Last week we ended with, "But the common folk wanted a Messiah!"
However, those folks didn't realize the Messiah had no intention of freeing them from the oppressive Romans, and they didn't know the Passover related to the Messiah. Since Jesus, the ultimate Passover Lamb, died at the same hour the Passover lambs were killed, let's look into the symbolism.
• Our bondage in sin reminds us of the Israelites' bondage in slavery.
• The power that sin has over people was similar to the Pharaoh's power over the Israelites.
• The Holy Spirit who convicts us of sin was exemplified first by Moses instructing Pharaoh and the Israelites, then by the Law that God gave Moses on the mountain.
• The Messiah who grew up among the people, was represented by the lamb selected from the flock when it was one-year-old.
• The sinless Messiah who died in our place so we could be forgiven forever, was embodied by the innocent lamb who died so we could be forgiven -- for one year.
But the symbolism stops there. Why? The innocent lamb could not come back to life, but Jesus came out of the grave three days later. There's another difference: the lamb was killed in the most painless manner possible at the time, but the Messiah was killed in the most pain-filled, gruesome manner possible at the time.
Rather than discussing the hideous, demonic torture Jesus endured, I suggest that you watch the movie, Passion of the Christ. However, even that film cannot adequately reveal the full extent of the torture that Jesus endured. But why did he have to go through such a hellish ordeal to grant us forgiveness? Why couldn't he just die then resurrect after three days?
I wish it could have been that easy, but there's a legal reason.
In the ancient judicial system, every crime had a specified penalty. For example: stealing a loaf of bread required a verbal reprimand and replacement of four loaves; whipping or scourging was administered in sets of three, and how many sets the victim got depended on the severity of the crime; a capitol-crime, such as murder, required the murderer to die.
If you study the entire ordeal Jesus suffered, you'll find that he endured the punishment for every kind of sin or crime a human can commit. This is important to know because it tells us that no matter what we've done wrong to humanity or how badly we've offended Almighty God, Jesus suffered the penalty for us, and we can be forgiven.
Let's continue the story. Jesus didn't remain dead. Three days later, he came back to life and walked out of that tomb! Read the stories in the Gospels. And don't worry about the Bible being a book of religion: that's only half-true. It is also the oldest history book in the world.
We read that on the first day of the week, still dark in what we would call Sunday morning, there was another earthquake. It was about as strong as the one three days earlier. The soldiers jumped up. They watched the stone roll away from the front of the tomb, and they saw a brilliant light brighter than the noon-day sun shining inside.
Then they saw Jesus, whose face shone like lightning, walk out of the tomb; and they fell to the ground -- unconscious.
Jesus Is Alive!
Because Jesus never sinned or did anything wrong, because he suffered the penalty for every sin mankind has committed, and because he rose from the dead, Lucifer has absolutely no power or control over us, 1 John 1:9 guarantees it. If we confess our sins and repent, God will forgive us and restore our relationship with him. All we need to do is to obey him. We might face the human consequences for what we've done, but God will forgive us and we can live with him forever in heaven.
THAT's what Passover and Resurrection Day is all about.
Jesus came to earth as a baby, born of a virgin, and suffered mockery from his half-brothers and townsfolk throughout his life. Taking our place in judgment, he died to rescue us from suffering the eternal consequences of our own sin and to restore his original plan which is fellowship with man forever. Whoever turns from sin and lives to please the Lord will have a home that's out of this world!
I'll finish the story next week.
-- Gene Linzey is a speaker, author and mentor. Send comments and questions to [email protected]. Visit his website at www.genelinzey.com. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
Religion on 04/17/2019