Series: Jesus’ Blood for Me
“From His Hands and Feet”
Exodus 12:21-28
Pastor John Bright
Exodus 12 “21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the [g]lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. 24 And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever. 25 It will come to pass when you come to the land which the Lord will give you, just as He promised, that you shall keep this service. 26 And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ 27 that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’ ” So the people bowed their heads and worshiped. 28 Then the children of Israel went away and did so; just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron, so they did.”
Like most years, the dates for the Sundays in March are the same as those in February. Every four years, we have a leap year. Why? A year is 365.25 days –more precisely, 365d 5h 48m 47.26s. It used to mess up the solar calendar. That gives rise to the need to reconcile those leftover hours, minutes, and seconds. February 29 reconciles those days as we leap over them every four years – we redeem these partial days.
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I want to be up front with you today. I have two goals for this Lenten sermon series:
• I want to make you uncomfortable. I want you to be uncomfortable with the gruesome process by which Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, was tortured and executed. Why make you uncomfortable? We tend to forget the price of our redemption was suffering and death.
• Take away all your excuses. In 1991, a book came out entitled, “Yes, Lord I Have Sinned, but I Have Several Excellent Excuses” (James Moore, 2012, 20th ed.). We love our excuses, justifications, and “yeah-buts.”
Police officers probably get more excuses than anybody (other than God). Here are some I found around the internet: “Sorry officer, I was throwing those beer cans out the window so my wife won’t see how much I drank tonight.” 😊
“If you are going to write me a ticket, please do it quickly as I was trying to get to a bathroom.”😊
“Yes, officer, I know I was speeding, but I was trying to get to the gas station before they raise the price again.”😊
So, prepare to be uncomfortable and prepare to lose all excuses as we explore the seven ways Jesus bled for our redemption. Today, we start with a familiar story from Exodus 12.
This is the beginning of that story where God tells the Israelites what they needed to do:
1 – Kill the Passover lamb
2 – Collect the blood in a bowl
3 – Put the blood on the two sides and top of the door
The result would be what God promised to do – pass over their houses with the final plague of the death of all firstborn in Egypt. These firstborn were dedicated to the Egyptian gods. This was a conditional promise: if you do this, then God will do that. Put another way, if you don’t - He won’t.
Repeat after me: “If I don’t – God won’t.” This is true even if you have several excellent excuses. What about the Hebrews? What if they had collected the blood and not applied it? Then, their firstborn would have died – no excuses or yeah-buts.
First Key Principle for Redemption: Blood must be shed and blood must be applied
In the wilderness, God instituted worship and the sacrifice of animals for the forgiveness of sin, but not just sins – sins, transgressions, and iniquities. The High Priest would take the blood into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle it on top of the Ark of the Covenant – the Mercy Seat. – seven times. Leviticus 16:14 “He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.”
Jesus bled in seven ways so that all our sins, transgressions, and iniquities would be redeemed. Hebrews 9:22 “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.” Since the blood has been shed, we need to apply the blood. I will not be covering these in chronological order. I also will not cover the first time Jesus bled for us. Do you know that one?
First way Jesus bled – from His hands
All four of the Gospels have this one line: “they crucified Him.” Matthew 27:35, Mark 15:24, Luke 23:33, John 19:18. Each Gospel shares unique details, and many share the same description of this event that changed human history forever.
Roman crucifixion included placing large nails – about 7 inches long – like the one I have here into the hands and feet. This would secure them to wooden posts and suspend the person above the ground. It was a splendidly simple form of execution. Just three nails into a wooden cross.
Your hands are wonderful creations of God! Look at your hands. But if left to do whatever we want – those hands get us into trouble. Try telling a child, “Don’t touch that!” Eve used her hand to pick a forbidden fruit. Adam received the forbidden fruit from Eve. Cain used his hand to murder his brother. Genesis 4:11 “So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.” What have your hands done? Mine should be stained with the sins of alcoholism and drug addiction – the ways I mistreated others, especially women – the children I fathered who were aborted. Did you notice I said, “should be stained?”
You know the hymn – sing with me: “What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
The Roman guards stretched out the arms of Jesus, took His hands… the hands that healed, the hands that raised the dead, the hands that multiplied the loaves and fishes… took His hands and made them bleed for the sins and transgressions of our hands. Into those hands went a seven-inch spike. Right here – between the palm and wrist. This is the location of nail marks in the exhumed bodies from the 1st century. It matches the location described in written instructions for Roman crucifixion. That location does not break bones. This is important because of the Messianic prophesies connecting Jesus to the Passover lamb – Exodus 12:46 “In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones.”
That location on the wrist also causes excruciating pain as it severs the median nerve. Has anybody here ever had carpal tunnel syndrome? I am told it's very painful when that nerve is irritated. Now, think about pushing a huge nail through that nerve. It caused great pain and suffering so Jesus could bleed to redeem the sins and transgressions of our hands.
A definition of sin
The Greek word for sin is ‘hamartia.” It means ‘to miss the mark.” This classic interpretation refers to an archer missing the bullseye with an arrow. There are three possible causes for the miss:
• Unintentional – archer did not mean to miss – still wrong – Hebrew word: ‘chattah’ – sin
• Intentional – archer means to miss – wrong – Hebrew word: ‘pesha’ – transgression
• Defective Bow – archer will always miss – always wrong – Hebrew word: ‘avon’ – iniquity Check out this word study - https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/avon-iniquity/
The actions of our hands, sins, and transgressions need to be redeemed. James 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” That one should be marked in your Bible. Hands – cleansed. Hearts – purified. The heart is the inward part where we find iniquity. That brings us to Jesus’ feet.
Second way Jesus bled – from His feet
The feet represent the way we go where we go – our intentions. Jesus told folks there were two ways to go in the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 7:13-14 “13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
Our feet represent the decisions we make. We make decisions based on the pain from the past. We make decisions based on what we have been told about ourselves. We make decisions based on “IT’S MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY!” What we need to realize is that the mercy of God is from everlasting to everlasting(Psalm 103:17). God can completely redeem the iniquity within us that drives us to do wrong. Amen?
The same kind of spike that was used on Jesus’ hands would also have been used on his feet. The Roman soldier would place one foot on top of the other and drive the spike between the second and third toes. Try crossing your legs and feel that spot. On the cross, Jesus would have put all His weight on that one spot to push up and take a breath. Ever stepped on a nail? I did - three times as a kid running around the farm. It was painful. Imagine that pain. Now, multiply it by 100 or 200 or 300. That’s the cost of Jesus bleeding from His feet to redeem what drives us to make all the wrong choices – our iniquity.
Titus 2:11-14 “11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”
Remember: Blood must be shed for redemption. Blood must be applied for redemption.
I have a request as we move along through these weeks of Lent. Try your hardest to believe that you never
HAVE TO be driven by iniquity to commit transgressions. It’s easy to make excuses: “just human nature” or “that's just the way I am.”
God can redeem every part of you! God desperately wants this! Can you believe that? Can you? Amen.
Homework:
• Look up all the Bible verses on your teaching sheet. Do you habitually make excuses for the sin in your life?
• What is driving you? Do you have an idol that competes for the place of God in your life? Are there hurts and pains from the past that make you lash out? Are there tapes from long ago on a loop in your head and heart? Take these to the foot of the cross!
• Next week: Series: “Jesus’ Blood for Me” Isaiah 53:4-6 “From His Back”
I’m thankful to Dr. Dale M. Sides for his book, “Perfect Redemption: The Purpose of His Passion” 2004. You can find the book through his website: https://lmci.org/
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TEACHING SHEET
Series: Jesus’ Blood for Me
“From His Hands and Feet”
Exodus 12:21-28
Pastor John Bright
A year is 365.25 days –more precisely, 365d 5h 48m 47.26s. It used to mess up the solar calendar. That gives rise to the need to reconcile those leftover hours, minutes, and seconds. February 29 reconciles those days as we leap over them every four years – we redeem these partial days.
Two goals for this Lenten sermon series:
• I want to make you uncomfortable.
• Take away all your excuses. In 1991, a book came out entitled, “Yes, Lord I Have Sinned, but I Have Several Excellent Excuses” (James Moore, 2012, 20th ed.). We love our excuses, justifications, and “yeah-buts.”
“If I don’t – God won’t.”
First Key Principle for Redemption: Blood must be shed and blood must be applied
Leviticus 16:14 Jesus bled in seven ways so that all our sins, transgressions, and iniquities would be redeemed. Hebrews 9:22
First way Jesus bled – from His hands
All four of the Gospels have this one line: “they crucified Him.” Matthew 27:35, Mark 15:24, Luke 23:33, John 19:18. Roman crucifixion included placing large nails – about 7 inches long – like the one I have here into the hands and feet. This would secure them to wooden posts and suspend the person above the ground. It was a splendidly simple form of execution. Just three nails into a wooden cross.
The Roman guards stretched out the arms of Jesus, and placed a nail between the palm and wrist. This is the location of nail marks in the exhumed bodies from the 1st century. It matches the location described in written instructions for Roman crucifixion.
Exodus 12:46 That location on the wrist also causes excruciating pain as it severs the median nerve.
A definition of sin
The Greek word for sin is ‘hamartia.” It means ‘to miss the mark.” There are three possible causes for the miss:
• Unintentional – archer did not mean to miss – still wrong – Hebrew word:
‘chattah’ – sin
• Intentional – archer means to miss – wrong – Hebrew word: ‘pesha’ –
transgression
• Defective Bow – archer will always miss – always wrong – Hebrew word: ‘avon’ – iniquity Check out this word study –
https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/avon-iniquity/
James 4:8
Second way Jesus bled – from His feet
The feet represent the way we go where we go – our intentions. Jesus told folks there were two ways to go in the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 7:13-14 Our feet represent the decisions we make. The same kind of spike that was used on Jesus’ hands would also have been used on his feet. The Roman soldier would place one foot on top of the other and drive the spike between the second and third toes. Titus 2:11-14
Blood must be shed for redemption. Blood must be applied for redemption.
Homework:
• Look up all the Bible verses on your teaching sheet. Do you habitually make excuses for the sin in your life?
• What is driving you? Do you have an idol that competes for the place of God in your life? Are there hurts and pains from the past that make you lash out? Are there tapes from long ago on a loop in your head and heart? Take these to the foot of the cross!
• Next week: Series: “Jesus’ Blood for Me” Isaiah 53:4-6 “From His Back”
I’m thankful to Dr. Dale M. Sides for his book, “Perfect Redemption: The Purpose of His Passion” 2004. You can find the book through his website: https://lmci.org/
