quote:"But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
In every ordination of the Jewish economy were lesson after lesson of the coming Messiah and how He would give His life for their sins. Before the cross the method God established had involved an innocent lamb. This was the proper and acceptable way to worship God and offer sacrifice for sin. But after the cross this became an abomination. Anyone who offered a lamb as atonement for sin after the cross of Christ was refusing to accept the sacrifice of the True Lamb of God. In this they rejected Christ himself.
Those seeking God in the temple would not find him there any longer. His glory had departed when Jesus pronounced it while on earth. But there would be one there to receive and answer prayers. The same who craved the throne and worship of God in heaven. He would seat himself in the temple of God pretending to be God and demanding worship.
But God had closed that door and no man can open it. But another door was opened that no man can shut. In order to understand the open and shut door we must look at the ministration of Christ. It may be helpful to do a quick review of the Jewish ordinances prior to the cross. They were shadows of the true that would be revealed after the cross.
Jewish Shadows On every other day of the year the Jew would bring a lamb or other acceptable sacrifice to be slain for committed sins. But on one special day of the year was Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. On this special day the sins of the past year were atoned for, wiped away, and forgotten. This was the cleansing of the sanctuary. All the sins for the past year that were represented by the sprinkling of the blood of animals upon the furniture of the sanctuary were symbolically cleansed from the sanctuary and placed upon the Lord's goat which was then slain. This in symbolism and in fact cleansed the sanctuary and thereby the people of all past sins. Anyone who retained unconfessed sin after that day would be cut-off from the people. There would be no more opportunity for confession once that day ended. That represented the end of probation when God's mercy pleads for man no more and Christ takes off His Priestly robes and adorns His Kingly robes in preparation for His return to earth to redeem His own.
Today, we want to be sure to listen for the voice of Jesus and to follow Him wherever He goes. Just as the Jews needed to follow Jesus out of the temple, to the cross, and beyond the resurrection where He ascended to sit at the right hand of the Father, so we too must follow Him in His heavenly ministration on our behalf. We do not want to direct our prayers where He is not. We don't want to be left behind because we failed to follow. Truth doesn't change but its revelation is progressive as demonstrated by the Jewish economy which foreshadowed the cross. Both were present truth in their respective times. But failing to follow Christ as He moves across the barriers could be fatal if we refuse to follow after hearing the call.
Email this page to someone.
