Did you know that God rejoices over you with joyful songs? “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). On the night before Jesus gave Himself to us as our savior, He sang.
It was customary at the Passover to sing “The Hallel.” Psalms 113-118 make up the Hallel. These Psalms praise God for the various aspects of His great saving power. Psalm 118 is not only the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament, but it is possibly the song that Jesus sang with His disciples before He went out to the Mount of Olives.
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for his steadfast love endures forever” (Psalm 118:1)! Enduring love, loving kindness that lasts forever, loyal love that is eternal. Listen and hear the voice of Jesus as He sings! The Psalm begins and ends with the same words like a love song that embraces the one who listens.
As Jesus sang the words of this song, He would also have been comforting Himself with the truth. He knew what He was facing as He sang, “Out of my distress I called on the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. The Lord is on my side as my helper; I shall look in triumph on those who hate me” (Psalm 118:5-7). Jesus had been preparing His followers for what He would suffer, and now as He sang He steadied His own heart with the words of this hymn of praise.
From the beginning of His ministry Jesus had declared that “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe in the good news” (Mark 1:15)! Jesus had not only come to proclaim the coming of God’s kingdom, He had come to set His beloved free by breaking the curse of sin and death. His steadfast love would be rejected by many, but those who were quieted by His love would find that He was the cornerstone of the kingdom.
=sharehttps https://music.apple.com/us/album/you-are-my-hiding-place/71193599?i=71193358://music.apple.com/us/album/you-are-my-hiding-place/71193599?i=71193358
Monday, May 25, 2020
Friday, May 22, 2020
I Await the Promise (Mark 14:24-25)
I will never forget the day that I received my engagement ring. It was not just the gift of a beautiful ring from someone that I loved, but a change of status. This ring was an announcement that I was engaged to be married. Throughout the time of my engagement I would hold out my hand and look at my ring with a feeling of anticipation, I was to be a bride! The ring was symbolic of the wedding and marriage that was to follow, and I wanted to share my joy with everyone that I met.
There is a Jewish wedding tradition connected with a marriage proposal that is similar to the giving of an engagement ring. *According to rabbi Michael Short of Phoenix, Arizona, when a Jewish man would propose marriage to a prospective bride, he would offer her a cup of wine. If she drank it, she was accepting the betrothal. Once the woman was betrothed, she would wait for the man to go home to his father and make arrangements for the wedding and their new home together.
At the Passover meal, the third cup of wine was called the “Cup of Redemption.” This was the cup that Jesus was referring to when He said, “This is My blood that establishes the covenant; it is shed for many” (Mark 14:24). Just as the bride would drink from the “Cup of Betrothal” and enter into a covenant with the groom, Jesus offered the “Cup of Redemption” to His bride the church.
The fourth cup at Passover was commonly called the “Cup of the Kingdom.” It is also called the “Cup of Consummation.” About this cup Jesus said, “I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it in a new way in the kingdom of God” (Mark 14:25). The Jewish bride and groom would celebrate their marriage with a wedding feast that began with the “Cup of Consummation.”
As I consider this, I am filled with a sense of hope and longing. I have drunk from the Cup of Redemption. I have placed my faith in the blood of Christ that was shed for me and all who come to Him by faith. When I take communion I remember the anticipation I felt when I received my engagement ring. I wait with hope and longing, along with all those who have entered into this covenant with Christ, to share the fourth cup in the kingdom. Until then, I will remember with gratitude both the sacrifice and the promise.
*Unlocking the Secrets of the Feasts by Michael Norten
There is a Jewish wedding tradition connected with a marriage proposal that is similar to the giving of an engagement ring. *According to rabbi Michael Short of Phoenix, Arizona, when a Jewish man would propose marriage to a prospective bride, he would offer her a cup of wine. If she drank it, she was accepting the betrothal. Once the woman was betrothed, she would wait for the man to go home to his father and make arrangements for the wedding and their new home together.
At the Passover meal, the third cup of wine was called the “Cup of Redemption.” This was the cup that Jesus was referring to when He said, “This is My blood that establishes the covenant; it is shed for many” (Mark 14:24). Just as the bride would drink from the “Cup of Betrothal” and enter into a covenant with the groom, Jesus offered the “Cup of Redemption” to His bride the church.
The fourth cup at Passover was commonly called the “Cup of the Kingdom.” It is also called the “Cup of Consummation.” About this cup Jesus said, “I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it in a new way in the kingdom of God” (Mark 14:25). The Jewish bride and groom would celebrate their marriage with a wedding feast that began with the “Cup of Consummation.”
As I consider this, I am filled with a sense of hope and longing. I have drunk from the Cup of Redemption. I have placed my faith in the blood of Christ that was shed for me and all who come to Him by faith. When I take communion I remember the anticipation I felt when I received my engagement ring. I wait with hope and longing, along with all those who have entered into this covenant with Christ, to share the fourth cup in the kingdom. Until then, I will remember with gratitude both the sacrifice and the promise.
*Unlocking the Secrets of the Feasts by Michael Norten
Monday, May 18, 2020
Giving Thanks for The Cup of Redemption (Mark 14:24-25)
There were four cups at the Passover Feast. The four cups were to remind everyone of the four promises of Exodus 6:6-7: “Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under of the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgements. Then I will take you for My people, and I will be your God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.’”
The Feast began with the first cup, the “Cup of Blessing or Sanctification.” This was a cup to remember how God had promised to bring them out of Egypt, which also pictures a promise that there would be sanctification from sin. The next cup was the “Cup of Praise.” As they remembered how God had delivered them, they were to give thanks. After the meal they would drink the third cup, which was called the “Cup of Redemption.” With this cup they were to remember how they were redeemed with “an outstretched arm and with great judgments.” It was the third cup that Jesus said was the cup of blood of the covenant.
The covenant that would be accomplished as Jesus stretched out His arms and took the great judgements for our sins was represented by this third cup. Jesus told His disciples, “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many” (Mark 14:24). Moses had spoken of “the blood of the covenant.” It was a covenant made when they offered burnt offerings and peace sacrifices of oxen to the Lord at the foot of Mount Sinai after the law had been given. However, the book of Jeremiah had spoken of a new covenant. The new covenant would not be written on stone. The new covenant would be written on the heart. With the new covenant came the promise, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 32:34).
When Jesus took the cup He gave thanks. The Greek word for “giving thanks” is euchariste. According to HELPS Word-studies it means, “acknowledging that ‘God’s grace works well,’ i.e., for eternal gain and His glory; to give thanks-- literally, “thankful for God’s good grace.” Jesus took the Cup of Redemption, gave thanks, and then gave it to His disciples. The covenant that had been established in the wilderness after the first Passover was a covenant based on the law, but on the night before He died Jesus spoke of a covenant of grace,
We have an invitation to have communion with Jesus, to give thanks, and remember. What do we remember as we take the bread and wine? Remember what God promised, “I will bring you out from under the burdens of sin. I will deliver you. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.” I remember that God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only son for my redemption. By faith I see the outstretched arms of Jesus and I give thanks for the Cup of Redemption.
But there is a fourth cup...
The Feast began with the first cup, the “Cup of Blessing or Sanctification.” This was a cup to remember how God had promised to bring them out of Egypt, which also pictures a promise that there would be sanctification from sin. The next cup was the “Cup of Praise.” As they remembered how God had delivered them, they were to give thanks. After the meal they would drink the third cup, which was called the “Cup of Redemption.” With this cup they were to remember how they were redeemed with “an outstretched arm and with great judgments.” It was the third cup that Jesus said was the cup of blood of the covenant.
The covenant that would be accomplished as Jesus stretched out His arms and took the great judgements for our sins was represented by this third cup. Jesus told His disciples, “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many” (Mark 14:24). Moses had spoken of “the blood of the covenant.” It was a covenant made when they offered burnt offerings and peace sacrifices of oxen to the Lord at the foot of Mount Sinai after the law had been given. However, the book of Jeremiah had spoken of a new covenant. The new covenant would not be written on stone. The new covenant would be written on the heart. With the new covenant came the promise, “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 32:34).
When Jesus took the cup He gave thanks. The Greek word for “giving thanks” is euchariste. According to HELPS Word-studies it means, “acknowledging that ‘God’s grace works well,’ i.e., for eternal gain and His glory; to give thanks-- literally, “thankful for God’s good grace.” Jesus took the Cup of Redemption, gave thanks, and then gave it to His disciples. The covenant that had been established in the wilderness after the first Passover was a covenant based on the law, but on the night before He died Jesus spoke of a covenant of grace,
We have an invitation to have communion with Jesus, to give thanks, and remember. What do we remember as we take the bread and wine? Remember what God promised, “I will bring you out from under the burdens of sin. I will deliver you. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.” I remember that God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only son for my redemption. By faith I see the outstretched arms of Jesus and I give thanks for the Cup of Redemption.
But there is a fourth cup...
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
The Bread of Affection Transformed (Mark 14:21,22)
The first time bread is mentioned is in relation to the curse. What had brought about the curse? “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16,17). Man ate, the curse was spoken, but did death come “in that day”?
“By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). This is the first time Bread is mentioned in the Bible. The rebellion had brought about eventual physical death, but on the day that the sin was born there was a spiritual death. Fellowship with God was broken and the sound of the Lord God walking in the cool of the day had caused the man and woman to hid. The Lord God drove them out of the garden, “lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever” (Genesis 3:22).
Many years later the children of Israel were released from bondage in Egypt by the blood of a lamb. The physical bondage they experienced in Egypt is a picture of the spiritual bondage that is experienced because of sin. Lord led them into a wilderness where they were not able to toil for bread. Instead they were provided with bread from heaven in the form of manna. This was memorialize by the Passover Feast. The Passover is a festival of freedom.
Passover begins when the host holds up a piece of unleavened bread and says, “This is the bread of affliction our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat.” A child, or the youngest present, then asks a series of questions about, “why this night is different from all others nights.” The evening is spent remembering and retelling the story of the Exodus while eating the unleaded bread, the bitter herbs of suffering, and drinking the wine of freedom.
“And as they were eating, he took bread, and blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body” (Mark 14:22). Fellowship with God was restored at the Passover table. Jesus took the bread of affection and changed it into a symbol of freedom. The curse was broken on the cross. The bread that was produced by the sweat of man’s brow was temporal and still death would come. The bread from heaven given by Christ was eternal and brought with it life. What could not be accomplished by the sweat of man’s brow was accomplished by the outstretched arms of Christ our savior.
“By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). This is the first time Bread is mentioned in the Bible. The rebellion had brought about eventual physical death, but on the day that the sin was born there was a spiritual death. Fellowship with God was broken and the sound of the Lord God walking in the cool of the day had caused the man and woman to hid. The Lord God drove them out of the garden, “lest he reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever” (Genesis 3:22).
Many years later the children of Israel were released from bondage in Egypt by the blood of a lamb. The physical bondage they experienced in Egypt is a picture of the spiritual bondage that is experienced because of sin. Lord led them into a wilderness where they were not able to toil for bread. Instead they were provided with bread from heaven in the form of manna. This was memorialize by the Passover Feast. The Passover is a festival of freedom.
Passover begins when the host holds up a piece of unleavened bread and says, “This is the bread of affliction our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat.” A child, or the youngest present, then asks a series of questions about, “why this night is different from all others nights.” The evening is spent remembering and retelling the story of the Exodus while eating the unleaded bread, the bitter herbs of suffering, and drinking the wine of freedom.
“And as they were eating, he took bread, and blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body” (Mark 14:22). Fellowship with God was restored at the Passover table. Jesus took the bread of affection and changed it into a symbol of freedom. The curse was broken on the cross. The bread that was produced by the sweat of man’s brow was temporal and still death would come. The bread from heaven given by Christ was eternal and brought with it life. What could not be accomplished by the sweat of man’s brow was accomplished by the outstretched arms of Christ our savior.
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
The Treacherous Kiss (Mark 14:12-21)
“Now, it is not an enemy who insults me—otherwise I could bear it; it is not a foe who rises up against me—otherwise I could hide from him. But it was you, a man who is my peer, my companion and good friend! We used to have close fellowship; we walked with the crowd into the house of God” (Psalm 55:12-14). The chief priests and scribes were looking for a treacherous way to arrest Jesus, and they found what they were looking for in the heart of Judas.
The chief priests, the scribes and Judas shared something in common -- they shared the same father. In the book of John Jesus told how to distinguish those whose father was the Devil. “You cannot listen to My words. You are of your father the Devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and had not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:43).
“Shining morning star (Lucifer), how you have fallen from the heavens” (Isaiah 14:12)! Why did he fall from the heavens? He had been the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and was made in perfect beauty. Satan had been an anointed guardian cherub. What happened? In his pride he said to himself, “I will set up my throne above the stars of God...I will ascend above the highest clouds; I will make myself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14;12-15).
Lucifer had been created to worship God. The chief priests were in a place of honor because they were to lead God’s people in worship. Jesus had warned about the scribes because they would go around in long robes and loved greetings in the marketplaces, the front seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets. Judas had been chosen as one of Jesus trusted friends. He was the treasurer and had a seat of honor at the last supper. They each had been created to worship God, but wickedness was found in their hearts. They were all treacherous.
What was it that finally exposed Judas’ treacherous heart? His false worship was laid bare in the presence of true worship. Mary, in an act of worship, had broken the alabaster jar and poured out its contents, using the spikenard to anoint Jesus. Judas responded by going to the chief priests to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, the price of a slave. The chief priests, along with their father, were glad, hoping that what had been begun in ages past would now be accomplished.
Judas was watching, like a snake hidden in the grass, for just the right time to strike. The Passover meal would seem to have been the perfect time when Jesus would not be surrounded by a crowd. Judas asked, along with the other disciples, where Jesus wanted to eat the Passover. Jesus didn’t give a location, but instead He gave two of His disciples clues to follow that would lead them to their destination. Judas, much to his disappointment, was not one of the two disciples sent.
As they were reclining at the table, Jesus told them that one of the twelve would betray Him. It was only then that Judas left to go to the scribes and chief priests and finalize his plans. What sign did Judas chose for his betrayal? It was the treacherous kiss of false worship.
You can listen to my podcast at anchor.fm/sarah.jones.30
The chief priests, the scribes and Judas shared something in common -- they shared the same father. In the book of John Jesus told how to distinguish those whose father was the Devil. “You cannot listen to My words. You are of your father the Devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and had not stood in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:43).
“Shining morning star (Lucifer), how you have fallen from the heavens” (Isaiah 14:12)! Why did he fall from the heavens? He had been the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and was made in perfect beauty. Satan had been an anointed guardian cherub. What happened? In his pride he said to himself, “I will set up my throne above the stars of God...I will ascend above the highest clouds; I will make myself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14;12-15).
Lucifer had been created to worship God. The chief priests were in a place of honor because they were to lead God’s people in worship. Jesus had warned about the scribes because they would go around in long robes and loved greetings in the marketplaces, the front seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets. Judas had been chosen as one of Jesus trusted friends. He was the treasurer and had a seat of honor at the last supper. They each had been created to worship God, but wickedness was found in their hearts. They were all treacherous.
What was it that finally exposed Judas’ treacherous heart? His false worship was laid bare in the presence of true worship. Mary, in an act of worship, had broken the alabaster jar and poured out its contents, using the spikenard to anoint Jesus. Judas responded by going to the chief priests to betray Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, the price of a slave. The chief priests, along with their father, were glad, hoping that what had been begun in ages past would now be accomplished.
Judas was watching, like a snake hidden in the grass, for just the right time to strike. The Passover meal would seem to have been the perfect time when Jesus would not be surrounded by a crowd. Judas asked, along with the other disciples, where Jesus wanted to eat the Passover. Jesus didn’t give a location, but instead He gave two of His disciples clues to follow that would lead them to their destination. Judas, much to his disappointment, was not one of the two disciples sent.
As they were reclining at the table, Jesus told them that one of the twelve would betray Him. It was only then that Judas left to go to the scribes and chief priests and finalize his plans. What sign did Judas chose for his betrayal? It was the treacherous kiss of false worship.
You can listen to my podcast at anchor.fm/sarah.jones.30
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