Category Archives: Passover to Pentecost

The Cross

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This study about the Cross started simply enough, I mean it is a central object in my faith, so of course I knew all about it. Types and shadows and many illustrations from sermons should qualify me as knowledgeable. Well, I was not as good as I thought. I will focus on the wooden implement and not the religious and doctrinal aspects of the cross.

This needs to be said. Jesus was betrayed and condemned by the religious leaders of His day (the Sanhedrin). The political rulers punished Jesus with a beating and allowed Him to be mocked. He was then sentenced to death by hanging on the cross (Rome did this to non-Romains). He had to carry His cross out of the city and be nailed to it and hung on it. He did this for me.

Old Testament Examples

  • Genesis 40:19 – Pharoah was going to kill his servant and hang him on a pole.
  • Joshua 8:29 – The king of Ai was put on a tree and left until the end of the day. He was removed because of Deuteronomy 21:23. A person hung on a tree was under a curse and had to be buried so as not to defile the land.
  • Ezra 6:11 – This is King Darius agreeing with King Cyrus about pulling a beam from the house of anyone that changes the decree to build the Temple of God and have them impaled on it.
  • Esther 5:14 – A hanging tree is a good rendering of gallows. I believe the seventy-five-foot height was more about making a statement than torturing or killing the man.

I have read that these hangings and impaling were for public display of the body after they had been killed and not for the actual killing as the Romains did to Jesus.

A Lot of Words

Atzei, etz, nace, bad, xylon, and stauros are Hebrew and Greek words that deal with wooden things in the Bible.

Genesis 22:6 is the wood (atzei) for the sacrifice being carried by Isaac to Mount Moriah. This word is related to etz, #H6086 in the Strong’s. Etz is a tree or wood and is first used for the trees in the Garden and is the main word for a tree or wood in the Scriptures. The picture of Isaac is a type of Jesus carrying the Cross to the place of sacrifice.

Exodus 15:25 is Hashem showing Moses a “piece of etz” to throw into a pool to make it drinkable. Yes, there are many legends about that etz, none of which can be confirmed in Scripture. I will agree it is a picture of Jesus. I have heard good sermons describing it as a type of the Cross, so I will leave this one up to you. Be a Berean and study this one out.

Exodus 25:14 is part of the instructions for building the Ark and the Tabernacle. The two poles that were part of the Ark and used to carry it are called staves (KJV) or poles. The word here is bad #H905 and it refers to a “branch of a tree”. Since they are part of the Ark, I do not think they represent the Cross, but the Holy Spirit.   

Numbers 21:9 definitely is a picture of Jesus on the Cross. This is the story of the brass serpent on a pole. The word nace #H5251 is frequently used for a military standard or banner, or a flag or sail. The idea of a standard really would be a picture of a crosspiece on the Cross.

In the New Testament, the word for cross is stauros. (Please see the websites listed below.) From historical sources, it is described as a pole with no crosspiece of any kind. Wow, that would mess up a lot of great sermons.

Yes, I started looking for early Christian art that depicted the Passion. There really is not that much early art that shows a cross (1st to 3rd century). The Restless Pilgrim post is graffiti that is mocking someone that worshipped Jesus, but it does show a human figure on a cross with a crosspiece and a footrest. The other picture was a royal seal of Emperor Constantine. He had a traditional Christian cross on it (It was in a movie about Rome) and it was made in the late 300’s before his death. I have also heard that when the early Christians “lifted holy hands” they were making themselves into the shape of the Cross.

Paul in Galatians

Galatians 3:13 restates Deuteronomy 21:23 which says if you are hung on a tree/pole (xylon) you are cursed. But in 6:14 he will only boast in the cross (stauros) of our Lord Jesus Christ. Like the Tree in the Garden, it carried a good and a bad message.

My thoughts-I believe the Romains took torture to a whole new level with their use of the cross. So, it does not really matter if Jesus’ hands were straight up or splayed out on a crosspiece, they made sure it was horrible. (I do think there was a crosspiece.)

Could a Greek word (stauros) have been “recycled” for a Romain device? Americans do it all the time. That would have allowed for the upright to stay in the ground and the condemned just to carry the crosspiece.

That Romain cross, like a tree, was planted in the ground and held Jesus between Heaven and Earth. He was nailed to that wood, and it became my Tree of Life. The Cross held the most important piece of fruit to ever hang from a tree; make sure you are found in Him.

What’s the earliest depiction of the crucifixion? – Restless Pilgrim

Stauros – Wikipedia

σταυρός | billmounce.com

The Bride of the Lamb

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I hitched the Bride of the Lamb to Daughter Zion and Eve in my last post, and I noticed something about the parables that Jesus told about weddings. This is unusual for me to do; I am going to list the references. The parables are the same in Mark, Luke, and Matthew, so I will list just Matthew.

  • Matthew 22
  • Matthew 25
  • John 3:29
  • 2 Corinthians 11:2 
  • Revelations 19:6-9
  • Revelations 21:2 and 9
  • Revelations 22:17

In Matthew, the parables are part of what I call the Sermons on Two Mounts. Matthew 22 is on the Temple Mount and is in response to the Pharisees and Sadducees challenging Jesus’ authority. They knew these parables were about them and they were trying to arrest Him. This wedding banquet parable talks about burning the city. That happened with the Babylonians and would happen again with the Romans. (It is a legend that those two destructions happened on the same day.) 22:11-14 is a passage that intrigues me. The leaders challenged Jesus again with a question about marriage, they did not like His answer.

Matthew 25 is on the Mount of Olives and is told to just His disciples. I believe this one has more to do with the Church/Bride that is about to be born on Pentecost. This parable also has a group of people who were not ready for the coming of the bridegroom.

These two parables come after Palm Sunday. This ride into the city mirrors David’s ride into Jerusalem after the death of Absolom. In the big picture of Jesus’ mission, this was when He came to pay the brides-price for us (His death on the cross). The actions of the King/Father and those of the bridegroom are what are highlighted. Yes, the Virgins had to be ready for the coming of the groom. This reflects the wedding practices of the Hebrews at that time. It should also speak to us now. The father and the bridegroom controlled the wedding, and the bride had to make herself ready. John 3:29 is John the Baptist speaking to another aspect of the bride and groom relationship and how his “Elijah relationship” worked with Jesus.

Okay. This study has surprised me with the strange fact the Bride of Christ and the Bride of the Lamb are not in any major translation (well at least I could not find them). It is a given that we belong to Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2) and He is the bridegroom, and the Church will be His bride, Revelations 19:6-9 makes that connection clear. The other references in Revelations bring us back to a Daughter Zion picture with the New Jerusalem being cast as the bride and being shown off as such. The lavish gates of heaven and the gemstone foundations speak very much to a Hebrew bride being dressed in her jewels and riches. Please do not forget the righteous deeds we are to put on so we can be ready to meet Him.

The fact that the angels use “the Lamb” instead of Christ or Messiah has my attention. It seems that I do not think enough about Jesus being the Lamb.  

Why would the parables in the Gospels focus more on the bridegroom and his actions than on the bride?

Numbers 9:11

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This Bible 911 is from Numbers and is about the second Passover the Israelites were to celebrate in the Exodus. Our verse shows how important it was to God that all of His children remember their personal and corporate exodus out of Egypt. A problem had come up because some of the people were unclean during the first month and could not join the community in the observance. Exodus 12 has the story and the rules for the very first Passover.

11 The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. (KJV) bold added

If you missed the first month you had to observe Passover during the second month of the year. The rules were the same; verse twelve stresses not leaving any of the lamb until morning, and breaking no bones of the lamb. The lamb was killed on the fourteenth and eaten overnight on the fifteenth. Remember their day starts in the evening.

Jesus was our Passover Lamb and He was killed before twilight and buried before the morning. His legs were not broken because He was already dead. All of this was not wasted on the centurion, that is why he said that Jesus was the Son of God (Matthew 27:54).

Extra: I have no doubt that Passover was celebrated it just is not mentioned that often in Scripture. Find all the times it is recorded that Passover was observed.

The Sermons on the Mounts-War and Rumors

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In Matthew 24 Jesus has finished His sermons on the Temple Mount, for the leaders and the crowds, and is going to the Mount of Olives. The disciples comment about the stones of the Second Temple, built by Herod, and Jesus predicts they are coming down. (Rome accomplished this in 70 A.D.) Back on the Mount of Olives, the disciples ask when the end will come, this is the start of several lessons about the end times and the kingdom of God. Jesus, in Matthew 24:6, uses the phrase, “wars and rumors of war”. Mark 13:7 and Luke 21:9 also are references, Luke has the term revolutions.

War or Battle

We do not tend to think of these as the same thing, but in the Greek (Strong’s 4171) they are the same word or from the same root word-polemos. There are a few times polemos is translated as the word fight. The occurrence of this word/idea is rare in the Gospels but not in the Epistles. (Mounce Reverse Interlinear NT) The above verses account for most times it is translated as war with Luke 14:31 being the other time, it talks about a king planning a war.

I find it interesting that Paul and the other Epistle writers talk about war, battles, and fighting more than Jesus did.

Rumor

Akoe (Strong’s G 189) is the Greek word for a rumor. This is a root for many words that deal with hearing or reports.

In studying the idea of rumors, I found two Old Testament verses that cover rumors very well. These are from the NIV.

Jeremiah 51:46 tells us to not lose heart because a new rumor shows up every year.

Ezekiel 7:26-Calamity upon calamity will come, and rumor upon rumor.

The major difference between then and now is these reports can appear in minutes instead of months.

Fight

To introduce the difference between fight and battle and not talk a little about it now, did not seem right. In the New Testament, several words (5 to 8) are translated as the word fight. They indicate levels of conflict and possible places. One is strictly about fighting over words.

On the Mounts

 For those that want to think Jesus just walked about saying love, love; I will point to these sermons before His death. These interactions should be classified as fighting and the whole morning in the Temple as battle after battle, or a war.

The types and shadows of these days started with Abraham leading Isaac to the mount to be sacrificed, Joshua’s journey into the Promised Land, David’s return after the death of Absalom, and Elisha’s trip to Mt Carmel.

Jesus cleansed the Temple and ended the curse of fig leaf acts started by Adam and Eve. He silenced the religious leaders and prophesied the end of the Second Temple. Jesus’ sorties from the east bank included raising a dead man, healing blind eyes, and bringing a sinner back to the Father. He cried over Jerusalem and announced His death, then still did a victory ride into the city to fulfill the words of Zechariah 9:9.

Yes, there have been wars and reports of wars, how could we expect anything else. Come, Lord Jesus!

God Raised

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The phrase “God raised” is used in both Testaments, with different emphases. That phrase graciously travels from Hebrew to Greek into Olde English, and to us. God raised up enemies for Solomon (1 Kings 11:23,14:7) when he was disobedient. Here the phrase means to strengthen someone that compares to our thoughts about Jesus coming back to life. (No, I have not done a complete word study.) God raised-Theos is God. Raised is egeiro. Strong: G1453       

This is for free. 1. A very general statement about the word “arise”. In our Old Testament, man says that the Lord should arise. In the New Testament, the Lord says that man needs to arise. (Very general statement.) 2. Joseph Prince in his devotional book for 3/23 thinks God raised Jesus because He was pleased with Him and the debt was satisfied and paid in full. Sounds good to me.   

Like my post “Jesus Knew”, I want this to be a reference work. My keywords were – resurrect, raised, and baptism. There are many stories that shadow the redemption story. Here are a few:

  • Moses’ bronze snake.
  • Jonah giving his life for the sailors and then being freed from the whale.

God gave Samson the strength to pull Baal’s temple down.

  • Isaac being freed from the rock of sacrifice.
  • Hosea redeeming his wayward wife.
  • Abel died because of his righteous obedience.
  • Passing through the Red Sea. (Going in death. Coming out new life.)
  • Passing through the Jordan River. 

Jesus Said – In John 11:25 Jesus told Martha that He was the: 1. I Am 2. The Resurrection 3. Life. When He talked about resurrection, it was frequently with Heaven and Marriage. He also said things would be repaid then. One teaching on the Resurrection was a reply to the Sadducees during His teaching on the Temple Mount during Holy Week. It was about Heaven and Marriage and the power of I AM (Matthew 22: 23-33).

References in Psalms that are worth noting are 80:17, 89:48, 16:10, 119:153, and 49:9. 

The next sections are my meager attempt to group verses.

Witness –  

  • Acts 2:31,32 – Peter to the crowd at Pentecost. He quotes David from Psalm 16:10.
  • Acts 3:15 – Peter and John after the healing of the cripple.
  • Acts 4:33 – The Apostles testified to the resurrection, and they had great power.
  • Acts 10:40 – How He died, and that He was afterwards. 
  • Acts 13:30 – God raised Him, and people saw Him.

Why God did it for Jesus –

  • Acts 2:24 – to free Jesus from the agony of death, because it could not hold Him.
  • Acts 13:34 + 37 – So, He would not see decay and receive the blessings of David.
  • Romans 6:4 – That we may have a new life.
  • Acts 2:32 – Jesus received the promised Holy Spirit and poured it on us.
  • 1 Peter 1:21 – To glorify Jesus, to have our faith and hope in God.

Benefits for us –

  • Acts 3:10 – To bless us by turning us from our wicked ways.
  • Acts 4:10 – Healing in His name.
  • Acts 5:30 – Jesus is at the right hand of God so Israel can repent and be forgiven.
  • Romans 4:24 – Believing that God raised Jesus is credited to us as righteousness. 
  • Romans 7:4 – That we may bear fruit for God.
  • Romans 8:21 – Creation will be freed from decay and brought into glory.
  • Romans 8:34 – Because Jesus is at the right hand of God, He is interceding for us.
  • Romans 10:9 – If we declare Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved.
  • 1 Corinthians 6:14 – God raised Jesus, He will raise us.
  • 1 Corinthians 15:15 – If Christ was not raised, then no one can be raised from the dead. Vs 12 -58 is Paul’s treatise on the resurrection.
  • Ephesians 2:6 – We are seated with Jesus in heavenly realms.
  • 1 Peter 1:3 – We have a new birth and a living hope.

Baptism 

  • Colossians 2:12 and 3:1.
  • Romans 6:4
  • 1 Peter 3:21 and 1:21

The message of the cross (God raised Jesus) should be what we are preaching if we want to see demonstrations of the Spirit’s power. 1 Corinthians 1:18 + 2:4