"For God does not want to save us by our own but by an extraneous righteousness, one that does not originate in ourselves but comes to us from beyond ourselves, which does not arise on earth but comes from heaven."
Martin Luther
Part 6 of 6 New Beginnings – The Passover:
"Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying,
Martin Luther
Part 6 of 6 New Beginnings – The Passover:
"Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying,
'On the tenth of this month they are each one to take a lamb for themselves,
according to their fathers' households, a lamb for each household.
'Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old;
'Your lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old;
you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.
'You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month,
'You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month,
then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel is to kill it at twilight.”
Exodus 12:3,5,6 NASB
God’s direction to the children of Israel was quite specific with regard to the Passover lamb
Exodus 12:3,5,6 NASB
God’s direction to the children of Israel was quite specific with regard to the Passover lamb
(or goat). They were to take the animal into their homes for five days before the day of its sacrifice. During this time the lamb was to be carefully examined to make certain that it was perfect, without even the smallest blemish.
This was a foreshadowing prophecy of the true Passover Lamb, the Lamb of God who also entered the Holy City of God five days prior to His crucifixion. When Jesus entered Jerusalem the people were bringing lambs into their homes in preparation of the Passover.
While the religious leaders of the day were plotting to have the Lord put to death, households all over Jerusalem were going through the tradition of examining their Passover lambs for flaws. The Pharisees and Sadducees went to great lengths to demonstrate that Jesus was flawed – an enemy of the state. Despite their best efforts and false witnesses, Jesus was judged as being without flaw… the perfect Passover sacrifice.
On the day of Preparation (the day when the Passover lambs were traditionally sacrificed our Lord was crucified.
“Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation,
since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.”
John 19:42 NASB
As the Passover lambs were being sacrificed in homes throughout Jerusalem, the perfect Passover Lamb was being slain in their midst.
The disciples who had heard the Lord predict the events of this day, totally missed it – they were all (not just Peter) too busy hiding from the religious rulers, suspecting that they were next on their hit list.
The precious Passover Lamb is still being missed today. Many people, even some believers, are still vainly attempting to earn their way into heaven through good deeds in lieu of the blood of the Lamb. Such low thinking is an abomination before God and an affront to the Cross of Jesus Christ.
The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear,
your whole body will be full of light.
But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.
If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
Matthew 6:22-23 NASB
To proclaim works as a path to salvation is to deny the power of the Cross.
"I do not nullify the grace of God,
for if righteousness comes through the Law,
then Christ died needlessly."
Galatians 2:21 NASB
The Christian experience is not one of working to gain the approval of God. It is a walk founded in having the approval of God because of the finished work of Jesus Christ. Our love of the Savior comes out of the fact that He first loved us, was crucified for us, was buried for us, and was resurrected that we might have life and life abundant. He paid the full price for our acceptance before the Father. We can add nothing to the work of Christ Jesus that will make us more acceptable.
One of the main problems in the church today is that we often fail to examine the Passover Lamb of God. Many who call themselves Christians, who go to church week-after-week, have little of no true fellowship with Jesus. A Christian walk based on an emotional experience is most likely going to end in disillusionment. It is only when we take the Lord into our homes and sup with Him at the table of His presence, that we develop a relationship that will transcend the trials and tribulations of this life.
There are many who call Jesus Lord yet they do not really know Him. Such relationships hold an inherent danger, as the Lord said Himself:
“Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,'
will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
Many will say to Me on that day,
'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name,
and in Your name cast out demons,
and in Your name perform many miracles?'
"And then I will declare to them,
'I never knew you;
depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness (evil).’
Matthew 7:21-23
There is a difference between believing in one’s mind and one’s heart. There are many who profess Christ and have an academic understanding, but are devoid of a heart-to-heart experience. They may know the Word of God but fail to know the God of the Word. Walking with Jesus is not an intellectual exercise. The closer we examine and get to know the Passover Lamb the greater will be the source of light and life in our lives.
Our relationship must be one that is genuine with the Lord; one based on intimacy and time spent alone with one another. If that relationship is not a legitimate one it will never stand in the testing which comes to every spiritual seed that is planted in our lives.
"And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying,
"Behold, the sower went out to sow;
and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road,
and the birds came and ate them up.
"Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil;
and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.
"But when the sun had risen, they were scorched;
and because they had no root, they withered away.
"Others fell among the thorns,
and the thorns came up and choked them out.
"And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop,
some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.
"He who has ears, let him hear."
And the disciples came and said to Him,
"Why do You speak to them in parables?"
Jesus answered them,
"To you it has been granted to know
the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,
but to them it has not been granted.
"For whoever has, to him more shall be given,
and he will have an abundance;
but whoever does not have,
even what he has shall be taken away from him.
"Therefore I speak to them in parables;
because while seeing they do not see,
and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
"In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,
'YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND;
YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;
FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL,
WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR,
AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES,
OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES,
HEAR WITH THEIR EARS,
AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN,
AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.'
"But blessed are your eyes, because they see;
and your ears, because they hear.
"For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men
desired to see what you see, and did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
"Hear then the parable of the sower.
"When anyone hears the word of the kingdom
and does not understand it,
the evil one comes and snatches away
what has been sown in his heart.
This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.
"The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places,
this is the man who hears the word
and immediately receives it with joy;
yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary,
and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word,
immediately he falls away.
"And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns,
this is the man who hears the word,
and the worry of the world
and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word,
and it becomes unfruitful.
"And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil,
this is the man who hears the word and understands it;
who indeed bears fruit and brings forth,
some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."
Matthew 13:1-23 [CAPS: Quoting Isaiah 6:9-10]
There is great wisdom in beholding the Lamb, in examining the Passover Lamb of God thoroughly. In the examination of the Lamb, we will come to know Him intimately. In His intimacy we will find newness of life and divine promise, purpose, power and passion for the establishing of His kingdom in our hearts and in our spheres of influence.
30
fkj
This was a foreshadowing prophecy of the true Passover Lamb, the Lamb of God who also entered the Holy City of God five days prior to His crucifixion. When Jesus entered Jerusalem the people were bringing lambs into their homes in preparation of the Passover.
While the religious leaders of the day were plotting to have the Lord put to death, households all over Jerusalem were going through the tradition of examining their Passover lambs for flaws. The Pharisees and Sadducees went to great lengths to demonstrate that Jesus was flawed – an enemy of the state. Despite their best efforts and false witnesses, Jesus was judged as being without flaw… the perfect Passover sacrifice.
On the day of Preparation (the day when the Passover lambs were traditionally sacrificed our Lord was crucified.
“Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation,
since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.”
John 19:42 NASB
As the Passover lambs were being sacrificed in homes throughout Jerusalem, the perfect Passover Lamb was being slain in their midst.
The disciples who had heard the Lord predict the events of this day, totally missed it – they were all (not just Peter) too busy hiding from the religious rulers, suspecting that they were next on their hit list.
The precious Passover Lamb is still being missed today. Many people, even some believers, are still vainly attempting to earn their way into heaven through good deeds in lieu of the blood of the Lamb. Such low thinking is an abomination before God and an affront to the Cross of Jesus Christ.
The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear,
your whole body will be full of light.
But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.
If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
Matthew 6:22-23 NASB
To proclaim works as a path to salvation is to deny the power of the Cross.
"I do not nullify the grace of God,
for if righteousness comes through the Law,
then Christ died needlessly."
Galatians 2:21 NASB
The Christian experience is not one of working to gain the approval of God. It is a walk founded in having the approval of God because of the finished work of Jesus Christ. Our love of the Savior comes out of the fact that He first loved us, was crucified for us, was buried for us, and was resurrected that we might have life and life abundant. He paid the full price for our acceptance before the Father. We can add nothing to the work of Christ Jesus that will make us more acceptable.
One of the main problems in the church today is that we often fail to examine the Passover Lamb of God. Many who call themselves Christians, who go to church week-after-week, have little of no true fellowship with Jesus. A Christian walk based on an emotional experience is most likely going to end in disillusionment. It is only when we take the Lord into our homes and sup with Him at the table of His presence, that we develop a relationship that will transcend the trials and tribulations of this life.
There are many who call Jesus Lord yet they do not really know Him. Such relationships hold an inherent danger, as the Lord said Himself:
“Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,'
will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
Many will say to Me on that day,
'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name,
and in Your name cast out demons,
and in Your name perform many miracles?'
"And then I will declare to them,
'I never knew you;
depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness (evil).’
Matthew 7:21-23
There is a difference between believing in one’s mind and one’s heart. There are many who profess Christ and have an academic understanding, but are devoid of a heart-to-heart experience. They may know the Word of God but fail to know the God of the Word. Walking with Jesus is not an intellectual exercise. The closer we examine and get to know the Passover Lamb the greater will be the source of light and life in our lives.
Our relationship must be one that is genuine with the Lord; one based on intimacy and time spent alone with one another. If that relationship is not a legitimate one it will never stand in the testing which comes to every spiritual seed that is planted in our lives.
"And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying,
"Behold, the sower went out to sow;
and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road,
and the birds came and ate them up.
"Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil;
and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.
"But when the sun had risen, they were scorched;
and because they had no root, they withered away.
"Others fell among the thorns,
and the thorns came up and choked them out.
"And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop,
some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.
"He who has ears, let him hear."
And the disciples came and said to Him,
"Why do You speak to them in parables?"
Jesus answered them,
"To you it has been granted to know
the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,
but to them it has not been granted.
"For whoever has, to him more shall be given,
and he will have an abundance;
but whoever does not have,
even what he has shall be taken away from him.
"Therefore I speak to them in parables;
because while seeing they do not see,
and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
"In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,
'YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND;
YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;
FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL,
WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR,
AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES,
OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES,
HEAR WITH THEIR EARS,
AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN,
AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.'
"But blessed are your eyes, because they see;
and your ears, because they hear.
"For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men
desired to see what you see, and did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
"Hear then the parable of the sower.
"When anyone hears the word of the kingdom
and does not understand it,
the evil one comes and snatches away
what has been sown in his heart.
This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.
"The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places,
this is the man who hears the word
and immediately receives it with joy;
yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary,
and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word,
immediately he falls away.
"And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns,
this is the man who hears the word,
and the worry of the world
and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word,
and it becomes unfruitful.
"And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil,
this is the man who hears the word and understands it;
who indeed bears fruit and brings forth,
some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."
Matthew 13:1-23 [CAPS: Quoting Isaiah 6:9-10]
There is great wisdom in beholding the Lamb, in examining the Passover Lamb of God thoroughly. In the examination of the Lamb, we will come to know Him intimately. In His intimacy we will find newness of life and divine promise, purpose, power and passion for the establishing of His kingdom in our hearts and in our spheres of influence.
30
fkj
No comments:
Post a Comment