Category: Band

Yesterday, I had a great conversation with a Muslim friend of mine. We were talking about the final days of the earth, discussing that both we as Christians as well as Muslims are awaiting Jesus’s return to the earth to bring judgment and justice amongst all people.

Then this morning I read these words from Jesus:

Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Matthew 10:37-38

I immediately had this thought: On that last day, as my friend and I were discussing, I certainly don’t want to hear those words from Jesus:

“You are not worthy of me.”

The one who has authority over all of heaven and all of earth could potentially say to each of us: You are not worthy of me.

Jesus is not content with second place. He will not allow us to put him in a lower priority in our lives. First place – of greatest importance, in the greatest priority – is the only position, the only priority, that we can possibly give to him. Otherwise, we are not worthy of him.

Can I go even one step further?

In the context of what I was reading in Matthew 10, Jesus had just called his twelve disciples to himself. These are the men that he had chosen. These are the ones that will walk with him in the closest possible way. In fact, these are even the twelve men who, in the context of what is happening in this time, will go out to represent Jesus. They will pray for workers. These disciples will tell these other new workers about the kingdom of God. They will be beaten and will suffer for Jesus.

Presumably Jesus is even speaking these difficult words, this difficult teaching, directly to the disciples.

Isn’t he? Even if they have put their faith in him… Even if they have believed in Jesus as their Lord and Savior… Even if they have been baptized… Can’t we say, based on what Jesus has said here, that if they love their mother and father, or their sons and daughters, more than they love Jesus, they won’t be worthy of him.

In other words, according to what Jesus is saying, they will be judged, and they will come up short. They will be found wanting and not enter into eternity with Christ.

Let’s take one last step forward. Jesus says that if we don’t pick up our cross, just as Jesus did, we will not be worthy of him.

Let’s be clear in the words that Jesus uses: He doesn’t say whoever isn’t willing to take up their cross. Neither does he say whoever isn’t ready to take up their cross. We frequently add words like this in our teaching and preaching, but that isn’t what Jesus said. He said, “Whoever does not take up their cross…”

How should we read those words? How should we understand what he is saying? I think it is simple. Jesus took his cross and went to die. Now he says that if we don’t do the same, we are not worthy of him.

And then he goes on to finish the statement saying that we will find our life by losing it, but we will lose our life if we think that we have found it.

In other words, if we live our life in the way that we want – or maybe we could say, if we live our best life, as is popularly said today – we are destined to lose it. Living in this way, in the way that we want, thinking we have found our life, we are not worthy of Jesus. We have prioritized what we want. We have prioritized the things that we desire instead of the things that Jesus desires.

Instead, if you lose your life – if you give the entirety of your life to Christ and allow him to direct your steps, doing what he says that we must do to be his disciple – you will find your life. You will find the life that he desires to give you. You can be sure that it will be difficult. You can be sure that there will be one challenge after another. You might even quickly find that you will be called to suffer or even die. But you will truly find your life, a life full of joy, a life full of peace, a life full of love. The fruits of the Holy Spirit will be the marks, the description, of your life.

So we must make a choice. Will we live in a manner that is worthy of Jesus? Will we prioritize him over mother, father, children, and even our very own life? Only in this way will we be worthy of him.

Several years ago, when we lived in St. Louis, we were part of a new church that we called Levi’s Table. Rob and Karen Graham are our good friends and they led this church at that time. We took the name from the story that I’m reading today in Matthew 9, and I’m remembering some of the beautiful times that we had together.

We called this new church Levi’s Table because – as I recall – we had a desire to call the “sick”, to call the sinners to come to the table with Jesus.

Jesus was criticized by the Pharisees, the religious rulers at the time. They couldn’t understand how Jesus could come to a tax collector’s booth – Matthew’s booth – where a Jew worked for the Roman government, then went to his house where he proceeded to have dinner and take part in a party that was thrown by Matthew, the traitor tax collector, alongside several of his best friends, other sinners.

Yet this is exactly where Jesus wanted to be. He wanted to be with the “sick”, the sinners who were far from God so that he could call them to come to repentance, to believe in him. He didn’t intend to become one of them. Neither was he tolerant of their sin and behavior. He called them sick and in need of a doctor. He called them sinners, not righteous.

On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Matthew 9:12-13

At the same time, Jesus’s response, when asked why he was eating with these tax collectors and sinners, seemed to rebuke the Pharisees. Aside from explaining what he was doing, as I read what he is saying, Jesus almost seems to be calling out these religious leaders. Without him saying it directly, I think you can read between the lines of what he is saying and almost hear Jesus asking a question or two:

Why wouldn’t I eat with the sinners?

Why aren’t you eating with the sinners?

Do you think you are so “healthy”, Pharisees?

We need to be asking ourselves similar questions. Even if we aren’t criticizing others, or asking the same questions that the Pharisees are asking – why are those people eating with sinners? – are we abstaining from inviting others who are sinning from coming to Christ?

One of the greatest joys that I have had in the work that we have done recently is to invite some of the ladies, the prostitutes of our city, into parties that we have thrown. Especially as teams have come to town to work along with us, we have invited people that we have met while the teams have ben here with us to come to a party, typically toward the end of the time that the team has been with us. We have food, games, music, sometimes some dancing, and celebration. But in the midst of the various interactions, those who were invited and have come to the party are hearing about Jesus.

The last group that visited us spoke Spanish. Many, if not nearly all, of the prostitutes of our city also speak Spanish. Having room yet at the party, we sent the team to go and invite the ladies to come and join us at the party. Two of them did. They ate. They laughed. And they had a good time.

But most of all, they heard about Jesus. They understood that the reason for all of this was to spend time together and know Jesus. And they stayed. They didn’t run. They received an invitation to the banquet, and they came.

As far as I know, they haven’t yet gone on to believe. We have yet to see the ladies of the area that men typically frequent, where their bodies are sold, and where drugs and alcohol are freely distributed, come to faith in Christ and be baptized. But we are continuing to pray that this will become a reality. We continue to ask God that Jesus would be known amongst these people and that the work of these women would end because they have repented and left behind their old lives for something new. A new life. A life in Christ.

But that will only happen if we will go to the sinners, if we will eat with them, and we will share Jesus with them, just as Jesus did at Matthew’s house.

In our politics today, if you want to characterize the other side, your opponent, as someone that you shouldn’t vote for, one of the first words that you reach for is this one: Extreme.

He is on the extreme right, we might say of our opponent.

Or she is on the extreme left, if we want to characterize them as the worst person for which we could possibly vote.

What are we trying to say? We’re saying that we are “Us”. We are part of the crowd. We are the majority.

But they are “Them”. They are outside of the majority. They are a small group with radical ideas. Their ideas are too much for the majority to take. Get rid of those people. Vote against them because they are extreme.

As I think about Jesus, despite the characterizations of being loving, merciful, and full of grace – which he most definitely was and still is – he was also extreme, and he expected his disciples to be the same way. Jesus was all of the way in with regard to his mission, and he expected his disciples to be all of the way in, in exactly the same way. He was completely committed to the task at hand, to carrying out the mission that he was on, and he expected his disciples to do the same.

Jesus had just finished giving the sermon on the mount and as he came down and began to travel, he had large crowds following him. Seeing the crowds, he decided that it was time to cross the lake. Now was the time to start to sift between the people. Some would go with him and others would not and so some of the people began to speak up.

“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go,” said one of the teachers of the law.

But Jesus knew that this would be difficult – in fact, too much for this man:

Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

Matthew 8:20

Then another person wanted to go as well, but he had a problem in his family. His father had died: “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

Matthew 8:22

How many of us would be repelled today by Jesus saying things like this?

Jesus, are you saying I can’t even have a house? Wouldn’t we object that shelter is a basic human need? Don’t I need that before I can follow you?

Jesus, are you saying that I can’t even bury my father? Is not the love of a son for a father something that you want to honor? Is not the obligation to my family extremely important?

It isn’t very difficult to understand the objections. I think most of us, if we heard a teacher respond to someone who had these objections today, say that Jesus wouldn’t permit him to have a home and also still follow him. Or Jesus wouldn’t permit a person to bury their father and also still follow him… I’m pretty sure that each of us would say that the teacher is much too extreme.

And yet, that is precisely what Jesus said.

In fact, if anything, we might say that Jesus was intentionally driving people away. And I think that if we said that, we would probably be right. It seems to me that he was calling people to himself at an extremely high cost. The time to separate the disciples from the crowd had come, and the way that Jesus had decided to make the separation was with a calling that was so high, it was difficult for the people to accept.

Jesus wasn’t trying to keep a big crowd around him. He was looking for the few who were willing to be completely committed to knowing him and to being a part of the work that he was doing.

The same is true even still today. Nothing has changed. If we think that Jesus is fine with us remaining to be part of the crowd, we are mistaken. If we think that Jesus was just sort of mainstream, and he wants us to just sort of be mainstream, we are mistaken.

There was nothing mainstream about Jesus. He is the king over all things. He is the creator and king of the universe. And yet he came to purchase each of us with his blood to come out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of God. It doesn’t get more extreme than that. It is not possible be more committed to your cause than that.

And that is who Jesus called each of his disciples to be as well. That is still who he calls us to be, even today.

It’s not what you know, it is who you know…

I’ve heard that advice for decades. As I was finishing high school and moving into university, then on into my career, like many other parents taught their kids, my parents taught me this idea, that I should develop relationships with others.

Working through my career, various people consistently told me to invest in relationships with those who were ahead of me. Build your network. Connect with the right people.

Well, a career is one thing. Yes, it is important to be able to support yourself and support your family. We must make money to be able to live. Absolutely.

But your eternity is a different level of discussion, a different level of importance altogether. It isn’t discussed nearly as often, but as we think about our eternity, we are discussing a topic that is vastly more important than anything that we may have done, or anything that I ever will do, related to my work.

And yet, there is a similarity between these two things. With regard to my eternity, it isn’t what I know, it is instead who I know that will make the difference. It isn’t what I have done, but it is instead who I have been with and who I have done it for that will change everything related to my eternity.

Jesus is wrapping up the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7. The final idea, aside from telling the people that they would be wise to put his words into practice, was that we must know him if we are to enter his kingdom:

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Matthew 7:21-23

Jesus says that only those who do the will of his Father in heaven can enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Clear enough, but then, strangely, Jesus shares some objections that people will use when he refuses them entry into the kingdom:

Did we not prophesy in your name?

Did we not drive out demons in your name?

Did we not perform miracles in your name?

I say “strangely” because these things seem like they would be doing the will of the Father. Don’t they? Aren’t these not only good religious or spiritual types of activities, but maybe someone would even say next level religious or spiritual activities? How many people do you know who are out giving true prophecies? Or truly driving out demons? Or truly performing miracles in Jesus’s name?

How could it possibly be that these activities would not be the will of the Father? How is it possible that driving out demons would not be what God would want us to do? Isn’t that precisely what Jesus just said that we must do? To do the will of the Father, and those that do that would enter the kingdom of heaven?

I think there are a couple of important points to make here:

First, at the final day, despite the objections, Jesus says to these same people, “I never knew you.” Amongst all of the important things that we can do, the most important thing that we can do in our lives is to know Jesus.

A little later, in fact, Jesus says that we must remain connected to him. He used as a parable an example of him being like the vine in a vineyard and we like the branches. If the branch wants to stay alive, it must stay attached to the vine. We said must abide in him. But how?

By reading his words. By remaining in prayer. In stillness and listening to his Spirit speak to our spirit. In doing what he says to do. Each of these ways will allow us to abide in him, to know him. This is how we can know Jesus.

Second, when we know him, we will also know what he wants from us. Yes, there may be a time when he asks us to prophecy. There may be a time when he calls upon us to drive out a demon or to step forward to be the hand that performs the miracle that he wishes to do. But doing these things doesn’t necessarily guarantee that we are doing the will of the Father.

By knowing Jesus, we can know what he is doing. Jesus came to reestablish his kingdom on the earth. The Israelites had rejected God as their king, but now the king had come to the earth to reestablish his rule and reign. He had come to give himself, to purchase people from every tribe, tongue, and nation, ripping them out of the kingdom of darkness by purchasing them away from that kingdom with his blood so that they could come into the kingdom of God. Jesus himself is the king and his Father’s will is to establish the king upon the throne of the kingdom of God forever, bringing all people into his kingdom.

If we know and understand this… If we know that this is the will of the Father, then we work with Jesus to do what he wants to accomplish, and do exactly what he told us to do. We become part of his plan.

It isn’t enough to do what we want to do. It isn’t enough to only prophecy. It isn’t enough to only drive out demons. It isn’t enough to only do miracles.

Yes, there were instances that Jesus had his disciples do these things, and there will be instances in which we are called upon to do the same. But these weren’t the primary things that Jesus told us to do. However, we wouldn’t know that if we don’t truly know Jesus.

If, instead, we look around us within our world today and see religious works that draw attention, if we look to see the things that draw the crowds – prophecies, casting out demons, doing miracles, and othr things – and we desire to do those things, then what is it that we desire? We want the works. We want the crowds.

We aren’t wanting Jesus. We aren’t necessarily desiring him.

But if we look to Jesus, to know him, then we both abide with him in both the moments that are quiet and the moments that are loud and public and we know and participate with him in what he is doing.

We know and participate with him in what he is doing.

Jesus is preaching and speaking to the crowds, helping them to understand his kingdom, the kingdom of God. He begins to use the “but I tell you…” statements that certainly would have awakened the crowds.

No one else would dare do that. No one else would say “but I tell you…” when it came to the word of God. And yet, that is exactly what Jesus began to do in the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus is going straight into some of the most practical, everyday matters. These are situations and sins that are common to each of us, and he starts with anger and bitterness.

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister, will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

“Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

Matthew 5:21-26

Jesus starts with murder. You’ve heard it said that anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. Well, yes Jesus, that makes sense. Isn’t that one of the worst things that we could possibly do, to murder someone? He of course knew that everyon would be in agreement at that point, but then he uses “but I tell you…”:

He says that even if you are angry with someone, you are going to be subject to judgment.

Wait a minute… If I’m angry with someone?

Yes, Jesus is comparing anger to murder, placing them at the same level, that each of them would make us subject to judgment before God.

Clearly Jesus doesn’t like angry people… But why? What is the issue here? You haven’t really sinned just by being angry, have you?

The issue is that anger is the root of many other issues. Yes, in extreme cases, it can be the root of murder. But it is also the root of division. It is the root of unforgiveness. It is the root of litigation in the courts. It is the root of divorce. It is the root of families that don’t see one another for years and years, even if they have a hard time remembering why.

Jesus isn’t just interested in getting us to obey a law, or to be good, moral people. Yes, we must be obedient, but the obedience is to the life that he gives us, a life that is full. A life that desires to truly know him in the depths of our being. A life lived based on love for God and love for other people. That is the life that will allow us to offer forgiveness to one another and to continue in a depth of relationship with one another. That is the life that he has called us to step into today.

Satan knows the word of God, and he will use it against you.

The Holy Spirit had led Jesus into the wilderness, specifically with the intent that he would be tempted by Satan. Jesus’s identity had just been confirmed in his baptism, but now it was time to prove it. It was time to show Satan that he no longer ruled over the earth. A new authority, the rightful authority, had arrived, and he would be the one to rule and reign from this point on.

Satan tries to lure Jesus into his trap. Twice he attempts to test Jesus’s identity. “If you are the Son of God…”, he said.

Then he offers Jesus everything, but only if he will bow down to Satan and worship him. He will give him fame, fortune, and power. Jesus will rule over the earth, and everyone will know.

Except Jesus already knows that he will rule over the earth. He understands who he is. He understands what God has said about him. And so he continues to put his relationship with his father, the Father, in the first place. To this last temptation, he says:

“Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

Matthew 4:10

What is the difference between how Jesus responded to Satan versus how we respond when we are tempted, we listen, and then we fail, falling into sin? The difference is that Jesus not only knew the word of God. He did it. He lived it. He went on to put action to the words and live by them.

As Satan put Jesus to the test, asking him about his identity, Jesus responded:

“It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Jesus was in fact living at that very moment without bread. He wasn’t eating. He was fasting, and he was content. If he had the word of God, he had what he needed. He was living what he quoted.

Then as Satan told him to throw himself down so that the angels would catch him, Jesus responded by saying:

“It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

How many times do we try to bargain with God? How many times do we say, if you do this, then I will do that? Or if you will save me, or save someone else from this suffering, then I will believe. But if you won’t…

Jesus didn’t go there. He didn’t do this. He was already in the test. He would suffer and he knew it. He would be tested greatly, and he knew it. But he wouldn’t make try to make deals. Jesus would say, “Thy will be done”, trusting that God’s will is correct and best because he is the one who would truly know what is right.

And finally, as Satan offered him everything, if only Jesus would bow down and worship him.

But Jesus correctly pointed out that the only one that we must worship is the Lord our God.

So it is not enough to know the word of God. We must do it. We must obey it. We must live it. Only in this way will we, like Jesus, be able to stand when the whispers of temptation come.

This statement that Jesus said to John the Baptist has always been a difficult one for me. I haven’t really understood how it could be that, in baptizing Jesus, they could be fulfilling righteousness.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.

Matthew 3:13-15

Jesus is perfect. Spotless. No sin. He has no reason to be baptized because he hasn’t sinned. John’s baptism was for repentance, which Jesus didn’t need. Further, he told the Pharisees that one was coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. That “one” was Jesus. Why do this baptism, and how does that fulfill righteousness?

Thinking about this and doing some additional reading in various commentaries this morning, I was reminded of a couple of an additional scripture that helped me. It is a prophecy in Isaiah 53 that speaks to the coming of Christ. Here is what it says:

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah 53:12

Jesus was numbered amongst the transgressors. And furthermore, he bore the sin of many, making intercession for the transgressors.

Jesus was considered to be a transgressor. It has been said that Jesus confessed sins that he did not commit and repented of them before God. So, in this way, as in many other ways, Jesus was numbered amongst the transgressors. Even if he didn’t need to be baptized, that didn’t actually matter. He was taking on the form of a transgressor so that the sins would be placed upon himself and he would bear them in the place of the actual transgressors.

The Magi, the wise men coming from east of Jerusalem, saw the star that would mark the place where the Messiah would be born. They were expecting the star. They were looking forward to the time when the Messiah would come into the world, the one that would be the king of the Jews.

In this particular case, there was a physical star, a marker for the Messiah. He was specifically called out by light, a light shining through the darkness of night to show that the Messiah had come. He would bring light, spiritual light, and would even call himself the light. But he was also marked by the light.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

Matthew 2:1-2

This corresponds with other passages in the Old Testament that talk about the Messiah who would come. At some points, the Messiah is referred to as a star himself, the one producing the light. For example, here is a prophecy from the book of Numbers that speaks specifically of the Messiah as a star:

I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob;
a scepter will rise out of Israel.
He will crush the foreheads of Moab,
the skulls of all the people of Sheth.

Numbers 24:17

Interestingly, this prophecy came from Balaam, a wicked prophet who spoke true prophecies, yet was condemned for giving advice to Balak how Israel could be cursed through leading them to idolatry and sexual immorality. We continue to see that God can even use evil for his glory or for the good of his people.

In this scripture, we see that the star rises out of Jacob, holding the scepter of a king, coming out of Israel. This prophecy, spoken thousands of years before Christ, would speak of Jesus. From the nation of Israel would come the star, would come the king of kings. He would be the ruler over all of the earth. He would be the star that, in the midst of darkness, would give light to all mankind.

It is difficult to even begin to imagine the position that Joseph was in. He is engaged to Mary, and suddenly, she shows up to be pregnant. He knew that the two of them hadn’t been together yet. There is just one explanation that remains… There has been another guy.

Joseph wanted to call it off, to divorce her, although for some reason he decided to go about it quietly. Matthew says that he didn’t want to expose Mary to public disgrace. That seems strange, given that public disgrace was sure to come to her one way or another at this point!

An angel comes to Joseph in a dream and tells him not to worry. No man had been with Mary. It had been the Holy Spirit who had placed this baby within her. He should take her as his wife and they should call the baby Jesus, meaning God with us.

Matthew, as he is writing this account, points out that:

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Matthew 1:22-23

But what does that mean? God with us?

I think most people, if you were to ask them, where is God? They might point up into the sky. He is up there…far from us. Away from us. He is not here. He is there.

And, in some fashion, in some way of speaking, that may be true. God is in heaven on his throne. We don’t know precisely, geographically speaking, where heaven is, and we probably can’t even assign a geography to it. It is in the spiritual, heavenly realms, which we don’t precisely even know where that is located, or if you can even assign a location to it.

However, this is different. Even if our idea is that God is there… actually, the news is quite different. Instead of, or maybe better said, in addition to there, God is here. He is here, with us.

God made the decision to come to earth. The Father was still there in the heavenly realms, yet he also came to earth to become a man. The Holy Spirit placed God within Mary and that baby, that was himself God, became a man.

How does that work? I don’t know. I’m not sure that I can explain it precisely, how it could be that God could also become a man. But this is exactly what the scripture said, that Jesus would be given the name Immanuel, meaning God with us. The Holy Spirit came upon Mary, and without a man, a baby was formed. This is God with us.

And yet, that isn’t the end. Even though Jesus returned to be with the Father, God is still with us! As we believe, the Holy Spirit comes to give us a new birth, and the Holy Spirit continues to live within us even today! God is with us even now. God remains with us as we go from one step to the next. He is with us at all times and in every way. God is Immanuel. He is with us.

Now that Haman had been hung on the pole, Xerxes turns back to Esther to ask her if there is anything further that she wants to do, anything further that needed to be done. She tells him, in fact, there was more to do. There in the city of Susa, they would need to continue to pursue the rest of the enemies until they were completely destroyed. There wouldn’t be any rest until this was done.

And so there in Susa, this went on for two days while, outside of that city, the fighting against their enemies only last one day. Following that fighting, though, Mordecai called upon the Jews to rest and to celebrate. They would give thanks to God and give gifts to one another in a celebration that would be called Purim, a celebration that even continues today.

The root word for this festival is the word “pur”, which is the word “lot” in English. Purim is the plural, or “lots” in English. It was said that Haman and the enemies of the Jews had cast the pur for the destruction of the Jews:

So the Jews agreed to continue the celebration they had begun, doing what Mordecai had written to them. For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the pur (that is, the lot ) for their ruin and destruction. But when the plot came to the king’s attention, he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back onto his own head, and that he and his sons should be impaled on poles. (Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur. ) Because of everything written in this letter and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them, the Jews took it on themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews—nor should the memory of these days die out among their descendants.

Esther 9:23-28

The Jews continue to celebrate this day even today, on the 14th for the Jews outside of Jerusalem, and on the 15th in Jerusalem and some other similar cities because they are a walled cities, like that of Susa because of the additional day that they fought against the enemies of the Jews.

A couple of observations and applications:

First, it is interesting that the Jews chose and used the word Purim for the establishment of this holiday. They are using a word that suggested that they would be destroyed. Instead of a word like “independence” or “salvation” or something that focuses on the positive, they instead chose the word that focused on their destruction as the word that they used to remember and celebrate that day.

For us, regardless of how we do it, we must remember God’s faithfulness. Except in the time of prayer and fasting, we don’t see a direct interaction with God in this particular story of Esther, but we do see that God remained faithful to the Jews, saving them from the complete destruction that was planned for them by Haman.

We also must look back, remembering what God has done for us and how he has been faithful to us throughout our days.

But even further, we must remember that we also have been saved from destruction. Just like the Jews, we also were marked for destruction, in fact an eternal destruction by the justice and wrath of God. But Jesus came and gave us salvation, rescuing us from the punishment of God for our sins. So in the same way that the Jews celebrate their rescue from destruction at the hand of Haman and the rest of their enemies, we also must celebrate and remember our salvation from destruction as a result of our sin.