 On the same day (Nisan 10) that every Jewish household was choosing their unblemished, spotless lamb for Passover, God brought Jesus into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey to present His Son as the pure, spotless Lamb of God. Large crowds met Him there and "took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting, 'Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the King of Israel!'" (John 12:13)
Four days later Jesus joined His disciples in an upper room for a Passover Seder. He was being obedient to the Scripture in Exodus 12:14 that says, "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance." At this Last Supper, Jesus told His disciples, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." (Luke 22:15) God's plan was for His people to remember how He set them free from slavery in Egypt. He also knew that through the retelling of the Passover story, a connection would be made that His Son, Yeshua, is the Passover Lamb. He shed His blood that would be applied to the doorpost of our hearts for eternity. The blood of the lambs that was applied to the doorframes of the homes of the children of Israel was for protection from the death of the firstborn. There has always been a battle over the power of the blood. It was Emperor Constantine who legalized Christianity but forbid the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus during Passover. The Church in Rome joined the battle and tried to stamp out Passover and pronounced a curse on Christians who celebrate it. Satan hates Passover because he knows the power of the blood. He also knows that it points to Jesus as being the Passover Lamb. The first time Jesus was introduced this way was by John the Baptist who said, "Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29) On the original Passover night, the head of every household stood at the door of his house with a basin containing the blood of the lamb. He used a hyssop branch to dip into the blood and smeared it on the two doorposts and the lintel over the door. In doing this, he was making the sign of The Cross. The applied blood redeemed each family from the power of the death angel. Deliverance comes by the Cross of Jesus and by His shed blood! At today's Passover feast there are four cups to drink. The first one is called The Cup of Sanctification, which represents the power of the blood to take away sin. The second cup is called The Cup of Judgment. Before drinking this cup, a drop of juice is taken out of it ten times and dropped onto a napkin—one for each plague. We are to remember that by the stripes of Jesus we are healed. The Cup of Redemption is the third one. Jesus said, "This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many." (Mark 14:24 - NKJ) The third cup would become the center piece of communion and spoke of the greater redemption and deliverance that humankind would experience through the forgiveness of sin from the Lamb of God. The final cup is called the Cup of Praise and is the one to remind us to rejoice because of our promised future. Truly, the Passover table was the birthplace of the Communion table. The deliverance of the children of Israel came at the first Passover in the land of Goshen in Egypt. From this Passover table, a nation was born. The Passover table is a place from which one is sent out and the beginning of an annual reset as this is the time that God ordained to be the beginning of a new year on the Hebrew calendar. Yeshua, Jesus, reminds us of His position as the Passover Lamb at the Passover table and draws us into a new year of intimacy with Him. As Israel used the Passover feast to reset their year, Let us remember that God delivered us from the bondage of sin so that we can pursue a more intimate relationship with Him. Praise the Lamb!  Jesus was resolute in His journey toward Jerusalem in the days before Passover would begin. On the way He stopped to visit His friends Lazarus, Mary, and Martha in Bethany. Those who joined Him at the supper given in His honor were about to witness an extravagant act of worship by Mary.
John 12:1-11 describes the scene where Mary brought a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from the essence of nard. This perfume was one of the most expensive substances in the world and came from the Himalayan mountains. The actual common name of the plant is Spikenard. The plant gets its name from the hairy, spike-like roots that were crushed to extract the thick, amber-colored oil. The Bible first introduces us to this perfume in Song of Solomon 1:12. "While the king was at his table, my spikenard sends forth its fragrance." (NKJ) It was truly the fragrance of royalty. To the horror of one of the disciples of Jesus, Judas Iscariot, Mary poured the entire pint of nard on Jesus's feet. Then she wiped His feet with her hair in an act of total submission. During the time in which Jesus lived, guests who came to someone's home in the Middle East would have had their feet washed by household servants. However, the anointing of His feet was an act of selfless love by Mary. Judas expressed his indignation over what he called an extreme waste of money, explaining that the value of the nard (300 denarii or a year's salary) could have been used to help the poor. If we look deeper into the agenda of Judas, we can see that he was the keeper of the money bag for the disciples and freely helped himself to the coins whenever he desired. Jesus explained that Mary's extravagance was appropriate because she was anointing Him for His burial. Jesus went on to say, "You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me." (John 12:8) Sadly, Judas could not understand the act of worship that was being demonstrated before him. Through the book of Revelation, we learn that both God and the devil seek worshipers. The devil had entered Judas as he was preparing to hand Jesus over to the Pharisees in a brief time. On the other hand, Jesus carried the Spirit of the Lord within Him and was worthy of all the worship shown to Him. The central question to ask ourselves is, "Who will we worship?" Pastor Francis Frangipane tells us that, "The enemy has easy access to the soul that is not protected by true worship of the Almighty!" Worship is based upon the reality of God, not circumstances. Francis goes on to say, "Without true worship of God, there can be no victory in warfare." We were created first for God's pleasure. When we come to the end of our lives and go before the judgment seat of God, we will be evaluated by the way we worshiped the Lord. Whatever circumstances surround us, it is crucial for us to be true worshipers of Him. May this Passover season be used for us to move our worship of the One True God to the next level.  There is a picture of an open Torah scroll making rounds on social media that should make us pause and think about God. As demonstrated by this picture, He speaks to us in a multitude of ways that will direct our attention toward Him. At the beginning of Israel's "Operation Lion's Roar" a missile came into Beit Shemesh, in Israel, and killed nine people and injured many more. These people were sheltering in the basement of the town's synagogue. Those who helped clear through the rubble found an open Torah scroll with a shard of metal from the missile that was stuck at the reading for the week.
The Parasha (Torah portion) to be read for that week is called "Zachor," which means remember. This Scripture commands us to remember the attack that Amalek made on the Israelites after they left Egypt. It would have been read on the Sabbath before Purim and comes from Deuteronomy 25:17-19. "Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and cut off all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. When the Lord your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land He is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!" With the placement of the missile fragment directly beneath this Scripture, God was speaking to His people. The missile fragment seemed to be reminding the Jewish people, as they prepared to celebrate Purim, how connected the past is to the present and future. How is this so? Along with the weekly Torah portion, there is also a selected reading from the "Prophets" to be recited in the synagogues. This is called "the Haftarah." It is meant to relate to the Torah portion. The haftarah that connects to Deuteronomy 25:17-19 comes from 1 Samuel 15:2-34. It is the story of King Saul's battle against Amalek and his failure to destroy King Agag as instructed by God. Because Saul spared the life of Agag, years down the road Haman arose and continued the battle against the Jews during the reign of Queen Esther. Haman was a direct descendant of King Agag. (Esther 3:1) However, God always gives us an opportunity to redeem our situations. Just as Haman was a direct descendant of Agag, Mordecai, Queen Esther's guardian, was from Saul's tribe, Benjamin. Therefore, Saul's descendants had the opportunity to accomplish what he failed to do. This uncanny position of the shrapnel from an Iranian missile under the "Parashat Zachor" highlights the importance of doing what God instructs: "Remember," and "Do not forget!" Isn't it interesting that the missile that struck the Torah scroll came all the way from Iran whose name was Persia where the story of Purim took place about 2,500 years ago? God uses every means at His disposal to speak to us and guide us in all truth. Blessed be the name of the Lord!  After crossing the Red Sea, the children of Israel began their journey toward the Promised Land. The route would be through the wilderness where their surroundings required constant miracles for survival. Three days into their trip they began to grumble about lack of water. After finding undrinkable water, Moses called upon the Lord. He was instructed to place a "tree" into the bitter water of Marah. The waters were transformed into sweet, drinkable water. At this spot, God introduced Himself to the Israelites as Jehovah Rapha, "The Lord Who Heals You." From Marah, the Lord led them to an oasis called Elim or "The place of great trees." Not only were there twelve springs of water but also seventy date palm trees. Scripture says, "So they camped there by the waters." (Exodus 15:27) What a miraculous encouragement!
I thought back on this section of Scripture this week as I looked at pictures of the desert in Israel today. Normally, the expansive southern portion of Israel, known as the Negev, is characterized by brown, rocky, and rugged mountains because there is so little rainfall and sparse vegetation. However, the rainy season that comes during the winter months brings the desert to life. This year there were uncharacteristically heavy rains that transformed the wilderness into a vibrant landscape of green ground cover sprinkled with a plethora of flowers. Psalm 126:4 invites us to compare the wilderness seasons of our lives to the transforming landscape that comes about when the wadis or dry riverbeds of the desert overflow with water after the rains. The water brings what seems like instant life to the desert, and pictures how our lives can be transformed from barren and desolate places into those of hope and renewal. The children of Israel were returning to Zion after years in captivity and sang out, "Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like streams in the Negev." The Desert show in the Negev is so spectacular this year that many travelers have been drawn to the region to witness the amazing transformation of the landscape. Portions of this desert were inaccessible to the people because of the Hamas-initiated war on October 7, 2023. So, it is with great joy that the people of Israel have returned to look at the spectacle of beauty that speaks of hope to them. The God who makes the flowers grow in such harsh conditions is also the God who will help them triumph over adversity. Those who live in the Negev celebrate the spectacle of flowers with a yearly festival called Darom Adom. It is named for Israel's national flower, the red anemone, or Kalanit in Hebrew, which means "The Red South." For about six weeks while the desert blossoms, there is a period of time when the hills are covered with a carpet of red anemone. Among the sea of red, one can also spot white iris, yellow mustard, and purple lupines. The transformation of the desert is truly a spectacle to celebrate that draws our attention to the God of creation—Elohim. This amazing display of God's glory on earth recalls His promise from Isaiah 35, verses 1 and 2. "The Desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God." We too can blossom as we ask for the water of God's Spirit to be poured upon us. Hallelujah!  The prophetic significance of this time in history must not be missed. A "blood moon" or total lunar eclipse is expected to occur on March 3, 2026. I believe it is no accident that this will happen on the Jewish holiday of Purim. When the earth passes between the sun and a full moon it blocks the direct sunlight and casts a reddish shadow on the moon's surface.
Many in the prophetic circles see the blood moon as a symbol of judgment against the enemies of Israel. Isn't it fascinating that on Saturday morning both the United State and Israel began a joint military operation against Iran, which used to be called Persia? This campaign will be continuing through Purim. The blood moon is seen as a sign from God that He is intervening in the affairs of the Middle East, and that He will turn against the evil forces surrounding Israel. It is also a signal from God for the Jewish people to return to Him. How remarkable it is that Israel and the United States joined forces to strike the Iranian regime and remove it! When we look at the story of Esther in the Bible, we are reminded that Haman's plot to destroy the Jews in the Persian empire was destroyed on Purim. There was a complete reversal of the decree by Haman, the evil second in command to the King of Persia. That gave the Jews the upper hand. Could this be happening again for the Christians and small Jewish population in Iran? The United States calls their battle against Iran "Epic Fury," while Israel calls theirs "Operation Lion's Roar." It appears like the Lion of the Tribe of Judah is roaring with epic fury against the evil regime in Iran and that they are being removed. This will be a time of mixed emotions for the people of Iran. There have been many casualties to their communities over the years. However, at the same time, the Christian community, called the largest underground church in the world, is being set free to worship God without fear of persecution. The small community of Jews remaining in Iran will also be able to worship in their synagogues. The most interesting part of the story of Esther and the Jewish people in Persia is that God is never mentioned in it, yet He is undeniably at work in the affairs of His people. Just as Esther and the Jews trusted God to help them, may the people of Iran, Israel, and the United States rely on His faithfulness. Purim is always celebrated on the 14th and 15th days of the last month on the Hebrew calendar, Adar. Esther's cousin, Mordecai, who had been given the king’s signet ring, sent letters to all the provinces of the king establishing the yearly celebration on these dates. Adar 14 and 15 became days "on which the Jews had rest from their enemies, as the month that was turned from sorrow to joy for them, and from mourning to a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and joy, of sending presents to one another and gifts to the poor." (Esther 9:22 - NKJ) In a post sent out on February 26, Lou Engle Ministries suggested prayer and unified decrees for us that follow:
|
Joan E. MathiasCategories
All
Archives
June 2026
|
RSS Feed