Josh Benner

Category: Gospel

  • No, heaven will not be boring. It will be awesome!

    No, heaven will not be boring. It will be awesome!

    In Randy Alcorn’s wonderful book, “Heaven,” he tells a story of an English minister who was asked by a colleague what he expected after death. The man replied: “Well, if it comes to that, I suppose I shall enter into eternal bliss, but I really wish you wouldn’t bring up such depressing subjects.”

    Our views of heaven are too lowly. In life, things often times leave us disappointed.

    A movie looks hilarious in the previews….and then you see the movie and realize every funny scene was basically shown in the preview. People rave about a restaurant, and you think it’s just ok. We vote for a politician who we think will fix things, and they disappoint.

    Perhaps that’s part of the reason why our views of heaven are too low. Because of earth. We live in a fallen world where there is sin and hurt and where things are never quite right.

    But heaven will be a perfect place

    Heaven should be a source of joy. I think of the things we have on earth. The beauty of nature: spectacular beaches and rainforests, mountains and sunsets, the artworks in Europe, the great architectural achievements.

    Those are all just on this earth.

    But God is making a new heaven and a new earth.

    And the point of the new earth is not for God to make a place that’s WORSE than where we currently live.

    With all of the confusion about heaven, there should be no confusion about this: heaven is going to be perfectly awesome. It is not going to disappoint. You’ll never be there and feel like it didn’t live up to all of the hype.

    We have a lot of stereotypes about heaven. We do tend to have the cartoon view with harps on clouds in white robes.

    We aren’t going to be standing on clouds, wearing white robes and playing the harp. It’s a new earth. And we are going to live there eternally.

    Now just think about this earth…

    There’s a lot to it. Imagine if money were no object, you had the time, you could travel everywhere on earth you wanted to go to? Think about how much there is to explore? The great mountains and oceans.

    You might secretly fear the idea of heaven because you find yourself thinking “is it just going to be like a worship service for the rest of eternity?”

    I think part of the answer to that question relates to what you consider worship…

    For you, is worship just something you push through on a Sunday morning? If even then?

    Or is it a way of life? Is going to church worship? Is raising your kids worshipful? Growing with your spouse? Enjoying a good meal? Seeing the beauty of a sunset? Do you turn to God in prayer? Do you enjoy music that honors God? Do you care about loving and serving people, because it’s honoring to God?

    In short, do you live a lifestyle that revolves around worship? Revolves around God?

    Or do you compartmentalize? I’ll go to church for 90 minutes, for the church box…but for other things I do, those are for me?

    Yes there is worship in heaven! It’s the presence of God. In heaven, it’ll be a better and truer form of worship. In heaven, you won’t be dealing with the stresses of life: missed appointments, issues with finances, family stresses, health concerns. Because God is awesome. God is good and heaven is the place that he has made for his people.

    And there are things about heaven we can’t even imagine.

    Many people in America are social Christians. They’re good, moral people, but they’re lukewarm about God. They know he exists but really they just want to do their own thing. Is that you?

    Ultimately we can have a taste of that now. But to just know that it doesn’t compare with the reality that it will be to actually be in heaven in the presence of a holy God.

    In the Great Divorce, CS Lewis says: “The Blessed will say ‘We have never lived anywhere except in Heaven,’: and the Lost, ‘We were always in Hell.’ And both will speak truly.”

    I’m not saying this to be cynical or snarky. But if you dread the idea of worshipping God in heaven, I think you might need to develop a greater love for worshipping him on earth.

    But no. Heaven will not be a church service for all eternity.

    It’s a new heaven and a new earth and a New Jerusalem.

    Other images that the Bible uses: it’s a great feast! Who doesn’t love a great feast?! Great conversations and laughter. Music, not just from harps! And dancing.

    The Bible talks about it, calling it a wedding.

    In America, we go pretty over the top with weddings. But there are other cultures that take it further than we do. And in the first century world in which this book was written, wedding celebrations could last for a week.

    Wonderful times of joy and laughter.

    A wedding, a feast.

    It’s not “come, join us at the jury duty selection pool of the Lord!”

    There will be wonderful company in heaven. You’ll be able to see Jesus. The Lord who took the penalty for your sins. You’ll be able to see him face to face.

    We’ll have greater perspective in heaven. We’ll be able to continue to learn in heaven. For the things that have been struggles. For the things where we’ve suffered, in heaven, somehow, some way, they will be made right. Perhaps heaven will be so glorious that we just won’t care.

    Or perhaps we’ll have a different perspective and see how all things really did work together for our good.

    It will be a place where God will “wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). And it’s a place that will be perfectly awesome.

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    Originally published November 21, 2016.

  • Jesus, Nicodemus, and the bronze serpent. Studying John 3:9-15

    Jesus, Nicodemus, and the bronze serpent. Studying John 3:9-15

    In John 3, Jesus is approached by a pharisee named Nicodemus who is intrigued about his ministry. Jesus controls the conversation and talks to Nicodemus of being born again and born of water and the Spirit. Nicodemus is perplexed by this. 

    Verses 9-10, Nicodemus is still dumbfounded by what Jesus has said. 

    9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?

     Nicodemus is the expert. He should understand what Jesus has said. He should pick up on the Old Testament references to water and the Spirit. It is a grace to the people of God that the Lord gives believers the Spirit. 

    Jesus continues speaking in verse 11. 

    11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 

    Jesus has come to give a heavenly testimony. He has come to the world to reveal God. 

    12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 

    Jesus is the eternal God of creation who has been in heaven. He can therefore speak with authority on what is necessary for admittance into the Kingdom of Heaven. He has revealed to Nicodemus that he must be born again, born of the Spirit. Nicodemus doesn’t even understand that. So how will he understand the heavenly things of God? 

    Sovereign Citizens 

    There’s a small movement in America, perhaps some of you have heard of it: called Sovereign Citizens. Sovereign Citizens are a group of people who question the legitimacy of our government, don’t believe in paying taxes, and don’t believe that they’re accountable to our legal system. 

    I was once watching an episode of Live PD and someone had gotten pulled over. From what I remember, she didn’t have any truly serious violations but had broken a couple of traffic laws and also did not have a valid driver’s license. 

    She kept declaring that she was a sovereign citizen. 

    Kept being difficult. 

    Keeps talking about how she’s a sovereign citizen. 

    Ends up getting arrested. 

    My point with that illustration is that just because a person might say the law doesn’t apply to them doesn’t make it so. Because you still have to suffer the consequences for your actions and choices. 

    When it comes to the faith, people want to invent their own gospel. People want to believe that they’re good enough, that they can get to God on their own. People want to live Godless lives apart from Christ and assume that they will have merit or an inherent worthiness of heavenly blessings. 

    Just because we say “I’m a sovereign citizen” doesn’t make us sovereign. 

    The Lord is sovereign. 

    And Jesus speaks with heavenly authority in this passage. 

    No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

    In John 3, we see the divine command to be born again, the divine authority by which Jesus can give that command. And in the last two verses of this section, we end with a picture of the gospel. So far, this passage hasn’t really talked about the role of Jesus. 

    It is by the Spirit that we are born again but it is through the work of Christ that we are able to be born again. It is Jesus who has died so we can be redeemed. 

    Remember that Jesus is talking to an expert of the Law and the Old Testament. Jesus is going to make a statement about himself based in an Old Testament event. 

    14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 

    Jesus is making a reference to the Book of Numbers, 21st chapter. 

    In that chapter, the Israelites have been in their desert wanderings for 40 years. Most of the first generation has died off. Throughout their time in the wilderness, Israel has fallen into sin and grumbling. 

    God has brought them to the edge of the land and they continue to complain. God has sustained them for a generation and they ask why they’ve been brought into the wilderness to die. They’ve been given food but call it loathsome. They’re saying that they hate what God has given them. 

    And as a righteous and divine judgment, God brings a plague of poisonous snakes upon the people. Not just for that, but for a whole history of their rebellion and grumbling. 

    The people turn to Moses and ask Moses to intercede on their behalf. 

    Numbers 21:7: 

    And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 

    God will give Moses instructions on what he must do. 

    8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. 

    Jesus looks to this event in the Old Testament and he shows it as pointing to himself. 

    As the bronze serpent was lifted upon the the pole, Jesus also will be lifted up. 

    Five times in the Gospel of John, Jesus refers to being lifted up. It always refers to the crucifixion, where Jesus is literally lifted up on the cross. 

    Again. Keep in mind that so far in this passage, Jesus talked of a need to be born again AND of the role of the Spirit in being born again. 

    But he points to the source of eternal life being Jesus himself who is lifted up. 

    Perhaps it seems like an odd connection that the Lord is making in comparing himself to the serpent of Numbers 21. 

    Several reasons why that story is a good picture of the gospel:

    The bronze serpent and the gospel

    In a person being healed because of looking at the snake, it took what they were doing out of their hands.

    It was entirely the work of God. 

    So too we see this in the gospel. It is not based on us, or how good we are. We are totally helpless to heal ourselves from the disease of sin. It is looking to the cross, to looking at what Jesus has done, to trusting Jesus by faith that we can have salvation. 

    Second. The serpent doesn’t make sense. Why a golden snake? The world is confounded by the gospel and the message of grace, the idea that we can be freely forgiven based on what someone else has done. 

    1 Corinthians 1:18:

    the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

    The world is offended by the message of salvation by grace. 

    We want to save ourselves. We want to see how we measure up and to feel good about how good we are. 

    The gospel is that you cannot earn it. You look to what Jesus has done. 

    Third. The Israelites were grumbling and complaining and blaspheming against God, and yet God saves them. 

    Jesus came into a world where people condemned him, plotted against him, betrayed him, and killed him. 

    While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).

    Fourth. Moses literally lifted up the bronze serpent on a pole. 

    And Jesus was literally lifted up on the cross. 

    Fifth. For the Israelites who were afflicted by the serpent’s bite, life was found by looking to the bronze serpent. For us today, eternal life is found by looking to Jesus. 

    We’re infected with the venom of sin. And it’s a killer. There is nothing we can do on our own to take out that poison. The only antidote is found in looking to Jesus.

    It is he who went to the cross for salvation. 

    In referring to the Numbers passage, Jesus is telling Nicodemus the gospel. It is Christ who will be lifted up for sinners. 

    And to have a heavenly hope, we must believe in what the Lord has done. We believe in Jesus and we are given the Holy Spirit to transform our lives from the inside out. 

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  • The American gospel and the meaning of Easter

    The American gospel and the meaning of Easter

    Statistically, we know that the vast majority of Americans believe in some form of a higher power. There are relatively few who are atheists. Since people do believe that there is something, and since it’s so easy to think of the majority of Americans as Christians, many simply attach themselves to Christianity.

    But what does it mean? Christianity?

    For so many, we call ourselves Christians but then never pray, or read the Bible, or go to church, or experience fellowship with other believers, or show any actual desire to have a relationship with Jesus. Without these, how can a person be Christian?

    We live in a culture where it is accepted to be a “Christian” so long as we have a faith that is extremely passive, watered down, and without conviction. In the eyes of the world, when we have a faith that actually impacts the way in which we live our lives, we’re labeled as extreme, strange, ignorant, or bigoted. For people who actually have faith, they’re thought of as being “really religious.”

    I argue that to be religious but not really religious is to be religious, not really.

    Contrary to popular opinion, the gospel isn’t that we just need to be a “good person.” To say that this was the basis of the message of Christ is a complete misunderstanding of the New Testament because He never says nor implies that our moral goodness is the thing which will save us. In fact, the point of the gospel is that our own actions cannot save us.

    All of us sin, and our sin separates us from God. But we are saved because of God’s grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. That is the heart of the gospel. That we need Christ. Some might not like that because it’s exclusive. But the gospel is meant to be inclusive. Jesus died for all who will accept His gift of grace.

    Throughout the history of the church, there have been those who have unfortunately distorted the gospel or misused it. We can point to events like the church’s Crusades or her Spanish Inquisition. In modern times, we hear of abuses within the Catholic Church, and radicals like the Westboro Baptist Church who protest funerals. It’s easy to look to these things and to become disgusted with Christianity.

    But if Christ really died and really rose from the dead, the fact that people distort the message doesn’t change the reality that He came to forgive you of your sins. It’s not the message of the gospel that is the problem. The problem is man’s selfish usage of the gospel.

    But why should we be Christians? In our daily lives, we see people who claim to know God but who are hypocrites…

    That’s the point!

    Man is sinful! We are immoral. We were incapable of morally cleaning ourselves up.

    We needed a savior.

    And a savior came, and died, and rose, and lives.

    Some may argue, if there is a God, why does He allow people to tarnish His message?

    It’s because people aren’t spiritual robots. We are willing, moral beings. And there are people who choose to do morally egregious things in the name of the gospel. But that isn’t a shortcoming of the gospel. Like a shinning light, it clarifies the darkness of our hearts and shows our desperate need for grace.

    Some may want to live as Christians, but feel that they can do a better job on their own, instead of through organized religion. But the idea that you can be a Christian apart from church contradicts the teachings of Christ. Certainly, there are bad churches. But there are also a lot of very good, Christ-centered churches. One bad experience, or years of bad experiences are no excuse for someone whose trying to live as a Christian to ignore church.

    In discussions about religion, I’ve often times said that the gospel is either the most important thing in the universe, or it is completely irrelevant. Jesus was the God who died for our sins, or He wasn’t. If He was, we should worship Him. If not, then He is useless to us. The idea that Jesus might have just been a great moral teacher contradicts Jesus’ own teachings. His message revolved around Him being the savior of the world. If He lied about that, He cannot be a great moral teacher.

    So what do you believe? Where do you stand with Jesus? Was He God or was he just some guy?

    Jesus said “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for you souls.”

    No matter what you’ve done, no matter who you’ve hurt, no matter what addiction is suffocating your life, no matter what dark thoughts you have, it’s nothing so great that the risen Lord cannot forgive you.

    But where to start?

    As I’ve already said, I think it comes down to prayer, studying His word, getting involved in a good church, fellowship with Christians. Jesus said that we are to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” If you do that, I believe that God will lead you to truth.

    It’s not a self help message. Belief in the gospel isn’t a promise that you won’t have financial problems, or illnesses, or family issues, or countless other stresses and frustrations. The gospel is that you get God, and no matter what else is happening in this life, His truth will strengthen, and give purpose, and sanctify you.

    Maybe you’ve lived your entire life and said you were a Christian, but you’ve never really had faith. The gift of grace and the offer of salvation is just as real for you today as it is for a person whose never thought about the gospel.

    It’s easy to associate Christianity with a bunch of rules and a list of things that you can’t do anymore. If you truly accept the gift of grace by faith, no sin can separate you from God’s love or from the forgiveness that you have. A true faith in the gospel will also result in a transformed life. Certain things will become less appealing. But acting a certain way and following a particular list of rules is not what makes you a Christian. If it were, you would be earning your salvation which would have made Christ’s rising from the dead pointless!

    However, a person who is a Christian who has faith will have a life that is changed and will naturally live differently. This transformation is what shows that the faith is genuine.

    On the first Good Friday, when Jesus suffered that horrendous death for our sins, the Bible says that two other condemned criminals were also crucified with the Lord:

    39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” 
    -Luke 23:39-42

    Two condemned thieves found themselves condemned with Jesus. Both were guilty. One wanted Christ to work on his terms, the other recognized his guilt, and through faith sought forgiveness.

    All of us our guilty.

    Which thief will you be this Easter weekend?

    Thanks for reading! If you liked this post, please share and subscribe!

    Originally posted April 6, 2012

    Photo credit information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

    Other scriptures in this essay from:
    Matthew 11:28-29
    Matthew 22:37

  • The cross of Christ shows us the cost of sin

    The cross of Christ shows us the cost of sin

    We have a sinfully low view of sin. We cannot overestimate the weight of sin when we see the cost of sin on the cross. 

    None of us lives up even to our own moral standards. Do you ever get mad and you regret it? Ever yell at someone and wish you hadn’t? Ever look at something and feel shame for it? Ever tell a lie or bend the truth and wish you could have it back? Ever manipulate people to get your own way? Ever do something where you know deep down it’s not what you should have done? Of course you have. We don’t live up to our own standards. And if we can’t do that, how on earth do we live up to the standards of a holy God? We don’t and we can’t. 

    We have nothing to go to God with on our own and say “you have to accept me. You have to love me. You have to let me into heaven.” On what grounds? 

    We sin. And it’s not just “well nobody is perfect.” But that we sin. We rebel against God. In our thoughts, in our hearts, in our actions, in our inactions. Our view of sin is so low that we think we can master it on our own. Our view of sin is so low that we think we can do enough good to outweigh our sin. 

    Then why the cross at all? Why did Jesus die? The world likes to judge God. Likes to say what he should do if he really were loving. That he’d just wipe the slate clean. That that would be love. We like to tell God what love is. Because we have a sinfully low view of sin. Because the reality is that God SHOWS US what love is. On the cross. That’s what love is. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friend (John 15:13). 

    Jesus shows us what love is when he lays down his life for you. When he endures the penalty of your sin for you. When he bears the wrath of God for you. And again that’s a message that many find offensive. That many hate. But that again shows our sinfulness when we try to judge God. We try to tell the God who made us what really would be just or holy or good. We can’t earn God but he freely gives himself. On the cross. 

    We might debate sin. Just how big of a deal it really is. Just how much it really matters. But Jesus shows us how big of a deal sin is on the cross. He shows us how imperfect we are on the cross, how sinful we are on the cross. Because he bears the weight of our sins. 

    We have a sinfully low view of sin. We cannot overestimate the weight of sin when we look at the price Jesus paid for sin. Jesus didn’t die for you because your sins weren’t that bad. He did it because of the holiness of God and our inability to live up to that. But rather than to just have us languish with no hope, he gave us hope. On the cross. 

    Jesus is God. And because he’s God, he was a worthy sacrifice for our sins. For all of eternity, Jesus is God. God came into the world. The word became flesh and dwelled among us (John 1:14). Born of a virgin at his incarnation, Jesus is fully man. And because he’s fully man, he is like us in our human nature. He lived the holy life we could not. The sinless life we could not. And he died for you. 

    Jesus goes to the cross and in going to the cross, he doesn’t simply die for us. He’s tortured for us. It’s not like our day and age where methods of execution are designed to be relatively painless. Crucifixion was designed to humiliate and maximize the torture and pain. It was designed to prolong suffering. After being flogged to within an inch of your life, a person would have to carry the top part of the cross beam, which weighed upwards of 125 pounds to the place of his or her death. Nails would have been driven through the wrists and feet. Just imagine the agony of that. And the cross beam would be hoisted up with the condemned person attached. Struggling to breathe, their body sagging down on the weight of their legs. Then pushing up somewhat to get more oxygen. And repeating this horrid cycle until a person died from asphyxiation or exposure to the elements. 

    But there we have God on earth. Dying in the most agonizing way. The most humiliating way. In a public way. But it was for the sins of the world. It was so we could be forgiven. Because as he was nailed to the cross, so was our sin.  We have a sinfully low view of sin. That that was the price to be paid for it. God on earth dying for it. But he did it willingly. Not because he had to. But because of his love for you. That’s what love is. 

    Jesus never leaves us, he never forsakes us. His disciples let him down. Three times they fell asleep in the garden. Three times Peter denies Jesus. Judas leads the party who arrests Jesus. Judas walked with the Lord for three years. And betrayed him. Jesus is brought before the Jewish ruling council. They’re not out for the truth, they’re trying to find any charges that will stick. They take his words out of context and bring him before Pilate, saying he should be crucified.  Pilate is an earthly authority, the governor. Pilate knows he can find no fault in Jesus. He sees the innocence of Jesus. Pilate symbolically tries to cleanse himself: he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” 

    In the face of intense pressure, Pilate can’t bring himself to do the right thing. He offers up an option. Pilate has a custom of annually releasing one prisoner. There is Barabbas who is a killer and an instigator of insurrection. Or they can have Jesus who is totally innocent. And they select Barabbas. The Roman guards later mock Jesus. They make a crown of thorns, they hand him a reed as a makeshift scepter, they put a robe on him. They bow down and say “Hail, king of the Jews.” But again they play into the irony. Because Jesus IS the king. He’s the king of kings. While he’s on the cross, the mocking continues. Jesus is crucified with two men who are guilty. And they too join in the mocking. The guilty mocking an innocent man. Dying people mocking the Lord. Crucified men who can’t even show humility for another man who is dying the same gruesome death. 

    The priests, scribes, and elders continue mocking Jesus, beginning in 27:42, “he saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.” 

    It’s because Jesus didn’t come down from the cross that we CAN believe in him. Because Jesus died on that cross that day. The mocking continues in 27:43 “he trusts in God, let God deliver him now, if he desires him.” Again they miss the point. God did not spare his son so that he could spare you. The followers of Jesus, the betrayer of Jesus, the ruling Jewish authorities, the ruling Roman authorities. All contributing in various ways to Jesus’ death. 

    This isn’t the isolated failing of one person. It’s not a lone wolf assassin who takes out Jesus. If that had been the case, maybe we could chalk it up to one bad egg. But in the passion narrative, it’s everyone. Everyone’s failures and sins lead to the cross. But even in spite of that, God is working it for his own glory. In spite of that, God had planned throughout all eternity to actually use that evil and wickedness for our salvation. Because even though it was sin and evil that brought Jesus to the cross, it’s because Jesus went to the cross that he was able to die to sin for all who believe in him.  

    We see the sinfulness of humanity in Christ’s passion. We can’t downplay the sinfulness of humanity when Jesus came into our world and we killed him. The righteous and holy God who made the world came into the world and we crucified him. We can’t downplay the severity of our sinfulness with that one. The most atrocious way that humanity has ever conceived of to end a person’s life, crucifixion is what is used against the righteous savior of the world. But in spite of all of that, we again see the grace of the Lord on the cross. Because Jesus bore infinite wrath for sin. 

    There is infinite grace when we turn to him. There is no sin he is unable to forgive. It’s not that he died and can forgive every sin, but he can’t forgive that one, or this one, or what you did, or what you’re struggling with. Infinite wrath because of our sin. But infinite mercy on the cross because of his grace.

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    Originally published May 1, 2018

  • Jesus and the Last Supper – more than just a meal

    Jesus and the Last Supper – more than just a meal

    As part of Holy Week, Maundy Thursday is recognized this evening. It was the night in which Jesus ate the Last Supper with his disciples. The time in which Jesus died corresponded with the Jewish holiday of Passover. And the Last Supper was the first night of Passover. An annual dinner for Passover is held, called a Seder, which is the Hebrew word for “order.” In 3,500 years, rabbinical tradition and teaching helped to form the ceremony of the Seder.

    Some of these pieces were traced back to the original Passover. Others came in Jewish history from rabbinical traditions.

    Also, once the Israelites were in the land, and after the temple was built, this impacted Passover traditions. When you had the temple, the lambs were sacrificed at the temple. But what didn’t change was that people could only sacrifice lambs that were perfect.

    I think it’s worth spending so much time in talking about Passover because I think it can help give us a greater context and understanding for the events surrounding the death of Jesus.

    In the gospels, the time of the death of Christ revolves around the Passover. That’s not a coincidence! Jesus would be sacrificed at the time that was associated with sacrifice. Jesus had gone to Jerusalem for Passover. In Jerusalem, the city within the Roman Empire that was the epicenter of Jewish culture, thousands of lambs would have been slaughtered annually. Jewish people would have been coming in from all over the empire.

    We see many traditions of the Seder at the last Supper.

    Some of them are small things. In the gospel accounts, it talks about Jesus reclining at the table (Luke 22:14).

    Jesus wasn’t sitting in a la-z-boy. He was on a couch that he was lying on, that was a Seder tradition. They had been enslaved in Egypt but being able to lie down showed the freedom and security.

    Or when Jesus is alluding to his betrayer, he says in John 13:26, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.

    Again, I know the mental image that most of you probably have when you read this. It’s hard to know precisely where in the Seder this is, but it seems that it’s probably referring to when you take Haroset which is made from apple, nuts, cinnamon. They weren’t eating the Last Supper at an Italian restaurant. They didn’t have a bowl of olive oil in the middle of the table. But all of the elements we see at the Last Supper are part of what you’d see in a traditional Seder.

    As part of the Seder, you’d take the unleavened bread…looks like a cracker. And you’d break the bread.

    Luke 22:19, “And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

    For over a thousand years of Seder dinners, bread had been broken. Unleavened bread, just like the Israelite forefathers had eaten before fleeing from Egypt.

    The body of Jesus, given for you, given for your sins. Given for your forgiveness. And he says “do this in remembrance of me.”

    What more fitting words could you say at a Seder? A meal revolving around remembrance, about retelling the story of God saving his people by the blood of the lamb.

    Remembering what God has done. Remembering what Jesus has done. Remembering the sins that he’s redeemed you from. Remembering his body that he gave for you. Remembering his death that he died for you. Remembering the grace that he offers to you. Remembering his gospel.

    Luke 22:20 says, “And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”

    The Seder dinner involves four glasses of wine. This seems to have been the second or third glass of wine in the meal, although there’s scholarly debate.

    But how profound it is. Wine drank in remembrance of the Passover. Jesus takes the wine, he blesses it, he says it is the new covenant in his blood, at the Seder dinner.

    It clearly points backwards to the blood of the Passover lamb, the blood that was put on the door posts. And it also points forward to the blood of Christ, shed for the forgiveness of sins. The blood of the true lamb.

    At the beginning of the gospel of John, when John the Baptist sees Jesus he says “Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus is the true lamb of God. The lamb who took the penalty for sins. The one who was scarified for the salvation of God’s people.

    And by trusting in him and having faith in him, that puts the blood on the doorpost of your heart. On the first Passover, there would not have been a pardon for a person who didn’t put blood on the doorpost. It wasn’t that the blood saved them, God saved them. But to not put the blood on the door was to show that a person didn’t have faith in the Lord, didn’t trust in the Lord.

    When we take the Lord’s Supper, it’s not arbitrary. It’s not just using the random items that were around. It’s all symbolic. It takes symbols important to the first Passover, the first time God had delivered Israel, and it reminds of the new Passover, from the perfect sacrifice for sins.

    The Passover passage in Exodus 12:5 says that the lamb that was used had to be without blemish. Jesus is the ultimate lamb without blemish, a life lived in perfection.

    1 Corinthians 5:7 says “Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover Lamb.”

    Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you think, and don’t forget to subscribe! 

    Originally published April 13, 2017

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