Tilling and Planting

Category: Holiday

  • Unleavened Bread?

    Unleavened Bread?

    Intro

    Here’s post number four discussing a Jewish holiday. In case you missed it, I’ve covered 3 of the 7 holidays (or feasts) instituted by God in the Old Testament (catch up here for Passover, here for Pentecost, and here for Firstfruits). I’ll confess that I didn’t plan this out so I’m doing them in a weird order. But oh well. Now onto the topic of this week’s post, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. What is unleavened bread, you ask? That’s a great question since, unless you’re familiar with the process of bread-making, you don’t have much reason to know what leaven is. And yet, Jesus uses it as a negative illustration multiple times. Given that, I think it important to know what leaven is and the reason behind the feast.

    The Basics on Leaven

    Okay, first question to answer: what is leaven? In a word: fungus. But not just any kind of fungus. Leaven is a fungus that ferments sugars and is used to cause dough to rise. You may have also heard it by its arguably more common name, yeast. For those of you familiar with bread making, you know how important yeast is to the process. But you also know that you don’t need a lot! Put too much in and you’ll probably end up with a loaf that collapses shortly after baking and is gummy or spongy, etc. Not good. A little goes a long way here.

    Now before you get all excited about the possible sermon illustrations that compare leaven to how Christians ought to live out there lives (i.e., don’t shove it down people’s throats), that’s more what Jesus’ illustration with salt is about. Jesus called us the salt of the earth (see Matthew 5:13). And similar to leaven, a little salt goes a long way. However, Jesus does not call us the leaven of the world. In fact, He warns against the leaven of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herod. Plus Paul warns against the leaven of immorality (1 Corinthians 5:7) and legalism (Galatians 5:2-11). So what was Jesus and Paul comparing leaven to that makes it a negative? Before I answer that question, I’m going to take as step back and first talk about the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

    The Feast

    “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance. For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel. On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do.

    “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel. Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread.”

    Exodus 12:14-20 (NIV)

    Here in Exodus 12 we see a detailed outline of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This feast begins the day after Passover – as seen in Leviticus 23:5-8. The Jews observed it for 7 days in accordance to God’s command. It was part of the commemoration of the Jews’ departure from Egypt. And as the name implies, the big deal of the festival was leaven – specifically the removal of leaven from their food and homes. No leaven could be found in their homes for the duration of the 7 day feast. And all their bread had to be made without it.

    In fact, some days before Passover, the search for leaven in the house began. By the time the Passover came, the Jews had cleared the house of even the smallest speck of leaven. And I’m getting a little ahead of myself, but here’s an interesting thought about that practice. What did Jesus do at the temple a few days before Passover? Cleared the temple. Jesus accused them of turning His Father’s house into a “den of thieves”. Given what leaven represents in the Bible, Jesus literally fulfilled one aspect of this feast by doing that. More on that in the next section.

    No Leaven in Jesus

    Going back to the question of what leaven represents, the answer is sin. Because, like sin, it only takes a little leaven to work its way through an entire batch. And when we’re talking about sin, that batch may be an individual, or an entire church community. Because of that representation, Jesus does not compare His followers to leaven. Rather He uses leaven in conjunction with the religious and political leaders.

    With this in mind, it becomes easy to see Christ in the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Jesus was sinless. No sin, no leaven. And He called Himself the “bread of life”. So this feast could be named the Feast of Jesus Christ, because being without sin and being the bread of life makes Him Unleavened Bread. Simple deductive reasoning there. This festival and Passover are very easy to find Jesus in. John the Baptist called Jesus the Lamb of God and He died during Passover when the sacrificial lambs were being slaughtered. And with this one – done around the same time as Passover – we can recognize that just as the bread used in the feast had no leaven in it, Jesus also was without sin and therefore made the perfect sacrifice for mankind’s sin and redemption.

    Back to the clearing of the temple, can you see how Jesus fulfilled the practice of cleaning a house of leaven? If leaven is sin, and the temple market made it a “den of thieves” – i.e., sinners – then Jesus cleared His Fathers house of leaven (sin). Pretty incredible when you think about it.

    Wrapping Up

    Jesus our Passover Lamb – perfect and spotless. Jesus our Unleavened Bread of Life – sinless. The Firstfruits of the Resurrection. The one who sends Holy Spirit to Reap a Harvest. Praise God. And that’s just 4 of the 7 festivals instituted by God Almighty that all point to Jesus and His plan of redemption for mankind. Incredible. Let us all remember this and be grateful for all He has done. For His great love, grace, and mercy shown to us. Amen.

    Join me next time as I find Jesus in the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot).

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Firstfruits of Many

    Firstfruits of Many

    Intro

    I’m on a roll now with Jewish holidays. I’ve talked about Passover and the connection to the Crucifixion and I’ve talked about Pentecost/Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) and the connection to the outpouring of Holy Spirit and the harvest of souls that came immediately after. Now I wish to talk about the Feast of Firstfruits (Yom HaBikkurim) and the connection to the resurrection. Side note: I’m kind of bouncing around with the holidays in terms of when they occur on the calendar, but that’s okay. I’m kind of doing it as I feel.

    The Feast

    In the book of Leviticus, God institutes the Feast of Firstfruits as such.

    The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest. He is to wave the sheaf before the Lord so it will be accepted on your behalf; the priest is to wave it on the day after the Sabbath. On the day you wave the sheaf, you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord a lamb a year old without defect, together with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with olive oil—a food offering presented to the Lord, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine. You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your God. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.

    Leviticus 23:9-14 (NIV)

    So what was the point of this one? Similar to the Feast of Weeks, this feast celebrated a harvest and was a time of thanksgiving to God for His provision. The difference between this one and the Feast of Weeks is that the Feast of Weeks celebrated the wheat harvest while the Feast of Firstfruits celebrated the barley harvest. The priest would take a sheaf of barley and wave it before the Lord as an offering. Then all Israelites sacrificed a lamb as a burnt offering to God. No one was allowed to eat of the crop until the first portion had been brought to the priest. This acknowledged that the firstfruits belonged to God and He was the source of it all.

    The timing of this feast was right in line with Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread (stay tuned for this one!). In fact the exact time of when it should be celebrated has been in dispute. Leviticus says the waving of the first sheaf must occur the day after the Sabbath. However, the Pharisees and Sadducees disagreed on whether that meant the regular weekly Sabbath (favored by the Sadducees) – which would put the sheaf waving on our Saturday evening/Sunday morning – or if it was the special Sabbath of the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread – which could change from year to year and was favored by the Pharisees. And this disagreement continues among scholars today.

    The Fulfilment

    I already mentioned that this feast connects to the resurrection of Jesus. So how does it do that? First, let me back up a bit, I feel like I haven’t explained something rather important very well. God in His wisdom and forethought instituted various festivals for the Israelites to observe – 7 in all. And God designed each one of them to point to Jesus and the New Covenant in some way. I already went through Passover (the Crucifixion) and the Feast of Weeks/Pentecost (outpouring of Holy Spirit) and now I’m onto the Feast of Firstfruits. Make sense? Cool, let’s move on.

    The first thing to note is that despite the disagreement on when the sheaf should be waved, it seems clear from the Bible that this day fell on a Sunday – after the regular Sabbath’s day of rest. This means that Jesus rose from the dead on the day that the priest waved the sheaf as an offering to the Lord. Already this is significant. The wave offering signified that what was waved belonged to the Lord but then He released it to be used by others. Jesus presented Himself as an offering to God and the atonement that Jesus achieved was released by God to be received by us.

    Furthermore, Paul uses the word “firstfruits” to refer to Jesus and His resurrection.

    But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.

    1 Corinthians 15:20-23 (NIV)

    Paul refers to Jesus’ resurrection as the firstfruits. Basically saying, “Just as God raised Jesus from the dead, so shall you be.” Similarly in Romans 8:23, Paul writes that the indwelling of the Spirit is a firstfruit of the redemption of all creation (specifically our bodies).

    When God instituted the Feast of Firstfruits, He looked ahead to the day His Son would fulfill it by becoming the firstfruits of the New Covenant and redemption of all creation.

    Wrapping Up

    Praise God for the resurrection! Am I right? As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians, without the resurrection our faith is useless (see 1 Corinthians 15:13-17). Don’t gloss over the power of Jesus’ resurrection. We tend to put a lot of emphasis on the Cross and the weight of the sin He carried. But the resurrection demonstrated that God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. I love it.

    I also love the amount of care God put into the holidays He gave the Israelites in the Old Testament. Every one of them a picture of Jesus and the New Covenant. Most people missed it when Jesus walked the earth and most people don’t recognize it today. That’s why I’m taking the time to go through them all. The connections amaze me. Some more than others. So stay tuned for the next one: The Feast of Unleavened Bread!

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • The Pentecost Harvest

    The Pentecost Harvest

    Intro

    Easter is now over. And with that the next major Christian holiday is Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost Sunday occurs 7 weeks after Easter. And while I probably don’t have to tell you what occurred on that day in Christian history (though if you are new to the faith I will be sure to explain it for you), I’m willing to bet you aren’t fully aware of the Old Testament origins of Pentecost as a Jewish harvest festival. And if you want to be technical, part of what we as Christians recognize as happening on Pentecost is a harvest of sorts. Just not in the agricultural sense.

    Shavuot

    You might be thinking, “What did I just read?”, “What is Shavuot?”. Shavuot is the Hebrew word for the festival that occurs on the day we call “Pentecost”. It is Biblically called the Feast of Weeks. In terms of timing, the Israelites celebrated Passover, counted 49 days – or 7 weeks, hence the name – and then on the 50th day, celebrated this feast (see Leviticus 23:15-16 and Deuteronomy 16:9-10). Because it occurs on the 50th day after Passover, it also got the Greek name, Pentecost (which means “fiftieth”) – as we see in Acts 2:1.

    Shavuot is an agricultural festival related to the first fruits of the wheat harvest happening at this time of year. Consequently, part of the offerings brought to God included two loaves of bread baked with the first fruits of the harvest. In addition, they offered a bull, rams, lambs, a goat for a sin offering and more lambs for a peace offering (Leviticus 23:17-19). It was also one of the festivals that required mass pilgrimage to Jerusalem. So the city would be packed year after year on this day.

    As tends to happen, Shavuot also became associated with something else important from Jewish history. The giving of the law. Some Jewish traditions hold that 50 days after the first Passover in Egypt, the Israelites arrived at Mt. Sinai. And in fact, the Bible does say “in the third month” after leaving Egypt they arrived at Mt. Sinai. And 50 days after Passover – middle of the first month – would have been “in the third month” (third month of the Jewish year, not third month after leaving Egypt, just to be clear). Whether that’s true or not, Pentecost became a holiday not only for the wheat harvest, but also to remember the giving of the law at Mt. Sinai.

    Bonus: The Jubilee Year Connection

    One quick note, is that Pentecost and the Jewish year of Jubilee both had the number 50 attached to them. Pentecost was celebrated 50 days after Passover and every 50th year was the year of Jubilee. During this year, debts were cancelled, enslaved Israelites were set free, and the land was not worked. No sowing, plowing, reaping, etc. Consequently, the number 50 itself had connotations with freedom and rest.

    And as you’ll see later, all these things I mention here become reflected on the day God poured out Holy Spirit on the disciples.

    Pentecost of Fire

    Jumping ahead to the New Testament, 50 days after the Passover at which Jesus was crucified, all the disciples (120 in all) were in an upper room praying. And they were expectant. How do I know they were expectant? Take a look at what Jesus said before He ascended.

    On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

    Acts 1:4-5 (NIV – italics added)

    At this time, it was probably around 9 days since Jesus said these words to them. Perhaps less. So they were all eagerly awaiting this promised gift of Holy Spirit to be poured out upon them. They were probably planning on taking advantage of all the pilgrims who were in Jerusalem for Pentecost and witnessing – seems logical. Then God did something amazing. Take a look at what Luke writes in Acts 2.

    When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

    Acts 2:1-4 (NIV)

    The very thing they’d been waiting for that Jesus told them would come finally came! Filled with Holy Spirit they preached (in all the languages represented by all the pilgrims) to all who would listen and 3,000 people got saved that day.

    This is the Pentecost that Christians remember and celebrate. But what’s interesting are all the little connections between Pentecost the harvest festival and Pentecost the day Holy Spirit was poured out.

    From Wheat to Fire

    Why did God choose Pentecost to pour out Holy Spirit? Well, here’s a few ideas that show how the Christian Pentecost fulfills the Old Testament Shavuot.

    The Waiting Period

    In the Feast of Weeks, there’s this period of anticipation, a waiting between Passover and this feast. This symbolized the period from the Exodus from Egypt to the entering of Canaan when they could offer God the first fruits of their land. Similarly, in the NT the disciples had to wait for the promise of Holy Spirit to come upon them before they went out to fulfill the Great Commission.

    The First Fruits

    The Jews offered God the first fruits of their wheat harvest on the day of Pentecost. They witnessed to the fact that all of it belongs to God. And in a twist, the NT Pentecost is about God giving the church the first fruits of Holy Spirit (see Romans 8:23; Ephesians 1:13-14) rather than us bringing anything to Him. In His love, God bears witness to us that we belong to Him.

    Fire and Speech

    At Sinai, God spoke to the Israelites “out of the fire” (Deuteronomy 4:12) that His presence created on the mountain. The Bible describes thunder, lightning, a thick cloud of smoke, and blazing fire. What a sight! And then to hear the voice of God come out of that…no wonder the Israelites trembled.

    In the NT, Holy Spirit descended and separated as “tongues of fire” (Acts 2:3) and rested upon each on of them. And at that time they became empowered to speak in tongues. Do you see the similarities? The presence of God made manifest as fire and supernatural, divine, speech coming forth as a result. The biggest difference is that at Sinai God spoke directly from the fire whereas in the upper room, God spoke through the disciples. That’s next level!

    Covenants

    This one is pretty quick and simple. The Jewish people associated Pentecost with the giving of the law, the covenant, at Mt. Sinai. Similarly the outpouring of Holy Spirit marked the beginning of the New Covenant.

    The Jubilee Connection

    I’m back to the Year of Jubilee. I told you that everything I referenced would come back. Jubilee represented freedom from bondage, rest from labor, and the gift of the Holy Land. When Jesus poured out Holy Spirit, that brought with it freedom from Spiritual bondage, rest in Jesus, and the gift of the Kingdom of God. Pretty remarkable, don’t you think?

    The Harvest

    The last, but not least, connection I want to point out is the Harvest. I’ve said it multiple times that the Feast of Weeks is a feast of harvest. And on this day of Pentecost when God poured out Holy Spirit, a harvest of souls happened. 3,000 to be exact. And you know what? That number 3,000 has an Old Testament connection also. When Moses came down from the mountain carrying the Ten Commandments the first time, he found a lot of the people worshipping a golden calf. Look at what happened as a result of that.

    Then he said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.’” The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died.

    Exodus 32:27-28 (NIV)

    Did you catch the number? 3,000 Israelites died because they worshipped the golden calf. How many Jewish people received Jesus on the day of Pentecost? 3,000. Talk about redemption. These numbers aren’t by accident. 3,000 rejected God and perished at Mt. Sinai but God made sure there was 3,000 who were ready to receive Him on the day Holy Spirit was poured out. What a God we serve!

    Wrapping Up

    I said this in my post about Passover and I’ll say it again. God knew what He was doing when He instituted the Feast of Weeks. He knew the Israelites would connect it with the giving of the law and He deliberately set it up with 50 days to create the connection to the Year of Jubilee. God doesn’t do these things by accident. He plans them out.

    I think our takeaway from this is that any seed that God sows in you and through you will bear a harvest. Maybe not right away, but it will come. Just keep waiting and being patient.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Jesus The Passover Lamb

    Jesus The Passover Lamb

    Intro

    Easter has just passed us by. During this time we remember His death and resurrection. We remember that, much like the sacrifices of the Old Testament were made to pay for sin, Jesus’ sacrifice was made to pay for our sin. In this, I remember John the Baptist calling Jesus “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29). And this fits with the idea of Jesus being a sacrifice like the sacrifices that the Jews were required to do. But this begs the question: Why a lamb? Why not a bull or any of the other animals? As my title kind of indicates, it all has to do with a particular Jewish holiday. So today I’m going to show the parallels between Passover and the Crucifixion and show how Jesus is the ultimate Passover Lamb.

    Passover Summary

    Before I dive into the parallels, I’m going to give a quick summary of the start of Passover found in Exodus 12. That’ll give a clearer picture of why Jesus is the ultimate Passover lamb. The Egyptians enslaved the Israelites and after a handful of generations of oppression, God raised up Moses to lead them out. But Pharaoh was stubborn and refused. Consequently, God sent a series of plagues. After the first 9, God sent a warning to the Israelites. Unlike the other 9 plagues, the 10th – the death of the firstborn – would sweep through both the Egyptian and Israelite households. However, in His great mercy, God provided a way for His people to avoid the final plague. They were to take a lamb, kill it, and spread its blood on the doorposts of their homes and the angel of death would pass over their house.

    Parallels

    Just by reading my summary, I’m sure you can draw a pretty obvious parallel in that in both scenarios you’ve got guilty people (Israelites who were no saints and then all of humanity who are also terrible sinners) who are under a penalty and yet God provides a means of salvation because of His great love and mercy. So, that snippet alone demonstrates an important aspect to Jesus being the Passover lamb for all of humanity. But there is so much more. Let’s dive in.

    Mature Male

    According to Exodus, the lamb must be a 1 year old male. For a lamb, this is the age of maturity.

    The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats.

    Exodus 12:5 (NIV)

    Likewise, Jesus was born as a man and was fully mature when He was crucified – Luke records Jesus was about 30 when He started (Luke 3:23) and had a ministry of about 3.5 years, which made Him about 33.5 years of age when He died.

    No Broken Bones

    As soon as you read this heading, you’re probably thinking of how you know none of Jesus’ bones were broken. That’s a pretty common thing to hear when talking about the crucifixion.

    These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,”

    John 19:36 (NIV)

    But did you know that the Passover lamb also could not have any of its bones broken?

    Do not break any of the bones.

    Exodus 12:46b (NIV)

    Admittedly this is one I forgot about. What’s great is the specificity God used and then He ensured that Jesus fulfilled all that specificity.

    Spotless

    If you reference Exodus 12:5 again (I have it above under “Mature Male”), you’ll see that it also states the lamb must be “without defect”. A couple other very common ways to describe this is “without blemish” or “spotless”. God required perfection for the Passover lamb. And not just for this one instance, but every year when the Jews celebrate it. It represented salvation.

    What about Jesus? Based on that paragraph you can say that Jesus’ sacrifice was for salvation. And we’ve also heard all the time that He was a sinless, perfect human being.

    “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

    1 Peter 2:22 (NIV)

    To take this parallel even further, the priests were required to carefully examine every single lamb brought into the temple for the sacrifices. And what happened to Jesus before His crucifixion? Pilate and Herod both examined Jesus and found no cause for Him to be sentenced to death.

    Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no basis for a charge against this man.”

    Luke 23:4 (NIV)

    Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will punish him and then release him.”

    Luke 23:13-16 (NIV)

    For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”

    Luke 23:22 (NIV)

    And this is just Luke’s account. Matthew’s account in Matthew 27 records that Pilate washed his hands declaring that he was innocent of Jesus’ blood. Jesus clearly fulfilled the requirement that the Passover lamb be perfect.

    Substitution

    In the story of the first Passover, the Israelites killed the lamb as a substitute for the lives of their firstborn. Jesus died as a substitute for us. We all deserve death and separation from God for eternity. But Jesus took that punishment upon Himself when He died on that Cross.

    The Blood on the Doorposts

    Even the placement of the blood on the doorposts has a parallel.

    Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning.

    Exodus 12:22 (NIV)

    Applying the blood to the top and sides of the door frame forms the sign of the cross. And not only that, but you also get the sign of the cross when the blood is dripping from the top and down the sides.

    An additional thing found in this verse is the hyssop plant. Look at what John says in his gospel.

    A 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.

    John 19:29 (NIV)

    Even the plant used to apply the blood to the doorposts had a parallel in the crucifixion!

    Freedom From Slavery

    The death of the firstborn convinced Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. That first Passover led to their freedom from physical enslavement. Likewise, Jesus death leads to our freedom from spiritual enslavement.

    Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

    Romans 8:1-2 (NIV)

    Timing

    As if all this wasn’t enough, do you know when Jesus died? During the time that the lambs were slaughtered for Passover. Talk about divine timing! In addition, he entered Jerusalem on the donkey the same day that the lambs were brought into the city in preparation for the Passover. For Passover, the Jews brought the lamb into their home for a few days before killing it. Likewise, Jesus entered the city a few days before His death. On the same day. Crazy right?

    Wrapping Up

    This is a little bit of a shorter post, but it’s a powerful one. There are so many parallels between the Passover and Jesus’ Crucifixion. It just goes to show how much thought God put into it all and how much He wants His chosen people to see all the parallels and recognize Jesus as the promised Messiah – the conquering King, yes, but more importantly, the ultimate Passover Lamb – the one who saves from sin and sets us free for all eternity.

    So today – though Easter is over – let us remember Jesus’ sacrifice as the ultimate Passover Lamb.

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!

  • Christmas Characters: Part 4

    Christmas Characters: Part 4

    Intro

    It’s taken a while, but I’m finally at the end of my Christmas Characters series. For those of you who prefer to keep Christmas in December, I’m sure you’re quite relieved. For the rest of you who don’t mind Christmas in July, you probably wouldn’t mind a few more Christmas-themed posts. But I’ve got other topics I’d like to cover so I’ll stop here and pick up Christmas again later this year.

    But now on to the main event! Today I’m talking about takeaways from the groups of people that came to visit Jesus unannounced. Yep, that’s right. I’m talking about the lowly Shepherds and the wealthy Magi (or Wise Men).

    The Shepherds

    And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

    Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

    “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

    When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

    So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

    Luke 2:8-20 (NIV)

    We don’t get a whole lot about the shepherds – we don’t even know how many there were. What we do know is that these shepherds lived out in the fields just outside of Bethlehem. And we see that they dutifully watched the sheep – even through the night. Shepherding is a hard job that requires constant attention. It takes a special kind of person to do such a job. Perhaps that’s why – unlike many ancient cultures – the Jewish culture actually respected shepherds to a degree (except for the wealthy, but they tended to look down on everyone). So, the traditional idea of God choosing the lowest-of-the-low to be the first isn’t 100% accurate. Sure, they were still a bit dirty and probably smelled of sheep, but they were fairly respected people.

    Not Ordinary Shepherds

    And that’s especially true if you believe that these were more than just ordinary shepherds. The fact that they lived in the fields is particularly noteworthy since the Mishnah (a group of traditions that governed the Jewish people after the Maccabean revolt) requires that sheep be kept out in the wilderness – not in homes or fields since they’d eat the crops. Of course it’s also noteworthy that the fact they were able to be in fields indicates the time of year had to be during harvest season and the time when there were no crops left (June/July – September/October).

    Back to the requirements found in the Mishnah. The exception to this rule goes to the sheep raised for the Temple sacrifices. Since those sheep needed to be blemish-free, they were raised in the safety of fields and more carefully watched over. In addition, the job of raising these important sheep fell to priests. And lastly, it’s known that the fields around Bethlehem were indeed used for such sheep-raising. So given all this, the first people God chose to announce Jesus’ birth to were actually shepherd-priests. More respected people who would have heard the angel’s message and understood some of the things said more readily than the traditionally imagined uneducated lowly outcast of a shepherd.

    Their Response

    When the angel declared who Jesus was (Savior, Messiah, Lord), these shepherd-priests would have recognized and understood what each of them meant and their significance – far better than any uneducated shepherd. Couple that with the presence of so many angels, and it’s no wonder that the shepherds jumped up and said “we need to see this baby for ourselves!” And when they got there and saw Jesus in a manger as the angel said, they rejoiced and became the first evangelists for Jesus telling everyone they could about it. And even though Luke records that everyone was “amazed” by what the shepherds said, that amazement probably came in the form of amazed that respected priests were running around like this talking about a baby.

    Takeaways

    So what takeaways do I have for you? When God tells you to do something, do it. The angels told the shepherds to go to Bethlehem and they did. No questions asked. Second, when God does something in your life, tell people about it. Your story can encourage others and give them hope. The shepherds told anyone and everyone they could about the infant Jesus and what the angels said. And third, don’t be afraid to do something out of pure joy, even if others say you look foolish. The shepherds probably looked a little foolish running around town like that, but they didn’t care.

    The Magi

    Perhaps the most mysterious of the Christmas characters are the people we call the Magi or Wise Men. We get very little about them from the Bible. Matthew records their story in only a handful of verses. Check them out.

    After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

    When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

    “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
        are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
    for out of you will come a ruler
        who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

    Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

    After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

    Matthew 2:1-12 (NIV)

    We get almost nothing about who these guys are or where they came from. And like the shepherds, we have no clue how many of them there were. We traditionally use three because of the three gifts they brought. But there very likely were more. What we see is that the Magi came from “the East”. Not real descriptive. Probably was east of the Jordan river, but that’s still a large area. Common beliefs include as close as Jordan or northern Saudi Arabia to as far as Persia (modern day Iran).

    A couple of things we can derive from the text is that they were very wealthy. The gifts they brought are a testament to that. After all, not everyone has gold lying around to give as a gift. And same with both frankincense and myrrh – both were very expensive to have around. So we know from their gifts that the Magi were wealthy people. We also see that they paid attention to the heavens and studied the celestial bodies to understand signs and such. Many people in the land of Judea missed the Star of Bethlehem and yet these foreigners come into Jerusalem asking about the king of the Jews.

    A couple of other notes is they travelled a great distance to honor a Jewish king. This might suggest that their people had relations with the Jews already. And lastly, I want to point out that they were religious in some form. After all, God warned them not to return to Herod via a dream and they obeyed.

    Who Were They?

    Persian/Babylonian

    I’m going to discuss a couple of the most prominent theories as to just who the Magi were and where they came from. The more traditional theory is that they were of some order of astrologers or priests that served in the ancient Babylonian and Persian courts. Think back to Nebuchadnezzar and his court. He had a bunch of wise men who couldn’t interpret his dream and then Daniel walked and said, “here it is”. Some have speculated that these Magi studied Daniel’s prophecies and recognized the time as when the king of the Jews (the Messiah) was to be born.

    While this could be true, the evidence isn’t terribly strong. For instance, we don’t know if those ancient orders were still active during the first centuries BC and AD. After all, those lands were under a totally different empire (Parthian) and we’re not sure if they had anything similar in their courts. To be sure, these people would fulfill the parts we do know about them being from the East and being wealthy enough to have and purchase the gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

    Nabatean

    Another theory that’s growing in prominence is that they were Nabataean. The Kingdom of Nabataea encompassed parts of Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the Sinai. So they’d fit the Easterly requirement. In addition, they had great relations with the Jews. Herod the Great’s mother was Nabataean and he maintained political ties with them through his reign. So it could easily make sense that the Nabataean’s would want to honor a new Jewish king – especially since they were renowned traders and would desire to maintain strong relations with any nation they did business with.

    Furthermore, Nabataean’s held a virtual monopoly on the trade of Frankincense. In fact, they dealt in Myrrh as well and had gold in abundance. So even if the Magi did not come from here, they probably purchased some of their gifts from the Nabataean traders, who, by the way, would have been very familiar with the stars for navigating the desert at night.

    Takeaways

    In the end, it doesn’t matter a whole lot who they were. I personally grew up believing they were from the Babylonian/Persian area and adopted the belief that they were familiar with Daniel’s prophecies. But honestly, I’m starting to lean toward the Nabataean theory. Regardless of where they came from, the takeaways are the same. First, they recognized God doing something significant. They likely knew the positions and types of stars and other celestial bodies by heart and would have noticed the craziness of everything going on during those couple of years leading up to Jesus’ birth and beyond (check out my post on what the Star of Bethlehem likely was for more detail). For us, the takeaway is to be so immersed in know the Word of God and His Spirit that you recognize when God is moving and can respond and partner with Him.

    Second, is that they showed great honor and worshipped the King of kings – long before He did anything. This is powerful. Today we must do the same and show God honor and give Him worship – even before we see any miracles, any answers to prayer, etc.

    Wrapping Up

    The biggest takeaways with these groups of people probably have to do with worship and telling people about Jesus. And not just at Christmas. It seems that people are more likely to talk about Jesus at Christmas and Easter, but not in June. We should be open to talking about Him all year round.

    By the way, did you notice any major themes that links all the Christmas Characters? Some of the most cross-cutting themes were Obedience, Hope, Devotion to God, and Spreading His messages. And I think if we practice all these things, we’ll find the abundant life that Jesus came to give us (John 10:10).

    Outro

    If you enjoyed this post, please consider doing one or all of these things. First, subscribe if you haven’t. If you have, thank you! Second, spread the word. Send these to everyone you know and encourage them to read and subscribe. This blog is purely word of mouth right now. I rely on you, my readers, to help me get more readers. And third, please consider donating. It’ll enable me to continue to offer regular posts.

    Feel free to leave a comment with any questions about what I’ve written, any additional comments about the post, or if there’s a topic you’d like me to write about. Before doing that though, be sure to check out all my posts here and see if I’ve covered it already. And if you find I’ve done it already but aren’t satisfied or still have more questions, let me know!

    Thank you for reading this! I greatly appreciate each one of you. Until next time, God bless you all!