“Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.” –John 5:19-20 NIV

How might Jesus have seen his Father’s sacrificial love? How did the Father show him?

Today, Jesus is the ultimate expression of the Father’s love, and appropriately so. I came to know God’s love in large part by focusing on Jesus and his willingness to suffer and forgive.

But where did Jesus come to know that love? Somehow, Jesus read the same Scriptures we read–the Old Testament, that is–and saw and imitated his Father’s love, even to the point of his own death on a cross.

I do not believe Jesus’s understanding of the Father came from nowhere, and it wasn’t through some sort of divine magic. What did he see?

To willingly live a joyfully self-sacrificial life, you pretty much have to believe you’re deeply loved.

Jesus must have believed that, and it must have come from the Scriptures – the Old Testament. What did he read and understand that moved him to give of himself to the depth he did?

In April 2021, I engaged with a podcast series that helped me begin to ask and then answer that question, by highlighting God’s self-sacrificial character throughout the Scriptures, helping me to see much more clearly how Jesus would have seen what his Father is doing, especially in the area of sacrificial love.

His bow in the clouds (episode 4)

Gen 9:12-15 - all about covenant

“Whenever I bring the clouds over the earth, and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant”

  • The Hebrew for “rainbow” is actually just “bow”–a weapon of destruction.
  • “Remember”
    • “I’m putting my bow in the clouds, and I’m turning the bow towards…myself.”

“If you don’t become my vassal, I am going to destroy you”

  • You’re going to get a sign of the covenant, like a receipt
  • Typically it’s the vassal’s responsibility to produce the receipt
  • But God accepted that responsibility: He kept the covenant, kept the sign, and remembered it for his “vassal”

BY THE WAY…“Chiasms” are the coolest Hebrew literary device ever CHIASM: A symmetrical set of references pointing to a hidden treasure: The main point of the text.

  • “covenant” shows up 7 times (Hebrew “breet”)
  • “earth” shows up 7 times
  • “cloud” shows up 5 times (in the Hebrew)
  • “rainbow” shows up 3 times Odd numbers have a “middle” … which lets them “point” to a center … another chiasm??

Wouldn’t it be interesting if you took all the “middle” mentions of all these words, and they were all in one Hebrew phrase? The 4th “covenant”, the 4th “earth”, the 3rd “cloud”, and the 2nd “rainbow” …

Number Two: Abraham walking the blood path (episode 10)

The Blood path story is another case where God says, “I’ll take the risk/responsibility/sacrifice/punishment, so that you can have access to a relationship with me.”

Gen 15:6-11, 17

  • Another Suzerian-Vassal covenant. Abraham knew exactly what to do. You take these five animals, you cut them in half, and you arrange them where there’s going to be a natural crevice or a divot and it’ll form this ditch where the blood will drain. It’s going to form what’s called a blood path.

The vassal is supposed to go thru first, which of course would be Abraham. But he delayed. Why?

Abraham may have realized he had really stepped out of line and gotten himself in a bind. To quote Marty: He’s in this cranky mood. He’s demanding all this collateral and now he remembers who he’s dealing with. “Oh, yes, I remember I’m dealing with the creator of the universe here. I can’t enter into a covenant; not this kind of intimate, relational covenant. I can’t deliver on my end of the bargain. I’m going to screw this up. The moment my pinky toe steps in this blood path, I’m a dead man.”

15:12 - As the sun was setting, Avram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick, dreadful darkness came over him.

  • That phrase in the Hebrew means a terrifying, depressing darkness.

v17 - When the sun had set, and darkness had fallen, a smoking fire pot, with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day, the Lord made a covenant with Avram and said, “To your descendants, I give this land.

“smoke and fire” - calls back to the Exodus, where cloud and fire symbolized the presence of God.

TWO presences passed through the blood path: One on Abraham’s behalf, and one on God’s own behalf.

God comes to Avram and says, “Avram, I know you can’t walk between the halves, so I’ll tell you what, I’ll walk through on both of our parts. I’ll walk through on your behalf and I’ll walk through on my behalf,” which, in this blood path covenant would be God saying, “I know you’re going to screw this up, but even when you screw this up, I will be the one to pay the price. I’ll be the one that will offer the sacrifice. I’ll be the one.”

Number Three: Moses striking the rock (episode 21)

Exodus 17 God is testing the people to know what’s in their hearts, and they’re not doing very well…probably looking about like we would if we were them.

Psalm 78:18 - They willfully put God to the test by demanding the food they craved.

They came out of Egypt with cattle. They already had meat! They were putting God to the test.

Moses cried, “They are almost ready to stone me!”

  • The word for cry here is “tsa-aq” - Moses had literal fear for his life.

The rabbis teach that this story is the second test - the test of loving with all one’s soul, nephesh.

  • Nephesh is the essence of who you are, the seed and core of your very being.
  • In putting God to the test, you are withholding your nephesh, your very self.

Moses is scared for his life, and God’s next words are “Go walk in front of the people.”

He takes the elders ahead to Sinai (now henceforth called Horeb, the name for the region that includes Sinai), 17 miles from Rephidim.

nakah - strike to kill. The same word used to describe Moses striking–and killing–the Egyptian.

Again we see God’s heart: “I know that the people deserve judgment, but I want you to strike me instead, and I will provide for them.”

I’ll stop there, but I hope this serves as a tiny taste of what begins to come out of the text when you really start putting effort into seeing through Jewish eyes.

Of course all these stories for us point forward to Jesus, but I have to think that for Jesus they pointed to a God who loved like no other, like no one had imagined a God could love.

A God who loves his people like this is a God who draws me to want to love back, A God who draws me to want to honor him.

“Partnering with God”

  • My journey toward knowing him better

  • Coming to see life as God sees it.

  • Bow in the Clouds

  • Abraham walking the blood path

  • Moses striking the rock

Honorable mention:

  • The binding of Isaac, where God himself provided the sacrifice.

Me three years ago: From my journal:

  • 20 March 2021: “I am becoming somewhat disillusioned with the institutional part of our church.  So many meetings and agendas, so much pushing/nudging by leaders to evangelize, and relatively little actual deep fellowship with same leaders.  It’s exhausting.”
  • I was going to church, and not hearing.
  • 4 April 2021: My wife and I were not doing well, growing distant and falling out of love. The worries and concerns of life were beginning to strangle our relationship.

6 Apr 2021 - Bob Casey and I visited Anthony Hamilton in Springfield, introduced to Bema podcasts.

Gaining a new motivation for reaching the world.

When I was first studied with and baptized,

  • Matthew 28:18-20

  • “Why wouldn’t you want to share this gift with others?”

  • A rabbinical “disciple” - talmid.

I feel like in the past ’ve been on a journey to a deeper motivation: Partnership with God in his work of creation.

to “God is building a new earth, and invites you to partner with him.”