in memoriam
February 24, 2009
This weekend at church, Brandon and I got to be regular ole’ church goers. It was fantastic. We did not have to think once about time limits or vocal lines, all the things that can so easily fill your head when you lead worship. We were just worshippers. Rick spoke about the blood of Jesus. He talked about how the priests who went into to the holy of holies unclean often dropped dead and were pulled out by their ankles.
I thought of how unapproachable God’s holiness is by our fallen selves. It’s like I could see, as another priest dropped dead, God saying “I can’t stand this separation. I can’t stand that my people can’t come near to Me because of their sins. I made them so I could be with them. And even the men I have chosen to make the acceptable sacrifices cannot get it right. So I will give myself. I will allow them to kill my Son. It is the only sacrifice that will open the door to all my people once again.”
What a gift.
2 Cor. 5:21He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
So funny you write about this….this weekend I thought a lot about the temple veil being torn after Jesus’ death. God wasted no time in showing His eagerness to be close to us by literally ripping the separation away as soon as His Son had been offered…awesome.
Hebrews 7, 23-28
23The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, 24 but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. 25 Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
26 For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 28 For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever.