November 2002

Christ:
The Landscape of Life

Part Forty-two

“LO and BEHOLD”

“Guarding our garments” (G)

          In our last sharing we saw that the Dict. root garnir for garment lit. means: “To EQUIP”! We also cited God’s 6 pieces of Armor in Eph 6:14-17: TRUTH, RIGHTEOUSNESS, PEACE, FAITH, SALVATION and the WORD OF GOD. Why only 6 armor pieces- no more, no less? For the same reason that God created six days of creation- no more, no less! In Scripture, 6 = sin, human weakness, satan’s evil. God first breathed life into a man of dust with character flaws to rule over the first 6 days of creation with the armor of lies, self-righteousness, wrath, pride, self-will, sin, and the word of carnal-minded logic! But then He breathed Life into a flawless Man of Spirit Who would overcome and remedy the devastation of the first 6 days; after which He would rest and rule on the 7th Day [7 = perfection] clad in the Royal Raiment of Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Faith, Salvation, and the Word of God that says, “Labor to enter into that Rest!” (Heb 4:11) Jesus Christ adds, “Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you Rest!” (Mt 11:28)
           Note the great disparity between the terms: labor- implying great expenditure of energy, or strenuous physical, mental or emotional exertion; and rest- connoting the ceasing of all expenditure of energy! But God knows what He is doing when He used Greek 2872 for labor which means: “Feel fatigue, work hard, *toil, be weary; (from 2873) *cut down, toil (to reduce strength), pains, trouble and weariness; (from 2875) “To chop (5115 indicates: “repeated blows like hacking”), also to beat the breast in grief, mourn, bewail and lament!”

*This Gk word for toil is used in Lu 5:5-11 as Jesus said to Simon (Peter), “Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a haul. Then Simonanswered Him, ‘Master, we have toiled all night long and caught nothing;nevertheless, on the strength of Your Word, I will let down the net. Andwhen they had done this, they caught such a great multitude of fish, thattheir net began to break! They beckoned to their partners in other ships to come and help them; and when they did, they also filled their ships towhere they began to sink! When Simon Peter saw this, he fell down at Jesus’ knees saying, ‘Depart from me, O Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ For he, and all those with him- including his partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee- were utterly astonished by the huge catch of fish!But Jesus said to Simon, ‘Fear not; for indeed, from now on, you will be catching men instead of fish!’ Therefore, as soon as they landed theships, they forsook all and followed Jesus!”

          No matter how long or hard the natural man toils and labors in the night season of sin and death, he can never catch one “fish” for the Kingdom of God! No amount of religious fervor or soulish endeavor can redeem one soul from carnal-minded death! That was the curse put on the first Adamic nature in Gen 3:17 which says, “Because you have listen and heeded the voice of your wife and have eaten (the forbidden fruit of death from) the tree of which I commanded you saying, ‘You must not eat of it’; therefore the earth (from whose dust you were made) is cursed because of you; and in sorrow [Heb 6093 also meaning: “toil”], you shall eat its fruits all the days of your life!” This same Gk word for toil is also used in Mt 6:28-29 where Jesus says to His disciples- then and now, “Consider how the lilies of the field grow, they do not toil...yet I tell you not even Solomon, in all his glory, was arrayed like one of these lilies!”

*Cut down is used once at Jesus Christ’s triumphant reentry into Jerusalem as: “A very great multitude spread out their garments along the way; while others cut down branches from the trees to lay across the road. Then the multitudesboth before and behind Him cried out saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David;blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” (Mt 21:8-9)

           Observe how the multitudes surrendered their garments- and provided cut down branches, for a ground cover to be trampled on by the Messiah-laden donkey as an outward demonstration of respect and honor. How much more impressive would that impassioned show of support have been if it took place shortly thereafter at the mock trial and crucifixion of this same Son of God!

In keeping with this, we see the phrase, bewail and lament, used in Lk 23:27-29,where, “A great company of people followed Jesus (as He bore his Cross throughthe streets of Jerusalem); the women among them bewailed and lamented Him!!But Jesus turned to them and said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem (which represents thereligious systems of men); do not weep for Me; rather weep for yourselves and foryour children (your congregations)! For, behold, the days are coming where theyshall say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore...!”

          Here we see Jesus addressing all the futile, profitless labors of the religious systems of men which not only cannot produce God’s Manchild in their lives or their followers; but they were not- with all their bewailing and lamenting- able to prevent the Messiah from going to the Cross and slaying that old serpent, dragon, fox, and wolf in sheep’s clothing, which is, carnal-minded death!! For indeed, Jesus Christ’s triumph on Calvary signaled the end of all their vain reign of religiosity! That is why the Lord turned a thorn-pierced brow to them and said, “Don’t shed your tears for Me; you should be crying for yourselves!” He followed this with a final “Blessing” on all barren souls that shun manmade religious systems as they await being divinely impregnated by the Christ Seed in their virgin wombs! In OT times, barren wives were considered failures as women and often held in public scorn; but here Messiah blesses the “wombs that never bore”! For such wombs as these not only produced prophetic prodigies like Sarah’s Isaac, Rachel’s Samuel, and Elizabeth’s John; but especially, Mary’s Jesus! Let us forsake all vain works associated with organized religions and “Labor to enter into this Rest” that produces the Blessed Son of God in our lives! Hallelujah!

[TO BE CONTINUED]