Third Week of Easter

April 19 - 25

Book of Exodus, Gospel of Luke

It wasn’t only the smell of the perfume that filled the room. It was the sound of the woman’s soft cries. As tears and oil ran together down Jesus’ dirty feet, tension at the dinner table began to swell. This woman had a reputation, and the Pharisee who had invited the teacher was concerned. If this Jesus was such a great prophet, as so many said he was, then he would know that her disgrace made her unclean. She had no place among the clean, yet here she was, physically touching a rabbi.

This was just one of many times Jesus associated with the unclean, and the Pharisee in our hearts is repulsed by it. He has staked his claim on his own observance, which he thinks God will surely reward – forgetting, of course, that there is no one righteous before God.

But this is where Jesus, the Messiah, has come to live - in a filthy world of condemnation and hopelessness. Crushed by our guilt, we, the lowliest of the unclean, weep at his feet. We strain for just a touch of his garment. We plead for his mercy. We don’t look at all like one of his own, but where else can we turn?

Mercifully, the patient and gracious teacher has something to tell us: this deep, torturous guilt over our sin gives way to grace from God that is all the more profound. The more bitter the condemnation, the sweeter the grace.

And the good news is that he gives it freely. It is his to give. He has guaranteed it at the cross and empty tomb. Therefore, as our celebration of Easter continues, Jesus’ words to the broken and unclean are for us, too: “Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

Fourth Week of Easter

April 26 - May 2

Book of Leviticus, Gospel of Luke

The two priests had only tried to offer incense to the LORD. It would seem like something perfectly normal for consecrated priests to do. But the LORD had not commanded the offering, and Aaron’s two sons, unclean before the LORD, paid with their lives.

The book of Leviticus, with its detailed explanations of God’s law, can be challenging for modern readers. And if the practical task of setting down ceremonial regulation was the only purpose of the book, it would indeed be tiresome to read. But that isn’t God’s only purpose with this section of Scripture. Certainly, he wants to show what he expects his people to do, but his law also demonstrates who he is - and, in turn, who his people are: chosen, set apart for God’s purpose.

Later, In the Gospel of Luke, God’s people turn the question of identity against Jesus. They look for miracles and justice, on their own terms, as evidence of his divinity. They have become so intent upon following the law that they do not recognize its fulfillment in Jesus. As a result, their identity as a chosen people is misunderstood as well.

We, the new Israel, do this, too. Rather than recognizing our sin before the LORD, we demand instead that he prove himself. We want healing for ourselves and thunderbolts for our enemies, while the true enemy, death, has already been overcome in Jesus’ resurrection, and the true healing of our sinsickness is there for the taking - if only we would hear and see it in his Word.

Mercifully, our baptism into the death and resurrection of Jesus has made us clean. The anger of the LORD will not consume us. Jesus himself dwells in our midst with his pronouncement of forgiveness to penitent hearts, and he continues to offer it fully and freely. Following him may cost us much in worldly terms, but the treasures of life and salvation surpass all of it.

For God’s people in every age, the echo of Easter rings.