Post by Watchman on Apr 16, 2005 12:34:46 GMT -5
Jesus' sacrifice is the pivotal event in God's plan to save humanity. Speaking of His certain death, Christ said He, referring to Himself as the Son of Man, must be "lifted up" (crucified) even as "Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness," so that "whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:14-16).
We see here that Jesus' sacrifice, the central message of the Passover, was a supreme act of love for humanity. This important event laid the foundation for the remaining annual Holy Days and festivals. It is the most momentous step in God's plan.
Just before the Passover feast that would see His execution, Jesus said that "for this purpose I came to this hour ... And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself" (John 12:27, 32).
The day on which this profound event, the crucifixion, transpired was the 14th day of the first month of God's calendar, the same day on which the Passover lambs were to be killed (Leviticus 23:5). Paul later wrote the congregation at Corinth that "Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7).
God's Passover instruction
God, through Moses, told Pharaoh to "let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness" (Exodus 5:1). Through a series of plagues, God displayed His great power and delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. After nine plagues He gave Israel specific instructions about the imminent 10th in the series of terrifying calamities and the steps each Israelite family should take to escape it.
God said that, on the 10th day of the first month, each Israelite was to select a lamb or goat large enough to feed each household (Exodus 12:3). It was to be a yearling male, without any sort of defect. On the 14th day of that month at evening, the Israelites were to kill the animals and place some of their blood on the doorposts of their homes. The animals were then to be roasted and eaten along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. The Israelites hurriedly ate this meal.
The Creator further instructed the Israelites that on this evening He would kill all the firstborn of Egypt to convince Pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery. The firstborn of each Israelite family would be protected if the sign of the blood were on the entrance of their homes. God would "pass over" their homes—thus the meaning of the name of this observance (verse 13).
God said this day would be to the Israelites a memorial, "and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance" (verse 14). Bible writers later explained that the annual Passover observance symbolized Christ. Paul referred to Christ as "our Passover" (1 Corinthians 5:7), and John recorded that John the Baptist recognized Christ as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29).
The unblemished male animal represented Jesus Christ as the perfect, sinless sacrifice for our sins. Hebrews 9:11-12 tells us that "Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come ... not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption." Jesus Christ bought us with His blood, pouring out His life as our Passover lamb so God could forgive our sins.
Why did Jesus Christ have to die? Our Savior had to die because that was the only way God could forgive our sins. The Bible tells us that sin is the violation of God's law of love (1 John 3:4). We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We have each earned the death penalty for our disobedience (Romans 5:12; 6:23).
Paul illustrated the profound love of Jesus Christ in giving up His life on our behalf (Romans 5:6-8). All would be doomed eternally had not somehow the penalty for our sins been paid. Christ, who lived a perfect life as the unblemished Lamb of God, substituted His death for ours. In fact, His death was the only possible substitution for ours. His sacrifice became the payment for our sins. He died in our place so we could share life with Him forever. We can no longer live according to our own desires. We become God's redeemed, or bought and paid-for, possession (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Both Jesus and the apostle Paul made it clear that the Passover is to continue as a Christian observance. Jesus Himself instituted new Passover symbols and practices to teach Christians important truths about Himself and God's continuing plan of salvation.
The Passover in the Old Testament foreshadowed Christ's crucifixion. The New Testament Passover is a memorial of that crucifixion. By observing it, we "proclaim the Lord's death till He comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26).
Keeping the Passover each year reminds us that God is the forgiver of sin who grants us eternal life in His Kingdom through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our Passover. This observance is a memorial of our Creator's continuing role in humanity's salvation.
We see here that Jesus' sacrifice, the central message of the Passover, was a supreme act of love for humanity. This important event laid the foundation for the remaining annual Holy Days and festivals. It is the most momentous step in God's plan.
Just before the Passover feast that would see His execution, Jesus said that "for this purpose I came to this hour ... And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself" (John 12:27, 32).
The day on which this profound event, the crucifixion, transpired was the 14th day of the first month of God's calendar, the same day on which the Passover lambs were to be killed (Leviticus 23:5). Paul later wrote the congregation at Corinth that "Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us" (1 Corinthians 5:7).
God's Passover instruction
God, through Moses, told Pharaoh to "let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness" (Exodus 5:1). Through a series of plagues, God displayed His great power and delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. After nine plagues He gave Israel specific instructions about the imminent 10th in the series of terrifying calamities and the steps each Israelite family should take to escape it.
God said that, on the 10th day of the first month, each Israelite was to select a lamb or goat large enough to feed each household (Exodus 12:3). It was to be a yearling male, without any sort of defect. On the 14th day of that month at evening, the Israelites were to kill the animals and place some of their blood on the doorposts of their homes. The animals were then to be roasted and eaten along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. The Israelites hurriedly ate this meal.
The Creator further instructed the Israelites that on this evening He would kill all the firstborn of Egypt to convince Pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery. The firstborn of each Israelite family would be protected if the sign of the blood were on the entrance of their homes. God would "pass over" their homes—thus the meaning of the name of this observance (verse 13).
God said this day would be to the Israelites a memorial, "and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance" (verse 14). Bible writers later explained that the annual Passover observance symbolized Christ. Paul referred to Christ as "our Passover" (1 Corinthians 5:7), and John recorded that John the Baptist recognized Christ as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29).
The unblemished male animal represented Jesus Christ as the perfect, sinless sacrifice for our sins. Hebrews 9:11-12 tells us that "Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come ... not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption." Jesus Christ bought us with His blood, pouring out His life as our Passover lamb so God could forgive our sins.
Why did Jesus Christ have to die? Our Savior had to die because that was the only way God could forgive our sins. The Bible tells us that sin is the violation of God's law of love (1 John 3:4). We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We have each earned the death penalty for our disobedience (Romans 5:12; 6:23).
Paul illustrated the profound love of Jesus Christ in giving up His life on our behalf (Romans 5:6-8). All would be doomed eternally had not somehow the penalty for our sins been paid. Christ, who lived a perfect life as the unblemished Lamb of God, substituted His death for ours. In fact, His death was the only possible substitution for ours. His sacrifice became the payment for our sins. He died in our place so we could share life with Him forever. We can no longer live according to our own desires. We become God's redeemed, or bought and paid-for, possession (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Both Jesus and the apostle Paul made it clear that the Passover is to continue as a Christian observance. Jesus Himself instituted new Passover symbols and practices to teach Christians important truths about Himself and God's continuing plan of salvation.
The Passover in the Old Testament foreshadowed Christ's crucifixion. The New Testament Passover is a memorial of that crucifixion. By observing it, we "proclaim the Lord's death till He comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26).
Keeping the Passover each year reminds us that God is the forgiver of sin who grants us eternal life in His Kingdom through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, our Passover. This observance is a memorial of our Creator's continuing role in humanity's salvation.