Our Passover

Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

Corinthians 5:7

For at least a week before the Passover ceremony, a Jewish mother diligently purges the house of “leaven.” Bread crackers and anything else that might contain yeast is tossed in the trash. The pantry is scrubbed with soap and water before storing the matzo meal used in many of the Passover dishes.

Finally, on the night of the ceremony, the father takes a few bread crumbs in full view of the others and drops them to the floor. He then sweeps them up as a symbol that the house is clean and ready for the Seder service to begin.

The Passover ceremony often lasts 3-4 hours and involves everyone seated at the table. Beginning with the lighting of candles, there is the washing of hands, the asking of questions, and the reading of the Old Testament story of the Passover. On the center of the table sits a bowl of salt water, a meatless lamb bone, cups of wine, roasted eggs, squares of matzo, and some horseradish. Each of these has its own special significance which is explained and considered during the course of the evening. To the Jewish people, the Passover is the festival meal that recalls Israel’s embittered bondage in Egypt and God’s wonderful deliverance.

For the Christian, our Passover is simply Christ. He is our sacrifice that delivers us from the bondage of sin and brings us into communion with God. We celebrate our Passover by remembering who our Savior is and what He has done for us. This is best done when the “old leaven” is first purged out, that is to say, laying "aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us” (Hebrews 12:1) so that we can truly show Him our appreciation.

King of Kings

And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. 
Revelation 19:16*

The Bible is the full revelation of God to His people, so that all those who love the Lord also love His Word. I’m not surprised at the great and precious things that I find fresh and new every time I read the word, even though I’ve gone through the book many times before.

One thing that does surprise me is some of the stuff that has gotten in. God’s written down some things that don’t seem very important to me and I don’t know how to process it. Take Genesis 36, for example, where the genealogy of Esau is given. These men became chieftains and kings of Edom, dozens of them, all with names that are hard to pronounce. These kings lived and reigned long before Israel ever got to their promised land and since Edom was later cursed by God, no descendants of that nation exist today. I mean, really, who cares? Obviously God does, because He wrote it down in His book.

God keeps a lot of lists. Just read First Chronicles. There are lists of Levites, priests, singers, and doorkeepers. In heaven, there’s a list of every person’s sins and the Lamb’s Book of Life catalogs all those going to heaven. Somewhere in all that paperwork of heaven is a complete listing of all the kings that ever lived on earth. Since every king ultimately receives his power and authority from God, one day they’ll have to settle accounts with Him.

At the great white throne, will be kings of Edom, Rome, Greece, Persia, and Babylon. Every monarch that ever lived will be present and, when the signal is given, every one of them will bow the knee and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. All the proud and mighty will humble themselves before the true King of Kings. 

* see also 1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14.

LORD’s Passover

And thus you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover.

Exodus 12:11

Many Christians understand the historical significance of the Old Testament observance of Passover and even know that the “Last Supper” was actually Christ celebrating the feast with His disciples. Modern calendars mark when the Jewish holiday occurs today, but few believers have ever seen this Feast of the LORD celebrated.

John 6:4 describes Passover as a “feast of the Jews”, but it is also deeply Christian. 1 Corinthians 5:7 says: “For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.” In order to better understand this expression of the Savior, believers must grasp that this is the LORD’s Passover and not just the holiday of another religion.

Everything about the Passover belongs to the Lord, its history, its symbolism, its message and even the dinner itself. The LORD himself told Moses exactly what to say and do. A perfect lamb was chosen and then lived with the family for four days before it was killed and the blood was smeared on the headboard and sides of the doorframe. Judgment was to fall on every household in Egypt, so the sacrifice of the lamb was to protect the children of Israel who believed God’s instructions. God declared: “Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:13).

For over two millennia the Jewish people have celebrated the LORD’s Passover to remember what God did the night of the Exodus to deliver them from slavery. But the celebration is more than just historical; it was prophetic because it clearly illustrates the substitutionary death of the Lamb of God on the 14th of the month of Nisan, which was the very day the LORD’s Passover was to be sacrificed.

If you ever have had the chance to attend a Passover Seder service, go for it. It is well worth the price of admission (it usually includes a catered meal). The program is an object lesson of God’s faithfulness through the ages, Jewish culture and the telling of the Passover story. A traditional Jewish Seder service would be very edifying, but one with a messianic congregation would be even more enlightening. There, it would be even more evident that Jesus Christ is the LORD’s Passover. 

Peace Offering

'When his offering is a sacrifice of a peace offering, if he offers it of the herd, whether male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD.
Leviticus 3:1*

God enjoys celebrating with His people. He gave them feasts and festivals and even today the Jewish people are known for their food. He gave them a land of milk and honey, but it also produced great harvests of grains, fruit, and livestock.

Without refrigeration, meat was hard to keep, so it wasn't on the menu everyday; it was special. When an animal from the herd (beef) or flock (goat meat or mutton) was to be slaughtered, it was taken to the Tabernacle or Temple, because the blood and the fat belonged to the LORD. When the fat sizzled on the altar it gave off a “sweet aroma” to God (Leviticus 4:31). The right foreleg was a heave offering to God, but the officiating priest got to keep it as payment for his services. The rest of the meat was for the owner to enjoy as he wished.

The peace offering was the most common and least restrictive of all the sacrifices. It could be any clean animal without defect (male or female didn't matter), whatever someone had a taste for. Different kinds of breads were also a part of this fellowship dinner. Since everything had to be eaten in two days (it wouldn't be safe to eat it much more after that), the peace offering was a good excuse for a party. Neighbors and friends would be invited and people looked for excuses to celebrate. If I invited friends to help me eat 500 pounds of beef in two days, they would probably do the same for me when they had a peace offering, That principal naturally nurtured hospitality, generosity, and fellowship.

The Prince of Peace became our peace offering to enjoy with the family of God. He is our Lamb of God, our Bread of Life, and our Companion and friend “...therefore let us keep the feast...” (1 Corinthians 5:8). 

Full of Grace

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14

          Jesus Christ is extreme grace. He is Full of Grace; He is grace on steroids. That having been said, most people don’t understand simple grace much less grasp its full concentration. To explain it, I'll use an illustration that comes from the jungles of Ecuador.

          Dangerous animals live in the rainforest. Anacondas, jaguars, and scorpions come to mind, but few have heard of the most dangerous of them all – stinging caterpillars.

          They’re everywhere! Once I was walking on a jungle trail when I brushed against some low hanging branches. A “chinicuru,” as the Indians call it, fell down my T-shirt and it rolled down my back leaving a raised, painful burn that lasted for hours. I really don’t like these things!

          On another occasion, I went to visit a Quichua family. When I got to their thatched hut, the parents had already gone to work in the garden leaving the twelve year old in charge of her five younger siblings. I came unexpectedly, so I caught them in the process of torturing a chinicuru. They had formed a circle with the coals from the kitchen cooking fire and they put the caterpillar in the middle. Whatever direction it turned, it would burn off the venomous bristles that covered its body.

          As the only adult present, not to mention a missionary and ambassador of Christ’s love, I felt that I should say something, but I didn’t. I wanted to see the awful beast burn. Did I mention that I hate those things?

          Now, if I wanted to save that ugly worm, I could have reached my hand down and let it crawl up my finger to escape the danger. However, if I did that I would have gotten burned, twice! Once by the fire and once from that stinging caterpillar.

          But I would never do that. I’ve been stung too many times. Who would ever do that? The only one who could possibly do something like that would be the critter’s Creator. Saving it, He would allow it to transform into the beautiful moth that it was designed to be. But if the creator did that, He would have a love for the unlovely that would be so intense, you’d need a new word to describe it – let’s call it Grace.

          The human race has rebelled against God and is much more dangerous than stinging caterpillars, yet Christ died on the cross so that we could live. Jesus is Full of Grace.

Merciful and Faithful High Priest

Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

Hebrews 2:17

In order to have propitiation (i.e. in order for a sacrifice to do what it was intended to do) all the pieces had to be in place. There needed to be an acceptable altar, a qualified priest, and an animal specifically created for sacrifice. But it was more than that! The legal precedent had to be established whereby there was a process for atoning for sin.

Therefore, the Aaronic priesthood and system for sacrifices was not just cute symbolism or literary foreshadowing of Christ on the cross, they were God's way of showing how complicated it is to actually remove sin from a sinner.

The office of the High Priest was essential, both for atonement of sins and for intercession for the sinner. Unfortunately some high priests weren't worthy of the job. Annas and Caiaphas were evil men that not only failed to recognize the promised Messiah, they conspired to have him crucified. It is hard to imagine that their offering for the people on the Day of Atonement would be accepted, because they were so far out of God's will.

The Lord Jesus on the other hand, is the Merciful and Faithful High Priest. He is highly qualified for the job and was able to do what all His predecessors were unable to do: atone for sin once and for all. He showed mercy by freeing His people from the bondage of sin and now faithfully intercedes on behalf of the blood bought people He redeemed. The altar was the cross; the propitiation was the blood of Christ and the Minister of the Sanctuary was our Merciful and Faithful High Priest.

Him who is from the Beginning

I write to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, Because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, Because you have known the Father.

1 John 2:13

One of the few perks about being old is the right to say “been there, done that.” I went to school in the 1950's before ballpoint pens were invented and we still used fountain pens. I ate at McDonald's restaurants before they served 50 million and I remember the introduction of the Ford Mustang back in 1964. When young people today think these things have been around forever, I feel like him who is around from the beginning.

The Apostle John addressed the church fathers as the oldest and wisest men in the assembly. They had been around for a long time and could certainly teach the young people a thing or two. But John needed to remind them of their true sense of maturity; they knew Him who is from the Beginning.

The Lord Jesus was around before the wheel and the campfire was invented. He existed before the earth was formed and before the very first star got fired up. Before time began, there were no reference points to the universe, but things still happened back there. The angels, principalities, and powers were created and God sat on His throne. Christ was around back then too, but it is just called “Eternity past.”

When God finally got around to making matter and energy, time was invented simultaneously. The moment that happened is called “the Beginning.” Christ got the clock ticking. He was Him who is from the Beginning.

*see also 1 John 2:14; 1:1

Root of David

But one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals."

Revelation 5:5

A large variety of vegetation can be transplanted with just a small piece of root. The new plant will have all the characteristics of its parent although the size and shape might differ greatly.

The Lord Jesus was the Root of David and the parallels between the two are remarkable.

Characteristic	David		Christ
Birthplace:	Bethlehem		Bethlehem
Gossip Material...	...for having both a prostitute and a foreigner in family tree		...for being thought to be conceived out of wedlock
Early Occupation:	Shepherd of sheep		Shepherd of Israel (Matthew 15:24)
Anointed...	...by the prophet Samuel to be King of Israel		...by the Holy Spirit to be Christ of God
Betrayal...	...by his own son, Absalom		...by his disciple and close friend, Judas Iscariot
Rejected King:	Lived through two civil wars (with Isbosheth and Absalom)		The mob in Pilates court shouted for their King to be crucified (Matthew 27:22)
Relationship to God:	A man after the Lord's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14)		Is the well pleasing, beloved Son of God (Matthew 17:5)

Come O Root of David and reign on the throne of the son of Jesse.

*see also Revelation 22:16

Drink Offering

So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it.

Genesis 35:14*

After Jacob had a vision of a ladder to heaven, he set up a rock as a pillar and then poured oil on it as an act of worship (Genesis 28:18). More than 20 years later, Jacob returned to the same spot and again poured out oil. This was long before Moses gave instructions for drink offerings, but in every case, three aspects of sacrifice are always present.

1. Poured out - When a liquid is poured out on the ground it never can be retrieved again for anything useful. The world would look on this as a waste, but the drink offering was a free-will offering given in gratitude to God. The Apostle Paul poured out his life in service for the gospel of Christ and considered it a sacrifice that he was joyfully willing to give (Philippians 2:17).

2. Precious - Oil and wine are not cheap. A quart and a half of wine was poured out every morning and every evening in the daily sacrifices and then much more was given on top of that for feast days and public worship. David once poured out water as a drink offering, because his three mighty men risked their lives to break into a Philistine garrison to get him a jug of water. David said that it represented the life's blood of his men and it was too precious to drink. Instead he poured it out in worship to God. 

3. Praise - as a part of the grain offering, the drink offering was included in the sweet smelling sacrifices that the LORD delighted in. It had nothing to do with sin and transgression and everything to do with worship and appreciation. The liquid of this sacrifice was usually wine, which was sipped and then the rest poured out to God, as if both the creature and the Creator were making a toast together. 

The Lord Jesus Christ freely gave His life as a Drink Offering to the Father. On the cross of Calvary the Savior poured out His precious blood to save the human race of their sins, for the praise of the glory of God. 

*used 66 times in various ways in scripture. 

Head over All Things to the Church

And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church. 

Ephesians 1:22

The Apostle Paul just finished a seven verse, 166 word prayer for the Ephesian church that was all contained in just one sentence. The old missionary focused on the beauties of Christ as he asked God to reveal a better knowledge of the Savior to the believers. It was the sentence prayer that seemed to never end and by the time he finally got to he period, Paul hadn't gotten to the bottom line. He added it in this verse; they needed to know that Jesus was the Head over All Things to the Church. 

Christ certainly isn't over all things to the world, because He isn't their Lord. Satan is the god of this age (2 Corinthians 4:4), but people also follow a panthion of lesser gods that include prosperity, power, passion, and pride. It's no wonder that people today seem confused and pulled in different directions. 

It's not supposed to be that way for the body of Christ. The Lord is Head over All Things to the Church and supplies and equips every believer for every situation (Ephesians 1:23). Jesus is the facilitator  of every committee, Head-pastor over the head-pastor, as well as the CEO over every program, project, and person in the church. Well, it doesn't always happen that way, but that is how it's supposed to be. 

True, sometimes He is not acknowledged as Head over All Things to the Church. Some local churches operate by tradition. They've always done things a certain way so long, there's no need for Jesus to give them direction now. In some places, the pastor does everything. Why should the congregation have to do anything?; "after all, that's what he is paid for".  Sometimes even the preacher can go on for years recycling old sermons, so no inspiration or divine guidance is ever needed. 

That's probably why Paul had to remind the Ephesians that Jesus is the Head over All Things to the Church. He's in charge; He bought it; He directs it. It would probably be a good idea for those who are a part of it to ask the Guy-in-charge what He wants them to do.

Head of Every Man

But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.

1 Corinthians 11:3

Spoiler alert!! Today's meditation is clearly politically incorrect. You may want to skip over it, if you are easily offended or if you don't want your preconceived ideas to be challenged.

Most other commentaries on the titles of Christ put a period where the first comma is and then leave off the whole rest of the verse. That way they can avoid controversy and explain the phrase out of context and not ruffle any feathers. They simply say that Jesus is everybody's boss whether male or female and we all ought to obey Him. I guess I can't argue with the conclusion, but that's not what it says in this verse or chapter.

The section that the title comes from is dealing with male and female roles in the Christian home. The man and woman in the verse are husband and wife. The husband is tapped to be the spiritual head in the family and submits to Christ, just as Jesus submitted to the father when he said "...not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42). When it says, "the head of every man is Christ" it means that the father of the family is responsible for his household following the Lord and is directly accountable to Him. The part that says, "the head of the woman is man" means that the wife is to support her husband in building the Christian home by submitting to him. 

Obviously, this teaching rubs people the wrong way, even to the point of having some churches teach that 1 Corinthians chapter 11 was the culture of the day and therefore is not relevant to our modern society. That's interesting, because they still accept 1 Corinthians 11:1 where Paul says, "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ."

If somebody is your boss, you do what he says; you don't just blow him off by saying, "We don't do that anymore." The bottom line is: the Head of Every Man is Christ. 

Minister of the Sanctuary

Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.

Hebrews 8:1-2

Many ministers are overpaid and under-worked!...or at least that's what some people think. They see the preacher give two or three half hour sermons each week and a few times a year speak at a wedding or a funeral. They think that is all they do and they wish that they had it so easy. 

Although there are lazy people in any profession, preaching is just the tip of the iceberg for most Christian workers. Most of what a true servant of God does  never comes into the public view. Hours are often spent discipling others, making phone calls, and visitation. More time yet is spent in prayer, meditation, and Bible study. What ministers do to be holy is the key to what they do, even if it isn't seen or appreciated by others. 

Christ Jesus, in His capacity as High Priest, atoned for the sins of every believer on the cross. He continues to intercede on their behalf and separate each believer for service for God. After this world is dissolved the Lord will become Minister of the sanctuary in the New Jerusalem. What exactly He'll be doing isn't revealed but Jesus isn't lazy and there will be much to do. Worship will be a constant activity and the True Tabernacle will be up and running. Whatever that is done there was foreshadowed in the books of Exodus and Leviticus regarding Moses' Tabernacle of meeting. A lot of the imagery of the Old Testament will finally make sense then and up there.

In heaven we'll be able to see the Throne of Grace, streets of polished gold, and real-live cherubim. We'll also see our glorified Lord and Savior there serving as the Minister of the Sanctuary. 

Righteous

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

1 John 2:1

Absolute zero in minus 459.67 degrees on the Fahrenheit scale - that sounds pretty precise, but no one has ever been able to ever get something that cold, because it is the total absence of all heat. It would make atoms completely stop moving. 

To be totally free from sin is to be righteous. Living in a sinful world with all the lusts and evil thoughts that abound here, righteousness is a concept that is  approached rather than obtained. The Christian life is the process of working with God to crucify the sinful human nature by working with God to live righteously (Galatians 5:24-25). This may be an impossible-to-reach goal this side of heaven, but each believer is encouraged to get as close to it as he can.

Christ is the only one who is truly Righteous. He never had a bad attitude, flew off the handle, made poor choices, nor snapped under pressure. Everything He thought, felt, or did was totally right. As God, He could not do wrong, but even in His human capacity, He chose to be sinless.

Believers become more and more righteous as they progressively conform to the image of God's Son (Romans 8:29). It's not easy to keep one's thoughts on everything that is true, noble, just, pure, and lovely (Philippians 4:8), but Jesus certainly did. When Christians have the mind of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:16), they are able to do that also. They begin to be righteous even as He is Righteous. 

Redemption

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God --- and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.

1 Corinthians 1:30

To modern Americans redemption is little more than buying back a wedding ring or set of power tools from the pawn shop. There is not a lot of risk involved and losses are not disastrous. However, in past history, failure to pay off a debt could result in years in prison, a lifetime of slavery, or worse. 

In Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Antonio, a cash-poor but wealthy ship owner cosigns a loan with a businessman who holds deep resentment towards him. The loan is without interest, but if the loan isn't paid back in full by a certain date, the adversary demands a "pound of flesh." Antonio loses his ships in a storm and has nothing with which to pay on the day of reckoning. Even when others offer double the original sum, the lender is not satisfied and demands that the contract be followed to the letter. 

Satan wants far more than a pound of flesh from every man, woman, and child. He wants their souls to suffer the torments of hell along with him forever. Sinful man is the property and the redemption price is unimaginable torment and suffering. When Christ was rejected by His nation, betrayed by a friend, mocked, and beaten by thugs, whipped until His back was raw and then nailed to a cross to die, He redeemed the whole human race. Our freedom from hell and the bondage of sin wasn't cheap.

People blame God for eternal judgment in the lake of fire, but He is not the one responsible. Sinners are debtors to Satan and he is the one that demands the wages of sin be paid in full. It is the Lord Jesus Christ, on the other hand, who offers to be their Redemption. 

Second Man

The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven.

1 Corinthians 15:47

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the theory of the evolution of living organisms cannot be seen occurring today, nor can be demonstrated in the fossil records. However, where an evolutionary process is clearly evident is in the automotive industry. 

I was in college in 1967 when the Chevrolet Camero first came out. It was a muscle car that immediately became popular, but the demands of consumers changed over time and so did the Camero. Today, the "Fifth Generation" of this car is available in showrooms which means that the original design has gone through five major engineering overhauls at General Motors. That included hundreds of thousands of tweaks and adjustments. The hundreds of engineers that worked on the project would argue that it was all accomplished by intelligent design and nothing was left to mere chance. 

God did an excellent job when He created human beings. Adam was the first man and that same make and model is still available everywhere on the planet today. However, there is one major problem with the design - the sin problem. The good news is that the product has been recalled and each one needs to go back to their Creator for an upgrade.

People are put together exclusively with dust, atoms, and energy that come from a sin-cursed world - Earth. What is needed is a complete core exchange that doesn't come from around  here (i.e. it needs to be heavenly). 

Christ Jesus is the Second Man and He is the Lord from Heaven. He came to this world with the express purpose of fixing the problem and making a permanent upgrade available to everyone who requests it. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).