“Ministry is done for those who are tired and need satisfaction by those who are tired and satisfied.”
Pastor Dale
Last Sunday’s sermon was over a familiar passage, Matthew 26:26-28:
26Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. [ESV]
When Jesus hands his disciples the cup, he instructed them to drink it and he described it as “my blood of the covenant.” The liquid in the cup was not transformed into blood. Jesus was simply saying that this cup represents his blood which he was about to shed in order to accomplish salvation with all of its benefits, for his people. When we gather together on Sunday, we, twice a month generally, remember what Christ has done for us by dying on the cross. This ordinance of the Lord’s Supper or Communion has many, many purposes but at its center it causes us to look back to what Christ has accomplished and it centers our present reality and future orientation as well, and this is captured nicely in the apostle Paul’s phrase, “you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Cor. 11:26)
The application of the blood of Jesus to the believer both liberates and consecrates. Two primary passages are found in the Old Testament and are quite unusual. In both these passages, blood is physically applied to the right ear lobe, to the right thumb, and to the right big toe. Here are the texts:
And he shall kill the lamb of the guilt offering. And the priest shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering and put it on the lobe of the right ear of him who is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. [Lev. 14:25]
Then he presented the other ram, the ram of ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram. And he killed it, and Moses took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot. Then he presented Aaron’s sons, and Moses put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. [Lev. 8:22-24]
The first passage focuses on cleansing the leper and restoring the formerly ostracized person back into the nation. It’s by Jesus blood that we are liberated (see Zech. 9:9-11, esp. v. 11) and gain entrance into the family of God. And in the second passage, the blood of the ram of ordination, consecrates the sons of Aaron and makes them able to serve the nation. We, too, are only able to serve the family of God because the blood of Jesus has cleansed and consecrated us for this. Today, may your hearing, your working, and your walking, be radically different because of the blood of Jesus.
Have a blessed week and we hope to see many of you on Sunday. D. V.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Dale
