One Year Bible, Wednesday, February 9th - Jesus Last Supper/Passover Meal with His Disciples
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1. Aaron and his sons were set apart as priests to act as mediators between God and the Israelites. The priests were a foreshadowing of Jesus, who would become our high priest forever. In order for the most high priest to be able to go into the tabernacle, he needed to be cleansed by the water and covered by the blood of the ram. Jesus brought us straight into God's presence and made his tabernacle in our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
2. You will notice all the instances of the blood of the sacrificial animals being put in various places. Some of the places were: the horns on the altar and at the base of the altar, on the ears of Aaron and his sons, the thumbs or their right hands, against all the sides of the altar, and a mixture of oil and blood on their garments. As Aaron and his sons placed their placed their hands symbolically on the head of the bull, they were transferring their sins onto the bull.
Hebrews 9:22 says, "There is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood." Why? Because a price must be paid to atone for the sin. In the Old Testament an innocent animal paid the price, and in the New Testament Jesus, the lamb of God provided the atoning sacrifice.
3. The incense altar was built right near the ark of the covenant. Importantly the verse says,
"Place the incense altar just outside the inner curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant, in front of the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—that covers the tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant.I will meet with you there."
"Sprinkled throughout this description of the tabernacle and the furnishings were reminders of the purpose of the tabernacle. It was a place for man to meet with God."
1. Judas went to the leading priests asking them how much they would give him to betray Jesus. Obviously this was a premeditated plan. 30 pieces of silver would be worth approximately between $200-$400 today. An unbelieveably small price to sell out the son of God. In the end it would be very expensive for Judas.
2. Jesus transformed the meaning of the Passover meal, the central way in which the Israelites remembered God's provision and promise to them. When the blood of the lamb was spread over the door posts, the angel of death would pass over the homes of the Israelites to prevent their firstborn sons from dying. The unleavened bread was symbolic of the hasty flight the Israelites took from Egypt. Leaven was a metaphor for sin. Jesus uses these two elements, the blood and unleavened bread and gives them new meaning.
Jesus would shed his blood on the cross to cover all of our sins past, present and future. In the past, the Israelites had to sacrifice an innocent lamb every year at the Passover. Now the annual Passover would be replaced by the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus' body and blood. Every time we participate in Holy Communion, we remember what Jesus did for us to save us from sin and grant us eternal life.
3. The Garden of Gethsemane is one of the most poignant scenes in all of the bible. In it we see Jesus' humanness as he realizes the enormity of the sacrifice he is about to make. If one every thinks Jesus wasn't fully human, they haven't read this passage.
"My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me. He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Matthew 28:38-39
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