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Christ Our Passover

Purge out the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, even as ye are unleavened. For our passover also hath been sacrificed, even Christ (1 Corinthians 5:7).

When we think about Jesus’ death on the cross, we often think of His death in terms of atonement. The Hebrew author makes the parallel in Hebrews 7-10: the old covenant had high priests offering the blood of bulls and goats for sin, and the new covenant has the superior sacrifice based in better promises– Jesus, the High Priest in the order of Melchizedek, who offered Himself up for our atonement.

While that is true, it is interesting to note that the Israelite Day of Atonement, also known as Yom Kippur, on the tenth day of the seventh month of the Israelite calendar (Leviticus 23:27). That was the day when the high priest would offer a bull, a ram, and two goats for his own sin and for the sin of the people (Leviticus 16:1-34). But Jesus does not die anywhere near the Day of Atonement. He also is not described as the “Bull of God” or the “Goat of God.” Instead, He dies and is raised again during Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread (Mark 14:1, Luke 22:1; cf. Mark 14-16, Luke 22-24). He is also known as the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29). What’s going on here? Is there any symbolism in the timing of Jesus’ death and resurrection? And if bulls and goats were the standard sacrificial animals for atonement, why is Jesus known as the Lamb?

Paul makes it clear that there is symbolism in the timing of Jesus’ death, and he also shows us why Jesus is called the Lamb, when he describes Jesus as “Christ our Passover” in 1 Corinthians 5:7.

The Passover festival takes us back in time to Exodus 11-12 and to the deliverance of the Israelites from the hand of Pharaoh. Pharaoh had been oppressing the Israelites and subjected them to hard, forced labor (Exodus 1). YHWH, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, called Moses to be His representative before Pharaoh to deliver Israel out of bondage to fulfill the promise He made to their forefathers (Exodus 2-6). Pharaoh resisted YHWH’s call for Israel’s release, and he and the Egyptians suffered under plagues of the Nile turning to blood, frogs, gnats, flies, death of livestock, boils, hail, locusts, and darkness (Exodus 7-10). Pharaoh still refused to release the Israelites. And then God promised one final plague, and Pharaoh’s hand would then be forced.

The action in the story comes to a screeching halt as God explains what He is about to do and commissions Israel to observe the Passover. It was to be the beginning of the Israelite year– the first month (Exodus 12:1-2). They are to slaughter a male, unblemished lamb a year old on the fourteenth day of the first month, and place the blood on the side-posts and lintel of the doors (Exodus 12:3-7). They are to eat the lamb with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, dressed and ready to depart immediately (Exodus 12:7-11). That night YHWH would strike down the firstborn of all of the Egyptians, man and beast, but when His angel would see the blood on the doors of the Israelites, he would pass over those houses and those inside would be spared (Exodus 12:13). Israel would then eat unleavened bread for seven days (Exodus 12:15-20).

This would be a perpetual statute in Israel– they were to annually observe the Passover and the Feast of the Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:14). The reason why would become evident: this was the time when YHWH delivered Israel out of bondage, bringing them out of Egypt, redeeming them from their captors (Exodus 12:26-27). The Passover and Feast of the Unleavened Bread served as the “Independence Day” of Israel for generations.

So how is it that Jesus is our Passover Lamb? While it is true that Jesus’ death leads to our atonement, that is not the only dimension to His death. Through His death believers are able to be delivered from the bondage of sin and death to become the people of God traveling toward the “promised land” of the resurrection and eternity with God (Romans 8:1-2, 1 Corinthians 6:20, Philippians 3:12-14, Revelation 21:1-22:6). On account of the blood of the Lamb, God passes over the sin of believers, while those who are unbelievers risk suffering condemnation (Romans 5:6-11, 6:20-23, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10). Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, believers are able to celebrate their “independence day”!

Jesus’ death and resurrection represent the fulfillment of the story of Israel, taking place within the context of the liberation of Israel from bondage. Let us praise God for Christ our Passover Lamb and the redemption, Kingdom, and glory that come through Him!

Ethan R. Longhenry

Looking Back

And another also said, “I will follow thee, Lord; but first suffer me to bid farewell to them that are at my house.”
But Jesus said unto him, “No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:61-62).

Here we have the third vignette in a row instructing us regarding discipleship. Jesus has already indicated how His true disciples never feel completely at home anywhere on earth (Luke 9:57-58), and that latching onto the greater good of the proclamation of the Kingdom must take precedence over all lesser goods (Luke 9:59-60).

The third man is like the first– he volunteers to follow Jesus. But he is also like the second man– he has a “small” request to make first. He wants to bid farewell to those in his household.

The request seems fair enough. At any given moment in life, people have a lot of things going on. The call to discipleship is very important indeed, but there are bills to pay and people to whom we must say goodbye and other matters of business that ideally would be taken care of first.

Jesus makes it evident, however, that discipleship does not work this way. When He called Peter, James, and John, they left their fishing equipment at the boat and followed Him (Luke 5:1-11). Jesus calls Levi (Matthew) to follow Him; Levi leaves the tax collection booth immediately and follows (Luke 6:27-28). And Jesus’ answer to this individual in Luke 9:59-60 is no different: to look back after putting your hand to the plow renders you unfit for the Kingdom!

This seems rather dramatic and overboard at first. The individual seems to just want some closure before entering into a new phase of life. Would it not be good for him to take care of his obligations so as to follow Jesus without hindrance?

This perspective, however, overlooks many pitfalls that may take place. His family may attempt to persuade him out of following Jesus (cf. Luke 12:51-53, 14:26). Once he leaves Jesus’ company, there is no telling how many different factors could weigh down upon him– temptations from Satan, challenges from family and obligations, and simple inertia, falling back into the same patterns as before. He might go home resolute to follow Jesus, and before long, be back at his old habits in his old way of life.

Jesus understands these pitfalls and many others. He calls this man to give up everything already to follow after Him. Jesus does want this man to have closure– the closure must happen right now, as it was for Peter, James, John, and Levi. He must look forward to the advancement of the Kingdom and not be seduced into looking back.

If one has put his hand to the plow, and does not look forward, he will not be able to successfully plow the field. There is great focus necessary in the advancement of the Kingdom, and it requires the discipline and use of all of our faculties (1 Corinthians 9:24-27). We do not have enough resources at our disposal to accomplish God’s purposes while looking back at our past lives.

The danger of looking back is very great. Consider Israel in the wilderness– they were delivered out of Egypt with a mighty hand, but they did not forget about Egypt, and they did not set their faces forward sufficiently. Therefore, at every hint of difficulty, they remembered Egypt and the “benefits” they had there, and wanted to return (e.g. Numbers 14:1-4). Lot’s wife is another example of this– she looked back to Sodom and her life and friends that were just destroyed, and became a pillar of salt herself (Genesis 19:17, 26, Luke 17:32).

All of our resources– physical, emotional, spiritual– must be invested in God’s Kingdom. If we look back, and reflect upon our life when we were in the world, we run the very real risk of falling away when danger or difficulty arise. There will be times when it seems easier to be an unbeliever than to take up the cross and to follow Christ (Luke 14:27). The godly life will lead to persecution– that much is guaranteed– while the ungodly life may not be as troubled in the flesh (2 Timothy 3:2). There will always be temptations to resist following Jesus. Our families may be against us. Satan most certainly is against us, and we may suffer from his temptations directly or through family, friends, associates, or culture in general. The “business” of life can become so overwhelming as to demand all of our energy and time. These are all the dangers that accompany looking back when putting the hand to the plow, the desire to tie up worldly loose ends before we follow Jesus.

Ultimately, we must follow Jesus. We must turn away from the lives of sin we have led. Looking back is counterproductive– whatever “benefits” we had were outweighed by our separation from God in Christ and the sentence of condemnation that came with it (Romans 8:1-10, Ephesians 2:1-11, Titus 3:3-8). Even in Christ we might be tempted to look back to all of our challenges, difficulties, miscues, and deficiencies; better to learn from our past mistakes but keep looking and moving forward, as Paul did (Philippians 3:11-14). The task before us is sufficient to expend our energy, our time, and ourselves (Romans 12:1, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, etc.).

Jesus has made the call: follow Him as His disciple (Matthew 28:18-20). It is time for all of us to put our hands to the plow and work, looking ahead, having made a break with our sinful past. Let us not be tempted to delay or to work halfheartedly; let us expend ourselves for Christ as He gave Himself up for us!

Ethan R. Longhenry

The Futility of Idols

And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the sojourners of Gilead, said unto Ahab, “As YHWH, the God of Israel, liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word” (1 Kings 17:1).

Here we have the moment that James describes in James 5:16-18: Elijah, prophet of God but still a man with a nature like ours, prayed to God, and it did not rain for three and a half years. such is a powerful demonstration of the effectiveness of prayer, proving that God can do amazing things when His people devote themselves to prayer and righteousness.

Yet there certainly is a dark side to this prayer– Elijah has just consigned the land and its people to drought for three and a half years. A drought means no rain, and when there is no rain, crops fail. When crops fail, there is no food. When there is no food, people starve, suffer, and die.

We might feel inclined, through the lens of “modern sensibilities,” to think of this as utterly merciless, cruel, barbaric, and inhuman. What kind of prophet is Elijah to consign his people to famine and death? What kind of God would withhold rain and thus lead His people to starvation and death? Or, in less judgmental terms, why is it that Elijah prays for it to not rain as opposed to praying for some other demonstration? Why does God punish Israel with a lack of rain as opposed to some other calamity or difficulty?

In order to make some sense of this we must understand what is going on at the time. Elijah has been called by God– whose personal name is YHWH or “Yahweh”– because Ahab king of Israel is exceedingly wicked (1 Kings 16:30). He and his wife Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, have rejected YHWH in favor of Baal, Asherah, and the Canaanite gods (1 Kings 16:31-33). Israel followed along in this apostasy.

Baal, in the Canaanite belief system, was a storm god and a fertility god. Baal was believed to provide the storms that led to crop growth and thus fertility. Baal is in a contest against Mot, the god of death; when Baal wins, there is fertility; when Mot wins, there is famine and death. Much of the belief system of the Canaanites surrounded the idea of fertility, both in crops and in child-bearing.

We should not imagine that God or Elijah really want the people to suffer for suffering’s sake. Instead, a powerful lesson is being taught: the gods of the world are emptiness and nothing. During the drought, no doubt, Ahab and Jezebel constantly sacrificed to Baal and plead for mercy from him, along with many of the Israelites. During the contest on Mount Carmel, the prophets of Baal plead with Baal, even cutting themselves in the process (1 Kings 18:26-29). Yet, as the Kings author says, “there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded” (1 Kings 18:29). Baal was not there– because there was no Baal.

Afterward YHWH demonstrated His existence powerfully with fire from heaven and a return of the rains (1 Kings 18:30-46). The lesson was evident: YHWH was God, not Baal. YHWH is responsible for the rains and fertility, not Baal.

This was not the first time YHWH had made such a demonstration; the plagues upon Egypt in Exodus 8-12 are also demonstrations that YHWH, and not the gods of the Egyptians, is really in control. It’s a demonstration with which it is hard to argue: if you believe that Ra is the sun god, but at the command of YHWH the sun turns to darkness, and your pleas to Ra change nothing, then it is clear at least that YHWH is stronger than Ra if Ra even exists. It is only when idols are dethroned that people really reflect on the power of the One True God.

We should not think that we are much different today. Granted, we do not have many people going to temples and bowing down to statues of perceived divinities as was prevalent in Biblical times. But that does not mean that we have solved the challenge of idolatry– far from it (1 John 5:21)! Our idols are just more abstract. And we still need powerful demonstrations of their ultimate inefficiency and inefficacy.

For generations money has been an idol (Matthew 6:24, Ephesians 5:5). It is easy for people to trust in their material goods– their stuff, their bank accounts, their investments, and even their government’s entitlement programs. And yet what was powerfully demonstrated during our great recession? Wealth is uncertain, and cannot be trusted (1 Timothy 6:17)! Government is proven to be uncertain and ultimately not entirely trustworthy; stuff also cannot bring satisfaction. Health, status, prestige, relationships, fame, the Internet, science, you name it– all of them are really subject to the One True God, and in and of themselves, cannot save, and cannot be entirely trusted. Unfortunately, all too often, we only perceive this after they have been rendered ineffective and inefficacious in our lives. It is only in crisis do we learn that we need to rely upon God and not the gods of the world.

If we want to avoid needless suffering we would do well to learn from Israel’s example and trust in the One True God and not the gods of this world. God always has a way of demonstrating His power and authority over every false god, and we would do well to trust in Him and not suffer His chastisement!

Ethan R. Longhenry

Send Someone Else!

And [Moses] said, “Oh, Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send” (Exodus 4:13).

It is not every day that you come upon a burning bush that is not really burning.

Then again, it is not every day that the LORD commands you to deliver an intransigent nation from the clutches of the most powerful empire of the day, either.

Yet this is the situation in which Moses finds himself, at eighty years old, in the middle of the desert wilderness, almost 3500 years ago, according to Exodus 3:1-4:13.

He has left Egypt as a fugitive, having killed an Egyptian (cf. Exodus 2:11-15). Now God has asked him to return to Egypt, for God is about to fulfill His promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Israelites will be redeemed from bondage and be given the land of the sojourning of their forefathers. And Moses will be their leader.

Moses, however, is not so sure. He professes humility (Exodus 3:11), wants to have the name of God revealed to him (Exodus 3:13), is confident that the Israelites will not believe him (Exodus 4:1), and declares that he is not eloquent of speech (Exodus 4:10). Yet with every complaint and concern God more than abundantly provides reassurance for Moses.

And then we get to the heart of the matter in Exodus 4:13– Moses is resisting the call of God. Moses would rather God send someone else. For this Moses will gain the anger of God (Exodus 4:14), and Moses finally gets the hint.

This does not seem to be an auspicious beginning. Nevertheless, as the narrative unfolds in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, we see that Moses grows into the position of leader, and God abundantly provides. Through God’s power the impossible is achieved. Through God’s power Moses is able to lead intransigent Israel out of Egypt, through the Wilderness, and to the Jordan River in triumph.

Yet we should be able to sympathize with Moses on Mount Horeb. The proposition before him sounds extremely daunting. He does not know the future and how it will all turn out. Let’s be honest with ourselves: if we were in Moses’ position, would our answer really have been that much different? Would it not be easy for us to resist God’s call?

We may not be called to lead a nation out of the hands of a powerful empire, but God calls all of us to participate in the greatest work of all time (Ephesians 1:3-11, 3:10-11). God calls all of us to put our trust and confidence in Him and to do as He directs us– and promises that He is able to do more abundantly than we can ever begin to imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21). He calls us to holiness and godliness and to make disciples of all the nations (Romans 12:9, 2 Peter 3:11, Matthew 28:18-20)– daunting challenges indeed.

There will always be plenty of reasons that we can imagine for resisting the call, to ask God in some way or another to send someone else. But if everyone asks God to send “someone else,” who will accomplish God’s purposes? We must come to terms with the reality that we are the ones who have been entrusted with the Gospel to preach it and live it. We must rise above the excuses based in a walk by sight and learn to trust that God is able to do what God has promised to do, and that if our work is in the Lord it is not in vain and it will bear fruit (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:58, Isaiah 55:11).

We must stand firm against the cosmic forces of darkness while seeking to exhort all men to faith and repentance. The tasks are mighty and daunting. Will we stand up for God or shrink back? Will we answer the call or will we resist? Let us learn from Moses’ example that God is faithful and we have no need to resist His call for His purposes. Let us seek to serve God, trusting in Him, and we will be astounded at what God is able to accomplish!

Ethan R. Longhenry