Title: Jewish Passover and Christian Easter
Contents
Sunday day sermon
Text: Matthew 28:1-20
Title: Jewish Passover and Christian Easter
According to the ordinances of the law, the people of Israel have been holding onto the image of Christ for about 2,000 years through the Jerusalem Temple. Jesus, who was a model, was conceived by the Holy Spirit according to the Father's will, was born in the land of Israel, died on the cross again according to the Father's will, and rose again on the third day. Jesus, who went to the Father's side, sent the Holy Spirit to the people of Israel who believed in his name, leading to complete salvation. But even the Israelites did not reach eternal life because the Holy Spirit was not poured out on those who did not believe in the name of Jesus.
But even to the Gentiles who did not live according to the ordinances of the law, he sent the Holy Spirit as long as they believed in the name of Jesus. It is because of the efficacy of the blood that Jesus shed when he died on the cross. With this, Gentiles (now Christians) also say that they are saved, but Gentiles, unlike the Israelites who lived under the law, believe in the name of Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit. will be. In order for the spiritual people of Israel to enter full salvation, only when Christ comes again as a Spirit into the hearts of present-day Christians can they enter into full salvation.
Therefore, the Spirit of Christ does not dwell in the heart of any Christian because the time has not yet come. To say that Christ does not exist in the hearts of Christians means that the Christian life is still incomplete. The event that proves it is in the appearance of the Easter celebrations of Christians today.
The fact that Christ died on the cross and was resurrected on the third day is a fact known to all the three brothers and sisters who are believers. Christians repeat such a clear and certain event through their mouths every year. If there really is a Christ with the resurrection life in their hearts, then they can stop talking about Easter and become a grain of wheat and be willing to lay down their lives for a dying soul. We must return to the life of Christ.
However, people who say they believe in Jesus and are saved are constantly repeating the same thing. Let's take, for example, the sacrament meeting every Easter! There is probably not a single church that has a sign saying that it is a church but doesn't have a sacrament meeting. What is the meaning of the sacrament? It symbolizes the body and blood of Jesus, so we celebrate it by sharing bread and wine every year.
Then, can the hearts of Christians be made whole by eating the bread and wine at the sacrament meeting? No matter how much bread and wine they ate and drank, they could never make the hearts of Christians whole. When Christ commanded Christians to commemorate it, he meant, “Remember it and not forget it until I come again!” The meaning of this word is “I will surely come again before the Christians.” So, for those who have Christ in their hearts today, there will never be such a cumbersome Easter celebration again. The reason is that the Lord who has accomplished everything is in me. However, the fact that Christians today hold Easter as an annual event, everywhere or in each church, is evidence that Christ is not still in their hearts.
The same was true of the Jews at the time of Jesus. At that time, they considered the Passover (exodus event) event as their biggest festival. Just like the Easter celebrations that Christians have today. However, the Jews at that time also celebrated the Passover every year without fail, but they had no idea what it was for. All they knew was that, with God's help, their ancestors had escaped Egypt and reached the land of Canaan.
However, we know well today that the Passover was God's grand plan to save Israel through Christ. However, the Jews at that time did not know this at all, so Christ came before them as the Passover Lamb, but they were reluctant to come before Christ and were busy running to the temple in Jerusalem, which was given as a model.
It is very clear that Christians today are doing the same as Jews. When Christ comes again before Christians as the Spirit of Resurrection, Christians also do not want to believe in Christ who has returned as a spirit, but they still share the castella bread and grape juice distributed by the church and drink it, which is the body and blood of Christ. He believes that he is participating in the event, and it is clear that he is deceiving people's hearts with an even more noisy Easter event.
Just as the Passover commemorates the Israelites' freedom from the feet of Satan called Egypt by God's grace, today's Easter is also the way to participate in the resurrection of Christ when our hearts, which were stained with sin, must receive the life of Christ and be born again.
However, if the Gentiles, who lived like dogs and pigs without the law, believed in the name of Jesus who came to the land of Israel, received the Holy Spirit, and were only just being confirmed as spiritual Israelites, how would they feel as if they were finished? will you explain They lived by observing all the ordinances of the law (even formally) to die for about 2,000 years, but in the end they did not believe in Jesus and fell into the fire of hell.
So, what do Christians look like today? Everything that Christians today are doing when they go to a chapel is actually nothing more than a model. However, Christians who are unaware of such a fact believe that it is a reality. Because they know that it is a reality, even Christians cannot believe in the Lord who will come spiritually in the future. We should not treat Easter only as a midday celebration. It is only a model. In order for us to participate in the resurrection, the Lord, who has the life of resurrection, must be in us. That is my true participation in resurrection.