A future event was going to take place to perfectly fulfill the promises which had been made to Abraham. His descendants would indeed become as numerous as the stars and he would have a male heir which had seemed impossible.

The fulfillment of the symbolism in this passage would, however, surpass anything that Abraham could have been able to fully understand. It all pointed to the cross …. what Jesus, as the perfect sacrifice, would accomplish through his agonizing death and glorious resurrection. All those who have the faith of Abraham can now see God’s purposes clearly revealed in the Easter message.

Every Christian believer is, in a sense, a descendant of Abraham. Jesus says of Abraham that ‘he saw my day and rejoiced’. God will never fail us when we trust in him because all of the promises to us are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. For this reason we can be eternally secure. Being forgiven for our sins does not depend on anything we can do but on what Jesus has accomplished for us which we receive by faith alone.

To come into a relationship with God requires a fundamental change. In this passage we see Nicodemus, a prominent leader of the Jewish people, coming to Jesus at night. He knew that Jesus was a great teacher but the words that Jesus spoke to him would have been quite unexpected. Jesus told him that he must be ‘born again’.

Nicodemus was puzzled so Jesus further explained. Firstly, he reminded him about the bronze snake Moses lifted up in the wilderness. Then he showed what this meant by saying that the ‘Son of Man’ (himself) must also be lifted up …. ‘for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life’.

These things are of the utmost importance to people today as well. There is a great deal of misunderstanding about how someone comes into a relationship with God. It means turning back to him and trusting in what Jesus has done on the cross to take away our sins. It is the Holy Spirit who enables us to do this.

 

 

 

There are ways of describing things that show their difference to other things which could be wrongly compared. In the case of an orange, for example, you could note its colour, texture, size, fragrance and tatste. This would clearly distinguish it from everything else.

In this passage we see how the writer begins to expose a problem in the life of part of the early church. The problem was a very serious one. It was based on a misunderstanding of who Jesus was and is. The approach taken shows the difference between Jesus and other things which might be placed alongside him. In this case the angels.

The writer shows, by quoting from the Old Testament Scriptures, how vastly superior Jesus is to the angels. There was a great danger for them in placing too much emphasis on the wrong thing. It is only in and through Jesus that a relationship with God can exist. This same message is vital today.

 

We all have special places. Places where we feel safe. Places which bring back special memories. It may be a building which we identify strongly with such as the family home. Jesus, however, put people before property. He strongly objected to the commercial activity in the temple courts …. it was interfering with the Passover worship and also the glory of God.

In this passage Jesus refers to his coming death and resurrection as the destruction and rebuilding of the temple. Jesus spoke of the temple as his body. He was so consumed by zeal for God that he would be consumed for his people.

Jesus would not only be the temple but he would also be the sacrifice. It is only through him that people can come to God and truly worship God. He is God’s everlasting holy place for everyone who believes.

 

 

 

 

The Passover, which is celebrated by Jewish people, is a signpost to, and shadow of, the cross. It was no accident that the momentous event in human history, Jesus death on the cross, occurred at the same time as the annual Passover feast of remembrance.

As a ‘signpost’, the Passover pointed forward to the true freedom which was to be experienced by Christian believers. Jesus is referred to in Scripture as the ‘Lamb of God’. In this passage we see that he was crucified. This is the reality which was symbolized in the Passover where the angel of death ‘passed over’ the Israelite homes and no-one died. This also resulted in their release from slavery to the Egyptians.

As a ‘shadow’ the Passover illustrates the forgiveness we must have in order to be sheltered from God’s punishment for the wrong things we have done. Jesus died on the cross as a substitute and a sacrifice. The Passover Lamb was a shadow of that which later occurred at the cross. Eating of the Passover Lamb symbolized the need to trust in what Jesus has accomplished for us.

As we come to this passage, in a way, we meet Jesus in the flesh. We are also told how people in those early times met Jesus Christ. People were challenged to ‘come and see’ him. John the Baptist said to the disciples ‘Look the Lamb of God’. Two of them, Andrew and an unnamed one, probably the John who wrote this gospel, responded.

Relationships, especially family ones, are important in people coming to Jesus. Andrew brought his brother Simon to meet Jesus. Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter, which means ‘rock’. Peter became the well-known apostle whose great faith was built upon the true Rock, Jesus Christ himself.

Meeting Jesus means sharing Jesus with others. We get excited when we are introduced to exciting people and there is none more so than him. Heaven’s confirmation of who Jesus is we find wondrously displayed for us in his death and resurrection.

 

First impressions can be misleading. The people thought that John the Baptist was someone else. John, however, emphatically denied that he was either the prophet Elijah or the Messiah. Who was he then? John quotes from the Scriptures to show that he had come to prepare the way for Jesus. He did this by calling on them to humble themselves and turn back to God.

This raises another question …… who is Jesus? We find in this passage that John pointed to Him as the ‘Lamb of God’. We are also told what Jesus would do as the ‘Lamb of God’ and that was to ‘take away the sin of the world’.

This leads to two things. Firstly, the sad but necessary outcome for those who reject him ….. especially the Jewish leaders who refused to humble themselves. Secondly, and most wonderfully, it points us to the cross where Jesus took on himself the punishment for wrong things which we have done. In this he is our ‘Passover’ ….. we need to get to know him better.

 

 

Sometimes things which we see from a distance, when approached, become much bigger than what we think. This is very much the case with the coming of Jesus Christ who, in this passage, is called the Word. We are told that ‘the Word became flesh and dwelt among us’ and also that all things were created by the Word.

We are further told that John the Baptist was sent to point people to Jesus who is described as a light which shines in the darkness. Jesus came to his own people, the Jews, who mostly rejected him. Some, however, received him ….. who he is ….. what he has done ….. his claim on their lives. In short, a whole new identity and reason for living.

Jesus was exposed to everything we have experienced. Would we know if God exists?…. if God is gracious? All we have to do is look to Jesus. Because he has come in the flesh we can see the seriousness of the wrong things we have done. Because he has come in the flesh he can supply everything we ever need.

 

It can be very unnerving to trust in someone or something only to find that it has gone. In this passage the prophet is telling the people that the things they had been trusting in were about to be removed.

Because of the moral decline in the nation, the leaders, who had become immoral, were about to be taken away. This would lead to a total breakdown in society where nobody would want to become a leader. The prophet also speaks about the women. They had been trusting in their beauty as a means of support for their needs. Just as reliance on the leaders would be taken away, so too, trusting in personal appearance would become futile.

The symbolism of ‘the Branch’, however, is given to point the way forward for the people. This is a reference to the ‘Messiah’, Jesus Christ who would come to ‘take away the reproach’ of the nation. He would do this by way of the cross …. giving his life as a ransom for the wrong things that had been done so that his people would now only trust in him.

 

 

This passage raises the question about who will be exalted ….. God or man. The prophet, Isaiah, who wrote it, shows us that the day is coming when everyone will worship the God. Isaiah sees what life is like when God is exalted. Like a journey, seeing the destination encourages the travellers.

Sadly, the people in Isaiah’s time had been drawn away from God to other things and therefore he rejected them. Whenever man refuses to exalt God man ends up exalting himself. The Scriptures say …’whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted’. This points us to Jesus Christ who humbled himself to death on a cross in order to save us. He is now exalted as the King of kings and Lord of lords.