It is finished

I enjoy reading the story of creation in the Book of Genesis. There is so much creativity and awesomeness in what God was doing on the Earth. From the dividing of night and day to the creation of creatures and ultimately the creation of man, the Book of Genesis is so majestic in nature. It says that for 6 days God created and then He looked at everything He had made and said, ahh yes it is all good!

Genesis 1:31 "Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day."

As you know God had put Adam and Eve in the Garden to be stewards of everything He had created. They had a perfect relationship between each other until the fall of man through the eating of the apple. This then set into motion centuries of attempts at the complete restoration of man's relationship with God. None of which totally worked until of course Jesus' arrival. At this point I want to explain to you an idea of the resurrection you may not have thought about.

For us to reach the point where we understand our place in the world today, as a church and/or a body of believers we need to grasp the full significance of the resurrection.

John 20:1"Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb."John is telling us here that Easter day is in fact the first day of the week. John tells us twice Easter is the first day of the week. V19"then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." John wouldnt waste words so there is significance here in what he is saying.

Remember this, if Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday then Friday was the 6th day and Saturday the 7th or Sabbath (day of rest) and Sunday the 1st.Look back to Genesis and notice on theh 6th day God said he saw everything was good and finished creating. John 19:30 "So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit." On that Friday Jesus looks all the way back to Genesis 1 when God saw everything as good, then announces once again to humanity "It is finished"! Through the offering up of His life Jesus once again finished the creation of man. And as this wasnt enough to prove to humanity the authenticity of this restoration of humanity God shows us another thing.

John 20:15 Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, "Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away."

Where did God put Adam and Eve? In the garden! Who did Mary mistake Jesus for? A gardener. Once again God had put humanity back in Eden! God has put you and I back in the garden to be stewards of His creation and once again to be in a perfect relationship with Him! Easter means much more than life after death. Easter is about us living this life here on Earth as stewards of everything God has given us operating in right relatioship with Him as Adam once did!

Mark 7

Mark 7:24 Jesus got up and went away from there to the region of Tyre. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know of it; yet He could not escape notice. 25 But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And He was saying to her, "Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." 28 But she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children's crumbs." 29 And He said to her, "Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter." 30 And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left.

Its interesting to notice here Jesus is referring to this womans daughter as a dog. Doesnt this seem out of character that jesus would resort to name calling? What Jesus was trying to do was put her off to avoid publicity. Undeterred, the woman responds in a way which moves Christ to heal her daughter of this demon. What has happened?

Remember, Christ came announcing a Kingdom accessible to all. Jews had this exclusive right to the Temple and Gentiles werent allowed to enter the inner courts. At this point in Mark, Christ has a following of people who want healed and delivered. This woman approaches and Jesus tries to avoid the publicity by comparing her child to a dog. This title of dog was given to gentiles and puppy to gentile children by the Jews. So insert dog and Jew in the following and it reads,
27And He was saying to her, "Let the Jews be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the Jewish bread and throw it to the gentiles." 28 But she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, but even the gentiles under the table feed on the Jewish crumbs."

The woman latches onto his use of the term puppies and conceives the deliverance of her daughter might count as a mere crumb. This revelation of Christ moves Him to see this womans daughter delivered He doesnt even go to see her, He just says it. He exorcises the demon at a distance without a word. A mere crumb or a mere understanding of Christs teaching is enough to deliver us all from whatever anguish we are in. He is not exclusive. He is an all inclusive teacher who never intended for us to feel unworthy of what He offers. I encourage you if you are feeling unworthy to read this chapter of Mark and see yourself as this woman, willing to take just a crumb. It is more than enough.