Co-Branches? What the...?

             You should see my backyard. It’s a more pertinent place for a botanist or a scientist than a homeowner or a Frisbee player. There once was a day when this prickly, weed-infested junkyard was a lusciously soft, green backyard. Now, though, I could almost picnic under the umbrella-sized mushrooms that have sprouted back there. The blades of grass are sadly outnumbered by the less cordial weedy folks. I mow it, but it’s kind of like trimming my facial hair… it’s a lost cause… it’s like organizing the contents of a trash can. My point is, I don’t have much of a “green thumb”. I can do lots of things, but growing facial hair and reviving a dead lawn are not listed in my repertoire. I need someone’s help.

           

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            Anyway… I’m reading through the Bible. I would encourage all of my readers to do the same. It has radically changed my understanding of who God is and who I am. (As a parenthetical side-note: Atheistic Bystander, I’m talking to you. Bored Christian, I’m talking to you. Complacent Pastor, I’m talking to you.) Anyway, as I was reading I came across this little snippet:

“Listen to me, O Jeshua the high priest, and all you other priests. You are symbols of things to come. Soon I am going to bring my servant, the Branch. Now look at the jewel I have set before Jeshua, a single stone with seven facets [or eyes]. I will engrave an inscription on it, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, and I will remove the sins of this land in a single day” (Zechariah 3:8-9).

I understand that this is coming from Zechariah’s vision in a long list of, honestly, a sort of mind-numbingly long list of prophets in the Bible. But this was one of those moments that inattentive readers have when their eyes are glazing over the text and suddenly a word (or words) jump out and kiss them on the cheek. This time, for me it was God’s words: “my servant, the Branch.” This is what God spoke through Zechariah: he was going to bring his servant who is a… is a… Branch. Not a politician, or a warrior, or an “Italian Stallion” like the Rocky movies? A branch? A Branch with a capital B?

            So, my first thought was, What is this Branch. I’ll take the Reader on the same journey of inquiry through which I meandered. Let’s look at the biblical references chronologically. First we must go back in time as Zechariah was not the first to mention the Branch. In about 700 B.C., Isaiah wrote that the Branch is a someone. He will be “beautiful and glorious” and that he will come from David’s family (4:2). He, in reference to Messiah, goes on to say later that the Lord’s “servant” will grow up “like a tender green shoot” (11:1). Approximately one-hundred years later, Jeremiah planted the motif by saying, “I will raise up a tsemach tsaddiq [a righteous Branch] from David’s line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom.” (23:5). About one-hundred more years after Jeremiah’s prophecy, Zechariah claimed that this Servant Branch will build the temple of the Lord, become king, and serve as high priest (Zech. 6:12). We’ve gone full circle. That’s only a couple of several references to the Branch over the course of about 200 to 250 years of biblical prophecy.

So, just to clarify… This Servant Branch comes from:

            A. David’s family

            B. God’s family

            and

            C. The ground

And this Servant Branch person does three things:

           

            1. Serves

            2. Builds the Temple

            3. Becomes King and Priest

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            This is the point of contention. What you’re about to read splits Orthodox Jews from Messianic Jews, Mormons from Catholics, and Muslim from Christians. The remainder of this conversation I want to have with you, Reader, is built upon the foundational principles of what it means to be a Jesus Follower, a Christian. Either way, I believe you will undergo a fundamental life-change after reading this. These words cut and heal; they’re divisive and remedial; they warn and cuddle us at the same time.

           

Who is the Branch to whom these ancient prophets were referring?

Could it be Jesus? I’ve read, admittedly almost exclusively, the New Testament my entire life and so, naturally, I assumed these ancient prophecies were in reference to Jesus. It’s like reading the end of a book first. So… are they talking about Jesus? It sounds a lot like him to me…

            A. Jesus is a part of David’s lineage (Matt 1:1)

            B. Jesus is God’s son (Matt 3:17)

            C. Jesus rises from the “heart of the earth” (Matt 12:40)

            … and He said…

            1. “I have come not to be served but to serve”? (Matt 20:28)

            2. “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18); “I will rebuild the temple” (Matt 26:61,  John 2:19… and don’t Christians call church the “body of Christ”?)

            3. “I AM the Messiah,” as he was chosen by God to be the priest in the order of Melchizedek, he interceded for us, offered himself as the sacrifice for our sins, and rose again to be the head of the church (Mark 14:62, 15:2, John 4:26; cf. John 18:36; Heb. 4:14- 5:10; 7:15-28).

Jesus is the Servant Branch. He is the One. He is the Messiah. He fulfilled God’s plan by coming to the earth as a human, dying as the only acceptable propitiation for our sins, rising again to build the church and send his Spirit to guide us. Jesus fulfilled the old prophecy laid before him. Jesus said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day.” (Luke 24:46). He has served us, he has rebuilt us, he has become King over us and has become the ultimate Priest. What an unfathomably generous and expansive gift! It’s an offensive love. It’s too much.

But… here’s where the Good News gets even better…

Who are we according to God? Who does our King say we are?

Jesus said, “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches…For apart from me you can do nothing,” (John 15:5 NLT, emphasis added). Paul, an apostle of Jesus, said, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God,” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV). Did you read that? Oh my goodness!

Whoa. Now this is starting to sound really weird, though. I mean, He’s the Branch but we’re branches? He’s God but he became sin; he’s a lush, green prairie that became a weed-infested, waterless wasteland. For us? What’s going on here?

Jesus gave us a green thumb. He passed on his ability to be a branch of God. We are the servant branches as well, now.

Jesus fulfilled everything and extended the work of God by anointing all of us who follow him as co-heirs… or shall we say, co-Branches (Colossians 1, Romans 8:17). We, like Christ, through God’s mercy alone, are given the opportunity to become the fulfillment of God’s plan. We, too, can become prophets, priests, and kings. No, I’m not saying that we are our own gods or that we become Jesus. I am simply relaying the message, called the Gospel, that is spelled out on every page of the Bible. When Messiah was raised from the dead and then left the earth, God glorified himself by giving us his Spirit (Luke 24:49, John 20:22, c.f. Ezekiel 36:27). It was his plan all along. We, then, continue to fulfill God’s plan:

            A. David’s lineage becomes extended; it’s no longer about a family name (1 Cor 1:2, Gal 3:7, Eph 2:19)

            B. We are adopted into God’s family (Eph 1, 2:19, 3:6, Rom 8:15, 2 Tim 1:7, etc.)

            C. We are (and will be) raised up from the ground (John 5:28-29, 6:39, Acts 24:15)

And, we become “like Christ” by becoming….

            1. Servants: “But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code,” (Romans 7:6 NIV).

            2. Temples: “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God is in you?... For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple,” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).

            3. Prophets: “But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives – especially the ability to prophecy,” (1 Corinthians 14:1).

                Kings: “And just as my Father has granted me a Kingdom, I now grant you the  right to eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. And you will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Luke 22:29-30); “And you have caused them [the people of God] to become a Kingdom of priests for our God. And they will reign on the earth,” (Revelation 5:10).

                 Priests: “You are royal priests [a royal priesthood], a holy nation, God’s very own possession,”(1 Peter 2:9).

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            So, it’s kind of like God has made me a green thumb, a professional gardener. It’s like God has sent someone to my house, named Jesus, who has cleaned up my backyard, planted grass seed, killed the weeds, and planted flowers that brighten up the yard. It’s like I’ve been given a special ability, through no power of my own, to maintain this new lush garden of mine. Now, as for my lack of facial hair… I’m not sure how that fits in with the analogy… it’s just funny and awkward. There’s probably no hope.            

            Jesus said, “I am the vine and you are branches.” Those salvific words carried more weight with more valuable implications than we might ever realize. When we recognize that God has forgiven us already through Christ’s death, that he has adopted us into his family, that he has given us his Spirit, suddenly life becomes more than finding your “inner happiness” or just evolution’s next step towards the last man, the superhuman. Christians understand that the Superhuman (eschatos-man) has already come! His name is Jesus and he has fulfilled “everything in every way” and has enabled us to continue the journey (1 Corinthians 15:45). He is the Branch. We are branches. Let us be planted by streams of living water so that we might grow for the glory of God (Psalm 1:1). He said, “I sent you a harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest.” (John 4:38). Jesus is our Planter and we gather his harvest.

Beggars CAN Be Choosers

            My girlfriend, Dana, was entering a grocery store parking lot one day when a battered, homeless woman caught her eye. The woman was holding a sign asking for a cup of coffee. Being the compassionate lady she is, Dana rolled down her car window to speak to the homeless woman and asked her, “Are you sure you only want a cup of coffee?” The beggar said darkly, “Yeah… just a cup of coffee.” Again, Dana persisted, “Are you sure? I can get you something else, too.” The woman again protested, “No. A cup of coffee.” So, Dana gave the woman what she asked for.

            Why, with all the resources available to Dana, would a poor woman ask for only a cup of coffee? Common courtesy? Even if that was the case, when Dana offered more than that, the woman still asked for such a small thing. She had an entire grocery store at her disposal and that’s the best she could come up with? Coffee? 

           

Why do beggars beg the way they do?

Well, I suppose it’s true… They say, “Beggars can’t be choosers.”

            We read a story in the Bible about a stormy night. To make matters worse, the storm takes place on the sea. Jesus and his disciples are on a boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee when, suddenly, an ominous black cloud moves in. Before they can react, a storm tramples through the sky and tosses the sea around as if it was a puddle. The terrified disciples are sopping wet as they are covered in water from above and below. Panic fills their minds as quickly as the water is filling their boat (Matt. 8:23-27). Imagine the loud sound of thunderclaps as the mist from the broken waves hit their faces. It’s a scene of desperation.

            They need a savior. They need help like a beggar.

            In the midst of the chaos, as they are trying to empty the floodwater from their boat, it occurs to them that someone’s missing… someone’s not pulling his weight. Jesus. Where’s Jesus? “Didn’t he just heal a man with leprosy, a centurion’s servant, and a bunch of other people?” they probably thought. “He can do miracles… where is he now?” Jesus was sleeping.

            They literally begged him saying, “Lord, save us! Deliver us!” In Greek, that can be translated to, “Lord, heal us! We are dying!” One of them probably yelled out, “Grab a bucket! Help us! I’m begging you… help us get the water out of the boat!” Jesus got up and said in essence, “Come on, guys. Why don’t you believe in me? You have little faith.” He probably yawned, stood up from his nap, and told the storm to stop and… it did!

            I wonder…

Is that what they expected Jesus to do? Is that what they meant when they yelled, “Save us!”?

            That is, did they want a cart full of groceries or…

                                   

                        Just a cup of coffee?

           

            The disciples didn’t ask Jesus to calm the storm. It seems like they just wanted him to grab a bucket, pour out the floodwater, and maybe help steer the boat back to shore. They didn’t even consider that simply telling the storm to stop was even a possibility.

The question I have for us, Reader, is this: What do we ask of our unlimited God?

            Maybe you don’t ask God anything because you’re afraid that you’ll accrue too much debt. Maybe you don’t ask God anything because you don’t think He’s standing right in front of you. Maybe you’re blind to him. Maybe you only ask him for small things like, “God, help me to eat less sweets and to eat more vegetables.” Or maybe even, “Lord, help me to stop sinning.” I don’t know.  I mean, believing that He can redeem every sin we have ever committed and creating a new life in us would be far too presumptuous. No, no. Our God is unlimited, but… asking for those big things is too much. It’s like a Miss America speech. It’s like a beggar. And… as we all know… Beggars can’t be choosers.

           

            Right?

            Look here. Stick with me!

            Let’s look at another story from the Bible. This one’s about another beggar. John tells this story about a guy who was born blind. He couldn’t do any work because he couldn’t see, so he would just sit and beg. He was an outcast. A blind beggar begging for money and food. Jesus ends up walking by this guy and, having a compassionate heart, stops to help him. In order to help him, Jesus spits on the ground and mixes it around to make mud. Whatever. Then, he puts the spitty mud on the beggars eyes, tells him to go down to the pool and wash it off. With nothing to lose, the guy does what Jesus told him to do. Suddenly, he can see! He’s healed! (John 9:1-12)

           

            What was that all about? The beggar was not asking for sight. He was not asking for a life changing miracle. He just wanted a proverbial cup of coffee. Jesus gave him more than that. He gave the blind man something he never had and something that he never could have gotten on his own. The beggar did nothing to inherit blindness and he did nothing to inherit God’s miracle. It was done, as Jesus said, for the glory of God (v.3). The pool to which the man was sent to receive his blessing was outside Jerusalem’s wall. It was literally called Sent. So, blindness was given to the beggar so that God’s light may shine; he was sent outside the city walls to be cleansed; the dirt was washed away so that he may gain literal sight and so that he may gain spiritual enlightenment. He eventually said to Jesus, “Lord, I believe” (v.38).

Who else was an outcast?

Who else was sent?

Who else was sent outside the city gates for the glory of God?

Who else was given darkness so that God’s light might shine?

Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Say it out loud… Jesus!

           

            Jesus was the ultimate beggar. In fact, he even portrayed himself as one in Matthew’s account (25:34-45). Jesus, though spotless and sinless, was sent in darkness outside the city gates to a hill called Golgotha to be murdered. He was blind for three days in the tomb. He was resurrected and made completely new so that God’s love may be available to all who beg of him. “Take this from me,” Jesus begged (Lk. 22:42). But, as he chose to serve God, the sins of the world were taken away. The Beggar… the Beggar chose God’s will. The Beggar, the Beggar chooses us. He chooses you, Reader! Whoever you are, whatever you’ve done, whatever you’ve chosen in the past. He chooses you now. He chooses me. He chooses us. Still.

            Is it coincidence that Jesus was recorded saying that he was sent by God to be the light of the world? I mean, he just said that before he gave the blind man light in his darkness. It is both a metaphorical and a factual, literal story of healing. The blind man never asked for either. After all, he probably just wanted some food or money. He didn’t anticipate the complete healing of his body and soul. Because, of his enlightenment, though, he was confronted with a choice. Do I put my faith in this Jesus, or not? Later in the story, he utters the most precious words God wants to hear, “Lord, I believe.” Earlier Jesus said, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent” (John 6:63). I’d say this story is certainly the work of God. Beggars can be choosers.

            Now, we have a choice to make. We can ask for coffee. We can ask for money. We could even ask for faith. Or… we could start asking for a complete miracle. We could start asking for a new life. Remember, God only gives. The disciples were given a storm. The beggar was given blindness. Jesus was given the curse. And every time God gave peace and light to those who asked for less than that. We, as beggars, can be choosers. We can choose Christ. He chose us so that we can choose him. We can choose to say with confidence for the glory of God, “Lord, I believe.”

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think” (Eph 3:20 NLT). 

The Answer

God, among other things, is…

…The Creator, Sustainer, Author and Perfector, the Great High Priest, the Sacrificial Lamb, the Beginning, the End, the Son, the Father, the Good Samaritan, the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Groom, the Lord of the Sabbath, the Deliverer, the Faithful One, the Fulfillment of the Law, Emmanuel, the Shepherd…

            Hearsay? Sure… if you’d like to call it that.

            But, I have heard these names and seen them to be true.

            In fact, the entirety of this blog is dedicated to those of you who need to hear and see that these names are embodied in one entity: God. It doesn’t matter to me whether you’ve never heard about God or if you have been going to church for 60 years. There is a common denominator among us all. Faithlessness through forgetfulness. Even those of us who have heard and seen the goodness of God forget who he is and who we are in him. We forget. We forget?

            That being the case, it does us all a bit of good to hear and see who God is on a regular basis.

           

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            I wonder sometimes if we hear and see God the way he wants us to. We might see him as a all powerful. We might see him as a mean judge. We might see him as a really nice guy.

            I wonder what would happen if we saw him as he declared himself to be. I don’t want to get caught up in who everyone else says he is. I don’t even want to get caught up in translations… let’s take his words… literally. (I want to make myself clear to the Reader… the following references are the literal translation of the words in the Bible.)

Who did he declare himself to be?

            Well, to Moses he said, “I Am.” To Israel he said, “I Am.” Again, he reminded the unfaithful “witnesses” of his essence by saying: “I Am” (Exodus 3:14, Deuteronomy 32:39, Isaiah 43:10).

            When God came to the earth he defined himself in the same manner. He comforted the tattered woman at Jacob’s well when she spoke of the coming Messiah by declaring, “I Am.” He approached his fearful disciples by prophetically uttering the words, “I am.” When the Jewish scholars prodded Jesus in disgust, “Who do you think you are?” he responded with the majestic and timeless words, “before Abraham was born, I am.” (John 4:26, 6:20. 8:58).

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            Reader, if the question that raps on your mind is why?,  know that God responds lovingly with, “I am.” If you wonder what the answer is to your perpetual sin, his words in response will inevitably be, “I am” (cf. Romans 7:25 NLT). If you’ve been wondering where God is in all the pain and suffering of this dark world, his response will be, “Before and after the pain was here… I am.” If you’re asking how we can follow the law and rules of the Bible, he will whisper, “I am.”

            I want to assure you, Reader, that there is no limit to who God is, where he exists, and what he can do. He is the Great I AM. His responses throughout the Bible are consistent. Still, he is who he is; he is who he always has been. Now, in the midst of pain, fear, waiting, guilt, happiness, sin, nothingness, busyness, or disbelief… he is the Great I AM and he always will be.