Sunny Thoughts from Sunset 4-13
By Rev. Vance Drum
The Sunset church had a wonderful Palm Sunday service, followed by a delicious fellowship dinner. Lots of visitors were present, for whom we thank the Lord. Our Music Director Jerry Hinson sang the beautiful, “When He was on the Cross, I was on His Mind.”
We look forward to resurrection day Easter Sunday, April 16. The Sunset pastor will bring the message at the 7:00 a.m. Sunrise Service at Percilla Community Church. Felders Chapel will bring some special music, and the Percilla church will provide breakfast refreshments at 8:00.
We hope you’ll be able to join us.
The Sunset pastor on Palm Sunday continued our “Covenant” series with a message, “A Covenant Sealed in Blood.” The text was from 1 Corinthians 11:25: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood….”
The pastor made three points: (1) Thursday’s Last Supper; (2) Good Friday; and (3) The New Covenant in My Blood.
(1) Thursday’s Last Supper. During this week, on Thursday night, the night in which Jesus was betrayed, he was with the Twelve in an upper room in Jerusalem. He shared with his disciples the Passover meal, which celebrated the liberation of the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt, many years earlier.
Each Israelite family had killed a Passover lamb, roasted and ate it in preparation for their long exodus journey the next day.
The family put the blood of the lamb on the doorpost of their house, so that the plague of the death of the first-born would not come to their house.
In the Last Supper — later called the Lord’s Supper in v20 — Jesus ate this annual Passover meal, and in it he said new words, never before spoken at a Passover meal (Matthew 26): “This is my body, and, This is my blood…which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
The Passover lambs and the exodus from slavery were pictures of Jesus, the coming Passover lamb and our exodus from the bondage of sin. John had said, when he saw Jesus coming toward him (John 1), “Look, the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
(2) Good Friday. Immediately after the Last Supper, Jesus went out to the Garden of Gethsemane where he prayed. A Roman squadron of soldiers came, and Judas, betraying Jesus with a kiss, left as the soldiers arrested Jesus and took him to the Jewish Supreme Court, the Sanhedrin.
In the wee hours of the morning on Friday Jesus was taken to a second trial before the Roman governor Pilate. Pilate could find no crime in Jesus worthy of death, but he was also unwilling to let Jesus go, so he turned Jesus over to the crowds who had shouted for his crucifixion.
So Jesus, the Lamb of God, was crucified this week in history on what we call Good Friday. It’s called Good Friday because Jesus — the sinless Son of God — died for us — for you and me.
(1 Peter 2): “He bore our sins in his body on the tree.”
2 Corinthians 5: “God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.”
Isaiah 53 (700 BC): “All we like sheep have gone astray, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Paul (1 Corinthians 15): “Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures.”
He took our sins upon himself, paying a debt he did not owe because we owed a debt we could not pay.
(3) The New Covenant in My Blood. V25, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.” Jesus did no wrong; all our sins were on him.
It is good news that we do not have to rely on our good works to be right with God. Jesus was holy; he took our place on Calvary’s cross on Good Friday. Praise the Lord, and trust in Him.
“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” [Psalm 118:22]
May Jesus the Lamb of God be your Savior today — our prayer for you from your friends at Sunset Christian Church.