ADVENT 23 (Spear): Desperately Wicked

We have entered the week before Christmas, and we are continuing to work through our 25-day Christmas Advent-ure from the Faith Radio Advent Guide, offering a look at various symbols related to the life and ministry of Jesus. 

On Saturday, the powerful symbol that speaks to us about why Jesus came to earth was highlighted in our guide - the cross. Luke 23:33-34 says: “...when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals…Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’”  Faith Radio listeners throughout the years, including this year, have placed these 7-foot crosses in various locations, reminding us that Jesus came to die so that we might be saved. 

There are other symbols from the time of His crucifixion.  For instance, Day 22, yesterday, was His garments, according to Luke 23:34: “And they divided His garments and cast lots.”  This is a part of the story that actually was prophesied in Psalm 22, where we can read:
16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;
17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.
18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.

So, there are events with symbolic meaning that actually were foretold in the Old Testament.

Now, we move on to today's symbol, the spear. John 19 states:
33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.
34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe.
36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken."
37 And again another Scripture says, "They shall look on Him whom they pierced."

Zechariah 12:10 reads: "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn."

This was a cruel death that Jesus experienced, according to the prescription of the Bible. He was our perfect sacrifice, dying in our place so that we might be free from the power of sin.

We live in a sinful, fallen world, and Jesus suffered immensely so that He could redeem humanity, which had been separated from God.  But, daily, we are reminded that sin is all around us, and quite frankly, sin operates within us.  That is why we have to identify with Jesus, put to death the sins of the flesh and live in His power.

A reminder of this sinfulness comes out of the San Francisco Bay Area; Faithwire shared recently:

Pastor Nick Neves of Family First Church in Antioch, a city in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, confronted a would-be thief carrying an ax on Thanksgiving morning last Thursday, after the unnamed intruder broke into the church’s building.

The article quoted the pastor from an NBC News story: “I shouted at him to stop, and that the police were on their way, and he ran and I grabbed ahold of him and we ended up wrestling in the parking lot of the church..."

The intruder tried to fight the pastor, but the pastor was able to fight back somewhat effectively.  The article related that Pastor Neves said: “I like to stay fit, and I studied in some jujitsu and kickboxing and I have a mixed martial arts background,” adding, “So it was very helpful to be able to grapple with this gentleman without having to do much harm to him.”  Faithwire reported:

The pair wrestled for about 15 minutes before the would-be thief gave up until police arrived. Neves said he was able to pin the man to the ground and, although he got up and tried to get away a few times, the pastor never seriously injured the intruder.

The article said that the pastor thought he could "outlast" the thief; it went on to say:

The preacher said it’s “ironic” the burglar attempted to break in to steal things from the church on Thanksgiving Day, especially since his congregation prides itself on providing meals to those in need in their community.

In fact, churchgoers had just given away groceries to 130 families in need earlier in the week.

“If he had come a couple of days earlier, he would have been blessed and get some food and be cared for,” Neves said. “But he decided instead to smash windows and desecrate property and do something that’s going to hurt the ministries.”

The Bible says in Jeremiah 17 that the heart is "desperately wicked."  Here's a manifestation of that wickedness that resided in the heart of someone who wanted to do harm to a church.  We also have to recognize that even though we, as Christians, have been redeemed, have to deal with the flesh.  Every day. But, Jesus suffered in order to give us the power to overcome sin - He died a cruel death to pay the penalty for it. 

This preacher had the capacity to fight off the enemy who had broken into his church, armed with an axe. In that instance of physical violence, the pastor was equipped with some martial arts skills. We face a spiritual thief who desires to steal from us what God has provided. We have powerful weapons that we can use to fight off the enemy - but we have to be prepared to fight and actually take the fight to the enemy when He attacks.