What did Yokhanan (a.k.a. John the Baptist) mean when he told his disciples that Yeshua was “the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world”? What does it have to do with Passover and the day the Passover lamb is selected?
Author: Jeff
Sha’ul (Saul) encounters the true Messiah, Yeshua, while traveling to Damascus to arrest His followers. Over more than a dozen years, God transforms the “bulldog” of traditional Judaism of the time into one of the most powerful witnesses of Messiah Yeshua in the Roman empire.
The “Preacher” in Ecclesiastes said “there is nothing new under the sun.” The hatred against Yehudah, the Jews, has persisted throughout time, and the spirit of Amalek has taken many forms, including Haman, Antiochus IV, etc. Yet the LORD has kept Israel in the form of mostly Yehudah intact. Through Yehudah came the Messiah, the Seed of Eve Who crushed the serpent’s head and the Seed of Abraham Who brought God’s blessing to the world. That preservation of Yehudah above all odds through the eons, in the face of concerted genocidal efforts, is testimony that indeed the LORD is the one at work.
The rebuke of Simon the Magician highlights how bitterness and resentment lead to wickedness. Yet how is vengeance a part of forgiveness and personal peace? As Acts 8 ends, the Ethiopian official asks what is now a 2,000-year-old question, Can prophecies about Israel apply to Messiah?
The Sanhedrin and Simon the magician demonstrated a thirst for the power of God without having His Spirit change the heart. God has predestined mankind to be His people and sent Messiah Yeshua to make that possible again.
Yeshua (Jesus) said His “time” had come at that Passover He died as the Lamb of God. Yet, likely there was an “appointed time” for His conception and birth that was in line with “appointments” the LORD already had established.
Many claim that the birthdate of Yeshua (Jesus) isn’t recorded in the Bible, but the historical references in Luke 1 and the prayer of Miriam (Mary) on the day the angel Gabriel announced the conception of Messiah in her carry the themes of dedication to God, the focus of Chanukah, the Festival of Dedication.