Mark 14:1-26 Jesus, our amazing rescuer!

Mark 14:1-26

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How many of you watched Usain Bolt win the 100m sprint in the Olympics. Imagine all the preparation that went into those a little less than 10 seconds. Hours and hours of practice, of discipline. Carefully planning your food, your training. Keeping yourself healthy. All for a sub-10 second burst.

That’s what we’re seeing here. Everything has lead up to these moments. And so just like in the Olympics when the race is broadcast again in slow motion so we can capture all the details, so Mark slows down his gospel. Chapters 1-13 cover about 3 years of Jesus life. These next 3 capture the last 3 days. Mark goes into (for him) slow motion so we can capture all the detail of these last couple of days of Jesus’ life here on earth. From his anointing for burial to his last meal with his disciples, to his sham (fake) trials, and to then the reason he came, his 100 metre sprint: his display of Kingly service on the cross as he dies for sinners like us. And then to the shock revelation when the tomb is found empty. This is what Mark wants us to hear, to understand, to believe, and in believing, have life. Remember how he began: This is the Good News (gospel) about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.

Three points tonight:

1. Jesus is our Messiah

2. Jesus is our Passover Lamb

3. Jesus is our Sovereign Lord

1. Jesus is our Messiah (anointed one)

3 Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head.

Three days before his death Jesus has an alabaster jar of perfume poured on his head. This is called “anointing” – you see the word there in v8 She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time.

To anoint something means to pour oil on it to set it apart for special or holy use. It was an Old Testament symbol, a sign that this person or this thing was holy, given over to God. Three types of people were anointed in the Old Testament: Kings (2 Sam 2:4 “the men of Judah anointed David king over the people”), Priests were anointed (Ex 29:7 “Then anoint [Aaron as priest] by pouring the anointing oil over his head”), and Prophets were anointed (1 Kings 19:16 “anoint Elisha ...to replace you as my prophet”).
The anointing symbolised being equipped for service by the Holy Spirit. King, priests and prophets were anointed, set apart to serve God in the power of the Spirit.

Now there might be a little question ringing in your head – wasn’t Jesus already anointed? And yes he was.
Mk 1:9–11 One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. 10 As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

At his baptism Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit as King, Prophet and Priest. Revealed to be the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One. King – remember Jesus says 1:15 “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”. The Kingdom is near because the King is here.
Prophet – the one who brings God’s word. 1:38 “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.”
And he is Priest – the one who represents the people to God. Remember that’s why he was baptised. Baptism was for sinners – so why did Jesus with no sin need to be baptised? In order to be one of us. To identify fully with us as sinners as he prepares to take our sin upon himself.

7 You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time.

The role of the priest was to offer sacrifices to God, to mediate (make clear the way) between sinful man and holy God. Jesus is not just the priest, but also the sacrifice. He himself will pay the price for sinful people like you and me to come to God. Did you notice his words: she has anointed his body for burial. He is preparing to die. This is why he came.

And to tie in to last week, this is the reason why the Temple will fall. Because of Christ it is no longer necessary. The stone Temple will fall because Jesus is now the true meeting place between man and God. He is priest, sacrifice and temple!

9 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”

And so it is. Here we discuss what she did: reminding us and those with him that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ. He is King, prophet, and Priest. He is sacrifice and temple. It reminds us of his baptism: only sinners need to be baptised - for baptism is a washing away of sin, dying to sin under the water and rising again to new life out of the water – and just as Jesus identified with our sin in his baptism, so now he completes that work of baptism by taking the penalty of our sin upon himself. His body will be broken, his blood shed, to break the power of sin over us, to set us free, to achieve the real Exodus: bringing his people from slavery to sin under the power of Satan to a new freedom in (ultimately) a new earth under his good kingly rule.

Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed one, God’s promised rescuer, and our King, our Prophet, and our Priest. Amen!

And he is our sacrifice, indeed, our Passover Lamb.

2. Jesus is our Passover Lamb

12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go to prepare the Passover meal for you?”

Mark reminds us of the PASSOVER and the threat of Jesus death immediately in v1 It was now two days before Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. Then he is anointed for his burial. Then v12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed
v14 where shall I eat the Passover meal, v16 Passover meal

Ok, ok Mark, we get it! Remember that there was no bold or underline in the original manuscripts. So the way the authors could get our attention is to repeat things! So quite clearly the Lord God, through Mark, is saying we need to pay attention to the Passover.

It is just two days before the Passover, just two days before the Jews remembered God’s incredible rescue of them from slavery in Egypt, where the angel of death came over the whole country – but everyone who sacrificed a perfect lamb and put its blood on their doorposts were saved. When death saw the blood he passed over.

And Jesus deliberately echoes the Passover so that we can understand what is going on here.
22 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it, for this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many.

He takes the bread and breaks it. The bread would have been unleavened bread, that is flat bread, bread without yeast. It is bread you can make in a hurry, if you have to leave quickly. The Israelites were to make flat bread in preparation of the sudden call to leave Egypt, that very night. Judgment would fall on the Egyptians, and the Israelites would be set free.

And Jesus takes this flat bread and says “this bread, this symbol of God’s great rescue from slavery – this is my body.”
It is an outrageous statement to make.

And he follows it up with an even bigger one: “this wine, this is my blood, poured out as a sacrifice”. I am the sacrifice. I will be poured out. For I am the one who will rescue you from death. I am the true Lamb, leading the true Exodus. Not rescue from slavery in Egypt, but slavery from sin. Not just salvation to the promised land of Israel, but salvation to heaven itself. And not just rescue from physical death, but rescue from spiritual death. This is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people.

Jesus is about to be sacrificed in order to fulfil the covenant (promise) God has made with mankind.
First with Adam: Jesus is the second Adam, the perfect son of God, righteous, sinless human. As Adam sinned and so condemned us – so Jesus will die in our place and save us.
Then Noah: Jesus is the Ark of rescue from the flood of judgement to come. On the last Day we will be safe from God’s judgement in Christ.
Then the promise to Abraham: Jesus is the descendant of Abraham come to bless all nations. Just look around! We’re from many nations.
And Moses: Jesus is the perfect Law-keeper, and the Prophet like Moses, bringing God’s life-giving wor.
And David: Jesus is the righteous, eternal, King. Just as was promised David: your descendant shall rule forever.

Jesus is the YES! to all God’s promises.

He is the Passover Lamb. He is our saviour.

In fact, he has always been the saviour. We’ll be reminded of Exodus again and again through the coming weeks as we look at these final chapters of Mark. The Exodus, the great miraculous rescue of a million people from slavery to a new home, was a mere shadow compared to what Jesus is achieving here. This is the real Exodus. Throughout time and history Jesus’ blood powers his mercy. Each time God relents from judgement: Jesus’ blood is there. Each time we see God meeting with sinful people: Jesus’ blood is there. Even the Exodus itself is only possible because of the blood of Jesus. The blood of lambs could not take away the guilt of the people! No, it was the blood of the true Passover Lamb, Jesus, shed 1500 years later, that washed away their guilt and spared them from the judgement on the Egyptians. God had told them what they needed to do to be rescued, and they placed their faith in his word, acting accordingly, sacrificing the lambs – and God saw their faith, and counted it to them as righteousness, covering their sins through the blood of the Son.

So the disciples meet to celebrate the passover, while the real Passover is taking place at that moment. Interestingly, the Passover meal consists of bread, wine…and a lamb. But there is no lamb mentioned here in this passage. Perhaps it is to make clear that the sacrificial lamb who will be slain is seated in front of them.

Jesus is our Passover Lamb.

3. Jesus is our Sovereign Lord

25 I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.” 26 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives. 27 On the way, Jesus told them, “All of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say, ‘God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ 28 But after I am raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.”

Jesus was not some poor victim of circumstances outside of his control! He himself had planned this, with his Father and Spirit, united in purpose and love to rescue sinful humanity, and bring glory to the Godhead. All praise be to God! Such love that drives Jesus willingly to the cross.
We’re reminded time and again that Jesus is doing this by choice. Did you notice verse 16? 16 So the two disciples went into the city and found everything just as Jesus had said

And 18 As they were at the table eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you eating with me here will betray me.” 19 Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one?” 20 He replied, “It is one of you twelve who is eating from this bowl with me. 21 For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”

All is prepared beforehand. God is sovereign over all things, all events – even Judas. 21 For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. Whatever motivated Judas to act: greed, frustration, hatred - we don’t know. But even he in his evil is serving God’s purposes. Jesus must be betrayed. Jesus must die. But does God’s sovereign purpose mean that Judas has no free will – that he is not respinsble for what he’s done. Can Judas say “without my betrayal, there would be no cross. You needed me, you made me do it, therefore you owe me”. No! 21 For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”

Judas is responsible for his decision – as are we responsible for the decisions we make. God is fully sovereign, knowing our thoughts before we think them, preparing the way of the Son before the dawn of time – and our decisions are real decisions, with real consequences. So beware how you respond to Jesus. Don’t be like Judas, rejecting the King, for you too will hear “woe to you, it would be better if you were never born”.
Instead, fall at his feet like the woman 2000 years ago, worshipping him with costly worship. Because we have been rescued, set free, by him. Jesus bore our sin on the cross. It is gone.

Respond rightly. Because Jesus is the sovereign King.

And Be comforted, for Jesus is the SOVEREIGN King. Evil cannot thwart God’s plans. You cannot jump out of His hands. Nothing would stop Jesus from his great work on the Cross. He completed that work. Our Passover Lamb dying in our place, his blood covering all who place their faith in him. Hallelujah!

And now history moves deliberately toward his return. The Return of the King, the great day when the veil over our eyes will be torn away, and we will see reality as it truly is, the great King Jesus upon the eternal glorious throne.

Jesus is the Sovereign king.

There are two impossible applications, one for non-Christians, the other for Christians

One is to reject Jesus. To say that’s fine, Jesus did all that, but I’ll take my chances by myself. That’s the impossible application from this passage. This should drive you to repent, not to follow Judas. It ended badly for him – he hanged himself, and his insides burst open. Not a great end – but the spiritual end is even worse. Be warned.

The other impossible application – for Christians - is to live like I am the Passover Lamb. To live like I bear my sin. To live in guilt and fear. To believe that I can fall out of God’s hands at any moment, that his sacrifice was not sufficient to bring me to glory. That’s the impossible application.

Instead, let us rejoice and sing. Let us thank God. Let us shout aloud to the God of our salvation! Let us praise him in our hearts and minds every minute of every day. We are set free! He has rescued us! All praise to the Christ, King!

All praise to our Messiah, our rescuer, our Passover Lamb, and our Sovereign King. Praise Jesus, Lord of All! Amen.

Exodus 12:21-51 The Passover: the glorious Cross of Christ

Exodus 12:21-51

On the day that Jesus rose from the dead, two disciples of Jesus, Cleopas and his brother, walked along the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, a small town a day’s journey away. On the way, they met a man who asked them why they looked so downcast. The man was Jesus, but they did not recognise him. They spoke with grief about the death of Jesus, and that they had hoped he was the Messiah. They said that his tomb was now empty - but they did not understand what this meant.

Jesus’ reply astonished them. Luke 24:25 Then Jesus said to them, “How foolish you are! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. 26 Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” 27 Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

32 They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”

Well, as we look at this prophetic part of the Law, as Moses’ writings were called, may the Lord cause our hearts to burn as we see the cross of Christ in all its glory: our God, who sent his son to be our substitionary sacrifice – a sacrifice in our place. He took our place in death, taking the blow of death so that he could give us life. This sacrifice was costly. It was efficious (it worked). And leads to eternal glory.

You see, the Passover, as great and dramatic as it is, is nothing but a shadow of the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The reason for the Passover is so that we can understand the Cross better. So that we can see what Christ has done for us. Even at this moment, God had in his mind’s eye the Cross – the final great ultimate rescue of his people from slavery to sin, the Son paying the cost, so that we could go free – truly free, free to serve God and glorify him forever.

That’s what the Passover is truly about. That’s why movies such as the Prince of Egypt or the upcoming Exodus: gods and kings are not Christian movies. Because they may tell the Exodus story, but they miss what it means, its significance. They miss Christ. And as Christ himself said “all Scripture is about me”

1. You cannot escape from death

In Exodus we have at last come to the final and most dreadful of judgements. Egypt’s unrepentance, their refusal to acknowledge the Lord God of Heaven. They have stood against him despite warning after warning. And now the final blow, the final judgement: death.

Death is the great judgment on us. It is the very proof that we have rebelled against God, and that we have all rebelled.
Fools will tell you that God searches our hearts and finds those who are righteous and saves those – but it is a lie. They may even twist the Bible to make it say that – but it is a lie.
The fact is that no-one is righteous, no, not one. We have all turned away, all rebelled against God. And the proof is that we all die.

There was only one who rose again from the dead and lives forever because he had no sin, because he was righteous. I suppose there is a chance that one of us is sinless – maybe you’re clinging on to that hope. But, I’m sorry to tell you that death will probably catch up with you, just like me, because we’re just not good enough. The standard is Jesus, not “better than those people over there”. So if you’re trusting in your own righteousness you will disappointed in that moment just before you die! Urk! Oh bother, I was wrong!

Death has come because of sin. It is the wages of sin. It is our payment for sin. And there is no escape that we can make. There is no way out that we can find for ourselves. The Egyptians had no way out. Judgement was coming. Darkness lay across the land. There was no way out.

But wait – that’s not entirely true is it? Wasn’t there an area not covered in darkness, not under judgement?
Yes, there was! The Israelite area was in the light. In fact there was a way out for the Egyptians then and there is a way out for us now. But it is not a way that we make for ourselves.

There is a way out of death. And this is it: if someone else dies in your place.

2. Jesus’ costly sacrifice – the Lamb that was slain in your place.

Justice must be done. Rebellion against God is punishable by death. Because God is the source of life – life comes from him, anyone who wants to be “free” from God is actually asking for death. The problem is: we’ve all done it. We’re all guilty. Lived our own lives. Ignored him. Lived as if he were dead. And so justice stalks us. The Grim Reaper awaits.

So how can we be rescued? Who can die in our place? I can’t die in your place because the sentence of death hangs over me. The only one who can die in our pace is someone who is sinless, and who therefore will not die. Only someone who lives forever can die for us. And who would do that?

Mk 15:33–34 At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o’clock. 34 Then at three o’clock Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

And here we see the amazing grace of our Lord. We see it this Christmas as he shrinks himself down to a human baby. As he becomes human – like us – in order to die our death. He goes into the darkness so that we can go into the light. He takes our place so that we can live. He is our substitute. Like the lambs were the substitute for the lives of the Israelites.
His blood covers us and gives us life, as the blood of the lambs covered the doorposts and gave the Israelites life.

23 For the LORD will pass through the land to strike down the Egyptians. But when he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, the LORD will pass over your home. He will not permit his death angel to enter your house and strike you down.

The substitute. For the Israelites, life. But for the lambs – death. This is why John the Baptist cries out in a loud voice “Look, the Lamb of God!” as he sees Jesus, our Saviour. (John 1:29) This is why, in Revelation, the symbol of our Lord Jesus is the Lamb that was slain. He took our place. He protected us from death. He died for you and I.

At what cost?

29 And that night at midnight, the LORD struck down all the firstborn sons in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn son of the prisoner in the dungeon. Even the firstborn of their livestock were killed. 30 Pharaoh and all his officials and all the people of Egypt woke up during the night, and loud wailing was heard throughout the land of Egypt. There was not a single house where someone had not died.

There is deep anguish in death (anguish is overwhelming pain and sorrow). Many of us, probably all of us, have felt the pain of death – a loved one taken from us. You can imagine the pain of the whole country of Egypt as they taste the bitter justice of their rebellion against God. But the anguish of Egyptians - the great wail that is heard – is just a foretaste, a foreshadowing of the anguish of Jesus as he weeps in the garden of Gethsemane. Matt 26:38 He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me. His anguish as he sweats blood crying out “Father, is there any other way?”. And his aguish as the King on the cross crying out “My God my God why have you abandoned me”. It is the great cry of the king surrounded by his enemies. And it is the heart cry of the Son of God facing the judgement of God, tasting death so that we don’t have to. Our lives are won at a high price. It is a costly sacrifice. Costly does not begin to describe it. And how easily we despise it because it cost us nothing. Can you see it? Can you see the Son of God upon the cross, my sin, your sin upon his shoulders.

Because what is the life of a lamb, compared to the life of your first born son? That is what the Israelites had to do – offer up the life of a lamb as a substitute for the life of their son. But that is not a fair trade – the life of the son is worth much much more than the lamb. But for the Lord this little sign of faith is enough, because it points to the substitute of Jesus, the Son of God, for their life and for our lives! He is worth so much more than us, of infinite worth, and yet he died, in our place.

The second verse of the song “How deep the Father’s love for us” by Phillips Craig and Dean sums it up well:

Behold the Man upon a cross, my sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice, call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there, until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life: I know that it is finished

Jesus’ costly sacrifice – he died in your place.

3. It worked – you are free! No longer a slave to sin! No longer under judgement.

“It is finished”. Jesus’ last words on the Cross as he gave his life. His rescue mission was complete. The True Exodus was done. The price was paid. There was forgiveness for sinners.

When Jesus rose from the dead he went to Peter, who had gone back to fishing, a broken man. He was broken because he had betrayed Jesus, denying him publically “I don’t know Jesus!”
So when Jesus found him he said “Peter, you bastard, how dare you betray me! Burn in hell you sinful failure.”
No, he sought him out. He called to him. He spoke gently to him. Ate with him. Restored him. There was forgiveness for the betrayer Peter because Jesus had taken his betrayal and dealt with it on the cross. Peter was free. Jesus just had to help him understand it.
A few months later Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, preached the first sermon on the day of Pentecost, challenging everyone to come to Christ – and 3000 responded. No longer Peter the Betrayer, Peter the Apostle. That is the grace of God.

It is a story we see time and time again in the Bible.

Here we see the people of Israel. A people who responded to God’s word by saying “go away”, who told God’s leaders, Moses and Aaron to leave them alone because “you have made us stink to Pharaoh”. Sinful people of no faith. Yet at the end of this chapter God has rescued them from slavery, made them a people, dealt with their sin so that death has passed over them, and blessed them so abundantly with silver and gold and riches that they could barely carry it all!

This is our God.

They were no longer slaves, doomed to a life in Egypt. They were now free men, with a new hope and new destiny. We are no longer slaves to sin, doomed to a life in this broken world. We are free men (and women), with a new hope – Christ in us, the hope of glory! – and a new destiny. We are headed for the new creation, restored, perfect. When every sin is dealt with and there is no more death, no more suffering.

Did you accomplish that? Did I? Did you wash away your own sin and restore creation? No? Then why do we sometimes act like we do – that it is dependent on us?

What did the Israelites do to rescue themselves? Nothing. Except believe God’s word and take action.

What do we need to do: believe his word and take action. Repent of our sins, confess them to him, and then act like we are forgiven and free.

51 On that very day the LORD brought the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt like an army.

You can imagine the huge crowd of people. 600 000 men, plus wives and children, flocks and herds – a massive exodus of people! But as everyone is rushing back and forth, getting everything ready, loading up their backpacks – there’s an Israelite sitting in his house, looking sad.

“Hey brother, why so sad?”
“I’m so tired of being a slave”
“But we’ve been set free!”
“No, I don’t deserve it. I’ll just stay here”
“Of course you don’t deserve it. None of us do. But God paid the price. Come on!”
“Oh no. I don’t have enough faith. Anyway, God wouldn’t pay for my sin. You don’t know what I’ve done.”
“Who cares? Are you crazy? Look around you! Look at all the people who have been saved. You’re already rescued. Look at the blood covering your doorposts. You’re not dead!”

How often are we like that Israelite, cowering in our house, refusing to believe that the death of Jesus really worked. That all our sins are covered. You might be sitting there thinking: “not my sin. I sinned deliberately. God can’t forgive wilful sin”. Or “my sin is too terrible – God cannot forgive me”. Do you know that some of the worst Nazi war criminals, those who experimented on people and gassed people to death – they found forgiveness at the Cross of Christ. His wounds were sufficient even for them. If they can be forgiven, so can you. It is a costly sacrifice. Costly enough to cover your sins.

The death of Jesus worked, just like the sacrifice of the lambs. The angel of death passed over the houses were he saw the blood. Just like the judgement of eternal death will pass over those of us who are covered by Jesus’ blood.

His death brings life. It is sufficient.

4. We are made for Eternal glory

35 And the people of Israel did as Moses had instructed; they asked the Egyptians for clothing and articles of silver and gold. 36 The LORD caused the Egyptians to look favourably on the Israelites, and they gave the Israelites whatever they asked for. So they stripped the Egyptians of their wealth!

As they were leaving, the Egyptians basically threw their money at them, and the Israelites stripped Egypt. Great. Why?

Ever wondered why you and I are blessed so abundantly. Why we have money and time and talents and gifts and relationships? Ever wondered why we’re still here. After all, God could just whip us off to heaven the moment we are saved. Whee.

Well, the reason the Israelites got all this gold and silver and so on was because it all would be used to build the tabernacle of God. The tabernacle was the tent where God “lived” right with them. They had all this wealth to give back to God for his glory because he was going to live with them! You see, we’re not saved just to be saved. We, like the Israelites, are saved in order to be HIS people. With him, intimately, personally.

We are his people. We are free men, free to serve our King, our Father, our Brother. We are free to be what we were born to be. Born to give glory to God. In this life, imperfectly, always slowed down, ruined a bit by sin. In the next life, gloriously, perfectly, giving praise and glory to the One who saved us. The One who lead our Exodus. The One who died in our place.

Let our lives sing praise to our Lord Jesus, both now and forever. Amen.

Exodus 12:1-20 All dressed up and nowhere to go?

Exodus 12:1-20

You smell smoke. Fire! And then the fire alarm starts ringing. And someone runs in: Fire!

How do you respond? Ikke så farlig. Doesn’t matter. Or do you get up and run?

See, you belive that fire is dangerous, you believe that you can escape by getting outside and so your belief, your faith, translates in to action: run!

2 “From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you.” It’s a bit of hint that what’s about to come next is a Very Important Thing. This is a Big Event. This is so big that in the future the whole year will be structured around this event. Kind of like fellesferie in Norway! Or Christmas even. It is the high point of the year.

Why? Because this is what everything has been heading towards. This is why Moses was saved as a little baby in a reed boat. This is why he grew up in Pharaoh’s palace. This is why God called him out of the desert from the burning bush and made him the saviour of the people. This is why there has been plague and rebellion. This moment, when God will act to rescue his people, to judge the rebellious, and to pass over his people. This is also the moment when Israel has to take action. They need to respond in faith, acting as if God’s word is true.

1. God remembers his promises

While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the LORD gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron: - yes, yes seen it all before – go and tell Pharaoah… but no look at v3 Announce to the whole community of Israel

This is the first time the Israelites have been in the story since way back in chapter 6. The first time God has spoken to them. Like I said last week, they were bedraggled, beaten, given up. Not exactly people of faith!
But now they had SEEN God’s power at work. Here was the Living God, speaking and then what he said would happen, happened! There will be blood – and there was blood. He said “frogs” and there were frogs everywhere. “Gnats”, and gnats were everywhere. And you can imagine the longsuffering Israelites just being stoic about it. You know, “here we go, more to suffer through”. Things are worse than ever.

And then God says “I will show you that I make a distinction between the Egyptians and my people”. And suddenly they are protected! The land is filled with flies – but no flies surround them. Animals die – but not theirs. Hail falls – but not on their fields. Darkness falls, but they are in the light. Could it be? Is God... for us? But we are nothing - how can this be?

Do you not understand? You are his people. His favour rests upon you. His salvation is secure.

But we have no faith. We have forgotten our God.

Ah, but God remembered you. Remember Ex 2:24-25 God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act.

What was his promise? God’s word to Abraham in Gen 15:13–16 Then the LORD said “You can be sure that your descendants will be strangers in a foreign land for 400 year. They will be oppressed as slaves. 14 But I will punish the nation that enslaves them, and in the end they will come away with great wealth. 16 After four generations your descendants will return here to this land, for the sins of the Amorites do not yet warrant their destruction.”

The Israelites should have known this. They should have been secure, knowing that the time had come for rescue! Just like we should trust that when Jesus says that he will return.

How would life as an Israelite have been different if they had believed the word of the Lord? The temptation to compromise, side with the Egyptians, would be gone. The desire to obey God and serve him with gladness would be there. You could endure because you have hope, hope of a rescue that is coming. Well, it is the same for us. What difference does it make to you knowing that Jesus will soon return?

If I really believe that, really live my life like that. The toil of this life will soon be done. The greed and grabbing all you can – be generous. The need to compromise with the world – sex, drugs, entertainment, selfish behaviour, “me-time”, boozing it up, buying buying buying, having the best this or that or dreaming of the perfect life, the perfect house, the perfect husband. What difference does it make that Jesus will return? Perhaps today?

God remembers his promises. You can be secure in that. He has shown his power in raising Christ from the dead. And the warning is clear: fire! Judgement is coming. Get out.

And we must respond.

2. When God speaks his people respond in faith.

3 Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight.
7 They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal. 8 That same night they must roast the meat over a fire and eat it along with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast.
11 “These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed, wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the LORD’s Passover

See, the Israelites had, like us, been shown God’s awesome power. They had seen the plagues. We have seen the whole history of Bible, with the very son of God showing his power over sickness and evil spirits, and showing his love as he takes our place, and showing his power even over death!

They had seen his power – and now they are called to respond. Take a lamb or goat and sacrifice it. Roast the animal and eat it. Put its blood on your doorframes to be saved. Eat your meal dressed for a journey.
This is “faith”. Faith is acting like God’s word is true based on the evidence in front of you. They had to dress for a journey because God has promised to rescue them. They took action – putting on journey clothes. That’s faith.

But faith is based on EVIDENCE. God does not demand that we “just have faith” as in the way it’s often used today – just to throw yourself out there. That’s the sort of New Age idea “just believe” and the “universe” will give you good vibrations back or something. That’s just nonsense. Who lives like that?!
The Bible demands that we use our minds, that we investigate. Biblical faith is based on evidence. Notice that God does not ask the Israelites to do anything until they have SEEN the EVIDENCE of his powerful word in action. NINE plagues are a pretty good indication that God can do what he says he will do.

And now they are called to respond.

I’m sure some had doubts. Oh, I’ll look like such a fool – all dressed up and nowhere to go. And tomorrow I’ve got to be at work. I’ll be whipped if I’m late.
You can imagine the Egyptian neighbours looking on and laughing as they smeared blood on their doorposts. Haha look at these primitive slaves. Like some blood on your door could save you. Hahahaaaa.

Haha. You Christians and your zombie Jesus. Like a dead man could ever save you. Primitive nonsense. We’ve moved on from then. Now we have science!

But science is based on evidence. And the evidence is before the eyes of the Egyptians: the Israelite God is supremely powerful. But they will not see it. Because if they see it they might have to believe. And if they believe they might have to respond, humble themselves and say “you are God”.

And the evidence is that 2000 years ago Jesus rose from the dead just like he said he would. Many saw him afterward, including a crowd of 500 people. It was really him. But he was different. He could do things like walk through walls – but he was no ghost because he could eat food with them. He had a resurrection body – his body, only... better. The evidence was plain to see. If you really believed “science”, you would believe in Jesus! As he had said, he conquered death. His awesome power to heal, his power of creation – which nobody could deny, not even his enemies – that stretched even to death. Who was this man? He was no ordinary man. Jesus is something more.

Then when we look at the promises of Scripture we see, wow, this is the Holy One of Israel. This is the Messiah, the promised saviour. This is the fulfilment of all God’s promises – from right back in Gen 12 to bless all the nations through Abraham.

See, faith in Jesus is not just some pie in the sky. Some happy thoughts to get us through the dark day. The important thing about faith is NOT having faith – that’s just stupid. Everyone has faith. What is important about faith is the object of your faith – what are you putting your faith in.

The Egyptians put their faith in their gods, in their king. And were battered by blood and hail and frogs and darkness and ultimately death.

The Israelites who responded in faith and trusted that obeying God’s word would save them, however str4ange it may have seemed to paint blood on your door or to eat a meal with your coats and boots on and suitcases ready – those who trusted God and obeyed him were saved. They were rescued and given life – the plague of death did not touch them.

Those of us today who put our faith in Jesus - we will live forever. We will pass through death and be raised to live by him. This is based on evidence. His word is trutsworthy, His Spirit is active. He does what he says he will do. We have experienced the Living God, personally, intimately. And one day we will see our God face to face.

So live like it, dear brothers and sister. As we read recently in Col 3:1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

When God speaks his people respond in faith.

3. God’s people remember what God has done

14 “This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the LORD. This is a law for all time. 15 For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast. On the first day of the festival, remove every trace of yeast from your homes. Anyone who eats bread made with yeast during the seven days of the festival will be cut off from the community of Israel.

Reading all this about yeast immediately reminded me of a well-known yet rather puzzling statement Jesus makes in Mark 8:15 As they were crossing the lake, Jesus warned them, “Watch out! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and of Herod.”

16 At this they began to argue with each other because they hadn’t brought any bread. 17 Jesus knew what they were saying, so he said, “Why are you arguing about having no bread? Don’t you know or understand even yet? Are your hearts too hard to take it in?

Oh, haha, those dull disciples. Obviously Jesus wasn’t talking about bread. They’re so dull. He’s obviously making a spiritual point. And then we all nod wisely at each other, all the while felling a bit uncomfortable because we’re not entirely sure exactly what Jesus meant either and to be perfectly honest, feeling a bit “dull” ourselves. Beware the yeast of the Pharisees. What’s that all about?

And why would you be cut off from the community just for baking a bit of bread with yeast in it on one of those seven days. A bit harsh isn’t it? I mean, really?

Anyone who eats bread made with yeast during the seven days of the festival will be cut off from the community of Israel.

Well, bread with yeast takes time. It needs to be set aside in a warm place for many hours to rise – something that you can’t do when you are leaving the country. No-one ever said just before leaving for the airport – let me just mix up a batch of bread. If you had to have bread, you would make flatbread – bread you could bake immediately. But bread with yeast takes hours!

During the Festival of Unleavened Bread (leaven is an old word for yeast so Unleavened Bread is bread without yeast: Flatbread). So during the Flatbread Feast they were celebrating the Exodus, the rescue of God’s people from Egypt when he lead them out. It was a symbol, a reminder that they left that very night, dressed to travel, after the Passover. Therefore, during this feast, do you see how serious it is to make bread with yeast? How you are saying by your actions I want no part in the rescue of Israel. I will not be leaving. I have time to make bread with yeast and wait for it to rise because I’m not going. I don’t want to be part of God’s people. I don’t trust his word.

And which is why Jesus warns his disciples against the empty religion of the Pharisees. They are not willing to follow Jesus. And so they are remaining in a spiritual Egypt, and will face God’s judgement. Jesus had come to lead a new Exodus – all those enslaved by sin, facing death, could place their trust in him, be covered by his blood, and be rescued from slavery.

That is what it means to be a Christian. We are dressed for a journey. This world is not our home – we look for another. We follow Jesus wherever he may ask us to go, whenever he tells us. We smear his blood on our lives, trusting that he will pass over our sin on that judgement day. He is our Passover Lamb. And we avoid the “yeast” of anything that takes our focus off him and makes us want to stay put in “Egypt”. This is not our home.

One of the ways we do that is by remembering what the Lord has done. 14 “This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the LORD. This is a law for all time.

Each year the Israelites celebrated (or should have celebrated) their Passover and Exodus. That was for them. But we still celebrate it today. It is still remembered and celebrated for all time.

Because we remember our Passover, the true Passover which this one here was only foreshadowing, we remember it here each Sunday in the communion. We remember that our Lord gave his body, shed his blood, the sacrificial lamb dying in our place so that his judgement would pass over us. We remember that we belong to him, that our sins are covered.

Praise God that he remembered us, remembered his promise to Abraham to bless all nations, and sent his son to rescue us.

And we respond in faith, trusting in his Son, our Lord Jesus, and living for him. Remembering what he has done each day, celebrating his rescue. Our sins are covered, we are set free! We belong to Him! Praise the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!