“Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:” (2Ti 2:8 AV)

The resurrection of Jesus Christ remains foundational to all that we believe.  The resurrection is the power of the gospel message that we declare, for we serve a risen savior.  As Jesus was preparing his disciples and revealing to them the course He was to take, He declared these words:  … “because I live, ye shall live also.” (Joh 14:19 AV)  The ramifications of this simple statement seemed to be lost in the events that they were to witness over the next few days.  As Jesus submitted to His destiny as the Lamb of God, the sacrifice that takes away the sin of the world, His disciples watched in horror.  Their lack of understanding left them devastated, hopeless and despondent.

But as the events of the first day of the week began to unfold, the cloud on their understanding gradually began to lift.  From our perspective we can only imagine the depth of despair and disappointment they experienced as their Lord, their hope, their aspirations, all lay seemingly dead at their feet.  Couple that with their personal failures and we may be a little more sympathetic to their reluctance to believe the news of the resurrection of their Lord and Savior.

The news that Jesus was alive was almost too wonderful to believe.  The joy was overwhelming as Jesus revealed himself to them with undeniable proofs.  Even so it took time as Jesus patiently restored their faith that had begun to crumble.  Their faith in God and the revelation that Jesus was the Son of God the Messiah had not been in vain, but they had been weak.  Now through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that faith became founded upon a foundation that would never again be shaken.  Never again would they doubt the Word of God. God’s Word had been proven to be immutable.

As we follow the lives of these men who were transformed by the power of God, we see men who lived what the preached.  Never again would they shy from declaring the truths of God.  Never again would their fear what men can do.  They lived their lives on this foundation that the Word of God is truth.  And they could say with certainty, because He lives we shall also live.

It remains the same for us today, if we will only believe and follow Christ.  Because He lives, we shall also live.

“by this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Heb 10:10 NAS95)

We celebrated Passover this year at a Passover Seder. Passover was instituted by God for the Children of Israel to commemorate their deliverance from bondage in Egypt. This event that had taken place was to be remembered forever. So it was that Jesus took care to celebrate this important event.

It was not by chance that it was on the celebration of this event that God would fulfill His promise to Abraham and bless all the nations through Abraham’s seed, Jesus the Christ. So it was that on that day Jesus gathered with His disciples at the Passover Seder and revealed to them the plan of God to bring deliverance to all peoples through the blood of the Passover Lamb. The events that would follow this celebration would for a time leave the disciples bewildered and confused, but when they fully comprehended the events of this night they would remember the memorial that was established by our Lord Himself.

“and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “this is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” in the same way [he took] the cup also after supper, saying, “this cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, as often as you drink [it,] in remembrance of me.” for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the lord’s death until he comes.” (1Co 11:24-26 NAS95)

Passover would never again be the same. Jesus Christ has become our Passover Lamb. His blood was shed for the remission of our sins. We has been set free from the bondage of sin and death. Not only has Passover taken on a new depth of meaning, but so has freedom. So it is that we with joy celebrate this onetime event that forever changed everything. Our freedom has been bought. We have been redeemed. All that trust in Christ Jesus will live with Him forever. So let us celebrate.

“clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are [in fact] unleavened. for Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1Co 5:7-8 NAS95)

The intention of my last post was to inspire you to begin to reflect on the season of Passover that we are now entering.  Passover was and is celebrated by the Jews to this day, but the event itself was not a pleasant joyous event.  It was a night of anticipation, fear, and wonder.  The Passover celebration is about the deliverance that resulted from their obedience to God’s Word.  Their deliverance set them free from slavery and the world, but also from sin and judgment.  This is what Passover celebration is all about.

Now if we follow the continuing story we will find that they were not freed from the ability to sin or the judgment to follow.  But they were free to live in obedience to God and follow Him.  The institution by God for His people to celebrate this event and the deliverance it brought was not only to keep it in remembrance, but it was also to point us ahead to what Christ would do for us on the Cross.

It was not God’s intention to bring His people out into the wilderness to die, but this is what happened to many of them.  It can happen to us today.  If we fail to remember who we are and where we came from we will die in the wilderness just like many of them did.  This is why the celebration of Passover can be so helpful, for it helps us focuses our attention on our Salvation, who is Christ the Lord.  It was not intended to just be a time to bring us back once a year to the truth, but was intended to be a reminder to keep us walking in the truth.  It is because of neglect that it is for most people a needed reminder of how far we as a people have strayed from God’s truth.

So if we are to take a reality check and examine Christianity today in America, and our personal relationship with God, then I think we will realize that this year’s Passover needs to be a time of bringing us back into proper relationship with God.  One of the reasons for this is because the most neglected part of Passover has been the preparation leading up to the celebration.  If we look at the pattern laid out for us in the Scripture we see the removal of leaven from their homes was crucial.  Those who did not cleanse their abodes of leaven were cut off from their people.  It is no secret that leaven typified sin in the Scripture.

As we consider our celebration of Passover on this side of the cross, the truth remains the same.  What was commanded to Moses was reiterated by the Apostle Paul.  “clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are [in fact] unleavened. for Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1Co 5:7-8 NAS95)

Modern times have for the most part reduced the feast in the Church to that portion of the feast in which Christ took the bread and the cup, revealed its significance, and commanded that we do this in remembrance of Him until he comes again.  I do not think it is wrong that this has been the center of our focus as we remember His body that was broken for us and His blood that was shed for us.  But I have seen a disturbing trend as much of the Church has neglected to practice that time of preparation that is so essential for our salvation.

“Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink [this] cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of [that] bread, and drink of [that] cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.” (1Co 11:27-29 AV)

Often this part of the instruction is either not read or glossed over in an attempt to allow more people to partake of that which is holy.  If we neglect the time of preparation, of examination and cleansing, then participation becomes detrimental instead of advantageous.  If this is an area we have neglected then we may find there is a need for a real house cleaning.  When there is we should get to it and not neglect that which is so important.  It may also be a reminder that we should not have allowed sin to accumulate.  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1Jo 1:9 AV)

Let us not neglect this time of preparation as we anticipate the celebration of Passover.  Let us first examine ourselves and then let us eat that we may have our part with Him, our Savior, our Redeemer, Christ the Lord.  For this is Just the beginning as we anticipate the celebration of His Resurrection.  Because He lives we shall also live.  Our salvation, just like the salvation of the children of Israel, depends upon our obedience to our Lord.  Let us not forget the voice of preparation,  “THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!’”” (Mt 3:3 NAS95)