Single words in the Scriptures sometimes come to mind with joyful impact that are hooks that believers can hang their hopes on with confidence. They are like a doorway to a joyful time of meditation that uplifts the soul and brings the glory of God evident to the world around us.

Grace is defined as the “unmerited favor of God.” It means that no one receiving that grace does anything to earn it. Romans 5:20 says, “when sin abounds, grace does much more abound.” The great promise of grace is found in Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace are you saved through faith… not of works lest any man should boast.”

Then we must include 2 Corinthians 9:8, which promises this: “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”

On the opposite side of the topic is the word “ungodly,” bringing visions of immoral activities and rebellion. That word, however, was the turning point of my own salvation as I came to it in Romans 5:6 that night some 67 years ago. I was struggling to find the way to peace with God by having Jesus in my life, and that verse said to me, “For when we were without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” In a flash, it struck me that I, myself, was the ungodly one Christ was nailed to the cross for – me! And a spiritual new birth happened instantly.

Another word in that same context is the word “wages.” In Romans 6:23a, Paul writes, “For the wages of sin is death….” When an employer pays an employee for work done, he is paying wages. The great Judge of the Universe, to whom all will answer, He is paying for the deeds done that are in rebellion of Him, and that death is not this mortal one we are living now, but is one of our eternal destiny.

Fortunately, the second part of that verse, Romans 6:23, says, “But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.” The gift of God is a worthy thought to dwell on for some time. Romans 5:18 sets up the basic plan of God for our redemption, saying basically, While Adam, by his disobedience, brought mankind into death, spiritually and physically, the gift of God in Christ is made available for mankind’s redemption by receiving Christ.

But what is the value, personally, of a gift that is never really accepted and, thus, never opened? It is like God is saying, You, mankind, chose death by your inheritance of the choice by Adam. Therefore, I am giving you a choice to make for eternal salvation in a free gift by the death of My only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ. Choose Him; He is your salvation.

Romans 5:8 reveals that forgiveness which God planned before time began, saying, “But God commended His love toward us, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Does that imply that man is saved, no matter what? No, a gift must be accepted for it to be effective.

John 1:11-12 clearly tells it rightly when John writes, “He came to His own [kinsmen], and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”

Mercy is another word that carries much weight in God’s satchel of unmerited benefits to offer mankind. Mercy triumphs over judgment, according to James 2:13. In Lamentations 3:22, it says, “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness.”

Hope, in Bible language, is not wishful thinking. Speaking of the hope we have in Christ, Hebrews 6:19 says, “Which hope we have as an anchor to the soul, both sure and steadfast and which enters into that which is beyond the veil.” That hope is built on certainty, “that you know, that you know, that you know,” as some have said it.

Faithfulness is a very important characteristic of God that brings great peace to the heart of a believer who is uncertain about his own faith. We tend to look for our own faith for strength and security. The bottom line, so to speak, is God’s faithfulness; that is our confidence. He does not change; He is faithful. In Numbers 23:19, we are told this truth: “God is not a man that He should lie, nor the son of man that He should repent. Has He said and will He not do it, or has He spoken and will He not make it good?”

In 2 Timothy 2:13, Paul speaks to that with these words: “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” It is important to remember that Jesus “is the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2), and His faithfulness is an unchangeable attribute of His nature.

Fear is not a word of rejoicing but one of opposition to faith. The Bible has many words of victory over fear. Isaiah 41:10 gives this assurance: “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” And Jesus Himself reminds us in John 14:27b, “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Victory over the evil one and over our flesh is always a daily issue, for sweet is the path of righteousness, and painful is that of defeat. It is acclaimed fervently in 1 John 5:4-5 by the Apostle John: “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

Atonement. Apparently, there is a struggle with the declaration in the Scriptures that Jesus’ death on the cross was for all mankind, as that well-known promise of John 3:16, as you remember.

It is made more specific in the clear statement in 1 John 2:2 that “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” The gift was made once for all, and it awaits acceptance by all, or any who want it.

The promise of atonement, where this issue comes to the forefront of discussions, is easily correctly understood when one again recognizes that Jesus Christ is our atonement and our salvation by our believing in Him and accepting His lordship in our lives.

The Bible speaks of “simplicity in Christ,” and man tends to dig himself into a hole of theological disconnections. Solomon’s Proverb 3:5 addresses that tendency very clearly: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” It is further underscored by Proverbs 9:10 with this: “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Another word for meditation is found in this passage, 2 Corinthians 1:20: “For all the promises of God in Him [Christ] are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” Amen means “so be it,” meaning “it is done, locked in,” and how can we have a greater hope than that?

It brings us to the very end of the Bible, where the Apostle John writes, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’

“Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”

Contact email: andwegetmercy@gmail.com

 

That first Holy Week, when Jesus was on trial and was illegally subjected to death on the cross, has remarkable parallels in traditional Jewish Day of Preparation activities and the activities of Jesus at the same time. What makes it remarkable is John the Baptist’s remark noted earlier, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).

The first Passover, when Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, had detailed instructions from God. He laid it out in Exodus 12:

1. On the tenth day of the first month,
2. Each household, with neighbors, if too small in number, so that each person would have their need fully met, would share a lamb;
3. The lamb must be without blemish, a male of the first year;
4. It may be taken from the sheep or the goats;
5. It shall be kept until the fourteenth day of the month, thus, four days.
6. The whole assembly shall kill their lambs at twilight;
7. It is to be roasted, then eaten, and if any is left over till morning, it must be burned in fire.

Other instructions are given in Exodus 12, but the key parallels to events in the Holy Week are the quality of the lamb and the four days when the lamb is kept with the household. That time may have been to carefully see that the lamb had no blemishes or faults. Or, as a point of reflection on what was to come for the lamb?

That Holy Week began on Saturday evening at sundown and the following day, Sunday, the first day of the selection of the lambs, and the four days ran through Wednesday, the Day of Preparation. (Matthew 27:62-63 tells us of the timing of events then: “On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, saying, ‘Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, “After three days I will rise.'” (And they ask for guards at the tomb.)

How does that first Holy Week begin for “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world?” (John 1:29 and 1 John 2:2)

On Palm Sunday, He was chosen by the people at His triumphant entry with great acclaim and authority of His overwhelming Person. (The opposing religious leaders asked His disciples to have Him quieten the crowd, and He said, “If they are silenced, the rocks will cry out!”)

On the next day, Monday, He cleansed the Temple of the marketers and moneychangers. On Tuesday, He was in the temple area teaching and making Himself known as the Lamb of God.

During the day of Wednesday, He was with His disciples into the evening time and the Last Supper. Then they went over to the Garden of Gethsemane, where He struggled in prayer regarding His coming ordeal and crucifixion. The disciples, now just eleven of them, were totally unaware of what was going on and that the agony of His suffering was about to be poured out.

The Jewish day began at twilight on Tuesday, running through to twilight on Wednesday. Then began the Day of Preparation at twilight on Wednesday. That Thursday began at twilight on Wednesday and continued until twilight on Thursday, as the Jewish days were counted. It was the end of the fourth day, and roasting the Passover lamb was next by putting it to death and applying its blood as directed by God to Moses.

(These details are confusing, but getting them fixed in our minds is important for understanding how and when the parallel events fell into place.)

Preparation Day for the Lamb of God began with His agony in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, followed by being arrested there. It continued with all of the abuses of the questioning in attempts to find a reason for His conviction and “trial” that lasted all night and into the next day, Thursday. Read Isaiah 53 for a detailed picture of His suffering and abuse before, during, and after the trial.

Scourging, whipping, beating, abusive and blasphemous accusations—these are told in the gospel accounts of His treatment. The parallel is like this: While the religious leaders were skinning and preparing their lambs for roasting, the Lamb of God was being effectively “skinned” and made ready to be displayed as sinful as ordinary criminals were.

It is astounding how openly evil man can be in his rejection of truth. The injustice is overwhelming as we unwind the intimate details of His illegal trial. Repeats in like-kind can be seen today as well, showing that mankind is not becoming better and better in moral integrity.

As the parallel continued in the Temple at twilight, the Passover lamb was killed at twilight as the day of Wednesday ended. While that was happening, Roman soldiers were nailing Jesus to the cross on the hill of Golgotha, then lifting Him upright to hang there until death came. He had said prophetically, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14), then “if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32).

There were seven statements from Jesus from the cross, not all reported in each of the four gospels. His final four were perhaps in this order:

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34).

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46).

“It is finished” (John 19:30).

And this one as His ordeal ended with Luke’s account of those three hours of agony hanging there: “Now it was about the sixth hour [3:00 pm], and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour [9:00 pm]. Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, ‘Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ Having said this, He breathed His last” (Luke 23:44-46).

Some reminders of the foundation of God’s plan of salvation, not that of man, as the flow of Scripture brings together the parallels to One final conclusion:

Leviticus 17:11 – “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”

Hebrews 10:1-3 – For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 – “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Hebrews 7:25 – “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”

Psalm 103:12 – “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

The Apostle Paul briefly sums it up in 1 Corinthians 5:7: “Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.”

Jesus died once for all, thus providing the gift of salvation available for all who will accept the gift. The gift is Him, Christ, actually, and “to as many as receive Him, to them is given the authority to be called the sons of God” (John 1:12).

Contact email: andwegetmercy@gmail.com