The Servant Messiah 21
Sacrifice Will Be Eliminated Luke 19:45 - 20:8
It was feast time in Jerusalm. The Passover was being celebrated. The Temple was very much in the forfront. The Pascal Lamb would be slain in a public ceremony to provide for the sins of the nation. Many worshipers would have sacrifices made for them bringing money to the temple Treasury. The city was crowded with pilgrims for this purpose.
Messiah was carefully watched every hour. Many people expected great things: a dramatic upheaval, a revolution, an overthrow of the Roman yoke. His many miracles had demonstrated his power to do this. The atmosphere was tense and attentive.
Messiah must signal the populace what the final revelation of compassion was all about. He was to become the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. Sacrifice would no longer be needed. The temple practices would be gone forever. As Messiah approached the Temple there was a sign "No Foreigners Beyond This Point." His universal mission was disturbed by this exclusion. He noticed the money changers at their tables to turn Roman coins into Hebrew money.. No foreign money could buy the sacred sacrificial animals. He noticed the sheep, the goats, and the calves in their enclosures. He observed the doves (pigeons) in their cages for the poor people to use. Never again would they be sacrificed. In one swift move he overturned the moneychangers tables as the coins rolled onto the payment: "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people. You have made it a den of robbers." He picked up the whip to set the animals free. The traffickers ran in fright.
Messiah had dramatized the message:"In three days I shall destroy this temple and rebuild it again. Messiah would make the sacrifice to end all sacrifice. The Old was indeed passing away and the New was at the door. The Cross would replace the temple. Love, mercy, and grace must flourish. The New Covenant was near: " I will write my law not upon tablets of stone but in their inward parts. I will write it in their hearts. And they shall all know me form the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more." (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
It was feast time in Jerusalm. The Passover was being celebrated. The Temple was very much in the forfront. The Pascal Lamb would be slain in a public ceremony to provide for the sins of the nation. Many worshipers would have sacrifices made for them bringing money to the temple Treasury. The city was crowded with pilgrims for this purpose.
Messiah was carefully watched every hour. Many people expected great things: a dramatic upheaval, a revolution, an overthrow of the Roman yoke. His many miracles had demonstrated his power to do this. The atmosphere was tense and attentive.
Messiah must signal the populace what the final revelation of compassion was all about. He was to become the Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world. Sacrifice would no longer be needed. The temple practices would be gone forever. As Messiah approached the Temple there was a sign "No Foreigners Beyond This Point." His universal mission was disturbed by this exclusion. He noticed the money changers at their tables to turn Roman coins into Hebrew money.. No foreign money could buy the sacred sacrificial animals. He noticed the sheep, the goats, and the calves in their enclosures. He observed the doves (pigeons) in their cages for the poor people to use. Never again would they be sacrificed. In one swift move he overturned the moneychangers tables as the coins rolled onto the payment: "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people. You have made it a den of robbers." He picked up the whip to set the animals free. The traffickers ran in fright.
Messiah had dramatized the message:"In three days I shall destroy this temple and rebuild it again. Messiah would make the sacrifice to end all sacrifice. The Old was indeed passing away and the New was at the door. The Cross would replace the temple. Love, mercy, and grace must flourish. The New Covenant was near: " I will write my law not upon tablets of stone but in their inward parts. I will write it in their hearts. And they shall all know me form the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more." (Jeremiah 31:31-34)
posted by Dr. James F. Hubbard at 4:07 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home