The Rock from which you were cut.

Jesus was a tekton.

In English, we have chosen to translate the word tekton as "carpenter," but tekton can mean other things as well.

It can also mean "stonecutter."

Most likely, when the Bible calls Jesus a tekton, it is referring to Him as the latter, a stonecutter.

You see, back in Jesus' day, people didn't usually work with wood, and if you take a walk through the Biblical ruins of Israel, all you see is stone stone stone.

Why is this important?

In the grand scheme of things, I guess it doesn't matter either way. Jesus built things as a trade, and that's all we really need to know...

BUT.

There is richness to be found in the picture of Jesus being a stonecutter, because there are countless references to stone and masonry and building processes that are scattered all throughout the Bible.

For instance, take this verse:

"Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness and seek the LORD:
Look to the rock from which you were cut, and to the quarry from which you were hewn.
Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I called him, he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many." - Isaiah 51.

***

Look to the rock from which you were cut.

It's a stonecutters job to cut and shape the rock from the quarries.

Which, yes, is a cool reference in light of Jesus being a tekton, but there's so much more than that going on here too. Dig a little deeper with me into the meaning of the verse:

Look to the rock from which you were cut...

Well, in order to look to it, we first need to know what rock Isaiah is referring to. Our answer to that question comes from the very next verse:

"Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth."

Abraham and Sarah are the mother and father of the Israelites. God blessed them "and made them many." He made them into the Israelites - the Jewish people.

The rock from which we were cut is the nation of Israel.

The rock from which we were cut is the chosen people of God.

Do you know what that means?

It means that

Abraham is our father.
Sarah is our mother.
Elijah is our prophet.
Moses is our guide.
Samuel is our priest.
Paul is our teacher.
Peter is our brother.
Ruth is our sister.

and on and on and on.

These stories that God has passed down to us, these people of faith, are a part of our legacy. They are the heritage that we bear.

And even better?

We are cut from the same rock.
We are made of the same material.
We have the same abilities.

We. Are. the. Same.

Why?

Because we serve the same God. The same God we read about in all those stories.

And do you know what that means?

It means that
we serve
the God
who

created the world.
called Abraham and made an everlasting covenant with him.
parted the Sea of Reeds.
sent the 10 plagues.
provided the promised land.
empowered Elijah to run faster than chariots.
sent down fire on the altar.
enabled a young boy to kill a giant.
won battles.
spoke through prophets.
healed the sick.
raised the dead.

That God
is our God.

And because
that God is our God,
we have the ability to live lives like the ones who went before us.

Because their God is our God.

We have that ability because Jesus, our tekton, cuts us from the same rock as the rest of them. He, with His infinite power, crafts all of us from the same stuff.

And if we would get to a place where we
truly believed and understood that...
do you know what we could do?

We could

go, with the faith of Abraham, to new and distant lands.
lead, with the strength of Moses, the people of God from their bondage.
run, with the swiftness of Elijah, past the evil of this world and its fears.
prepare, with the passion of John the Baptizer, a people ready for the Lord.
encourage, with the understanding of Paul, fellow believers.
rejoice, with the perseverance of Peter, in the sufferings of our circumstances.
praise, with the heart of Hannah, the amazing things that God has done.
love, with the purity of Jesus, our great God and the people of His world.

This story, God's story - it's our story.
This Bible, God's Word - it's our history and our guide.
This people, God's nation - it's our ancestry.

And whether we like it or not, we are called to be a part of the story.

God's story..

We pick it up, we partake in it, and we pass it on.

It's ours.

...

So own it.

...

Step one in owning it?

Knowing it.


Let's study. learn. know. the stories that God passed down to us.

Let's
look to the rock
from which
we were cut.

Let's
remember
that
God has blessed us
and
that
we are capable
and
that
we are many.

Let's
Pick it up.
Partake in it.
so we can
Pass on it on.

And

more than anything...

more.
than.
anything.

...

LET'S NOT TAKE IT LIGHTLY.

"I have prayed for you."

(Sea of Galilee. Israel, 2009).

"But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail." Yeshua to Peter - Luke 22: 32.

These words struck me right in the gut this morning...

Rabbi Yeshua prays for us.

The words didn't hit me because of the concept, really. I have known for quite a while and read a thousand times that Yeshua prays for us. But as I studied the Text this morning, the words hit me differently because this time, I read them with experience.

My experience came from a 2-week study trip to Israel that I was blessed to go on last year with a man named Ray Vanderlaan, someone who I think is best described as a Rabbi of modern day. He takes people to Israel and teaches them about Ancient Jewish culture and how the Bible would have been perceived by the people it was written to. His passion for being like Yeshua and sharing His truth with others is not only inspiring but challenges me daily as well.

One morning, far into our trip, we found ourselves (after a rigorous trek) sitting on top of Mt. Arbel, tired but excited from eight days of 12-mile-hikes through the deserts of Israel. As we rested there a moment, looking over the Galilee, RVL informed us that he had been on the top of the very same mountain the night before. He had hiked it when the rest of us were at dinner or getting some much needed sleep...

And why did he hike a mountain in Israel during the middle of the night?

To pray for us.

Not a corporate prayer either. No. RVL prayed for each one of us, individually, one by one. Under those eastern stars, this man who had been leading us and teaching us and preparing all the daily details for our trip...prayed for us. Us, the ones that God had put under his care for those 14 days in Israel. He used what little time and energy he had left to lay us (me?!?) at the feet of God.

And when I heard that, sitting on the top of Mt. Arbel, exhausted to my very bones...I felt cared for and loved in a way that I have never felt before. To be prayed for with that kind of devotion is a powerful thing. An incredibly selfless gift from a man as busy and exhausted as RVL.

And I not only felt grateful, but I also felt a responsibility. A responsibility to this man who invested so much into my learning. A man who thought so much of me that he would sacrifice that much for my benefit.

From that morning on, I hiked harder than I have ever hiked before. I woke up early to study my notes. I kept my eyes open and I paid attention. I listened. I watched. I prayed. I studied.

HARD.

Because if RVL could offer me his night hours and his energy and his prayers, then I was without a doubt going to give back every ounce of strength I had to walk beside him and listen to what he had to say.

After reading John this morning, I took this idea back to Yeshua. The verse quoted in John above is spoken to Peter by Yeshua on the night of their last supper together as they celebrated Passover. It is the night before Yeshua was arrested...the night before He started the most challenging and painful phase of His entire ministry...the night before the journey of His death began.

And He was thinking about Peter.

Yeshua used the time He had in that moment to encourage Peter. To remind Peter of what was true. To pray for one of His own.

What Rabbi is this, that He cares for us like that?

A man who gives so totally of Himself that, upon facing His darkest and most excruciating hours, He prays for another, for one of us?

Today, I am reminded by the words of John how grateful I am to this wise and selfless Rabbi, for offering me so much...for calling me His own...for allowing me to walk behind Him...for bringing me before the throne of His Father and praying for little.old.me..and for treating me as someone who is worthy of His thoughts and His time and His prayer.

And along with that gratitude, I feel responsibility.

A responsibility to live, love, breathe, pray, work, and sweat whatever I can for this Rabbi and for the ones He loves.

Because that's what He did, and that's what He does, and that's what He will do.

And He told me that I can be like Him.

You see, it's what a disciple does. They live like their Rabbi. And if my Rabbi loves people that much, then I want to too.

It's not a task to be taken lightly, and it's a not a challenge for the faint of heart, but it's a responsibility to be grateful for.

New Story.

(Sha'aryim Gate, overlooking the Valley of Elah. Israel, 2009).

"When Yeshua at a symbolic moment was establishing His great society, He chose for its cornerstone neither the brilliant Paul nor the mystic John, but a shuffler, a snob, a coward-- in a word, a man. And upon this rock He has built His Church, and the gates of Hell have not prevailed against it. All the empires and the kingdoms have failed, because of this inherent and continued weakness, that they were founded by strong men and upon strong men. But this one thing, the historic Christian Church, was founded on a weak man, and for that reason it is indestructible. For no chain is stronger than its weakest link."

- G.K. Chesterton, Heretics.

...

I am weak.

This I am reminded of each and every day.

In my feeble attempts to do right, to love, to offer myself, to understand others.

I am constantly missing the mark and failing to be good, to walk with purpose, and to love people well.

But despite all that, I do know this: I serve a God who uses the broken.

A God who not only heals, but who also lifts up.

A God who manages not only to love this weak and bumbling person I am, but also to find purpose in me.

He has a way to use me for His good.

This broken, chaotic story of mine has the power to bring shalom to others.

Peace.

Because we are all weak.

Each and every one of us.

Especially me.

And all I can do is recognize that frailty in myself, look up to my Provider, and ask for strength from above.

And then tell my story.

Because my story is His story.

And where I am weak...He is strong.

And the world needs to see that. To know it. To experience it.

And maybe they can, in a small way, if I am just willing to be honest. vulnerable. true.

My story is broken. And so am I.

And that is powerful.

Because within me, God is creating a new story.

And it ends with redemption.