Show Notes
In this transformative episode of Peaceable and Kind, host Derek Vreeland explores the profound meaning of atonement through the lens of Jesus’ final meal with his disciples. As we reflect on Maundy Thursday during Holy Week, Derek challenges the common assumptions about salvation and asks a pivotal question: What are we truly saved for?
Join Derek as he unpacks the biblical narrative, from the Book of Exodus to the teachings of Jesus, and discover how the establishment of the New Covenant through Jesus’ sacrificial death brings about new creation and lasting peace. Through this engaging conversation, you’ll gain fresh insights into the significance of the cross and what it means for believers today.
Key Takeaways:
Maundy Thursday commemorates Jesus’ Last Supper, where He introduced the New Covenant and modeled sacrificial love.
Salvation isn’t solely about going to heaven; it’s about the restoration of all creation.
The biblical concept of Shalom reflects God’s desire for peace and wholeness in the world.
Through Jesus, the exile of sin ends, ushering in a new Exodus and a renewed relationship with God.
The vision of New Jerusalem in Revelation paints a picture of heaven and earth united, where God dwells with His people.
Whether you’ve questioned traditional views of salvation or are seeking a deeper understanding of the cross, this episode offers a compelling perspective rooted in scripture.
Scriptures mentioned in this episode:
John 13:34
John 3:16
Luke 24:31
Acts 1:6
Matthew 26:26-27
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Revelation 21:1-5
Books mentioned in this episode: The Day the Revolution Began by N.T. Wright
Preorder Derek’s new book, Incarnation: 8 Lessons on How God Meets Us here: https://amzn.to/42jSZAs
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Transcript
Narrator: Welcome to Peaceable and Kind, the podcast where we explore the transformation. Each week your host, Derek Vreeland, will delve into the stories, scriptures, and practical steps that help us embody these essential Christian virtues.
Derek Vreeland: Welcome back to another episode of Peaceable and Kind. I am your host, Derek Vreeland. Thank you for joining me for this episode. We are We are in the season of Lent, and during this time we are focused on the cross, talking on these episodes about what the death of Jesus means. And so I’m glad that you are along for the ride today. And if you are new to Peaceable and Kind, I would love for you to leave a rating. um or a review wherever you’re listening to this podcast. I did take a look today and someone left me a one-star rating, but no review. And I’m like, I guess the haters are are listening to my podcast. So if you are enjoying this, five stars is great. I would really appreciate it. We’re coming to the end of our Linton journey. This week is Holy Week. Last Sunday was Palm Sunday. That’s when we remember Jesus as he entered into the holy city of Jerusalem, and he comes into the city riding not a war horse, not riding a big white stallion. but he enters in riding a little donkey. But crowds welcomed him with great fanfare They spread their clothes out on the ground, sort of a rolling out of the red carpet, and they were waving their palm branches as they were declaring Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. So that was Sunday, and now we’re into Holy Week. And today, Thursday of Holy Week, is Monday Thursday This is the day before Jesus’ death. Tomorrow is Good Friday, a day of remembrance of the death of Jesus, and then we know what happens Sunday morning. It’s the great Easter surprise But today, on Monday, Thursday, we remember the night before Jesus was crucified. This is when he was gathered in that upper room with his disciples. They were there for a final meal before Jesus’ death. This was the celebration of Passover, where Jesus introduces the sacrament of Holy Communion. It’s also when Jesus says to his disciples, A new commandment I give to you that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. That’s John 13, verse 34 Jesus is giving them a new commandment, which is actually an old commandment, but this is one of the primary themes of Jesus, that he is calling us to the way of love. to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. These are the greatest two commands. But this in this new commandment, Jesus is being very specific to his disciples that just as Jesus has loved them, they are to love one another. Love is what marks us as followers of Jesus. He goes on to say that all men will know you are my disciples if you love one another. It’s interesting that Christians have all sorts of different reputations in the world, and sadly, love is not one of them. And I think this is where we miss the mark. So it’s good here on Monday Thursday to be reminded of this commandment to love one another. We should be known by our love. However, what we are known for is other things, and sadly, we’re often known by our hypocrisy Last Wednesday, I was speaking at a church and I was talking about how Jesus is among us at tables. You can read through the Gospel of Luke, and it’s interesting how often Jesus is sitting at a table. And he’s doing ministry. He’s teaching, he’s revealing things. At one table he was sitting with a bunch of Pharisees. Because Jesus would share a table with anyone who is open. to have him in their homes for a meal. And in eating with these Pharisees, he calls them out for their hypocrisy. So I was telling this church that. And I said to them that if you go and invite someone who is not a churchgoer to your church And they say no, I bet I know the number one thing they’re gonna say. They’re gonna say to you, I’m not going to that church because that church is filled with a bunch of And then I paused. And they shouted at me, hypocrites. And it’s interesting because I’ve done this in front of large and small crowds at churches all over the country. And every time I I do that, every time I say, I’m not going to that church, that church is filled with a bunch of and then I pause. Inevitably, the majority of people are going to say hypocrites. And I wonder why that is. Why do Christians have this reputation of hypocrisy, when Jesus gave us this command to love one another. Perhaps this is something we should reflect on during the Lenten season. Maybe there’s hypocrisy within our own hearts that we need to reflect on and repent and expel from our lives. I can admit that I’m a recovering hypocrite. I’ve I’ve been hypocritical more than once, and once I recognize it, I repent and turn away from it. So Jesus on Monday Thursday gives us this new commandment. And it is traditionally called Monday Thursday, not Monday, but Mon Day. Because Jesus was giving us this new mandate, this new commandment. The liturgical calendar, the Christian calendar is rooted in ancient tradition. So some of the words in English are coming from Latin words. The word monde comes from the Latin word mandatum, which means commandment. And the word commandment, you hear that monde, that man. So in the season of Lent, here on Monday Thursday, we want to reflect on the meaning of Jesus’ death, and because it’s Monday Thursday and Jesus was meeting in the upper room with his disciples before his death I want us to take a look at what Jesus reveals to us about his upcoming death when he’s having this shared meal with his disciples. But before we get to that, let’s back up for just a moment. Because if we want to know how we are saved by the death of Jesus, We need to ask the question, what are we saved for? Part of what I’ve been wanting to do in these episodes during Lent is reflect on atonement. That is to reflect on the meaning of the death of Jesus. So if we’re going to understand how we are being saved through Jesus’ death, I think a good question to ask is, what are we saved for? What is the salvation business about? I think the common response to that question, what we are saved for, is that we are saved so that we can go to heaven when we die. This is what I hear from Christian people, from non-Christian people. It’s sort of a gut response. Why did Jesus die on the cross for our sins? Response. So we can be forgiven and go to heaven when we die. And I think that that is partially true, but I think at the end of the day, that really misses the mark. Now, going to heaven upon death is a part of God’s work of salvation. I mean, going to heaven when you die really beats the alternative, right? We don’t want to go to the bad place. We want to go to heaven when we die. But I don’t believe it is the primary thing we are saved for. Here’s a question for you. Think about this. Where in the Bible does it say that we are saved by the death of Jesus so we can go to heaven when we die? I need to pause the podcast, go right ahead. But let’s think about it for a moment. Where does the Bible say Jesus died on the cross, he shed his blood, he died for us so that we can go to heaven when we die? Now, do your own work. Search through the scriptures. Reach out to me. Let me know what you come up with. Because in 35 years of studying the Bible, The answer to that question is there isn’t. There is no verse of Scripture that says Jesus died for us so that we can go to heaven when we die. I think we make assumptions and false assumptions about what the Bible is saying. I think sometimes we have assumptions about what salvation is, what the work of God is, and we take those assumptions and we read those assumptions into what Scripture is saying. And so it’s good to be honest that we all have our assumptions and our biases and to work hard at setting those aside to read the Bible for what it says. So when I have asked people this question, which I’ve done a number of times, where does the Bible say that Jesus died for our sins so that we can go to heaven when we die? Often people will say, what about John 3. 16, the most famous Bible verse of all of them? So let’s look at John 3. 16 again. John 3. 16. Again, most people have this verse memorized or at least some version of it. So John 3. 16, for God so loved the world. that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life And it’s interesting that I have sat with people just one-on-one with our Bibles open and they’ll say, see right there, it says Jesus died for our sins to take us to heaven when we died. And I’m a little bit perplexed, and I and I usually respond very honestly by saying, are you sure that’s what that verse is saying? Where do you see the word heaven in there? Now here’s where the assumptions start coming in. People will say, well, eternal life. Life everlasting, eternal life. That means heaven Well, not exactly. The English phrase eternal life is a translation, and sometimes it’s everlasting life, depending on your English translation. But the most popular translation is eternal life. Eternal life comes from a Greek phrase, zoen ionon, which means it’s two Greek words. The zoen comes from zoe, meaning life And the Aonion comes from Aeos, which means age or ages. It doesn’t necessarily mean everlasting or eternal. This phrase eternal life, Zoen Ionon, really means the life of the coming age. That is the life of the age to come. So, in order to answer the question, what are we saved for? We need to ask: what were people in Jesus’ day? hoping that God’s salvation would produce. Because I imagine if we were to jump in a time machine and go back to the first century world and let’s say we’re in Nazareth, Jesus’ hometown, And we ask the man on the street, what are we being saved for? What do you hope God comes and saves us for? I don’t think any of them would say, to take us to heaven when we die. I have to pause this episode for just a moment to tell you that I have written a new book. Incarnation: Eight Lessons on How God Meets Us. This eight-week Bible study uses the uniqueness of the message translation to Explore God’s presence with us. Link to pre-order is in the show notes. So there’s two places in the New Testament. That gives us a little glimpse of at least what some first century Jewish people were hoping for. The first verse is Luke 24, verse 31. And this is the two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus after the resurrection of Jesus. And Jesus shows up on the road. He’s been resurrected but not ascended. He’s alive again. He shows up on the road and he’s a bit incognito. These two disciples don’t know that it’s Jesus and they’re having this conversation and Jesus sort of Saddles up next to them and joins their conversation and he’s asking what’s been happening, and they’re like, Are you the only person in Jerusalem not to know what’s been happening about Jesus of Nazareth? And It’s not in Luke’s gospel, but I kind of imagine Jesus looking at him with a coy smile saying, please tell me more about this Jesus of Nazareth fellow. So they’re having this conversation, and they said, well, Jesus did these miracles, and then he was executed. Then in Luke 24, 31, one of the disciples says, but we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Their expectation was that the Jewish king, the Messiah, would come and be their savior, and he would be the one to redeem Israel. Redeem and redemption language speaks of of buying a slave out of slavery. And this, of course, is Exodus language The great story in the Old Testament, how God went down to Egypt and rescued, delivered, saved his people. Out of Egyptian slavery and bondage through the Red Sea and then on to the Promised Land. So their expectations were that the Messiah would come to save them for redemption, for a new exodus. And it was around the national identity of Israel The second scripture I think that gives us a little indication of what first-century Jewish people were thinking about what they were saved for is Acts 1, verse 6. And this is where Jesus is meeting with his disciples before his ascension. And Acts 1. 6 says So when they had come together, they, the disciples, asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel This gives us the indication that the expectations of salvation would be a restoration of the kingdom of God to Israel. Remember at this time that the ancient people of God had been released from their exile. They had returned to their ancestral homeland. but it still felt like they were exiles at home because of the Roman occupying force. Israel was still under the boot of the Roman Empire And so their expectation of salvation would be that the kingdom would be restored, that they would be freed and liberated from the Roman oppressors. So, with these two glimpses into the first century Jewish world and their expectations, when we ask the question, what are we safe for? we can say that we are safe for the work God intended for Israel. We’re saved for the work of God, which is to restore God’s design for the world and for people. When they were saying we thought he would be the one to redeem Israel, or the disciples were saying, we thought now is the time that you will be restoring the kingdom of Israel. This redemption and restoration was about bringing God’s peace to the world. The Hebrew word for peace is shalom. So salvation in the first century Jewish mind was about what God was doing with God’s people. to renew God’s covenant and establish peace on earth. If you remember at the birth of Jesus This is what the angels were singing, good will to men and peace on earth. And another way to think about this goal of salvation, this peace, this shalom. is new creation. The Bible is telling a story from Genesis to Revelation, and it’s a story that starts with creation and it ends with new creation. And the death of Jesus on the cross is God’s pivotal work of salvation to make us new and thus make all things new So I think a better answer to the question, what are we saved for, instead of going to heaven when we die, is we are saved for new creation. God’s work of redemption, God’s work of restoration to make all things new Now let’s go to the upper room with Jesus and his disciples. This is Matthew 26, verses 26 through 28. Now, as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it, broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat, this is my body And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, Drink of it all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many, for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus here is revealing what his death means. And I think that this little scene here in the upper room is often overlooked. When we reflect on the meaning of the death of Jesus. But what does Jesus tell us he’s doing? He is establishing the new covenant That the new covenant, the new relationship between God and God’s people would be enacted by his sacrificial life. So in the sacrificial system in the Old Testament, it would be the blood of an animal that would be sprinkled in order to establish or to maintain a covenant. But Jesus is announcing that his shed blood will be the establishment of a new covenant, which would then fulfill what Jeremiah the prophet said would happen So, hundreds of years before Jesus was on the scene, Jeremiah was prophesying to the ancient people of God while they were exiles in Babylon. And he was prophesying to them in a way to give them hope that the awful situation that they were in would not be the end of their story. They had seen their temple destroyed, the holy city of Jerusalem was leveled, and the people of God were carried off as exiles to live in a foreign land. But Jeremiah says, and this is in Jeremiah 31, verses 31 through 34, Jeremiah says, Behold the days are coming, declares the Lord. when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put my law within them. and I will write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor, and each his brother, saying, Know the Lord for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more This is what Jeremiah said was coming: a new covenant, a new relationship between God and his people, where there would be the forgiveness of sins. And so Jesus gathered with his disciples when he holds the cup and says, This is my blood of the covenant poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. His disciples would have recalled Matthew 31, because Jeremiah said there would be this mass forgiveness of sins when a new covenant was established A new covenant for a new people of God leading them into new creation, a time of shalom and peace Now, the forgiveness of sins became a signpost alerting the people of God that the exile was over. The prophet Isaiah, as well as Jeremiah, make it clear that the exile in Babylon, well both the Assyrian and Babylonian exiles. This was because Israel had sinned. God had chosen Israel, established a covenant with Israel And unfortunately, Israel chose to worship other gods and to break their end of the covenant deal. Their sins led them into exile. So the announcement of the forgiveness of sins meant exile was over. So a part of this new covenant is they’re no longer exiles. And again, while the people of God were back in their ancient land, they still felt like they were exiles. So Jesus, gathered with his disciples, holding that cup, declaring it to be his blood of the covenant, that it was being poured out for the forgiveness of sins was an announcement that exile was over. And it was a deeper exile than just the oppression of the Roman Empire. Jesus was going to Liberate them from the exile of sin and their subjectivity to death And this is Jesus sharing with his disciples and sharing with us what his death really means. Inti Wright in his book, The Day the Revolution Began, reconsidering the meaning of Jesus’ crucifixion. Has this one line about what’s happening here in Matthew twenty six that I love so much? Tom Wright writes When Jesus wanted to explain to his followers what his forthcoming death was all about, he did not give them a theory, a model, a metaphor, or anything. He gave them a meal. a Passover meal. Jesus could have given his disciples a sermon or a theological lecture He could have given them a list of theories and metaphors. He could have told a parable, told a story filled with metaphors about the meaning of his death. He doesn’t do that. Instead, what Jesus does is he offers a meal. And this is Jesus establishing the practice of Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper that we practice in our churches today. We practice it one to remember Jesus. He said, every time you do this, do it in remembrance of me. but we’re also remembering why Jesus was dying for us. And that was to establish a new covenant And Jesus was revealing this during the Passover meal, because again, Passover is connected to the Exodus out of Egypt. So, this new covenant enacted by the sacrificial death of Jesus, this new covenant was marking a new exodus. And as Jesus Jewish believers would find out, this was a death not just for Jewish people, but his death was for the whole world So in this new covenant, the whole idea of who are the people of God also has to be reconsidered. Because it’s going to be a new people of God. The people of God are not just going to be Jewish people, but Jews and Gentiles. So in this new covenant, there is a new people of God who are headed towards new creation. And it is a new Exodus. Jesus is replaying the story of Exodus So the death of Jesus, what is it for? It’s for new creation, but it’s a kind of new Exodus Because we have been enslaved by sin, the fear of death, and Jesus is liberating us, leading us out of that kind of bondage. One more passage of scripture, and then we’ll wrap up. So if the Bible is telling a story that starts with creation and ends with new creation, let’s look at the end of our story And this is Revelation 21. This is not the last chapter of the Bible, but it’s the second to last chapter. And Revelation 21, verses 1 through 5, this is one of my favorite passages in all the Bible because it’s such a great ending to the story. And what is the ending to the story? Is it that our bodies go into the ground and our spirits go off to be with God in heaven forever? That’s not the story that we’re given. But listen to these verses, Revelation twenty one, verses one through five. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people. And God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall And he who is seated on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new. This, my friends, is what we’re saved for. This is what the death of Jesus is all about. Jesus established a new covenant for a new people. Marking a new exodus that would lead them to new creation. And in new creation, it’s not that the earth is destroyed and there’s just a heaven, but there’s a new heaven and a new earth And there is a new Jerusalem, a new holy city. Notice the trajectory here. The new Jerusalem comes from heaven to earth This is the end of our story, not that we leave the earth to go to heaven, but that heaven’s coming to earth. And in the marriage supper of the Lamb, that’s also here in the end of the book of Revelation. We are seeing a metaphorical picture of the marriage of heaven and earth. So if we think of heaven as being God’s space and earth being humanity’s space, what’s happening in new creation is a coming together of heaven and earth. And what is the voice from the throne saying God is making God’s dwelling place with people, with humanity And this is one of the main subplots of the entire story of scripture that God desires to be with us So this is what we’re being saved for. A new people with a new covenant who have experienced a new exodus and get to enter into this new covenant. in new creation where God is making all things new. And so we get to experience that newness now For, behold, those who are in Christ Jesus, behold, we are experiencing new creation And one of the reasons that I love this story so much is it gives me hope. Perhaps today you’re feeling a bit hopeless, a bit desperate, maybe you’re feeling a bit of despair. The hope of the picture of new creation is that our despair, our sorrow, our tears will not last forever. That we are headed towards new creation where God is making all things new. And indeed, today, for those of us in Christ, God is making all things new. So if you’re going through a difficult season of life, just hang on. Hang on to Jesus. He’s our good shepherd. He’s leading us to this new Jerusalem. where we will be with God forever and God will make all things new. Well, that’s all that I have for you today, here on Monday Thursday. I hope that you have a great Good Friday tomorrow and an Easter celebration on Sunday. We’ll have more episodes coming down the pike during the season of Easter.
Guest: But that’s all that I have for you today, go in peace and be kind
This transcript was generated with AI and may contain errors.