we killed the only true human .. but it's all good

i cut my spiritual teeth on the penal substitution approach to atonement theology ..
didn't know any other
didn't think anything else was possible, " 'cause that's what the bible said " ..

i don't know anymore
and while i think it's important
i think the greatest import is found in the understanding that Jesus died for our sins

what i do believe is that God understood beforehand what would happen when the Word of God incarnated - ..

that the world of humanity could not stand the experience of seeing true Human as it was originally designed and, faced with the convicting force of that recognition, its degraded condition brought into the glaring Light of Truth, it poured out its wrath on Truth-in-Person, mocking him, abusing him, violating him, killing him

- and God walked that road anyway, taking in his body the violent rebellion of the Creator's own image-bearers, hung-out for all the world to gaze-at, and mock, and eventually pass-by ..



and God would use that human sacrifice by our humanity to uproot and to undo the authority Satan held over this world system, using this unjust violent oppression against the only ever perfect human
to ransom humanity,
to free us who all our lives lived out of bondage to the fear of death,
to declare the impending judgement of the Grand Accuser,
to set the Cornerstone for the Kingdom of God in the Earth
   a new kingdom that lived out of Light, not darkness and deception
   that grounded in Love, not selfishness and hatred and violence
   that would cover the Earth in peace under the rulership of the Prince of Peace
      under the fulfilled gaze of the Son of God, the Final Adam, Jesus

that God might be All, in all ..

i believe that ..

peace to you

when our christianity outdoes our Christ ..

at Mark 14 Jesus is in the home of a leper, of all people ..
(“Unclean! Unclean!” was the required cry of a leper in public, warning passersby to maintain a distance .. stay away from me; I'm dirty .. it's likely that this mentality infected Jewish society via their religion, and the religious reasoning was that God blessed the religious with health and wealth, cursing the 'wicked' and the 'sinner' with poverty and disease ..)

while there, a woman pours a costly oil over Jesus' head, honouring him ..
his disciples are 'indignant'! they say the expensive oil could have been sold, the proceeds used for the benefit of the poor
(this event is the context of his statement “you will always have the poor with you”, and not as an excuse for christians not helping the poor, which is an immediate denial of your christianity ..)

Jesus tells them to stop bothering her .. he takes the opportunity to right their attitude on him and the priority of him in their life
“you will have the poor with you always, but you will not always have me here.. she did what she could – she has anointed my body in anticipation of my burial, and it is beautiful; her story will be told wherever the gospel is preached ..”

(this is the point at which Judas finally decides that Jesus is a fraud, and offers to betray him to the chief priests – he finally accepts that Jesus is not going to be their saviour from Roman oppression ..)

the point Jesus is (again) making is that we are to love him more than we love even our parents or children, that we are to lose our life to find it in him, that we are to attitude following him above even life itself – denying our self, taking our cross with us as we do life ..
(cross, a peculiarly definitive statement to Jews under Rome's boot)

yes, love your neighbour as your own self, one of the two great commands (=help the poor), but do that in the context of loving God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength – then you will be able to love your neighbour in truth

this woman had the appropriate posture to the person of Jesus – to honour him ..

let's us ..