Good morning,
I am teaching a class on worldview at church for a group of young adults. One of the sections we are covering is on four relationships - upward (with God), inward (with self), outward (with others) and downward (with creation).
These relationships were "right" when God created us (Gen 1:31 - And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.)
When we sinned and fell (see Gen 3). All of these relationships were broken.
When Jesus Christ went to the Cross for us and was resurrected from the dead he opened the door to redemption. Jesus now redeems those who answer His call, receive Him, now believe, repent and proclaim His Lordship.
This perfect sacrifice by Lord Jesus started the process of restoration of these relationships. The most important relationship being our upward relationship with God.
I was pondering redemption of the upward relationship this morning. God put the following passage on my heart:
Matthew 27:50-54 - 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. 51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son[i] of God!”
Why is this important? Originally, before mankind broke it's relationship with the Creator, we were able to walk with Him, be in His presence. After mankind's fall, that upward relationship was damaged and for most of mankind, except for a few exceptions we see in the Old Testament, we needed an intercessor to go to God on our behalf, to seek forgiveness of our sins.
The curtain referenced above represented the barrier in the Temple that prevented normal people access to the "Most Holy Place" - where God would receive sacrifices from the High Priest (intercessor for the people).
This curtain was actually a very thick barrier (Josephus, a secular Jewish historian, tells us that the veil was four inches thick and that horses tied to each side could not pull the veil apart.).
So the significance of this curtain being ripped top to bottom is that it represents the initiation of both the redemptive work of Jesus Christ but also that Jesus initiated the restoration process (Rev 21:5 -And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”).
We now have direct access to God through Jesus Christ - the "Most Holy Place" is no longer off limits for you and I because Jesus is renewing our relationship with God.
So our most important relationship is our relationship with God. Without that relationship being right (and it is made right by Jesus Christ) no other relationship can be made right.
So even though this passage in Matthew is about the death on the Cross of our Savior, it is the beginning of the Good News for us and all who get a chance to hear and respond to it.
As we move through these days leading up to Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, let us treasure the work of our Lord Jesus by leaning in to live out the redeeming and restorative work of a renewed relationship with our God.
Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we go into this weekend is that we seek the fruit of Your work, Lord Jesus in our having access to a redeemed relationship with God! Amen!
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
Patrick
I am teaching a class on worldview at church for a group of young adults. One of the sections we are covering is on four relationships - upward (with God), inward (with self), outward (with others) and downward (with creation).
These relationships were "right" when God created us (Gen 1:31 - And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.)
When we sinned and fell (see Gen 3). All of these relationships were broken.
When Jesus Christ went to the Cross for us and was resurrected from the dead he opened the door to redemption. Jesus now redeems those who answer His call, receive Him, now believe, repent and proclaim His Lordship.
This perfect sacrifice by Lord Jesus started the process of restoration of these relationships. The most important relationship being our upward relationship with God.
I was pondering redemption of the upward relationship this morning. God put the following passage on my heart:
Matthew 27:50-54 - 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. 51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son[i] of God!”
Why is this important? Originally, before mankind broke it's relationship with the Creator, we were able to walk with Him, be in His presence. After mankind's fall, that upward relationship was damaged and for most of mankind, except for a few exceptions we see in the Old Testament, we needed an intercessor to go to God on our behalf, to seek forgiveness of our sins.
The curtain referenced above represented the barrier in the Temple that prevented normal people access to the "Most Holy Place" - where God would receive sacrifices from the High Priest (intercessor for the people).
This curtain was actually a very thick barrier (Josephus, a secular Jewish historian, tells us that the veil was four inches thick and that horses tied to each side could not pull the veil apart.).
So the significance of this curtain being ripped top to bottom is that it represents the initiation of both the redemptive work of Jesus Christ but also that Jesus initiated the restoration process (Rev 21:5 -And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”).
We now have direct access to God through Jesus Christ - the "Most Holy Place" is no longer off limits for you and I because Jesus is renewing our relationship with God.
So our most important relationship is our relationship with God. Without that relationship being right (and it is made right by Jesus Christ) no other relationship can be made right.
So even though this passage in Matthew is about the death on the Cross of our Savior, it is the beginning of the Good News for us and all who get a chance to hear and respond to it.
As we move through these days leading up to Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, let us treasure the work of our Lord Jesus by leaning in to live out the redeeming and restorative work of a renewed relationship with our God.
Lord Jesus, my prayer for each of us as we go into this weekend is that we seek the fruit of Your work, Lord Jesus in our having access to a redeemed relationship with God! Amen!
Have a weekend filled with the Peace that comes from knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
Patrick
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