In light of the upcoming celebration of the ressurection of Jesus, I wanted to take a moment to reflect upon what He has done for me. Through my (almost) year long study of the book of Hebrews, I have learned so much about the sacrifice that Jesus made and the symbolism involved in the Old Testament system of offering gifts and sacrifices. God never desired the sacrifice of calves and goats for they never cleansed the consciousness of the sinner. Jesus was the one time, all-perfect and all-satisfying sacrifice that cleansed our consciousnesses of sin. When Jesus returns a second time, He will do so without reference to our sin. Praise God for His mercy and the merciful provision of His perfect Son.
I pray you have a restful Easter holiday. Don't forget what we are truly celebrating - the death and ressurection of Christ our King. May the following hymn remind you of what was completed in Jesus.
The atoning work is done,
The Victim's blood is shed;
And Jesus now has gone
His people's cause to plead.
He stands in heaven, their great High Preist,
And bears their names upon His breast.
He sprinkled with His blood
The mercy-seat above;
For justice had withstood
The purposes of love:
But justice now withstands no more,
And mercy yields its boundless store.
No temple made with hands
His place of service is;
In heaven itself He stands,
A heavenly priesthood His:
In Him the shadows of the law
Are all fulfilled, and now withdraw.
And though awhile He be
Hid from the eyes of men,
His people look to see
Their great High Priest again:
In brightest glory He will come
And take His waiting people home.
by Thomas Kelly
For more information on why or how Jesus replaced the Old Covenant system of sacrificing calves and goats read the book of Hebrews. The book is wonderfully saturated with explanations on how Jesus is the better sacrifice; I'm studying chapter nine at the moment and this chapter has helped prepare my heart for the celebration of Jesus' ressurection.
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Friday, November 13, 2009
Jesus was a man
If someone were to ask me a series of true-false questions about Jesus I feel like I would get most of them correct.
True-Mary was Jesus' mother
True-Jesus was born in a stable
True-Jesus came to earth as a man, yet was still God
But if I had to describe something in detail about the nature of Jesus as a man, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to describe it in depth. That is until last night. Now, don't let me mislead you here, I'm not trying to win a bible trivia contest. I just wanted to admit that something HUGE clicked for me last night during week 8 of our Hebrews bible study.
I've always assumed (incorrectly) that Jesus had a man's body but was operating with God's brain. How else then could he live a perfectly blameless life, right? I don't know any human being who has ever been able to live a sin free life; there always seems to be something entangling us. The one person that this does not apply to is Jesus; he was wholly man (even his brain and thought process) and yet he remained sin-free his entire life. Now, let me back this up with a little evidence just so that we're scripturally on the same page.
Jesus was conceived in Mary's womb just as any other child would have been (Luke 1:26-35). Jesus had siblings and was son to a carpenter (Luke 2:4-12); he was was made fun of like a regular Jewish child (Matthew 13:55-56). He was circumcised and sacrifices were offered to God on his behalf (Luke 2:21-24). He wasn't born all knowing about scripture, but He grew in wisdom and stature, having to learn just like other children (Luke 2:51-52).
That Luke 2 reference is what really took my breath away last night. Jesus didn't just know everything. He was learning alongside other Jewish children. Now let's take this a step further. If it wasn't hard enough for Jesus (God of the universe) to simply be a human in every aspect, he also had to take on sin even though he was sinless. Wrap your human mind around that. Would you want to/be able to bear the weight of the world's sin? Once for all time. Completely.
I know that it is a stretch to imagine taking on the sin of the world so let's break that down a bit more. Look at Luke 22:39-44 or Matthew 26:36-44. Jesus knows what lays ahead of him and he is praying about it all night to God; he even tells his disciples "my soul is crushed with grief to the point of death." Let's apply that to us, yep, you and me. Have you ever been witness to sin or participated in it, and somewhere in the middle you were overcome with grief and disappointment because you realized the severity of what was going on. And I'm not even talking about something like murder. I distinctly remember a time in my sophomore year of college when I was out-and-out avoiding God on purpose. Refusing to pray and refusing to read the bible for months. The weight of putting God off was like getting hit with a load of bricks head on. We each have experiences with sin but realizing how heavy that sin can be around our neck can be staggering. Now imagine this. Jesus-wholly man. Never sinned. Perfect in every aspect. He took on the sin of the world, once for all time and for every person that will ever exist. Ah, now I get what he means when his soul was being crushed to the point of death. I imagine his earthly body having a hard time breathing. I imagine feeling like I was being torn apart.
Can you imagine any other human being doing this? I can't. While he was praying in the garden, he asked God for another "cup" but ended with a request for God's will to be completed in his life, not his own. In addition to not being able to fathom the weight of the world's sin on a perfect and blameless man, I also can't imagine myself asking God in this situation for his will to be completed over mine.
Do you get it now? Jesus-human being in every aspect, including his brain and thought process. He lived a perfect life, tempted in every way we are, yet remained sinless. This wholly human being took on sin. For us. You, me, my neighbors. It still takes my breath away just thinking about it. A man died for me. Jesus died for me.
True-Mary was Jesus' mother
True-Jesus was born in a stable
True-Jesus came to earth as a man, yet was still God
But if I had to describe something in detail about the nature of Jesus as a man, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to describe it in depth. That is until last night. Now, don't let me mislead you here, I'm not trying to win a bible trivia contest. I just wanted to admit that something HUGE clicked for me last night during week 8 of our Hebrews bible study.
I've always assumed (incorrectly) that Jesus had a man's body but was operating with God's brain. How else then could he live a perfectly blameless life, right? I don't know any human being who has ever been able to live a sin free life; there always seems to be something entangling us. The one person that this does not apply to is Jesus; he was wholly man (even his brain and thought process) and yet he remained sin-free his entire life. Now, let me back this up with a little evidence just so that we're scripturally on the same page.
Jesus was conceived in Mary's womb just as any other child would have been (Luke 1:26-35). Jesus had siblings and was son to a carpenter (Luke 2:4-12); he was was made fun of like a regular Jewish child (Matthew 13:55-56). He was circumcised and sacrifices were offered to God on his behalf (Luke 2:21-24). He wasn't born all knowing about scripture, but He grew in wisdom and stature, having to learn just like other children (Luke 2:51-52).
That Luke 2 reference is what really took my breath away last night. Jesus didn't just know everything. He was learning alongside other Jewish children. Now let's take this a step further. If it wasn't hard enough for Jesus (God of the universe) to simply be a human in every aspect, he also had to take on sin even though he was sinless. Wrap your human mind around that. Would you want to/be able to bear the weight of the world's sin? Once for all time. Completely.
I know that it is a stretch to imagine taking on the sin of the world so let's break that down a bit more. Look at Luke 22:39-44 or Matthew 26:36-44. Jesus knows what lays ahead of him and he is praying about it all night to God; he even tells his disciples "my soul is crushed with grief to the point of death." Let's apply that to us, yep, you and me. Have you ever been witness to sin or participated in it, and somewhere in the middle you were overcome with grief and disappointment because you realized the severity of what was going on. And I'm not even talking about something like murder. I distinctly remember a time in my sophomore year of college when I was out-and-out avoiding God on purpose. Refusing to pray and refusing to read the bible for months. The weight of putting God off was like getting hit with a load of bricks head on. We each have experiences with sin but realizing how heavy that sin can be around our neck can be staggering. Now imagine this. Jesus-wholly man. Never sinned. Perfect in every aspect. He took on the sin of the world, once for all time and for every person that will ever exist. Ah, now I get what he means when his soul was being crushed to the point of death. I imagine his earthly body having a hard time breathing. I imagine feeling like I was being torn apart.
Can you imagine any other human being doing this? I can't. While he was praying in the garden, he asked God for another "cup" but ended with a request for God's will to be completed in his life, not his own. In addition to not being able to fathom the weight of the world's sin on a perfect and blameless man, I also can't imagine myself asking God in this situation for his will to be completed over mine.
Do you get it now? Jesus-human being in every aspect, including his brain and thought process. He lived a perfect life, tempted in every way we are, yet remained sinless. This wholly human being took on sin. For us. You, me, my neighbors. It still takes my breath away just thinking about it. A man died for me. Jesus died for me.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
The Lamb of God
The more I study my bible the more I understand how essential it is to learn about context. When I simply read over a passage, think about it and move on, I don't find much significance or depth to the passage. What I often fail to do is think about who the author and recipients were and what their world was like when the text was written. I usually learn that Jewish culture plays a huge role in understanding what is presented and also that I usually need to refer to some part of the Old Testament to really understand the big picture.
Case in point--what is really meant when Jesus is described as the Lamb of God? Just off the top of my head I think about him being a blameless, perfect sacrifice. I think about the huge role sacrifice played in Old Testament times where there were very specific procedures and requirements for sacrifices. I think about the blood of calves and goats being sprinkled on books and clothing in the temple. But what I fail to think about is the value of the sacrifice--be it an actual lamb before Christ or more importantly, the value of Christ as a sacrifice for my sins.
What really got me thinking about this was the book I am currently reading, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. I don't want to lead you to think this is a book on Christianity because it most certainly is not. But in telling the story of an American mountaineer's quest to build schools in Pakistan, the author shares a story when a regional nurmadhar (chief) tries to stop the "American infidel" from educating local girls. He and his henchman visit the village where construction is currently underway and demands 12 of their largest rams if they wish for construction to continue and for no one to be hurt. Without batting an eye Haji Ali, the local nurmadhar, sends the village children to retrieve the rams. After handing the rams over, he leads his people back to the village and joyfully says that while the other chief may have food for a time, his people will have education forever. He didn't question his decision and fully understood that the sacrifice of those rams was more than worth it.
The picture depicted in the book was beautiful and made me think so much more about the sacrifice that was given up for me. In my book, Greg, the American mountaineer, described the rams as the most cherished and valuable posession of each family in the village. They were treated like firstborn children and it was devastating to willingly sacrifice these rams for the betterment of their community. After reading this chapter though, my eyes were opened in a whole new way to the value and importance of a sacrificial lamb. Rams must have been treated and thought of in a similar fashion in Jewish culture. The people were looking for something that could be given to God to cover their sins--they needed as perfect a sacrifice as they could find. Rams (and other animals) were sacrificed on an annual basis to act as an atonement for the sins of the people (for more info on Old Testament sacrifices, read Leviticus). These sacrifices could never complete the job though and that's where our Lamb of God comes into the picture.
Jesus is called the Lamb of God (John 1:29) because he was the perfect sacrifice for my sins. He completely satisfied God's wrath. Forever. Death and sin have been conquered. Knowing this, and having come to understand more about the value of a perfect sacrifice, I want to think of Jesus more like those Pakistani children thought of their rams. Do I cherish Him? Do I value Him and lavish attention and care on my relationship with Him? I want to place more value on my relationship with Jesus knowing that He was willingly sacrificed so that I might have life. I also yearn to know the depth of His sacrifice because He is the one, perfect sacrifice for all time.
Case in point--what is really meant when Jesus is described as the Lamb of God? Just off the top of my head I think about him being a blameless, perfect sacrifice. I think about the huge role sacrifice played in Old Testament times where there were very specific procedures and requirements for sacrifices. I think about the blood of calves and goats being sprinkled on books and clothing in the temple. But what I fail to think about is the value of the sacrifice--be it an actual lamb before Christ or more importantly, the value of Christ as a sacrifice for my sins.
What really got me thinking about this was the book I am currently reading, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. I don't want to lead you to think this is a book on Christianity because it most certainly is not. But in telling the story of an American mountaineer's quest to build schools in Pakistan, the author shares a story when a regional nurmadhar (chief) tries to stop the "American infidel" from educating local girls. He and his henchman visit the village where construction is currently underway and demands 12 of their largest rams if they wish for construction to continue and for no one to be hurt. Without batting an eye Haji Ali, the local nurmadhar, sends the village children to retrieve the rams. After handing the rams over, he leads his people back to the village and joyfully says that while the other chief may have food for a time, his people will have education forever. He didn't question his decision and fully understood that the sacrifice of those rams was more than worth it.
The picture depicted in the book was beautiful and made me think so much more about the sacrifice that was given up for me. In my book, Greg, the American mountaineer, described the rams as the most cherished and valuable posession of each family in the village. They were treated like firstborn children and it was devastating to willingly sacrifice these rams for the betterment of their community. After reading this chapter though, my eyes were opened in a whole new way to the value and importance of a sacrificial lamb. Rams must have been treated and thought of in a similar fashion in Jewish culture. The people were looking for something that could be given to God to cover their sins--they needed as perfect a sacrifice as they could find. Rams (and other animals) were sacrificed on an annual basis to act as an atonement for the sins of the people (for more info on Old Testament sacrifices, read Leviticus). These sacrifices could never complete the job though and that's where our Lamb of God comes into the picture.
Jesus is called the Lamb of God (John 1:29) because he was the perfect sacrifice for my sins. He completely satisfied God's wrath. Forever. Death and sin have been conquered. Knowing this, and having come to understand more about the value of a perfect sacrifice, I want to think of Jesus more like those Pakistani children thought of their rams. Do I cherish Him? Do I value Him and lavish attention and care on my relationship with Him? I want to place more value on my relationship with Jesus knowing that He was willingly sacrificed so that I might have life. I also yearn to know the depth of His sacrifice because He is the one, perfect sacrifice for all time.
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