Day 16 - Covenant Fulfilled

Day 16 – Covenant Fulfilled

• Reading: Hebrews 10:1-18, Romans 3:21-28

First off, I have an ESV (English Standard Version) bible and an NLT (New Living Translation).  For this passage, I love reading the NLT. So if your translation is a little confusing to you, switch up this time to the NLT. If you don’t have one, use the YouVersion app.

Now to the passage, I love how Hebrews 10:1 explains right away how the Old Covenant couldn’t fulfill God’s plan...

  “The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship.”

Then, as if it were a “no-brainer”  the author essentially states, “because if they did, they would have stopped doing them.”  But because the old covenant never fully provided a perfect cleansing they had to keep going through the same ol’ rituals again, and again, and again, and again....  You get the point.

And why didn’t the old sacrifice system work. Hebrews 10:4  might as well have said, “Um, Duh!!!  (Insert my 5 year old’s eye roll and headshake). How could blood of a goat or bull take away sin?”

So God sent us Jesus.  Jesus knew he was the fulfillment of the New Covenant promised to us.  He was the plan.  He is our saving grace.  He is the final sacrifice once and for all. He is God coming down to us to cancel the first covenant in order to put into effect the new covenant. He is our perfect, holy, without blemish, perfect lamb sacrifice to fully wipe clean all past, current and future sin.  He is our atonement.

And because of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit, we now have it placed upon our hearts and minds.  We now have the deep, internal connection with God Almighty.  We can enter into His holy presence because of the blood of Jesus.

And let us not forget Romans 3:21-28 Jesus did the work, we are made righteous before God by faith alone.  What is righteousness?  To be made right before God.  To be made just. Following the Old Testament law used to make the people right with God but now it is by the New Covenant. Now it is through faith alone.  Faith in Jesus Christ and his redemptive work. It is not by our own merit or works.  Let me write that again.  It is not by our own power. There is nothing we can do to earn God’s favor. For it is by grace alone and what Jesus Christ did on the Cross.  We just have to believe.  It is by faith alone.

Day 15 - Promise of the New Covenant

Day 15 - Promise of the New Covenant

Reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34

Yesterday we watched the Bible project on sacrifice, atonement and purification.  All rituals that made the Israelites right with God.  The lamb taking the sin and the blood covering our sin.  Well, things are about to change.  Jeremiah, a prophet in the Old Testament times, gives us the promise of the New Covenant - Jeremiah 31:31-34.  And this New Covenant radically changes how God relates and “deals” with his people.

There is so much goodness with the New Covenant.  This covenant changes everything for us.  You see, the Israelites did not keep the old covenant they made with God. For one thing, it was nearly impossible to keep all the rituals, ceremonies and laws.  I was taught there were 365 rules in the old covenant to follow!  Granted, the Israelites at the time of the Old Covenant needed lots of rules and laws to figure out how to exist and function as a community of believers.  And it still helps us today. So it’s important to note that the new covenant doesn’t do away with the old covenant it only draws the law closer and more important as it now is set in hearts.  The Old Covenant simply prepares the way for the New Covenant.

So what is the New Covenant?

It’s the promise of inner transformation which we know of today as the Holy Spirit.  The law up until now was all externally focused- a promise written on stone tablets, but God promises here in Jeremiah 31:33 that He now puts the law within us and writes it in our hearts.  God wants direct, spiritual connection with us. He wants to be our God and He desires for us to be His people.

But what’s even greater is that this spiritual connection with our Father is simply made by “knowing the Lord” (v34) and God himself will make Him known to us.  And not just certain people, the least of them to the greatest of them - All people.

So the last part is what really connects the old and new covenants.  Remember with the Old Covenant a sacrifice was need for a connection with God and to cover ones sin.  But in verse 34, God declares that with the New Covenant He will completely forgive our iniquity which is sin and remember it no more.  Read that last part again.  And remember it no more.

The New Covenant brings us true cleansing from sin. It’s wipes clean. We are made fresh as freshly fallen snow. It’s a forgiveness so complete that God will no longer remember our sin, our failures, our wrong doings for those who are connected to Him through the New Covenant.

Day 14 - Sacrifice and Atonement

Day 14 – Sacrifice and Atonement

• Reading: Leviticus 16 and Leviticus 17:11
• Watch  –  the Bible Project – Atonement

Over days 11-13, we read how God has always had a plan from the time humanity sinned to win back his children and defeat death.  Now we jump into the important concept of the old and new covenant.  Today we dive into Sacrifice, Atonement and Purification.

• Sacrifice – symbol of justice and grace
• Atonement – to cover over someone’s sin
• Purification – through the blood of an animal.  Blood represents life.

These are hard concepts to understand and actually odd to us and the way we live.  However, I feel the Bible Project explains these concepts beautifully. 

Watch below:

Day 13 - Veil Torn In Two

Day 13 - Veil Torn In Two

• Reading: Exodus 26:31-33, Exodus 30:10,  Hebrews 10:19-22, Hebrews 8:1-2, Hebrews 9:11-12

First let’s talk about what’s inside this veil.  In the temple, the place of worship, you have The Holy Place. The Holy Place was where priests performed their rituals. And in the Holy Place was the Holy of Holies and it was separated by a beautiful veil that we read about in Exodus 26:31-33.  In the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat.  The Ark of the Covenant symbolized the presence of God among His people.  On the lid of the Ark of the Covenant was the Mercy Seat. Once a year the High Priest would enter the The Most Holy Place and sprinkle blood from a sacrificed animal to atone for the sins of Israel. (Exodus 30:10)   And before the High Priest could enter into The Holy of Holies or God’s presence, he had to go through a whole bunch of rituals and prepare himself.  Part of preparing himself was by sprinkling the blood of the lamb in his garments.

Kind of crazy huh?

But it’s a super important concept. The only way a guilty sinner could pass to the other side of the Veil into the Holy of Holies and live was by the sprinkling of the blood of the sacrificial lamb. It was by the blood of atonement (which will read about tomorrow) that opened the throne room of God.

But here is the beautiful part for us.  When Jesus died on the cross and declared “It is Finished” the Temple Veil tore in two from top to bottom! (Matthew 27:51) And we no longer have this barrier before God.

This is no small feat.  So let’s picture this.  Jump into my visual side of my brain:

Jesus is hanging on the cross, it is dark and dreary and evil loams in the air. Satan thinks he has won. Maybe he even brought out the Champaign glasses. He sees Jesus in so much pain but Jesus knows when he declares “it is finished” and takes his last breath that sin and evil will be conquered for all time.  And with that last breath, the earth shakes and the ground trembles.  The hairs on the Israelites stand up.  Power is in the air.  Satan starts to freak out and cries “Noooo!” as he witnesses the temple veil tear in two and he realizes at that moment what the death of Jesus truly signifies.  He has been crushed.  Evil has lost and Jesus reigns.  And he not only reigns he tears the separation between man and God.  He brings us into His presence.  He gives us direct access. 

Jesus was the ultimate and final perfect sacrifice.  His blood was shed and we now are made righteous to be in God’s presence. There are no more rituals to be performed. Jesus fulfilled those once and for all time on the cross.  Verse 9:12 “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.”

Can I get an Amen?!

And there is more greatness for us.  Verse 8:1-2. Jesus is now our High Priest and he sits at the right hand of his Father on the throne. He sits because his work is finished and he takes his rightful place on the Heavenly Realms next to His Father.

Go ahead.  Breathe in that goodness. Because, oh… it is so good.

Day 12: It Is Finished

It Is Finished

Reading:  John 19:28-30,  Hebrews 2:10-15, 2 Timothy 1:10, 1 Corinthians 15:54-57

It is finished.

Jesus had accomplished what he came down to earth to do.  To successfully offer himself up as a substitute sin offering for humanity.

These three words, “it is finished” is no small phrase.  There is so much power and meaning packed into these words.  Yesterday we read the curse on Satan, the Messiah crushing his head.  Well, here we have it folks!  Satan, sin, evil has been conquered.  Sin no long has a hold on us.  Death no longer has a stronghold.  With these three words, Christ gave us Victory once and for all.  We are no longer under the condemnation of the law.  The law has no power over us.  Jesus set us free by fulfilling the law.  He came to destroy the one, Satan, who had power over death.  And that Jesus did. 

O death, where is your victory

O death, where is your sting.

Don’t you want to just praise Jesus when you read 1 Corinthians 15:55?!

It is only through him and by him that we will no longer experience the spiritual pain of death.  It is because of our faith in him and the gospel that we have the glorious privilege to spend everlasting life with our creator in a paradise unlike anything we know.  And it’s all because he decided to fulfill and finish the plan God set before him in Genesis 3.  With those three words, it is finished, he declared the fullfillment of every promise, sacrifice, ceremony and prophesy.  And he did it in perfect obedience to his father.

I could write about this forever.  There is so much power in being able to tell you all who Jesus is and what he did to completely set you free.  You are free! So very free.  Now I pray you live in his freedom he so sacrificially and lovingly gave you.

- - -

Side Note: 

Hyssop branch - the sour wine was for the soldiers to drink as they waited for the crucifixions to be done.  However, with the "thirst"  he fulfilled yet another prophesy.  But the hyssop branch signifies something more.  In Exodus 12:22 God instructs the Israelites in their Exodus to dip a hyssop branch into the lamb’s blood and put it on the doorpost.  This was their first Passover.  The blood of the lamb on the doorpost saved the Israelites from the tenth plague - the death of the first born.  It was a sacrifice. The mention of the hyssop branch would take the Jewish people back to the saving blood of the Passover lamb.

update - we later wrote about the hyssop branch meaning. you can read the post here

Double side note:

 “The verb telew (teleo, ‘to finish’) was used in first and second centuries in the sense of ‘fulfilling’ or ‘paying’ a debt and often appeared in receipts. Jesus’ statement ‘It is finished’ (tetelestai, tetelestai) could be interpreted as ‘Paid in full.’” (Tenney)