FEASTS: Pesach / Passover

FEASTS: Pesach / Passover

by | Jul 11, 2023 | Blueprint Reboot, Christological Reflections, Old Testament, Typology

Historical Survey – What Happened?

In Exodus we read about a man called Moses. He is noted as one of Israel’s greatest leaders – a prophet – a man of God. When he was still an infant, the pharaoh (afraid of a possible uprising/rebellion) ordered all the male children to be cast into the river, as soon as they were born. His mother, a Levite, saw her son and couldn’t bear to let him go, and thus she hid him for three months. After this period of time had passed and she could keep him hid no longer, she put him in a basket and laid it in the flags of the river.

The Bible says that his sister stood afar off – to wit what would be done to him. She was curious and wanted to see what would happen to her baby brother. Pharaoh’s daughter found him and had compassion on him. He grew up in the Palace, as royalty.

When he had come of age though, he found himself wandering about the city – and he saw the plight of his brethren. I think he probably walked the city streets a lot – his heart tugging at his sleeve, beckoning him to follow. I feel God opened his eyes to see the harsh reality that the Israelites had to endure – and it moved him to anger.

It was on one of these days that he saw an Egyptian smiting one of his own. To smite is to strike or inflict a blow – in this case, upon a Hebrew – and this struck a violent chord within his heart. It angered and dismayed him – and because of these feelings he struck out smiting the Egyptian, he slew the Egyptian man and laid him in the sand.

News of this reached Pharaoh and he sought justice – he wanted to kill Moses – but Moses fled and retreated to the land of Midian.

Here he met his wife, the daughter of a priest named Jethro. He married Zipporah and tended his father in law’s flock. In a sense this could’ve been a strange foreshadowing of what his future would have in store for him.

It was while leading Jethro’s flock, to the backside of the desert, that he came to Horeb – and it is here that the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire in the midst of a bush. Here, in the third chapter of Exodus, the Lord appears unto Moses in a Burning Bush and calls him to tend to His flock – to be a shepherd of a different kind.

God sends Moses back to Egypt with one thought: Set my people free. This must’ve been a terrible thought.

The writer Stephen M. Miller writes concerning Moses: “If he had wanted to go to Pharaoh, who thought himself a god, the last thing he wanted to do was tell Pharaoh that the real God said to release the Hebrew slaves used as cheap labor on pet projects. Moses was an old shepherd. He wanted to get older.”1

Yet, Moses went and we read in Exodus about the ten plagues that followed – the tenth being the most terrible. It is here where the Pesach is instituted.

God instructs the Hebrews to take a lamb, each according to his house, an unblemished lamb without spot. This lamb was to be slain and its blood painted on the door posts – the two side posts and the upper doorpost.

According to Dr. Richard Booker this was known as a threshold-blood covenant.

“Humankind’s earliest primitive altar to the one true God, as well as false gods, was the threshold or entrance into the home. The threshold altar was the place where people made their sacrifice to their gods. The purpose was to request protection from the family deity as well as inviting the deity into their house.”2

He says the blood smeared on the doorposts was a similar act – that it was an invitation for God to be present in that house as protector – He would stand in the doorway to keep the destroyer at bay.

On that faithful night the Hebrews ate the roast lamb and stayed in their houses and the angel of death moved through Egypt and smote the firstborn in every house it passed.

Flavius Josephus wrote: “Whence it is that we do still offer this sacrifice in like manner to this day, and call this festival Pascha which signifies the feast of the passover; because on that day God passed us over, and sent the plague upon the Egyptians; for the destruction of the first-born came upon the Egyptians that night, so that many of the Egyptians who lived near the king’s palace, persuaded Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go.”3

The plague came upon the Egyptians and they were dismayed. The Pharaoh called Moses to the Palace and

As Josephus wrote: “Accordingly he called for Moses, and bid them be gone; as supposing, that if once the Hebrews were gone out of the country, Egypt should be freed from its miseries.”4

So, the feast was called the Passover because it signified the night that God passed over and sent the plague upon the Egyptians.

It signified destruction to those who had not made the threshold-blood covenant with God, but life to those who had invited God into their homes as protector.

This feast is one that reminds us of God’s power and love – of how He delivered his people from the slavery of the Egyptians.

The Jewish historian, Martin Gilbert, wrote a series of letters to an elderly Jewish woman living in India. These letters explored Jewish history and culture in detail, and it is in these letters that we read: “So central is the story of the Exodus to Jewish life and tradition – as it was to Jewish survival – that Passover comes first in the calendar of Jewish festivals.”5

He makes a statement earlier in his book that enforces my hypothesis in the first section of this project: “For several thousand years Jewish laws and traditions have held the Jews together as an identifiable group. As Jewish communities grew and were dispersed throughout the globe, their traditions and beliefs linked them, however far apart they were.”6

We see that this festival is crucial to Jewish identity – they have been called out of slavery – led out of Egypt by the mighty hand of God.

Socio-Cultural Survey – What Happens?

Every year in the Hebrew month of Nisan the Passover Festival is held. During this time they celebrate the Exodus from Egypt – families gathering at home, often with many guests, to recall the miracles of the ten plagues and the parting of the Red Sea.

Regular cooking utensils, dishes and cutlery are put away and special ones (designated for use during the Passover only) are brought out for the week of festivities.

The only bread eaten during the festival is made without leaven and is called Matza (Matzot – plural).

The Saturday before Passover is known as ‘Shabbat ha-Gadol’ – the Great Sabbath. On ‘Shabbat ha-Gadol’ a portion of the Passover recitation is read and the whole Passover story is explained by a rabbi.

Pesach

The first night of the ceremony is known as the ‘seder’ (meaning order).

On the ‘seder’ night a lamb shank is placed on the table to remind them of the night that God ‘passed over’ the Hebrew first-borns whilst slaying those of the Egyptians.

Accompanying the shank on the table are bitter herbs. These herbs remind us of the bitterness of life under Egyptian rule. There is also a fruit paste called ‘charoses’ eaten at Passover as a symbol of the mortar the Jews had to mix when making bricks for the Pharaoh.

The ‘seder’ begins with the youngest child at the table asking ‘Why is this night different from all other nights?’

The answers to this question and others that follow are answered by those present, turn by turn around the table. There is a discussion about the historic Passover and its meaning, prayers before and after the meal, Psalms, songs and stories. All of these are set in a book called the ‘Haggadah’.

The reading of the Hagaddah before and after the meal is done with much chanting – and the dozen or so songs are sung with enthusiasm, enough to rouse even the sleepiest youngster.

Among Moroccan Jews and those of Moroccan origin, the last evening of Passover is a time for people to go door-to-door to wish each other a happy year.

It is also customary for the whole community to go out, on the day after Passover and recite a blessing over the trees.

Unleavened Bread

Bread plays a large role in this festival. The night before Passover there is a ceremony called the Chametz search. During the festival (Passover) a distinction is made between two kinds of bread. Chametz and Matzah. Chametz is bread with leaven, the term though is also extended to all non-kosher foods and the cooking utensils associated with them. Matzah however is unleavened bread. For the Seder nights a special kind of Matzah is prepared, this is called Matzah Shmurah – meaning watched or guarded matzah. This matzah is followed closely from the time of harvest throughout the baking process to ensure that it stays unleavened.

The Chametz search takes place the evening before Passover, and during this time the family searches for any traces of Chametz. This is a ceremonial and dramatic, yet serious practice. All the lights in the house are darkened and the head of the family recites a blessing by candle light after which he leads his family in the search for Chametz. It has become customary for a responsible member of the family to place crumbs or small pieces of bread throughout the house. These pieces are gathered with a feather and a wooden spoon.

These pieces of Chametz are ceremonially burned the next morning.

So serious is this ceremony that after the burning of the Chametz a declaration is made: “Any chametz or leaven that is in my possession, whether I have recognized it or not, whether I have seen it or not, whether I have removed it or not, should be annulled and become ownerless, like dust of the earth.”7

Prophetically the importance of this ceremony is not lost, but I will get there in a moment.

Firstfruits

The Feast of the Firstfruits was to be celebrated on the day after the Sabbath, and it is generally accepted that the Sabbath referred to is the weekly Sabbath.

Before any barley produce of the new crop could be eaten, or even touched, an omer had to be brought to the temple as a sacrifice unto the Lord. The purpose of this was to consecrate the harvest to God. The firstfruits represented the whole harvest. They had received the Promised Land from God’s hand and therefore they were but stewards of the land and its produce. This sacrificial act reminded them that God had given them the land and that the harvest was rightfully the Lord’s.

Prophetic Survey

Bethlehem is translated (from the Hebrew language), by James Strong, as ‘House of Bread’ (the Arabic form – Beit Lahm – translates as ‘house of meat’).8

According to Webster’s Dictionary9 the name Bethlehem has been corrupted and changed to Bedlam (through speech and linguistic ‘evolution’ – although deterioration would be a better word) – and such changes often have interesting results for interpreters and critics of all disciplines. Bedlam generally refers to a place appropriated to the confinement and care of the insane – for example a madhouse, but can also refer to a place where uproar and confusion prevail.

Bethlehem was the birthplace of Jesus, and it was here that Jesus was born into a bedlam of pagan origin – a world filled with sin and death – where pagan gods were worshiped and whole towns and villages were built according to the needs of these false deities10 – it was here that the Bread of Life was born to heal the insane of their infirmity – to set the captives free and overwhelm the kingdom of darkness – to bring light in a world where darkness reigned.

Jesus was the Lamb of God – spotless and without blemished. His blood was spilt to cover our iniquities and our sins – and His blood is painted on the doorposts of our heart, if only we choose to enter a threshold-blood covenant with Him – when we choose to invite Him into our hearts as our savior and protector.

Those whose doorposts are painted with the Blood of the Lamb, the will be saved from certain destruction and death.

Those who partake in the sacrifice of Christ shall receive peace that surpasses all understanding and will be able to rest assured in God’s mighty hand – secure in the knowledge that He is our rock and our salvation – His hand rests upon His children – a mighty fortress, a strong tower to shelter the righteous.

The Matzah can be seen as a type of Jesus since He is bread without leaven, watched through every temptation and trial and found without sin.

The annual search for the chametz is done by candle light and should be done as soon as possible after nightfall.

For the believer in Christ this aspect of the Passover has great importance – as soon as we realize our situation, that we are caught in darkness and sin, we must take the light that is God’s Word (The Psalmist calls it a lamp unto his feet and a light unto his way) and search for all traces of sin and eradicate it from our lives. We have to search for those undesirable characteristics of the flesh and ask God to consume it with His righteous fire. To burn away our sin, fear and doubt and purify us in the flames of His love, mercy and grace.

Dr. Richard Booker states the following in his book ‘Celebrating Jesus in the Biblical Feasts’: “As with the Feast of Unleavened Bread, it too relates to our condition as believers in and followers of Jesus. These feasts show the two different phases of Christian commitment that are necessary to change our spiritual condition. These two phases are separation and consecration.”11

These feasts point to Christ as the Lamb of God, the Bread of Life and the Firstfruits from the Dead.

He walked the earth as ‘unleavened bread’ without sin – and was found as the Spotless Lamb without spot or blemish. Finally, He died for our sins taking all our burdens upon Him to restore us and He was resurrected from the dead as the Firstfruits from the Dead.

Paul writes:

11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Rom 8:11)

The first aspect of the festival, the Pesach, is symbolic of Christ’s sacrifice for us.

The second aspect of the festival, the Unleavened Bread, symbolizes separation – the distinction between Chametz and Matzah – the righteous from unrighteousness.

Finally we find, in the third and final aspect of the Passover festival, eternal life in Christ Jesus.

Just as the firstfruits were waved to God as an act of consecration – consecrating the whole harvest, the resurrection of Christ (our intercessor) consecrated all of us (the whole harvest).

The Passover, therefore, doesn’t only remind us of the Israelites Exodus from Egypt, but also of our own journey, our own Exodus from the kingdom of darkness – for Jesus has called us out of the darkness and into His light – He has come to set the captives free.

We can rejoice, with our Jewish brothers and sisters, secure in the knowledge that our God is great and merciful and that He is salvation to those who cling to Him.

Amen.

1 Stephen M. Miller, Who’s who and Where’s Where in the Bible (Miller, 2004)

2 Dr. Richard Booker – Celebrating Jesus in the Biblical Feasts (Booker, 2009)

3 Flavius Josephus – The Antiquities of the Jews (chapter 14) (Josephus, 2001)

4 Flavius Josephus – The Antiquities of the Jews (Josephus, 2001)

5 Martin Gilbert – Letter 112 (Gilbert, 2002)

6 Martin Gilbert – Letter 104 (Gilbert, 2002)

7 The Artscroll Siddur – The Search for Chametz/Leaven (Scherman, 1990)

8 Strong’s Handi-Reference Concordance. (Strong, Strong’s Handi-Reference Concordance, 2006)

9 (Porter, 1913)

10 One example of this is a town called Beth Shan, a very impressive place which had hundreds of enormous Greek style columns lining the main street, running from perfect east to almost perfect west. They set that city up on an east/west axis in part so you could get a good last look at the sun before it set at night but also to make it

easier for the many sun worshippers who lived in that town. This town was a little bit south of Tiberius, a city on the Sea of Galilee.

11 Dr. Richard Booker – Celebrating Jesus in the Biblical Feasts (Booker, 2009)

The Feasts of the Old Testament

The Feasts of the Old Testament

by | Jul 11, 2023 | Christological Reflections, Old Testament, Typology

Revelations Abounding

I am a firm believer in the fact that there is one question that all individuals, at one point or another, ask and that is: Who am I?

I once read that it is the most asked question in the world.

We are caught in a constant struggle for identity, and we see this everywhere. We see it in the clothes we buy, the places we eat, and the cars we drive. We see it on billboards and on those screens that decorate at least one room in every house. The modern man (or woman) is caught in a storm, a hurricane, of opinions and ideas – we get all kinds of doctrines and dogmatic ideals shoved down our throats on a daily basis, but one thing always remains the same – there is one constant factor in a world of variables and that is God’s Word.

To understand who we are we need to understand the Pentateuch – the first five books of the Bible. To understand who we are, or who we are called to be, we need to understand God- and God has revealed Himself to us so wonderfully in the five books of Moses, through prophecy and typology but also through His actions – through His deeds and His words.

An example of this is Genesis 1:1:

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

This verse consists of only ten words yet it is filled with revelation.

The first three words – In the beginning – teaches us that God is eternal. He was there before time and space were created, before everything around us existed He was there. In these three words we also find that God transcends the material realm – that which can be observed – because He was there before it was created.

In the first three words we see two aspects of God – He is eternal and beyond this physical realm.

When we continue we find that He is a creative God – that He is God the Creator – He has the power to create. We also read and see that God is infinite in His power.

H.P. Lovecraft once wrote: “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”

H.P. Lovecraft was an author of science fiction and horror stories, and a brilliant one at that – he knew how the human mind worked – he understood emotions, especially fear, and knew how to draw one into a tale and keep you there – on the edge of your seat.

In ancient cultures the sky was the limit. It was hard to comprehend the stars and that which lay beyond the clouds – our ancient ancestors feared that which they could not comprehend and it is because of this fear that many ‘sky gods’ came into existence – it was because of this that sun and moon cults sprang up in many primitive cultures – a lack of understanding and the fear of the unknown.

In the midst of these cults and religions God speaks unto Moses revealing the creation of the Heavens and the Earth. God comforts His people saying (in a sense): Do not fear that which lies beyond your understanding but know that I am the Creator, that everything on this earth and beyond was created by My hand.

God speaks unto Moses and emphasizes one important fact – that He is the creator of the universe – of that which is seen and that which cannot be observed.

Colossians 1:16 explains this beautifully:

16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

God reassures His children of His power and His might – of His status as the Omnipotent and Omniscient God who has created and is aware of all things – both the known and the unknown.

All of this and more is found in the opening verse of the Genesis – the first verse in the Bible. I think it’s amazing how God can reveal so much in so little – just think, for a moment, about all the knowledge to be gained in working through the Pentateuch – there are revelations in abundance to be found.

This specific series however is not about the Pentateuch in general but about the Biblical Feasts and Festivals found therein as well as some of the other feasts mentioned in the Old Testament.

The Purpose of the Feasts

Émile Durkheim was a French Sociologist often cited, along with Karl Marx and Max Weber, as the principle architect of modern social science. He was the first to formally establish sociology as an academic discipline.

He was born in Épinal in Lorraine and came from a long line of devout French Jews. His family had seen three generations of Rabbis – his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.

Émile however decided not to answer the rabbinical call, as his forefathers had, and lead a completely secular life. The majority of his work was dedicated to religious phenomena – attempting to demonstrate that the religious experience (in general) stemmed from social factors rather than the divine.

Even though he chose not to follow family tradition he did not sever ties with his family or the Jewish community.

There have been many arguments concerning the influence Jewish thought might have had on his work, but the answer remains uncertain.

This being said, Durkheim firmly believed that any religion could be reduced to a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things. These beliefs and practices unite all those who adhere to it in a single moral community often called a church.

His definition of religion is favored by modern anthropologists of religion and could very well shed some light on the cultural/social purpose of the Biblical Feasts.

In an essay called ‘On the future of religion’ he states: “There can be no society which does not feel the need of upholding and reaffirming at regular intervals the collective sentiments and the collective ideas which make its unity and its personality.”

What he is saying is that every society (as defined by their cultural and social norms and ideals) eventually (and again there after) feels the need to reaffirm those collective sentiments and ideas that define them as a society.

Each feast has an individual purpose, these feasts allowed the Israelites to remember certain times when God stretched forth His hand to save them from certain situations (for instance – how God delivered them from Egypt), or reached out to His children to share His will and divine plan with them (the giving of the Law unto Moses).

These feasts are celebrated to unify the Jewish community – to gather God’s children that they may remember His mighty deeds –He is life unto those who abide in Him and salvation to those who dwell in His shadow.

I believe these feasts and festivals –these Holy days – were ordained by God to give the Israelites a sense of identity in a world rotten with idol worship and pagan cults. These days were given unto the Israelites to commemorate the times that their God triumphed over the old, pagan mythos and saved them from the physical powers and authorities of this world.

A statement made by Durkheim, one that stays with me is this: “in a word, the old gods are growing old or are already dead, and others are not yet born.”

These Holy Days are there to prove that God is eternally faithful and true – most of these feasts not only serve a physical, historical purpose but also a prophetic purpose. When we see the prophecies fulfilled there is no doubt in our minds that our God is not dead but living and true. Durkheim’s statement might apply to the pagan deities and idols but it does not and will never apply to our Lord and Savior.

In Isaiah 40:8 we read:

8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

The whole physical world may eventually wither and fade away but the word of our God will stand forever – unchanging and true. Always constant.

We read in Hebrews 1:10-12:

And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.

We see that everything that is in existence, everything that exists in this physical realm will perish, yet God will remain. Everything, the writer exclaims, will wax old – shall grow old and be changed – but God Almighty will remain the same forever. Our God is consistent – never changing, eternal and true.

These feasts are a testimony to the fact that God is our salvation – that He is love and hope in the face of adversity and this binds those who adhere to these beliefs and practices together in a moral and spiritual community as children of the Most High.

The purpose, therefore, of these feasts and festivals was to provide the Israelites with a social and spiritual identity that distinguished them from the gentile nations and their pagan religions. It supplied them with a constant affirmation of their shared sentiments, ideals and beliefs. It encouraged them to remember the great love and mercy of God and His work in the midst of His children.

Peace be with you as you read and explore the influence the Biblical Feasts might have on your life as a believer in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

Christ and Right Arm

Christ and Right Arm

by | Jun 9, 2023 | Christological Reflections, Proclaim Christ

Isaiah 53:1-2:

1Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

Jesus is often called the arm of the Lord, and we often read of Him as being seated at the right hand of the father – but this doesn’t indicate a physical position, it indicates a position of authority – it indicates a sense of action!

Being the right hand means that He can execute certain functions. He was revealed to man in physical form for a purpose – to go to the cross. That is a physical action.

Often in certain organizations a second in command is indicated as the ‘right-hand man’, often denoting that this person can act on behalf of the one in charge. The difference was that Jesus was the one in charge, acting on behalf of Himself as an intercessor on our behalf – that is to say, He acted as a right-hand man on behalf of Himself, having all the authority and sovereignty He has as God.

Psalm 98:1-2:

1O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory. 2The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the heathen.

Christ has revealed Himself to us, teaching us, instructing us on how to live. He has freed us, and His salvation is for all.

Finally we read, regarding His ascension –

John 20:17:

17Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

Christ ascends unto His father, the Right Arm of God, the Messiah being pulled back into His role as pre-messianic God in all fullness. His work is completed – He has defeated death and the power of sin – He has defeated Satan. He has reconciled man to God.

Christ and the Banquet

Christ and the Banquet

by | Jun 9, 2023 | Christological Reflections, Proclaim Christ

Song of Solomon 2:4:

4He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.

The reason for His redemptive work was the fact that we were lost, that we had been swallowed by death and depravity. We had been created as children, but had grown into wickedness and iniquity, thus we had lost our inheritance, and what a great inheritance it had been – God saying – rule over the earth, subdue it and reign it!

Christ’s banner over us is love – it is who He is and what He has done for us.

Paul states in Romans 8:15:

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

It is by Christ’s spirit that we are once again called children of God, it is through Him that we can once again be a part of His house, not as servants or slaves, but as sons.

He invites us to His table saying – do this in remembrance of me until I return.

He leads us to the banqueting room, and His banner over us is love.

Jesus – Christ and The Old Rugged Cross

Jesus – Christ and The Old Rugged Cross

by | Jun 9, 2023 | Christological Reflections, Proclaim Christ

Deuteronomy 21:23:

His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

Up until the death of the Lord Jesus upon the cross, it was merely the execution of a death sentence – much as the electric chair or a lethal injection. Being sentenced to the cross was an activity reserved for criminals – bandits and hooligans, thieves and murderers, libertines – yet our Liberator, the one who liberated us from death and sin, hung upon the cross, bearing the curse for us.

For the government it was an instrument through which justice, in human terms, was measured out, but when Christ was nailed to it, it became the instrument through which we were justified, our sins washed away by the fount of joy and love – the redemption of our wayward souls.

Through the cross, or rather, Jesus’ great redemptive work on the cross, the death warrant is torn and we are set free. Through His atoning work also, He reconciled man to God, replacing wrath with peace.

The cross, in the hands of man was a sign of rejection, but to Christ it is a sign of acceptance, of freedom, of healing, of righteousness – because sin was defeated on Golgotha – death was defeated on the cross, as Jesus took our curse upon His shoulders, and cast it into the depths of the deep.

The most precious metal known to God is not silver or gold, for we weren’t bought by corruptible things – the most precious metal known to man is those wretched nails, so symbolic of Christ’s ever enduring love for us – those nails which fastened Him to the cross, but in reality had no power to hold Him there.

In the cross we see Christ’s love, His mercy and His grace – without Christ the cross is rejection, pain, suffering, and death.

When we look at the cross we have to realize that upon that old, rugged cross there hung a young, rugged man – a carpenter, a teacher, a healer – our savior.

Without Christ the cross means nothing.

Jesus – Christ and Spotless Lamb

Jesus – Christ and Spotless Lamb

by | Jun 9, 2023 | Christological Reflections, Proclaim Christ

1 Peter 1:18-20:

18Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

Foreordained before the foundation of the world – Christ was ordained as our High Priest, as the one who would die for our sins, as the one to take our burdens upon Him, before the very foundations of our world. Long before we were even created, He was to be the Lamb upon the Cross.

He was to be our redeemer – the promised Messiah come from the seed of the woman. Peter says – He was manifest in these last times – for you! For us!

Christ is the promised Messiah, promised in Genesis 3, foreshadowed in Mosaic Law, and manifest in these last days – for us! The shadow took on form, and the prophecy became flesh, and hung on the cross to buy our freedom, our redemption – not by silver or gold – not by corruptible things, but by His blood.

Christ was without blemish and without spot, and offered Himself to cleanse and purify us.

In Romans 3:23: we read –

23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

We all fall short of the magnificent glory of God, not because we’re failures, not because we – as ourselves – are despicable in any way, on the contrary, God loves us – no, we fall short because hearts have become filled with despicable things. Our own depravity has become the hindrance that keeps us from experiencing His glory, His might, power and love, in our everyday lives.

Romans 5:12:

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Through Adam’s silence, his compromising with sin – his disobedience – we find that the knowledge of evil has become so integrated into who we are that it is at the very core of human nature. Depravity is a part of who we are, and we are dead because of it.

Christ however – being born of the Spirit, a virgin birth, was free from the bondage of sin and depravity, for the sin is in the blood, and the seed of man had not been present in His conception (the conception of the flesh He had made His tabernacle, not the conception of God).

By coming in the likeness of our stumbling block, He became the cornerstone of our salvation, the foundation of our relationship with God.

Through His sacrifice – through the Fruit of Him who hung on the tree – we are restored to that position of righteousness before God, and not because of our own ways or actions, but because of God’s infinite grace and mercy.

The blood of bulls and goats could only cover the sin – but the blood of the pure and unblemished, spotless Lamb of God washes away all our sin!

Romans 5:21:

That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

Through Christ’s righteousness grace reigns, leading to eternal life – an eternity with the eternal and unchanging one who is rich in mercy, who even when we were still dead in our trespasses, loved us and died for us, buying us with His pure and holy blood. Through His suffering and sorrow we are free to run and dance and proclaim the excellencies of Him who loved us – the spotless Lamb of God, the Lord Christ Jesus.