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Well, thank you, Mr. Scapura. Happy Sabbath to everyone once again!
Well, next week we will be observing the Feast of Pentecost on Sunday, preceded by the weekly Sabbath. The thing about God's Holy Days is that they're all centered around harvest seasons. The harvest seasons occurred around the springtime of the Passover and the summer harvest of Pentecost, which is the one we'll be celebrating shortly, and the great fall harvest of the Feast of Tabernacles, which was the largest of all of the harvest. These three festival harvests picture the growth process of God's plan. And it's not an accident that God centered His Holy Day celebrations around festivals, around harvest, because God is a creator.
He likes to grow things. He likes to build things. He is a God who loves to see growth and loves to see new beginnings. This time of year, even nature itself has awakened. And the landscape, which in the last few months has turned from brown to green, lush green, represents the fact that a new season of growth is occurring on the outside.
And, of course, God wants a new season of growth to occur within each and every one of us. So to prepare for the Feast of Pentecost this year, I think it would be good to review where it was originally instructed and how it was counted to get to the day of Pentecost that we will observe a week from tomorrow, and why all of that even matters. So let's begin in Leviticus, chapter 23, beginning in verse 1. Leviticus, chapter 23, beginning in verse 1. I will begin here in verse 1. I wanted to go over this part of God's Feast because we have some people that are with us that are newish. And I think what I'm about to emphasize is very important for us to understand because it's what makes us very distinctive in this world. In the sermonette, we heard about how the world hates us, and this is one of the reasons why we are counterculture compared to the world. Leviticus 23, beginning in verse 1. It says, And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are my feasts. And what I want to emphasize here is that these are not the feasts of any particular church. These are not my feasts. They're not your feasts. The pope can't decide who God's feasts are. Archbishops can't decide where and when and who God's feasts are. Church councils can't decide what God's feasts are. He decides what His feasts are. And what He's about to discuss, He says, These are my feasts. The ownership of these festivals belongs to God. Not to a church, not to a council, not to anyone. They belong directly to God. The very first feast that He mentions. Guess which one it is? Verse 3. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. And thank you for accepting God's invitation to come here in a holy convocation and worship Him in spirit and in truth with people of like mind. That's exactly what God has instructed here. You shall do no work on it. It is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings. These are the feasts of the Lord. Again, they're not my feast. They're not yours. They're not the feasts of the United Church of God. The ownership of these feasts belongs to that supreme, superior being, that Creator whom we know of as God. Holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at their appointed times. And we've done that. On the 14th day of the first month of twilight is the Lord's Passover. We observed the Passover right here in this room. We had a Passover service to respect the instruction that God gives us. On the 15th day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord. Seven days you must eat unleavened bread. And we did observe God's holy day, and we removed leaven from our homes. And we did eat unleavened bread for seven days. Verse 7, on the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. But you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for seven days. And of course, that offering was fulfilled in the death of Jesus Christ. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. And he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted on your behalf, on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.
And this is actually what I want to focus on today. Not necessarily what occurs 50 days later. We'll cover that next week. But I want to focus on the wave sheaf today. What it meant, why it's so important. The wave sheaf was part of the barley harvest. And history records that the sheaf was harvested on Saturday night after sunset. And according to Hebrew reckoning, that began the first day of the week. It was then waved before and accepted by God during a ceremonial ritual on the morning part of the first day of the week, we believe, of course, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
And I'll explain why we do in a few minutes. A number of these grain stalks were bundled together, and they were brought to the priest originally in the tabernacle, and later when the temple was built in the temple, and the priest would take that bundle, and the priest would wave in a ritual that we don't know all of the details, would wave this bunch or this group of barley stalks to be accepted by God. The wave sheaf was not a sacrificial offering, and we're going to see that it pictured the ascension of the risen Jesus Christ to be accepted by the Father.
Notice verse 11. It says, to be accepted on your behalf. That's why this ritual occurred. Christ shed his blood for all of us as the ultimate Passover sacrifice, as Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21, For he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Now, in some ways, how we count can be very controversial over history.
People have come to decide what this Sabbath meant here in verse 11. It said that it would occur on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. The Pharisees, for example, considered this Sabbath spoken of here to be the first day of unleavened bread. Others do it on the Sabbath after the days of unleavened bread are completely over. Now, why do we observe it during the days of unleavened bread? A couple of reasons. Number one, this is the word Sabbath here in verse 11. It comes from the Hebrew word which literally means sabbat. It is not from the Hebrew word, which is moed.
When a feast day was intended, the Hebrew word moed is used as earlier in the verses that I already read. But this doesn't say moed. This is the day after the sabbat the priest shall wave it. So that's one reason. The second reason that we choose to observe it the way that we do is because the Sadducees, who were responsible for the temple service during the time that Jesus Christ was alive, observed the wave-sheaf ritual on the day after the weekly Sabbath during the days of unleavened bread, were just like we do.
We do not see where Jesus ever corrected or pointed out the fact that what was being done in the temple was an error. So we follow the example of the Sadducees, who had that responsibility at the time of Jesus Christ, and we acknowledge that this word in verse 11 is not moed or the day after the feast, but the day after the sabbat the priest shall wave it. And I know there are other interpretations, and that's fine. I don't have particular issue with that, but I wanted to explain why we do what we do.
Here's the important thing. If you truly believe that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of this wave-sheaf offering, we'll look at that in more detail in a minute. And you read the events of the New Testament, and His death and His resurrection, you can only come to one conclusion, and that is the year that He died, the wave-sheaf was definitely performed on the day after the weekly Sabbath during the days of unleavened bread, the year that He died. Let's pick it up here now in verse 12, continuing, And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year. These are additional parts of that offering that were all fulfilled in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
So, aside from the wave-sheaf, here are some additional things. A male lamb of the first year without blemish, as a burnt offering to the Lord. Its grain offering shall be two-tenths of an ephath of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the Lord for a sweet aroma. And its drink offering shall be of wine, one-fourth of a hen. But here's what we really want to point out here that was really important to understand.
Verse 14, You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain, until the same day that you have brought an offering to your God, it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all of your dwelling. So again, these additional offerings were fulfilled by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
But here's what I want you to notice about what we just read. The harvest could not begin until the wave-sheaf and the other offerings were presented to God. Nothing could be made from the new grain harvest. Nothing could be eaten from the new grain harvest until the wave-sheaf was presented to God. From the day of this wave-sheaf ritual, then they were instructed to begin counting forward fifty days. Let's read about that beginning in verse 15. And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, seven Sabbaths shall be completed.
Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath, then you shall offer a new grain offering to the Lord. You shall bring from your dwellings two loaves of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be fine floured. They shall be baked with leaven. These are the firstfruits of the Lord. Now again, I'm not going to focus on what it said here beyond the count, because we'll cover that next week.
Counting fifty days from a Sunday, inclusively, meaning counting that Sunday as one, leads us fifty days later to another Sunday, as it said here, the day after the seventh Sabbath. So on this fiftieth day, another holy day was proclaimed, which is known as, at that time, either the Feast of Weeks, sometimes called Shavuot, and later called Pentecost. But again, more about all of that next week. In this sermon, I want to focus on the wave sheaf ritual that occurred during the days of unleavened bread, rather than what occurred fifty days later.
There's a time for that, and that time is just not today. So let's continue here. If you'll turn to Romans 5 and verse 10, the ancient wave sheaf ritual pictured Jesus Christ not only dying for our sins, but also being resurrected from the dead and being accepted into heaven as our perfect High Priest. Let's find out why all of this is important. I've known people in the past who really wanted to focus on the Passover, on the death of Christ, and that's all they ever wanted to talk about, and it's like they wanted to avoid the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
All they ever wanted to do was talk about the Passover. Here's what Paul says in Romans chapter 5 and verse 10. He says here, For if we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son. And indeed, the Passover is very important.
We observe the Passover. It represents the sacrifice and the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Paul says, continuing, Much more than that, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
In other words, we're saved by his resurrection. The death of Jesus Christ made it possible for our sins to be forgiven. His shed blood indeed reconciled us to God. But if Jesus Christ didn't rise from the dead, we would only be reconciled and forgiven corpses, dead, for all eternity.
That's not much of a reward, is it? I don't think it is. What we want to emphasize here is that we are saved, and the Greek word is sōdzō, which means delivered or protected. We are saved by his life. That is the fact that he, as a first fruit, came out of the grave in a new spiritual resurrection in which he had eternal life. Now, why is that so important? There had been lots of resurrections before his. In the Old Testament, there were resurrections. The prophets resurrected people. Lazarus previously had been resurrected. Jesus previously resurrected people, other people, aside from Lazarus.
So what's the big deal about this? The big deal is they were all physical resurrections. They were people who had been restored to physical life and in time. Whether it was Lazarus or anyone else, they either grew old or they got sick. But they ended up dying. They lived out their physical lives and they still died.
What's so unique about what Paul is saying here, this is the first fruit of a spiritual resurrection in which someone is not just merely physical. Someone is resurrected spiritual and has eternal life. Turn with me if you would to John chapter 20 and verse 1. So in essence, we were delivered from eternal death to receive the gift of eternal life, not by the death of Jesus Christ, but by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
That is why we are saved by his life. So how was this fulfilled? Leviticus chapter 23 and verse 14 that we read about said the wave sheaf offering would be a statute forever. How did Jesus Christ fulfill this being a statute forever? Let's get a little bit of background. John chapter 20 beginning in verse 1. Let's go back to how the resurrection of Jesus Christ was observed by his disciples. John chapter 20 and verse 1. It says, Now on the first day of the week, which was Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early while it was still dark.
So it could be 3, 4, 5 o'clock in the morning. Daybreak hasn't even occurred yet. She did that because she probably didn't want to be noticed. She wanted to go there in the dark. She was afraid of persecution. She was very concerned about that. So she went to the tomb while it was still dark and she saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Then she ran back and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved.
And that happens to be John. John didn't like to brag and talk about himself. Unlike some people I've known in my lifetime, he didn't talk about himself a lot. It wasn't, I did this and I did that and I did this and I did that. He said, no, and a disciple whom Jesus loved, third person, which means him, and said to them, this is what she says, they have taken away the Lord out of the tomb and we do not know where they have laid him. So let's get the time frame a little bit. First of all, she gets there and it's very dark.
She notices that the rock is pushed away out of the tomb. She runs all the way back, however distant that is, to locate John and to locate Peter and tell them that they've done something with the Lord's body.
I think something is wrong here. Verse 3, Peter therefore went out and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. They both ran together and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. Again, this is John, and he's stooping down and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying there, yet he didn't go in.
So John is the first one there. He outruns Peter. He pokes his head in there and he sees what's going on inside of the tomb. And he sees linen clothes lying there. Verse 6, then Simon Peter came following him and he literally went in the tomb. We know Peter tended to be impetuous. Peter's middle name was not caution. Right? It was never caution or discretion.
He was just a bold individual. So he wasn't just going to peek in the tomb, knowing Peter he was going to walk in the tomb. And that's exactly what he did. And he went into the tomb and he saw the linen clothes lying there and the handkerchief that had been around his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but folded together in a place by itself.
What does this mean? It means that the place had not been ransacked. Jesus' body was not stolen. When someone breaks into your house, they do not make your bed for you. Whoever was resurrected in that tomb had time to think and meditate and methodically fold up the linens, fold up that handkerchief neatly in an organized way, and put it in place. When thieves come in to do something, they're usually in a panic and they ransack and they leave the place they were in a mess.
They don't leave it organized. They don't leave things neat. Verse 8, Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also, and he saw and believed, for as yet they did not know the Scripture, it hadn't dawned upon them, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their own home, so they take off leaving Mary still there.
Verse 11, But Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. She's weeping because she thinks that they're playing a joke on her, that they have stolen the Lord's corpse and his body, and she's broken up. She's torn apart over this. And she wept where she stooped down and she looked into the tomb, and she saw two angels in white, sitting one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
Then they said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? And she said to them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.
Now, when she had said this, she turned and she saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know it was Jesus.
He obviously had been through a terrible beating. He's got, perhaps, scars or something that's defiled his looks. I won't go into gross detail, but most likely he had been scourged in the face. He had been battered and beaten before he died. He was a bloody hulk. And she just did not recognize him.
Not until a few words later, when she notices the unique vocal notation that he has. You know, sometimes people call me and I know who it is in the first three or four words, because they have a distinctive voice. Before they even say who they are, I know who they are. And we're going to see that after a few words are spoken, when he particularly says her name, she gets it and realizes that it's him.
Saw Jesus standing there, did not know it was Jesus. And Jesus said to her, Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking? And she's supposing him to be the gardener. Said to him, Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have lain him, and I will take him away.
Jesus said to her, Mary. And she turned and said to him, Rabboni, that is to say, teacher. Verse 17.
And Jesus said to her, Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to my father, but go to my brethren and say to them, I am... Well, that's a phrase we've read a few times earlier in the book of John. I am ascending to my father and your father, and to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things to her.
So this was obviously the day following the Sabbath during the days of unleavened bread that year. Jesus died in what we would call, through the English vernacular, he died on a Wednesday afternoon. He was then buried before sunset, because the next day was the first day of unleavened bread. They rushed to make sure that those three who had been crucified, the thieves and Jesus, that they were dead and could be buried before sunset, because that's when a holy day began. He was then entombed three days and three nights, and had arisen from the grave at the end of the Sabbath day.
It's interesting that he was resurrected about the same time that the ritual grain was being cut to present to God the next morning as the wave sheaf offering. He would have been resurrected in a short period of time after that, is when that wave sheaf barley would have been cut to be used the next day. I want you to notice that when Mary arrives early Sunday morning, it's still dark. Jesus is long gone. She meets him at the tomb after Peter and John are gone. It was the time when the priest were preparing to present the wave sheaf ritual in the temple that very year. Jesus is completely fulfilling the role of the ancient wave sheaf offering pictured that we read earlier. He didn't want to be delayed from ascending to heaven and being accepted as our Savior, as our Redeemer, as the first fruit to be resurrected, not a mere physical resurrection, but to be resurrected as a spiritual being with inherently eternal life. That was important.
Leviticus 2311 had said, Only after Jesus had risen and ascended to heaven to meet the Father and returned again that he allow others to touch him. That's demonstrated in John chapter 20. By the way, that occurred the very same day. It was later, the same day, after he had seen Mary, that he was able to be touched. One of the things about this whole event that truly saddens me is what the Christian world has done to this wonderful event. They have rejected God's feast. We just read a little earlier where God says, These are my feasts. They've rejected all of those. They've rejected the connection that the wave-sheaf offering has with the other holy days, including the day of Pentecost. They've missed the profound symbolism of this event, as it was originally intended, and they've replaced it by only emphasizing the resurrection.
And then they rename it Easter, which is the name of a pagan goddess of fertility. And they destroy its sacred meaning by emphasizing bunnies and eggs and other pre-Christian traditions to totally bastardize the true meaning of God's festivals and what God intended for his people to respect and to appreciate and consider sacred. Jesus Christ was the first resurrected to eternal spiritual life on our behalf. Not a mere physical resurrection, as it occurred other times, including Lazarus, but the first resurrected to eternal spiritual life. 1 Corinthians 15 and 17. Let's allow Paul to tell us a little bit more. Surprisingly, Paul was combatting people who were saying that perhaps Jesus was not resurrected. It's hard to believe that there would actually be those in the church who would teach that, but there were some, obviously, in Corinth who were saying the resurrection had not occurred. And Paul is combatting that. 1 Corinthians 15 and 17. He says, And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile, you are still in your sins, you have no Savior. Verse 18, Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. So all of these beloved brethren that we knew and loved who died, they have no hope. If Christ was not resurrected from the dead, they're just an innocent, forgiven corpse for all eternity. Amen and amen. That's kind of futile, isn't it? Verse 19, If in this life, this physical life, he means, we only have hope in Christ. If the only hope we have is some physical resurrection and not a spiritual resurrection that gives you eternal life, then we are, of all men, really pathetic. We're pitiful. If that's what we put our faith in. Verse 20, But now Christ has risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Again, he wasn't the first ever be resurrected, but he was absolutely the first ever to be resurrected as a spirit being inherently possessing eternal life.
Verse 21, For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead, contrasting Adam with Jesus Christ. For as an Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But each one in his own order Christ the first fruits afterward those who are Christ at his coming.
The very word first fruits here suggests a first harvest or the beginning of a harvest, the first of a harvest to be followed by the rest of the harvest or other harvest. In ancient Israel, the barley harvest could only begin after that wave sheaf offering.
That wave sheaf was symbolic of Jesus Christ and spiritual harvest that were to follow. After the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God could begin to call all of humanity and not offer them a temporary physical resurrection like had been done before, but to offer them eternal life spiritually as part of his family.
The very Bible note, surprisingly, has something to say in this that's kind of wise and certainly fits in with what the Bible teaches. Here's what the very Bible note says about what we just read regarding verse 23. Each one in his own order, Christ the first fruits afterwards those who are Christ at its coming. The very Bible note says, quote, the order of the resurrections is as follows. First, Christ's then that of believers at his coming, and they refer to 1 Thessalonians 4 and verse 13, and finally the resurrection at the end of the millennial kingdom, end of quote. Again, that's what the very Bible note says.
So Jesus Christ fulfilled the wave sheaf offering in Leviticus 23. Just as the harvest of grain could not begin until it was accepted by God, so too Jesus is the first fruit of those who are to be resurrected, spiritual, and possessing eternal life.
Let's see an example of those who were indeed merely resurrected to physical existence once again. And why? This is a little obscure event that we don't talk about that often. If you turn to Matthew chapter 27 and 51, this occurred at the moment Jesus died. These folks are not resurrected to spiritual, eternal life. They're resurrected merely to physical life once again, like Lazarus, like others within the Scriptures. And this was meant as a foretaste of what God has planned in the future. And it was used as a proof, as a witness, that Jesus Christ indeed was the Son of God. He was who He said He was. Matthew chapter 27 and verse 51, we'll pick it up there after Jesus had said His last words. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. That was the veil that separated people from being intimate with God, going into the Holy of Holies and approaching God's throne. It was torn in two in the temple. And the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened in many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. Coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the Holy City and appeared to many. Again, this is just a physical token of God's promise of future resurrections. Notice also that it occurs after His very own resurrection. This was a dramatic proof that Jesus fulfilled the role of the wave-sheaf, and He was the firstfruits of those who had fallen asleep. These individuals were resurrected again the physical life, like Lazarus had been. They eventually died, and their families buried them again, much like they would have the first time. So along with all other saints who died, they await in their graves the resurrection, the spirit life when the time is right. When Jesus Christ returns. They came to life temporarily as a witness to the fact that Jesus was the Son of God. So I want to emphasize again what makes the resurrection of Jesus Christ different from other resurrections that had occurred up to that period of time. Let's go to John 11 and verse 21. This is a scripture we read a few weeks back regarding Jesus having a discussion with Martha. Before He resurrected her brother Lazarus. John 11 and verse 21.
You may recall, give you a little background, Jesus had been asked post-haste to come and see Lazarus, who was very sick. And he loved Lazarus and he loved Martha and Mary. And he was delayed. He didn't get there on time. He didn't get there maybe as quickly as he wanted to or perhaps for all of this to happen, he purposely delayed. I guess we may never know exactly, but he got there in the eyes of human beings too late because Lazarus had already died.
Again, John 11 and verse 21. Then Martha said that Jesus, Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you. Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. Martha said to him, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. And Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life.
He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And here's the crux in verse 26. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.
They'll be different than what I'm about to do to Lazarus and other people that I've healed during my ministry and brought back to life. Because those people will all continue to live physically and they'll die eventually. But I am, boy, where have we heard that phrase before? I am the resurrection and the life. And whoever lives and believes in me will be in a resurrection in which they will never die.
He says, Mary, do you believe this? It had to be a very startling statement for her.
Jesus knows that he is the fulfillment of the wave sheaf offering. He himself will die for the sins of humankind, but he'll also rise again to become a savior and redeemer of the world. And those who follow him will be saved by his life. He will be the first to be resurrected to a spiritual, everlasting life. And he'll make it possible for others to follow. Let's go to 1 Peter, chapter 1 and verse 3. 1 Peter, chapter 1 and verse 3. See Peter's perspective on this.
Peter writes, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
Not to a mere physical resurrection, but verse 4, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that does not fade away.
Reserved in heaven for you, meaning Jesus Christ is going to bring that reward with him when he comes back to earth at his second coming.
Verse 5, Now, the Scripture is a little more powerful than what we just read, because the original Greek word that's translated in the English here is, kept by the power of God, the original Greek word actually employed a military term.
That means a guard or a sentinel on our salvation.
So those who have a living hope in the resurrection to an inheritance that is incorruptible are guarded by the power of God.
I'm going to read it from another translation, God's word for today.
Here's what it says, We have been born into a new life that has a confidence which is alive because Jesus Christ has come back to life.
Verse 4, And again, Jesus Christ will return to earth with that inheritance.
In verse 5, That's the true meaning of the original Greek word, Since you are guarded by God's power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed at the end of time.
So I hope by looking at these Scriptures we can more deeply appreciate what it means that Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the wave sheep offering the kind of resurrection that that made possible.
Let's go to our final Scripture today and remind ourselves that because Jesus Christ did fulfill the rule of the wave sheep offering, and he became the firstfruits that we too shall follow his lead and someday be resurrected, not again to just some physical mirror, physical extension of life, but to be resurrected to spiritual life, eternal life.
And all of this was pictured in our baptism, and Paul is going to talk about that here in Romans chapter 6 and verse 1.
Our final Scripture today, Romans chapter 6 beginning in verse 1.
Paul writes, What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not.
How shall we who have died to sin live any longer to it?
Again, he's combating a mindset that says, wow, God likes to give grace. Grace is good. God loves to shed grace upon us. So therefore, the more I sin, the more grace I receive from God.
And Paul says, no, you don't get it. That's not the way it works.
Verse 3, or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ were baptized into his death?
That we followed his example? What happened to him happened to us spiritually speaking? Verse 4, therefore, we were buried with him through baptism into death.
We were plunged into a watery grave. And when your entire body, and we tried to make sure that no part of your body was above that water, when we plunged you in that tank, it represented spiritually the death of a mindset, the death of an old man, the death of something that deserved to die. And that was a watery grave, continuing that justice Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even though we also should walk in the newness of life. So all of us were baptized, and in great mercy, the minister dumped us under the water, and we came out of that baptismal tank, representing a literal resurrection from a watery grave.
As he says here, that we should walk in newness of life. We're about to receive through the laying out of hands a little bit of the mind of God through his Holy Spirit.
And that should bring newness and purpose, and how we approach things, and in our level of enthusiasm and our passion for God and his creation.
Verse 5, for if we have been united together in the likeness of his death, if we went to that watery grave, Christ died and we died, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of his resurrection. That's an absolute promise Paul is saying here.
Jesus Christ did rise from the dead. He rose a spiritual being with eternal life, and we too will be in the likeness and experience the same kind of resurrection that he did.
Verse 6, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, and that the body of sin might be done away, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
In other words, we should no longer have a habitual lifestyle of a particular sin that is enslaving us and that is contrary to our very calling.
So, in conclusion today, those of us who observed the Feast of Pentecost deeply appreciate the direct connection between Pentecost and what occurred 50 days earlier with that wave sheaf offering. Without the true wave sheaf offering of Jesus Christ, there would be no Holy Spirit to lead us.
Without the wave sheaf offering of Jesus Christ, there would be no church to spiritually nurture us.
Without that true wave sheaf offering of Jesus Christ, there would be no harvest for the salvation of humanity.
But thank you, Jesus Christ was the true and original wave sheaf offering.
And because he was and accepted that, he's made everything else, including all of the promises of God, possible.
Praise God and his plan of salvation as revealed in all of his festivals.
Have a wonderful Sabbath and we'll see you next week.
Greg Thomas is the former Pastor of the Cleveland, Ohio congregation. He retired as pastor in January 2025 and still attends there. Ordained in 1981, he has served in the ministry for 44-years. As a certified leadership consultant, Greg is the founder and president of weLEAD, Inc. Chartered in 2001, weLEAD is a 501(3)(c) non-profit organization and a major respected resource for free leadership development information reaching a worldwide audience. Greg also founded Leadership Excellence, Ltd in 2009 offering leadership training and coaching. He has an undergraduate degree from Ambassador College, and a master’s degree in leadership from Bellevue University. Greg has served on various Boards during his career. He is the author of two leadership development books, and is a certified life coach, and business coach.
Greg and his wife, B.J., live in Litchfield, Ohio. They first met in church as teenagers and were married in 1974. They enjoy spending time with family— especially their eight grandchildren.