The OT Sacrificial System, A Pattern of What Was To Come

Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples on the very night that he was betrayed by Judas, one of Jesus' own chosen disciples. The Gospel of John records one stirring event that night that has been imitated again and again by Christian communities as they remember and celebrate the Lord's Supper  in Holy Week. Jesus laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel wrapped around Him. This was, of course, the lowly task of a servant in the household of a great lord and certainly not the work of the Messianic King—or at least so the disciples thought.

Peter objected to what Jesus was doing, saying, "You shall never wash my feet."

Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.". . . And then he went on to explain, "You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. - John 13:8,13-16 ESV

The writer of Hebrews 8 uses this same word, example (hypodeigmä in Greek), to describe the entire Old Testament sacrificial system. He also calls it but a shadow (skia in Greek) of the heavenly things. God had given Moses specific instruction to make everything according to the pattern (typos in Greek) given to him. The tent had to be just so in size with a specific number of rooms. In each room certain specific objects were to be fashioned and placed. The high priest, in turn, was to be dressed in specific clothing and he had detailed instructions about how and when to carry out his duties.

The ministry or service that the high priest performed, says Hebrews, was not what goes on in heaven before God. All these rituals and sacrifices were but copies or shadows of what was to come when Christ, the true promised Messiah, came. They pointed forward to the substance or the living body and ministry of Christ (Col. 2:17). The entire law, Hebrews will go on to say, was but a shadow of the good things to come. It was not the true form (icon in Greek). 

In the next chapter he will use yet one more word to describe the various gifts and bloody sacrifices offered by the high priest for himself and the worshippers. He calls them all a parable ( parabolē in Greek) for that particular time, a period that came to an end when Christ, the true High Priest, fulfilled his duties upon the cross (John 19:30). 

So Hebrews practically exhausts the Greek language in order to point out that the whole sacrificial system, with the Tabernacle and later the Temple, the high priest and his helpers, the thousands of sacrifices of bulls, sheep and goats and all the various rituals—the entire system— was not and never was intended to be anything other than a . . . 

• shadow
• example
• copy
• pattern and
• parable

. . . of what was to come and what Christ completed once and for all in the presence of God, in the heavenly places. Watch how again and again the writer makes that point. In the words of Christ, "It is finished!" No more sacrifices, no more blood and no more death. It is over. The debts are paid. And what a comfort it is for all of us who put our faith and trust in Jesus, our true High Priest. 

Christ's Personal, Experiential Knowledge

How did he do it? How did Jesus live with the knowledge that his entire life was to lead up to the horrific agony of he cross? How did he endure, knowing that this was the reason for his entering this world? How was he able to go on, knowing that he was to carry the burden of ALL mankind's sins? How did he do it?

Jesus knew the Scriptures that described in vivid detail what was to happen to the Messiah, the promised Anointed One, the King. He had memorized those Scriptures. Read yourself these example listed below and ask yourself how he could persist, knowing that this was his destiny.

• Psalm 22:1-21 - My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 
• Psalm 41:5-9 - Even my close friend has lifted his heel against me
• Psalm 69:1-36 - More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause
• Isaiah 53:1-12 - He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities

Now put yourself in his place. Consider what it would do to you if you knew that hundreds, no thousands upon thousands, hated you. Think about being forsaken and betrayed by your closest friends. Think not merely upon the physical pain of death upon a Roman cross after being beat within a half-inch of your life. That is bad enough, but it is hardly worth mentioning compared to the torture, the spiritual, heart-felt soul-agony of all that pain even while you know with absolute certainty that you are unjustly abhorred, hated, rejected and beaten in anger and outrage—all of it, not because you deserve it, but because you have chosen to put yourself there in place of others. They deserve this. You do not. They ought to be rejected and forsaken both by men and by God Himself, not you. 

This is the unthinkable agony of the Christ, the Messiah. He was tortured beyond any man's ability to describe. Yet this was the path Jesus freely chose because he revered and loved his Father in heaven. The Father said there was no other way for men to be saved.  From birth men disobey, they disobey in the same way that the first man and woman disobeyed. They are born in sin. And they keep on disobeying every day afterwards. They cannot possibly keep God's commands. Even as Adam's disobedience in the Garden made all men sinners, so now the second Adam's obedience makes many righteous, writes the Apostle Paul. 

For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. - Rom 5:17-19 ESV

This is the obedience that the Hebrews letter describes as it points to all that Jesus endured throughout his life and ultimately upon the cross of Calvary.

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. - Hebrews 5:7-10 ESV

 Jesus' learning was not mere information learning. It was experiential learning. He knew from his study of Scripture what was to happen to him. He had that information. But then he did what the prophecies foretold. He went to the cross and through the agony of it all. It became his experience. It happened to him. It became personal. It now belonged to him and to no other. It was like a woman bearing a child. Only she who has gone through it truly knows what that means (John 16:21-22). So Jesus learned obedience through what he suffered.

And he did it all the way! My son became like Jesus when he learned to ride his bike. "I did it, Dad," he said. "I learned how to balance and pedal. I rode my bike all by myself." So Jesus completed our salvation. He finished it. He completed it. He did the deed. It is done, over, and now fully available for all. So he cried out upon the cross in victory, "It is finished!" (John 19:30). That's what Hebrews points to.

Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. - Hebrews 5:8-10 ESV

I know. If you have read this far it may be most difficult to understand. But pray about it, because this is the most important thing you will ever know. Your eternal life depends upon this good news. More about this next time.

Who Dares Do Greater Works Than Jesus?

Many times I've seen a young pastor, newly ordained, on fire for the Lord and ready to do great things. But then he is called to serve a small, insignificant parish with worship attendance of 50 or 60 and members with no greater zeal than to pay their pastor's meager salary and keep up maintenance on their little church building. After a few years of frustration this young pastor is tired of praying for something to happen and filled with doubt about his calling into the public ministry. With apathetic eyes he gazes upon these words from the Gospel of John and shrugs his shoulders in disbelief:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. - Jhn 14:12-14 ESV

Where are the greater works? Where are the miracles, the huge crowds pushing to follow Christ, the healing of crippled and wasted bodies, even the raising up of the dead? Perhaps the whole enterprise of the great kingdom of God is a sham after all! Or perhaps he doesn't have true faith and God's power is withheld from him and Jesus is seeking out someone else with deeper convictions.

So our young pastor loses his kingdom zeal and begins to plod along like a slug, plagued by doubtful resolution. He is not one of the chosen great ones. No glory is to be his and all he can do is to accept his fate as best he can and wait for the end of his weary life-long journey.

Did Jesus thus present to his disciples with a most discouraging word and are the days of greater works at an end? Where is God's kingdom of glory and majesty? What does our Lord mean to say to this young pastor and to any one of us?

Begin by asking what the works of Jesus were? Listen to Jesus himself answer your question. His disciples had been sent to buy lunch in a Samaritan village. When they returned they urged Jesus to eat, but he said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." So they wondered if someone had already brought him something to eat. To this he replied,

"My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor." - John 4:34-38 ESV

The harvest awaiting Jesus and his disciples stood before them. The Samaritan woman Jesus had met there at the well had been married to five men and the man she was currently with was not her husband. Her life had been filled with failures, disappointments, disobedience and despair. And yet Jesus reached out to her. With insight and concern he led her to believe in him as the promised Messiah. And with this new faith burning in her heart she raced into the village to bring others out to see him.

Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world." - Jhn 4:39-42 ESV

Jesus' food was to do his Father's will and to accomplish that work. The work of the Messiah, the Christ, was to offer his life as a ransom for sinners like this woman and all the sinners of the world. He has completed that work. On the cross he cried, "It is finished!" (John 19:30) The verb translated as finished is the same as to accomplish (Greek teleioō) above.

The only work any of us may do now is to believe in Jesus, trust in his work of salvation upon the cross and humbly submit to his call and leading. This is what Jesus urged when the Jews chased after him after he fed them by the thousands. They wanted to make him their bread king. Jesus answered them,

"Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal." 

Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" 

Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." - Jhn 6:26-29 ESV

Much, much more needs to be said about this greater works issue. We all want earthly goods, glory and greatness. It is part of our sinful nature. But I must urge my fictional young pastor to rethink his Call from Jesus and submit to our Lord's guiding. Open your eyes, young man. There before you in your miserable little parish is a person struggling with the same sin as the Samaritan woman. Lead her to her Messiah. Teach her to trust in his love for her—even her. Love her as does Jesus and see what harvest he will accomplish. That is your greater work! You can ask for no greater work than to bring a soul to Jesus.

More on this another time. 

There Is But One Baptism

As noted earlier, the more we ponder John's Gospel the deeper gets the water. In previous postings on Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, the Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin (John 3:1-17), we learned about the work of the Spirit in the water of baptism, a word Christians borrowed from the Greek. Jesus’ incarnation is a type of baptism. Just as the Word (logos in Greek) ‘became flesh and dwelt among us’ (John 1:14), so in Christian Baptism the Spirit becomes water and dwells among the community of believers. Martin Luther explains this in his Catechism:

Water doesn't make these things happen, of course. It is God's Word, which is with and in the water. Because, without God's Word, the water is plain water and not baptism. But with God's Word it is a Baptism, a grace-filled water of life, a bath of new birth in the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul said to Titus in the third chapter :

"But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people." - Titus 3:4-8 ESV

Here's what Jesus Himself says about His baptism when James and John asked for permission to wield power in Jesus' kingdom by sitting or exercising His authority from his right and left hands:

Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" And they said to him, "We are able." And Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared." - Mar 10:38-40 ESV

Indeed all Christians acknowledge that they share in Jesus' baptism, for there is but one baptism, namely the baptism of Jesus. Paul reviews this in his letter to the Ephesians as he urges his readers to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace:

There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. - Eph 4:4-6 ESV

This bath of new birth in the Holy Spirit that Jesus and His apostles write about, this outpouring of the Holy Spirit that creates a new life within, is a creative act of God's Spirit, an act that unites us to Jesus and His baptism. Over and over the Apostles write about and teach this mystery.

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and all were made to drink of one Spirit. -1Cor 12:12-13 ESV 

. . . in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. - Gal 3:26-28 ESV

And what is Jesus' baptism that brings rebirth? It is His incarnation, His union with all mankind as truly a man, born of Mary. And why this union? As the ancient prophets foretold, to carry our burdens and bear our guilt, to be wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities (Isa. 53:4-12). On the cross of Calvary He completed that work. So John records Him saying from the cross,

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. - Jhn 19:30 ESV

In the water of Baptism the Holy Spirit speaks God's Word of completion. The work of salvation, the task of gaining forgiveness for all men's sins is finished, come to an end, concluded, fulfilled and wrapped up. Jesus has joined Himself to us and to all mankind. He has made the punishment we deserve for our sins His own. Now the Holy Spirit announces to us in our baptism that we have both died with Christ and risen with Him to new life. Paul summarizes this:

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. - Rom 6:3-5 ESV

All baptized in the Name of the LORD (Psalm 148:13, Phil. 2:9), the Name shared by every person of the Trinity, the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit—all share in the life of Christ, the life that cannot end. They will, therefore, certainly share in Jesus' resurrection.

Having said this, I acknowledge that we are now swimming in rather deep water. The water will get even deeper as we discuss the gifts of the Holy Spirit and untangle the confusion about so-called water baptism versus Spirit baptism, etc. But that must wait for another time.