Showing posts with label Sacrifice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sacrifice. Show all posts

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.

How Much Do I Really Want to Follow Jesus?

Posted by Randy | Labels: , , , , , , | Posted On Saturday, October 17, 2009 at 12:01 AM

Today's reading covers two chapters - Acts 6-7 - telling the story of Stephen, the first martyr of the Christian faith. But, as I read his story, I was also drawn back to Acts 5.

As Acts 5 ends, the apostles are leaving the Jewish high council, called the Sanhedrin, after having been flogged and warned for the second time to stop speaking about Jesus. Acts 5:41 haunted me yesterday: "The apostles left the high council rejoicing that God had counted them worthy to suffer disgrace for the name of Jesus." (NLT) I had to ask myself if I was willing to "suffer disgrace" for Jesus' sake.

And then I read Acts 6-7, where Stephen, one of the original seven deacons (the Greek word diakanos refers to service or servanthood), is arrested by the religious authorities, based on "lying witnesses." As Stephen stood before the Jewish high council (the third time a Christ follower had come before them in recent days), the writer of Acts, Luke, tells us "...his face became as bright as an angel's." (6:15)

Stephen stood before the council and basically gave them a history lesson, recounting the stories of Abraham, Moses, and David - three of the greatest Hebrews of all time. Then he points out that the Jewish people persecuted God's prophets, and even killed the Messiah (Jesus). The council went ballistic, but Stephen, "full of the Holy Spirit," just gazed off into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus at His right hand (7:55).

They took Stephen out and began stoning him. As they began, Stephen's accusers threw their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul, whom we'll read more about in a couple of chapters. As they stoned Stephen, and he nears death, from what had to have been a horrific way to die, he prayed, "'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,'" and "'Lord, don't charge them with this sin!'" (7:59-60)

I'm struck by the total abandon by which these apostles and first followers of Jesus counted it joy to be persecuted on his behalf. I'm struck by Stephen's last words - words of faith and forgiveness, much like Jesus' own last words on the cross. And then I think about me. Do I have this kind of faith? Would I stand up for Jesus before an angry group of leaders? Would I be glad that I was suffering for my faith? Would I be willing to die a horrible death for Jesus' sake?

The other part of this is that I recognize that today, in various corners of the world, Christian's are still rejoicing for suffering for Christ's sake. In fact, more people died for Jesus Christ in the 20th Century than the previous 19 combined. And I ask myself - am I that committed? We're fortunate that in this country we don't face that kind of persecution for following Jesus, but then I wonder if that has made me luke warm about my faith. If not much is on the line, how much of a follower am I?

Honestly, I don't have all the answers to this. But as I wrote about Acts 5:41 in my Life Journal yesterday, I wrote this prayer: "Father, continue your work in me. Help me withstand the pain and suffering of faith that I might become more like the apostles, and more and more like Jesus." Having the faith of the apostles means we have to take up our cross and carry it, through suffering and shame and worse. But I believe the joy of the cross outweighs everything else. I believe this - now, can I live it?

Jesus: Our Passover Lamb

Posted by Randy | Labels: , , , , , , , | Posted On Friday, October 9, 2009 at 12:01 AM

In Luke 22 it's now Thursday, and Jesus has been in Jerusalem since he entered on Sunday, Palm Sunday. He and his disciples prepare to celebrate the Passover, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed. This celebration remembers when the Hebrews left Egypt over a thousand years earlier.

Moses had confronted Pharaoh to let the Hebrew people go. Pharaoh continued to refuse, even though God sent several plagues. Finally, God promised one last plague - the death of every first-born son and first-born male animal in Egypt. In order to avoid the plague, the Hebrews were to sacrifice a one-year-old male sheep or goat with no defects, and smear the blood on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they would eat the animal. God explained what would happen next:

"'On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the LORD! But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.'" (Exodus 12:12-13 NLT2)

Now, this Passover meal was being repeated, but this time the sacrificial lamb, with no defects, was Jesus himself. His blood would save all those who put their faith in him, who marked themselves with the "blood of the lamb." "...Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us." (1 Corinthians 5:7 NLT2)

"For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God." (1 Peter 1:18-19 NLT2)

Here in Luke we see Jesus willingly making this sacrifice for the sake of all people. Yet, he told his disciples to always remember what he had done. The Passover ritual, that helped the Jews remember how God saved them from the Egyptians, was being transformed into what we call the Lord's Supper or communion. A new ritual, to help us remember how God saved us from sin and death through the "spotless Lamb of God."

Yet, Jesus offered this sacrifice not just for those who were already his followers, but also for those who had not yet begun to follow him. He offered it for you and me, born two thousand years later, but he also offered it for those around us who don't yet know him or trust him. Jesus did this because he did not want a single one of us to die, and he invites us today to bring the lost and hurting to him, so his sacrifice can save them, too!

We can never repay Jesus for all he's done for us, but by faith we offer our lives back to him, to serve him and those he seeks to save. And as the church, the body of Christ, we're here to not only receive his gift, but to share it with the world around us.
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