28 July 2010
Psalm 72; Judges 3:12-30; Acts 1:1-14; Matt. 27:45-54

The Moabites were a hated race, a people whose origins were in the incestuous relations Lot’s daughter had with her father after getting him drunk, their morals shaped by Sodom. It would be a bitter pill to swallow to be subjected to Moabite rule for 18 years. The left-handed Ehud would have been able to pull off this ruse for murder as no one would have expected him to be a southpaw. Left-handed people were not trusted and certainly not with an important mission like this one. It is a strange bias to us today but for centuries in some cultures left-handed people were thought to be of the devil in some way. (Google “left handed and the Bible” for more) If you look at the references in the Bible you will see a clear preference for the right hand. Here, what was normally a handicap became an advantage as no one would have checked the right thigh for a weapon. After this time, the land had an eighty year rest from foreign domination.

The final moments of Jesus’ earthly life are poignant and full of signs. The cry of dereliction, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” begs an answer from heaven and the answer is for our sake Jesus is forsaken on the cross. At that moment all God could see was our sin and He turned away without pity, only judgment. The depth of Jesus’ identification was complete and the curse of Leviticus was enacted and fulfilled on Him for us. The cry is from Psalm 22 which we read on Good Friday in our liturgy in order to get the full implication of Jesus’ words. The curtain of the temple being torn asunder signifies that the veil between heaven and earth has been rent, we all have unmediated access to God, otherwise the wrath of God would have broken out at the tearing of the curtain. The saints being raised signify to us what will be when He comes in glory. The words of the centurion are the truth, more than the inscription on the cross, and they come from the pagan culture who had dominion over the land.

The disciples are given instructions and a promise. They don’t understand the promise and believe that this is the time when Jesus will restore the kingdom to Israel. They are still looking for an earthly kingdom, even after all they have seen. They must have wondered during those forty days why Jesus was revealing Himself only to the disciples and other believers and not to the world by coming to the throne. For whatever their reasons, they are obedient to Jesus’ command to remain in Jerusalem even though they are “men of Galilee” and would likely otherwise have gotten out of town for the next festival, Pentecost after what happened the last time they were all there. In all three of our lessons today we see that God used the things that others looked down on in order to accomplish His will, the left-handed Ehud, Jesus who was cursed under the law for us and these men of Galilee who were suspect to those who were purer through their association with Jerusalem. How is God showing us today that He can use and redeem anything to accomplish His purposes? What is it in your own life that you hide that God could use for His glory?

The Lord exists for ever;
your word is firmly fixed in heaven.
Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
By your appointment they stand today,
for all things are your servants.