Who is piercing whom? (Zechariah 12)

  

OUT OF THE CHAOS: A study in the book of Zechariah

Chapter 12:  Victory: Who pierced whom?

To see this on YouTube: 

https://youtu.be/ZiZuUSbcZFQ

 

Last night again the football team I support here in Sydney went down to defeat. They led the contest from the opening score, sometimes in double digits, until only minutes were left in the final quarter and eventually heartbreak among the supporters of the red and the white was all that remained after three hours of cheering. The game took place in Melbourne and rain came down at times making play more child-like, more recess-like. Often channel 7’s coverage stood far back, cameras focused on the entire ground at once and the players on both sides actually looked more like toy soldiers in a kids’ game of war, since I couldn’t make out any particular player from any other. Then quick as a flash, the director would make a decision, a certain camera and camera angle were employed, and the television zoomed in on a single play and even a single player who stole the proverbial show. That zoom-device was employed again and again, with good consequence, making me note and care and feel the energy of the contest. 

Movie buffs know that technique from Rosebud in Citizen Kane to Mel Gibson’s Passion and the tear on the cheek of the Almighty that drops onto planet earth and causes floods and earthquakes at the death of Messiah. Even the 6 million in Schindler’s List become countable as we follow the little girl in the red coat. Zooming helps us see the one, and thus we see the entire company. 

That’s what Zechariah does in our chapter today and going forward, the next two chapters as well. From the singular focus on the bad shepherds in chapters 10 and 11 to the suffering donkey-rider of chapter 9, at times he is using a wide-angle lens and at other times, the zoom feature. Jerusalem, the city of God, is mentioned 52 times in this prophet’s writings in 14 chapters, and 22 of those references occur in chapters 12 to 14. Geography, the Lord of all the earth, is too big at this point. God wants us to zoom in on Judah and more particularly zooming on Jerusalem. 

Similarly, he is Lord of hosts and rules the skies, but in this chapter, we see him zoom in on a single battle and a single battler who will ensure victory to the people of God. 

And we know God is Lord of time, ruling from the beginning to the end, and in chapter 12 we see the Eternal One “in that day.” That phrase is used 16 times in the final three chapters. What day is that? The zoom feature helps us understand the end of days, the final moments of global resistance and global hostility to God’s people, and to God himself, will come to an end. It’s the consummation of all things. 

Let’s jump in. Today’s chapter shows us two of the final four promises of God towards the Jewish people. I love God’s promises and hope you do as well. I give you my word. That’s my promise. My faithfulness is in view. My character is in view. In the same way, when God gives us his word, it is his character on which we count, to be faithful to his plans and purposes. 

Promise #1: God will defend Jerusalem (.2-.9)

Verse 1 is another one of those prelude identifiers. Another oracle or burden. That which follows is God’s announcement. 

Then we see which God is speaking and on what he wants you to recognize him. He is Creator. 

“declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him.”

That’s Creation-talk. He is the one who has been around much longer than the Babylonians and the Persians. The Assyrians were not in our view when God made the heavens and the earth. He’s the Ancient of Days and can be trusted. His creation shouts sovereignty, that is, that God is Lord of all the earth. IF and when the nations gather, it won’t surprise him in time or space. He knows the hearts of all people and he arranges all things for his purposes. God as creator is how he wants to be known, and as a result, all nations, and certainly Judah has no excuse in not following him. 

Verse 2: Behold. Hiney. Don’t miss this. When Jerusalem gets in trouble and all the nations gather against her, it’s not they which arrange this; it’s God himself. Remember, when the Jewish people walk away from God, turn our backs on him and live for ourselves, God has no recourse but to judge us and use that judgment to bring us back. And that bringing us back, that redemption, is designed to assist in his proclamation of his love to all the earth. Behold. Don’t miss this. God’s intention will be accomplished. And here the purpose is shown in two symbols: cup and heavy stone. Both are troublesome, and God says he is the cause of that trouble. 

A comment and a bothersome note here. When the Satmar rebbe said “the Holocaust was not merely a punishment within the framework of Divine retribution for Zionist heresy.  It was also the result of the actions of the Zionists on the historical level.“ (https://etzion.org.il/en/philosophy/issues-jewish-thought/issues-mussar-and-faith/satmar-rebbes-understanding-reason). This was quite disturbing. Arthur Katz, who died 16 years ago last week, did not blame Zionism nor Zionists for the Holocaust. On his website, “Art maintains that God reveals Himself in His judgments and offers a suggestion for an interpretation of Jewish catastrophe as a witness to Jews prior to and including a final time of calamity destined for that people.”

Both the Satmar rebbe and Katz agree that the Holocaust was God’s judgment on the Jewish people, but with different causes. Zechariah would agree that judgment must come on God’s people for God’s sake AND for Jewish people’s sake and for the world’s sake. 

As Peter the apostle teaches in his epistle: “¹⁷ For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? ¹⁸ AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER? Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.” (4.17-19)

Back to Zechariah. Judah will be a cup. Cups can mean many things in the Scripture, and a cup as judgment is a usual theme in Bible. (Psalm 75.8, Isa. 51.17, .21-.23, Jer. 25.15-28, Ezek. 23.31-33, Hab. 2.16, Rev. 14.10, 16.19, 18.6) Didn’t Yeshua say to the boys who wanted his mantle, “Are you able to drink the cup I’m about the drink?” (Mat. 20.22) 

And in the drinking of this cup, Zechariah says it will cause a reeling to the peoples. A shaking. A quivering. Troubles, on the nations who attack our Jewish people. We have seen that again and again in history, haven’t we? Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia… and even in our days. Drink of the cup of the Jewish people, bring judgment to her, and you will feel the burn. You will be troubled yourself. 

By the way the word for ‘cup’ is not Kos as is usual, rather it’s 

סַף־רַ֛עַל

Saf means ‘bowl’ or ‘basin’ (cf. Ex. 12.22) and is associated with the threshold of a door. So, some commentators combine the two imagery and say that the judgment at a threshold and the stone which follows is that someone who is drunk (from the cup) trips on entry or that they bang their head by not bowing to the size gap. 

God says Jerusalem will be a heavy stone.  Result? The nations will be severely injured. It’s a typical repeated verb in Hebrew.

שָׂר֣וֹט יִשָּׂרֵ֑טוּ

Mess with the Jewish people and you will get yours. Plain and simple. Severely.

And in verse 4, it’s all over the battlefield and the marauders. Their horses go into panic mode, and the riders on the horses will be insane. 

There is assonance and that poetry highlights the comprehensive nature of the ruin. 

כָל־סוּס֙ בַּתִּמָּה֔וֹן וְרֹכְב֖וֹ בַּשִּׁגָּע֑וֹן

Bewilderment and madness --like a punishing couplet in Shakespeare.  And then even blindness. A third punishment is added, again in assonance. Blindness.

בַּֽעִוָּרֽוֹן׃

God is watching over Judah and protecting her. Watch over is to protect from too much difficulty. Some, yes, but too much? Not at all! The final answer is God’s answer. Yes, Jerusalem will be attacked and yes, we will suffer troubles, and deservedly so, but in the end, God will be victorious on our behalf, for his name’s sake. Verse 5, who will get glory? The Lord of armies, the Lord of hosts.

Verse 6, again, ‘in that day’ we are fashioned into a fire pot and a flaming torch. Both are fiery agents of ruin. That is, each can wipe out entire fields or entire households. God’s promises of defending Jerusalem are sealed in Zechariah’s opening of this chapter. All the nations (verse 9) that come against Jerusalem will be destroyed. 

Michael Stead says, “The pattern of the past becomes the paradigm for the future.” (Page 188) and he alludes to Jewish pain and suffering yet victory in the time of the Exodus and Red Sea crossing (Ex. 14.23-24), Elisha and the victory over the Arameans (2 King 6.14-20), and even Samson and the Philistines (Judge 15.1-8)

2. Promise #2: God will pour out a spirit of repentance for a pierced one (.10-14)

This ‘conquest through defeat’ motif is rife in the Scripture and as a student of the Bible you should re-read Isaiah chapter 51, perhaps later today. It’s as if Zechariah was rewriting that chapter in his own time and in his own words. 

But now the particular in Zechariah’s view. The battles of the earlier part of the chapter result in victory. The victory, however, is one with a significant loss. The one who is pierced. Now, obviously in war, there are casualties of war, and in this report, we see a significant person is pierced. And there is sadness in those who marched with this one, but the zoom on the camera is picking up something different. The pierced one is not just any old soldier. And the piercing is not done by outsiders. What? That’s a shock!

Let’s talk about the pronouns in this verse 10.

Smith writes, “John 19:37 and Rev 1:7 read “upon him whom they pierced.” However, Yahweh may be the speaker and may be saying that the people had pierced him metaphorically by their rebellion and ingratitude, or they pierced him when they attacked his representative (perhaps some unidentified martyr). The NEB keeps both pronouns and reads “. . . on me, on him whom they have pierced.” D. R. Jones understands the passage to mean that the people of Jerusalem will look upon Yahweh (in prayer) touching those whom they (the nations) have slain (Jones 161). J. D. W. Watts follows Jones and translates v 10, “when they look to me (in prayer) regarding (those) whom they (the nations) have pierced (i.e., soldiers of Judah), they shall mourn for him (a collective)” (Watts 357).”

Michael Brown cites b. Sukkah 55a and 52a by saying the ancients, even in Talmud, read this as a singular and not a plural subject. Talmud refers this to Messiah ben Joseph, the suffering messiah of the ancients. (Brown, p. 148-9)

Brown helps further when he says, “it’s clear the mourners are turning to God.” And he goes on to show that the First Person pronoun has to apply to God himself. All throughout the chapter, God is the agent and the focus. Now the 2^nd textual problem. The ‘they’ of verse 10. Who are they? Brown argues well that they who mourn are the same ‘they’ who pierced the One. So, the Jewish people are not in view as crying over the loss of a military guy with whom they are in good relationship. They are mourning because of their own rejection of Messiah. And that makes good theology in Revelation and John’s Gospel account as well where he cites this passage. (Rev. 1.7, John 19.37)

Be assured, friends, that the promise of God’s deliverance, as we have seen previously in Scripture, does not come without a cost. Only the cost is not that Jewish people will suffer and be pierced. No, the solution is found in Messiah himself, who is pierced for our transgressions. As Isaiah recorded centuries before Zechariah, “He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

 

Is. 53:4       Surely our griefs He Himself bore, 

         And our sorrows He carried. 

         Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, 

         Smitten of God and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities. 

         The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, 

         Each of us has turned to his own way. 

         But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. (Isa. 53.3-6)

 

One more clue about this one is found in Zechariah’s verse 11 today. The reference is to The Plains of Megiddo and would immediately call attention to the hearer about the battle before Judah fell of King Josiah and how he was wounded and died in battle. This is recorded in 2 Chronicles 35.22-25. All of Israel was heartbroken at that time. Josiah was a good king. National mourning took place on a grand scale. Think about what happened on and in the aftermath of 9/11 and just naming the phrase “Twin Towers”, or think Port Arthur, or Granville train, and you will see what I mean. Older Americans think Kennedy being shot in Dallas and the words “grassy knoll” or “Texas Depository” and you get the idea. 

But in this case, the mourners are actually the wounders! We are the ones who pierced him. We are mourning not only because of the loss of our hero, but we are guilty. We killed our only hope. The clans, one by one, admit their error, and repent. Clans of Aaron and others. Priests, prophets, kings… all the wrong and bad shepherds cry out and repent. 

Don’t miss it. The camera pans out and we see all of Israel guilty for piercing the Beloved. And then the camera zooms in on this clan and this house. That house and that clan. Individuals who admit their sin and cry out for mercy. 

And what does God promise? Verse 10. I will pour out grace and more grace. That’s why we look and repent. That’s how we look and repent. God is gracious and longs for us to know and love him. 

The camera of God is zooming in on you. Just now. He wants us to repent and believe in the Good News of the Messiah, the one whom we had pierced, that by his death and resurrection, we too can have eternal life. He wants you to repent. He wants to give you eternal life.

Do you want that? 

He’s still available and longing for you to know him. Why not receive him now?

 

 

 

Resource on video 

To see a fun video overview of the book of Zechariah see this from Bible Project:

https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/zechariah/ 

 

 

 

Bibliography:

Brown, Michael L, Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus, Volume Three, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, 2003.

Ryken, Leland (and others), Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, 1998.

Smith, Ralph, Micah to Malachi: Word Biblical Commentary (Volume 32), Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1984.

Stead, Michael, Zechariah: The Lord Returns, Aquila Press, Sydney, 2015.

Webb, Barry, The Message of Zechariah: Your Kingdom Come, Intervarsity Press, Nottingham, 2003.

Wiersbe, Warren, Be Heroic: Demonstrating Bravery by your Walk, David C. Cook Press, Colorado Springs, 1997.

 

ACTUAL TEXT

 The burden of the word of the LORD concerning Israel.

 

Thus declares the LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him, ² “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah. ³ “It will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will be severely ¹injured. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. ⁴ “In that day,” declares the LORD, “I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. But I will watch over the house of Judah, while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. ⁵ “Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘A strong support for us are the inhabitants of Jerusalem through the LORD of hosts, their God.’

In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a fire pot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples, while the inhabitants of Jerusalem again dwell on their own sites in Jerusalem. ⁷ “The LORD also will save the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not be magnified above Judah. ⁸ “In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who ^1bis feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them. ⁹ “And in that day I will ^1aset about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

 

I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. ¹¹ “In that day there will be great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo. ¹² “The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves; ¹³ the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves; ¹⁴ all the families that remain, every family by itself and their wives by themselves.

 

If I could speak with Geoffrey Edelsten

I only know of two women, Brynne Gordon and Gabi Grecko. My guess is that in your 75 years you have had more than these two. Of course, there was that four-year marriage to your first wife, Leanne Nesbitt. But the recent two are the most public in the last few years here in Australia. And although I'm an American living here in Oz the last 20 years, I've never had the occasion to run in your circles, nor you in mine. 

But I've heard about you and your medical career. I've heard about these two women, each approximately 40 years younger than you, and each very beautiful and buxom and American. Each has had a very public career and public persona that the media love. Again, I don't know either of these two, and wish them only the best.

And I only wish you only the best as well.  You got back together with Gabi in November, the news here reported. That's got to be a joy for you. Listen, your activities since the 1980s are well known. You introduced 24-hour-a-day, medical bulk-billing super clinics complete with grand pianos in waiting rooms. Then in 1985 used some of your capital to buy the Sydney Swans AFL team. By the way, they are my team since I moved here from the US in 1998.

One might describe your career since then as being colorful. You were struck off the medical roll in NSW in 1988, and deregistered in Victoria four years later. In 1990, a Supreme Court jury found you guilty of soliciting hitman Christopher Dale Flannery to assault a former patient of one of your clinics.

You were also convicted of perverting justice by issuing hitman Flannery with a medical certificate that enabled him to postpone a murder trial, thus avoiding a particular judge. You then spent a year in jail, an experience you have described as "life-changing and shattering." I understand that and was in jail only about 2 days in Florida in 1971.

Back in 2010, when Brynne was on your arm, you had 40+ televisions in your apartment and 20 luxury cars in your garage. But life is more than possessions, and you have an impressive string of genuine credentials from reputable Australian institutions. Besides your original medical degree from Melbourne University, there is the bachelor of laws degree from New England University and master's degrees in law, health science, family medicine and sports medicine.

Much else about you might be open to question but your intelligence has never been in doubt. And as you are quoted as saying, "Jewish families think education is extremely important."

Your yichus includes Jewish families on both sides who came to Melbourne from Eastern Europe. All four of my grandparents were also Jewish, and two came from Eastern Europe. Your mum Esther was a Polish baker's daughter. My grandparents moved to the middle of the US into Kansas City, and my zayde was a baker from Ukraine originally.

You have experienced a lot of life, with plenty of friends and enemies, with jailers and wannabes. You have gone through heaps of cash and times of having very little. So, if we had 15 minutes together, what would we talk about? What would I want to tell you?

1) I'd want you to know that God Himself seriously loves you, and no matter what you did or didn't do with the hitman or with your previous wives or others in the clinics... no matter what... He loves you. And He knows all about what you did and who you are. Nothing is hidden from His view. And even so, and no matter how far you might think you can run from Him, or hide in another apartment with tighter security... He will find you and He will share His love with you.

2) I'd want you to know that your Jewish family is God's design as well. He made you a Jew and as such you should know our Book, that is, the Tenach, with its awesome history and intentional plans for us Jewish people. We make plans, but the Great Designer is never far from us, watching over us and helping us to make a good path in this dark world. We are not only chosen; we are also obligated.

3) I'd want you to know that riches bring a lot of 'friends' (Proverbs 19.4), but they may not last very long. And neither might the riches. Solomon was the richest and wisest man in his day (although some may argue about his wisdom in having 1,000 women at his beck and call) and when he pondered what he really wanted out of life, he wrote this:

Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, that I not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the LORD?” or that I not be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God. (Proverbs 30.8-9)

4) I'd want you to know that Yeshua, the Jewish messiah, foretold in the Scriptures, is alive and well. And that there is a community of Yeshua-loving Jewish people in Melbourne and here in Sydney, who would welcome you as a brother. You don't have to arrive in a luxury car; you are welcome to come on the bus. Yes, you will probably be recognized, but not to be among us as a celebrity, only as a brother. And mate. And at the end of the day, isn't that what we all are craving? Being loved for who we are, not for what we bring? Of course, Gabi could come as well, no worries, but it's not a show; it's a family, a community, a place for you (both) to walk in love as Yeshua loved, and gave Himself as a sacrifice for us all. 

Those are some of the things I'd want to share with you, Geoff. If this doesn't ever happen, then maybe right where you are today on Australia Day, and with whomever you are, you might look up to heaven and pray, ask the Almighty for His direction in your life. Not a bad idea on any day, you know? All the best.

What did you go out to see?

The alarm went off at 3:30. That's 0330. That's before 4 in the morning. That's early. And I didn't have work, or an appointment or anyone I had to meet. I had to go 20 kilometres away and be there by 4:15 am. I wanted to see the moon. Tonight it was full. And then the longest lunar eclipse of the century took place. I didn't see it all as the clouds barricaded the moon away from me for a time. 

Then it happened, the white moon turned blood red. They call this phenomenon the "blood moon." The moon was at its apogee (the farthest point in its orbit around Earth), so the moon actually appeared smaller in size. Unlike the Super Blue Blood Moon, where it appeared much bigger in size. 

Even so, the moon was extremely present, and dominant to the cloud-filled sky. At just the right time, the clouds rolled back and the white eclipsed moon, turned red. It was quite a sight to see. 

I had my camera and many lenses. I was ready. But really I wanted to enjoy the moment and see the sight. It was a cold winter's night tonight, and my Sydney Swans beanie kept my head warm, but my hands were starting to chill too much. After I had seen what I went out to see, I went back into the car, thanked God (not my lucky stars) and drove home. 

What did I go out to see? The moon, and the ways of nature as it climbed into the sky and filled me and no doubt, hundreds of planetaria and tens of thousands of astronomers, with pleasure.

Earlier tonight I got home (a bit late from dinner out and working a bit later at the office) and watched the aforementioned Swans in their match against the Essendon Bombers in Melbourne. I recorded the game, so could fast forward through the stoppages and the major breaks. What did I want to see? After my side had lost 3 of their last 4 games, I was hoping for a victory. But that didn't happen. I saw the team go down to a 40 point loss and our Top 8 hopes are being dashed weekly. I wanted to see victory, but instead saw disappointment and defeat.

Back at the turn of the Christian era, about 2000 years ago, Yeshua from Nazareth was discussing his relative John, and posed these three questions, "When the messengers of John had left, Yeshua began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft ²clothing? Those who are splendidly clothed and live in luxury are found in royal palaces! But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and one who is more than a prophet." (Luke 7.24-26)

It's a good thing to consider. Why do we go where we go? What did we hope to see?  Those who checked the New York Stock Exchange yesterday morning perhaps were shocked to see Facebook had lost over $100 billion in value. In a day. They might have gone out to see victory and financial independence, but instead were met with despair and loss.  

When you retire for the night tonight, or wake up fresh in the morning, ask yourself, what do I want to see today? In what direction can I face, and what actions should I take to make those things happen? 

I really like the Serenity Prayer of the 12-step folks. "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference." Change what you can. Make a difference. Do the right things. Change the things you can. 

And yet, there are an equal number of enthusiastic folks in your world who can change things that you cannot. There are circumstances you cannot control. There are processes in place that you didn't create. Accept the things you cannot change. 

What did you go out to see today?
What will you do with your tomorrow?

Who wins?

Yesterday, the Sydney Swans came from 35 points down to beat the Richmond Tigers in a great Round 13 match at the MCG. I was cheering for Sydney, of course, but the real winner was footy. Anyone who likes the game will admit that the league came out the better, the winner.

Before 1989, the Berlin Wall was the Great Divide between East and West Germany. Many families were forced to be separated by the introduction of that divide when it was built in 1961. And although many submitted to its imposition, there were families that continued to meet and have reunions in Lake Ballaton, Hungary. Hungary was the winner; family was the winner.

I often speak in churches, from independent Baptist to messianic congregations to Catholic and ecumenical Pentecostal gatherings. It's such a joy to see the width of the expression of God's Kingdom. A friend of mine and I were speaking today about religion, and he's not yet convinced of the Bible's truths, about Jesus, about God's awesome love. Fair enough. When we spoke about the divides in the religions of Christendom, I suggested that he read the Gospel of John. There the words of the Messiah would be made clear. No one owns Jesus. Baptists and Presbyterians, Messianics and Penties.. none of us. That brought to mind these words of philosopher and Boston College professor Peter Kreeft.

"If the churches ever did reunite, it would have to be into something that was as sacramental and liturgical and authoritative as the Roman Catholic Church and as protesting against abuses and as much focused on the individual in his direct relationship with Christ as the Evangelicals, as charismatic as the Pentecostals, as missionary-minded as the old mainline denominations, as focused on holiness as the Methodists or the Quakers, as committed to the social aspects of the Gospel as the social activists, as Biblical as fundamentalists, and as mystical as the Eastern Orthodox."

I suppose to stay with my theme, the Church would be the winner. And maybe that's why I enjoy my preaching schedule. I so appreciate the width of the varied expressions of Messiah's life. Kreeft has it right. No one owns the messianic message. That is, none of us owns it. Yeshua Himself owns His own message. And when we stand together, we amplify His message to the waiting world. And then we become the winner. That's a classic win/ win. Who's with me?

To watch and listen to my sermon given today at an ecumenical gathering in Sydney, click here.