When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

 John 19:28-30

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30

I continue my study of John and today I focus on John 19:28-30, where we see Jesus' death on the cross.  Here are my observations using the Sword Bible Study Method. 

• What do we learn from the text about God?: God is all knowing and He has a perfect plan.  Jesus knew all that had occurred, what was occurring (Jesus' death) and what was yet to come....He also was in all the details as He was sent from God the Father, equal to God the Father, and part of the Triune God that includes the Holy Spirit.   The death of Jesus finished and completed the need for a perfect spotless lamb as the final atonement for all sin. This act, including the drinking of the sour wine, occurred just as written in scripture, fulfilling prophecy - see Psalm 69:21.   
• What do we learn from the text about people?: Jesus drank the sour wine intended for all of us - His entire experience from His arrest, flogging, and death on the cross was meant for us but He took our place.
• Is there anything from the text God wants us to obey (SPEC: Sins to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow, Commands to obey?): Claim the Jesus' death on the cross (and His resurrection) gives us victory over sin and death.  It is already won!  Follow the example of Jesus who willingly laid down His life promise that for others - us.  Deny oneself and surrender to Jesus as the Way, Truth and the Life. 

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who loves and saves!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such love and salvation.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God[.]

Hebrews 7:23-27, 9:24-26, and 10:11-12

I agree with this post on DesiringGod.com that states that Holy Week is the most important week in all of history. As such, I continue with one of the recommendations from the post to prepare for Holy Week, which is to read John Piper's 50-day devotional Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. Today I read reason #26: To Bring the Old Testament Priesthood to an End and Become the Eternal High Priest.  Here, John Piper highlights three sections of text:

The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. Hebrews 7:23-27

For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Hebrews 9:24-26

And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God[.] Hebrews 10:11-12

Piper starts the devotion by defining "once for all," as "something happened that was decisive. The act accomplished so much that it need never be repeated."  This of course is what Christ accomplished through His death on the cross.  The necessity of such a decisive act hearkens back to the inadequacy of the Old Testament animal sacrifices.  These sacrifices had to be repeated year after year as both a reminder of sin and as a means to seek God's forgiveness.  See also Hebrews 10:3.  Yet these sacrifices were insufficient as Piper describes because "[t]he people knew that when they laid their hands on the head of a bull to transfer their sins to the animal, it would all have to be done again. No animal could suffice to suffer for human sins. Sinful priests had to sacrifice for their own sins. Mortal priests had to be replaced. Bulls and goats had no moral life and could not bear the guilt of man."  See also Hebrews 10:4.  Despite the inadequacy of the OT sacrificial system, Piper shares how God honored this system (He created it) and He knew that "one day he would send a servant qualified to complete what these priests could not perform—to put away sin once for all."  Jesus Christ is both this final Priest and Sacrifice.  Rejoice in Jesus Christ who is the Spotless One and Only True Lamb who sits at the right hand of God interceding for us as our Mediator and Advocate.  Rejoice in Christ who took upon Himself the wrath of God so that we could have forgiveness of sin, freedom in Christ in this life, and eternal life with Him.

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My Prayer: Father God, You are an incredible God who sent His Son to take upon Himself the wrath of God to end and replace the inadequacy of the OT sacrificial system.  Jesus then became the Great High Priest who is at Your right hand continuously interceding for me.  Awesome and thank You God.  I am not deserving of such blessings and of my salvation.  My sin is great and it continues....daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.      

Then Haggai answered and said, “So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the LORD, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean.

 Haggai 2:10-14

Then Haggai answered and said, “So is it with this people, and with this nation before me, declares the LORD, and so with every work of their hands. And what they offer there is unclean. Haggai 2:14

I continue my study of Haggai - using the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary volume for this book.  For this morning, my focus is an unassisted review of Haggai 2:10-14, which the commentary outlines as the first division for Haggai 2:10-23, the next set of verses covered by a new chapter in the commentary.  Here, as the book of Haggai begins to wind down, Haggai reminds the people that it is through their sin that the people have become defiled and unholy - and we know that it is only through God who through repentance and forgiveness cleanses us of our sin.  Believers can rest in knowing that while still in their sin, God loved them and made them one of their elect and saved them.  God sees them as righteous in His eyes - imputed righteousness.  This is why Jesus had to come to save humanity....to die once for all of humanity for all times....to end the OT sacrificial system where the people needed to continually offer sacrifice for their sins to seek atonement. See also Hebrews 10.

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who is full of grace for me - saving me while I was still hostile and an enemy to You.  Thank You Jesus.  I am underserving of such grace and my salvation.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

Hebrews 9

Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. Hebrews 9:15

I continue my study of Hebrews, assisted by the commentary Christ Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Hebrews. My focus this morning is Hebrews 9:11-22, specifically looking at the third division covering 9:15, which the commentary entitles "The Superiority of Christ as Mediator of the New Covenant." Here with the focus being a singular verse - v15 - the key takeaway is this: while Christ is referred to as a mediator, the commentary makes it clear that there is no compromise or common ground as one would typically expect during mediation.  The commentary shares: "[f]ar from suggesting a compromise between two opposing positions, Christ agrees with the Father that we deserve the infinite outpouring of his wrath. He agrees with the Father about the ugliness of our sin. He agrees with the Father about the necessity of a sacrifice. And as our mediator, he agrees to be that sacrifice even as the Father sends him for that task....[Christ] mediated a better covenant and offered up a better sacrifice, one that was efficient to redeem people from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. In doing so, Christ secured an eternal inheritance for those who are called." Praise God!

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who became the perfect sacrifice - taking my place for my sin...thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such grace and a gift - the greatest gift of all time.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Hebrews 9

 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Hebrews 9:13-14

I continue my study of Hebrews, assisted by the commentary Christ Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Hebrews. My focus this morning is Hebrews 9:11-22, specifically looking at the second division covering 9:13-14, which the commentary entitles "The Superiority of Christ to the Levitical Sacrifices." Here, the text and the associated commentary make clear a stark contrast in what the Old Testament ritual sacrifices were able to do, versus what Jesus did (and still does) for us through His shed blood on the cross.  While the Old Testament sacrifices cleansed the people - they did so only externally, and such sacrifices need to be repeated annually (well, really almost immediately!).  In contrast, the commentary shares that "Christ’s sacrifice of himself internally cleanses those for whom he died. He purifies our consciences....Hebrews remarkably captures the balance of the Christian life. Redeemed people serve God and find fulfillment and joy in doing the very things that we did out of obligation and frantic determination to try to justify ourselves before Christ came. The completed work of Christ rescues us from this foolish attempt and saves us from dead works." Praise God for what He is able to do for us!  

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who cleanses my conscience and gives from freedom from the sting of sin and death - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings - my sin continues to be great.  Please forgive my sin and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.   

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

Hebrews 9

 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. Hebrews 9:11-12

I continue my study of Hebrews, assisted by the commentary Christ Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Hebrews. My focus this morning is Hebrews 9:11-22, specifically on the text of 9:11-12, leaning on my commentary for its observations on both the entirety of 9:11-22, as well as for the first division covering 9:11-12, which the commentary entitles "The Superiority of Christ to the Levitical Priests".  The commentary, in its observations of the entirety of v9:11-22, shares how the author of Hebrews uses chapter 9-10 to summarize all that has gone before in terms of the role of the Old Testament high priest and the sacrificial system.  In 9:11-12, the author of Hebrews highlights the superiority of Christ to the Levitical priests.  Christ accomplished what the Old Testament priests could not. The commentary shares how Christ's death on the cross "emphasizes the completeness and eternality of Christ’s sacrifice as opposed to the repetitive sacrifices of the Levites....Christ only offered up one [sacrifice]. In doing so, he secured an eternal redemption for us and demonstrated the sufficiency of his atonement for those who obey him. This eternal security and sufficiency grounds our confidence in Christ and the author’s exhortation to endure. Once we are redeemed, we cannot be lost. Jesus’s atonement was once for all time, accepted unconditionally by the Father, and presented in the heavenly sanctuary." 

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who took my place on the cross, and did what the Old Testament priests could not.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of what You have done for me - and continue to do.  My sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness.

Hebrews 9

 Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. Hebrews 9:1

I continue my study of Hebrews, assisted by the commentary Christ Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Hebrews. My focus this morning is Hebrews 9:1-10, specifically on the text of 9:1-5, leaning on my commentary for its observations on the first division entitled "The New Covenant Worship of God Foreshadowed".  The commentary first emphasizes human nature and how people tend to place faith and trust in what they can physically see and touch; this emphasis is important context to appreciate how the original readers of Hebrews may have felt about the rituals of worship, including the tent of worship (tabernacle), the sections of the tabernacle, how worship was to be carried out, etc. as observed in the Old Testament - see also Exodus 25-30. The commentary shares: "[t]he Jewish Christians to whom the author was writing would have understood the holy place and the most holy place to be inextricably linked to the way God met with his people."  At the same time, the author of Hebrews sought to encourage the believers reading the original letter to see Jesus Christ as "[t]he epicenter of new covenant worship[... it] is not in a place, it’s in a person[.]" While the author of Hebrews does seek to encourage Jewish believers to see Jesus and worship of Him as superior, it is worth noting that the author "doesn’t degrade these representative objects of the old covenant. He dignifies them and shows how their placement in the tabernacle demonstrated deeper realities."

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My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God and You dwell within me, allowing me to worship - not in a place but anywhere.  You also allow me to access the Father directly without need of a priest - I can go directly to You to intercede for me.  Thank You Jesus for these blessings!  I am not deserving of such blessings.  My sin is great, and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me.  Help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

And the priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father's place shall make atonement, wearing the holy linen garments. He shall make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly.

Leviticus 16

And the priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father's place shall make atonement, wearing the holy linen garments. He shall make atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. Leviticus 16:32-33

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing chapter fourteen - God Forgives and Removes Sin - covering Leviticus 16:1-34, looking specifically at the third theme for the chapter - God Offers Atonement for Sin.  Here, the commentary starts by stating that "atonement" appears fifteen times in Leviticus 16.  Atonement is required by God for our sin - it is, according to the commentary, "doing what God says is necessary to reconcile us to Him."  The commentary also talks about the role of judges in God's justice.  It first describes the role of judge in Israel's history (see Exodus 23:6-8 and Deuteronomy 1:16-17).  It then discusses how sin must be punished by the judge and it states that "[a] judge who lets a guilty person go free with no punishment for his wrongdoing is not a good judge; he is not upholding justice."  The commentary then moves to how God solves the "tension between His justice and mercy.  However, God must let guilty people go free if He is going to save guilty sinners like us.  God is merciful and loving, so He doesn't want us to perish for our sin....God expressed His justice against sin in the death of the sacrifice, and God expressed His mercy to the sinner by allowing the sacrifice to substitute for the sinner....The old covenant sacrifices atoned for sin, they taught the world the meaning of sacrificial atonement, and they prepared the world for the sacrifice of Jesus."  See also this post from DesiringGod.com.

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God and You provided the "once and for all" sacrifice for me and for all of humanity!  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such an incredible gift of grace.  My sin of worry, etc. continues.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.

 Leviticus 5

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 1 Timothy 2:5-6

This morning, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing with chapter five - Five Eternal, Counter Cultural Truths about God, Us and Our Sin - covering Leviticus 5:1-13, looking specifically at the theme God Provides Atonement for Sin. The commentary this morning focuses on atonement and starts by stating how the word is defined as reconciliation, with the implication being that sin separates us from God and atonement via the sacrificial system in the Old Testament was designed to provide a path for forgiveness and reconciliation. The commentary reinforces a recent post on the importance of our heart vs mindless rituals.  God's instructions on how to perform the sacrificial system as laid out in the Old Testament go to great lengths of details because details matter, and when we slow down and are careful, we can give more thought to what the rituals and corresponding details mean, and why God's design for the sacrificial system at the time was perfect.  However, God also knew at the time that the Old Testament sacrificial system was temporary as we knew Jesus was needed to die once and for all from the very beginning in Genesis. Ultimately, as the commentary points this out - Jesus became both the sacrifice and the mediator (priest). The commentary points to 1Timothy 2:5-6 as a great scriptural reference. 

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who provides a path for atonement and reconciliation - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of how You died for me and provided this path, nor for any of the blessings You pour out for me.  I continue to sin, gossip, worry, etc. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.

Leviticus 4

He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. Hebrews 7:27

This evening, I continued my study of Leviticus using the Christ-Centered Exposition series commentary for this book - continuing with chapter four - How God Deals with Sin - covering Leviticus 4:1-35, looking specifically at the theme Jesus Fulfills the Old Covenant Sacrifices for Sin. Here, my commentary focuses on how even as God commanded the Israelites to follow the sacrificial system as written in Leviticus, "God knew that He intended the levitical sacrificial system to be temporary.  God knew His people would corrupt His sacrifices." Ultimately, as my commentary goes further, "they went through the motions as if the ritual itself was sufficient to atone for sin, like someone attending church with the assumption that their mere presence in the building means that all is well with them spiritually."  The commentary refers to "legalism" and "ritualism" as over-emphasis on the "doing" of the letter of the law without concern to an appropriate heart condition that seeks to love God first and foremost and to glorify Him for who He is and what He has done. The commentary also raises an important question which is "why didn't God simply send His Son immediately after Adam and Eve's sin?"  The commentary responds by stating God intended to demonstrate a powerful lesson that was to be clear - NONE of us are able to be righteous without God and we also ALL need God to be reconciled to Him as our sin separates us from Him.  

The commentary then moves to describe how God's lessons regarding sacrifice prepared the way for Jesus.  In Leviticus, we see several types of sacrificial offerings - burnt, grain, peace/fellowship, purification - to demonstrate that no single sacrifice was sufficient and that even together such a system was imperfect as it was offered by humans.  The commentary points to several verses, including Hebrews 7:27, where it is stated that Christ died once for all and became the perfect sacrifice and atonement for all sin, for all of humanity, for all of eternity. He did this so that just so that we could have a path to atonement and reconciliation with Him - what an act of grace...amazing grace!

Comment and discuss this post here.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You offered Yourself and died on the cross so that I could have forgiveness from sin and be reconciled to You - amazing!  The greatest gift of all time.  I am not deserving of that or any other blessing You pour out for me.  Thank You Jesus.  Yet my sin continues...worry, gossip, harshness with others.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.