He Is Risen!!!

Blessed is The Lord! Bless His Holy name! Oh, how I love the resurrection season. This is the big deal! This is what it’s all about!

The disciple John wrote in John chapter 3 verse 16 “For God so loved the world He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life.” Wow!

Not only that, but most importantly, we are cleansed and freed from all our sin and so can now approach and have a relationship with God our Father as He originally intended in the Garden of Eden.

God is pure holiness. That’s why it was impossible for people to have a relationship with God. Humans are sinners. That is unfortunately the condition we find ourselves in. As you know, especially from my last post, I am most certainly not an innocent. Oil and water don’t mix, and neither do holiness and sin. And THANK YOU GOD for Jesus!

Jesus is the only human who was perfect. He actually had no sin. He voluntarily came down and gave His life and blood as payment for our sins. He said Himself in John chapter 10 verse 11, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Please understand two really important things. He is called the “lamb of God” in John chapter one verse 29: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” This refers to Jesus being the ultimate Passover lamb for our sins. Exodus chapter 12 verse 5, where the original Passover began in Egypt, God told the Israelites through Moses “The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.”

Jesus was WITHOUT SIN and therefore able to qualify as an acceptable sacrifice. Anything else would have been considered an abomination. Since we know Jesus rose from the dead, clearly His sacrifice was accepted. Now because He did this, the Holy Spirit came to earth and enters every person who has declared Jesus as their Lord and Saviour! YAY GOD!!! I love the voice of the Holy Spirit! So gentle and kind, not condemning, leading, guiding, helping. He is the Spirit of God, actually speaking with us and even operating through us for healing and intervening prayer. Glory!

Here’s the other important point. Jesus LOVES LOVES LOVES you! Yes! YOU! YOU! YOU! Many have said that the Jews killed Jesus, or the Romans killed Jesus, or even that we all killed Jesus. We did not kill Jesus!!! Remember what He said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” He laid it down HIMSELF!!! He did this entirely on His own because he LOVES YOU! Because He wants His relationship with us back again. Ever miss someone you love?

Another verse that proves He gave His life is this: John 18 verses 5 and 6. Jesus was asking the temple guards who came to arrest Him in the Garden of Gethsemane who they were looking for… 5“Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered. Jesus said, “I AM He.” And Judas His betrayer was standing there with them. 6 When Jesus said, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

You see? He was so full of power, the guards couldn’t even stand up to Him. So there was nothing involuntary about this mighty sacrifice. What a saviour. I cannot ever do anything to thank Him for His stupendous act of love.

You know what else? Check out John chapter 15 verses 12 through 14. Jesus said,” 12This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are My friends if you do what I command you.

Get this…His friends…..He is calling you His friend. How amazing.

Would you like to be a friend of Jesus? Don’t waste another minute! Don’t put it off. I believe He is coming very soon. Here is what you do…

So what is the one thing that we do to be righteous before God? Jesus told the people, “Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” in John chapter 6 verse 29. The apostle Paul (once a vehement murderer of Christians) wrote in his letter to the Romans in the book of Romans chapter 10 verse 9, If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Jesus also said in the book of Matthew chapter 10 verse 32,”Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven.”

Don’t say you’ll never be good enough, Jesus makes you good enough. Now if Jesus forgave the Apostle Paul for murdering Christians, and forgave the Roman soldiers who crucified Him.What makes you so special that you don’t think you’re good enough? Frankly that’s getting on your high horse and saying you know better than God. 🙂 (umm, you don’t) So what are you waiting for? Say this out loud and trust that Jesus will take you right where you are, right now, in ANY condition.

Dear Lord Jesus, I’m asking you into my heart and my life. I know I am a sinner. I ask your forgiveness for every sin I’ve ever committed. I forgive those who sinned against me. I believe you died on the cross for my sins, that you stood in my place and took all the punishment that was due to me when you were there. I believe that you rose from the dead and are alive. I thank you for forgiving me and cleansing me of sin with your blood. Thank you for making me right with our heavenly Father. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen and thank You!

Now go and tell others and enjoy your Resurrection Day!

Passover, the Jesus Connection

Did You know that Jesus fulfilled the Passover and that He is strongly represented in the Passover that Jews around the world celebrate this week?

Every few years, Easter week coincides with the timing of Passover. Since we are on a different calendar than the Jewish system, and this year Good Friday coincides with Passover, I thought it would be interesting to point out the similarities. By the way, there is no word in Hebrew for coincidence.

The Passover, for those who don’t know, began in Egypt, God through the prophet Moses,  intervened for the Jews who had been in captivity over 400 years.  This in itself is interesting as Jesus, our redemption and our freedom was preceded by the prophet John the Baptist (John chapter 8 verse 36 says So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.)

Let’s talk first about the sacrificial lamb.

Moses had reached the last plague which would finally break Pharoah and coerce him to let the Jewish people go. It was the plague of the death of the first born. In order to escape the plague, one had to sacrifice a lamb. The blood of that lamb was then smeared on the doorposts and lintel of the Jewish homes and only then would the angel of death pass them by.  Without that blood everyone in the land would have perished.  And that’s just the start.

Jesus is called the lamb of God. John the Baptist prophesied when he saw Jesus coming to be baptized and said exactly that…in John Chapter 1 verse 29: The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” Now this sacrifice had a condition that the bones of it not be broken as stated in Exodus 12:6 “It must be eaten inside the house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones.” In the new testament, in the book of John chapter 19 verses 31-34 John says at the end of the crucifixion ….” ³¹ Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath (Passover). Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. ³² The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.  Such accuracy is mind blowing, and this was done by the ruling Jewish elders and Roman soldiers who were not in the least bit interested in fulfilling scriptures about Jesus!

The prophet Isaiah foresaw the great sacrifice that would bring permanent atonement and said this about Jesus, (Isaiah 53:7) He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. This was also fulfilled in the new testament in Matthew 27:12, “And when He was accused by the chief priests and elders, He gave no answer.”

One more thing before moving to the Passover facts…Jesus told the people about how one’s heart should be while making a sacrifice to God in Matthew 5:23-24…23 Therefore if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leaveyour gift there before the altar. First go andbe reconciled to your brother; then come andoffer your gift.

Jesus offered up himself as our perfect sacrifice and said this from the place of his own death by saying this in Luke 23:24…”Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”….(since He also declared “I and the Father are one.” in John 10:30) He forgave and therefore, even then, retained the perfection of his sacrifice on the altar.

Cup of Sanctification: A blessing is said to bring in the presence of God.

Bitter herbs dipped in salt are to remind us of the pain and sadnesses that were thankfully left behind in the land of Egypt. Indeed the life without hope or purpose is left behind when we repent and give ourselves to Jesus.

Next is the bread. This is unleavened bread. Leaven represents sin in the bible so this is bread without sin. Jesus said in The book of John chapter 6 verse 35 ” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Jesus himself was also without sin.

Take a look at the Matzoh bread.  It’s striped and pierced. It’s a symbol of Jesus Christ’s body on the cross. Now even more amazing is that when the bread has been broken in the passover ceremony over thousands of years, one piece is always wrapped in a cloth and set aside….as His body was wrapped in linen and set in the tomb.

Mahror is bitter herbs…some must be left, as the bitterness is left behind. Charoset is next and it is actually a mix of apples and sweet potatoes and is said to represent the mortar from the bricks the Jews made while in captivity building foreign cities.  Let’s face it, sometimes sin gets pretty comfortable, even familiar. These are both placed upon pieces of the bread. Get it? Our sins and our past are upon Him.

The Cup of Judgement represents the plagues of Egypt…..the last dipping of this cup stops at the last plague and only then is drunk….the plague of the death of the first born. Jesus  God’s firstborn son.

At the end of the meal, the piece of bread that was laid aside is now brought out and unwrapped. This is also shared. But this is really astonishing….Jesus himself, the sacrificial lamb of God broke this bread himself and handed it to his disciples saying, Luke 22: 19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” He was fully aware as He was passing it to His disciples of this symbolism of Himself.

Then the Cup of Redemption is also drunk. This is also the cup of the new covenant That Jesus spoke to; The book of Matthew chapter 28 verse 28 “for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

The doors are then opened to leave the old life and run to the new.  This is where the mystery cup comes in…The Cup of Elijah is prophetic in that not only did John the Baptist come in the Spirit of Elijah as Jesus said in the book of Luke Chapter 1 verse 17 “And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” This same cup also points to the future end times and the return of Jesus as prophesied in the book of Malachi Chapter 4 verse 5 “”See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.” It is believed that the one of the two witnesses in the book of Revelation is Elijah. (See Book of Revelation 11:1-14)

We move into the Cup of Praise.

If you would like to see a passover seder (meal) explained here is a really excellent link with messianic Rabbi Jonathan Cahn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VCMsqgBjmo

Then Psalm 118 is sung! This psalm written hundreds of years before Jesus also has passages referring to the messiah.

I hope this fills out the connections between the ancient prophetic Passover ceremony and our savior this Holy week!

If you would like to invite Jesus into your life, say these words out loud:

Dear Lord Jesus, I’m asking you into my heart and my life.  I know I am a sinner. I ask your forgiveness for every sin I’ve ever committed.  I believe you died on the cross for my sins, that you stood in my place and took all the punishment that was due to me when you were there. I believe that you rose from the dead and are alive. I thank you for forgiving me and cleansing me of sin with your blood. Thank you for making me right with our heavenly Father. Please come and live within me and fill me with your Holy Spirit as You promised. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen!