How did Jesus fulfill the Passover? Part 5

According to Exodus 12 there were five basic requirements for celebrating Passover.

1. Set aside a lamb on the 10th of Nisan- one without defect 
2. Slaughter the lamb on the 14th - but don’t break any bones 
3. Put some of the lamb’s blood on the sides and top of the doorframe 
4. Finish the Passover on the 14th - don't let it spill over into the next day 
5. Celebrate the Passover perpetually 

In this post I'll show you how Jesus fulfilled requirement #5.

The fifth requirement for Passover was that it be celebrated perpetually. It other words, God didn't want the memory of his great deliverance to fade away. By celebrating Passover each year it kept the memory of the Israelites deliverance fresh in their minds. But Passover served a two-fold purpose. First they looked back to their deliverance from slavery to Egypt. Then they looked forward the even greater deliverance to come - their deliverance from slavery to sin.

Well, notice the parallels between the Passover and Communion...

On Passover, the same day Jesus was arrested and crucified for our sins, he instituted a new celebration. Having fulfilled Passover, Jesus now instituted Communion. You see, Jesus didn't want the memory of his great deliverance to fade away. By celebrating Communion on a regular basis we keep the memory of our deliverance from sin fresh in our minds. And just like Passover, Communion serves a two-fold purpose. First, when we celebrate communion we look back to our deliverance from our slavery to sin - made possible by Christ's death on the cross. But we're also commanded to celebrate communion looking forward to Christ's return.

Notice: Earlier I read you Matthew 5:17 where Jesus said "Don't misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose." Having accomplished the purpose of Passover, Jesus now instituted a new celebration called Communion.

To summarize: As God commanded the Passover be celebrated perpetually, so Jesus commanded that Communion be celebrated perpetually. In this way Jesus perpetuated the reality of Passover.

So we see that Jesus fulfilled the fifth requirement of Passover. 

How did Jesus fulfill Passover? Part 4

According to Exodus 12 there were five basic requirements for celebrating Passover.

1. Set aside a lamb on the 10th of Nisan- one without defect 
2. Slaughter the lamb on the 14th - but don’t break any bones 
3. Put some of the lamb’s blood on the sides and top of the doorframe 
4. Finish the Passover on the 14th - don't let it spill over into the next day 
5. Celebrate the Passover perpetually

In this post I'll show you how Jesus fulfilled requirement #4.

The fourth requirement of Passover was that it had to be finished on the 14th, which for the Jew meant by twilight (approximately 6pm). Remember, for a Jew twilight was the end of one day and the beginning of the next. They did this because God commanded in Exodus 12:10 regarding the Passover “Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it.” God didn’t want the Passover spilling into the next day. If any of it was left after the meal they were to burn it before the day ended.

Notice the parallel here between the Passover lamb and Jesus...

As the Passover lamb was done away with before the start of the next day, so Jesus was taken down from the cross and buried before the start of the next day. We read in John 19 that on the same day Jesus was crucified, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus took Jesus' body down from the cross, wrapped it in strips of linen and buried it in a tomb in a garden at the site of the crucifixion. 

Note: Joseph was a wealthy man and could've paid for Jesus to be buried somewhere else, but God didn't allow that to happen. God provided a tomb on site so Jesus could be buried quickly (before the end of the day) thus fulfilling the fourth requirement of Passover. 

So to summarize: As the Passover lamb had to be finished and done away with before the start of the next day, so Jesus was taken down from the cross and buried before the Passover day had ended. 

So we see that Jesus fulfilled the fourth requirement of the Passover.

How did Jesus fulfill Passover? Part 3

According to Exodus 12 there were five basic requirements for celebrating Passover.

1. Set aside a lamb on the 10th of Nisan- one without defect 
2. Slaughter the lamb on the 14th - but don’t break any bones 
3. Put some of the lamb’s blood on the sides and top of the doorframe 
4. Finish the Passover on the 14th - don't let it spill over into the next day 
5. Celebrate the Passover perpetually

In this post I'll show you how Jesus fulfilled requirement #3.

The third requirement of Passover was that some of the slaughter lamb's blood be put on the sides and top of each Israelite doorframe.

Notice the first parallel between the Passover lamb and Jesus...

1. As some of the blood of the Passover lamb stained the top of the doorframe, so Jesus' blood stained the top of the cross. We read in Matthew 27:29 that they "...twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head."

Notice the second parallel between the Passover lamb and Jesus...

2. As some of the blood of the Passover lamb stained each side of the doorframe, so Jesus' blood stained each side of the cross. We learn from John 20:25 that when they crucified Jesus they drove nails through his hands to fasten him to the cross.

Notice: Apart from Jesus the blood on the top and sides of the door frame has no significance whatsoever. But when Jesus' crucifixion is seen as the fulfillment of the Passover lamb's slaughter, the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe takes on great significance.

To Summarize: By applying the blood of the lamb the Israelites were spared from death. When the angel God sent to judge the Egyptians came to the door and saw the blood, he passed over that house. (this is how we got the name Passover). In the same way today, by faith we apply the blood of the lamb Jesus to the door frame of our heart - and in so doing we are spared from the penalty of our sins, which is death (Romans 6:23). 

So we see that Jesus passed the third requirement of Passover. 

How did Jesus fulfill Passover? Part 2

According to Exodus 12 there were five basic requirements for celebrating Passover.

1. Set aside a lamb on the 10th of Nisan- one without defect 
2. Slaughter the lamb on the 14th - but don’t break any bones 
3. Put some of the lamb’s blood on the sides and top of the doorframe 
4. Finish the Passover on the 14th - don't let it spill over into the next day 
5. Celebrate the Passover perpetually

In this post I'll show you how Jesus fulfilled requirement #2.

The second requirement of Passover was that the lamb had to be slaughtered on the 14th. And God commanded that none of the bones were to be broken during the slaughtering process.

Notice the first parallel between the Passover lamb and Jesus...

1. As the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the 14th day of Nisan, so Jesus was crucified on the 14th day of Nisan. 

And notice with me the similarities between the Passover lamb and Jesus (the Lamb of God) on that day.

• By 9am on the day of the Passover the Jews were busy with preparations for sacrifice. This was the exact time (9am) that Jesus was nailed to the cross. We read in Mark 15:25 “Now it was the third hour, and they crucified Him.” The third hour was 9am in Jewish time. At the same time the Jews were making preparations for sacrifice, Jesus was prepared to die by being nailed to a cross. 
• At 3pm the people were slaughtering their lambs. I know a Jewish pastor named David. He's a Christian who annually celebrates Passover. We worked on this message together and he told me that the last sacrifice took place by 3pm. When the priest had slaughtered the last lamb he would say "It is finished." Well, the Bible records that Jesus died at exactly 3pm. We read in Mark 15:33-37 that “…at the ninth hour [3pm Jewish time] Jesus cried out in a loud voice…“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” [Then] With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. And we know what that last loud cry was, don't we? John 19:30 reveals that Jesus' last loud cry was "It is finished!" 

Now notice the second parallel between the Passover lamb and Jesus...

2. As the Passover lamb was slaughtered without a bone being broken, so Jesus was crucified without a bone being broken. 

We read in John 19:30-37 that the Roman soldiers broke the legs of the two thieves who were crucified next to Jesus - but when they came to Jesus they saw that he was already dead, so they did not break his legs.

Notice: Jesus died on the same month (Nisan), day (the 14th) and even hour (3pm) as did the Passover lamb.

To summarize: As the Israelites slaughtered a lamb on the 14th of Nisan, so Jesus was crucified on the 14th of Nisan. And as the bones of the Passover lamb were preserved, so Jesus’ bones were preserved - not one of them was broken.

So we see that Jesus met the second requirement of Passover. 

How did Jesus fulfill Passover? Part 1

According to Exodus 12 there were five basic requirements for celebrating Passover.

1. Set aside a lamb on the 10th of Nisan- one without defect 
2. Slaughter the lamb on the 14th - but don’t break any bones 
3. Put some of the lamb’s blood on the sides and top of the doorframe 
4. Finish the Passover on the 14th - don't let it spill over into the next day 
5. Celebrate the Passover perpetually 

In this post I'll show you how Jesus fulfilled requirement #1.

The first requirement of Passover was that a lamb be set aside on the 10th of Nisan, four days prior to Passover. During these four days leading up to Passover the lamb was to be examined to be proven to be without defect, for this is what God had commanded.

Notice the first parallel between the Passover lamb and Jesus...

1. As the Passover lamb was set aside on the 10th, so Jesus entered Jerusalem on the 10th, to be set aside as the human lamb Isaiah and John the Baptist prophesied about.

Let me explain. John 12:1 says, “Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany…” Since Passover was celebrated on the 14th, this would mean that Jesus came to Bethany on the 9th. Then we read in John 12:12 that, “The next day the great crowd that had come for the [Passover] festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem.” Since Jesus was in Bethany on the 9th, that makes the next day the 10th. Jesus entered Jerusalem to be set aside as the human Lamb of God on the exact day that God told the Jews to set aside their lambs for Passover.

Notice the second parallel between the Passover lamb and Jesus...

2. As the Passover lamb was without defect, so Jesus was found to be faultless.

When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem the Jews tried to find some fault in Jesus they could use to discredit him. For example, in Matthew 21 the religious leaders questioned his authority. In Matthew 23 they asked Him trick questions hoping he would give a wrong answer they could then use against Him. But they found nothing. In frustration, the Jews turned Jesus over to Pilate, hoping he could find something to accuse Jesus of. But even after interrogating and beating Jesus, Pilate said of him in John 19:4 “I find no fault in Him.” Of course he didn't for Jesus was a Lamb without defect!

Now notice this: All these things happened between the 10th and the 14th - that is, during the same exact time when the Jews were examining their lambs - looking for faults - in preparation for sacrifice.

To summarize: As the Israelites set aside a lamb on the 10th of Nisan, so Jesus was set aside on the 10th of Nisan. And as the Israelites examined their lamb to be sure it was without defect, so Jesus was examined and found to be without defect. 

So we see that Jesus fulfilled the first requirement of Passover. 

7 Things Parents Need to Teach Their Kids - Part 5

There are seven things good parents will prioritize teaching their children. These seven truths come from The Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6 and are the spiritual foundation for successful children.

5. God forgives me and I need to forgive others. 

Matthew 6:12, “And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.” NKJV

You need to remind your kids over and over that they should forgive others of their sin because God has forgiven them of theirs. If your kids don’t learn how to ask for forgiveness and extend forgiveness, they will suffer from two things:

1. Guilt 
If you don’t teach your kids to receive God’s forgiveness, they will carry around a load of guilt. After they get in trouble, are disciplined and apologize to you, don’t forget to lead them in a prayer where they apologize to God. Ultimately, their not honoring you is disobedience to God who says in Exodus 20:12, “Honor your father and your mother...” If you discipline them and have them apologize only to you, their little conscience will still bother them. They need to get right with God, not only with you.

So - if they don’t learn to receive God’s forgiveness they will carry around a load of guilt. But on the other hand, if they don’t learn to extend forgiveness to others, they will carry around...

2. Resentment
If you don’t teach your kids to forgive, then unforgiveness will eat away at them. You may have heard it said that “Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” And that’s true! You don’t want your kids living with resentment towards others for the ways in which they’ve been offended. Forgiveness is the key to ensure this doesn’t happen.

If you’re finding that your kids never want to apologize to each other or to someone else they may have offended, ask yourself this: Am I modeling asking for forgiveness? Kristin and I are far from being perfect parents, but I will say this - our kids have no problem apologizing to each other or to others. Just the other day Lincoln was annoying one of my neighbor’s kids to the point she went inside. When Kristin learned about it she talked with Lincoln and he realized he needed to apologize - and he didn't walk over our neighbor's house kicking and screaming. Why? Because Kristin and I often admit we were wrong and ask our kids for forgiveness. When I get short with Kristin, thereby setting a bad example for the kids - once I’ve apologized to both Kristin and God, I go apologize to the kids too. I tell them: I’m sorry for being nasty to mommy. That doesn’t make Jesus happy. I’ve said sorry to him and to mommy and I need to say sorry to you too. The Bible says we’re to love each other, and daddy wasn’t being very loving. I’m sorry.

Your kids will have trouble admitting fault and saying sorry if you do. So make sure your kids often hear you say “I’m sorry. I was wrong. Please forgive me.” Model it for them so they know how to do it themselves, because you don’t want them living with guilt or resentment.

7 Things Parents Need to Teach Their Kids - Part 2

There are seven things good parents will prioritize teaching their children. These seven truths come from The Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6 and are the spiritual foundation for successful children.

2. God’s name deserves honor. 

Matthew 6:9b, “...Hallowed be Your name.” NKJV

If you don’t teach your kids to honor God, their highest authority, they won’t ever learn to honor any other authority either. Kids today have a problem with authority, right? We all know this. Well, it’s no surprise that kids don’t honor their parental authority or their governmental authority. Why would they if they’ve never been taught to honor their spiritual authority? Kids learn to honor their parents and honor their teachers and honor police officers and other authorities by first learning to honor God.

Well how do you teach your kids to honor God? You teach them that God’s name is to be praised and never ever to be used as a curse word. Exodus 20:7 says it like this “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” NIV If you got disrespectful in a courtroom with the judge he would hold in contempt of court. How much more so does the Judge of all the earth hold us in contempt when we get disrespectful by misusing his name! You need to teach your kids that God doesn’t take his name being used in vain lightly. On the same top ten list where it says murder is wrong, it says misusing God’s name is wrong. To understand how serious God takes the misuse of his name we only need to look to Leviticus 24 where we learn that doing so was a capitol offense, punishable by death! In this chapter a fight breaks out and one of the two blasphemes God’s name by combining it with a curse word. When the people heard it they put him in custody until the will of the Lord should be made clear to them. Then the Lord said to Moses: “Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him. Say to the Israelites: ‘Anyone who curses their God will be held responsible; anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord is to be put to death. The entire assembly must stone them.’ You see, God takes the misuse of his name seriously!

This is why it’s so important to model for your children honoring God’s name. How can you do that?

• Never misuse the Lord’s name yourself. If your kids hear you say it, they will likely imitate your disrespectful ways. 
• Refuse to watch any TV show or movie that consistently abuses God’s name. Think about it. If you’re watching a movie and God’s name is being abused and you keep watching and you’re laughing, what kind of message are you sending to your kids? On the other hand, if you’re watching something that abuses God’s name and you immediately change the channel your kids will get the message that God’s name is to be honored.

Psalm 29:2 says, “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name...” NIV That means we’re to always honor the name of the Lord. As you teach it and model it, your kids will learn respect for spiritual authority - and for every other kind of authority as well.

Learning to Trust God

One of the challenges of the Christian life is learning to trust God. And nothing teaches us better to put our trust and faith in God than being between a rock and a hard place. 

Last November I found myself in just such a spot. From November 2011 to November 2012 New Day grew by almost 200 people and though I needed to hire more full-time staff we didn't have the finances to do so. Imagine a restaurant owner increasing his customer base by 200 people a week but not having the money to hire more cooks and wait staff. That's something like the situation I was in. During that time, I wrote a blog called “Fertile Soil for a Miracle”, because as I’ve followed God and read my Bible I’ve learned that He specializes in impossible situations. In that post I wrote “...I'd be overwhelmed and stressed out if I thought New Day was my church, but I'm under no such disillusion. Our church belongs to Jesus and this is his problem to solve. And I'm so excited to see how He's going to do it...Circumstances such as these are fertile soil for a miracle!!!” 

Since there was no provision to my left or my right, in front of me or behind me I looked UP and put my trust in God. At about the same time I wrote the blog God led me to begin considering the question "What would I do with $100,000?" That is, if someone blessed New Day with $100,000 what would I do with it? I wrote the question down in the notes section of my iPhone. Well wouldn't you know that only three weeks after writing the blog, someone who knew nothing of our staffing needs walked into my office and handed me a check for nearly $150,000!!! I've learned that it's between a rock and hard that we learn to trust in God. Now, it might not always be fun to wait on God's provision, but it sure is fun once he provides!!! 

In Exodus 14 we find Moses and the Israelites between their own rock and hard place. Let me paint the picture...God has just used ten plagues to convince Pharaoh to let his people go so the Israelites are heading out of Egypt toward the Promised Land. As they approach the Red Sea Pharaoh changes his mind and sends the whole Egyptian army after them. The Israelites find themselves trapped. On their right and left are impossible to climb mountains, in front of them is an impossible to cross Red Sea and behind them is an impossible to defeat Egyptian army. Talk about being between a rock and hard place! 

Since there was no provision to the right or left, in front or behind, the Israelites looked UP and cried out to God. But as the Egyptian army drew nearer they stopped trusting in God and started yelling at Moses. The Bible tells us in Exodus 14:13 that "Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” And that's exactly what happened. As a result the Bible records in Exodus 14:31, "...when the Israelites saw the mighty hand of the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him..." It was between a rock and hard place Moses and the Israelites learned to trust in God. And the same is true for us! 

Maybe you find yourself today between a rock and a hard place in your finances, or at work, or in your marriage, or with your kids...Though the circumstances may vary from person to person, they all serve the same purpose: to teach us to put our trust in God. So the next time you find yourself between a rock and a hard place, remember this: It's not to ruin you, but to refine you. Not to punish you, but to prepare you for the glorious future he has for you!! 

Sin Destroys Destinies

Here is no doubt one of the more confusing passages of Scripture:

Exodus 4:24-26, At a lodging place on the way [to Egypt from Midian], the Lord met [or confronted] Moses and was about to kill him. But Zipporah [Moses' wife] took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. So the Lord let him alone. (At that time she said “bridegroom of blood,” referring to circumcision.)

Don't worry if you were uncomfortable reading that! I was uncomfortable writing it! It's so bizarre! But while this passage may initially strike us as peculiar, it becomes profound as we unveil the meaning behind it. 

In this passage God confronts Moses over a private area of sin Moses hadn't yet dealt with. This secret sin threatened to destroy his destiny and his very life (for sin always leads to death, Romans 6:23). You see, in Genesis 17:14 God instructed the descendants of Abraham, “Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” Circumcision was that external symbol that the Israelites were set apart for God's purposes, and though failure to obey was punishable by death, Moses disobeyed God in this area of his life. So God steps in and confronts Moses. It's as if God said to Moses, "Moses, you won't advance any further in My will until you deal with this. Get right or get left. Turn from your sin or miss out on My destiny for your life." 

Now look what happens when Moses finally obeys...when through Zipporah he fulfills the Abrahamic covenant requirement of circumcision. The Bible records "So the Lord let him alone." You see, when Zipporah touched Moses' feet with her son's foreskin, God counted it as a symbolic act of substitution, in which obedience was seen as replacing disobedience. As a result, God stepped off the path that prevented Moses from traveling any further in God's will. God hit the pause button on Moses' destiny but when Moses righted his wrong, God hit play once again. 

Do you feel like God has pressed the pause button on his plans for your life? Is there anything in your life that God calls sinful that you're trying to hide, ignore or justify? God doesn't want us to do any of those things. God wants us to deal with our sin, as Moses did, replacing disobedience with obedience. 

When we do, we invite God to un-pause his plans for our lives! 

Do We Really Have Free Will?

As we're studying through the life of Moses, let me address a passage of Scripture I've received a number of questions about over the years.

God said concerning Pharaoh in Exodus 4:21, "...I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go." This has understandably caused some to question whether or not we as humans really have free will. The line of reasoning goes like this: If God caused Pharaoh's heart to be hard, Pharaoh didn't really have a choice in the matter, did he? This leads some to conclude they don't really have a choice either. That being the case, they toss all moral caution to the wind, concluding: God made me this way. Why fight against God?

Not wanting anyone to believe they don't really have free will and not wanting anyone to believe God has made them stubbornly sinful, I write this blogpost.

When the Bible says that God hardened Pharaoh's heart, it's speaking of the effect God had on Pharaoh's heart, not that God forced Pharaoh to be stubbornly sinful.

We know this because of the following verses...

• Exodus 7:14 says "Pharaoh's heart is stubborn; he refuses to let the people go." 

• Exodus 8:15, "But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief, he hardened his heart and would not listen..." 

You see, the problem resided in Pharaoh, not in God. It was his stubborn nature that caused his heart to harden, not our Heavenly Father. Let me illustrate what's happening here...

As the sun in the sky shines down upon wax, the wax melts. As the very same sun in the sky shines down on clay, the clay hardens. The sun doesn't determine what happens to the objects it shines upon. The nature of the object is the determining factor. The nature of Moses' heart was as wax. As God gave Moses his commands, Moses' heart melted in obedience. The nature of Pharaoh's heart was as clay. As God gave Pharaoh his commands, Pharaoh's heart hardened in disobedience. God didn't determine what happened to Moses or Pharaoh. The nature of each person was the determining factor.

God has indeed given us free will. We can choose to obey or disobey. We can choose to melt in obedience or harden in rebellion. The choice is ours. So when we stand before God on judgment day He won't accept "But You made me this way!" as a valid excuse.