Showing posts with label Temple. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Temple. Show all posts

Famous Last Words - It Is Finished! (Good Friday Message notes)

Posted by Randy | Labels: , , , , , , , , , | Posted On Friday, April 6, 2012 at 7:00 PM

I wasn't able to have notes printed for our Good Friday service, so I've placed them here on my blog, along with the pictures used during the message. I intentionally used a great deal of Scripture because I find them so revealing and, ultimately, inspiring. I hope this helps and blesses you!




April 6, 2012  •  Good Friday
Famous Last Words - Part 7
"It Is Finished!"



Matthew 27:45 (NLT2): “From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.”

Romans 3:23 (NLT2): “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”

Romans 6:23 (NLT2): “For the wages of sin is death….”

atonement – at-one-ment


Model of the Temple

Diagram of the immediate Temple area, including the location of the Holy of Holies

Drawing of the Ark of the Covenant (no actual drawings exist)


Model of the Cherubim over the Mercy Seat (no actual models exist)


The High Priest behind the Curtain


Hebrew placing blood of the lamb on the door jam before the Angel of Death's pass-over


John 1:29 (NLT2): “…John (the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’”

Jesus: “‘For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.’” (Mark 10:45 NLT2)

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV): “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Isaiah 53:4-6 (NLT2): “4Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down.… 5But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. 6All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all.”

1 Peter 2:24 (NLT2): “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.”


Darkness over the land from the sixth hour until the ninth

Matthew 27:46 (NLT2): “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ — which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”


John 19:28-30 (NLT2): “28Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty.’ 29A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

1 John 2:2 (NLT2): “(Jesus Christ) himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.”

It is finished – tetelestai (Greek)

Colossians 2:13-14 (NLT2): “13You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. 14He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.”
  
Romans 5:8 (NLT2): “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

John 3:16-17 (NLT2): “‘16For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.’”

Romans 3:22 (NLT2): “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.”

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT2): “8God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

receiving communion vs. taking communion

Philippians 3:9 (CEV): “…I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ.”

Matthew 27:50-51 (NLT2): “50And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.…”


The Curtain separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, torn from top to bottom at Jesus' death
Hebrews 10:11-12 (NLT2): “11Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. 12But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.”

Hebrews 9:12 (NLT2): “With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.”

Hebrews 10:19-22 (NLT2): “19And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.”

Hebrews 10:23-25 (NLT2): “23Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”



24 HOURS-Week 4: God is No Longer Behind the Curtain

Posted by Randy | Labels: , , , , , , , , | Posted On Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 7:57 PM


"…Jesus said, 'It is finished.' With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." (John 19:30 NLT2)

In that moment, as Jesus died, he had accomplished what he came to do – his death paid the price for our sins. His mission was finished – freedom and forgiveness had been won for everyone for all time who puts their trust in Jesus. (see previous post)

But one of the most curious statements about this incredible moment is often lost on us until we understand what's really being revealed:

"And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom." (Mark 15:38 NLT2)

1/50th Scale Model of Jewish Temple in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus

I remember the first time someone explained to me the significance of this statement – it was huge to me. What I learned was that the Temple was believed by the Jews to be the place here on earth where God specially resided with His people. Yet, not in the entire Temple but in a special portion of it called the Holy of Holies. Behind a curtain sat the Ark of the Covenant, which the Israelites had carried with them for centuries, since the time God instructed Moses to build it and place the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments in it. This site, behind the curtain in the Temple, was the holiest site in all Judaism.


Drawing of the Ark of the Covenant

Temple Lay-out

It was here that the high priest entered only once a year, after an elaborate cleansing ritual, to offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people. No one else had direct access to God – they had to go through the priest. Yet, this sacrifice had to be repeated each year.

But, when Jesus died, this curtain, that separated us from God, was torn by God – from the top down, from God to us. We no longer had to go through intermediaries to talk to God. Jesus became our great High Priest, who offered himself as the one full, perfect, complete sacrifice for all people, for all time, as the Lamb of God. Now sitting at the right hand of God the Father, Jesus intercedes for us on our behalf. You and I don’t need any other human being to do that for us again.

"So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant." (Hebrews 9:11-15 NLT2)

"So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most." (Hebrews 4:14-16 (NLT2)

Through Christ, God is no longer hidden behind a human curtain of empty rituals and sacrifices. Jesus is our full access, back-stage pass to God, and he intercedes for us as our High Priest forever so that we can receive God's mercy and grace.

24 HOURS-Week 2: Pictures

Posted by Randy | Labels: , , , , , , , | Posted On Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 4:40 PM

I've been on Spring Break and didn't get a chance to post some pictures I wanted to make available that went along with my Week 2 message. You can view a map outlining Jerusalem in the time of Jesus in my first Week 1 post in this series. By the way, you can listen to the messages of this series online at this web address: www.gateway-community.org/live.html


Above is a modern-day view of the site where the holiest of all Jewish sites, the Temple, was located. The whole elevated area, enclosed now by walls, is called the Temple Mount. The gold dome you see there is not a Jewish structure but a Muslim structure called The Dome of the Rock. The second Temple (finished in 516 BC) was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD (The first Temple, built by Solomon, was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC). In 637 AD Jerusalem was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate army. A few decades later the Dome of the Rock was built, in the late Seventh Century, and is considered the third holiest site in Islam because it is believed to be the site where Muhammad ascended to heaven. To the right of the Dome of the Rock, barely visible in this picture, is also the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

In the center of the picture, below a stand of trees just to the lower right of the Dome of the Rock is what is today called the Western or Wailing Wall (see below). It is believed this is the only site remaining in which some of the ancient wall surrounding the second Temple is still evident. It has become a very holy site and a place of pilgrimage for Jews. When we understand the religious significance to both Jews and Muslims, as well as Christians, we begin to understand why there is so much tension and war in and around Israel and Jerusalem.



Below is a modern-day picture of the Kidron Valley which runs between the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives. The top wall visible in this picture is not from the original Temple but was built by Crusaders. However, behind this wall, and somewhat to the right, is the original site of the Temple and the present-day site of the Dome of the Rock (see above). Jesus and his followers would have crossed this valley to reach the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane, where he went to pray on his last night before his crucifixion. In this picture below are olive trees across the floor of the Kidron Valley.


Below is a series of steps that are from the time of Jesus and were very likely used by him and his disciples as they descended into the Kidron Valley heading toward the Garden of Gethsemane.


Finally, below is a modern-day picture of the Temple Mount, as seen from the Mount of Olives. Visible in the center of the picture, behind the wall, is the Dome of the Rock (see above).



24 HOURS-Week 1: Jerusalem Area Map and Upper Room

Posted by Randy | Labels: , , , , | Posted On Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 6:33 PM


Above is a map of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus' ministry, and in particular, the last 24 hours of his life (slightly modified from 24 Hours That Changed the World by Adam Hamilton, page 14). The events of Week 1 of this message primarily take place in the site marked as "Upper Room?" and the Temple (see model below).

The question mark in "Upper Room?" is there because scholars believe this is the correct location, but they are not absolutely certain. The structure on that site was destroyed and rebuilt several times through the centuries, but the present building and Upper Room dates to the 12th - 14th Centuries and was probably built by the Crusaders to commemorate this site. Below is a picture of that structure today.

Below is 1/50th scale model of what the Temple and its courts looked like at the time of Jesus. (Photo taken from Accordance PhotoGuide)

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