Day 37
A Vision at Night
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
Daniel 7:13-14
These power brokers they broke themselves against Him. He who stands silent in their midst. Deafeningly silent. The silence of a thousand stars splitting the dark with light.
“The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for false evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death. But they did not find any, though many false witnesses came forward.” Matthew 26:59-60
“Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.” Mark 14:56
What is truly happening is not what those in power assumed was happening. Underneath all the corrupt human action always lies what is truly going on, the true storyline underneath all blind human activity, the story of God quietly, firmly revealing who He is and enacting what He is doing. The story of God declaring war on the dark. On the lies. On the corruption that binds all humanity in the night.
Underneath all the noise of human circumstance there has always existed this one storyline thread. A thread that began before human existence. A thread that ends long after this world’s time is done. All the weavings of this world come and go, knotting, tearing, unravelling. But this thread remains: ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’14, ‘and in the end He shall stand upon the earth’15 as its redeemer. Having bought it back. From the dark.
God said, God created, God breathed, God lamented, God called, God partnered, God spoke.
God Came.
As a baby. Defenceless.
As a King. Armour-less.
For us.
This night, dark and thick with lies, is the night He will reveal Himself fully. Like a star exploding against the inky black of the Universe, the emptiness of deep space will fill with blinding light. Just as it did in the beginning.
This is who these priests and pharisees stand before. They think they are putting Him on trial, but they are ones being sifted as they stand before their true King and their Judge. Blind. Shackled by their own lies. Jesus wears the chains, but it is is they who are truly bound.
“Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: ‘We heard him say, “I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.”’ Yet even then their testimony did not agree.” Mark 14:57-59
This night. It was not really about the law. It was not really about the legality of anything. This was not a trial, but a travesty of justice, a twisting of the truth around the ends they sought. Trials were always held in the light of day, but this trial is thick in the dark of night. Trials were held in the meeting hall, but this trial is held in the home of the High Priest. Trials where witnesses contradicted each other were to be thrown out16. Yet this trial continued. In the night.
They broke their own laws17 just to find a way to break Him, but all their flustered efforts broke like thin-wisp webs.
“Finally two came forward and declared, ‘This fellow said, “I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.”’
Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, ‘Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?’ But Jesus remained silent” Matthew 26:60-63
They weave their web of lies around Him, forging deceptions, bribing reality to bend to their will for it.
They had one goal: Jesus death.
Jesus had one goal: His death. For them.
And in all their scrambling to bind Him in lies He remains silent like a lamb before its shearers18. He says nothing.
‘But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.’ Mark 14:61a
He remained silent. Deafeningly silent. The silence of a thousand stars pulsing in the night. He will not argue with darkness. Because He is the light19. His very existence is God’s answer to the dark.
This trial is held in the dark by darkness, this darkness that has been coming for Him since humankind let it in. A collision course set before time was written down.
In the garden the ‘hiss on the wind’, the father of lies, twisted truth to let the darkness in, let the darkness fall, over us. To make us fall, prey to the night, prey to our own reaching for the dark. The father of lies twisted YHWH’s words, twisted human perception of reality, reshaping it in his own image, reshaping human hearts, blinding human vision, enticing them to reach for the dark as though it were light and to hide from light as though it were dark20.
But still the light of God flickered against the pitch. Lighting the night. Calling those who would hear. Calling a man, Abraham, calling a people, Israel. Calling a nation to not just see light, but be light in the world.
But again. Oh again. They let the darkness in. Again the same broken-scripted story played out. They followed the hiss on the wind and exchanged the truth of God for a lie21 and exchanged their Shepherd-King God, for preying-wolf idols22.
They had lost their true King, thrown Him down from the throne of their hearts- But being the true King, despite their treachery, God never stopped calling them, looking for them in the dark;“Where are you?” “Who is it you want? As King?”
God, back then, gave Israel the desire of their hearts and the exile that came with it, while always hoping, longing, looking for their return like the father of a prodigal son. And the moment they turned back to Him He restored them once more. And then they would turn. Away. Fall. Away. Again and again and again.
And this pattern repeated throughout time, cycling through centuries: Human betrayal, God’s redemption and restoration. Human betrayal, God’s redemption and restoration. Human betrayal, God’s redemption and restoration. Until exile became a way of life. Lostness a way of being. Emptiness, a normality: Empty temple. Empty religion. Empty hearts.
Empty as a starless sky.
And then, finally, in the fullness of time, a light dawned against the dark of night, sending the shadows fleeing.
This light that had been promised all along…
‘Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—
The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.’
Isaiah 9:1-2
Like a great light shining in the inky pitch of human brokenness, a light dawning across land bound by deep darkness.23 Into the story of an unfaithful people, into all human brokenness YHWH dropped, like a seed planted in the darkness of earth, like a tender shoot growing in dry ground24, like a branch sprouting from a derelict stump.25
Like a baby born into a hostile world. Defenceless.
Like a King striding into battle. Armour-less.
He came looking for His lost sheep like the good shepherd King26 promised of old. Searching. Calling. Where are you?
And when He appeared as an adult on Israel’s national stage, anointed by the Holy Spirit, anointed as God’s Son and heir, as the true King of Heaven and Earth, His first appointment was with the Hiss on the wind.
He faced down the ‘father of lies’, not in the garden, but in the desert, the dry parched no-mans land that human reality had become. There in the heat He faced down darkness bringing it to heel, under His heel27. And the Hiss on the wind- the Satan- whose name means ‘the accuser’, he twisted God’s Word and human weakness in an attempt to twist this King out of shape.
But YHWH did not bend. Jesus did not yield. Light does not argue with the dark. He did not flinch and did not flee but used Scripture to light the lies28, the truth to blaze deception down.
Darkness cannot overcome light. Cannot even argue with it29. There is no contest between the inky dark of the Universe and the explosion of a dying star.
Light does not argue with darkness. Its very existence is God’s answer to the dark.
Now, here, this night. YHWH, the Shepherd King, stands once more before the Accuser. Human accusers. Puppets on the hand of darkness.
Truth stands on trial in the dark. Surrounded by so many forms of human deception; lying witnesses, twisting politicians, religious blindness, minds wilfully snapped shut, Peter’s flinching self-preserving falsehoods, the group-think acquiescence of lazy minded onlookers. And they all weave their threads around Him, accusing Him, abusing Him, disowning Him, dethroning Him, threading deceptions, weaving lies, around and around and around and around.
While He stands silent in their midst.
Deep space silent.
Deafeningly silent.
The silence of a thousand stars exploding in the dark.
And being the Light30 He does not flicker. Being the Truth31, He does not bend. Being God, He does not change32, does not twist or turn with meandering moods.
He stands His ground. Defenceless. Armour-less.
Striding into the battle.
‘Again the high priest asked him, ‘Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’ Mark 14:60-61a
Are you the Messiah? Are you the King? Are you the Son of God? Who are you?
What is your name?
‘I am,’ said Jesus. Mark 14:62a
I Am.
God.
I Am.
YHWH.
These words, once more, they are more than words, they are revelation, and they explode like a galaxy of whirling stars, shining piercing light into the darkest pitch.
He did not bend in the desert when the Accuser hurled and twisted words, and He does not bend now in the night, when the accusers thread and weave their lies.
He does not become who they want Him to be, He does not slip and fall into their traps, He does not bend to save His skin and does not react to salve His pride, He does not attempt to prove His point, He does not argue for His innocence.
He was silent before their lies, their inventions, their trumped up charges. But finally when He does speak, He simply tells them who He is. The Truth.
Just as He wielded the Word against His Accuser in the desert, so again He quotes Scripture to light the dark. The Truth wielding the Truth. The Word33 wielding the Word, The Light shining in the darkness…
‘ ‘I am,’ said Jesus… …And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ Mark 14: 61b-62
‘Son of man’, Just three small words. Unassuming. Inconspicuous. Explosive. Enough to seal a fate and drive a nail into flesh.
Just in case we mistake what no Jewish ears would have mistaken, just in case we miss what no child of Abraham would have missed, Jesus is quoting here the vision the prophet Daniel saw from afar, entwined with the truth the psalmist sang against the night, the truth that would find fulfilment only after the cross34. A vision in the night.
“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
Daniel 7:13-14 (emphasise added)
“The Lord says to my lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”
The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying,
“Rule in the midst of your enemies!”
Psalm 110:1-2
Light does not argue with the dark and now Light breaks in like a trillion stars combusting in the night. As Jesus seals His own fate with the truth of who He is.
Lies could not bind Him to His vocation, only truth. The truth revealed through a centuries old prophecy and millennia old song. He will not go to the cross because of a lie, but because of the truth of who He is.
He is King.
He is God.
He is the great I Am.
YHWH.
The Messiah of Israel.
The Saviour of the world.
And He has come to buy us back. From the darkness that we ourselves let in.
Centuries before, Daniel had seen this vision in the night. And now in the night it finds its fulfilment. Daniel’s vision reveals what has been happening behind the veil all along. The war between the darkness and the light.
Underneath all corrupt human action lies what is truly going on- the true storyline underneath all blind human activity- the story of God quietly, firmly revealing who He is and enacting what He is doing. The story of God declaring war on the dark. On the lies. On the corruption that binds all humanity in the night. The story of God establishing His Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.
Preceding the passage quoted by Jesus, Daniel sees a vision of empires emerging, four worldly kingdoms characterised by violence, domination and oppression. Dehumanised and dehumanising empires reeking destruction on the earth and its people.
The passage Jesus quotes in Daniel is when these empires have been destroyed and all authority, glory and power is given to ‘one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven’. Worshipped by all nations ‘His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.’
When Jesus declared Himself ‘The son of Man coming on the clouds of Heaven’ He declared Himself as the rightful ruler of all the earth establishing a Kingdom that will usurp the dehumanising power of all Empires, all powers, all darkness. Including the pretensions to power that His own people had fallen headlong into.
This claim to authority was not misunderstood by the high priest.
“The high priest tore his clothes. ‘Why do we need any more witnesses?’ he asked. ‘You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?’
They all condemned him as worthy of death. Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, ‘Prophesy!’ And the guards took him and beat him.” Mark 14:63-65
While Jesus speaks the truth of Who He is into the night, religious pride and blindness condemn Him to His death. The death He chose. For them. For us. From before the creation of the world.
While Jesus reveals the truth of Who He is into the dark, declaring ‘I Am..’ meanwhile His closest friend once more sides with lies declaring ‘I am not’…
“Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself. So they asked him, ‘You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you?’
He denied it, saying, ‘I am not.’
One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, ‘Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?’” John 18: 25-26
Didn’t I see you with Him in the garden? Didn’t you used to dwell with God on earth? Didn’t you walk together in the cool of the day? Didn’t He mentor you and encourage you to name and create and thrive? Didn’t I see you with Him in the garden? Long ago. Just now.
‘Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a cock began to crow.’ John 18:27
‘Peter replied, ‘Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!’ Just as he was speaking, the cock crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: ‘Before the cock crows today, you will disown me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.”’ Luke 22:60-62
As Jesus strode into battle defenceless and armour-less, Peter sided with the lies, dodging, flinching, joining the Hiss on the Wind in bending the truth. I am not His follower. I am not His friend. I am not. I am not. I am not. I don’t know this path He is on. I don’t know Him.
He never really knew Him. This King. This King who was dying for him. While he continued to betray Him. Disown Him. Misunderstand Him.
This King who was dying for us. We who betray, disown and misunderstand Him still.
This Shepherd-King who all the while is establishing His Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.
An everlasting Kingdom that will not pass away, that will never be destroyed.
Underneath all corrupt human action lies what is truly going on- the true storyline underneath all blind human activity- the story of God quietly, firmly revealing who He is and enacting what He is doing. The story of God declaring war on the dark.
The story of God establishing His Kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.
Journey Further
Who is it you want?
References, Notes and Credits
1 Genesis 3:8
2 1 Samuel 17:38-48
3 Matthew 2:2
4 John 1:5
5 Isaiah 50:11 ‘But now, all you who light fires and provide yourselves with flaming torches, go, walk in the light of your fires and of the torches you have set ablaze. This is what you shall receive from my hand: You will lie down in torment.’
6 1 Samuel 17:38-48
7 NIV Cultural Background study Bible, Zondervan, 2016, notes on John 18:5
8 Jesus reveals Himself using this statement three other times :John 4:26, John 6:20, John 13:19 and also teaches about this with his “I am… statements seven other times, “I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51) “I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12)
“I am the door of the sheep.” (John 10:7,9) “I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25)
“I am the good shepherd.” (John 10:11, 14) “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) “I am the true vine.” (John 15:1, 5).
9 “LORD God” (Genesis 2:4; Psalm 59:5)
10“The Lord Our Shepherd”- (Psalm 23:1)
11 “I am Jehovah who heals you”-(Exodus 15:26)
12 “The Lord Our Peace” -(Judges 6:24)
13 I Am the “Lord of Hosts” (Isaiah 1:24; Psalm 46:7)
14 Genesis 1:1 ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’
15 Job 19:25 ‘I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth.’
16 NIV Cultural backgrounds Study Bible, ‘Jesus’ Trial’ page 1672, Zondervan, 2016
17 ‘One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offence they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ Deuteronomy 19:15, Mark 14:56
18 Isaiah 53:7 ‘He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.’
19 John 1:4-5 ‘ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.’
20 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Isaiah 5:20
21 Romans 1:25
22 Jeremiah 2:11
23 Isaiah 9:1-3
24 Isaiah 53:1-3
25 Isaiah 6:13
26 Ezekiel 34:11-24
27 Genesis 3:15 ‘And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
28 Psalm 119:105- Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
29 John 1:5
30 John 8:12 ‘When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”’
31 John 14:6 ‘Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’
32 Numbers 23:19- ‘God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?’, Psalm 55:19-‘God, who is enthroned from of old, who does not change— he will hear them and humble them, because they have no fear of God.’
33 John 1:1-4, 14 ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.’ …‘The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.’
34 Mark 16:19 ‘After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.’
All photos of Stars are courtesy of NASA and STScI Hubbl Site.or
Discover more from The Long Walk to Bethlehem
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Leave a comment