Scroll cave 4, Qumran
Scroll cave 4, Qumran
The nearby ruins at Qumran had long been assumed to be from a Roman camp. Closer examination showed them to belong to a religious group, probably the Essenes about whom Josephus and Philo have short references.
This young Bedouin had made the first discovery of what we now know as the Dead Sea Scrolls. They include, not only writings about the beliefs and practice of the Qumran community, but also portions of almost all the Old Testament books.
Clay scroll jar, Shrine of the Book, Jerusalem
"Don't judge a book by its cover," the old saying goes. And for a long time now God has been bundling his treasures in "clay pots."
We hear Paul saying, "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things - and the things that are not - to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him" (1 Cor. 1.27-29).
Who could ever have imagined that a baby in a cattle feed-box would turn out to be the very Son of God? A number of years ago we heard a speaker who asked his audience, "If you had lived in the first century, how would you have picked Jesus in a crowd? You'd have recognised him by the halo, right? Wrong! He didn't wear one!" One writer has put it this way, "Jesus was so common in his looks that often he was able to lose himself in crowds. Judas had to identify him with a kiss, even after three years in the public eye... Jesus came in a form that was not intimidating to anyone. All could feel at ease around him. His looks in no way separated him from the common, poor people to whom he was sent" (Gayle Erwin, The Jesus Style, pp.14-15).
Jesus had emptied himself of his heavenly glory and lived on earth as a mere human being - dirty with the dust of Palestinian roads, tired, hungry, thirsty... No external sign to distinguish him as the Son of God.
In David's time, when the ark of the covenant was being brought to Jerusalem, Uzzah touched the ark to steady it when the oxen stumbled on rough ground. He was struck down dead (1 Sam. 6.6-7). Yet nothing extraordinary happened to the soldiers who drove the nails through Jesus' flesh.
The Son of God had taken true humanity. The divine treasure - the greatest Gift of God - was in a common clay pot.
Peter, James and John had gone with him up the mountain. For a very brief time they saw, not the clay pot, but his divine glory - the Father's beloved Son (Mk 9.7).
For those who conspired to put him to death, the tragedy was that they missed the treasure - they only saw the pot. If a pot is cracked or crazed, we throw it out. If it is not to our taste, we change it for another. Was that all they were doing?
But if we view Jesus as the great human being - great teacher, great example, great person of healing compassion... - and fail to receive him as the risen Son of God and Saviour, we have only seen the clay pot. When his enemies broke the clay pot of his humanity on the cross, the treasure of divine love and redemption was poured out for all who would receive it.
Paul recalls that, when Moses came back from speaking with the Lord, his face shone. So, at the people's request, he wore a veil until the glorious radiance had faded. That veil is still there, he says, when the old covenant is read. It is only taken away when anyone turns to the Lord (2 Cor. 3.13-16).
"And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (v. 18).
When we receive the treasure of God, the glory of God begins to shine through us. We become the vessels by which the word of God, the truth of God and the message of salvation are carried into the world.
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us" (4.7).
On the day of Pentecost, spectqators gathered - "amazed and perplexed" - to try to understand what was happening to these remaining followers of the crucified Rabbi. We hear Peter saying to the crowd, "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2.36).
A crippled beggar was healed at the Beautiful gate of the Temple in Jerusalem. The people in the Temple were filled with wonder and amazement. Peter said to them, "Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?... By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see" (3.12,16).
Don't spend your time looking at the clay pots! Receive the treasure God is offering you!
"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body" (2 Cor. 4.8-11).
Somehow we have the idea that Christians should live a charmed life with a continual "cloud 9" experience. Jesus didn't promise that. Nor did the early Christians experience it that way. In many respects they knew themselves to be clay pots. Yet, no matter what happened to them, God's love and grace sustained them.
Do you ever feel like a clay pot - crazed and cracked, ready to be thrown out? But the treasure is his, the almighty power is his - and the glory is his! He needs a clay pot just like you to hold his treasure and to carry it out into our community and world.
Paul writes, "All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God" (v. 15). The whole purpose of the clay pots is to carry the treasure so that others will share in it too.
Peter, James and John would have liked to stay up the mount of transfiguration - never to return to the valley with its less-than-ideal life-style and challenges. But whatever treasure they had received on the mountain-top they had to carry with them down into the valley. And that's how it is. As the Bethel Bible Series puts it, we are "blessed to be a blessing."
You aren't just a pot - God has given you his treasure! Be thankful for that - and share the treasure with others!
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