The Jordan Field Study

If we ever thought that crossing the border was tricky in North America, it was only because we had not experienced the chaos that exists elsewhere. Presently, Israel and Jordan are at 'peace'; but all that really means is that there are no wars at present. The people on the eastern side of the Jordan River are not too fond of those on the western, and likewise are the Israelis.

Nevertheless, we managed to cross the border in only a few hours, mostly due to the fact that we are all white, American tourists. And even though we had officially left the Promised Land (depending on how much one reads into the term...), we still had plenty of Bible-story-land in front of us. You see, the Israelites were given their land by their true God, YHWH, and the prophet Joshua was the one who divided it up for them. So, even though 2 of the tribes of Israel decided to stay in the Transjordan, those of Israel were well aware of their God-given boundaries. Their inheritance, however, was never enough for them.

All throughout the book of 1 & 2 Kings, the kings of Israel and Judah are constantly pushing and shoving their way across the Jordan and into the east. Their greed is not what is shocking, at least not compared to their concept of the land in the first place--they are under the impression that the land belongs to them. It is not as if they are just striving to get a little extra, but they do not even see their own greed, running as if they have the right to it; as if they deserve it.

As easy as it is to see the faults of ancient monarchs, the lesson that God showed them was not just for them, but extends to our lives as well. For the Lord has given each of us a portion, and if you have the capability to read this blog, then hopefully you can admit that it is an extravagant portion relative to the rest of the world. But just like the kings of Israel, somehow we can never be content with our own portion, and we are filled with the feeling that they each knew so well. We want more, and when we see others who have, we feel like we deserve it! I know I have already written on satisfaction in the Lord, but here I am referring more to being content with His blessings. For we know that He has given us all we have, and He has taken all that we have lost. But our hearts must look to those like Job, who remained faithful to God even though he lost everything. Can we be content like that? I'm not talking about being numb to our circumstances, or absent in the world, but can we love the Lord and appreciate His blessings enough to be grateful for our blessings, however plentiful or lacking they may be!?

Let us rejoice in the blessings of the Lord, for "the LORD has given and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD" --Job 1:21

He is Risen

It has been absolutely too long since my last blog post, and that is due mostly to the craziness that has gone on here. However, that only means more to tell everyone that I still have not, but I will do my best to condense it into a single post.

Last Monday, Dave, Casey, and I left immediately after class at noon and took a bus up to Tiberius. Casey knows a family who lives south of the city that invited us to celebrate a Passover Seder meal with them on Monday night. Among the thirty or forty people who were there, it was a great time of Christian fellowship and an excellent meal--even without leavened bread (Passover is also called "The Feast of the Unleavened Bread"; Jews clean out all the leaven from their house for a week, only eating Matzah). That night we slept in the tent on their lawn, which overlooked beautiful Lake Kinneret (a.k.a. the Sea of Galilee) and woke up the next morning to begin "The Jesus Trail."

What we did not originally calculate was the fact that the buses (to take us to Nazareth, where the trail begins) were not running that day because it is a holiday Shabbat (Sabbath) for the Jews. Thus, we did what any good Israeli would do: hitchhiked. According to our directors and other students, its not-at-all dangerous in Israel and most drivers are willing to give you a ride. It worked surprisingly well, and after three different drivers and only about an hour of walking, we made it to Nazareth. Because the trail is very very new, almost no one knew what we were talking about--thus, we wandered around Nazareth for 3 hours before we even began the trail. So, tired and hungry, we hit the trail at 2:00pm and didn't stop walking until 6:30. Passing through Cana (where Jesus performed his first miracle, Jn 2), we bought some food that we could cook for the night, and just outside the city we pitched tent and watched the last sliver of sun fall behind the horizon. The next day, we left at 9:00am and pounded out several more kilometers, this time running into a herd of massive cattle (twice), struggling to follow the poorly marked trail (every ten minutes), and running into fresh fruit trees (about 4 times, which were incredible blessings from God). Finally making it back to the Sea of Galilee by 6pm (yes, 9hrs of hiking), we were completely and utterly refreshed as our bodies were doused in water for the first time in three days. We met up with some guys in the city, hit up a classy restaurant (which was kosher, and thus frustratingly not serving any leaven), and hit the beach for the final night of camping.

On Thursday we returned to Jerusalem and that night attended a Maundy Thursday service at Christ's Church and took communion together. Afterward, the congregation took a walk to the Russian Orthodox Church on the Mt. of Olives in the Garden of Gethsemane and listened to the pastor's short devotional and then had some incredible quiet time, just as Jesus did almost 2 millennia ago (Mt 26). The following day, Good Friday, I was strongly spoken to and convicted by the Holy Spirit. At our weekly vespers Friday night service (a JUC event), we were read the story of the crucifixion and I was brought to a flood of tears. My whole life I have spent trying to love God, with the desire to bring His Gospel to others. Recently, however, I became so concentrated on bringing it to others, or so full of pride, that I had forgotten that I was a sinner who needed Christ to die as much as anyone. The Holy Spirit convicted me saying, "No, Jonathan, this Gospel is not just for other people, IT IS FOR YOU! JESUS CHRIST WAS CRUCIFIED FOR YOUR SIN!" This realization slapped me hard, but it was so incredibly essential for me to learn (and I will return to this below).

On Easter Sunday, we awoke at 4:45am (I was blessedly awaken naturally just 5 minutes earlier--praise God!) and made way to the Garden Tomb, a Protestant Church centered (physically, and outdoors) around a tomb that 'could' have been Jesus' tomb (aka there is no evidence for it, but its a 1st century tomb that's empty). The service, beginning at sunrise, packed people into the courtyard around the tomb and we worshiped God and celebrated together.

No Christian should ever forget the truth of Christ's action in our salvation, for the Apostle Paul, who can be looked to as an faithful servant of Christ Jesus wrote to Timothy saying, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the foremost" (1 Tim 1:15). Paul, a Pharisee of Pharisees and keeper of the law, declares himself the foremost sinner and in desperate need of the mercy and grace of Christ! Humility is something that does not come easily to most of us, but after Christ's example (Phil 2:1-12), Paul leads us in the same direction striving so that we may humble ourselves and make much of Him.

Let us boast not in our own righteousness this Easter season and beyond, but let us be humble realizing that the grace and mercy of Jesus is the only true source of our righteousness.

"He must increase, but I must decrease" --John 3:30