Issue 13 - Three Days
Cultural Commentary
I wanted to share a few thoughts I had about the Olympic opening ceremony. I know it occurred about 1,000 years ago in internet time, but I don't intend for this newsletter to serve as a Hot Take provider, so I did not rush to get any thoughts into the last issue. For those of you who missed it, the opening ceremony for Paris 2024 included drag queens parodying The Last Supper. I was pretty appalled, and quite a few Christian leaders shared that sentiment. But of my initial thoughts, several have stuck with me since then. Here are three takeaways that have been bouncing around in my mind for the last two weeks:
1.) Behind displays like this lies a worldview that is opposed to God's Kingdom, and the intention is not merely shock for the sake of shock, but a deliberate effort to subvert Christianity by making it look silly, and by defying the norms that it upholds. One thing we need to keep in mind as we seek to pass on the faith to our children, and to evangelize others, is that barriers to Christianity in our time won't primarily be based on the message that Christianity is untrue, but the message that Christianity is backwards and contemptible.
2.) My initial reaction was one of anger, and I don't think that's totally uncalled for. However, I think as society becomes increasingly hostile to Christianity, we should keep in mind that at the end of time there will only be two types of people: those whose sins were paid for by Jesus, and those who face judgment for their wrongdoing. We will spend eternity worshiping God with the former group, and the latter group will be subject to God's perfect justice. When we keep that in mind, we'll be less likely to be angry at people, as opposed to being angry with their actions or ideas. Such thoughts should also make us fervently hope and pray that God brings more people into the former group.
3.) After my initial anger I felt convicted by the Holy Spirit about the danger of self-righteousness. The worst thing we can do when we see spectacles like this is to adopt an attitude like the Pharisee in Luke 18, standing before God saying "Thank you God, that I am not like those mocking drag queens." No matter how wicked the world becomes, we should still be beating our chest in the corner with the Tax Collector, begging "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." (This is not to say we don’t have the standing to identify and call out sin - but we should acknowledge that any sanctification in our lives is a gift of the Holy Spirit).
Biblical Understanding
The gospel-writer Luke recounts the story of Jesus encountering two of his followers on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, pretending to be unaware of his own recent death and the subsequent empty tomb. After they finish summarizing recent events for him, his response is “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the scriptures concerning himself.” (Luke 24: 25-27). Similarly, in the Gospel of John, Jesus rebukes the Pharisees “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.” (John 5:39). Even the early Christians believed that the Scriptures foretold the key elements of Jesus’ life. The early church creed captured in 1 Corinthians 15 notes that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” (1 Corinthians 15: 3-4).
In a series of podcast interviews, pastor Chip Bennett noted that the walk to Emmaus would take roughly two and a half hours, and asked how many listeners think their pastor could teach about Jesus for two and a half hours using just the Old Testament - which Jesus himself did. His point isn’t to criticize pastors, but just to note that for many of us, our reading and understanding of the Old Testament is fairly anemic compared to the first-century Jews and early Christians, and even they were called foolish for not recognizing references to Jesus. But pastor Bennett notes that the Bible is full of third-day references, many of them reflecting death and resurrection. In his interview series he recounted several: although many may be familiar to you, I thought it was still a fascinating exercise.
On the one hand, a skeptic could look at a summary like this and think “Ok, so Moses had a few three-day references in the Pentateuch and then that just became a theme in Jewish literature, and so Jesus’ followers attached those themes to their supposed Messiah after the fact to give their stories credibility.” But that would still beg the question of why this recurring theme of death, resurrection/deliverance, and third day existed at all in the Old Testament since nothing about Jewish belief or Messianic expectations explicitly anticipated a savior who fit those criteria. And this of course also ignores all the evidence that the gospels were not made up (including the disciples’ willingness to die for what was written in them).
So while this list will probably not do much to sway unbelievers, I do think that it can help to bolster our own faith to see how God has woven images of Jesus’ death and resurrection, as well as other elements of his story (rejection by family, exaltation to the king’s right hand, etc.) throughout the Old Testament - and if nothing else, it can help us to better appreciate the Old Testament, which can easily be overlooked by modern Christians.
Abraham and Isaac - Isaac was the chosen seed of Abraham and heir of God’s covenant with the Jewish people. His birth was a miracle that had been announced by an angel of the Lord. He had been mocked by his brother, but was the beloved son of his father. When Abraham was called to sacrifice him, the events of the sacrifice itself occurred on the third day. Like Jesus, Isaac carried the wood for his sacrifice and willingly submits to his father’s will even though he has the power to escape the sacrifice. On the third day, a ram without blemish became the substitutionary sacrifice and Isaac was restored to his father.
Daniel in the Lion’s Den - Daniel was an innocent man condemned to death by a ruler who knew he was innocent but was bound by higher authority (in Pilate’s case, God’s will: in Darius’ case, Persian law). He was cast into a pit and covered with a stone (death). On the morning of the third day (the third day of the events of the story, not his third day in the ground) the stone is rolled away and Daniel is lifted from the pit (resurrection), where he is exalted to the King’s right hand. The King sends letters throughout his empire telling word of the living God of Daniel.
Joseph - Joseph is the beloved son of Jacob who was rejected by his brothers and sold for pieces of silver. Condemned as a criminal despite his innocence. Put into a prison (death) in the company of two other criminals condemned by the king. The two criminals faced their judgment on the third day (day 3 after sharing their dream with Joseph) - one to life, one to death. Eventually, Joseph is released from prison (resurrection) and exalted to the right hand of the king. Joseph became the savior of his family and the wider world (by providing grain during a famine). The brother who betrayed Joseph was Judah - in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, his name is Judas.
Esther - The Jews were under a sentence of death. The Jews fasted for three days, and on the third day Esther approached the king and set in motion the events that lead to salvation for her people, and led to a Jew (her cousin Mordecai) being elevated to the right hand of the king. The king sent letters of Jewish liberation throughout his kingdom, and as a result, many non-Jews became believers (Esther 8:17).
Jericho Spies - The spies are “buried” (hidden under flax on the roof) and then escaped the city and hid in the hills. On the third day, they arose from hiding (resurrection) and were restored to safety.
Waters of Marah - On the third day after crossing the Red Sea (which Paul refers to as a baptism - which in turn symbolizes death) the Jews are dying of thirst and have only bitter water to drink. God points Moses to a piece of wood, which when cast into the water makes the water good to drink, saving the people. The word “point” is the same root word for “Torah” - God’s word that points to the “wood” (cross) that saves us.
Aaron’s Rod - After an uprising against Moses’ leadership and Aaron’s priesthood, the twelve tribes of Israel each put forward a staff with the tribe’s leader’s name on it. The staffs were placed in front of the Ark of the Covenant. On the third day after the start of the uprising, Aaron’s staff not only budded but blossomed and produced almonds, establishing his rightful leadership of the priesthood. This represented life out of death, from wood, on the third day, to vindicate the ministry of God’s chosen priest.
Cinderella - Pastor Bennett ends with a final anecdote external to the Bible. He noted that the story most widespread across all cultures is the Cinderella story. In this story, a woman is considered ugly and held in bondage. The King’s son seeks her far and wide out of his love for her. He sets her free, she becomes his royal bride, and they live happily ever after. This has clear echoes of Christ and his church and it’s interesting to me that this story is so universal.