The Spirit of Jubilee

Jubilee in the Old Testament

In ancient Israel, every seventh year the people celebrated the land rest. They did not sow, nor reap a harvest from the land. God provided three years worth of harvest in the sixth year;¹ so the people ate the harvest of the sixth year; in the sixth, seventh, and eighth years (Lev. 25:20-22). 

The Jubilee was celebrated in the fiftieth year, starting on the seventh day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement (Lev.  25:8-12). It was the year of release. Debts were released and everyone returned to his inheritance. God made a promise to Abraham - I will make you many nations and your descendants will be like the stars of heaven, and like the sand on the seashore (Gen. 17:4-6; Gen. 22:17). Abraham's descendants were to inherit all the land of Canaan (Gen. 17:8). The land brought stability for the people, and kept families together (Lev. 25:10). Every one of the twelve tribes had an inheritance of land. Jubilee was a reminder of who Israel was - God's chosen people.  

In Jubilee, in the fiftieth year, the people that had sold themselves or their land, returned to their eternal inheritance. Israel was God's possession. They were not to be hired hands. The land given to them by God provided their freedom, sustenance, livelihood, and relationships. The land is God's and if someone had sold his land, and neither he nor his relatives were able to redeem it, then in the Jubilee he who sold his land returned to it (Lev. 25:25-28). No one could take away the inheritance that God had given them.

The spirit of Jubilee has come to us in atonement (at-one-ment).

In the spirit of Jubilee, our debts, all of our burdens have been taken off our shoulders. Jesus tells us, "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle, and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls " (Mat. 11:28-30 NASB). Whereas Jubilee in the Old Testament was once every fifty years; the spirit of Jubilee, is a life of eternal rest given to us as a free gift by God (Rom. 6:23). In the New Testament our inheritance is Jesus himself. We are being called to an awakening - a call to return to our inheritance - our authentic life in Christ.  

New Testament Parallels 

Whereas in the Old Testament God worked exclusively through the nation of Israel. In the New Testament God works exclusively through the true Israelite, Jesus. The greater promise of inheritance is for everyone, and it is fulfilled in Christ Jesus (Heb. 9:15; 1 Pet. 1:3-4; 1 John 2:2). Our at-one-ment, our oneness, our union, in Jesus is based on who Jesus is, and what he has done for humanity. We are forever one with God in Christ. 

Jesus is our life. He is our inheritance. Jesus is the basis of all relationships. This is what the good news is all about. It is the promise of sharing in the relationship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jubilee is a proclamation of liberty. Because of the Spirit of Jubilee, we are free to participate in Jesus' ecstatic relationship with the Father (John 14:20). Father, Son and Holy Spirit have always enjoyed a loving relationship. This relationship is called perichoresis.² God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, are united in love, but distinct. In the Spirit of Jubilee, we share in Jesus' relationship with the Father through the Spirit. But we also share in Jesus' relationship with our neighbor - other divine children of God. In the Spirit of Jubilee, I share in Jesus' relationship with you, and you share in Jesus' relationship with me.  We don't have a relationship with one another apart from Jesus' relationship (John 14:20; Eph. 4:6; Col. 3:11). The Spirit of Jubilee also means that we share in Jesus' unique relationship with creation. As the last Adam, Jesus is the keeper of the garden of life. He tends, keeps, and beautifies the entire cosmos. He has recreated all things in himself (2 Cor. 5:17; Col. 1:16; Rev. 21:5).   

Watch my latest video.

 

_______________________________

1. The increase is an additional two years worth of harvest for the seventh and eighth years. See Leviticus 25:12 (KJV).

2. See Dr. C Baxter Kruger's website, https://perichoresis.org/.

Parousia

Parousia (para - beside; ousia - being) refers to much more than the second coming of Christ. God has come to us in the person of Jesus, and "as creature within our creaturely being," says Thomas F. Torrance.¹ 

Even though hidden from sight, Jesus is still Jesus. God became flesh. He became a human being in Christ Jesus. He went to the cross with the same human body, and still lives in his resurrected, and ascended body. Yes, his body was changed from "perishable" to "imperishable."² Jesus is no longer flesh, and blood,  "for flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God;"³ but he is still human. His body has gone through some sort of metamorphosis. The human body isn't sinful. God in Christ has sanctified our human bodies. Yes, God is holy; so that says a great deal about what God believes about being human. After all, he became human - one of us - to give us life,⁴ and so that we may share in his eternal kingdom of love. 

The REALITY is that the kingdom of God has been fully inaugurated, but like Jesus, it's veiled. It's not fully manifested. In Jesus' person and work, he has accomplished salvation for us. He is our salvation. When he comes again, or when he manifests himself, salvation shall be unveiled. Then we shall be like him; changed from perishable to imperishable - glorified! 

Without this understanding of parousia, we would continue to reach for a distant god, and continue to strive to draw closer to this god; not comprehending that the only true God that is revealed in Jesus is present within us. Many believe that this distant god is coming with vengeance to destroy, and or torture human beings that are made in God's image and likeness - his own children. But this god that comes at the end of the age looks much different from the God that came in the incarnation.  That's the beauty of parousia, because instead of two different gods, we have one God - the only true God that is revealed in Jesus Christ. The God that said, "Love your enemies," is the same God throughout parousia - the first and second coming. This God is a present REALITY, and he will be unveiled, fully manifested, at his return. 

Watch my video on Parousia: 

_____________________________

1. Thomas F. Torrance, Atonement: The Person and Work of Christ, ed. Robert T. Walker (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2009), 301-302.

2. 1 Cor. 15:42, 50-54  We will become like Jesus, raised to immortality. Our bodies will be changed so that we can live in the new creation - the heavenly realm - with God. 

3. 1 Cor. 15:50

4. John 10:10

Go Ahead Make My Day

No, Jesus isn't Dirty Harry. Clint Eastwood does well in Hollywood because we as human beings often like to see the bad guy get what's coming to him. However, in Jesus' upside down cruciform world, justice is mercy!

Jesus said, "Go ahead and make my day," by forgiving us of our sins; by entering into our darkness; by becoming one of us; taking on our vengeful, hateful, get the bad guy nature, and recreating us to be what we were meant to be - God's divine children. 

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the good news of God's mercy, kindness, compassion, and forgiveness, that is based on who God is. God is love. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have always lived in other-centered-love, because that's God's nature. The true God is revealed only in Jesus Christ. There isn't another God that looks something like Dirty Harry. God is not vengeful. God is not angry. God is not a psychopath. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit look, just like Jesus. They are all one, but distinct. The great mystery of God is revealed in Jesus. God is not defined by our favorite scripture. True knowledge of God is revealed only in the person of Jesus Christ. 

The gospel is both a proclamation, an announcement of what has already been accomplished in Christ, and it is also an  invitation to participate in the life of God. Yes, it is finished! In Jesus' person and work, salvation for humanity is completed! However, we are invited to share in this relationship of other centered love. We are invited to celebrate the good news, which is sharing in the resurrection life of Christ! He is risen, and so have we! He is seated in the heavenly realm above all, and so are we! It's not an obscure religious life that we've been invited to share; it's the Reality of a new life in Christ Jesus!  Although we are one in Christ Jesus, we are distinct from Jesus. 

In Jesus' heavenly realm, there is no need for Dirty Harry. Jesus has conquered all his enemies not by blowing them all away, but by surrendering to them. "Them" is us!   For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God, through the death of his Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life (Rom. 5:10 NASB). God loves everyone, including his enemies. That's why he taught us to do the same (Mat. 5:44). 

The Result of A Non Inclusive Mindset

The result of a non-inclusive mindset is division. We see it in religion, politics, and the world. The tribal mindset is a result of a non-inclusive mentality. Jesus has come that we may have life, and that we may have it more abundantly (John 10:10). This abundant life that Jesus speaks of is the life of God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It's a life of other-centered-love; and other-centered-love, is inclusive love.

Christendom is guilty of this non-inclusive mindset. In Christendom, bad theology is prevalent. The bad theology that results from a non-inclusive mindset includes these two religious ideas: "I do it with God's help."  "I do my part, and God does his part." These are bad ideas, that lead to a non-inclusive mindset, and division. 

Let's look at the first phrase, "I do it with God's help." The "I do it" part, involves things that one must do to add to what  God has accomplished in Christ Jesus. This mentality comes from not understanding what the incarnation means. Many believe that after they do whatever it is they must do, then they are included; and since their inclusion is based on what they do, they can easily become excluded if they fail to do whatever it is they're told they must do perfectly enough. Different tribes say there are different things you must do if you want to be included, and stay included. This concept says that God wasn't God enough to do what he did - finish the job. It also denies that the incarnation is the union of God and man in one person. It denies that Jesus isn't really God in the flesh. Jesus is only an example that one must follow. It's Gnosticism, which says the holy God can never be united to man! So man must strive to reach the elusive God who continues to live in heaven; at a very great distance from human beings. 

Now let's examine the second phrase, "I do my part, and God does his part." This religious idea says that salvation is a fifty-fifty deal. God made a deal that you can "get to heaven" if you fulfill your part of the bargain. This is another bad idea. Again, Christendom determines what your part of the bargain is, and every denomination has different ideas. Again, this mentality denies what God completed in the incarnation, and atonement (at-one-ment). Salvation isn't a deal, it's a free gift (Rom. 6:23).

So what does inclusion really mean? We are included in the life of the Trinity, by what God has done in Jesus, the Christ. Jesus is the God-man. He is perfect theology. He is God's yes to man, and man's yes to God. Jesus is Reality! He said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life" (John 14:6 KJV¹). "For in him we live and move and exist." We are his children (Acts 17:28-29). There is no Reality outside of this. Everything that is real, is based on this Reality! As God's divine children, we're called to live in this reality. "This is eternal life," Jesus said, "that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent" (John 17:3). Only in your own mind can you live outside of Reality, because God's love for us is greater than our denial or ignorance of him. God has included you and me because he is other-centered-love; that's who he is. He's made himself one of us, and he will never change his mind. 

_______________________________

1. Scripture references are in NASB, except where noted. 

Why Did Jesus Die?

The question of why Jesus died, has everything to do with who Jesus is. Jesus asked the question, "Who do you say that I am?" It was the demons that were the first to recognize Jesus. When Jesus went to the country of the Gerasenes to heal a man who was demon possessed, upon seeing Jesus, the wicked spirits that had possessed the man cried out, "What business do we have with each other, Jesus Son of the Most High God?" (Mark 5:7). 

When Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" they responded, "John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets." People in Jesus day were confused about who Jesus was. But when Jesus asked his disciples, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied,"You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Peter knew exactly who Jesus was, and Jesus said to him, "Blessed are you Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (Mat. 16: 13-17). However, after Jesus told his disciples that the Christ must suffer, be killed, and raised on the third day, Peter rebuked him, saying, "God forbid, Lord. This shall never happen to you." 

What Peter, and the disciples did not understand, is that Christ, Messiah, and Son of the Living God, includes suffering, death, and resurrection.  

But why did Jesus have to die? 

God in Christ entered into our rejection of him. He vetoed our no to him. He died our death to destroy sin, and its consequences: pain, suffering, sickness, and death. God united himself to humanity, in the incarnation, in the person of Jesus, and when he died, we died. When he was raised from the dead, we were raised with him. When he ascended to heaven, we ascended with him, and we are seated with him, in heavenly places (see Gal. 2:20; Eph. 2:5-6; Col. 3:3-4; 1 Cor. 15:3, 13-22, 26, 42-57). 

By his death, Jesus put an end to the Old Covenant, having fulfilled it completely. He established a  better covenant, based on the promise of a new life (Heb 8). Jesus is the pioneer of this new life. Being the Godman, Jesus has fulfilled both sides of the covenant for us, and as us. As God, he says yes to humanity, and as man, he says yes to God. 

The old life in Adam is null and void. We now live in the resurrected life of Christ, participating in the trinitarian life of God, by his grace. 

Watch my video, "Why Did Jesus Die?"

The Irresistible God

Brad is the son-in-law of my next door neighbor, and  he cuts my neighbor's grass. For the last two, or three years, Brad has been cutting the grass at the margin of my property. He cuts a row of grass with his zero-turn lawn mower as he drives past my house to the corner of the street, and then cuts another row of grass on his return to my neighbor's house.  I asked Brad if my neighbor was paying him to cut my grass. He laughed. and said, he had to go past my house to cut the grass on the corner of the street, so it wasn't a big deal. But this time Brad has gone too far. He's gone out of his way to cut the grass along the side of my house about three hundred feet in one direction, and then another three hundred feet back! No doubt Brad is a darn good businessman. He's made himself very easy to hire; but isn't there something more going on? Isn't this God? Knowingly or unknowingly, isn't Brad participating in the life of Christ? Quoting the prophet Joel, the apostle Peter tells us that in the last days, God will pour out his Spirit on all flesh (Acts 2:17). Kindness, goodness, and love, are virtues that don't exist outside of God.

How does God do it? God has found a way to us in the person of Jesus, the Christ. He has pulled us into himself. In the incarnation (in flesh), and the atonement (at-one-ment), God has made himself one with us. God hasn't left us alone. God exists in the world. He lives in people, not in buildings (Acts 7:48;17:24; Acts 25:19; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; Gal. 2:20). We are a new creation in Christ Jesus! Yes, the good news is that the whole creation has been made new! Obviously, it hasn't been fully manifested, but Jesus said, "It is finished! (John 19:28-30). In saying, it is finished, Jesus has fulfilled the Scriptures. He has filled life to the full! and he has destroyed death (John 10:10; 11:25-26). So when we see the virtues of God, we're seeing the kingdom of God being manifested on earth as it is in heaven. We're seeing Jesus, living his life, by grace, in the lives of God's children, human beings, and brothers and sisters of Jesus (Acts 17:28-29).