If you've ever watch one of those timelapse videos that show you the construction of a building, that is what it must be like to see inside of the brain of the Messiah. He sees everything historically, as it is laid out and He sees it all at once.

We come upon a scene in Luke 19:41-44. Jesus is looking out at the city of Jerusalem and weeps. We need to fully understand the weight of that emotion and to do that, we went back and slowed down the events that rush past this moment.

Let's us spend some time on these three lines of scripture. Slow down that timelapse so maybe we can all feel the weight of what Jesus is feeling in that moment.

Notes for The Passover Lamb Laments

Episode Link:

https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/the-passover-lamb-laments/

All four gospels cover the amazing entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. This is such a beautiful story of quiet triumph (maybe not so quiet.). We are also starting to see timelines and dates as they playout in scripture. The echoes of the original Passover are starting to play out. The Psalms are announcing the arrival of the king. Zechariah is shouting from the rooftops: "Behold, your king is coming to you!"

The lamb is selected for the Passover feast and will go through 4 days of observation to make sure it is blemish free before - well, you know.

This is all leading into the final week to the cross.

Notes for Palms and Psalms

Episode Link:

https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/palms-and-psalms/

Today was a masterclass in gospel harmonization. It isn't always pretty. The story takes place in the house of Simon the Leper, in Bethany. You can find the narrative in Matthew 26:8-13, Mark 14:4-9 and John 12:4-11.

The stories don't overlay perfectly. Imagine yourself in a courtroom and you're hearing from three witnesses - we'll call them Matthew, Luke and John. You here three different testimonies covering the same event but each from that person vantagepoint. Your job is to harmonize those three testimonies. They witnesses have all sworn to tell the truth so you can't just discard something that doesn't fit.

We urge everyone to read the gospels like this. Very likely, your Bible will indicate the corresponding text in the other gospels. Don't just skip over that, go and read them. When you do this correctly with the gosels, you start to develop a three dimensional movie from the 2 dimensional images. A deeper, richer story emerges.

And finally getting to the story, once the full movie appears, questions naturally emerge with it. That is where Rabbit Holes begin! We flushed out two rabbits today: Judas and Mary. I've never heard any pastor consider the juxtaposition of these two characters but there it is and it couldn't be presented with any more clarity. This is the first time we actually witness Judas in visible opposition to Jesus. It is not obvious, but it becomes very clear when you harmonize these texts.

Notes for Accusing Mary

Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/accusing-mary/

We are with Jesus leaving Jericho on the way to the cross. There is this expectation within the disciples that when Jesus gets to Jerusalem that the Kingdom will just magically appear. Jesus answers this concern with Luke: the Parable of the Tin Minas and a parallel passage in Matthew. We study this out and come away with a very clear understanding of judgement and expectations. This is about the believers, the unbelievers and the fruitless inbetweeners.

These parables offer truth on so many levels. What happens to the behavior of your kids when you go away? How diligent are you when entrusted with a responsibility? How does time affect that responsibility? Do you put it off or do you get right to work. I'll openly admit that I have a hard time with procrastination. This was a sobering reminder.

This parable also effectively shows what happens to a person who lives in fear. I could probably teach a class on work productivity just on the concepts derived from these parables alone. They are so rich.

Note for the Parable of the Inbetweener

Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/the-parable-of-the-inbetweener/

I love this scene for so many reasons. He's enthusiastic, tenacious. I picture him as shorter stature, nimble and almost gushing at the thought of seeing Jesus go by.

I think I've mentioned my Millennial Bucket List in the past. This is a running list of things I want to do in the Millennium. I've added this entry:

Seek and visit Zacchaeus

Spend a day with him - share a meal, tip a beer, walk the streets, and just hang out. Listen to how grace rewired his life from the inside out, without sermons or posturing - just honest conversation with a man who met Jesus and was never the same.

Notes for Grace Looked Up

Episode Link:

https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/grace-looked-up-and-zacchaeus-came-down/

Jesus is just outside Jericho on the road to Jerusalem. He encounters two blind men, and He stops cold in His tracks. Jesus always goes against the crowd! He hears the cries of these two blind men and uses the moment. Everything Jesus has taught up to this point about faith, about who He is, about discipleship even is captured in this moment.

Notes for Two Blind Men

Episode Link:

https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/two-blind-men-open-the-eyes-of-a-crowd-of-people/

I wrestled with what to title this podcast. Just after Jesus is confronted by James and John (and their mother) to sit at his right and left hand in the kingdom, a new play is sent out from the sidelines. Jesus huddles up with his disciples with a play that, let's be honest, neither they nor we are familiar with. And that is why it can feel awkward when Jesus says that the greatest among you is your slave.

This idea is impossible to capture in a short podcast. Where Jesus is going is quite radical and it doesn't matter if you're Elan Musk shuffling billions of dollars of assets around the globe or it's just you trying to sustain yourself and your family in your own little kingdom. A service centered kingdom is confusing because we've never seen it play out on a global scale. But, while you're still living in this world, under a system that Jesus calls "gentile lordship", you do get to practice random acts of service and kindness. And even in your own small way, it can make a huge difference. The only real hint I can give you that can begin to show how this manifests is to recall the feeding of the multitudes. One small kid gave up 5 loaves and 2 fish (his lunch!) and that ended up feeding a crowd of more than 10,000 people.

Notes for The Awkwardness of Serving and Giving

Episode Link:

https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/the-awkwardness-of-serving-and-giving

Part of me wants to be offended by the question that James and John asked Jesus. Another part of me admires them for having the kahunas to do it! But then, they had to get their mother to do the asking. That's kind of weak for two grown men.

I'm jesting a little here. This can be a pretty provocative section of scripture to the reader but after meditating on it a bit, the thought that occurred to me was that Jesus did say to Ask anything, and it would be granted. This is a great example of how that can play out when the question you're asking is bigger than what you can wrap your head around.

Notes for Be Careful What You Ask For

Episode Link:

https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/be-careful-what-you-ask-for/