Exodus 12:1-3, 6-7
"Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 “This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: ‘On the tenth of this month every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household.... 6 Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight. 7 And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it."
4 days before Passover,
every family was to choose a lamb to sacrifice. 4-5 days before Passover, Jesus
enters Jerusalem. John the Baptist had inaugurated Jesus’ ministry by crying
out, “Behold the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!” Now Jesus
enters Jerusalem in time for everyone to pick him as their lamb. Instead of
spreading the blood on our doorposts, we now pass around a cup of wine, but the
principle is the same. We are displaying the blood of the sacrifice that turns
away God’s wrath from us. Jesus enters the city to offer His sacrifice to be applied
to you. We eat and drink this bread and wine, claiming that divine offer,
claiming Christ’s work on the cross, claiming Him for our lamb.
People look to many other
lambs, many other ways to please God. Hard work, good works outweighing sins,
avoiding really bad sins, keeping up with your devotions, attending church.
These are all good things, but if we make them our lamb, the way we think God
will accept us, then we miss Jesus like the Jews did that week.
So as you drink, remember
the lamb. Know that you share in His death and life, as surely as your body
shares in the wine you drink.
3/24/13
Palm Sunday
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