Thanksgiving Day's History

Nehemiah 12:46

The Story Behind Thanksgiving Day

Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall

 

Thanksgiving Day evokes strong images.  Thanks to God.  Macy's parade, ending with Santa Claus ushering in the Christmas season.  Thanksgiving Friday, biggest shopping day of the year.  Most traveled holiday.  Family dinner.  Turkey.  Four days off work. Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys.        

 

We USA Americans enjoy our Thanksgiving Day. It is a tradition deeply rooted in our national psyche. We were not the first nation to set aside a national time for Thanksgiving. When Nehemiah completed rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, he brought Levites to Jerusalem from all across the country to celebrate the day "with thanksgiving and singing" (Nehemiah 12:27). On the celebration day itself, he had the leaders make two processions on top of the wall, beginning at a point far from the Temple. "One (procession) went to the right on the wall" (12:31). "The second thanksgiving procession went to the left" (12:38). The two thanksgiving processions met "in the house of God" (12:40). It was a great day, and like our Thanksgiving Day, their mode of celebratory thanksgiving was rooted deep in their nation's history. "For long ago, in the days of David and Asaph, there were leaders of the singers and songs of praise and thanksgiving to God" (12:46).

 

For us, in our country, we also look to "long ago" to explain how we got here. How did this beloved Thanksgiving treasure become a national holiday?

 

The Continental Congress declared the first national Thanksgiving in 1777.  George Washington issued the first presidential Thanksgiving proclamation in 1789.  It celebrated our country's new Constitution. In the 1800s Thanksgiving Days became a regional observation.  Several states celebrated a Thanksgiving Day annually, each having its own set date. Sarah Josepha Hale eventually became the crusader who pushed a plan to have an official national Thanksgiving holiday. Her efforts caught President Lincoln's attention at a critical time in his life.

 

President-elect Lincoln, in his farewell address at Springfield, Illinois, pointed his listeners to God, a practice he regularly continued in his speeches through his presidency.  "Today I leave you; I go to assume a task more difficult than that which devolved upon General Washington.  Unless the great God who assisted him shall be with and aid me, I must fail.  But if the same omniscient mind and the same Almighty arm that directed and protected him shall guide and support me, I shall not fail; I shall succeed.  Let us all pray that the God of our fathers may not forsake us now.  To Him I commend you all.  Permit me to ask that with equal sincerity and faith you will all invoke His wisdom and guidance for me" (S.2.426).

 

God-thoughts weighed heavily on Lincoln as he rode a train to Washington. At Lafayette, Indiana, Lincoln said, "We are bound together in Christianity, civilization, and patriotism."  Lincoln later heard from non-Christians who wondered since when the United States was limited solely to Christianity (S.3.39).  In Columbus, Ohio, Lincoln said he was, for the difficult task ahead, looking "to the American people, and to that God who has never forsaken them" (S.3.46).

 

He would later recall from the first of the war "this government appealed to the prayers of the pious and the good, and declared that it placed its whole dependence on the favor of God" (S.5.371). In his first inaugural he claimed, "Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust in the best way all our present difficulty" (S.3.133).

 

God-talk became the norm in Lincoln's communications.  He wrote to Iowa Quakers, "I am upheld and sustained by the good wishes and prayers of God's people.  No one is more deeply than myself aware that without his favor our highest wisdom is but as foolishness, and that our most strenuous efforts would avail nothing in the shadow of his displeasure."

 

"In God we trust" was first used on USA coins in Lincoln's administration (T.7).  The currently embattled words in our Pledge of Allegiance, "under God," were popularized by Lincoln, who spontaneously used them at Gettysburg.

 

On a War Department paper about pardons he wrote: "On principle I dislike an oath which requires a man to swear he has not done wrong.  It rejects the Christian principle of forgiveness on terms of repentance.  I think it is enough if a man does no wrong hereafter" (S.5.484).

 

During his four years as President, Lincoln issued nine calls to public penitence, fasting, prayer, and thanksgiving:  two in 1861, one in 1862, three in 1863, three in 1864.  Lincoln was working on proclamation number ten when assassinated.  Three days before his death, rejoicing over the fall of Richmond, he said, "He, from Whom all blessings flow, must not be forgotten.  A call for a national thanksgiving is being prepared" (T.85).

 

Lincoln's first call to prayer, August 12, 1861, set aside a Thursday, thereby establishing a pattern.  But for two exceptions, Lincoln set each special observance on a Thursday, a day not identified as any religious group's day of worship.  Thus the observances belonged equally to all the people, regardless of religious affiliation.  The people were called, not as church members, but as Americans.

 

After victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, the President issued a Thanksgiving Proclamation.  "It has pleased Almighty God to hearken to the supplications and prayers of an afflicted people.  It is meet and right to recognize and confess the presence of the Almighty Father, and the power of his hand."

 

The proclamation set aside Thursday, August 6, 1863, as a day for national thanksgiving, praise, and prayer, for people to gather in their customary places of worship to render homage to the Divine Majesty (S.4.359). On May 9, 1864, when good news came from General Grant, the President called for a time of thanksgiving.  "Enough is known of army operations within the last five days to claim an especial gratitude to God" (S.5.46). 

 

Lincoln told a crowd that evening, "I am indeed very grateful to the brave men who have been struggling with the enemy in the field, to their noble commanders who have directed them, and especially to our Maker. . . .We should, above all, be very grateful to Almighty God, who gives us victory" (S.5.47).

 

When Lincoln's re-election chances seemed their dimmest, he received from General Sherman on September 3, 1864, the telegram that changed everything: "Atlanta is ours."  The President called for thanksgiving to be offered in houses of worship the next Sunday.  When an Army Chaplain mentioned how pleased people would be at the proclamation, Lincoln said he would be glad to give such a proclamation every Sunday for weeks to come (S.5.230).

 

Lincoln's thanksgiving proclamations were criticized by some as savage and vindictive because he was calling for thanks in a time of war (S.4.518), but during Lincoln's term, a groundswell of interest in an annual national Thanksgiving celebration began to grow.  It was an idea whose time had come.

 

In 1848, Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey's Lady's Book, the most influential ladies magazine of her day, began a multi-year battle.  With unremitting toil she took on the task of the USA having a unified national Thanksgiving Day.

 

Her words long fell on deaf ears, but eventually began to be seriously considered.  In September 1863 Sarah Hale wrote a historic letter to the President, spelling out in detail her arguments for having "the day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival."  Lincoln, ever looking for ways to unify the nation, read Hale's letter and passed it on to his Secretary of State, William Seward, who bought into the concept entirely.

 

One morning in October 1863 Seward told Lincoln, "They say, Mr. President, that we are stealing away the rights of the states.  So I have come today to advise you, that there is another state's right I think we ought to steal."  Lincoln asked what Seward wanted to steal now.  Seward replied, "The right to name Thanksgiving Day!"  He said states celebrated Thanksgiving on different days at the discretion of each state's governor.  Seward suggested it should be made a national holiday.  When Lincoln said he supposed a President "had as good a right to thank God as a Governor," Seward, who had already written a proclamation, handed it to Lincoln.  It invited citizens to observe the last Thursday of November as a day to give thanks to our beneficent Father (G.577).  Lincoln signed the proclamation, thereby unifying the scattered state observances.

 

As we celebrate the history and heritage of Thanksgiving Day, let's not forget to commemorate and practice what the day is set aside for.  Remember to give thanks to God. Thanks-living is a powerful antidote against selfishness and sin.  Never reflect negatively on God's dealings with us.  He is kind and good all the time.  All His dealings with us are gracious.

 

"Give thanks in everything" (I Thessalonians 5:18a Holman).  Thanksgiving refreshes our spirit.  Discontent is dangerous.  This is how Satan tripped Adam and Eve.  They felt cheated.  Once a heart turns sour, actions soon follow suit.

 

Thanksgiving combines in perfect balance seriousness and joyfulness.  Gratitude to God is beautiful, exhibiting noble soberness about life's meaning, and showing joyous buoyancy of spirit.  A grateful person is a contented person, and a contented person is an attractive person.

 

Jesus Was Not Ambushed

Matthew 26:1-7a

Jesus Was Not Ambushed

Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall

 

Matt. 26:1-2 (Holman) When Jesus had finished saying all this, He told

His disciples, "You know that the Passover takes place after two

days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified."

 

         Till now, Jesus' ministry had been very public. The rest of it will be spent primarily in private with His Father and His disciples. The prediction in our text was made on Tuesday. Passover would begin Thursday evening.

It is ironic; the Judge of the Universe (Matthew 25:31) will now be judged. He will someday sit on the throne of His glory, but first—a cross.

With these words, our Master switched as it were from prophet to priest. He had been speaking about our salvation; now He will accomplish it.

Jesus entered the midnight of His soul so you and I could enter the sunrise of our salvation. He walked into darkness so we could walk out of it.

Everything in Matthew 26, this book's longest chapter, will point us to the cross. Our study in Matthew has now brought us to where, in our hearts, we need to humbly take our shoes off as we walk on holy ground.

Each Gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) gives a disproportionately large amount of space to the events immediately surrounding the crucifixion. We understand why. It is our salvation, the most wonderful story ever told.

From the first days of Christianity, the cross and resurrection have been the bedrock core of our message, the singular nucleus that must be told everywhere. All else is ancillary, given to help explain and endorse the story.

Our Master approached death with calm confidence. I admire His lack of dismay. May He enable us to do the same when leave-taking comes to us.

In our dark moments of dying, Jesus will come, offering to help us. Most of us do not need this special grace yet, but all of us will someday.

Die once, not often. Sometimes death is more difficult to think about than to go through. For the time being, be calm, be confident, do not obsess over death. Miraculous undergirding will come in the moment we need it.

 

Matt. 26:3-4   Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and they conspired to arrest Jesus in a treacherous way and kill Him."

 

         Jesus planned; they plotted. He was confident; they were perplexed. He was calm; they were flustered. He lovingly prepared the disciples for trouble; the leaders hatefully prepared the trouble. Caiaphas (High Priest 18-36 A.D) and the other religious leaders proved position does not guarantee holiness. Beneath their whitewashed veneer, they were devious and vicious.

         They envied Jesus' fame with the common people, were confounded by His miracles, especially Lazarus' recent resurrection from death, and were humiliated at Jesus' Triumphal Entry and His cleansing the Temple. They had already decided to kill Jesus. All they needed was a scheme.

         Their secrecy betrayed their mean intents. Be wary of plans made behind closed doors. "Whatever needs secrecy has something evil in it. There are few more important lessons that we need to learn than to leave undone whatever we should like to remain unknown. No life is safe from dishonor which has anything concealed. Live in the daylight" (Glover).

 

Matt. 26:5   "Not during the festival," they said, "so there won't be

rioting among the people."

 

         Notice their misstep. They were so radically bent on having their own way that they never stopped to considered what God might think. They worried about what the people thought, but not about what God thought.

         At the first Passover, a lamb's blood was applied to the doorposts of families. On this Passover, a Lamb's blood was spilt for all the "doorposts" of Earth. Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us (1 Cor. 5:7).

Jesus spoke of His own death not in a whining way. He knew words about His suffering would help the disciples think less fearfully of their own suffering. He wanted to protect them. They needed to know the crucifixion was planned by God; not a surprise victory for evil. Jesus was not ambushed.

         Jesus, not a helpless victim, said, "No one takes it (My life) from Me, but I lay it down on My own (JN 10:18a). On the cross He prayed, "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit" (LK 23:46b). We did not dispatch Jesus. He was the Passover lamb, and also the High Priest offering the sacrifice.

         The religious leaders were about to learn; God is in control. The Festival lasted eight days. They wanted to wait till it ended, but Judas' soon coming, sudden offer would change their minds. When he told them of a private place he could take them to arrest Jesus, they could not resist. The result was; they crucified Jesus one week earlier than they had planned to.

         God had disrupted their timetables before. They had previously tried to kill Jesus quickly, on the spur of the moment, but were delayed. Now they wanted to postpone His death; this also failed. They could not stop God's plan to stall or speed up the cross more than they could stop Earth spinning.

         God was determined to confirm the connection between Jesus' death and the Passover. God had chosen Passover. The greatest festival of the year would be desecrated by the worst crime ever perpetrated, but this crime would result in God accomplishing what the Passover lamb had pictured.

         They wanted Jesus' death private; God wanted it public. Our faith's bedrock deeds were not done in a corner. They were done out in the open for all to see. God wanted many witnesses to His Son's death and resurrection.

 

Matt. 26:6-7a  While Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon, a man

who had a serious skin disease, a woman approached Him

with an alabaster jar of very expensive fragrant oil.

 

Near Jerusalem, on the Mt. of Olives, sat Bethany, where Jesus often stayed overnight on His trips to the Holy City. This was His quiet retreat. Jerusalem was a place of hate and anger; Bethany a haven of love and peace.

"Had a serious skin disease" may have been a reminder to people of what Simon had had been rescued from. Jesus may have healed him; it was a violation for anyone with a skin disease to be in a crowd, or to have anyone in their house with them. Whoever you were, Simon, and whatever your skin condition was, thanks for welcoming our homeless Savior into your home.

Due to the religious leaders' hostility toward Jesus, there was probably plenty of worried confusion in the room, but slipping in through the shadows toward Jesus is a calm lady on a deliberate mission. She intends to bless Jesus.

Alabaster is a malleable type of marble. Due to its beautiful white and brownish swirls, it was often used to make jars to store valuable perfumes in.

Except for servers, this room would have been essentially a man's domain. This lady knew she probably could not verbalize many words in this man's world, but was feeling compelled to communicate something.

Since she couldn't use words, she chose to act out her message. She was determined to let Jesus know at least one person sensed His sadness, and deeply cared. She knew hurricane winds were swirling around Him; she was determined to be this storm's center of peace. We often say do not fear the storm; seek the peace that is inside it somewhere. This lady reminds us; if we know someone going through a storm, seek to be in it peace for them.

I envy this lady. She got close to the heart of Jesus. She moved God, touched Him at His essence. We want this. Life's best quest is to know Him and the fellowship of His suffering. She had what we want. Thank you, dear lady, for anointing Jesus on our behalf, and showing us He can be moved.

 

Jesus Incognito

Matthew 25:40b-46

Jesus Incognito

Prepared by Dr. John E. Marshall

 

Matt. 25:40b (part 2) (Holman) " . . .you did for Me."

 

The sheep's beautiful, unassuming kindnesses should speak volumes to us. They were not measuring what rewards might come their way.

Unlike these attractive sheep, many help others in order to earn merit, receive publicity, or up our self-esteem. These are nothing short of disguised selfishness. If we do kindnesses for reward, we are serving us, not God, and our virtue is no longer virtue. The best and only true giving is grace giving.

Jesus is more among us than we realize. We readily know He is with us through His Word, His Holy Spirit, and His followers. Our text says He is also present among us in an extraordinary way through the marginalized. In every act of practical benevolence we do for the disadvantaged, there is an element of mystery, of something beyond us we are not capable of seeing.

Jesus is still among us, continuing to relate to us intimately. Saul of Tarsus learned this the hard way. He thought he was persecuting only Christ-followers, but when he hit the ground on Damascus Road, he heard Jesus ask, "Why are you persecuting Me" (Acts 9:4b)?

Jesus is often incognito among us. This explains why according to this parable our everlasting existence is affected by the way we interact with the suffering; how we relate to the poor and needy tells us how we are relating to Jesus. Our actions toward them show where we stand in relation to Him.

In fact, by showing practical benevolence to people who are hurting, we receive double evidence of being God's children. By showing sympathy to the sick, hungry, poor, and neglected, we show we have Jesus Himself residing in us because, one, this is what He did while on Earth in the flesh, and two, we help Him, for He was poor, naked, hungry, thirsty, sick, etc.

In our day, we cannot touch Jesus, see Him, or help Him directly, as did Mary and Martha, and the woman who washed His feet, and Simon of Cyrene. Our kindnesses for Him have to be done through others. This is no small detail for a person like me, whose love language is touching.

The needy matter. Do not misjudge others by underrating them. It might be hard to see Jesus in someone who is rude, distant, or living in some sin we artificially deem extra hideous. Who can see Jesus in a beggar, in a prisoner, in people hungry and thirsty, or in someone eaten up with illness?

To look at people as representatives of Jesus lifts their value in our appraisals of them. They become more important to us, and when this happens, they sense our attitude of acceptance toward them. Seeing Jesus in the needy is a concept the Church better embraced in earlier years.

St. Martin's Church, in Basel, Switzerland, has on its front wall a statue of Martin of Tours, who was a Christian Roman soldier. One cold winter day a beggar stopped him, and asked for alms. Having no money, Martin took off his soldier's coat, used his sword to cut it in two, and gave half to the shivering beggar. That night Martin dreamed he saw Jesus in Heaven wearing half a coat. An angel asked, "Master, why are you wearing that tattered old cloak?" Jesus answered, "My servant Martin gave it to me."

A monk once picked up an unknown crippled man to take him to get help. As they approached the monastery, the Abbott saw them and said, "Open the gates; our brother monk is coming; and he is carrying the Lord."

Francis of Assisi was rich but unhappy early in life. One day he saw a leper whose disease had made him repulsively ugly. Francis threw his arms around the sufferer. He later claimed the face of the leper suddenly changed to the face of Jesus. Francis' life was forever changed in that moment.

The worth of a pearl fallen in the dust cannot be accurately weighed until you look past the dirt, focus on the pearl, and weigh it. Even so it is with others. We do not know their worth till we value the Pearl within them.

 

Matt. 25:41-45 Then He will also say to those on the left, "Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels! For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you didn't take Me in; I was naked and you didn't clothe Me, sick and in prison and you didn't take care of Me." Then they too will answer, "Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick or in prison, and not help You?" Then He will answer them, "I assure you: Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me either."

 

Hear the woeful tolling--nothing, nothing, didn't, didn't, didn't--"Like the falling of clods on the coffin" (Robertson). They committed no major crimes: no murder, theft, or adultery. Many of them dutifully observed the Ten Commandments, and lived moral, ethical lives. They did not take away food, drink, and clothes from the needy. They did not put people in prison or exile them from their houses. Their downfall resulted from sins of omission.

They did not learn from the sin of Ammon and Moab, who angered God not by attacking Israel, but by not meeting God's people with bread and water (Deut. 23:3-4). The goats neglected their duty, like the foolish virgins who did not bring enough oil, and the sinful slave who did not use his talent.

What was so bad about the goats' sins of omission? In them Jesus was totally left out. By their not being kind, He received no praise and no honor.

No one was ever saved from Hell because of what the goats did. They did absolutely nothing that could have been done to point others to Jesus.

Their non-actions proved they had devalued and rejected Jesus. In whatever giving they did do, there was no thought of concern about Him.

They for sure never supposed Jesus was in the needy or poor. They completely separated Him from daily life, and relegated Him to oblivion. On the final day, Jesus will tell them, "Somewhere in all this, you missed Me."

 

Matt. 25:46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the

righteous into eternal life.

 

The doctrine of everlasting condemnation causes many to not believe the Christian message. We dread discussing this, but if Jesus spoke of it, we must too. Also, we must realize our loved ones will lose if we neglect it.

Many of our doctrines are controversial, including the virgin birth, the blood atonement, the resurrection, the deity and exclusivity of Christ. Paul did not stop preaching the cross because it was a stumbling block to many.

Heaven and Hell are both mysteries. Everlasting bliss does not make sense. Infinite gifts beyond our understanding await believers, but we know we can never be good enough to earn this much reward. We humans are the ones who destroyed Eden's perfection. We sent the world into chaos, and marred the ideal of God's Kingdom in the world, yet we can go to Heaven.

We also struggle with everlasting retribution. How do we reconcile such a terrible punishment with a God of love? For one thing, we have to define love precisely. Much of what we call love is sentimentality. Another pitfall is; we often do not grasp how bad sin is.

John A. Broadus (1827-1895), one of our greatest Southern Baptist patriarchs, felt it would help if we constantly remembered punishment is not the same for all: "The great fact that there will be degrees in future punishment--as well as in future rewards--ought to be more prominent in religious instruction." I also like another of Broadus' statements, "God is certainly a better judge than we are, as to what is consistent with his goodness." In the final analysis, we stand beside Abraham, the father of faith, and say, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Gen. 18:25).

 

Last Quotable Quotes

“May all your grandchildren be twins” came from Pete Ramsey, who I worked with in Fort Smith. I have always felt it was a good, humorous blessing. It gets different kinds of rises out of people. Some love it. Others groan. It all depends on your perspective.

“I am not a theologian” is a statement preachers are never supposed to make. Of course, its meaning hinges on what you mean by a theologian. If you mean a person who studies and tries to explain the Bible, I am one. If you mean one who stays tucked away in a library, trying to write huge books in small print on the finer details of Christianity, I am not one.

“You aren’t listening fast enough” is an old preacherism intended to divert attention away from the fact you are preaching too long. It always gets a good reaction from the crowd, unless you really are preaching way too long.

"In Heaven, I want to preach 1,000 years.” Ruth replies, “Honey, turn out the lights when you are done.” Wives are wonderful helpers who aid us with reality checks.

Worldwide Christianity

No individual can lose salvation, but a people group can lose its candlestick. The anointing can be removed. Power to proclaim the message effectively can be transferred to others.

Jerusalem, Antioch, and Ephesus were early centers of Christian zeal, but each lost its gift. Rome was at one time the heart of genuine faith, but now spiritual vitality can only be found there in the haunts of the catacombs.

         Luther’s Germany carried the mantle awhile, but then it passed to England’s Puritans. As the light began to wane there, Richard Baxter feared the Gospel center was moving from his country to the Americas. He was right.

         We rejoice to hear of revival in China, Korea, Nigeria, and elsewhere, but these reports also sober us. Is God preparing to remove the candlestick from the USA? The anointing can be preserved only through faithfulness. May God purge our sin, and retain for us the honor of being a candlestick to our dark world.