My last post in March, I stated I would blog more on what our Pastor is teaching. Goodness, I have not done that....not good. I love to write and share what the Lord is teaching me; hoping it will encourage someone else as I work out my faith through writing.
Here goes....taken from my sermon notes from April 13th's message:
Christ is our Passover Lamb. Passover was yesterday, Maundy Thursday. It was on that day that Jews celebrated how God, Yaweh, delivered them from the death angel. Traditionally in the Old Testament, Jews were required to bring their best lamb, a spotless lamb, to the temple to be inspected for a sacrifice. In order for their homes to be spared from death, they smeared the lamb's blood on the door frames and top part of the door. If the lamb's blood was there, the death angel would pass by, when the Egyptians were killed. (Exodus 12:26-27)
Fast forward to the New Testament....Jesus was with His disciples and it was time for them to eat the Passover meal. (Luke 22: 15-20) Pastor Chris has been preaching a sermon series, called Four Cups. There were four cups used during the Passover meal. I didn't know that, did you? They represented the four promises God Almighty made in Exodus 6:6-7.
1. "I will bring you out."--God promises us salvation.
The Israelites had been slaves in Egypt, but God promised He would bring them out of the land. It just took, in human terms, a very long time. {I have had my own personal Egypt, how 'bout you? I so longed for the day when He would bring me out. And He did. He is faithful and He keeps His promises.}
2. "I will free you."--God promises us freedom or deliverance.
The Israelites were freed and delivered, eventually.
3. "I will redeem you."--God promises us restoration.
God restored the Israelites and got their land back.
4. "I will take you as my own people."--God promises me fulfillment.
The Israelites are considered to be His people, and are revered as that in the world today (which we see play out daily in the political realm, as other world religions would like to see them as slaves again....ie...Jews in the Ukraine were just told to register...we need to desperately be praying for them).
Back to the New Testament....Prior to the Last Supper, Jesus had told His disciples in so many words that He would be killed, and would be raised from the dead. Plus, all of these things had been prophesied in the Old Testament (Isaiah). They just simply did not understand; and I don't think I would have either.
Don't know about you, but I am so thankful I do not have to slaughter animals to be a sacrifice for my sins. INSERT: JESUS
a. Christ is our Passover Lamb (John 1:29)---He was perfect. He was the ultimate sacrifice. We cannot be good enough, do enough, give enough, serve enough, to atone for our sins. Israelites were required to find a perfect lamb (Ex. 12:5)..........When God sent His Son, Jesus, He fulfilled that requirement (1 Peter 1:18-19).
Because Jesus is perfect, He is the ONLY one who can redeem us. We can't do it ourselves. Furthermore, no other world religion touts a person who claimed to be perfect. That's why Jesus is the ONLY way (Acts 4:12; John 14:6) to get to heaven; to be made right in the sight of God.
b. The Lamb was slaughtered. (Is. 53:5)
Roman crucifixion was brutal; it was inhumane; it was torture; it was a science.
Most people never even survived the 39 lashes with the Cat of Nine tails (a long leather strap, embedded with glass, stones, and metal). It was the 40-save, one. Jesus survived that....13 lashes to the right trapezius muscle, to sever it; 13 lashes to the left trapezius, to sever it; 13 lashes to the spine, to open up the skin and muscles, to expose it.
Why that? Why this? God knew that He would send His Son, at a time in history, when crucifixion was the choice of capital punishment. It was brutal and it was torture. It was done in public, for everyone to see. That is how MUCH He loves us. It is hard for me to comprehend. He didn't send Jesus at a time when lethal injection was used, no. He sent Him to be crucified, in a horrific manner, to demonstrate His great love for us (Romans 5:8).
Then, the Roman guards shoved a crown of thorns onto His head. They mocked Him. They spit on Him. They beat Him. And He was still alive. They forced Him to carry His own cross. And as Pastor Chris so lovingly pointed out, He carried His cross like a man. He bore the weight, after a brutal beating, for you and for me.
He made it to Golgotha, the Place of the Skull. His wrists and ankles were tied to the cross. His hands and feet were pierced with metal spikes to hold them to the wood. Most people died of suffocation, as their body weight collapsed their lungs. Traditionally, the guards broke the legs of the victim. Jesus did not suffer any broken bones, as prophesied in the Old Testament. Instead, they pierced His side...puncturing the pericardium, the sac around the heart, filled with pericardial (clear) fluid. When His was pierced with the spear, out flowed blood and water....signifying He died of a broken heart. He bore the weight of the world's sin. That's what He did for you and for me.
c. The Lamb was shared. (Ex. 12:4)
The Israelites shared their food with neighbors, if there were leftovers.
As believers in Jesus Christ, we must share the Lamb of God with everyone. He has given us everything we need. In Him, we lack no good thing.
----On this Good Friday, I pray that if you do not know Christ personally, you will take some time to reflect on what He did for you...so that you can know Him, have eternal life, and live a life on earth, full of freedom.(John 10:10)
---On this day, we remember the sacrifice He made for us to be reconciled to God. And we anxiously await the Resurrection celebration....reveling in the marvelous life He gives us through fellowship with His Son.
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