Did I say ~ I probably did at some point but I'll say it again anyway ~ I'm a Language & Lit major. For 3 years they paid me [well sorta] to read the best books around: Shakespeare, Milton, Tennyson...OK, so I didn't like Milton; all my sympathy was for the devil but the general idea was I read & read & read & then I got to talk about what I read. Occasionally I had to put my thoughts on paper but that's like letting me loose in the candy store & saying, 'Have at it, girl.'
The problem with being a Language & Lit major is you read everything the same way: symbolism on jam jar labels, metaphor in train timetables, simile on advertisements. My children think I'm completely loopy.
And then there is the bible.
Oh my!
The bible is a Language & Lit paradise & every major poet draws symbolism from it. God invented symbolism. The bible is rife with it & it is so beautifully constructed the imagery is sustained consistently throughout. In my decrepit age I am finally beginning to understand how the beautiful imagery flows from the old testament into the new.
Now I grew up in a church going family & I read Lewis at a young & tender age. I knew perfectly well who the lamb of God was but I just didn't get why Christ even wanted to be called that. Seriously. I had visions of lamb chops ~ no, not very reverent thoughts but I'd met real lambs & cute & cuddly they are not!
I think I finally get it because I now have the symbolism. How the Church has so forgotten itself I cannot think. To cut away the Jewish roots has deprived the gentile church of an inherent understanding of the pivotal point of the Christian calendar.
So in case you haven't met with the symbolism yet here's some of what I've learnt about what it means for Christ to be the lamb of God.
As the Hebrews were preparing to depart Egypt they marked the lintels of the doorways so that the angel of death would pass them by. Hyssop is a natural antiseptic, the blood of a lamb was used & the symbol formed was that of a cross. Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.
Jesus came into Jerusalem 4 days prior to the Passover. The temple sacrificial lamb was selected 4 days prior to Passover. Jesus came to celebrate the Passover with his disciples. As part of the Passover meal 3 matzohs are put together [father, son, & Holy Spirit]. During the meal the middle matzoh is broken. Remind you of anything? The middle matzoh is also striped & pierced, wrapped in white linen & hidden ~ like Christ. What Christ must have been thinking when he broke that Matzoh, knowing that in just a few hours the symbolism would become reality! Wow!
At 3pm, just as the lamb was being slain in the temple Christ cried out, 'It is finished!' and gave up His spirit. At this point the veil in the temple is rent from top to bottom. It makes more of an impression [on me at least] in the Passover context. The priests must have been having a micky fit! Can you imagine? Seriously. These guys had been hauling Jesus before Herod & Pontious Pilate sprooking how he was blaspheming & threatening Rome then this! They must have been sooo relieved to see his body get dumped in a tomb & the stone rolled into place because the dead don't cause any trouble. Boy, were they in for a rude shock!
After Passover there is Sunday. Now part of the passover celebrations included a ritual grain sacrifice & the Sunday after Passover was the Feast of First Fruits. Christ, the first fruits of the new covenant, rose on Sunday. As the Hebrews were set free from Egyptian bondage at Passover so the Christian is set free from the bondage of sin.
As I grow older & understand God's word more I fall in love with the author & sustainer of Life more & more. As I come into the Easter season this year it is with a better grasp of the spiritual tradition & biblical prophecy that was fulfilled that Friday 2000 odd years ago when God took such care down to the last little detail to show us that this was the lamb of God, the dearly beloved son, to whom we were to listen & follow. Something to meditate on for the week.
10 comments:
Have a Blessed Holy Week. You gave me food for thought, and I thank you for that.
Hag Pesach Sameach, Ganeida. Have a Happy Passover and a Happy Easter.
I used to observe Passover, but it has been years.
It "just so happens" (ha) that in our nightly Bible reading, we've just got to the place where Israel was delivered from Egypt. Good timing, no?
On the day where God's people are to eat broiled lamb, bitter herbs, and unleavened bread, how did we get to the point where we eat ham (of all things!), yeast rolls, and lots of sweets? I'm not saying Christians "have to" observe the Law, but there is a lot we lose when we forget the Law.
We've been teaching each other the significance of the blood of the Lamb bringing freedom, as well as the difference between Easter (Ishtar) and Resurrection Day. Open my eyes, Lord; I want to see Jesus.
MamaO: The law was made for man not man for the law. It was to bless us ~ amongst other things. We loose so much when we ditch it completely instead of seeing that grace fulfils it.
I am about to start a study with Ditz on seeing the Messiah in the O.T that I hope will really be beneficial.
wow, i had no idea of the detail in the symbolism. that is amazingly fascinating... thanks so much for sharing all that. and where oh where can i read more??
Britwife: You're welcome. :)
Sandra: Thank you, m'Dear ~ especially as I think it is wonderful of you to perserve through posts like this when you don't believe.
Diane: the people who put out Considering God's Creation also put out Celebrating our Messiah in the festivals. I ordered this nearly 6 months ago & it has only just arrived. The book is fully 2 1/2" thick on A4 paper! It looks at all the O.T festivals & how Jesus is in them ~ games, activities, songs, poems, prayers, readings *recipes* [;)] ~ I am seriously going to enjoy this sooo much though I think Ditz will roll her eyes. She needs to know this stuff though. We all do.
girl, i think i *need* that curriculum!
But I used to be Jewish! I guess I still am, but not in religion, just culture and that is tempered by my Irish mother's influence!
I know about this stuff. No place like Judaism for tradition. Shalom alaichem.
Sandra! I was starting to think you might be Jewish! ;) I know where to come when I get stuck & want clarification. You can put me straight & tell me what a Klutz I am.
Oh...this was an awesome post...
We've just been put through Leviticus at church and it was interesting how the speaker introduced some of the chapters to us as a "model" of the big picture. (actually, he used the image from the tv show "The Goodies" of the giant kitty terrorising London to get his point across but that's another story...lol)
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