Emy Oliveros

The significance to us of drinking Jesus' blood and eating his flesh, is that according to His word: we have eternal life, we will be raised up at the last day and as we abide in Him, He abides in us. Besides it is such a remarkable and powerful image that we need to remember what it takes to be forgiven of our sins through His sacrificial death on the cross. Truly we have been bought with the price of His life. Thanks be to God! That act signifies our feeding on Him so that we will live because of Him. It was a radical idea for Jesus' disciples because as Jews, they were prohibited from drinking blood. For them, "it is a 'hard saying', they cannot understand it." It is a radical idea for us if we cannot understand the Lord's Supper ourselves. First Corinthians 2:14, "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." We need to have the mind of Christ.

The Jews were instructed to celebrate the Passover annually to celebrate and commemorate God redeeming them from slavery in Egypt. And so by Jesus' day, Passover was to be celebrated only within the precincts of Jerusalem which caused the city to be jam-packed with pilgrims from all over the known world during this season. The elements of the Passover meal were the unleavened bread, bitter herbs, fruit puree and the paschal lamb. Each element of the meal was blessed and then commented upon by the head of the household. With the Christians, it is called the Lord's supper wherein we remember what Jesus had done on the cross as the Lamb of God sacrificed for the sins of the world. It's one of the ordinances of the church, and we celebrate in the church not just annually but as often as you want to remember His sacrifice made for us. And can be done any place as you find appropriate for the occassion. Praise the Lord! The elements used are the bread which symbolizes the body of Christ and the wine, the blood of the covenant, which was poured out for the forgiveness of sins. Each element of the meal is also blessed and then commented upon by the minister.

The lambs on the first Passover protected the families of God's people when some of the blood were put on the sides and tops of the doorframes of their houses where they are and so when the Lord went through the land to strike down the Egyptians, He saw the blood on the top and sides of the doorframes and He passed over that doorway and did not permit the destroyer to enter their houses and strike them down. The primary point of comparison between the first Passover lambs and what Christ did for us as our Passover Lamb is that they were both sacrificed and were made substitutes. The Passover lambs substituted for the firstborn males and animals in the household of the Hebrews and the Lord passed over them. Christ, as our Passover Lamb was a substitute for us sinners, rather than us taking the punishment for our sins He offered Himself for the remission of our sins, and we have peace with God.

We've been set free or released from slavery to sin when through Jesus' sacrifice and our acknowledgement of Him as our personal Lord and Savior, we have been forgiven of our sins. God 'erased the record that stood against us with its legal demands. Hallelujah!!!!!!! We can never please God by trying to obey God's law by our own flawed effort, but rather by learning to live in the power of the Holy Spirit. "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord. God bless you all!

For me, I Peter 2:21-25 best sums up the lessons of Isaiah 53. I Peter 2:21-25 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow His steps. He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth. When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate, when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. The reason why I chose this passage is because it tells me what Jesus had done for me to set me free from the slavery of sin through His dying on the cross and what are the things He had given me to enjoy as a result of my return to Him as the Shepherd and Overseer of my soul. Since He already had left an example, I as a believer should now follow in His steps. I have to decide now to live like a believer, saved by the Lamb who took away the sins of the world, by faith and not by my own good works but by the grace of God. Amen!!!!

According to the slave-ransom analogy, we are the slaves. We are enslaved by our empty way of life. Jesus, the Lamb of God offers the ransom. The ransom is not paid to Satan because he is not the legitimate owner of sinful people, he just keeps them in darkness and holds them in His deceitful power. The slave-ransom analogy isn't spelled out completely in the New Testament because the writers didn't carry the analogy that far. And besides we are slaves to sin, ransom can't be paid to anybody not even to Satan.

In the New Testament world, slaves were freed by payment of a redemption price or a ransom. Jesus, Peter, and Paul used this analogy in this week's theme verses for a reason that a slave is to be redeemed by payment of a ransom price and so as with Christians, with the only difference that we were not redeemed from the empty way of life with perishable things such as silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish or defect. Glory to God! It does help explain about the Christian life that we are not our own anymore, we were bought at a price - therefore we must honor God with our bodies.

'You are not your own, you were bought with a price'. This principle should be applied by us, the disciples, by honoring God with our bodies. Paul said in I Cor. 6:18: 'Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. It is God's will first and foremost that needs to be obeyed in our lives, since now God owns us - let Him be our Master and let us not again become slaves of men and of our own lustful desires.

God's provision of animal sacrifice expressed His being merciful in a way that the Jews were forgiven of their sins and they were able to once again approach Him. God's mercy is there when, say, a person although he doesn't deserve it, God gives it anyway. No, animal sacrifices were not adequate to atone for human sin. Hebrews 10:4 says, "for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins." As you have said, a "lesser" animal cannot really substitute for the "greater" human being. And that man needs someone greater than himself to actually atone for and do away with sin. In their case during the Old Testament times, it is still about to come but for us He already had come...Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Hallelujah!

God intended animal sacrifice to teach us that sin must be atoned for and can never be done through our own good works but with something that God had provided for us to be able to approach a holy God by His grace. In the Old Testament, it is the blood of the sacrificed animal that makes atonement for one's life. God is holy and sin has separated man from a holy God. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. We must be at-one or reconciled with God to be able to enter into the Holy of Holies...into His presence. About God's nature? "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

Anger is an appropriate response to sin because we have a holy and righteous God who hates sin but not the sinner. And people seeks to pull down God to its level which is not right. To sin is to miss the mark; it is disobedience to God and if we regard sin in our hearts, God will not hear us. Anger at sin is not being angry with the person himself but on how he opens and allows himself to be used by the schemes of the enemy. Capricious or uncontrolled anger is acting merely out of anger without logic or any good reason at all maybe because of pride or just to save face. Anger that brings about justice is something that does not leave the guilty unpunished and taking into consideration what the Word of God says about the matter.

Anger is an appropriate response to sin because we have a holy and righteous God who hates sin but not the sinner. And people seeks to pull down God to its level which is not right. To sin is to miss the mark; it is disobedience to God and if we regard sin in our hearts, God will not hear us. Anger at sin is not being angry with the person himself but on how he opens and allows himself to be used by the schemes of the enemy. Capricious or uncontrolled anger is acting merely out of anger without logic or any good reason at all maybe because of pride or just to save face. Anger that brings about justice is something that does not leave the guilty unpunished and taking into consideration what the Word of God says about the matter.

Hello there! I am Emy Oliveros, a Filipino who is right now working in Israel. Just came back from an all-night praise and worship gathering of mostly Filipino brethren (abt. 700+) and with a few foreign guests in a hotel at the Mt. of Olives. Praise the Lord! God is doing great and mighty things in our midst. This is my second study with Ptr. Ralph but I wasn't that active. Hope I will be able to participate more this time. I am an elder of one Filipino church here in Israel and just hunger and thirst for more of God. Thank you and God bless you!

Gideon influenced Israel during his lifetime by means of his strong leadership and by being favored by God. The positive continuing effect of his leadership as judge was that Israel was able to enjoy peace for forty years and they had become strong spiritually and militarily. That's because he put God above himself even when the people asked him to rule over them. He was able to hear and obey from God and I pray I may learn to hear and obey God in my life.