Samson), but of a break in trust (like Judas); with the God who longs to give you a better life if you would just let Him.  If we are ALL not careful, we may find ourselves on the same road as Judas, sprinting to the same destination.  Not because God will’s it, or is trying to punish us, but because we believe in God’s vengeance more than His mercy; and see ourselves of no value to a Savior who would sacrifice EVERYTHING to save just you, or just me.  This is why loving each other is SO important.  Your tangible demonstration of love might be just the thing, that keeps a suffering one from losing all hope.  And you may never know it throughout your life.  It is not important for you to know it, only to show that tangible love.  When you love like this, you demonstrate to the world, what the real character of God looks like, not what they have been taught to believe.  Anyone can condemn.  Jesus could have condemned Judas, but He did not.  He longed to save him.  But Judas refused to be saved.  Instead he fell to common sense, not divine power.

Meanwhile, the priests who care nothing for Judas, cannot leave money lying around.  Matthew continues in verse 6 saying … “And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood.”  Does the irony meter have a ceiling?  The priests were the ones who just paid Judas (a detail they seem in a hurry to forget).  But they recognize this is still blood money.  And “according to the Law” they are not allowed to put the money into the treasury (where it belongs to them once again).  A wonderfully strange interpretation of the goings on of this evening.  They are driven to use the money in some other way.  But hmmm … how to spend 30 pieces of silver paid to kill innocent blood?  In this case, the innocent blood of God Himself, by the murderers who intend to kill Him.

Matthew continues in verse 7 saying … “And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in. [verse 8] Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.”  How incredibly random.  First, that a potter’s field would be for sale at just that time in history.  Second, that the price of the potter’s field would be exactly 30 pieces of silver, just the exact amount of money they had, forced to use for some purpose, they interpreted.  And then, to use this field to bury strangers in.  A usage that would immediately associate death with the field.  And because of how it was purchased (the blood money that is), that it would be called and known for many centuries later as … wait for it … “the field of blood”.  Now to the non-believer, this is nothing more than series of coincidental events with no major significance by a group of people who hated Jesus so much they wanted Him dead, enough to make this price in the first place.  But Matthew has a different take on these events.

Matthew continues in verse 9 saying … “Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying, And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was valued, whom they of the children of Israel did value; [verse 10] And gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord appointed me.”  This was the prophecy of Jeremiah.  This was the dark foretelling, of betrayal of our Lord, and how the money used in that betrayal would come to its final disposition.  And the priests (who did nothing but study scripture) walked right down the list of things required to fulfill this prophecy – something they would have NEVER done because they hated Jesus so much.  If they had remembered these words.  If they had thought about it.  They would have paid hookers rather than use the money this way just to avoid fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah about the One they were in the process of killing.  This field of blood existed because of the actions of the priests who hated Christ.  Those very priests insured the prophecy was fulfilled.

And they could not undo what they had done.  They did not even think to.  Instead the field of blood was born not because the potter came up with this idea, but because the priests did.  There was nothing random about it.  This was orchestrated.  This was the foreknowledge of God, NOT because He forced anyone to do anything.  Only because He knew what each of them would do, before they chose to do it.  It was not pre-destination, it was free will.  But those free-will choices were known by God, centuries before they were made.  Jeremiah notes it.  Jeremiah may not have even understood fully what he was writing.  But his words came true, to the letter – made so by the very ones who hated Jesus the most.  These priests were already sensitive about allowing prophecy to be fulfilled by Jesus.  When he rode on a colt into Jerusalem (fulfilling yet another prophecy), the priests complained, trying to shut the whole thing down.  Jesus told them if they did, the stones would cry out in praise instead of the people they were trying to shew away.  And those priests knew He was telling the truth.  So they left them in peace, and only broiled more in anger.  Yet despite this, here they were acting out their part to fulfill the dark words of Jeremiah.

In the world to come, there will be no more fields of blood.  Blood will be something no longer shed or lost.  Blood will stay inside of you where it belongs, where God made it to be.  Blood, like everything else God touches will be perfect.  But its price will never be forgotten.  That we made our God the Father, sit still, having all the power of the universe, and watch while we did, what we did to His only Son.  This price is beyond reckoning.  A single tear from the Father’s face is worth more than I will ever be.  A torrent of tears from the Father’s heart, is a thought that would crush me forever.  But He did it.  He allowed it.  Because God the Father loves you, loves me, and yes even loves Judas and those priests, SO MUCH; He wants only to see each and all of us reconciled to His throne.  His love is greater than our blood.  His love is greater than our worst deeds, and not a single one of us, is beyond His ability to save.  The dark words of Jeremiah bad as they are, should cement our faith in Jesus, because they happened.  Every detail that was supposed to happen, happened.  If God promises to save you.  You have only to let Him, and He will do it, just like every other prophecy He makes, or promise He offers.  And for you, fields of blood, will be no more …

 

Bleeding and Dying No More [part two] ...

We define our own limits.  We tell ourselves what is “possible” and then live our lives within the confines of the limitations we have set for ourselves.  But our definition of “possible” has been set by a very human perspective, and perspective is not the same as reality.  Because you have never seen a thing, or heard a thing, does not mean that thing does not exist … it is merely something you have never seen or heard.  Others may have experienced it.  So for a witness to this event, it is very real … for the person who has never encountered it, it remains only theoretical.  Our imaginations are the gift that enable us to briefly look beyond the limitations we set for ourselves, and dream or imagine what might be possible beyond the reality our minds have proscribed for us.  Our imagination questions our limitations, and poses the most important query to our self-imposed limitations … what if? 

For the Christian, for the believer in a God of infinite Love, a God who wrote the rules of science, any “limitation” at all, is an oxymoron.  Indeed self-imposed limitations are nothing more than chains that bind and limit the potential of a life that might otherwise be an existence our dreams could hardly keep up with.  What we define as limits, were never really limits at all.  They were self-imagined constrictions “we” placed on ourselves, not impositions our God placed upon us.  We are the ones who tell ourselves “no”, and “it cannot be done” and “there is no way”.  Like a contagious disease, we allow our lack of personal witness, and the limitations others have proscribed, to join and form our own ideas.  We adopt the limits others have dictated until we join them like mindless Borg drones, unable to break free of the collective.  Our educational systems are built around the idea of conformity, not individuality.  Our society is based on cooperation, and perpetuates “group think” over “unique think”.  So mostly every influencing factor around us from our media to our pulpits encourages us to be part of something larger, and if that means we limit ourselves and our potential, in order to stay in line with the rest of the drones, then so be it.

But for the believer in a God of infinite Love, why do we continually “limit” what infinite must mean?  Does our uniquely human power to say “no” to God and thus thwart what He would otherwise do for us make us think we have some power of our own?  Our sole ability to refuse love has been translated into thinking that saying no equals the end of possibility and potential.  But it does not.  What happens when we change our “no” answer to a “yes” answer to God’s love?  The change in our response becomes and is a life altering experience.  When we look from His perspective at our own limitations we begin to understand they were never limitations in the first place.  They were only ever the result of saying “no” to God over and over again.  When “yes” is our response to His love, what we thought was impossible becomes possible, achievable, then history, then even routine.  All of the sudden, miracles are not the unusual, they can become the common place.  Our imaginations must then work harder to dream beyond what the reality of our lives are.  For what we imagine Love to be, is never really enough to define, what Love can truly be.

And you or I, will not be the first believer to discover this truth.  Peter refers to another, he lists her only as “a certain woman”.  She has no name that he can recall, perhaps he never heard it, or knew it.  In recalling the story of Jesus’ third hit in the spiritual grand-slam going on near the edge of the Sea of Galilee to John Mark in his gospel in chapter five, Peter does not know the identity of this woman.  Perhaps this was by intent from God to you and I.  Perhaps Peter is unable to personalize this story by listing the woman’s name, because God wanted for you to substitute your name where Peter and John Mark say simply the words “a certain woman”.  If only our own imaginations could allow us to dream past our limitations the story of this woman might actually be the same as our own.  Imagine for a brief moment, that you are her.  Imagine for a brief moment, that the biggest challenge of your life could be substituted for the one she was facing.  Then using your imagination, see if how she conquered her own problems, might not be exactly the same as how you see your biggest challenge overcome in an instant.  How hard it is to imagine, might be an indication of how deeply you have limited your ability to really live.

John Mark picks up the story in verse 25 saying … “And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, [verse 26] And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,”  This woman was likely a hemophiliac.  She had a degenerative health condition which in her time had no cure, nor effective treatment.  She was losing blood constantly over a twelve year block of time.  She did not take this ailment without attempting to fix it.  She did what all of us do, she went to the doctor for it.  But when the first doctor failed, she got a second opinion, and then a third, until she had seen every doctor she could find.  And in the end, all of her best efforts, all the best of humanity had to offer, was only a further level of misery from the original condition she faced.  How many times, have you faced a challenge in your life, and done your best efforts to meet it, only to find you have actually made things worse?  The temptation to give up all hope becomes even stronger when everything you do, only makes it worse.  But for her to give up, meant to die, so giving up was not an option for this certain woman … or perhaps for you.

Mark continues in verse 27 writing … “When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. [verse 28] For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.”  Here is where a certain woman puts me to shame.  No one told her this would work.  No one had ever tried it.  No one had ever experienced it.  In point of fact, she concocted this idea completely in her own imagination, and set about to carry it out.  There were no sermons outlining a 5 part plan that begins with her own acknowledgement of her need, a donation into the offertory, and then an effort to touch the hem of Jesus’ clothing.  This idea was crazy, and had never been done.  It was going to be a first.  It was the product of her imagination.  But it was something more than that.  This woman did, what you and I, have refused to do.  She let go of her limitations.  She determined that her problem not only could be solved by Jesus, but that it was going to be solved by Jesus, and all she had to do was imagine that truth. 

If she had shared her plans with the other drones in her life, they would have surely and universally, condemned it.  Just like your family and friends would do to you, if you came up with such a clearly hair-brained scheme.  Her pastor or Rabbi, would have pointed out to her, that NOWHERE in scripture (at least up to now) has this EVER been tried, let alone been successful.  There were ZERO documented cases of people walking around that had personally experienced any such thing, and many, many, people had touched Christ before on their own, without any such results.  Up to now, Christ had to make some sort of effort to heal people.  They did not just encounter him anonymously and walk away healed.  They had to interact with Christ, talk to Him, ask Him for what they wanted, and then wait for Him to respond.  Her plan was completely different.  She would not bother Him to talk to Him.  She would not even ask Him to stop doing what He was doing, or going where He was going.  She would just attack Him from behind, get a quick anonymous touch of His clothes, and then resume her life in complete secrecy. 

Her challenge, or issue, was a lethal one, and she had already exhausted all her money, time, and effort on conventional means with only worsening results.  Human limits had been fully employed and fully failed.  Perhaps it was only in this condition, that she was able to imagine a solution beyond human limits.  Must it be so with us?  Must we face a life threatening issue before we even begin to imagine a solution to our problems beyond the limits of humanity?  What if the fact that there is NO money, and NO prospects to finding any, or finding enough; was NOT the limitation we chose to impose on ourselves when it comes to spending on a ministry for others?  Or putting what we have in the offering plate.  What if our very real looking human limitations, could be seen through the lens of imagination, and faith in a God of infinite Love.  Could we too come up with a plan where God solves our problems without so much as a formal request to do so.  The plans of this certain woman were banking on God’s love and ability to solve a problem He would not even have to slow down to do.  That is some radical faith folks.  That is some life altering ideas there, and reflects a complete lack of self-imposed limitations.

So how does it turn out?  Mark continues transcribing in verse 29 saying … “And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.”  It worked.  This crazy plan worked.  Her challenge was overcome by a Divine power of infinite Love, that could work even without a formal request for it.  A miracle could happen just by following the crazy plans of her imagination, combined with a belief that “no” was not the answer from God in this situation.  She did not do this plan thinking “maybe” it would work.  She did it, believing there was NO limit to the love of God, that God’s Love could flow to her just by touching clothing anonymously in the crowd.  And it worked.  What if we put the money we cannot afford to give in the offering plate when it passes by?  Would we find ourselves destitute as a result, or perhaps blessed beyond what we could have imagined instead?  What if our church spent money it does not have on missions for the poor and those in need, instead of heeding the limits of frugality and financial responsibility it self-imposes?  What if, instead of being devastated by our diagnosis, we imagined that just a mere prayer to our Lord, could heal us of whatever illness we faced, with 100% certainty?  Would we find our crazy imagination was more real than our limited and self-imposed reality we too had constructed?

It is our limitations, that cause us to think, there is only one way we can be healed by God.  It is our limitations that cause us to think, that God often says “no” to us when we face a challenge instead of “knowing” He has an answer for what our collective human might could not solve.  The entire Bible is a series of stories of how God solves problems we could not, including our redemption and reclamation.  Yet we believers are content to construct limits on how God can and will interact with us.  We see limits in our lives when no such limits even exist.  We construct limits, instead of seeing beyond our perspective, that from His viewpoint no such limit exists.  What for us is difficult, is for Him child’s play.  But Jesus did not want this incident to be a private one.  He wanted you and I to know that crazy imaginations can and will be real.  He wanted you and I to know that “we” can be a certain woman who ignores her own limitations and those of her family and friends and see done, what no one believed could be done.  So Jesus decides to see this story recorded.

Mark continues in verse 30 saying … “And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?”  So one crazy plan deserves another.  The very nature of a press, is that people are pressing in on you, they are touching you, crowding you, and in effect are all over you.  They are patting Jesus on the back, trying to hug Him, trying to be as close to Him as a person can be.  They touch His arms, try to hold His hands.  They just want to be close to Him.  This is what a press is by definition in this instance.  And in the midst of His walking with Jairus to the home of Jairus to heal His daughter, Jesus pauses to ask who touched His clothing?  The question makes NO sense to anyone there … except this woman.  She knows, that Jesus knows, what she has done.  But the disciples have no clue.

John Mark continues in verse 31 saying … “And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?”  The disciples decide to take on the role of Captain Obvious, and ask the question, “what are You talking about?”  A thousand people are trying to get close to you and touch you, and you want us to identify everyone who might have been close enough to do so, a moment ago?  But the disciples are viewing this question through the lens of humanity, Jesus is viewing it through something wider than just this view.  Mark continues in verse 32 transcribing events … “And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. [verse 33] But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.”  Jesus begins looking at the crowd to find this woman.  It won’t take Him long.  But the woman realizes her anonymity is not going to last.  The idea that God did not need to be bothered to see her healed was actually not as true as she had imagined.  God wanted to be bothered.  God wanted her to know, He had the time to make time, just for her.  She too was special to Him.  She too mattered.  Just like you do.  Just like I do.  He wants to slow down to meet our needs, He is willing to be delayed in going where He is going, to take a minute for us.  She needed to know this.

So Jesus reveals a deeper truth to her and us about the nature of His infinite love to her beginning in verse 34 saying … “And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.”  He does not refer to her as “a certain woman”, nor does He state her name.  Instead He has a much more intimate term for her.  He calls her Daughter.  He has made her family.  He has rewarded her imagination with more than just a physical healing, He is adopting her into His family, and making her know just how important she is to Him.  He is not humiliating her, He is uplifting her.  He lets her know that He knows exactly what she was healed of.  He lets her know that He wanted all along to bring her and you and I this kind of healing.  We too can be healed of our plagues.  We too can see our challenges melt away, if we are willing to embrace the crazy.  If we are willing to let our imaginations become our reality, instead of denying His love and power because of our ideas of facts.  We need to be like a certain woman, who recognized the power and magnitude of His love was big enough to reach her in an unconventional means.  It did not take a pastors intercession, or a group of prayer warriors, or a donation into the plate.  It only took a crazy scheme she made up in her head, that banked on the size of His love for her.  Perhaps our own crazy ideas about how much God loves us, are not so crazy after all.

But the spiritual series of miracles had one more hit to yet put on display …