December 18th
Daily Reading
Zechariah 12:10
“Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.
John 19:34
One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.
(Readings taken from Bible Gateway, https://www.biblegateway.com/ New Living Translation)
Eden Restored
At Christmas, we recognize that Heaven came down to Earth. Up until the moment that Jesus incarnates a baby and enters into humanity, clothed in flesh and blood, the closest taste of heaven man has known is the Garden of Eden. The story of Creation laid out in Genesis provokes a picture of the Heaven we long for. Women and men who walk intimately with God. Engaged in a relationship that is personal. Tangible. Real.
A garden that is laden with good things, made by God, for people to experience and enjoy.
From the moment humanity ruptures this precious archetype of heaven, Yahweh continues to create thin spaces for humanity to encounter our splendid and Sovereign God. Tents, tabernacles, and temples decorated with angelic imagery (cherubim), garden imagery (fruit and trees), and lashings of jewels and gold. These heavenly spaces, for the limited priesthood fortunate to enter, are Holy. They are the place God dwells. But they are exclusive. It is the blood of atonement alone that makes it possible for any to walk on such holy ground.
And then, Jesus comes to dwell.
The Kingdom of Heaven draws near. Unlike the tents, tabernacles, and temples, Jesus doesn’t require ritualistic atonement to experience God’s presence. Jesus astonishingly carries the Kingdom of Heaven into places and spaces full of the unclean, the uninvited, and the invisible.
Lepers. Menstruating women. Roman soldiers. Suddenly encounters with God are no longer restricted.
Jesus is both the High Priest and the Living Temple.
At the moment of Christ’s death, the bible tells us the veil in the sanctuary, which has contained the presence of God, is torn in two. The cherubim weaved into this holy curtain, like the angels posted at the gates of Eden, are relieved of their duties, as Heaven is released and unleashed for all.
Heaven draws near to us.
John’s account of Jesus’ death doesn’t just reveal a physiological truth: water separated from blood proving his body was indeed dead. John is reminding us that Jesus is the sacrificial lamb and the wellspring of life. He points us back to the river, sustaining all of life in Eden’s Garden. All who drink this water will never be thirsty again. John is poetically and empathically declaring a restoration of all things through the life and death of Jesus.
Heaven draws near.
