Jesus & Ultimate Tag

But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. (Acts 2:24, NIV)

I came across the above verse in my reading this week, and for some reason, I thought about the game show Ultimate Tag.

Ultimate Tag premiered last year and is essentially American Gladiators with only one event: Tag. (Hey, I'm not knocking it. The concept obviously drew me in!)

Ordinary contestants compete against "professional taggers." The professional taggers are in top-notch shape and go by intimidating monikers. (My favorite tagger is Geek. Imagine a guy who looks like Napoleon Dynamite but could eat you for breakfast!)

The taggers are usually able to chase down the contestants with relative ease. As they tag them out, they make a flourish of their skill and strength.

But every now and then, a contestant takes a professional tagger by surprise. They have been underestimated by the tagger and are able to break away and run to victory. The crowd goes wild. The tagger angrily stomps their feet, aware that the underdog has bested them. (And yes, I know their reactions are kind of fake and all part of the show to heighten the drama!)

In his very first sermon, Peter talks about the "ultimate" professional tagger. They call him Death. And he always wins. In the end, Death chases us all down.

But then Death went up against a contestant named Jesus. Death was overly confident, as he always is. And for a while, it looked like he'd win this match, too.

But then Jesus made some moves. Every time Death got close, Jesus pivoted. "It was impossible for death to keep its hold on him."

Like a running back breaking free from the defensive line, Jesus COULD - GO - ALL - THE - WAY! (I realize I'm mixing sports metaphors here, but I really wanted to use that line.)

The Message version puts it like this: "Death was no match for him."

Everyone in the arena cheered as Jesus made it safely to home base. Death threw up his hands in frustration, knowing he'd lost.

But who cares? Who cares if one contestant defeats a professional tagger? What about the rest of us slowpokes?

That's where the good news comes into play.

Jesus invites us all to share in his ultimate victory with him.

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Back Away From Jesus?

I had a strange dream the other night. The details are hazy now, but for some reason, someone was telling me not to get too close to Jesus. "Back away from him," they said.

I woke up thinking about the times when the disciples tried to keep people away from Jesus. Jesus is an important guy! He doesn't have time for little children to come to him.

But they were wrong.

Jesus smiled and said, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children." (Matthew 19:14, NLT)

In Luke 18, a blind beggar shouts at Jesus to show him mercy. The crowd shushes him. Stop embarrassing yourself, they say. But this guy remains shameless. He cries even louder, and Jesus hears him.

I'm not an interpreter of dreams, but you know what I think? I think the person in my dream—the one telling me to stay away from Jesus—was me.

I know that's some Inception-like stuff, but so often, I'm the one telling myself to back away from Jesus. I shouldn't bother bringing him my troubles because there are so many bigger problems in the world. Besides, I'm the one who made my mess. Shouldn't I have to clean it up myself?

I've only been a dad for three weeks, but that's long enough to know children can't clean up their own messes. They shamelessly cry out until someone helps them.

I pray to have the freedom those children had when they ran with open arms to Jesus. I pray for the boldness of the blind man, whose need for Jesus rose above his need not to appear desperate.

Today, I pray we won't let our mess keep us from Jesus. I pray we won't let our insignificance keep us from Jesus. I pray we won't let ourselves keep us from Jesus.

There are no suited bodyguards or cranky disciples keeping us from Jesus. We don't have to pull ourselves together first.

Jesus always took the time to stop when someone called out to him.