Category Archives: Easter/Holy Week

Jesus’ New Start

Posted on by
2

            A new start! Jesus needs a new start?  What about Good Friday, “It is finished”, and an Easter sunrise service why would Jesus need a new start?  Growing up in a denominational church, which observed Lent and had grand Easter services I guess I always thought that Easter Day was it.  Everything was done by noon on Easter Sunday.  Jesus rose from the dead, He had the Keys back and His time on the cross settled everything.  HE DID ALL OF THAT AND MORE!  I believe that Jesus only needed to be the sacrifice for my/our sin ONCE.  His work on the cross is/was finished and He sprinkled His blood on the Mercy Seat Himself and it does not need to be done again. 

            The new start I am talking about is not dealing with His sacrifice.  He got several new titles and honestly the work of starting His Kingdom was not done.  What He did after the Resurrection is the work that was foreshadowed by Moses and Joshua.  Both of these leaders had work to do after their (first) Passovers.  Jesus stayed around for forty days because He had work to finish before His Ascension and the birthing of His Church (Pentecost).

The Shadows of the New Start

            Moses’ Passover, which birthed the nation of Israel brought them out of Egypt and started them to the Promised Land.  The first part of the trip became the Feast of Unleavened Bread.  The parting of the Red Sea (baptism) took them away from the swords and brickyards of Egypt.  The first true destination for Israel was to sacrifice and worship God at the Mountain.  It was here that Moses received the Law.

            Joshua’s Passover was held in the Promised Land, as the start of the Land of Israel.  The Ark and the people passed through the Jordan River (baptism).  After defeating Jericho and Ai, they traveled to the mountains of Blessing and Curses.  Part of the ceremony here was to build an altar, worship God, and Joshua copied the Law onto stone tablets.  He then had to lead the people in conquering the land and dividing it for the tribes.

            Elisha in 2 Kings 3 had a “passing through the Jordan” on his way past Jerusalem to Bethel and then to the mountain where Elijah had his great victory.

            Jesus had two very similar experiences with the Jordan.  The first was His personal baptism by John that was followed by forty days in the wilderness (Matthew 3 and 4).  Satan did take Him to a high mountain (4:8).  The second one was His final trip to Jerusalem and His death on Mount Calvary.

What Started New for Jesus

Some of these are very subjective on my part.

  1. His priesthood, that is like Melchizedek’s priesthood. Hebrews 5, 7 and 8
  2. He holds the keys of Death and Hades. Revelations 1:18
  3. He is the mediator of the new covenant. 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 8:6, 9:15, and 12:24
  4. A new seat and footstool. Revelations 3:21 and Hebrews 1:13
  5. He has a new name. Revelations 3:12
  6. He gives authority. Revelations 2:26-27
  7. The Spirit could now come and be our Helper.

Hebrews and Revelation have more of these new things or things that He is now worthy to do.  I am going to add that He can now minister to the Gentiles.  Remember He was sent to the House of Israel.

A New Appearance

            In the Book of Revelations, His appearance is different. Shock, joy, or unbelief may have caused people to not recognize Him but here are the verses that lean toward Him appearing different: Matthew 28:17, Mark 16:12, Luke 24:16 and 40, John 20:14 and 21:4 and 11. I just have a feeling that His new appearance was between His first earthly appearance and what He looked like when He transfigured on top of the mountain.

Resurrection 

            There are many verses that proclaim Jesus as the Resurrection or talk about His resurrection.  Matthew 22:31 and 27:53; Luke 14:14 and 20:36; and John 11:25 are just a few of these verses.  In studying the word “resurrection” it seems our modern usage of it is centered or even defined by what Jesus did or what the dead will do.  This is great and I do value that resurrection is associated with Jesus.  But we need to remember that there was a transformation that took place.  Jesus was not restored to what He was before He was put on the cross.  He came out better or “new”. (Steven Furtick started some of this idea in his sermon on 2/28/21.) 

The 1828 Webster’s Dictionary defines the word resurrection as “a rising again”.  My Strong’s Concordance defines it as “standing up”.  I like that better because this shows me what Jesus did.  He stood up again.  Standing gives me the idea that He was about to start doing new things.  Let us look at a very important verse that Jesus said. 

John 12:32 (KJV) And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.  

This is a reference that Jesus made about how He would die on the cross.  But as our Master Teacher often does this term has another layer of meaning. The NIV has a footnote that the term “lifted up” also means to be exalted. The Orthodox Jewish Bible (OBJ) has the term “hagbah” for the term “lifted up”.  This is the word/term for the act of lifting up the Torah for the congregation to see as it is read during a service.  Jesus is the Word.  So, if we lift up or exalt Jesus, the Word, all men will be drawn to Him.  

Jesus was hagbah on the cross for our sin.  His resurrection, His new start, or Him standing up again, was so we would lift Him up.

Tree of Knowledge – A Tree of Good and Evil – The Cross

Posted on by
20

I am asking you to put yourself into the mind frame of anyone in the Roman world before the resurrection of Jesus and the writings of the first apostles.  If we transported such a person into our timeframe and they saw crucifixes and crosses around our necks, on our books, and being used as decorations on and in buildings; what would be their first thoughts?

  • Are these people marked to die?
  • Is that a jail building where you are sent to wait?
  • Can there be that many people working for Rome to kill people?
  • There are countless variations of these questions.

One thing I am fairly certain of is they would only follow you if they wanted to see someone die a slow painful death.

Since Jesus’ death we had smoothed the cross out, lost the blood (for the most part), made it huge or much smaller, and made then shiny.  Most of these actions can and will be defended.

Alright, back to my post.  The Romans did not invent the idea of killing someone on a pole, they just perfected the practice.  Ezra 6:11 and Esther 9:13 refer to people being “impaled on a pole” (NIV).  The Romans added a cross piece and that extended the length of time it took for someone to die.  If you said “cross” in Israel it was an evil thing and they took it as a curse.

Before you start thinking that I don’t like the cross in artwork or on a building, you are INCORRECT.  It has served people as a point of meditation and comfort for a long time.  I do have an issue if you make it a “good luck charm”. 

Now, imagine people who are under Roman rule with Herod in charge of your nation being told “if you want to be my worthy disciple deny yourself and carry your cross as you follow Me”. (Matthew 10:38, 16:24) The Sermon on the Mount, yes.  Healing sickness and disease, yes.  Food for 5000 plus people, yes and yes.  Carry my cross, not so much.  To be made a public “spectacle” would be “foolish”, so why “endure its pain and shame”.

Yes, there is evil associated with those two pieces of wood.  The leaders of the religious classes in Jerusalem made that clear in Matthew 27:42 with their challenge for Jesus to come off of the cross.  Simon of Cyrene, probably, was not too happy with having to pick up Jesus’ cross – Matthew 16:24. (That statement is very subjective depending on who is preaching in the morning.  His sons are mentioned later in the Book so good did come from it.)  But, just like the Tree in the Garden, we know its evil side and its good side.  

Hebrews 12:2 clearly speaks of Jesus knowing the cross carried shame.  He went past that for the joy it would give when He could sit next to the Father again.  In enduring the evil, He perfected our faith and disarmed the demonic powers by His triumph on the cross. (Colossians 2:15, Yes, I am mixing verses.  I will reference them and I used the NIV.)  As Peter witnesses to Cornelius in Acts 10 about what Jesus did and how the Jews hung Him on the cross; I can hear Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 1:18 – When I was perishing the message that the cross was good was foolishness, but now it is the power of God in my life.

Exercise, sugar, and many other things in life have an evil side but also a good side.  We know things like this because Eve wanted the fruit and Adam took a bite, thus getting knowledge. 

I AM in John

Posted on by
5

I AM in John

The purpose of this post is to explore the times when Jesus uses “I am” in the Book of John.  I think this adds to John’s purpose of proving that Jesus is the Messiah.  There are some loose groupings of how/when Jesus used the term.  I will not try and list all of the verses but will leave that up to you and a concordance or a Bible app like BibleGateway. 

We use the phrase “I am” in our speech with other people frequently.  In Exodus 3:14 the Almighty God choose this phase as the name He wanted Moses and the Israelites to know Him by.  As with many translations, our English thoughts and ancient Hebrew usage can yield slightly different meanings.  (see I AM – Exodus) But think about it the next time you introduce yourself to someone or announce that you are going somewhere.

To non-Jews    Jesus used this phrase when He was talking to the Samaritan Woman and to Pilate.  These were at the beginning and end of His earthly ministry.  Jesus affirmed to the Woman that He was the Messiah and to Pilate that He was a King – John 4:26/18:37.  

What Jesus Said About Himself This is the reason I started thinking about this post.  I know there are other sources that will only list seven of these.  (Seldom am I in perfect harmony with them.)  Remember, this is just from the Gospel of John.  They will be out of order.

  1. 8:58 – before Abraham was born, I am (NIV).  The 8th chapter of John has eleven times when Jesus uses “I am”.  This is the only time that Jesus actually declares He is God.  This was done at the end of a long conversation with the Jews in the Temple.  They were going to stone Him and He “slipped away”.
  2. 4:26 – He told the woman at the well that He was the Messiah.
  3. 18:37 – Pilate He was a King.
  4. 6:35 This was after He fed the 5,000.  He identified as the Bread of Life (manna).
  5. 8:12 In the Temple.  He is the Light of the World.  Jesus says this again in 9:5 as He is healing the man born blind.
  6. 10:7+9 This is with the “man born blind” – Jesus is the Gate for the Sheep.    
  7. 10:11 He is the Good Shepherd.
  8. 10:36 He is God’s Son.
  9. 11: 25 He is the Resurrection and the Life.  This was said as He was raising Lazarus and going to Jerusalem for His final Passover.
  10. 13: 13 Jesus quotes the disciples calling Him Teacher and Lord.  
  11. 15:1+5 He calls Himself the True Vine.  This was in His last meal on Thursday of Holy Week.        
  12. 14: 10,11, and 20 Jesus says He is in the Father.  Even without this one, I am over the seven.

He Is Going Away I count seventeen times Jesus says He is going away.  20:17 is to Mary at the garden tomb.  The other times He says this in private and before a crowd starts in Chapter 7:34 and 8:14+21.  Here He was in the Temple.  The majority of these announcements are during Holy Week and are in chapters 13, 14, 16, and 17.  Jesus told the Disciples, but they could not hear these as a prophecy.  He told them plainly in 12:36 that He was to be “lifted up”. 

The Mob 18:5,6, and 8 takes place in the Garden with Judas and the mob.  They are looking for Jesus of Nazareth and He answers with “I am He”.  My post the Root, Branch, Fruit deals with the prophecy you “cannot find” in Matthew 2:23.  The key is the word netzer which means branch and is the root for Nazareth.

Great Commission – John’s Style 20:21 has Jesus telling the Disciples “I am sending you”.  Jesus compares His order to what the Father did with Him.  Jesus has also given them “peace” and then breaths on them to receive the Holy Spirit.  Pentecost and their next step in God was the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.  During the Counting of the Omer, the Disciples spent time with Jesus before the Ascension and their ten days of intense prayer. 

Two Gardens – Easter 2020

Posted on by
12

This post is an extension of the Two Gardens post from 2019 and the Birth of a New Adam. (The link will take you to my wordpress.com post.)  The “seven exchanges” are from the book Praying Grace, it is from TBN and Hillsong Church – pgs. 80 to 93.  I am comparing and contrasting things in Eden with a similar event in Jesus’ gardens.  In this post, some of these extend past the borders of the garden.  In reality, this is also comparing Adam to Jesus (the second Adam).

  • Adam was born in Eden. Jesus was resurrected (born again) in His garden.
  • Adam could not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  They were removed from Eden so they could not eat from the Tree of Life.  Jesus’ tree gives us the opportunity to eat from the tree of life.  We will see the Tree of Life again!  They grow next to the river that flows from the throne in Heaven. Revelation 22: 2 adds that they produce fruit for every month of the year.
  • Adam “ran” or hid from God.  Jesus “ran” to God and His will.

The book Praying Grace has seven devotions that are labeled the “great exchanges”.  Each “first” item is what we bring to the cross and the “second” item is what Jesus gives us to replace the problem.

  1. Sin for Righteousness – Adam let sin into our lives.  Jesus covers our sin with His righteousness and allows us to be accepted by the Father. 2 Corinthians 5:21
  2. Curses for Blessings – There were curses given in Eden.  There are curses that have been spoken or given to us, even though we may not have deserved them!  Jesus’ blood covers those, ending them in our lives.  Revelations 22:3 states that there will be no more curses. Galatians 3:13-14
  3. Rejection for Acceptance – Adam rejected God when he ate the fruit.  Rejection is rooted in sin.  When we come to Jesus and make Him Lord, we are accepted again into God’s plan. Isaiah 53:3
  4. Sickness for Health – “By His stripes, we are healed.”  The Father has a plan for us and healthy living is part of it. Isaiah 53:5
  5. Shame for Glory – Adam and Eve felt shame and hid in the Garden. Shame is not something we have to live with because Jesus took our shame and covered it with His blood. Hebrews 12:2
  6. Poverty for Abundance – Tough times occur, but the Father has more for us than we can imagine. 2 Corinthians 8:9
  7. Death for Life – This is spiritual death.  The Father wants us coming to Jesus and accepting Life (His way). Romans 5:12

Pic is from http://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/gnpi-101-jesus-resurrection/

Day of Atonement, Passover, Epiphany

Posted on by
20

The Day of Atonement, Passover, and Epiphany may seem like three strange Feast to be linked together when talking about the birth of Jesus.  Bear with me as I explain their connection.  

I know it is a good thing that God is a “God Who hides Himself” and did not give us exact dates for everything that occurred.  “He concealed things” so we could search them out.  Luke or Matthew could have given us “better” timestamps but Holy Spirit stopped them.  But Luke did give us some very important calendar dates.

Time

Jewish timekeeping is different than Western thought, it was started by God in the Garden.  (another post on time) The Biblical day starts in the evening and goes to daylight.  This thought is consistent in the Bible as there are many examples of things going from dark to light.  The Jewish religious month is lunar-based; they would add an extra month when needed to keep them in line with the revolution of the earth.   In the Book of Leviticus, the major feasts are set in this framework of months.

Day of Atonement

This important day, for the Jews, of fasting, prayer, and repentance is explained in Leviticus 16.  In Leviticus 23: 26 its time is given as the tenth day of the seventh month.  In Luke we find Zachariah, John’s father, doing the offering of incense behind the Veil in the Second Temple.  Luke 1: 23 had him finish “his time of service” before going home.  This possibly was until the end of the month, so he was with Elizabeth in the eighth month.  She stayed secluded for five months.  (I am not trying to do days or exact times, those belong to God!)

Passover

Luke 1:26 has the “sixth month” for Mary’s visit with Gabriel.  That should be the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, which makes it the first month of the Jewish year, the month of Passover!  The Father is a God of order.  It would seem fitting to “birth” Jesus in Mary at Passover. That would put Jesus’ “coming out party” with the angels and shepherds in the December/January time frame (Julian Calendar) of the month of Tevet.  (see the calendar below)

Epiphany 

From ancient times (before the fourth century) the 6th of January has carried special importance in the Church!  Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his Testament to Freedom, pgs. 504-5 talks about Epiphany.  I read it in a compilation called God is in the Manger.  On page 90, he talks about four events associated with that date – the birth of Jesus, His baptism, the wedding of Cana, and the arrival of the Magi. Traditions are frequently built on facts.  Some of these I will not try to defend or deny, but it sure is interesting.  (Again, I am not trying to be dogmatic in writing this.)

Tevet is the Jewish tenth month.  The root of the word comes from tov or nine.  The meaning of the word is “good”.  If you look in Psalm 119: 65 – 72, the ninth section of that acrostic psalm you will find the idea of good four times in the NIV. (I did an alternative to how Psalm 119 is written.)

Matthew, in his telling of the Christmas story, injects that the Wise Men had seen the star two years earlier (Herod killed the babies two and under.).  He gives no timestamp, but if it was on Jesus’ birthday (Passover) when they found Him, it would fit. 

Okay, I will go out on a limb here, because I know the Father is a God of order!  Jesus’ return with Mary and Joseph from Egypt should have been at the same time as the Exodus (Passover).  I will inch a little further out and say that Jesus’ baptism with John coincided with the anniversary of the “baptism” of the people in the Red Sea. 

The wedding at Cana – I am clueless!  John was writing about proofs of Jesus’ divinity when he wrote on the Seven Miracles (or the Plus One I added), not about dates and times.

For you scholars out there, in Joy To The World by Scott Hahn on page 162, he has a small discussion about Epiphany and gives references. To be honest, I have read his book several times and do not remember ever seeing this discussion.  (Rereading is never a problem.)  I like the way the times and feast fit together, and it gives me a reason to reflect on Epiphany.  One day in Heaven I will have to ask how close I was to being correct.