Word of Life Church Podcast

The expression “the scales fell from my eyes” is an idiom for a sudden epiphany. Something that had blinded us is suddenly removed so that now we see the truth. This idiom has its origin in the story of Saul/Paul’s Damascus Road conversion. “Damascus Road” has also become an idiom for a sudden change. But the Damascus Road event and the scales falling from Saul’s eyes are not exactly the same thing. They’re related, but different. One is deconstruction, the other is reconstruction.

The first person to see the risen Christ was Mary Magdalene. When Mary first saw Jesus in the garden she thought he was the gardener. A logical mistake. Or maybe a prophetic mistake. Or maybe not a mistake at all. As the first seed of resurrection raised, Jesus is now the gardener of resurrection, cultivating new life in all who believe.

With the burial of Jesus the new tomb has become a new womb. On Holy Saturday we have nothing to do—nothing to do but to wait. Sometimes it’s a good thing to come to the end of all our striving and enter into a holy Sabbath. A Sabbath of waiting…resting…waiting. When the work is done and the seed is sown, there’s nothing more to do, but to rest and wait...and see what tomorrow will bring.

The conquering king on a majestic horse has become a universal symbol of power. The king astride the warhorse is an equivalent symbol to the king upon his throne. Which is why to this day in every capital city there’s always some dude on a horse. But Jesus did not ride a warhorse into Jerusalem. Jesus rode a donkey…a little donkey. The one who rode the little donkey in humility, peace, and gentleness, now rides the white horse with all authority in heaven and on earth.

The book of Job is a test in how well the reader can resist scapegoating a blameless victim. The key to the whole book is found in the first verse. Job was blameless. But most readers fail the test and end up at some point agreeing with Job's three "miserable comforters" and the most vicious accuser of all, Elihu. But Job was BLAMELESS! Can the reader remember this all the way through? Most readers cannot; eventually they side with the accusers—the satan. We are possessed!