Sermons

But most important, they would also need to find a lamb and sacrifice it at the temple. Why? Because the lamb was a reminder of how God saved the Israelite children from death (see Exodus 12). It was also a foretaste of Jesus’ own sacrifice as the true Lamb of God, whose death saves us all.

There is no clearer word for what the chief priests and scribes did when they plotted to kill Jesus. Judas is guilty of this, too. He had days, maybe weeks, to change his mind.

Because of Jesus’ strength, we will never fall. Because of His love for us, we have become part of God’s house, God’s temple—where we are forever welcome, honored, and useful.

Jesus is grieved to the heart, yet He saved all people, through His death and resurrection. He did a wonderful exchange: we give Him rejection, and He gives us welcome. We give Him pain, and He heals us. We give Him death, and He gives us life—everlasting life.

He knew that it wasn’t just death coming to Him—it was resurrection and everlasting life. That was the gift that He would share with every one of us who trusts in Him. That would be His great joy.

If a person recovered, the priest could certify the recovery and send him or her home free. The healed person would wash and offer a sacrifice and then be free to return to normal life—healthy, happy, clean.

He came to the earth to be one of us—a human being. Jesus took our sin, suffering, and death, and made them His own. He lost His own life so that He could find us.

Jesus made us His own forever, by laying down His life for us on the cross. He drew us close to Himself as possible, making us part of the body of Christ, members of His own body!

This isn’t a peaceful future Jesus is looking forward to—and yet it is a good one. It is a future full of life and hope, the future we are living right now—as we wait for Jesus to return.