"By His will we have been sanctified once for all through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ. Day after day every priest stands and repeatedly offers the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. But when this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, 'he sat down at the right hand of God.'"
Jesus' last words, "It is finished," have you ever taken the time to ask yourself, "What is finished?" This semester, I am taking a couple of classes that focus mainly on Christ as High Priest. I must say, I am beginning to see a creative side of God that I never knew existed. The Old Covenant was based on the sacrificial system, where people would take some type of animal to a priest, and sacrifice it, for the remission of their transgressions. Different types of offerings or sacrifices gave forgiveness for different things. The priests were basically butchers who loved the Lord. These sacrifices weren't a pretty sight. There was a very complex method that God gave his people for them to have forgiveness of sin. These priests were continually going, non-stop sacrifice. Covered in the blood of goats, bulls, rams, sheep, doves, and the list goes on and on. If you've ever heard the fact that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament, I would challenge you to dig deeper, and find out every way that He has fulfilled it. For God to give one perfect sacrifice, and for all of those who put themselves under this one sacrifice to be totally covered is amazing. God, whose character was put on display through the life of Christ, showed how selfless He is by giving His one and only begotten Son to die. In the Tabernacle there was a piece of furniture called "The Bronze Laver." Now it was there for the priests to wash themselves for sacrifice, and this made them clean. Now jump forward to Jesus first miracle where He turned the water into wine. Now, Jesus and His disciples were at a Wedding Reception, and these jars of water were there for the people to wash, and make themselves clean to eat. The law was very strict in what the people who followed had to do to remain clean, but for eating it was imperative for them to be clean in a setting like this. So now for us what is the one thing that can wash us and make us clean from sin. The Blood of Christ. And the Blood of Christ, being one of the elements for Communion, has been represented by wine. So Jesus took the water, which was significant for washing the people to make them clean, and turned into the representation of the one thing that can truly wash us and make us clean forever. So no longer do we need these priests to make sacrifice on behalf of us for the cleansing of sin. We have been given such a grace that can cover us for all of eternity and our needs are met, and beyond than that of just salvation. God, through His Son, has fulfilled the old with the new. Therefore, "It is finished."
Jesus' last words, "It is finished," have you ever taken the time to ask yourself, "What is finished?" This semester, I am taking a couple of classes that focus mainly on Christ as High Priest. I must say, I am beginning to see a creative side of God that I never knew existed. The Old Covenant was based on the sacrificial system, where people would take some type of animal to a priest, and sacrifice it, for the remission of their transgressions. Different types of offerings or sacrifices gave forgiveness for different things. The priests were basically butchers who loved the Lord. These sacrifices weren't a pretty sight. There was a very complex method that God gave his people for them to have forgiveness of sin. These priests were continually going, non-stop sacrifice. Covered in the blood of goats, bulls, rams, sheep, doves, and the list goes on and on. If you've ever heard the fact that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament, I would challenge you to dig deeper, and find out every way that He has fulfilled it. For God to give one perfect sacrifice, and for all of those who put themselves under this one sacrifice to be totally covered is amazing. God, whose character was put on display through the life of Christ, showed how selfless He is by giving His one and only begotten Son to die. In the Tabernacle there was a piece of furniture called "The Bronze Laver." Now it was there for the priests to wash themselves for sacrifice, and this made them clean. Now jump forward to Jesus first miracle where He turned the water into wine. Now, Jesus and His disciples were at a Wedding Reception, and these jars of water were there for the people to wash, and make themselves clean to eat. The law was very strict in what the people who followed had to do to remain clean, but for eating it was imperative for them to be clean in a setting like this. So now for us what is the one thing that can wash us and make us clean from sin. The Blood of Christ. And the Blood of Christ, being one of the elements for Communion, has been represented by wine. So Jesus took the water, which was significant for washing the people to make them clean, and turned into the representation of the one thing that can truly wash us and make us clean forever. So no longer do we need these priests to make sacrifice on behalf of us for the cleansing of sin. We have been given such a grace that can cover us for all of eternity and our needs are met, and beyond than that of just salvation. God, through His Son, has fulfilled the old with the new. Therefore, "It is finished."
