The Advent of Easter, Part XV by Pamela Christian—Copyright © 2019
Let’s consider the timeline to have a better understanding of the day by day realities for Jesus as He approached His final days on earth. The Sacred Calendar year for the Jews starts with the month of Nissan, also called Abib. This first month corresponds with our March and April. I find this especially meaningful this year since Lent began March 6 and Easter is April 21, 2019.
A day in the ancient Jewish culture begins at sunset and concludes at sunset. Working backward from Nissan 14, which we know is the required day for the Passover to begin, I estimate today’s post for this Advent of Easter blog represents Nissan 8, which is six days before Passover in the life of Jesus.
Knowing His last days on earth were upon Him, Scriptures reveal Jesus spent considerable time in the presence of His disciples teaching the people and admonishing the religious leaders, making use of His final hours, intensely instructing about the Kingdom. John 8:12, begins a beautiful account of Jesus’ mortal life in these final days, which it appears John has recorded chronologically, concluding with John chapter twenty-one.
At this point in His ministry, Jesus had drawn a great number of people unto Himself, whereas the religious leaders of the day rejected Him. While His first coming was not to be as final judgment upon Creation, He did bring with Him division and thus judgment from another sense. To judge, can mean to rightly evaluate, and clearly Jesus rightly evaluated events and people throughout His ministry.
The religious leaders openly accused Jesus’ claims about Himself as false. Responding to their accusations Jesus replied, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” So the Pharisees said to him, “You are bearing witness about yourself; your testimony is not true.” Jesus answered, “Even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your Law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.” They said to him therefore, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple; but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come. (John 8:12-20 ESV – italics added)
God the Father intentionally planned every event of Jesus’ life—the specific point in time and place where he’d be born, the specific events and impact of His life, and the specific manner and hour He would die. Jesus first came to be the substitute sacrifice for your sin and mine, so we could have a way of escape from the consequences of sin and be redeemed through faith in Jesus. Imagine these final days leading up to the wrongful trial and unjust crucifixion of Jesus and how Jesus, fully aware of the timing and plan of God, earnestly spent His time presenting the truth so those who would come to faith, would do so.
It is not the heart of God that anyone would perish, but for all to receive everlasting life (2 Peter 3:9-10). Hell is a place for all beings who reject God, who deny Christ and have no desire to be rightly related with God. Hell is not a place God sends beings to—it is a place beings, angelic and human, choose for themselves. There will be a future event where Christ returns and the whole of Creation will be judged. Until then we live in the time of opportunity—we live in a time where we can choose life; eternal life through faith in Jesus. Those who deny Jesus, will face their personal judgement the day their earthly life is taken from them.
There is nothing God does that has no purpose. Everything He does has tremendous significance—nothing is happenstance. This was true in Jesus’ life and it’s true in yours and mine. Consider the tremendous mercy of God, having Jesus come to earth to become the substitute sacrifice in our place. Jesus’ earthly ministry was one of redemption and reconciliation. God could have judged us for rejecting Him. However, because He is love, He was motivated by love to offer us a second chance to choose life. Jesus’ first appearance on earth was not as judge, (see John 3:17 and 12:47), but as the Promised Redeemer.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 is an opportunity for every one so long as we are breathing on this earth: “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” (ESV)
Recognizing Jesus as the True Shepherd is the focus of the next post.
For April 3-4, read John 12:44-50 and meditate on the central message of this post and what it personally means to you, as part of your preparation in the Advent of Easter.
Scroll down below to access earlier posts in this series. To view the entire list of planned devotions, see the Introduction.
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