Whatsoever Things Are True
by Dan Coburn
Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church
pastordan@mtida.net
"But Mary stood without at the sepulcher weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulcher, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Ant they say unto her, Woman, why weepest  thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus." John 20:11-15.    
This is a very familiar passage of Scripture. We read or hear it almost every Easter.  We even sing about it.   But have you ever thought beyond the obvious, to the significance of even the smallest listed details? The Bible is never redundant, and all Scripture is "God Breathed", so what should we glean from this? What impact does it (or should it) have on my life as I apply it to daily living?  Well first of all, what did Mary see?  What was the position of the Angels, and was it significant?  Does it remind you of anything? 
"And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof." -- Ex. 25:17-19.  
Let's turn the Spiritual Switch. When Jesus said "it is finished", the veil in the temple was rent (torn) top to bottom, and the Arc of the Covenant was never seen again. It isn't even mentioned except in past tense.  What does this mean?  As far back as anyone knew of, the priest would offer sacrifices for his own sin, then take a blood sacrifice behind the veil to the "Holy of Holies" (the Arc) and spread the blood on the mercy seat thereof, as a sacrifice for the sins of the people.  This lasted till ----- next time. Had to be repeated over and over.  But when Jesus was in the grave, He entered the Original Temple "which the Lord pitched, and not man" - Heb. 8:2. This is the heavenly temple, or the blueprint for the tabernacle the nation Israel had.  Also, Jesus didn't offer a sacrifice for His own sin, cause He didn't have any.  He did however offer a sacrifice for us in the form of His own blood. He entered The Holy of Holies, and offered His own sinless blood for your sins and mine: "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." -- Heb. 9:12.  
Are you getting excited yet?  Do you have a pulse?   "For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" vs 13-14.   
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, what the angels were conveying to Mary was -- "Look, This is where the sacrifice took place Once and for all. This is where the Lamb of God paid the penalty. This is where 'it is finished'".  Did Mary recognize it? Do you?  The blood of Christ is sufficient for all. Every person, and all your sins; in word or deed. You can't out-sin the power of His blood.  It is sufficient for you, but only Efficient if you receive Him on his terms. He is (after all) God.    See you in church.

Cottonwood, Idaho 83522
 

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