The Lamb of God

Jesus | The Lamb of God

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Easter is upon us, and Easter ushers in thoughts of its meaning, namely Jesus' passion. Let's set the scene for the story by identifying our state. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." This death-penalty for sin comes from the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:17) and is inherited by all mankind via what is called original sin (Rom. 5:12). It can be seen based on the structure of the verse that since death is paralleled to life (see diagram below) the death referred to is an eternal death.

The wages that are received are like any other wages: earned, deserved, and "what you have coming." This is a similar idea to earning a wage at a job, you've got your paycheck coming. In this case, however, what you did to earn the wages was sin. Sin is, or results from, an inward preference for anything above God (Romans 1:22-23,3:23). Sin is an exchanging of God for lesser things. This is why eternal death is necessary because God, infinite and all satisfying God, has be traded for things which are lesser and could never satisfy (Jeremiah 2:12-13). The Bible says we should be shocked and appalled that such a horror would happen.

But, thankfully the verse does not end there. God has a free gift (unearned, undeserved, something you don't have coming) which is paralleled to the wages (see diagram above). That free gift may only be bestowed by God and is not earned. As much as we receive the wages because of sin, so we receive the free gift because of God alone (Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:10). The gift is Himself in the person of Jesus whom we get to spend eternity with, beholding His glory(John 17:24; Revelation 5:9-10,12).

Surely at this point you're asking yourself, "How do I exchange the wages, that I rightly deserve, for this free gift, which I could never earn?" The answer to that question (and there is an answer) is worth spending your life and energy to find. It is good to note here that you must answer the question for yourself. Not answering the question is accepting the wages you've earned...

The original answer to this question was to kill a lamb, and its blood would be a sign that God would pass over His people (Passover) and not kill them (Exodus 12:5-13). This answer was a picture of the true and perfect answer, who is Jesus Christ -- the Lamb of God. Consider the quoted commentaries here in comparison between Jesus' passion and the Passover lamb's passion, some meditation, and then application.

Totally Submitted & Utterly Dependent (Part 2)

Totally Submitted & Utterly Dependent (Part 2)

[Part 1 here]

As a man Jesus submitted totally and completely to the Father
In John 4:34 Jesus says:

"My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work."

and again in John 5:19:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise." (italics added)

We do so much for ourselves. We are most focused on ourselves, which is seen in our passion for what we are doing. We tend to be most passionate about the things we thought of or which we have stock in. Jesus' food is to do the will of His Father. Totally submitted, not focused on His needs or Himself, but on the Father. It is a fearful thing when you think about the Judgement day which is coming because we will not be compared to those around us or even to our old ways but to Jesus, the perfect man and our example.  It would appear from the outside that American Christians, especially, do so much without seeking God (for a number of reasons), but Jesus said He could do nothing of His own accord(John 5:19). Why do we presume that we can?

Totally Submitted & Utterly Dependent (Part 1)

Why should we make every effort to maximize time with God in prayer, and seek always to submit to Him and depend upon Him? Jesus did. And if Jesus needed to, how much more do we? 

(Adapted from a Sermon by Paul Washer)

In Luke 11:1 it says that Jesus was praying, and when He finished one of the disciples approached Him [perhaps amazed at seeing the Son of God communicating with His Father] and said, "Lord teach us to pray.." Notice that the disciples dared not interrupt the Son of God while He was in prayer (it says when He finished). There was something about the connection between Jesus and the Father that the disciples both saw/wanted but also knew better than to break. Notice also the disciples request, "Lord teach us to pray.." because the disciples never asked Jesus to teach them to preach or teach or cast out demons nor anything else that I can find. Think briefly about how you would assess someone as to what they might teach you. You ask someone to teach you about something which you see in their life as something which is exemplary or extraordinary which you have met no one else who could do X or Y like that person. The disciples could not believe what the saw or heard when Jesus prayed; therefore the request comes to be taught.

-Has anyone ever come to you and asked, "Teach me to pray!"?