Tag Archives: what Jesus did after the Resurrection

Hebrews 911

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Hebrews 9:11- But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building (KJV)

This verse in Hebrews is a great part of the story of what Jesus did in the time period known as Counting the Omer or Passover to Pentecost. Jesus started and ended His earthly ministry with a forty-day period surrounded by heavenly overtones. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross was for our sins and provided the way for us to fellowship with the Father. These are some things that needed tending to.

  • This is the umbrella statement; He fulfilled the First Covenant and started the Better Covenant.
  • Yearly atonement by the blood of animals was ended.
  • There was a change in the priesthood, Jesus is now the High Priest.
  • Jesus’ death was the paying of the bride’s price for the Church’s marriage to Jesus.
  • Paid debts, possession of keys, a crushed head, a footstool, and authority on earth and over people are legal topics that were addressed and will be finally settled at the Second Coming.
  • I believe Jesus still had instructions He gave to His disciples.

The High Priest – The term Christ is not a name but a title of authority. See Chapter 7 of Hebrews and read about Melchizedek in Psalm 110. Melchizedek means king of righteousness and this Psalm ties King David and Melchizedek with the Messiah/Christ. (See: Was David a Priest?)

Jesus’ priesthood is like the one of Melchizedek. It does not come through the family line of Aaron (the Law) because Jesus was from the family of Judah. Our becoming “king and priest” is because we are found in Jesus and covered by His blood. (I tried for years to link Mary to the tribe of Levi. There is no need for that because He is of the “same kind” of the priesthood as Melchizedek.)

Term vs office – Under the Law, there was always a priest who was anointed to be the leader and go into the Tabernacle and offer blood on the Day of Atonement. The term High Priest really came into the vocabulary of Israel around the Second Temple period, before it was the “anointed priest”. Cohen hagadol (Hebrew) is the term you may want to explore further. Archiereus is the Greek word. Unfortunately, political power, earthly politics, and money also came in with the title. It is a good study to go further into.

Good Things – Your favorite translation, denomination, attitude, and preacher will affect your thoughts on the “good things to come” or agathos ginomai. But 1 Corinthians 15, especially verse 44 and 49 that are talking about a spiritual body sounds good to me.

For the writer of Hebrews Pentecost was real, the Holy Spirit’s gifts were a part of church life, and preaching the Gospel and making disciples was confirmed by miracles, signs, and wonders. Angry Jews and Roman persecution were also part of being a follower of the Way. So, do not put God in a box and believe what Jesus said and died to give us.

Megas kai Teleios Skene or “A greater and more perfect tent.” – More than perfect is hard for my humanity to grasp, but we are talking about God now, so my limits do not count. There are several levels here, so I will start with Moses. Moses made a copy of what he saw in Heaven-9:23 and 24. He inspected this copy in Exodus 39:43, it was “perfect”. So, how could something be more perfect? It is not of this creation it is heavenly. I have heard it preached that Jesus is the earthly Tabernacle and His resurrected body is the “more perfect tent”. I guess it is appropriate to include Solomon’s Temple in this train of thought, the major reason for this is Exodus 40:34 and 1 Kings 8:10 is the same response from God. The area was covered with “the cloud” and the priest could not do their work. His presence would elevate the Holy of Holies in Solomon’s man-made temple to the “perfect level”.

Ktisis – In the King James Bible ktisis became a building. That word in other places is creation. The entire last sentence should make it clear that this “building” is not of this earth. I have a feeling that the thought of our God having more than one “creation” may disturb people. He is the Creator; I have no need to fit a limitless God into my box.

I have had people imply that the tomb with the two angels was the Mercy Seat. It is no doubt a shadow, but that tomb was cut-rock made by human hands. Jesus still had to enter and present the blood offering Himself in Heaven.

Hebrews 9 – This chapter is a beautiful mini-lesson on the Tabernacle, the offerings, and the blood of Jesus. It covers the “shadows” and the fulfillment of Jesus’ sin offering at the altar of Heaven.

As I studied for this Bible 911, a question came up that I did not find a simple answer to. I have looked at Exodus 12, 23, and 34, Numbers 28 and 29, Leviticus 16 and 23, and Ezekiel 45 and 46. These are texts on the feast/sacred assemblies and their respective offerings. Hebrews 9:13 with its “blood of goats and bulls” added to my search. The question is – When did Jesus put His blood on the heavenly Mercy Seat? Was it before Pentecost after His ascension, during His Passover days in the tomb, or did He wait for the seventh month and do it on the Day of Atonement?

The “family” Passover lamb was for protection/deliverance from the death angel and to remember the first one. The later corporate offerings had bulls, goats, and lambs as burnt offerings and sin offerings. (I guess these stopped with the destruction of the Second Temple.) Each major feast day had a corporate offering, these are types and shadows of Jesus. The blood on the Day of Atonement was carried into the Holy of Holies and put on the Mercy Seat. That seems like the best answer, that Jesus waited to make His presentation. I just don’t see anything to back up this waiting period in the New Testament or as a shadow in the First Covenant.  

Leviticus 16 – Leviticus 16 has detailed instructions for the High Priest on the Day of Atonement including the scapegoat. Here is where the phrase about the blood of bulls and goats comes into focus. We can see parts of this feast in what happened with Barabbas and Pilate on the morning of the trial. There is more “What” answered but still not the When. It must be noted that the Anointed Priest did not offer a lamb on this day for sin.  

Round Two – Instead of rewriting the last section I decided to just add this. Several articles were called to my attention about Jesus’ blood, the presentation of His blood, and the Resurrection. They worked with and through Hebrews, especially chapter 9. They did a good job on the why and how but really did not answer when did Jesus present His blood. To be clear, I am not sure we are told or given clues, but the study is fun, and I am interested in the topic. So, on to round two.

  • The cross received Jesus’ blood, just like the doorframe on the first Passover. (I am not sure where they put it during the years of wandering.) But the doorframe is not the altar or the Mercy Seat.
  • The hours in between Jesus’ meeting with Mary and then dining with the disciples in the Upper Room is a possibility. Why? Going with King James’s “do not touch me” that could be “do not hold on to or cling to me” to Jesus inviting the disciple to touch Him might be the answer. He ascended and it was okay. But then why did He need another ascension forty days later (a formal goodbye)? The curtain tearing in the Second Temple at the crucifixion could play into that argument.
  • In the feast-day offerings there were provisions for a sin offering that did not require going into the Mercy Seat. This may back up my thought about waiting for the formal presentation on the Day of Atonement.

It is Finished, The Feast Collide – St. Augustine said, “The New Testament is hidden in the Old, and the Old is fulfilled in the New.” God in His Word uses parables, proverbs, types and shadows, metaphors, and similes to help teach us the truth. The Father does not contradict Himself but will reveal His truth to us in levels for our good. Our computer-assisted artificial intelligent perfectionism does not allow for that kind of teaching, we have lost so much. Please don’t get stuck on one level, God has more. Many of my studies (The Ark, Kingdom, and the Bible 911 series), like the Feast, have collided in this study with Holy Week. I can give you what I have, I am sure there is more.

  • Jesus rode into Jerusalem in a parade like David.
  • Abraham started the idea that God would supply a lamb to save us (a ram shows up). Passover carried that theme as the lamb’s blood covered the family from the death angel. John the Baptist (the only one to say those words, twice) passed the title, Lamb of God, to Jesus. It was finished on the cross during Passover.
  • Jesus and the crowd with Him left Jerusalem every day for Bethany and the Mount of Olives. The Feast of Booths.
  • Greeks came to Jesus in John 12:20. Pentecost
  • From the Day of Atonement come several types and shadows I had never seen before. Jesus and Barabbas are the two scapegoats. Pilate is the man who releases them and he washed his hands. The High Priest had linen garments that had to come off after the sacrifice, Jesus had burial “clothes” left in the tomb. You will need to read Leviticus 16.

I use a devotional prayer book called Praying Grace. It introduced me to the term Tetelestai. This is the word Jesus said that is translated – It is finished. Tetelestai is an accounting term that means the debt is paid now and forever (that is Marky Greek). Because of the “buck stops here” completeness of the term my imagination has fudged a bunch and jumped to a “but God” moment. Envision a God-forwarded version of the Feast cycle completed before Jesus was taken from the cross. Okay, this is still a study!  

To conclude this post but not the study; Jesus died and was freed from the grave for my sins. Given that I serve a God who has a different perspective on time from His earthy creation, I am good not knowing the answer to my question. Hebrews 9 did take place and that is what is important.

Jesus’ New Start

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            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.

Day of Pentecost

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Day of Pentecost       Day 50

When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear.  Exodus 20: 18 (NIV)  This was the very first “Pentecost” at Mount Sinai.

The disciples were sitting (a resting/waiting position) in the Upper Room when it filled with a loud noise and fire started resting on their heads.  The Holy Spirit had come to man to do His work here on earth.  Contrast this to Exodus when a man is fighting in his own power to get to God; then when they saw Him they really did not want to go to Him.  One thing is certain, God knows how to make an entrance, and get man’s attention.

The roll call of nations shows just how spread out the Jews had become and tells us where the message was about to go to when the Feast of Weeks was over.  1 Corinthians 14: 22 + 23 could have been written that morning; some said they were out of their minds while others believed that God was doing something powerful.

Peter, when he stood (position to work), was outside of the Temple and not confined to the rules of religion or paradigms that wanted “God their way.”  The Spirit met the disciples in a place of prayer where they were waiting for Him.

Peter’s sermon was a masterpiece.  He talked about current events, explained the Gospel and God’s purpose what had happened just fifty days before, and then brought in David and how God spoke through him. The message about David brought all of the events together.  David supposedly was born and died on Pentecost so he would have been on the minds of everyone in Jerusalem.

Today, I have asked myself why the Spirit came on this Feast day.  I guess the typology of the crops will have to do for today.  At Passover, the barley was brought in (symbolizes the Jews), the wheat crop was brought in for Pentecost (the Gentiles), and in the seventh month the figs and other fruit were harvested (the final revival).

http://clipart.christiansunite.com/

Please visit this blog to see more about figs.  http://ferrelljenkins.wordpress.com/2008/10/10/zaccheus-climbed-up-into-a-sycamore-tree/  The fig pic is from – http://www.raysfiginfo.com/graphics/sycamore04.jpg

Passover to Pentecost – Fruit of the Spirit

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Passover to Pentecost – Fruit of the Spirit        Week 7 Day 5

For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. Ephesians 5: 9

The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever. Isaiah 32: 17

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life. Proverb 11:20 (NIV)

Gifts are given; fruit has to grow and mature.  Galatians 5: 22 list the nine fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  Again we have a list that we get to prioritize or should we?  Personally, I had developed a teaching that for any given situation if you wanted to be effective in that situation you had to start with love and develop all nine gifts, in order, for that situation.  Then you get to start all over again, but at a higher level.  Then I realized that there were other list like the one 1 Timothy 6: 11.  Well, that took a lot of the edge off of my great teaching.  I am not sure that one of the fruits is more important than the next, we need all of them.

I suggest that you do a word study on the one you thinking you may be weak in and expect to be tested in it as you grow that fruit to maturity.

Observations:

  1. Hope is not in this list. Personally, I think the effects of all nine of the Fruits have a part in hope.
  2. The list that is in 1 Timothy 6: 11, that list six fruits, are for a church as a whole, while the list in Galatians is for an individual. (My interpretation.)

There are other lists that are worth including.  In 1 Corinthians 12: 28 Paul gives a numbered list of the parts of the body of Christ.  This starts with apostles and goes to those who speak in tongues. (This could be the prophetic gift of tongues or it is everyone else in the church that has asked for the power of the Holy Spirit.  I will go with the second one, because we all have a “numbered” place in Jesus.)  The second list is found in Ephesians 6: 14 and is known as the “Armor of God.”  If you try to rank or prioritize the armor as to most or least important I think you would soon find that life is out of balance.

Passover to Pentecost – Gifts from the Spirit

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Passover to Pentecost – Gifts from the Spirit        Week 7 Day 4

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. Romans 12: 6(NIV)    Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 1 Corinthians 12:7(NIV)

Jesus ascended so he could send the Holy Spirit.  The disciples probably had a good idea of the workings of the Spirit because of the many things He did in the Old Testament.  The gifts of the Spirit are mentioned frequently in the New Testament.  Gifts are given to people and in the case of spiritual gifts the person receiving them is supposed to use them for the Church of the Living God, who by the way does not change.

Paul was a great list writer and sometimes those lists seem to change form epistle to epistle.  The problem with list is how people handle them.  The first thing in the list is the best, or you will “receive” them in that order, or any number of things that can be turned into hard and fast rules.  I have used two different lists from Paul’s writings, both are list of gifts.  Paul just put the word spiritual in front of the ones to a more gifted Corinthian church.  Brother Joseph Prince groups the nine gifts into three groups in order to help you learn/remember them easier:

  • Vocal Gifts – Prophecy, Interpretation of Tongues, and Tongues (personal prayer language)
  • Knowledge Gifts – Words of Wisdom, Words of Knowledge, and Distinguishing of Spirits
  • Power Gifts – Faith (for special things), Healing, and Miraculous Powers

The gifts in Romans I divided into two groups:

  • Building Up Gifts – Prophesying, Teaching, Encouraging, and Showing Mercy
  • Building Out Gifts – Serving, Contributing, and Leadership

These gifts are for the Church.  In the Old Testament when the Holy Spirit “came upon” someone it was for the good of the Nation or God was protecting someone in the Nation.  The phrase “came upon” is translated from several different words that might suggest different levels of anointing. (I will study this topic out in a later post.)

The judges Othniel, Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson are noted for having the Spirit “come upon” them so they could lead the Nation in times of trouble.  Several people are sited for prophesying because of the Spirit.  Moses operated in several gifts in the course of leading and freeing the People.  Bezalel is “filled” with knowledge for doing the Ark.  David also has several gifts: leadership, knowledge (plans for the Temple), and prophesy.  Yes, spiritual gifts are real and should be part of the believer’s life as well as part of the church service.

I have heard many positive and negative things about the gifts over the last forty years.  But I will go back to the words of Jesus in Luke 11 where He is teaching on prayer.  In verses 11 to 13 He makes the point that if you are asking the Father for something He will not give you a snake if you are asking for an egg.  He ends the session with, “How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11: 13b (NIV)

In both Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 Paul shares about spiritual gifts and workings and then follows with a teaching/reminder on love.  I think the point is clear; love God and your neighbor, and part of that will be by using the gifts the Holy Spirit gives you for good.