Two meditations for Holy Week.

Reading the Gospel accounts of the last week in the earthly life of Jesus, there are two points that I want to offer for meditation. The first concerns what is known euphemistically as Jesus’ ‘triumphal entry’ into Jerusalem and the second focuses upon his last meal with his disciples.

Riding on a Colt

Matthew records the instruction Jesus gave to his disciples to go to the village ahead where they would find a donkey with her colt. They were to bring them to him for his entry into Jerusalem. Matthew quotes a verse from Zechariah, “See your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zech 9:9 and Matt 21:15).

I often wondered why Jesus chose to ride into Jerusalem on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I could understand his choice of a donkey as a sign of his humility; but why choose the foal of a donkey. It was one of my colleagues in the Issachar Ministries team who pointed to a verse in Exodus that I had not previously noticed. It says, “Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck” (Ex 34:20).

A little research reveals that the donkey was the only animal in God’s creation whose firstborn foal had to be redeemed by offering the sacrifice of a lamb. Donkeys were very important for transport. They carried heavy loads and were usually willing workers. They were certainly very important in an agricultural community: in fact, so important that the owner had to give thanks to God for the firstborn foal before it could be used. The strength of this command was enforced by the instruction in Exodus 34:20.

Of course, Jesus knew this command! But this was the very reason why he chose to ride on the foal rather than the donkey. Here we see Jesus, having deliberately set his face to go up to Jerusalem, with the full knowledge of the murderous intent of the religious authorities to end his life, he now chooses to ride on the foal of a donkey. The foal had not yet been redeemed, hence it was still with its mother. But in this action, Jesus himself was redeeming the foal.

Here was Jesus, the Lamb of God, offering himself as a sacrifice for the sin of the world, symbolically redeeming the foal on his way to the cross.

For the One I Love

The incredible humility and determination to go through with the terrible events that he foresaw show something of the amazing character of Jesus. But, added to this, his incredible love is shown a little later in the week when he met with his disciples to share a last meal with them. This is the second point in this meditation.

One of my lasting memories of the late Lance Lambert whom I was proud to call my friend, was on one occasion when my wife and I shared a meal in his Jerusalem home with him and his sister. It was a Friday evening, a Shabbat meal. At one point in the meal Lance took a piece of bread, dipped it in the cup and gave it to me, and similarly to Monica, saying to each of us a little expression of love. He explained that in many Jewish families it was the custom for either the father of the family or the mother of the family to do this, particularly if they had guests as an expression of love.

Lance said it was a particularly poignant practice for the mother to do this for one of her children who had been away and was now back at the family table, or one who had been sick and now was recovered. She would say “This is for the one I love”. Her love was being expressed particularly for the one who had a special need, or to show joy at the reuniting of the family around their table.

At the Last Supper Jesus took bread and broke it and gave a piece to each of his disciples – a symbolic act through which he was giving himself to them and showing his indescribable love. Judas, the man who would betray him was also there and it is surely one of the most poignant acts of Jesus to give bread to the man who was going to be responsible for his betrayal into the hands of his enemies (John 13:26).
The act of giving the bread dipped in the cup symbolising his blood, was highly significant for each of his disciples.

But the most amazing act of Jesus at the Last Supper was surely to dip the bread in the cup and give it to Judas, who was to betray him, conveying the message (whether spoken or unspoken): “This is for the one I love”.

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all.

As Shavuot is celebrated this week, we review resources tackling this intriguing question. 

This question should be of great interest to everyone, or at least anyone who eats! The topic is well worth studying personally, but also as a family and in small groups. It will certainly provoke much discussion, even controversy!

A good starting point is to consider eating as a spiritual matter as well as a physical one. Too often, we separate the physical and spiritual dimensions of life - far more than God does. God has created our bodies and everything we put into them. Indeed, it seems he has designed us to receive certain foods, and avoid others.

We each need to decide if our loving Heavenly Father is asking us to reconsider what we choose to eat (and what we eat is a choice, one we make regularly). If gluttony is wrong and fasting is of benefit (including spiritually) then our usual eating must fit somewhere between these two extremes. Our mealtimes become part of the battle between flesh and spirit. These regular times during the day provide repeated opportunities to make good choices. Each meal is a chance to submit more to God’s will and become more conscious of him, perhaps paving the way for other spiritual improvements.

A good starting point is to consider eating as a spiritual matter as well as a physical one.

What we eat may not be a matter of salvation or of huge doctrinal significance, but it is about pleasing God and being obedient to his will. There may well be health reasons too (obedience and being healthy often go together!). It is well said that ‘you are what you eat’ – or, perhaps more accurately, you are what you absorb from what you eat – for biology will back up what our Creator has decreed.

Temples of the Holy Spirit

The Bible contains many laws and requirements relating to food, especially in the Old Testament, but ultimately for Christians this is about walking in the Spirit. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:16, 6:19-20). What we place inside us should not be approached carelessly. God was very precise about what the Israelites brought into their Temple, so perhaps also he cares about what we put into ours.

Moreover, the meal table can (maybe even should) be regarded as an altar at which we bless and honour God for all his provision, including the remarkable gift of daily life and how he sustains it.

The Bible challenges us repeatedly on the issue of what we eat. From the very beginning, God instructed Adam on what he could and could not eat (Gen 1:29, 2:16-17) and the first disobedience involved eating (Gen 3:6). Animals were designated as clean or unclean even before the Flood came (Gen 7:2) and eating meat with blood still in it was strongly prohibited from the time of Noah (Gen 9:4), through the Levitical laws to Israel (Lev 19:26, Deut 12:16) and later to Gentiles in the Apostolic decree in Acts (15:20, 29).

What we eat may not be a matter of salvation, but it is about pleasing God and being obedient to his will.

Many questions are raised about our eating habits simply by reading the Bible. What do ‘clean’ and ‘unclean’ really mean, especially regarding eating animals? What did Jesus say on all this - did he change or add anything here? Should Gentiles take seriously Jewish kosher rules, especially in the light of modern methods of food production? Does what Paul says on food offered to idols have any relevance for us today?

If all this has made you want some answers, here are some books to help.

‘Holy Cow!’ by Hope Egan and Thomas D Lancaster (First Fruits of Zion, 2012)

Despite the jokey title, this is a very serious attempt to answer the question ‘Does God care about what we eat?’, which is actually its subtitle. Its main strength is its co-authorship. Part One, by Messianic Jew Hope Egan, gives the perspective of a ‘nice Jewish girl’ (as she describes herself!). She tells her story in a forthright and informative manner - how she came to understand the importance of the Hebrew scriptures in helping her decide which foods to eat.

Her review of the topic spans both Old and New Testament, and takes in what Jesus would have eaten as well as modern Jewish views. She is bold enough to ask whether her ancestors took it too far, especially regarding the separation of meat and milk. Each chapter concludes with questions to discuss and ponder, making it an excellent resource for group study.

Part Two, by Thomas Lancaster, provides extra theological insights on the important biblical passages mentioned in the first part of the book. These include Leviticus 11, Mark 7, Acts 10 and 15, and several parts of Paul’s letters (1 Corinthians 8-10 and Romans 14 in particular). This provides the book with a bit more weight and helps to back up what Hope Egan has already outlined from personal experience. As a ‘double act’, this works well.

This is a very readable book throughout and can also feature as a reference guide to the topic. It contains useful appendices, including a list of clean and unclean animals, as well as a substantial bibliography and two helpful indices (scriptural and subject) to enable the reader to find passages and topics easily.

‘Holy Cow!’ (157 pages) is available from Amazon for around £10. Also on Kindle.

‘Biblically Kosher’ by Aaron Eby (First Fruits of Zion, 2012)

This is a full review of everything you could possibly want to know about keeping kosher and the scriptural mandate behind it. Although it is quite technical in places it provides a substantial study for those wanting to dig a little deeper into the biblical texts.

After reading this book you will not be in any doubt about the more contentious passages, for instance why Jesus did not declare all foods clean (as many translations of Mark 7:19 make him say). And if you wondered whether Acts 10 was suggesting God had changed his mind about eating unclean animals, this book will help you avoid this error. The author also tackles the more complicated passages in Paul’s letters. Each piece of biblical analysis has a helpful summary of bullet points, just in case you get a little lost in the details.

Overall, the book is in three parts. Part One explains the reasons for keeping kosher and also explores objections to it. Part Two is a thorough account of what the Torah has to say on this topic, including clean and unclean animals, abstaining from blood, and the meat and dairy issue.

The last of these is a fascinating word-by-word exposition of the single verse about not boiling a kid in its mother’s milk, which will help you understand how this simple yet rather perplexing verse has come to mean so much in Jewish dietary habits. Eby is also honest enough to explain where rabbinic tradition has taken over from correct interpretation.

Part Three has two sections, the second of which is particularly interesting and important for Christians. Entitled ‘Kashrut for Gentiles’, this will enable Christians to embrace aspects of kosher without going too far down the Jewish path.

The book also has an excellent bibliography, glossary of Hebrew terms and indices of both scriptural passages and subjects.

This is a book which will certainly change the way you think about the Bible and food. It has the potential to bring you closer to the ancient Jewish way of life that Jesus and his disciples practised, and enable you to discover how the simple act of eating can become an expression of worship.

Buy ‘Biblically Kosher’ (190 pages) for £11.85 from Amazon, or download the e-book for $12 from the FFOZ website.

Further Resources

Together, the above two books tell you everything you need to know about what the Bible says regarding food and eating. But on the more practical matter of how to go about incorporating these principles into our daily lives, the following three books are worth considering.

They also tap into the biblical passages explained elsewhere but go on to give advice on how to create meals and a diet for healthy living:

• What Would Jesus Eat? by Don Colbert (Thomas Nelson, 2005. Available here).
  
• What the Bible Says About Healthy Living by Rex Russell (Revell, 2006. Available here).
  
• The Maker’s Diet by Jordan Rubin (Siloam, 2005. Available here).