Tattoo Special | Redemption: Wales Window + Seeds of Hope

Coptic Christian Tattoos: Redemption, Reign, Resurrection

 

"Tell Me the Story About Your Tattoos ... "

This will be a series of posts focusing on the ancient and fresh Christian artwork that is wrapped around my right forearm.

Due to the history and unique line work of Jerusalem Tattoos, along with the strong artistry of my friend, Kevin Shattuck, with Iconic Ink, I get the privilege to talk with curious people who lean in and wonder about the meaning behind each of my tattoos. One Eastern Orthodox friend said, "It's like you have your own icons to turn you back to Christ every time you look at your arm."

Some have even wondered if I could try doing an Instagram or TikTok video sharing about the history and symbology of the various pieces. Maybe someday. But for now, this is the first of a series of posts sharing about each tattoo.

Quick History of Jerusalem Tattoos

For a pithy overview of where this particular style of tattoos comes from, it originates in North Africa nearly 800 years ago. In this area of the world, Christians have often suffered intense persecution, particularly among Coptic Orthodox Christians. One family, the Razzouks, were Christians living in Egypt in the 1300s. Seeking to escape the violence, they became refugees who settled in Jerusalem where they set up Razzouk Tattoo, which still exists today and welcomes pilgrims from all over the world. 

Quick Story About Tattoo Curiosity

For this specific tattoo, one of my favorite moments was when I was picking up some fresh chicken sandwiches at Popeye's for my kids, and a young woman at the counter said, "That's a cool tattoo. What does it mean?" The series of thoughts below include some of what I told her, especially with the focus on the Wales Window (see more about the Wales Window below). As she listened, she said, "I'm not really religious at all, but I really like what you're saying." My hope and prayer is that the seed of hope that was planted that day helps her turn to Jesus as her Healer someday.

Redemption Tattoo

Redemption Coptic Jerusalem Tattoo on Right Forearm

This tattoo on the top of my forearm mirrors a Coptic tattoo that has existed for centuries. The central imagery around the cross, featuring the Spirit (dove) above with the moon and sun, the angels side by side, the two bystanders standing next to Jesus on the cross as the skull of death is under His feet, as well as the oval shape of stars can be seen in other Jerusalem tattoos that Christians from around the world go to the Razzouk Tattoo shop to have inked. 

I call this my "Redemption Tattoo" (the others in future posts I will refer to as my "Resurrection" and "Reign" tattoos) because it showcases how: 

Jesus gave Himself
to buy us back from everything
we were selling ourselves out to.
He's the Redeemer that became a slave
even unto death on the cross

so we could be freed from evil,

sin, death, and hell,

destroying the works of the devil,

overcoming death by His death.

See Romans 5:17, Philippians 2:7-8, Hebrews 2:13-15

The elements I have specifically adapted are listed below with brief explanations for each, beginning from the top to the bottom.

+ Sacred Heart Longing

The top image is often used in Catholic imagery to represent God's heart for us. It's a heart that is pierced by cross, crown of thorns, and spear like Jesus was, yet is still alive with compassion, a consuming fire that warms us to God's holy and whole-making presence.

The Holy Spirit in the shape of a dove, the moon and sun, and the angels watching everything that is happening on the cross showcases that all the things we see, as well as what we cannot see, were centered on this seemingly small moment of a man from Nazareth. 

Jesus could have called 

on angels to rescue Him,
but chose out of love 

to lay down His life and 

be crucified as the Lamb of God 

who takes away the sins of the world.

See 1 Peter 1:10-12, 1 John 3:16, John 1:29

+ Wales Window Jesus

The intentionality of this specific depiction of Jesus is in reference to the Wales Window that was crafted in Wales and then shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to be generously given to 16th Street Baptist Church in an act of solidarity and sorrow after the 1963 bombing of the church building by the Ku Klux Klan in Birmingham, Alabama.

Here on the cross, 

Jesus' right hand is positioned 

to showcase how He continues

to push away the destructive forces 

of violence, murder, slavery, and racism, 

even as His left hand is positioned

open to welcome

the oppressor and the oppressed

to be healed by His forgiving love

in order to transform all

who follow Him

to love their enemies

like He does.

See John 6:37, Luke 6:27-28, 1 Corinthians 15:26-27 

Despite this seeming defeat of Jesus, the skull represents that death is at His feet because death is the last enemy He will defeat, not only for Himself, but for all those who are freed by Him. And underneath the skull is the tomb open to receive Him, but will never keep Him. 

+ Heaven Breaking into Earth

The oval shape of stars surround the cross and reach from the sacred heart down to the place of death. An oval is an ancient and fresh Coptic Orthodox representation of the divine and human, heaven and earth, the seen and unseen coming together, meeting in this excruciating, yet exhilarating moment of Jesus somehow overcoming for us on the cross.

On one side the stars begin to crack and reveal a break in the chains, showcasing that the evil on earth and in the hearts of humanity has no hold on what the King of heaven and earth is doing to set people free. 

On the other side, the stars begin to form into drops of water into seeds planting in the place of death, bringing forth the signs of new creation, blossoms hinting at the resurrection evident in creation itself when one seed dies and yet springs to life to bring a harvest. 

Seeds of hope planted in the dark.

See Galatians 5:1, 2 Corinthians 5:17, John 12:24

+ Servant of All

Also at the place of death is a drop of water and a towel in a basin. This is to represent how Jesus washed the feet of those who would betray, deny, and desert Him. As the King with the power to confront evil and death, He bent down in humility and vulnerability to cover a multitude of sins through His sacrifice that washes away our sins.

We're invited to join Him in this cruciform posture of love for our family, friends, neighbors, and enemies. 

We wash in silence. 

We wash through His Word. 

We serve at the feet of others, 

remembering the feet 

that were pierced to save us.

See Mark 10:45, Mark 9:35, Ephesians 5:25-27

+ Worcester Saints Underground

The final piece of the tattoo above the verses Isaiah 61:11 and Romans 6:3-8 that pull together the meaning of all the imagery is a large "W" with an abbreviation of saints in "Sts" along with a "U" that's beginning to sprout.

This is a dream of my city of Worcester becoming a place where:

More are Welcome at the Cross.

More Wonder about the Cross.

More Worship the One on the Cross.

More are Witnesses from the Cross.

More become part of the

Wormtown Underground,

"thousands of nameless,

faceless Christians (who) humbly submit

to the task of contributing

their bucket to the torrent,"

cruciformed unseen saints

who love their neighbors,

laying down their lives

for the life of the world

while sharing that Good News

has come even from

"The Cradle & the Cross."

Coptic Christian Tattoos: Redemption, Reign, Resurrection

Bonus Quote: 

By dying as He did,
Christ shows that He loves us
in such a way that
He can descend into our private hells.

His love is so empathetic and compassionate
that it can penetrate all barriers
that we construct out of hurt and fear,
in order to enter right into
our despair and hopelessness.

We see this idea expressed
powerfully in John 20.
Twice John presents the disciples
as huddled behind closed doors,
locked in because of fear.
Twice John has Jesus come through
the locked doors and stand
in the midst of that frightened
 and depressed group and
breathe peace into them.

That image — 
Christ going through locked doors 
— is perhaps the most consoling image
within our entire faith.

Put simply, it means God can help us
even when we cannot help ourselves.
God can empower us
even when we are too weak
and despairing to even, minimally,
open the door to let Him in.

There is no hell 
— no private hell of wound, depression,
fear, sickness, or even bitterness — 
that God's love cannot and will not
descend into.
Once there, (God's love)
will breathe out
the peace of the Holy Spirit.

+ Fr. Ronald Rolheiser,
Prayer: Our Deepest Longing

Special Note About Tattoos:

God used the skin of His Son

to communicate with us.

God also chose
to write a message on Jesus' skin.

The marks that Thomas touched

are the marks that put to death

the ultimate power of death

for every human soul.

The nail prints in His hands and feet,

the gash from the spear that 

was thrust in His side,

the marks on His scalp

from the thorny crown,

and the field of furrowed flesh

on His back — 

all are the tattoos* that illustrate

the depth of passion God has for us.

*Leviticus 19:28 reads: "Do not cut

your bodies for the dead or put tattoo

marks on yourselves. I am the Lord."
God was instructing His chosen people,

the new nation of Israel, to set

themselves apart. They were not to

imitate pagan religious practices

that used cuttings or tattoos to 

honor the dead or as an offering

to false gods.

God forbade these markings because

they reflected a belief that the dead

could intercede (plead with gods

or advocate) for the living. To conclude,

as some do, that this passage prohibits

modern tattoos is to misread it.

+ Tattoos: Telling the Secrets of the Soul

pgs. 145, 162, 170

Next: Tattoo Resurrection: Emmaus Road

Many blessings of peace and presence,

Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan

Email Pastor Mike | Website | Visit Us | Support Us

Eastertide | Why is Jesus Dying & Rising? Victory & Restoration

What did Jesus accomplish on the cross? And how does the cross of Christ fully display the overcoming power and love of God for you? Francis Spufford once wrote, "More can be mended than you know." Out of the brokenness of the cross can Christ bring us wholeness?

Instead of separating the different aspects of God's gracious and generous atonement (or bringing together the "one-ment" or reconciliation between God and man) for us through the cross, or putting them in a hierarchy one above the other, Joshua McNall in The Mosaic of Atonement highlights the 4 predominant views of atonement through visualizing Jesus' humanity in His body from head to toe (or feet to hands):  

| 1 | Recapitulation: The Beautiful Feet  

| 2 | Substitution: The Beating Heart  

| 3 | Christus Victor: The Sacred Head  

| 4 | Moral Influence: The Outstretched Hands

revealing how each flows through the other, a beautiful mosaic for us to revel in as we grow in our wonder of what Jesus' loving sacrifice on the cross accomplished for us.

Unlike a photograph in which tiny pixels present a seamless blend of color and shape, a mosaic allows each piece to retain its recognizable particularity while integrating them in the service of a larger picture. ... Though the marks of breaking remain (like scars etched into hands and feet and side), beauty is achieved in the incorporative assembly. As we turn from art to the atonement, the question is straightforward: Cannot the Potter do this even with the most sacred Vessel? ... Yes. God has shown this through the body of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Out of brokenness comes wholeness.

There is much more to be said (and McNall has filled his entire book with such thoughts), but here is a brief glimpse into the mysterious glory and power of the cross of Christ and why He had to die for us. Also, if you're looking for a passage in Scripture that touches on all four, check out Colossians 2:9-15:

2:9 For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body (recapitulation). 10 So you also are complete through your union with Christ (moral influence), who is the head over every ruler and authority (Christus Victor). 11 When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized (substitution). And with Him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. 13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ (recapitulation, moral influence), for He forgave all our sins. 14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 In this way, He disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them on the cross (Christus Victor).

| 1 | Why is Jesus Dying to Restore our Humanity (Recapitulation: The Beautiful Feet)?

Christ enters the human story as both "true Adam" and "true Israel." Most importantly, he enters the story as the true image of the invisible God. And his work must not be divided from his personhood. In these foundational roles (hence: feet), he has the authority to act positively on behalf of all humanity. In so doing, Jesus relives the human drama faithfully on our behalf. And all other models of atonement (ex. substitution, Christus Victor, moral influence, etc.) build up from the footing.

The scriptural genius of the early church leader Irenaeus resides largely in the way he connects Christ's recapitulative ability to a particular doctrine of the imago Dei (image of God), or more specifically the imago Christi (image of Christ). Because all humans have been stamped in the image of the incarnate Son, there exists an unseen (but genuine) connection between the Messiah and the masses. Jesus is the "mold" for Adam's making and the archetype of all other image bearers. Because humanity was patterned after Christ in the beginning, Jesus enters the human drama as the true head of the entire human family. And in the Scriptures, the "head" may act on behalf of the whole.

If all humanity is somehow bound up with the Son (as our archetypal, image-granting source), then the cross presents not simply one innocent and disconnected individual bearing the punishment for other guilty ones but the judgment of the entire human race in the body of the one person who really does (somehow) "contain" and represent us all. Since it is in the Son that we "live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28), it is possible to claim that "I have been crucified with Christ" (Galatians 2:20).

| 2 | Why is Jesus Dying to Judge Evil and Free Us for Good (Substitution and Vicarious Judgment: The Beating Heart)?

The divine victory of the Father, Son, and Spirit flows forth from Christ's recapitulative fidelity (feet) and his penalty-absorbing death (heart). Substitution does not (and should not) pit the Father against the Son in a way that seems to sever their eternal love relationship. In place of this un-Trinitarian idea, penal substitution need claim only that Christ underwent the divinely sanctioned penalty for human sin in our stead.

Some things were clearly suffered by Jesus that were not experienced by me. And regarding agency, I contributed nothing (except my sin) to the strange triumph at Golgotha. I was mysteriously bound up with Christ, but I was not the agent of redemptive action. Christ's devil-defeating victory emerges not merely alongside (or in contrast to) his penalty-enduring death but precisely because of it. Just as Jesus' recapitulative fidelity provides a positive ground for his emerging victory, so does his vicarious judgment on our behalf remove the Accuser's right to condemn us. 

In line with this thinking, Colossians states that Christ triumphed over the principalities and powers precisely by nailing our note of legal indebtedness (the cheirographon) to the cross (Colossians 2:13-15). Likewise, Revelation glories in the fact that the Accuser has been overcome "by the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 12:10-11). Both here and elsewhere, it is not just victory and penal substitution but victory by way of penal substitution and vicarious judgment. Even the head must receive the cleansing lifeblood of the heart.

| 3 | Why is Jesus Dying to Bring Victory in the Face of Seeming Defeat (Christus Victor: The Sacred Head)?

Can the royal conquest be found on the cross itself? In John's Gospel, Jesus speaks of his death as "the hour" for the Son of Man to be "glorified" (John 12:23) and "lifted up" (John 12:32). In Luke's Gospel, Christ's royal reign is recognized by a criminal beside him: "Remember me," he says, "when you come into your kingdom" (Luke 23:42). The cross is not merely the height of Christ's humiliation; it is simultaneously his gloriously enthronement here on earth. This reality has also been noted throughout church history. In an early example, Justin Martyr proclaimed that "the Lord hath reigned from the tree." In the Middle Ages, Venantius Fortunatus sang of "God ruling nations from a tree." In the Reformation, Calvin spoke of the cross as Christ's "triumphal chariot." In the modern era, Karl Barth pushed back so hard against the divide between humiliation and his exaltation that Colin Gunton summarized his view by saying, "For Barth, it is just as God-like to be lowly as to be exalted." Finally, in the contemporary setting, Michael Horton writes that "Jesus embraced the cross precisely as a king embraces a scepter." In each, the cross itself is viewed as a royal exaltation. 

This paradoxical reality also has implications for God's people. In Matthew, it is at Jesus's death (not his resurrection) that the veil is torn, the tombs split open, and "the bodies of many holy people ... were raised to life" (Matthew 27:51-53). While the tale of these raised corpses may seem outlandish, it is even odder to note that the bodies do not emerge from their open tombs till "after Jesus' resurrection". In the meantime, they must wait alive in the abode of death. During this interim, the evidence of their new life remains unseen by outsiders. In this sense, the strange story provides a metaphor for the Christian's present-day experience of "new creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17-21) amidst the smell of death and slowly airing grave cloths. We wait alive in the abode of death. And it was a death that brought us life.

With regard to such unconventional victories, even the so-called proto-evangelium (i.e. first Good News after sin) of Genesis 3:15 may be taken to point in a similar direction. Here, the lethal stomp seems to coincide with the serpent's fatal puncture: "He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." It is a double deathblow." And if Christ's earthly triumph was excruciating, then it should be unsurprising that his people's triumph is as well. Believers are to adopt the posture of the Lamb: "standing ... as though slain" (Revelation 5:6). In so doing, we inhabit the victory God has already won in Christ. Importantly, to dispel any appearance of a growth that springs from human effort, the transformation is said to be the product of the Spirit's work. In this way also, Christ's cruciform triumph guided by the Holy Spirit provides the model for our own victorious existence. Likewise, our Spirit-driven sanctification is one way in which the kingdom comes on earth, as it is in heaven.

| 4 | Why is Jesus Dying to Pour Himself Out and Fill Us with Abundant Life Now and Forever (Moral Influence: The Outstretched Hands)?

Learning how to stand in a cruciform existence shows the reciprocal relation between the head and the hands of mosiac Christ. In the words of G.B. Caird: "The transforming of sinners into righteous (humans) is the final defeat of the power." For this reason, sanctification cannot be detached from God's continuing triumph over evil through the transformed lives of his people. After all, Paul once gloried in the promise that "the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet" (Romans 16:20).

Moral influence involves (1) the beckoning hand of divine love which calls forth grateful imitation and bold approach to God on behalf of sinners and (2) the restraining or unmasking hand that waives off certain idolatrous or violent tendencies.

The engine of moral influence is the Holy Spirit. He incorporates us into God's redemptive work. Atonement is praxis, both for Jesus and his people. Yet this praxis is made possible only because the Spirit makes us into the body of Jesus here on earth. In this way, believers participate in God's work of reconciliation by grace alone (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

In summary, the recapitulative presuppositions of Irenaeus ground the other images like feet planted in the dust of fallen Eden. Christ's penalty-bearing death pumps cleansing lifeblood like a heart to other members. And the triumphant head of Christus Victor rises as the telos or goal of atonement, even as the final victory comes as the Spirit shapes sinners into saints by the beckoning and restraining hands of moral influence. "This is my body," Christ proclaimed, not merely broken but also mended for you. ... "This is Christ's body given for you." ... "More can be mended than you know."

+ Excerpts adapted from Joshua M. McNall's The Mosaic of Atonement: An Integrated Approach to Christ's Work

Christ is all,

Rev. Mike "Sully" Sullivan

Email Pastor Mike | Website | Visit Us | Support Us | Facebook Us 

SOG | Creation, Crisis, Covenant, Christ, Church, New Creation

What is the Story of God?

Chaturvedi Badrinath, a Hindu scholar of world religions, once said to the English Reformed bishop Lesslie Newbigin:

I can't understand why you missionaries present the Bible to us in India as a book of religion. It is not a book of religion – and anyway we have plenty of books of religion in India. We don't need any more! I find in your Bible a unique interpretation of universal history, the history of the whole creation and the history of the human race. And therefore a unique interpretation of the human person as responsible actor in history. That is unique. There is nothing else in the whole religious literature of the world to put alongside it.

Ever wondered what the point of the Bible is? Does it make any sense? And if so, how is Jesus the one who helps connect the beginning and end? 

Key questions to consider as you see the story develop are:

(1) Who is God?
(2) What is God doing?
(3) Who am I in the story?
(4) How would my life be changed if I believed this story about 
God, humanity, and the world?

The Story of God in the Bible Helps Us Understand His Love
and His Kingdom Mission for His People and His Creation

Shorter Version: Story of God, Story of Us 
5-Minute Video: True Story

Act 1: Creation

 

What would life on earth look like for us if we lived the way God created life to be – good, true, and beautiful? 

The story begins with God, the holy Creator and King who came and spoke the universe into existence by His Word. His Spirit was present with all that He made. In reflection of the Creator God being good, true, and beautiful, everything He created was good, true, and beautiful. He made outer space surrounding the earth, the sky above and the sea around the earth, and the land and plants on the earth. And then He did wonderful work to fill these places. He spoke stars and planets into existence to fill space, birds and fish to fill the sky and sea, and animals to fill the land and help spread out the life and plants. And it was all beautiful and good. Then He made humanity, the crown of His creation, by breathing into them His very own life. He formed a man and woman, diverse and unified, to reflect His own image. And then He rested from His very good work. And before the man and woman did anything for Him, He graciously blessed them. In resting in their identity in Him, they then learned to work well in His creation. There was family, food, and work. The holy Creator God and King walked with them like a good Father for this first family, and as a generous King He gave them wonderful responsibility to rule the land and animals with Him in His Kingdom mission for the earth. He placed the first humans inside a garden at the center of His creation and called this family of husband and wife to receive knowledge from Him in how to give life to everything around them. They were to make the world flourish by working and resting as they spread the glory of God and the beauty of His garden temple to the ends of the earth. They were to work like He did by being creative, making more image bearers to fill the earth, cultivating the potential of the earth, and ruling the garden and animals with understanding, good authority, and care. The relationships between God and His family, between the man and woman, and between the humans and the creation were all very good in the garden. The man and woman trusted the Word of God. Their lives were a song, full and wholly good in working, ruling, playing, and resting like God. God dwelt among them and His glory filled the garden with the humans and creation. God was with humanity and everything was very good.

Creation Scriptures | Genesis 1-2; John 1:1-5; Genesis 5:1-2; Psalm 90:17; Isaiah 40:28; Psalm 24:1; Deuteronomy 10:14; Psalm 19:1-7; Psalm 47:6-8; Psalm 74:12; Psalm 90:17; Psalm 148

Act 2: Crisis 

If God created us and the earth good, true, and beautiful, why is there so much evil, self-destruction, ugliness, and rebellion in us and around us? 

After a period of time of walking with God, receiving life from Him, and doing good work that flourished in His ways, humanity chose to break relationship with God as Creator, Father, and King and chose to irresponsibly rule in their own way by taking instead of receiving and giving. They stopped trusting God's Word and walking in His ways with Him. In ungratefulness for all that He provided them, the man and woman chose to take knowledge and life in a different way than God had given them to receive. Rather than trusting God’s good reign and relationship with them, this first family chose to turn away from God and turn to God's enemy, listening to the evil one's slippery lie of twisting God's words into meaning that serving themselves would bring them life instead of death, and that this life separate from God would be better for them instead of loving God and each other, and continuing in their good work and responsibility of ruling God's Kingdom with Him on earth. The consequences were personal and far reaching as the man and woman, named Adam and Eve, invited ungratefulness, entitlement, and separation into every crevice of their life and the world. Family was fractured. Food became more scarce. Work became toil. Instead of filling their relationships and responsibilities with goodness and love, they felt the emptying impact of sin's shame and blame-shifting, and ran away from their relationship with God and responsibility before Him by hiding. The entire creation fell under the shadow of death, corruption, and destruction. Sin, like a parasite, entered into God’s good world as death began to eat away at everything. God, the Rescuer and Righteous Judge, moved on behalf of humanity and the earth by cursing the enemy and promising that there would be a future promised One who would crush the evil one. But the holy Creator God and King who loved them like a Father, in keeping His Word that if they chose to not believe Him that they would die, had to make these broken humans leave His holy presence in His temple garden so they would not be consumed by His perfect justice. On their way out, He covered them in animal skins to cover their shame and nakedness. Relationship with God and each other, and responsibility to work the gift of creation, would now be fractured and difficult because humanity chose their selfish pride over God's self-giving peace. History began to spiral into increasing hardship, violence, greed, poverty, erosion, and disrepair. The first child of this now broken world committed murder. And the taking of life multiplied. The fear of death was everywhere and sin crouched, attacked, and sought to rule over humans instead of having them serve God as King and working together to bless and fill the earth as His good co-heirs. More and more, humanity chose to manage good and evil in their own ways instead of by God's words and instruction, doing what was right in their own eyes and taking from God, each other, and the earth instead of receiving and giving. They continued shamefully focusing on making and taking a name for themselves, and they became more and more irresponsible in warping the purposes of family, community, art, and vocation, which in turn led to increasing evil and death. God the Creator, King, and Righteous Judge, sought to cleanse the world of this great wickedness including all of humanity. But He had grace on one man named Noah, who walked with God in close relationship, which in turn led the way to the salvation of this man's whole family, creation, and the world. Noah listened to God's Word in relationship with God, did responsible work for God, his family, and creation, and saw God begin again His Kingdom mission after the cleansing of the world.

Crisis Scriptures | Romans 5:12; Ecclesiastes 9:3; Genesis 3, 4:6-12, 16-24; 6:5; Romans 1:19-32; Deuteronomy 9:24, 32:6; Psalm 14:2-3, 51:5; Isaiah 59:2; Jeremiah 17:9, 22:1-17; Ezekiel 22; Matthew 15:19; Luke 6:45; Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:56; Revelation 12:9; 1 Peter 5:8; Genesis 6:8-13; Genesis 9:1-3, 8-17

Act 3: Covenant 

 

Does God desire to step in and restore what we have broken and ravaged? 

Despite continuing to choose their own ways over His again and again, God pursued humanity with mercy and justice. God the Provider, the Promise-Maker, and Promise-Keeper, made generous covenants, promising to intervene and graciously bless humanity again so that humanity would be with Him and work together with Him to bless the world. He told Adam and Eve that He would defeat the evil one, sin, and death with a promised One in the human line. He would not destroy creation, but would restore it and make it fruitful and multiply like He promised Noah and his family. He would bring a solution to the problem of sin and death that was infecting His good creation through blessings that would create a relationship between Him and people from all nations. After Noah died, in His grace-filled love for humanity despite them choosing to not fill the earth and instead build a tower for their own names, God chose to call and bless a family again, led by a man named Abram, telling him and his family to go, multiply, fill the land with His glory, and demonstrate and declare His goodness and grace throughout the earth. God told Abram, who He renamed Abraham, which means father of many nations, that He would make Abraham's family as numerous as the stars and make the land his family cared for flourish like a bountiful garden. In being blessed by receiving this covenant promise from God, this household was to bless and give to people from every tongue, tribe, and nation. Abraham's family became a nation of people called Israel, and God, the Redeemer and Rescuer, brought them from out of slavery in Egypt and brought them into relationship with Him, calling them to be a kingdom of priests who were to bless every nation throughout the world by taking on the responsibility of demonstrating and declaring the good ways of God in relation to Him, each other, and all of creation. He gave them His Word of life in the law and called them to follow it to show what humanity on earth was intended to be in relationship with Him and in responsibility for the world. Families were blessed, food was provided, and work was valued. He dwelt with His people in all His glory in a tabernacle, which was created by His direction, and Spirit-fueled work in chosen people. The tabernacle was modeled to resemble the Garden of Eden and the entire cosmos, showcasing His continued purpose to walk with mankind and make the earth His Kingdom's dwelling place. He taught the people how to provide pure sacrifices like a firstborn spotless lamb that would remind them that life was in the blood He gave them, that their sin caused death to creation, and that their sin needed to be covered and removed from them and the earth so that they could continue to be with Him. The high priest did this for the people before entering into the Holy of Holies to show that humanity's place was with God when their sin was paid for and removed. Celebration meals involved recognizing their freedom from slavery, death passing over them when blood was marked on their doors, and the firstfruits and fulfillment of the harvest. These happened yearly, and forgiveness of debts and giving to the foreigner were also part of these great celebrations in recognition of how God forgives debts and welcomes the foreigner and the poor. But even with God and His glory and power dwelling with them on the earth, the people were stubborn and rebellious and soon rejected their relational identity to Him and the responsibility He gave them for the world even after He redeemed and rescued them. They fell back into putting themselves before anyone or anything else, including the sojourner and foreigner even though they were once the same in Egypt. And they took advantage of the poor, the weak, the orphaned, and the widowed among them, and misused creation instead of cultivating it. They continued to selfishly do what was right in their own eyes. However, even when they didn't listen to God and rebelled, He still pursued them as a Father lovingly seeks his lost son or daughter and rescued them over and over again from their destructive ways. He even gave them the promised land of flourishing He told Abraham about, and He gave them a good king in King David and a wise king in his son, King Solomon, to provide glimpses of what God's Kingdom and good rule could be like on earth. King Solomon built a temple even greater and more beautiful than the tabernacle where God came to dwell with them in His glory. The surroundings of His Holy of Holies in the temple were also created to look like the Garden of Eden and the cosmos in design and purpose. But future kings continually forgot God's relational promises and responsible commands, and fell into repetitive destructive habits until eventually God let them turn themselves over to their desires for lesser idols and often horrific lusts involving sexual abuse, greed, violence, and even child sacrifice outside the walls of their city. They rejected God and His Kingdom reign, and were enslaved by other kingdoms and gods. The temple was destroyed and the people were taken captive in exile by other harsh and abusive nations. Throughout all of this time, even in the midst of their slavery, rebellion, and exile, God continued to provide faithful men and women who called the people to repent and turn back to God's ways. These priests, judges, kings, and prophets reminded the people to remember what God had said in order that they might hope for the day when He would graciously come to dwell with them in close relationship again and free them to obey His life-giving commands. The prophets said that God would write His law on their hearts so that they could obey Him, and that God would give them His Holy Spirit so that they would walk in His steps. The prophets also spoke of a promised anointed One called the Messiah who would suffer as a servant and die for them, but also raise up and bring God's mighty Kingdom. God continued to hold to His Word that He would atone for His people and forgive them, that He would gather His people from all nations, removing the deceitful, wicked, and selfish from the land, that He would bring His Kingdom's justice to the oppressed, and that He would restore all of creation to be good and bountiful again under His loving reign. But after a period of time, only some remembered the covenant promises and the promised anointed One.

Covenant Scriptures | Genesis 3:15; 9:1-3, 8-17; 12:1-5, 15, 17:1-9; Exodus 4:22-23, 12:1-28, 19:5-6, 22:21-22, 23:6-12, 31:1-11, 35:30-35; Leviticus 26:9; Deuteronomy 11:8-28, 15:1-11; 28; 30: 2 Samuel 7:8-16; 2 Chronicles 7; Isaiah 42:1-7, 10-12; 52-53; 55:3-6; 62:2-4, 10-12; Jeremiah 23:3, 31:31-34, 32:37-41; Ezekiel 36:23-38, 37:24-28; Zechariah 8:1-8, 20-23; Isaiah 66:1-2, 22-23; Psalm 67, 96

Act 4: Christ 

 

How does God come to fulfill His promises and rescue, redeem, and restore us and His creation?

God sent Jesus Christ – the "Yes" and "Amen" to all His covenant promises – to save His people from their sins. Jesus came to the earth as the Word of God made flesh, and the Spirit of God was with Him to speak the Good News of the Kingdom being near now and coming fully again. He was born into poverty as part of an oppressed and ethnic minority people group – Nazarene Jews in the Galilee region of the Gentiles under the rule of the Roman Empire – working well to cultivate creation as a carpenter, and growing in favor with God and man. As the Son of God, He was the only human to live a whole life of selfless, holy service in relationship to God, with other humans, and with all of creation. Jesus was good, true, and beautiful in who He was and how He lived. He made family members of people from all walks of life. He ate with them and gave Himself as the Bread of Life for them. He also calmed creation with His voice, and creation listened to His voice in harmony with what He said. All of Jesus' good, true, and beautiful work brought healing, redemption, and restoration. He received and He gave without taking. His message and life were loving God and loving others as He called people to turn back to relationship with God and each other, instead of continuing in selfish and destructive ways. He taught them how to seek first the Kingdom of heaven, so they could learn again how to rest in their identity from God the Father, and then responsibly work to serve the world around them. Jesus, the Son of Man, came to make the crooked paths of humanity straight by following every one of God's instructions and law, and walking in every one of God's ways so that people from every tribe, tongue, and nation could walk together in God's ways with Him. He did this to fulfill God's promise to Adam and Eve that the evil one would be crushed, the covenant promise to Noah and his family that the earth would not be condemned, the covenant promise to Abram and his family that their generations would bless all the peoples of the earth, the covenant promise to Moses and Israel that God's people would be a light to the nations and a kingdom of priests, and the covenant promise that the Kingdom He established in David's line would never be broken and that a King after God's own heart would sit on the throne. Jesus was the Redeemer, just like God with His people in Egypt, and the Rescuer who set men, women, and children of all kinds free from slavery. Jesus, whose name means "God saves," was the fulfillment of the ultimate plan and promise of Emmanuel, "God with us." He came and tabernacled among us as God's true temple, man with God and God with man, bringing together the Kingdom of heaven and earth, the meaning of the whole cosmos. His good news of the Kingdom of God was full of grace for the foreigner, the weak, the widow, the orphan, and the poor in spirit who knew their need of Him. He came to heal those who knew they were sick in heart and mind, and to seek and save the lost who were humbly hoping to be found by God. He resisted all of the enemy's lies and obeyed all of God's Word. And He did this all when humanity so often played the enemy of God and His ways. The evil one's power play wasn't enough and he felt the victorious impact of this anointed promised One's crushing power. But this also means that those who continued to listen to the lies of the enemy already thought they were right in their own view of the world and did not want Jesus to be the answer to their ungratefulness, entitlement, and separation from others they did not like. They did not think they were broken, so they did not want to listen to Jesus' good, true, and beautifully powerful words or follow Him, revealing their need of Him. Jewish leaders thought He was blasphemous by equating Himself with God. Romans thought He was crazy for even desiring to be a king of an oppressed and enslaved people. So just like humanity didn't follow God's righteous reign in the beginning in the garden and broke relationship with Him and responsibility to the world, those in power when Jesus came to earth did not want Him to be God with them and reign over them either. They decided to break relationship with Him and any responsibility to Him by killing Jesus, the Messiah sent from God, outside their city, sacrificing the Son of Man and Son of God by crucifixion. Jesus, the Messiah, the anointed One who fulfilled the new covenant promise of restored relationship with God, and the responsible Servant King of God's Kingdom, was killed on a cursed cross as the perfect spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus took on and received the just punishment of sin and death we deserved. But, as God promised, after three days in the grave, Jesus was raised to life, defeating sin, death, and the evil one, and came back to invite us to trust in His death-defying words and walk in His evil-crushing ways. Jesus was the perfect Rescuer, Priest, King, Redeemer, Prophet, Provider, Promise-Maker, Promise-Keeper, Messiah and Victor over all that is evil. God's ultimate plan of restoration and renewal to turn the tide of our human history was revealed and accomplished. His Kingdom purposes had been showcased, and the full extent of how far He would go to restore our relationship with Him was revealed.

Christ Scriptures | Matthew 16:15-17; John 11:27; Psalm 111:9, 130:7-8; 2 Corinthians 1:19-20; Isaiah 52:7-53; Hebrews 8:6, 9:11-15; Matthew 1:21-23; Deuteronomy 16:11; Mark 10:45; Luke 1:68, 22:14-20; Acts 10:38; Romans 3:23-24, 8:18-25, 10:9-13; 1 Peter 2:24, 3:18; 1 Timothy 1:15; 2 Timothy 1:9-10; Titus 2:11-14; Philippians 2:6-11; John 1:29, 3:16-17; 1 John 3:8; Hebrews 2:14-15; Colossians 1:12-17, 2:13-15

 Act 5: Church 

If God came in Jesus to redeem and restore us and His creation, how do we follow Him and His ways in countering all the evil, self-destruction, ugliness, and rebellion still prevalent in the world today?

The story isn’t over yet. Jesus, whose name means "God saves," and who was the fulfillment of the ultimate plan and promise of Emmanuel, "God with us," lived, died, resurrected, ascended, and sent the Spirit of God to you for you to believe in Him, be redeemed and reconciled with God, and join His Kingdom mission of sharing and showing this good news throughout the whole earth with people from every tribe, tongue, and nation. He gave a new promise that He would continue to be with us and would return as King of kings to reconcile heaven and earth and establish His Kingdom forever. When you trust in Jesus' perfectly good words, works, and ways on your behalf, your sins are forgiven and removed, and your relationship with God is restored. Instead of trying to achieve fulfillment by your own merit while continuing to struggle with ungratefulness, entitlement, and separation from God, you gratefully receive the abundant life He selflessly provides by His grace because He has defeated sin, death, the evil one, and separation from God for you. When you believe and trust in Him, you will be able to rejoice in how you now understand and know the good news that though you were more broken, selfish, and rebellious in yourself than you ever dared believe before, you are more loved and accepted in Jesus than you ever dared hope. When you receive this gift of life with God in Jesus – like God has always done with people who walk in His ways – He dwells with you by His Spirit so that you become part of His family and His temple. In loving relationship, He gives you His name, baptizing individuals and households in the name of the Father, and the name of the Son, and the name of the Holy Spirit. He also gives a celebration meal called Communion or Eucharist (i.e. thanksgiving) where Jesus' body broken and blood shed for us, represented in bread and wine, help us remember what He did and that He is with us until He comes again. He gives you the responsibility to dwell with Him and walk with Him to bless people and His creation throughout the world. By trusting His Word and walking in step with His Spirit, you will be able to embody His purpose for humanity to showcase glimpses of His Kingdom in your community and city by demonstrating and declaring the good news of God's reign in and through Jesus with those who know they are sick and lost. You will also be able to remain faithful to Him even as many will reject you for following Jesus' words, works, and ways as many rejected Jesus when He walked the earth. But in faith in God's providence and the power of His Spirit in you, you will be able to strive on faithfully in life with God, each other, and all of creation because of His grace, and His growing desire in you to see restoration happen in others and the world around you. Your family, food, and work will be able to be received as gifts from God, and you can give them to others freely in Jesus' name. By His Spirit, You will be able to love both neighbor and enemy as Jesus did. You will join Jesus in welcoming the sojourner and foreigner to believe in His salvation. And you will share His compassion in caring for the weak, the oppressed, the widow, the orphan, and the poor in spirit. As you discover that people across all ethnicities and cultures are your family in Jesus' name, you will be able to lay down your prejudices and privileges so that you join together with sisters and brothers in God's family to represent His Kingdom of priests to the world. You will suffer because much of the world did and many still do reject Him as King of kings and Lord of lords. But, as Jesus promised, He will be with you in the suffering, and will bring others who will suffer with you. We follow Him and do this together as His Church – His multiethnic family of Kingdom servants who are redeemed by His shed blood and empowered by His Holy Spirit. Jesus has called us to be God's light to the nations together. We can love, forgive, and sacrifice in Jesus' name for each other. We can enjoy family, food, and work for the glory of God, doing all for Him rather than for our value or greed. And we can serve those around us, and the world in the spheres of our neighborhoods, workplaces, avenues of art, and the environment as a preview of what Jesus will soon completely fulfill when He returns to bring God's good, right, and beautiful Kingdom of heaven to earth.

Church Scriptures | Mark 16:15; Colossians 1:11-22; Matthew 16:16-18, 25:31-46; Luke 10:25-37, 14:7-14; Mark 10:42-45; Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:46-47; John 20:21-22; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:42-47, 4:29-35; 2 Timothy 1:9-10; 2 Corinthians 9:6-12; Ephesians 1:15-23, 2:13-22; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, 6:16-18; 1 Peter 2:9-12; Romans 12:9-21; 1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:23-24; John 17:6-26; Romans 8:18-23

Act 6: (New) Creation 

 

How does this story of God come to completion for us and the earth? 

When Jesus comes back to earth to bring God's Kingdom reign to fruition, He will make all things new. Everything will be good and completely beautiful again. God will be with His people and He will justly remove from the earth all of the sin, death, hell, destruction, and the evil one, and will restore the earth's brokenness to complete peace in His Kingdom of flourishing mercy and power. The place where heaven meets earth will include the garden where God used to walk with humanity, only now it will be a garden city full of people from every part of humanity. God's family from every tribe, tongue, and nation will be His Kingdom and priests, and His glory and goodness will fill and overflow from the temple – which is now God on His throne dwelling with man on earth – into every area of humanity and the earth. Those who reject God's grace and Jesus' holy good reign will receive justice in their desire to reject relationship with Him. They will be made responsible for their ungratefulness, entitlement, and separation, and be forever set apart from Him without His redemption or restoration outside the Kingdom city with the evil one in isolation, darkness, and weeping. For those who have a redeemed relationship with God through Jesus, and who have answered His call in obedience to be responsible to follow His ways in declaring the good news of His Kingdom, salvation, and caring for others – including feeding, clothing, welcoming, healing and helping the poor and oppressed in the world – they will be with Him and will be fully blessed to enjoy good, right, and beautifully abundant life together with people from every tribe, tongue, and nation forever. All relationships in God's Kingdom – between God and humanity, mankind with each other, and humanity with the earth – will flourish. Work will always be good and productive, art will be beautiful all the time, creation will be cared for with understanding and appreciation, and the glory of God will fill the earth. God will be with us – His family featuring blessed children, women, and men from every cultural and ethnic background as He promised – and we will thrive in perfectly loving God and each other, and cultivating His creation together. We will always take on the responsibility of reflecting His goodness in the reconciled heaven and earth as His Kingdom and priests. This will be better than even the very good at the beginning. It will be more than we can ask for or imagine. 

(New) Creation Scriptures | Psalm 90:1; Matthew 5:5; Habakkuk 2:14; Isaiah 60; 2 Chronicles 6:18-21; Isaiah 65:17-25; Mark 16:15; Matthew 25:31-46; Revelation 5:9-10, 7:9-10; 21-22  

What if this story is true? 
How would this change the way you live and who or what you trust in today? 

The word "repentance" actually means to have a change of mind and to make a turn in direction on the path one is walking. What would it be like for you to think differently about Jesus and begin to follow His way, His truth, and His life? How would your thoughts change? How would your behavior change? How loved would you feel that God is willing to do all of this for you even after you have ignored and rejected His pursuit of you so often? How would you receive this gift and then share this good news with others in word and deed? 

For those who like to read and want to look more into the details of the story, I encourage you to read Craig Bartholomew and Michael Goheen's The True Story of the Whole World: Finding Your Place in the Biblical Drama or Sean Gladding's The Story of God, the Story of Us: Getting Lost and Found in the Bible. For something shorter, be sure to check out Missio Dei's "True Story: From Creation to Restoration" doc as they are the ones who came up with the helpful symbols above. 

If you'd rather not do more reading, and instead would just like to talk with someone about this, feel free to contact me. I would be more than willing to meet you at a cafe or pub and answer any questions you have, as well as listen to your story. If you ask me for my story, I'd be more than willing to share it, too. The Story of God is not only my favorite thing in the world to share, I believe it is the true story and I strive, by the grace of God and joy from His Spirit, to live my life following Jesus in light of it.

Next post: The Story of God | Jesus: True and Better

Christ is all, 

Rev. Mike "Sully" Sullivan

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