What is a "Type and Shadow"?

Passover Intimacies –Type & Shadow & Reality

Exodus 12:1-14

God declares that Passover shall be on the tenth day of the first month of the year! _{Exodus 12:3} This makes Passover the first holy day of the New Year- a time of new beginnings! “And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month and camped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.”  _{Joshua 4:19}

Type & Shadow: _vs.4-5 Every head of house was to take a one year old male lamb or goat without blemish.  "And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him... share with his nearest neighbor, based on how much each person will eat. Don't you love the wording? The lamb isn't too little-ever-and sharing with a neighbor came right at the start!

In verse 6, the animal chosen was to be cared for by each family until the 14th of the month, that's 5 days! This is where we see such a time of intimacy and deep emotion if we look...but I missed it for 40 years! Have you seen the silly, goose-y, soft adorableness of a one year old baby lamb? They are tiny, not much bigger than a large cat or puppy. Keeping this little perfect lamb, feeding it, giving it a place to sleep, caring for it for 5 days creates a bond! Especially if you have any 'kids' of your own! How tough to then sacrifice it!!!

Reality:  This gives new meaning to a longtime favorite verse of mine: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."_Joh1:14 Having a delightful baby lamb dwell with them for 5 days gave them the experience of seeing the perfect lamb without blemish the way God views His Son Jesus, and now sees us! [One meaning of glory: the view & opinion of God, which is reality]

We have a small glimpse into the heart of God and His feelings for His only Son, Jesus.  "Behold, the Lamb which takes away the sin of the world". _{John 1:29}  Five days prior to Passover, _{John 12} Jesus visited the temple daily and was examined thoroughly by the Pharisees and church leaders for any "blemishes". They found none! _{1Peter 1:19}    The shadow of Exodus 12:6 was made reality in John 1:14. Because of God's desire and deep love for us, He chose to redeem us (buy us back from the ravages of sin and restore us to purity and righteousness) by giving up His Son---but the sacrifice was huge! _{John 3:16-17} “For God so loved the world that He gave His only son that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

Type & Shadow: In the first Passover in Egypt, everyone was to kill their baby lamb at twilight or evening which began at 3PM. The blood was applied to both sides and across the top of the door of the house, creating a cross, where the family would eat the lamb. God gave them "knowledge" [experience] of - His love and delight and emotional bond in this type and shadow.  This picture helps us feel the joy, the dread, and the pain of the day; it gives me a sense of the emotions God felt.

Shadow AND Reality When our Messiah was being tied and nailed on the cross at Golgotha; simultaneously a lamb without blemish was being tied to a post in the temple - at 9:00am! Reality and shadow were happening simultaneously. At precisely 3:00 pm in the Temple, once the sacrificial lamb was killed; the high priest would shout "it is finished" and blow the shofar horn, announcing to all in the city that the sacrifice had been made for their sins...prior to Passover, which began at 6:00 pm. On Golgotha, Christ cried out, "It is finished" at 3:00 pm, and died. What a picture. God didn't allow his son to die unannounced, just as he didn't allow him to be born unannounced! _{Luke 2:13-14}

Type & Shadow:  Numbers 21:8-9 _{(and I Kings 18:4)}

In the journeys thru the wilderness the people began to complain

and grumble against God and Moses, saying that they had been brought out of Egypt to die in the wilderness, and saying how they HATED the “light bread” (manna). The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people and they bit the people and many died. Then they came to Moses and said they had sinned because they had spoken against the LORD and Moses. They asked Moses to pray to the LORD to take the serpents from them. “And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looks upon it, shall live.”

Reality _{Joh 3:14-15}   “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

Shadow:  Verses 8-10 tell us how they were to eat the Passover Lamb: roasted in fire! Fire speaks of God's judgment, from Genesis 22:13 to Revelation 20:15. Nothing of the lamb was to remain until morning; it must be completely eaten or burned with fire, and no bones broken. 

 Reality John 12:31-32: Jesus says that "he will draw all judgment unto himself as he is lifted up" on the cross. Jesus became all our sins -- completely gone/redeemed! Wow! What reality when we choose Christ! Who would want to stay in the shadow of the old covenant? _{[Vs. 31 is talking about judgment, not men; ‘men’ was added]} "Therefore since we have been justified, made as we should be, in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” _{Rom 5.1}

Shadow: The blood on the outside doorposts: "When I see the blood, I will pass over you..." 

 Reality: "But only the high priest entered the Most Holy Place and that only once a year, and never without blood _{(of animals)} which he offered..."_Heb.9:7

"Since we have now been justified, made righteous, by his blood, how much more shall we be saved [sozo*] from God's wrath through him." *Sozo, the Greek word for "saved" means "saved, healed, delivered, blessed, prospered, made whole, set apart..."  

Shadow: Vs.11-14 describes the readiness they were to be in as they ate the roasted lamb: “with loins girded, shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand”-READY-prepared and anticipating change and deliverance. The Jewish people leaving Egypt the next morning were "ready" to be saved*_sozo, from slavery; ready for a whole new life. Freed from slavery, whole, healthy, blessed according to Psalm 105:37: "Moses brought out Israel laden with silver and gold and from among their tribes no one faltered."      _{[No diseases, none lame, sick or too old to walk!]}

Reality: Let us also be Ready, as we partake of this "Passover memorial. Ready to acknowledge, and walk in, all that we have been given in Christ our Savior. "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." _{1Jn 4:17}  Today when we partake of the blood of Christ as a memorial, communion, should we also be ready? What are you ready for?

Shadow AND Reality "Jesus took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, saying, "Take, and eat; this is my body. Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, Drink from it, all of you.  This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."  This is the ultimate shadow/type & reality picture!

Hence in Exodus 12:15-20 when it says “seven days you shall eat unleavened bread,” we find I Corinthians 5:7-8 talking about the leaven representing malice and wickedness (iniquity) and unleavened bread representing sincerity and truth.

 May you BELIEVE the reality of the abundant life, in Christ! Walk in the intimacy and Reality of Passover, just as the Israelites walked out of Egypt and through the Red Sea on dry ground. May you not doubt God's NEW Covenant, established with the blood of God's only Son for you! We have soooo much more than Shadow and type! We have Christ - Reality.

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He that believes on him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that does evil hates the light, neither comes to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. _John3:17-19

Relationships: The Epitome of Free Enterprise

or - RISING ABOVE RELIGION

"One of the many differences between religion and true spirituality is the heart. Everything we do should be done from a heart of faith and love. If it is not done from the heart it is usually behavior that is driven to gratify our own senses! As such, our very pursuit of loving relations becomes an exercise in indulgence and self-gratification. That would be enough to wear down the best marriage, but it doesn't stop there. One of the meanest rules of religion is obligation!

     Religion tells you to obey God's Word because you are obligated. When obligation is your motivation corruption is sure to follow. Obedience that emerges from trust in a loving God and trust in the reality that God wants us to have the best leads to a fulfilled life. Obedience that comes from obligation gives birth to dead legalism!

     You may not know this, but the divorce rate is slightly higher among Christians than non-Christians. While there may be many things that play a part in this sad statistic I believe the concept of obligation is a contributing factor. Christians have tendency when there is trouble in the marriage to do one of two things. It seems the first attitude that emerges under pressure is, "You can't leave me; we're Christians." I can't begin to tell you how many times I met with this attitude. Suffice it to say, no one solves relationship conflicts because they are obligated.

     This is why so many believers backslide when their marriage begins to fall apart. They feel that if they stay connected to God He will force them to stay in a bad marriage. They feel trapped and desperate. I'll be sharing how I have helped many couples free themselves from this trap. You'll also discover how I have helped many divorcees gain freedom from guilt and move on with a productive marriage and ministry.

     Relationships are the epitome of free enterprise. In the free enterprise system if you don't provide quality service for your customers they go somewhere else. I am not saying that we should look at our mate and say, "If you don't make me happy I'll find someone who will." But I am saying we should all look at our mate and say, "If I don't do my part to make him/her feel precious and loved someone else will!" In other words, I am going to keep my mate the same way I got her; I'm going to court her for life. I will never develop an attitude that says I'll keep her through obligation. I don't know about you, but my strategy is, "I am going to treat you so well there's no way that you won't wake up every day madly in love with me!" Of course, this is just scratching the surface.” 

Excerpt from Dr. Jim Richards, IMPACT Ministries ‘World Changers’ monthly message – July 2012

[Italics, underlines and bold are mine...]

What is written in the Law? How do you read it?

 "What is written in the law? How do you read it?"

Last week we discussed "How Jesus Interacted with Government" and it was fascinating!  I did not realize how many scriptures there were that detailed his interaction with governmental authorities.  Some of the areas we discussed were: Jesus and the denari - Mark 12:13-17; Jesus and Herod Antipas - Luke 13:31-32; and Jesus with Pontius Pilate, Roman Governor - John 19:10-11.  Seeing and discussing a "traditional view" and an "alternative view" of each passage was very fascinating.

One key we established over and over was: Jesus' purpose and timing for coming to earth was more important to him than governmental authority.  Jesus was always cognitive of his purpose [John 12:30-33].  We just touched on the story of the temple tax and the fish with a shekel in it's mouth...yikes, LOTS there!  We didn't have time to discuss Matthew 10:16-18 and Mark 8:15 either.

This Saturday, July 7th we will be finishing this discussion with a look at Roman's 13 via a Traditional viewpoint and an Alternative interpretation. [Remember Jesus' question to the lawyer in Luke 10:26? See title above]   
Homework = read Roman's 13.  Some questions to ponder: What does Roman's 13 say to you?  Does your view/interpretation line up with the rest of scripture?  

• Please join us Saturday, July 7th, 4:30pm @ Chuck and Mimi's house.  Call or email for directions. Email address is on the website.

Life without a Cell Phone Camera

Life without a Cell Phone Camera

As I have been filtering what I am reading, hearing and living thru the Gospels picture of how Jesus treated people, I was reminded yesterday about "fear".

An exceptional quality, subtly displayed through the gospels, is the accessibility of Jesus to: rich and poor; young and old; important or common; wise or foolish; sick or healthy; sinner or saint; friend or stranger.  He was not intimidating!  He did not inspire or incite fear in people - of all types and stripes.  This is a big key in the 'New Covenant/Old Covenant puzzle.  He even said "If you've seen me you've seen the Father." (John 14:9)  That seems to be a very purposeful portrait...for people without a cell phone camera, and especially for us today.

The Old Testament seemed to emphasize "fearing the Lord" but Jesus deliberately deleted the word 'fear' when He quoted Deuteronomy 6:13 and 10:20 in Matthew 4:10.  He replaced 'fear' with worship.  He emphasized "peace" up to his very last words on earth.  Fear and peace just don't mix.  They are impossible to hold in the heart together.

The Gospel of Peace, God's "Good News", rejects fear as being viable for a Peaceful, Abundant Life.  Are you comfortable with that picture of God?  Romans 2:4 says, "It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance." 
What a fun study this has been! Join us on Saturday afternoons, 4:30, at the Young's house for fun, fellowship and discussions that affect how we live.

Jesus and the Rule of Law

Jesus and the Rule of Law

What do you think about the new rules, laws and statutes that are coming out in various states [Pennsylvania, New York, etc.] concerning charity, feeding the homeless, or giving food away to those in need? Or having a lemonade stand, buying giant soft drinks, or hosting a bake sale? How will you respond?  Do you embrace rules or flout rules? Do you decide whether or not you will obey rules; or do you believe every law is a mandate for obedience?  Can our faith affect our views, decisions and actions to the point of disobeying?

Jesus was without sin and he kept all the law, yet the Pharisees and Sadduccees were very irate with Jesus and felt that he broke their laws and disregarded their rule of law. He healed on the Sabbath!! That was a very important Jewish law - just one of over 600 laws of the Talmud. He forgave blatant sinners and joined them for dinner... not something we think is sooo dangerous, today, yet the religious and political establishment were furious.

Join us for our discussions about how Jesus treated people. After all, that's what rules, manners, laws are all about: how to treat people!  We are currently meeting every Saturday afternoon: 4:30-6:30 pm.

How Jesus Treated Sinners, Continued

How Jesus Treated Sinners...Continued

Based on our discussion last week, this appears to be a very relevant subject!  We only managed to discuss one out of the three scenarios we had planned..."the Samaritan woman at the well" and we had lots of discussion!  So today we will be discussing "the woman who anointed Jesus' feet".  I will attempt to post the lesson from last week here.  "Attempt" is the operative word.  

Blessings on you all - Chuck & Mimi

"Christ in you, the hope (expectation of good) 

of glory" (God's view and opinion...of YOU)  Colossians 1:27

 

Jesus and the Woman at the Well

John 4:1-43

In the first century, in Jewish culture [and many other cultures-if not all] women were usually treated as second class citizens with few of the rights men had.  Jesus crossed those barriers.  Jesus treated all people with equal respect.  [As a non-Jew, Luke possibly was more sensitive to other “outsiders” and he records five events involving women that are not mentioned in the other Gospels.]

BACKGROUND:  Read John 4:1-6

The story of the Samaritan woman meeting Jesus, around noon, at a well, which Jacob had given₁ his son Joseph, is only recorded in the Gospel of John.  Jesus’ choice to take a shortcut to Galilee through Samaria₃ reveals a mindset very different from his Jewish culture.  Samaritans were a hated “mixed” race of Jews₄ who had intermarried with the Assyrians when the northern kingdom of Israel had been captured.  The pure Jews felt the Samaritans had betrayed their people and the nation. _{[Bridge Over River Kwai -principle vs. expediency?]} The Samaritans had set up an alternate center for worship on Mt Gerizim₅ to parallel the temple at Jerusalem, but it had been destroyed 150 years earlier.  5[Mt. Gerizim: _{Joshua after crossing Jordan separated the people at the foot of two mountains: Gerizim “Mt. of Blessing” and Ebal-“Mt of Cursing” ... revealing keepers of law & breakers of law.]}

Note: Why did Jesus leave Judea? _{[We will revisit with “how Jesus treated the Religious.”]} 

RELEVANCE for TODAY: Read John 4:7-9

Meeting a ⁶Samaritan ⁷woman no less, and a⁸known sinner ⁹in a public place…what was Jesus thinking?  No respectable Jewish man would talk to such a woman under such circumstances. 

What are our parallels today? __________

UP CLOSE & PERSONAL:   Read John 4:10-26

• Discuss  “Living water” – God is called Fountain of Life _{Psalm 36:9} and the Spring of Living Water _Jer.17:13.

•   Jesus was revealing his identity as Messiah in a gentle way.  How can we be gentle?__________

•   Comparing spiritual functions with physical functions make concepts natural.  How can we use this technique?__________

•   It takes time to understand something that changes the very foundations of your life. Jesus allowed the woman time to _ask_  _questions_ and to put the pieces_ together for herself. What does this require from us?__________

•   When the woman discovered that Jesus knew all about her private life she _changed the  subject.  Why do you think?__________

•   What did Jesus do?  Location vs. attitude.  Jesus brought things back to the heart – _her  deepest   need. How can we do this?_______________

IMPACT of PEER PRESSURE: Read John 4:27-34

•   Surprise … how do you react when surprised?_________

•   What was the “food” Jesus was referring to? _More than Bible study, prayer, and attending church, spiritual nourishment also comes from following God’s leading, helping to bring his work of salvation  to completion. 

•  Nourishment comes by food we take in and also by what we give out!  Science has proven this also. What does this mean to you?_______

SHARING THE GOOD NEWS:  Read John 4:35-43 

•    Do we still “finish God’s work”? _{[John 17:4]} _________

•   How do we participate in Jesus’ work?__________

•  What are some of the pitfalls we face in sharing the Good News ‘wherever’? ______

 Sooooo much more here to discuss!!!

How Did Jesus Treat People?

Talking "theology" is so much more comfortable than talking about reality and our day-to-day character. Does our theology translate into our thoughts and actions and become relevant?

We started out discussing how Jesus treated sinners, and we had a lot of fun looking at Zachaeus and the Rich Young Ruler.  This week we will be exploring the lives of three famous women in the New Testament: the woman who washed his feet with her hair, the woman caught in adultery, and the Samaritan woman he met at the well.  Bring your favorite translation as we look for principles, clues and characteristics of how Christ handled the challenges of people and relationships.  Exploring the parallels in our own lives has helped these "stories" come to life.

Next week, June 9th we will begin examining how Jesus treated the "religious".  Hmm?   And then we'll discuss how Jesus related to believers, friends and his closest confidants. 

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