June 11, 2010

Deuteronomy 16

The Three major feasts of Israel are reiterated here. The Passover graphically portrays Jesus as our Lamb who takes away our sin. The Feast of weeks eloquently proclaims the coming of the Holy Spirit to enable us to bear fruit. The Feast of Tabernacles looks to the Second Coming of Messiah as King of Kings and Lords when our labor by the sweat of our brow will be ended and the harvest of His Kingdom shall be brought in. His glory exudes in each celebration. When they are all fulfilled, we shall indeed cry out with the 24 elders

“We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,

The One who is and who was and who is to come,

Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.

18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come,

And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,

And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,

And those who fear Your name, small and great,

And should destroy those who destroy the earth.”[1]

Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!

--Pastor john

John 19:23-42

John recalls three communications of our Lord from the cross that reveal the glory of our King. In the midst of His tremendous agony, Jesus still was in control and thought outside Himself.

He gave charge for the care of His mother over to John.
He pronounced His thirst in order to fulfill the Scripture found in Psalm 22:15
He knew when He had accomplished and finished the task of paying the penalty for our sin. Only then did He "give up" His spirit. Normally when people die, they have no choice in the separation of their spirit from their body. Giving implies a choice. Even in His death He was in control and He "gave up" the His spirit at the appropriate time. That's amazing!


John observes that the soldiers, coming to break His legs to hasten His death, saw that He was dead. In order to be sure that Jesus was dead, one soldier pierced His side with a spear. John observed a flow of water and blood. Some doctors have suggested that the cause of this flow was a ruptured heart. A sentimental response is that He died of a broken heart, the creation that He loved and the Father that He obeyed killed Him. But John says that this was done to fulfill the Scripture found in Psalm 34:10, Zech. 12:10 & 13:6. Even when nailed to the cross, Jesus controlled His death. Those killing Him, worked His will. Who can control the circumstances of their death? Only those who commit suicide. But even then their death is without purpose. Jesus controlled the circumstances of His own death for the purpose of saving us and fulfilling Scripture in the process. Indeed our King is a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!

--Pastor John