I'm addicted to Harry Potter. I love these books - they're exciting, they're well written, I care about the characters. The sixth book which everyone you know is reading doesn't disappoint. It's quite the ride, especially after the first couple hundred pages.

I know some people who call this series of books out as pure evil. I don't really get where that comes from. If that's where you are with the series, then I'd love to hear your point of view. But for the time being, I'm a Potter nut and can't wait for book seven.

Now, the Bible.

The Harry Potter books have spilled into my Bible studies in the most fascinating way. You see, the Potter books are a cross between detective novels and epic fantasy. One of my favorite things about them is all the little clues along the way that build up into this massive "whoa" moment.

The other night I was reading Leviticus. Chapter 17. Leviticus is becoming my favorite book in the Bible. I used to pick it up and immediatley shelve it. "I don't get this book, so I'm just going to hold off until I have some sort of context with which to read it." Now, there's still plenty in it that raises tons of questions for me, but what I keep seeing is clues. Little clues that point to Messiah.

If you read Revelation first, and then went backwards, I think you'd see all the clues too. What JKR does so well is keep everything cohesive. What blows my mind is the Bible was written by dozens of different authors over centuries and centuries of time and it remains cohesive. I read Isaiah and everything points to Jesus. I read Genesis, and from the first chapter, everything's pointing to Jesus.

So Leviticus Chapter 17 quotes God.... "That is why I have said to the Israelites, "You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.""

Now, contrast this with Matthew 26... "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

And then check out John chapter 6:
Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.

Now, assuming that the Rabbis that Jesus is talking to have the book of Leviticus memorized, what kinds of questions do you think this raised for them? More importantly, what questions does it raise for you? What insights about communion can we pull from these juxtapositioned texts? And if Leviticus 17 holds insights into John 6, what other parts of the Hebrew Scriptures contain massive insights into the rest of the Bible? I love this book!

I can't wait to see how Harry Potter ends. I'm looking forward to all of the clues and hints coming together at the end. When I read the Hebrew Scriptures, all of the things Jesus said start to make more sense. In that they make less logical sense and more "woah!" sense. I learn more about God. I see the masterwork that is the Bible, and I'm in awe. It kicks my faith up a notch. I start believing I can live from these truths (the Bible, not Harry Potter) because I know how it ends and I know that God's Word holds up. It's the best epic ever told. It's the best detective novel ever written. And it's true. It's not merely a book to leisurely read, but the very word of the one who created us. It's not a handbook. It's not a book about apologetics. Its a love song crafted for every person who has read it.

Labels: Jesus