Shadow to Substance
Exodus 24-29
CHCC: May 3, 2009
INTRODUCTION:
This is the last sermon in a series we’ve been doing on the book of EXODUS. For the last 2 Sundays, Ronnie talked about the TABERNACLE and its FURNITURE. He mentioned the extremely DETAILED instructions that God gave for how the Tabernacle was to be built.
There are chapters and chapters full of these instructions. For example, Exodus 26:30-31: 30And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in the mount. 31And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made…
I got to wondering if we followed Biblical Instructions to the letter when we built this Worship Center 6 years ago. I had to go to an obscure section of the Bible to find out. Turn with me to II Hezekiah chapter 20:
* Thou shalt build thy Worship Center in a rectangular shape with raised ceiling, oak accents, and green industrial grade carpet.
* Thy chair shalt be cushioned for comfort, yet thou shalt forswear sleep when thou sittest there-upon.
Well, so far, so good. Let’s skip down a few verses…
* Thy screen shall be in the front and thy sound booth in the back
* Though thou hast not exterior windows, thou shalt hang stained glass somewhere in thy building.
* Thou shalt remodel thy brides’ room, fashioning a small coffee shop where thou shalt serve a fine Mexican blend …
The question is, why DON’T we find those kinds of detailed instructions in the New Testament? God gave so much detail to the nation of Israel that it took Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy to hold it all. The design of the Tabernacle became more or less the design of the Temple and stayed the same for a thousand years. If the Temple is ever rebuilt, they will use that same detailed design again.
So why is there not one single verse in the New Testament that tells how to build a Worship Center, or even what kind of music to use, or what the order of worship needs to be? The answer to that question is found in the word NEW.
When you use the word “new” in Greek, you can use one of two words: NEOS – New in the sense of production – “I have a new car” If it’s the way we buy cars, it’s a used car – but it’s new to us.
When you see the word NEW Testament – the word is KAINOS. This is NEW in the sense that it was not previously in existence before … like a new invention … or a new baby!
The OLD Testament (or Covenant) is as different from the NEW Covenant as a SHADOW is from the REAL THING. When we talk about shadows, I’m reminded of one of my favorite childhood heroes --- the boy who refused to grow up --- good old Peter Pan. How many of you know the Peter Pan story? Do you remember the part where he lost his shadow? He asked Wendy to sew it back on for him. He thought he just HAD to have that shadow in order to function.
Unfortunately, some of us hang on to the LEGALISM of the Old Covenant that same way. We feel like we just HAVE to have a long LIST of detailed RULES and REGULATIONS or we can’t function. But (praise God) Jesus didn’t leave a long LIST of rules for His Church. (I’m not a detail person, if you didn’t already know. I leave the list making to my wife Susan, or Ronnie, my co-pastor, or Lois, my secretary.
The Old Covenant was made with a NATION, but the NEW Covenant is made with INDIVIDUALS.
1. National to Individual
In Exodus, God set up a relationship with His Nation. He divided them by tribes (with Levites and the tribes of Judah, Reuben, Gad, Simeon, etc.) --- and He gave them laws and ceremonies and instructions for their Worship Center.
A few years ago I visited a replica of the Jewish tabernacle out behind a Baptist church in Schertz. Everything had been built to the proper scale according to the Biblical instructions. I was amazed to discover how large everything was and how much room there was in the courtyard of the tabernacle. How large the brazen altar of sacrifice was, and how large the laver was. The Altar was big enough for a true Texas sized Bar-B-Q, and the Laver was big enough to climb into. I was intrigued to see what the inside of the holy place looked like and what the furniture looked like, with the table of showbread, the golden candlestand, and the altar of incense.
But the point is that if we had lived back in that day you and I couldn’t take that tour at the real place! Gentiles couldn’t see ANY of it; Jews just saw the outer part, Priests only so much inside the gate. Only the High Priest could go all the way into the Holy of Holies … and that only once a year.
Aaron was the first High Priest. It was his place to enter the Holy of Holies once a year to make atonement for the sins of the Nation of Israel. That was the OLD Covenant. In the NEW Covenant, we have a NEW High Priest … Jesus Christ.
And what was HIS first act as our new High Priest? When Jesus was on the Cross, Mark 15 says, Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Mark 15:37-38
In His first act as High Priest, Jesus invited you and me into the Holy of Holies WITH HIM. He took down the barrier that separated Gentiles and Jews alike from God. Jesus invites you to come with Him to the very throne of God --- not because you are part of any particular Nation or Tribe, but because He has made a new and living way --- a Way that is open to every tribe, tongue, and nation. No individual will ever be excluded because of race, cast, language, or color.
That’s because the NEW Covenant has nothing to do with what is EXTERNAL and everything to do with what is INTERNAL.
2. External to Internal
Hebrews 8:10 says, I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.
Laws written on our hearts! Internal not external! What a joy to know that Jesus has brought us beyond what the Jews experienced in the wilderness, and even in the promised land, to something better by far. While some are still trying to sew back on the shadow by making rules about church rituals and ceremonies, Jesus offers us a reality that makes the shadow seem dark and watered down by comparison.
I’ve had the opportunity to worship with God’s people in several different parts of the world … Australia, Africa, Russia, Mexico, India, Belgium … When we were taking care of 2 of our grandkids this weekend, they started singing a song about the Continents: "North America, South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia … Don’t forget Antarctica, Don’t forget Australia… North America, South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia." I realized I’ve been to all but 2 of the continents (Antarctica and South America.)
On the screen you see some pictures of places of Worship all over the world. Notice the amazing variety. Because of Jesus Christ … our NEW High Priest … people from every continent (even the 2 I haven’t been to) can worship God in spirit and truth. Their buildings look different. Their songs are different. Their order of worship and their languages and their way of dressing for church … everything is full of variety. But they have all been invited into the Holy of Holies by Jesus Christ, our eternal High Priest. He is seated on the Mercy Seat in Heaven, and He invites us to enter with him.
Hebrews 8 1The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man. 3Every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, and so it was necessary for this one also to have something to offer.
The offering that Jesus brought is SUFFICIENT to cover all the sins of the world for all eternity. Jesus is both our High Priest AND He is the sacrificial Lamb.
3. Insufficient to All Sufficient
We know that the Old Covenant required blood sacrifice to cover the sins of the Nation. But it wasn’t until I was studying for this sermon that I realized the extent of sacrifice that was necessary. Here is the Law God instituted in Exodus 29:38 "This is what you are to offer on the Altar: two year-old lambs each and every day, one lamb in the morning and the second lamb at evening.” The priests were to sacrifice a Lamb twice a day - morning and evening ... EVERY DAY. In addition to this, there were other sacrifices of other animals for specific sins or for specific occasions. And there were the yearly sacrifices of lambs made at Passover.
So many lambs were needed to accommodate the repetitive sacrificing of animals, that the temple hired their own shepherds to tend huge herds of sheep just to take care of the massive need for sacrificial animals. We hear that those shepherds tending sheep near Bethlehem when Christ was born were shepherding flocks of sheep destined for slaughter in Jerusalem at the next Passover.
But all these sacrifices could do was roll back the weight of sin that piled up higher and higher year after year. Until JESUS. Jesus was the final, all sufficient sacrifice.
The one who John the Baptist called, “The lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” was the final Passover lamb. He hung on the cross at the very time when Passover lambs were being slaughtered in the Temple. Jesus’ death on the cross made further animal sacrifices unnecessary because his single sacrifice of himself is sufficient for all sin for all time.
CONCLUSION:
Working on this sermon has made me so thankful.
A few weeks ago I taught a class that went along with what I’ve been studying for this series in Exodus. For the class, I did an extensive study on the 7 feasts that God instituted for the Nation of Israel. I read a detailed account of what is usually done by Jewish people to prepare for the Passover.
Preparation takes at least a week of thoroughly cleaning the house to get rid of all traces of leaven. The entire house is cleaned top to bottom to sweep out any hint of yeast or other cooked bread products. Shelves are cleaned and relined with shelf paper. Ovens, refrigerators, tables and utensils are cleaned or perhaps removed altogether to make ready for Passover. Baked goods are removed and given to Gentile neighbors who will give the bread products back after the feast days are over. Cleaning even involves washing the cracks between leaves of the tables, and thorough cleaning of ovens to remove even microscopic traces of leavening.
All of this so that the observation of Passover will be done in a way that is acceptable to God. When I read the 30 pages of explanation of how to prepare for Passover I found myself thinking, “I am so thankful for the freedom we have in Christ! I’m so glad to live under the NEW Covenant where we don’t have to worry about obeying thousands of minute instructions in order to please God.” Through Jesus Christ, we can come before our God and worship Him in any place or at any time, as long as we worship God in spirit and in truth.
The things we’ve studied in Exodus are important and amazing. The Laws of God are perfect, and the Tabernacle with its furnishing and its ceremonies hold great significance and beauty. But these are all just SHADOWS. Shadows of the REALITY we find in Jesus Christ … our Sacrificial Lamb, our great High Priest, our Savior and Lord.
