The Passion

This week is affectionately known as “Passion Week”, the week between Palm Sunday and Good Friday/Easter.

I feel like I would be a “bad Christian” if I said that this week doesn’t stir up worship and awe for the Lord–it does. BUT, I would also assert that every moment of every day should stir up worship for the Lord and remembrance of what He has done for us. The ONLY reason why we are able to get out of bed in the morning or enjoy our coffee or drive in our cars or cook dinner is because of God’s gracious love and sacrifice.

Frankly, this week frustrates me because there are far too many people who only worship God this one day out of the year. There are far too many people who still believe that that’s enough, that all we have to do is believe and accept that Jesus died for us and we’re good. Between false beliefs, false teachings,and all sorts of images and media that arise during this time of the year, there is an unbelievable amount of misinformation regarding Jesus, His message, and His crucifixion. And that frustrates me with a Godly anger and zealousness. We even had a new piece of media this year–the Passion musical.

This isn’t specifically a review post of that production. I could write a lengthy review correcting every single word spoken (like the fact that it’s not a story, they’re not characters, Judas isn’t the villain–Satan is, sin is–and it wasn’t “the authorities” that conspired against Jesus, it was the religious leaders), but I won’t. However it did further spark the need for this post and the revealing of the TRUTH about Jesus. Especially based on the fact that I have seen many people giving the production rave reviews. Those that didn’t give it rave reviews remarked, “Well, at least it gets people talking and interested about Jesus.”

Okay, let’s start there. If there is anything that even the most devout never-been-to-church-never-opened-a-Bible-atheists in our society know about Christianity, it’s Jesus and the cross. Not talking about Jesus isn’t the issue in reaching people; it’s not talking the truth. Second, if there’s anything we should have learned about our society as a whole, it’s that we simply accept what we’re told; we DO NOT research things for ourselves or seek more information. The number of people who: A, freaked out about Ebola in 2014; B, think I’m going to get eaten by a lion or killed by Boko Haram in Africa (which according to many people is one country); and C, immediately go out and spend a bunch of money on whatever latest “weight-loss miracle pill” Dr. Oz talks about should teach us that. So I highly doubt that watching the Passion musical is going to make anyone open a Bible and study the actual events. Because they are ACTUAL events in history–not just “stories.”

The single worst part however, is the claim that Jesus preached love and acceptance. Did He preach love? Yes. But our problem is that we have lost the Biblical definition of love. JESUS NEVER PREACHED ACCEPTANCE and LOVE DOES NOT EQUAL ACCEPTANCE. Jesus’s message was about God’s love for us–that through our sins, we are only worthy of death, but because of God’s love for us, He has allowed us to live through Jesus’s sacrifice if we repent and follow Him, and those that do not will face judgement. That’s the opposite of acceptance. That’s a thing called tough love. And as followers of Christ, we are to love like God loves. Again, that is NOT acceptance. You can love someone and not accept their sins. Jesus loves us, but He DOES NOT accept our sins. And there is no universalism–He doesn’t accept other religions or belief systems either. He didn’t die so that we could live our lives however we want, because if that’s the case, He wouldn’t have died at all because we were already doing that. He surrendered His life so that we could surrender ours to Him.

If you were to google images of Christ, particularly this time of year, what you will find is what Pastor Joby calls “Swedish Jesus”–long dirty blond hair, blue eyes, bright white robe (Mary must have had some supernatural laundry detergent), Miss America sash, and He’s usually holding and petting a group of fluffy, white lambs. We have a warm fuzzy version of Jesus who accepts us just as we are. That couldn’t be more wrong.

Look at John 2:13-17. Jesus saw people defiling the Temple–God’s house–by treating it like a marketplace. So warm-fuzzy Jesus walked in there and said, “Oh hey, guys, I accept you, so you can live however you want, but I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t treat the Temple like a marketplace.” Oh wait, that’s not what happened. In reality, He was filled with righteous anger and zeal, so He overturned tables and MADE A WHIP and chased the sellers out of the Temple. I’m pretty sure that if Jesus was on earth today, He would have walked into the Passion musical with a whip for falsely proclaiming His message.

Also, I love the fact that my church doesn’t celebrate Palm Sunday, which was this past Sunday. Why don’t we? Because if we actually read the Scriptures, all those people who waved palm branches at Jesus as He rode the colt into Jerusalem didn’t truly follow Him or understand who He was because it was those same people that just days later cried out, “Crucify Him!” Those people worshiped Him one day and denied His identity that same week. Sound familiar?

Two thousand years later and some things still haven’t changed.

It’s time to wake up.

I’m grateful that we don’t have a warm-fuzzy Jesus who is okay with us living however we want. Because I know from personal experience that He knows what is good for me and what isn’t WAAYYY better than I do. Warm-fuzzy Jesus would have let me die back in 2009 like I asked Him to. Warm-fuzzy Jesus would’ve let me rot in my excuses, and I wouldn’t be a missionary. Warm-fuzzy Jesus would let the people in Zambia continue in their addiction, abuse, and spiritual oppression.

Truly surrendering my life to Jesus was the best decision I ever could have made. And it never would’ve happened with warm-fuzzy Jesus.

The word ‘passion’ comes a Latin word that means to suffer and endure.

Jesus’s passion is YOU.

 

 

 

 

Okay, this is random and a bonus, but I just discovered this, and it’s SO COOL! My mind is blown.
While looking at the word passion in the dictionary, I discovered that passionflower (which is a plant, incase you’re not aware) is actually named after the crucifixion (or passion) of Jesus!
This is what a passionflower looks like:

Someone noticed that the purple, white, and blue part kind of resembles the crown the thorns, and the green things in the middle look like nails!
But it gets even cooler…Passionflower has wonderful medicinal properties…you know what it does? It calms the mind (like if you have trouble sleeping because your mind is racing, passionflower helps that).
So in other words, passionflower gives you peace of mind…Jesus gives us peace for our souls!
Too cool.
Nothing is coincidence in God’s Kingdom.