NORTHSHORE CHURCH OF CHRIST

Today—Thursday, April 6, 2023—marks Passover, which, for the Jews, began last night as the sun went down. This day commemorates the freedom God created for the Israelite people through the Ten Plagues. Specifically, that last plague—the death of the firstborn in Egypt—was the occasion for the first Passover feast.

God told the Israelites to eat with their travel clothes on, belts around their waist, sandals on their feet, and staves in hand—as if they were about to embark on a long journey…which was exactly what they were about to do.

They were to kill a year-old lamb at twilight on the 14^th day of their 1^st month (Abib), and they were to roast and eat the whole thing as a family. If any part of the lamb was not eaten, it was to be burned before morning so that nothing remained to the next day. They were not to break any of its bones, and they were to paint the doorposts and lintels of their houses with the lamb’s blood.

The blood would be a sign to God that in this house were His faithful people, so He would pass over that house with His terrible tenth plague.

That night, God entered every Egyptian house and killed all their firstborn sons, including the firstborn animals. The firstborn belong to God, and if they are not freely given, God will take them. This was both a judgment on Egypt as well as a teaching moment for Israel (and all the earth). God gets the first fruit.

Following Passover evening, the Jews were to celebrate an entire week of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which represents affliction (Deut. 16.3). On the first and seventh days of this feast they were to have a holy convocation and do no ordinary work (a special Sabbath).  

Once God brought Israel into the promised land and they had an established place for the Tabernacle (and later the Temple), the Jews were only allowed to celebrate the Passover at the Temple, which is why the Jews streamed to Jerusalem every year for this grand event. What an awesome time that must have been for those who celebrated it according to the Lord’s direction!

But all of that pointed to something God had planned in the future. Jesus Christ ate the Passover with His disciples the evening of Abib the 14^th, and later that evening was captured by group of Jews, mocked all night long in a Jewish monkey court, convicted of crimes He had never done, and presented to Pilate early the next morning on the 15^th day of Abib.

He was crucified that very day. The blood of the true Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5.7) dripped onto the ground below His cross, and He died and was quickly buried before evening. We commemorate the crucifixion day by calling it “Good Friday.” God had taken His own firstborn Son.

Jesus was in the grave Friday…Saturday (the Sabbath day of rest)…and rose on Sunday, the first day of the week.

Passover was an awesome memorial time each year for the Jews, but it foreshadowed a greater liberation than even the Exodus. It pointed to the great salvation of the Lord to all nations through Jesus Christ! It is no accident that Jesus was killed on Passover Day. It was God’s plan before the foundation of the earth (Acts 2.22–24).

Christians are not called to celebrate the yearly Passover any more, but we celebrate our great Passover Lamb. We don’t know the exact day of the year that Jesus was born, but we do know Easter Sunday is the exact anniversary of the day Jesus came out of the tomb—the central event which drives our faith:

“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Rom. 10.8–9)

References:

1. Exodus 12
2. Leviticus 23.4–8
3. Deuteronomy 16.1–8

The cross offended some false teachers in Galatia, against whom Paul strongly preached. Jews had infiltrated the churches. They claimed to be Christians, but they brought a twisted, corrupted, distorted gospel with them (Gal. 1.6-9) as they attempted to bind the Gentile Christians under a host of Jewish laws which Christ had already eliminated through the cross.

Circumcision is not a sin. Paul was circumcised (Phil. 3.5), and he even had Timothy circumcised for practical reasons (Acts 16.3), so he wasn't condemning the actual act. He condemned it as a religious ritual as the Jews were teaching; they commanded all Christian men to be circumcised to be right with God, making it a prerequisite to salvation.

In addition to circumcision, they also insisted Christians keep special Jewish feast days (Gal. 4.10), adding them onto the list of things necessary for salvation. In other words, the Jewish Christians wouldn't really accept the Gentile Christians as brothers until they measured up to their list of laws and demands.

Why did the cross offend these Jews? Paul preached against circumcision for salvation and that keeping the ceremonial and civil aspects of the Law of Moses is now unnecessary under Christ! He preached that Jesus abolished the Old Law and clearly stated that salvation is by faith in Christ apart from works of the law (Gal. 2.15-16). In fact, "if justification were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose" (Gal. 2.21), and "if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law" (Gal. 3.21). But now that faith has come, we are no longer under the guardianship of the law (Gal. 3.25).

Christ has set us free in order that we may experience true freedom (Gal. 5.1). He has freed us from sin and law. The law binds us under sin, so Christ had to abolish the law so we might be perfectly free from sin! This is grace.

But grace offends the legalist (who believes he is saved by keeping a law) because grace says we are not saved by our work of keeping law; we are saved by Christ's work of keeping the law and His sufficient sacrifice on the cross on our behalf. Just as the cross offended the Jews because it did away with their law, the cross offends legalists today because it does away with their law.

Who gets to make the list of laws which are necessary for entering into the kingdom of heaven? Only God holds that position. Is there a law Jesus expects us to submit to? Absolutely! If you don't think so, you should read Matthew 5-7, Romans 6, James, and Galatians 5-6. But Jesus clarifies our relationship to law—law doesn't save; He does. We keep His law because we are His children, not to make ourselves His children.

The legalist lists actions and teachings which will keep a person out of heaven. Many such lists have been made which exceed the boundaries of gospel-level issues, and those lists divide good-hearted brethren. The legalist believes that eating (or not eating) certain meats will keep you out of heaven (Rom. 14; 1 Cor. 8). The legalist believes that observing (or not observing) certain special religious days will annul your salvation. The legalist believes you must add this or subtract that from your life in order to be saved. Their additions to the gospel divide and do violence to the body of Christ! And that's why Paul so vigorously opposed the mindset of legalism.

Paul could have made a long list to show why he was "qualified" to be saved, but he counted all his so-called qualifications as loss, he said, "for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I my gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith..." (Phil. 3.2-10).

Let us refrain from binding fellow Christians to our lists of laws! If Christ said to do it, then we shall do it. If Christ said to avoid it, then we shall avoid it. But let's not add to or subtract from what He has said, and let us not think that we are saved by keeping His laws. We've been saved in order that we might keep His laws. There's a big difference, and that difference has eternal consequences (Gal. 5.4)!