The Cleansing Blood of Jesus
A Faithful Congregation is a Prayerful Congregation
The Cleansing Blood of Jesus
John 19:28-30; Exodus 12:21-23; Psalm 51:6-7
John 19:28-30 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been finished, in order to finish the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
Exodus 12:21-23 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Bring out and take for yourselves lambs according to your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and touch some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the doorway of his house until morning. And Yahweh will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and He will see the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, and Yahweh will pass over the doorway and will not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to smite you.
Psalm 51:6-7 Behold, You delight in truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Jesus is the True Passover Lamb
From upon the cross, Jesus thundered out, “It is finished!” Jesus finished the work His Father gave His to do (John 4:34; 5:36)—to save the lost, to grant eternal life, to bring into the family all who truly will believe. Truly believing in Jesus is heartfelt acceptance of His deity and death as the true Passover Lamb, a willing submission to His Lordship, and a worshipful devotion of Him. Jesus laid down His life and allowed His blood to be spilled to save us. John is intent for readers of his gospel to recognize Jesus as the true Passover Lamb.
Jesus was crucified just hours before the Passover began, just as the first Passover lambs were slaughtered just hours before the first Passover. As Jesus was being crucified, thousands of lambs without blemish were being slaughtered by the priests in the Temple for Passover. That very first Passover was accomplished, as recorded in Exodus12, when a lamb was slaughtered, and the blood of the lamb was applied to the door frames of the homes. The blood was applied with hyssop. Yahweh passed over each home to which the blood was properly applied. He killed the firstborn son of each home without the Passover lamb’s blood. Hyssop became a symbol of cleansing. Even King David, after being caught in adultery, noted that hyssop was the purifying method Yahweh accepted, but also noted it was Yahweh Himself who must clean him, and only then would the king be whiter than snow (Psalm 51:6-7).
John draws our attention to Jesus as the true Passover Lamb by noting it was hyssop that brought the drink to His lips. The hyssop was the last element necessary for Jesus to declare that He had finished His work. Jesus’ blood was already being spilled and soon would come rushing forth (John 19:34). Just as the blood of the first Passover lambs needed to be applied properly with hyssop, so too, the True Passover Lamb’s blood needs to be properly applied, not with hyssop—hyssop was there to help us draw the parallel—but by belief. John notes of his record, “And he who has seen has borne witness, and his witness is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe (19:35).
The first Passover lamb’s blood was shed, but not everyone properly applied it so that Yahweh’s wrath would pass over them. Jesus, the True Passover Lamb’s blood was shed, but not everyone properly applies it through belief so that Yahweh’s wrath will pass over us and land squarely on Jesus. May we who have properly applied Jesus’ blood though belief share with everyone else so that they, too, may come to believe in Him and be cleansed by the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
Prayer Prompt
Dear Yahweh, thank You so much for the Passover. In it You telegraphed how You would ultimately save us. You foreshadowed the nature of substitutionary sacrifice, the atoning blood, and gave hyssop as the means of its proper application. Father, when You sent the Son to finish the work of salvation, You even sent Him with a name that described His nature and mission. Lord Jesus, You are Yahweh Saves. Thank You for being our true Passover Lamb. Spirit, thank You for inspiring John to recall and record all that he did. Oh triune Yahweh, we revel in the cross and appreciate how in it You set right all that had gone wrong, brought about our redemption, and fulfilled prophecy to save us. Wow. We are blown away by Your love. Help us always to believe in You.
We love You, Yahweh, but please don’t just take our word for it, but see it in how we live for You. Amen.
Let our faithfulness in prayer mirror Yahweh’s faithfulness!
The Cleansing Blood of Jesus
John 19:28-30; Exodus 12:21-23; Psalm 51:6-7
John 19:28-30 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been finished, in order to finish the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
Exodus 12:21-23 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Bring out and take for yourselves lambs according to your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. And you shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and touch some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts; and none of you shall go outside the doorway of his house until morning. And Yahweh will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and He will see the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, and Yahweh will pass over the doorway and will not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to smite you.
Psalm 51:6-7 Behold, You delight in truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Jesus is the True Passover Lamb
From upon the cross, Jesus thundered out, “It is finished!” Jesus finished the work His Father gave His to do (John 4:34; 5:36)—to save the lost, to grant eternal life, to bring into the family all who truly will believe. Truly believing in Jesus is heartfelt acceptance of His deity and death as the true Passover Lamb, a willing submission to His Lordship, and a worshipful devotion of Him. Jesus laid down His life and allowed His blood to be spilled to save us. John is intent for readers of his gospel to recognize Jesus as the true Passover Lamb.
Jesus was crucified just hours before the Passover began, just as the first Passover lambs were slaughtered just hours before the first Passover. As Jesus was being crucified, thousands of lambs without blemish were being slaughtered by the priests in the Temple for Passover. That very first Passover was accomplished, as recorded in Exodus12, when a lamb was slaughtered, and the blood of the lamb was applied to the door frames of the homes. The blood was applied with hyssop. Yahweh passed over each home to which the blood was properly applied. He killed the firstborn son of each home without the Passover lamb’s blood. Hyssop became a symbol of cleansing. Even King David, after being caught in adultery, noted that hyssop was the purifying method Yahweh accepted, but also noted it was Yahweh Himself who must clean him, and only then would the king be whiter than snow (Psalm 51:6-7).
John draws our attention to Jesus as the true Passover Lamb by noting it was hyssop that brought the drink to His lips. The hyssop was the last element necessary for Jesus to declare that He had finished His work. Jesus’ blood was already being spilled and soon would come rushing forth (John 19:34). Just as the blood of the first Passover lambs needed to be applied properly with hyssop, so too, the True Passover Lamb’s blood needs to be properly applied, not with hyssop—hyssop was there to help us draw the parallel—but by belief. John notes of his record, “And he who has seen has borne witness, and his witness is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe (19:35).
The first Passover lamb’s blood was shed, but not everyone properly applied it so that Yahweh’s wrath would pass over them. Jesus, the True Passover Lamb’s blood was shed, but not everyone properly applies it through belief so that Yahweh’s wrath will pass over us and land squarely on Jesus. May we who have properly applied Jesus’ blood though belief share with everyone else so that they, too, may come to believe in Him and be cleansed by the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
Prayer Prompt
Dear Yahweh, thank You so much for the Passover. In it You telegraphed how You would ultimately save us. You foreshadowed the nature of substitutionary sacrifice, the atoning blood, and gave hyssop as the means of its proper application. Father, when You sent the Son to finish the work of salvation, You even sent Him with a name that described His nature and mission. Lord Jesus, You are Yahweh Saves. Thank You for being our true Passover Lamb. Spirit, thank You for inspiring John to recall and record all that he did. Oh triune Yahweh, we revel in the cross and appreciate how in it You set right all that had gone wrong, brought about our redemption, and fulfilled prophecy to save us. Wow. We are blown away by Your love. Help us always to believe in You.
We love You, Yahweh, but please don’t just take our word for it, but see it in how we live for You. Amen.
Let our faithfulness in prayer mirror Yahweh’s faithfulness!
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