Friday, August 30, 2013

"The Passover"

The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
John 2:13 ESV



John let’s his readers know in this verse that Jesus was truly faithful to all things Jewish. Jesus participated in all of the feast days along with the rest of faithful Israel. Passover is the most significant of those days, representing the exodus from Egypt and God’s provision for His people. Passover was celebrated as a remembrance, so that none would forget God’s deliverance from captivity and death. Participation in the first passover meal kept death from the door of those that participated.

The significance we take from this verse as we see Jesus approaching Jerusalem, is that He is THE PASSOVER LAMB that will be sacrificed once for all for the sins of the world. “He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.” Hebrews 9:12 ESV As we partake of the Lord’s supper every week we remember that sacrifice that delivered us from our captivity to sin and death.

John had let it be known earlier in his Gospel who Jesus was; “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29 ESV John sets up the theme of salvation early on in his Gospel to let the reader know Jesus purpose in coming. He came to save us from ourselves. While the people of Israel were looking for a Messiah to rescue them from the Romans, God sent Jesus to rescue them from the grave.

Today we can look at this verse with hindsight and see what God’s plan was for our salvation. That is because God used ordinary men to write His story down so that we can read and understand the sacrifice that was Jesus. Jesus is our sacrificial lamb, He gave His life for ours. We must never forget that He has died for our sins, so that we don’t have to.

So today, let’s remember the love that sent Jesus to the cross. Let’s remember that without His sacrifice we would be lost eternally. Let’s introduce someone to Jesus today.

© 2013 Leo J. Woodman



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