Jesus and the Forces of Death

Shabbat shalom again. And welcome again to, to church of the Messiah. In our readings, in The Book of Leviticus, we're coming into an especially challenging part of the book. if so one that we keep learning more about each time through, I want a course of main reason that it's challenging is that it deals with a part of culture. Both Moses is culture and Jesus Culture. That's boring. So not really a part of our culture.

but in the, in the Gospels, This concept, the concept of ritual Purity that I'll be talkin about. Comes up quite often implicitly. And when we recognize that and understand it accurately, then we can come to a deeper appreciation of who Jesus is and what he came to do.

So I've called this Jesus in the forces of death after up a book of that title. That's come out recently. That's it. That's really very good. So I'm going to start in Leviticus and we'll explain some Concepts and then go on to the Gospels.

So we'll start in Leviticus chapter 10. And verse God was instructing Aaron on his way to responsibilities as the high priest. And God said your to distinguish between the holy and the common and between the clean and the unclean.

So, Aaron had a lot of distinctions to make and responsibilities. And remember that was why he couldn't be drinking on the job. I just we were talking last week. Okay, so I want to look at the terms in this verse to review, what they mean.

So first, let's talk about holy and common. Holy means specially set apart for God. So there can be holy places like the Tabernacle or Temple or God's presence was right? And there could be holy time, like the Sabbath and holy people like the priest.

Common, on the other hand just means ordinary anything. That's not specially set apart. All the places outside the temple and the other six days of the week. And people other than fries perfectly good things but not especially you set apart for these for these purposes. And you know what? Two things, Aaron had to decide. For example, there were certain offerings, that could be eaten only by the priest, in a holy place, the offerings that were called most, holy and Leviticus. And Aaron had to be sure that the eating of the offerings was done by the appropriate people in the appropriate places, and that was part of the country distinctions that he had to make.

Okay, so let's talk about the clean and unclean part, which I think requires more discussion for us. There were basically two possible states that a person could be in in in in Israel. You were either rum clean and I'm going to go use it with the terminology ritually pure. I went really talking about sanitation and hygiene, right? We're we're talking about a person in an ordinary steak where they would be allowed to go to the Tabernacle at Temple and worship. And then, on the other hand, the unclean, what I call ritually and pure would mean that you were temporarily not allowed to go to the Tabernacle Temple.

I should have said that the basic meanings. Now, there's some important things to understand about about this concept.

What is that, becoming rich? Liam pure was something that was just an ordinary part of, of Life of day-to-day life and that happened to everybody. For example, if one of your family members passed away and, you know, anything in your house say then those who live with that family member would be temporarily ritually and pure and that's kind of fun. We'll talk about today this. So this was something that wasn't usually a matter of sin or of hygiene or oath of Public Health. Now that were Exceptions there were sinful things, that one could do. That could make one lead to one becoming rich early in pure but in general were talking about natural parts of life and not things that tough that involves sending. Offer examples, Marie Selby was mentioning a Shepherd say, who had to deal with a dead animal. There's no sin in. You have to deal with a dead animal, right?

And it wasn't sinful to say to handle an animal carcass or two. I'll be in a room where a dead person was but these things would make you, we would make you richly a and we'll talk some more about that. Another thing to mention here.

Is that? Yes, and another thing is that this was something that was not usually a problem, but it had to be kept away from the temple. And it's also the case that the concept of ritual Purity and impurity wasn't just a Jewish thing. It was part of all the cultures of the ancient near East, in, Israel's time in Moses's time and it was a part of cultures around the Mediterranean World in. Jesus's time. We found Greek temples from, you know, from the time of Jesus and afterwards where they would be an inscription. There. That would say, okay don't come here. If you've been polluted to a dead body. Or done some of the other things. And it was usually actually the same set of things in, in all the cultures, pretty much that would, that would cause you to be ritually in pure. Then we'll talk about those things. If we go to the next several weeks. I'm going to get into all the details because we got several weeks to unpack this, and, and will benefit from her from doing that. I'm just going to just getting started.

Now what was the idea though? What was you know, what was God using this using this for? So in all and all the couches. That was an idea that if you were going to come to a temple to come before a deity. That wasn't something to do casually that was, you know, something that would should be done, should be done carefully and with reverence.

So I understand, you know what this was about, conceptually. What we'll find is we discuss the different sources of a ritual impurity over the next several weeks. All of them have a connection somehow with deaf or with human mortality. The fact that we are temporary subject to death subject, to Decay, part of the human condition. And so, going through a period of ritual impurity reminded you of that reminded you of the fact that you were a human and there's a golf there between you and the immortal. Holy God. So approaching that. Holy water. God was not something to be taken lightly. And even today, we talked about boldly approaching the throne of grace, which is a great privilege still. Not course, not something to do nonchalantly.

So there was some spiritual lessons that were that were here and you know it. Usually these were things that did not involve sin, but did kind of remind us in the big picture of human sinfulness in human limitations.

Know what happened when you became Rich? Ali A. Well, removing ritual impurity really involved two main ingredients water and time. It's what's up. What was involved? So, for example, if you had contact with an animal carcass, we start here 11 this week. You were to wash and then if sunset. You were good to go. If you wanted to go to the temple, right? It was a very temporary ritual impurity. Now, I need to explain something in his involvement with Mary. Sylvia was saying, so it is true that the Shepherds out in the field, the deal with animal carcasses all the time, which would have given them a minor ritual impurity, right? One that you know can be gotten rid of pretty quickly and pretty easily.

But it's not true that they would have been outcasts. That's just not true and let me try and explain why that is okay. Up. For one thing. I remember is only a problem. If you're trying to go to the temple and if you're outside of that, it's not it's not a big deal. If the one of the Shepherds wanted to go to the temple, no problem. They do the washing their good to go. Let's say, somebody, let somebody touch the shepherd who was in a state of ritual? Impurity. Would they become virtually a no?

If you had, there are major ritual impurity swear, if you touch them you get a minor ritual impurity. But if you touch somebody with a minor when you didn't become a and that's an important distinction to to keep in mind, so there's no way the Shepherds were out cuz now I don't mean to marry Sylvia are here, but there is something. But in fact, it's good that you brought this up because there are a lot of misconceptions with the subject especially in popular literature, especially but also sometimes it's. I think she was reading a source even. Yeah. Yeah, that's right. That's a lot of misinformation, and popular, and popular sources on this.

That's awesome. And they try to make it out. As if this was some kind of a gum, a burdensome Fang, and if you were an outcast, if you had it and that just isn't the case. Then we'll talk some more about that as sweet as we go on. So with such a ritual impurity. No problem. This is how you get rid of it water and in a short amount of time, contact with a dead human. That was a bigger thing, right? That involved. The 7-Day procedure with Washings on the third day, in the seventh day and application of the ashes from red heifer will read about that. In numbers 19 when we get there, but again in process and God didn't set these things up to be burdensome. He thinks that this, these things up to be a reminder to help us. Think about promoting moral Purity when we thought about Richland. Purity. There were lessons here, but it wasn't supposed to be something that was burdensome Waters. A simple ingredient, right? That was all around. And there was this, it was easy to implement.

Now, I've been reading a book on this subject that came out in 2020, that had kind of set, set aside for when we reach this topic again, and it's a really excellent book. Guys called Jesus in the forces of death, by Matthew Thiessen, who's a new testament scholar at McMaster, University, Ontario.

Anthem. It's a book that first of all, talks about the whole subject of ritual Purity and impurity both in Israel and its surrounding cultures and Moses's time. And also, in Jesus's time there, still lots of questions about how these things were implemented in different places. In Jesus time. We end up continuing to talk about them in the study. But other than that, there's a lot of information in in this book about that. And then what what season does. Is he looks closely at places in the gospels where Jesus came in contact with someone who had a major ritual impurity? And what he shows. If you look closely with a spin it within this context, that those passages that when Jesus came in contact with a major source of impurity. He worked to remove the source of that impurity. And if you think about it, this was part of his mission to Concord F Ridin in the course, we know that the impurities relates to human limitations. He came to help the scooper spend, send those those limitations, huh. I took on to conquer death. It turns out a few minutes ago. There's there's a lot of misunderstanding about this topic, not just in popular sources, but even among Scholars And there are a lot through too many scholars who try to portray Jesus as if he opposed the whole system of ritual in. The whole idea. The picture they give is there also something burdensome and Jesus came to free people from that. That's just not the case and decent demonstrates, this very forcibly and very convincing way. What he shows is a core absorbent Jesus, who work within the system in place at the time. It was his culture to about work to remove the the sources of the ritual impurity. So it's a really good book. I've already recommended it to Kyle and Rob and I recommended it to Mariah today. And, you know, definitely it's a, it's a good one. If you're highly interested in this topic.

So, let's look at some new testament passages.

And I'm going to look at once where Jesus is relating to people who've died. And I first want to go to Mark 5. Starting verse 21.

So Mark 5 verse 21 when Jesus said crossed again. In the boat, right? This, you got to lead to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him. And then he was by the Sea. Then one of the leaders of the synagogue in gyrus, the Greek form of the name or his feet and begged him repeatedly. My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her so that she may be made. Well, and live. And so, Jesus went with him.

And if you listen to the teaching from the the center, this month, from from klair, fancies talks about this suck, a passage in particular in common. So this is a synagogue leader of pretty high status guy. Jesus with, I wasn't such a high-status guy as soon as I believe it was a state where he's a little bit desperate before this teacher.

Okay, so they they walk to Jarvis his house on the way, something else happened that involved with your impurity, but I'm going to skip the that part because we're going to, we're going to reach it in a few weeks. I'm going to skip the first 35. So while they're on the way, some people came from the leaders house to say your daughter is dead. Why trouble to teach you any further?

But overhearing what they said. Jesus said to leader the synagogue, do not fear, only believe.

He Allowed no one to follow him, except Peter James and John, brother James, when they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue. He saw commotion people weeping and wailing loudly. Funny that he said to them. Why do you make a commotion and Weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.

Now by the way, when Jesus ended the house, he would have become rich early in pure because he was in the same house as a dead person and all the other people. Who were there were also in that stated that point.

But again, this is not something to avoid this part of life and and, and it's very important to be there in your with your family. So people were skeptical about what Jesus was hanging, right? They laughed at him because, wow, she's just sleeping. Then he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those were with him. And when and where the child was he took her by the hand and said to her talitha koum, which means little girl get up. And immediately, the girl got up and began to walk about she was 12 years of age. At this, they were overcome with amazement. Strictly ordered them that no one should know this and told them to give her something to eat.

now, so, There was in that house. So powerful source of ritual impurity a dead body, which would make everybody who was there which of the computer for a for a time until you dealt with it?

But Jesus went straight to the source and boom brought her back to life. This brings up actually kind of a fun halacha question. You might put it. Let's say that you went into a place, where there's a dead person, and we should make you ritually unclean, but then, but then the dead person came back to life. Are you still on clean?

That sounds like a fun one to talk about actually, but certainly not discussed in the rabbinic literature. Because when did this come up? This is a unique kind of thing. Right? Usually walk into a place where he died in and would resuscitate that person.

And that's what always happened. Wasn't it? It was it was useless for him to say that it always was.

Oh, yeah.

Okay, I haven't searched that. I haven't searched it by the way, so, okay. So we'll look more more more room for research.

We are.

But he never.

Well, the end.

Let's see. What about the acceptable things? Probably to say here. So yeah.

So I think for us since the course, we're not going to visit in a part of our culture anymore. Just understanding, actually what was going on at the time in the magnitude of what Jesus is dead. I think it's the it's the big thing here, is what we got. That's what we talkin about. Came back to life. When Jesus was satisfied, his own requirements in the ritual Purity, by winning. The debate was dead. And so that he was actually really sure on the leopard and the person would lose her leprosy. How do you do the say if you were to go in the room with that that person is temporarily dad and become to file. It also be defiled by the leprosy. If you put his hand on a leftist person, even. Do to me, I believe that also evidence that he's winning and that in the queue, by using the rule of thermal night. And that was like, that has been getting him. He got the air cleaner, and I think that's the idea, I think.

Play One More Day. It's a good sign. People are interested in.

And the word of Truth. Think about that because if you think about the places in Pittsburgh. Where it's been translated, oh, but she's only asleep or when Christ comes for Redemption of the day. Those who are asleep in Christ as separate as opposed to dead which was four days, anything over three full days. Four days became completely and totally or is Mike and Stevie's. Father used to say, real death.

You up. God incarnate was the only entity in the entire universe qualified to come and lay hands or pray over someone who is because of the four days there for proving. Hoping that he could do that. And, of course, the number for the fourth one thousand years is always the ascendancy of my t.i. And Hebrew thinking. So Jesus came and provided his own perfect example by raising Lazarus, on a fourth day, just as he would be raised. Before the fourth day showing, this is the tendency his Mastery over that over. That the situation is really not prevent him from Portland.

Yeah, yeah, that's nothing. That's too thanks to everybody. And then cause bring up an important point. That then it's like if he's touching someone with a skin disease that wasn't something to avoid doing, it's not bad from to be racially impure. That's the that's okay. It's also the case that he was removing. He wasn't wasn't courses that he really is remove the cyst at the stores. Boom is really is a, you know, the Holy One Of God who started exudes Holiness and conquers. The pristine Purity. Another question that the comes up, if, if you know, what I was saying, is, you know, was Jesus ever ritually and pure. And there are actually two schools of thought on this, and we want to discuss this today. I don't exactly, I'm going to be sure, we don't get off on a tangent on on that even though I'm raising this but this is something that we can keep talking about. Right there. Two schools of thought on that. Jesus was fully human and being written Queen sometimes or just part of Being Human. So, for example, when Jesus reach puberty and he woke up one morning and it had a nocturnal emission of semen. Mary probably told him to go wash it. Now, on the other hand, whether he was ritually unclean in this situation. That's a, that's a different story. It may be that, you know, he did the other school of thought is that since Jesus was a source of purity.

That he didn't becoming ever ritually unclean. Leviticus 11 water, you know, living water doesn't become unpure when there's no become contaminated. When there's something a in it, like a dead animal, right? And so Jesus is as a source of Purity. Maybe he never became. Maybe you never became a few schools of thought on this and we can and when we can talk about it more this week as we go along. Okay. One last one.

God is not his wife.

You're living in a world that have to acknowledge that.

given that in that moment, when you

And therefore ritually into yours, I would think that would be the moment. In order to allow that to happen. Thanks. Yeah. Actually sister.

All right, we'll have a few other examples that want to think about.

And thanks everybody. So another one of these incidents, I'll let's go over to Luke 7.

So 7 verse 11 soon afterwards. He went to a town called name and his disciples in a large crowd. Went with him as he approached the Gate of the Town. A man who died was being carried out. He was his mother's only son and she was a widow. And what there was a large crowd from the town, when the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, do not weep, then he came forward and touch the beer and the bear who stood still and he said, young, man. I say to you rise. The dead man set up and begin to speak and Jesus gave him to his mother fear seized all of them. And they glorified God saying, a great prophet has risen Among Us and God is look favorably on his people. This worried about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.

So here's another racing back to life of a Widow's son. Jesus having Mercy on the Widow, right? According to the Torah in what he was doing here. He follows definitely in the footsteps of Elijah and Elisha. And remember, Luke is actually riding. This is such and such a way as to emphasize of connections. I won't go into that now, but that is something you do. You keep coming up, we can look up in the commentary. The location here, name was pretty close to shunem where Elijah raise the son of the shunammite woman. And of course, Elijah raised the son of the Widow in Zarephath widow's son. In both of those cases. If you go back to go back to King's the first king 17 for Elijah and 2nd Kings 4 for Elijah. They both had quite a bit of physical contact with the young men that they were raising. Jesus here, just puts the beer. The platform with the coffin was being carried on, and just spoke person came up, so that there was this message is someone greater than Elijah and Elijah is coming following in their footsteps, and even greater than his son, has his come tonight. When people say, hey, a great prophet has risen Among Us are implicitly. They're thinking in their minds about comparing him with Elijah and Elisha.

Okay, though.

Third one is been mentioned already. Right. Looks Up the ante a little bit more and talk about Lazarus.

And I'll just look at a little bit of this suck. Unless it goes we really talked about it already, right and no discussion here. So John 11 verse 38, then Jesus again. Greatly disturb came to the Was a cave and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, take away the stone. Martha. The sister of the dead man said to him. Lord already. There's a stench because he's been dead for days. He's already started to decay. Jesus said to her? Did I not tell you that if you believed you see the glory of God. So they took away the stone and you just flipped upward and said, father. I thank you for having heard me. I know that you always hear me, but I said this for the sake of the crowd standing here so that they may believe, Lazarus, come out the dead. Men, sit down with strips of cloth, and his face trapped in the closet. And Jesus said to them, unbind him, and let him go, and it's on this already. That hears was someone who could not attend just died. I was just at the funeral. This is someone who's been dead for days and Jesus Encino.

Source of love, you know. He's at the dropped out, the the impurity of death accidentally powerful. He doesn't have to to touch anyone to just proof this power. Just stuff. Just raise his last respects to life.

And there's one last one that I wanted to. To go to. so, let's think about

Let's think about it, the cross.

And of course, is this famous incident? That we like to think about that? Only Matthew mansions out of the four evangelist.

So we're right at the end of Jesus life. And of course, people are saying hey, let's see whether Elijah will come and say them verse 50. Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breaches. And what happened when he died. At that moment, the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The Earth Shook and the Rocks were split the tombs also were opened and many bodies of the Saints who had fallen asleep. We're raised after his resurrection. They came out of the tombs and enter the holy city and appeared to many.

They were back to life right now. So should be about this conference to win all of literature. As far as I know. Some commentators have said, well, maybe these people who were raised, maybe some of them were the the martyred Prophet. Jesus talked about a few chapters earlier. Alright, Jesus remember in chapter 23, said 23:37 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and Stones those who were sent to and how often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers, her brood under her wings, and you were not willing. So maybe some of them are the prophets were among those who were who were raised at this stage. Now, if you think about what we've been talking about here, with the idea with the impurity, was that a dead body would sort of like it was exhibiting the substance. The security stuff to spread around.

But look, what happened? When Jesus died. His body didn't use the. Impurity Google.

It actually brought people back to life instead. Did just did just the opposite, right? Yeah, like that's right. This is such a source of power.

That's right. To the resurrection. That came out of the Tomb and I did the holy city and appeared to many.

You feel like that maybe they were actually changed and that these were the resurrection bodies. I think it's certainly possible. It's not this isn't something you can be dogmatic about, right? I mean, they've been there been no discussions of this stuff, right? With them both ways.

That in perspective.

Eva.

It is all speaking to the greatness of Jesus. In, this is, this is the point that work, where, you know where we're putting across here.

From the foundation of the world. You notice I also mentioned here. But by the way, you know, Jesus is again, following the footsteps of Elijah, right? When Elijah died. And then shortly afterwards, another body was putting a license Graven text bones, right? At first and came back to life. Right? So that was really kind of and that's, you know, in 2nd Kings 13. So that's kind of a fuel prefiguring. What's the big thing? That was the big thing that was happening here?

So, you're arguing for the other way, on that one. So.

And you've all priests this already. This is this is where we end up right at the death of Philip. So thank you so much for sending Jesus to die for us and to live again and to make possible. All right direction as well. Help us forevermore appreciate the magnitude of of what he did into into, living out of weariness, and we ask this in Jesus.