Scripture Romans 5:11
Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (NIV)
And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. (KJV)
Comment
Radio callers question
In trying to make the jump to a belief in Christianity, one of the key things I get confused about is the “atonement”.
Why was there not another way other than the crucifixion of Jesus to atone for our sins?
It seems a harsh roundabout way achieving what God wanted.
The word atonement, which is almost the only theological term of English origin, has a curious history.
The verb "atone", from the adverbial phrase "at one" (M.E. at oon), at first meant to reconcile, or make "at one"; from this it came to denote the action by which such reconciliation was effected, e.g. satisfaction for all offense or an injury.
"For God indeed was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself" (2 Corinthians 5:19).
Source: www.newadvent.org
Response from Radio Guest
The atonement actually begins with the incarnation and God cared about us enough that He would want to become one of us.
He made us in His image.
We were spiritual, we were intelligent, we had creative thoughts, imagination, language.
We were made in His image and then we rebelled against Him.
God cannot tolerate sin.
God created the world to be good and to be holy like He is.
Man brought sin into the world.
As CS Lewis put it – we are not straight anymore, now we are bent and broken.
God loved us enough that He sent His son to become one of us, to relate to us but then also to pay the penalty that would have been due to us.
In other words, if I am a criminal and I kill someone and I break the law and I am in prison and then I am going to face the death sentence for that.
Somebody can come along and say ‘you know, I will take the death penalty for him, I will very graciously take his place if you let him go.’
Now this actually happened by the way in Auschwitz in 1941 with Maximillian Kolbe who voluntariliy took the place and died for another man and the man was set free.
And so this is somewhat what God did.
He came down in human form to die for humanity and take their place and in effect said I am going to show them how much I love them by doing this.
The interesting thing is, if you were in prison and on death row for murder and I came along and said I will take you place, that’s fine. But I am one limited person who can only be an exchange for one other limited person. The beauty of what Jesus did is that He is an infinite person and therefore He could die for an infinite number of people and save them. Now the reason I think, and when I watched Mel Gibsons movie the Passion of the Christ, this came to my mind – “Why is it so gruesome? Why is this so gory? Why did He have to go through this?”
And I think it was God trying to demonstrate how horrendous and egregious and wicked and upturning sin really is. It is not viewed by God or the church that sin is ‘oh we did something wrong, slap us on the hand’ but that sin is really a violation of the general rule that God made for the world and His moral code. And by violating that it does such damage not only to mankind but to all creation. It was so egregious and awful and wicked that only the crucifixion and a death like that could show and demonstrate how really bad it was and the consequences it brought about.
I think at the moment of Jesus death on the Cross was one of God’s most glorious moments. Jesus said ‘when I am raised up’ He is almost viewing this as being put upon a throne, the highest moment of a King, in all His glory. Jesus saw being raised up on the Cross as that pinnacle moment. It was at that moment where God who is Love by His very nature demonstrated to mankind how pure and powerful His love is. That He was willing to do that for us who didn’t even deserve it. How could you demonstrate love more than by that act?
Only God could come down and wipe out the sin and save us from the corruption that we have buried ourselves in and that is why I think we have the atonement.
(follow up question from radio caller)
Do you think that Jesus being God could have done it with a snap of His fingers?
He could have done something like that.
If I was Him I would have had a different reaction.
I would have said ‘you disobeyed, you are now living in sin and squalor and completely egregious behaviour. I am going to wipe you off the face of the earth’
I am not as loving as He is, I would have said ‘I am going to let you just rot in your choices’.
Maybe God could have snapped His fingers and done it, but because God is holy and just there is a requirement that justice be taken care of.
It is like in my family with my kids, I can over and over again overlook an evil done by one of my children but I know that if I have a great sense of justice that justice has to be done. If one son is beating up on another son all of the time I can’t just forgive him and ignore it I have to actually step in and rectify that.
And that is what God did. He came in and rectified it. He actually satisfied His own justice.
(the caller add’s in that he is beginning to understand the concept and that in his words ‘it basically comes down to justice, it is a combination of love plus justice’)
That is a very good point.
If God by His very nature is ‘just’ and ‘loving’, how can He satisfy both of those qualities of justice and of love?
In Love, God wants to forgive.
In Justice, God has to exact punishment and make things right.
But with Him and coming down and taking the punishment Himself, He satisfied both aspects of justice and love.
Source: Transcribed from the Catholic Answers Live radio show – Episode ca091023a
titled "Open Forum for Non-Catholics"
with guest Steve Ray
Showing posts with label '4 Steve Ray. Show all posts
Showing posts with label '4 Steve Ray. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Thursday, November 26, 2009
2 Maccabees 2:4-8 and Revelation 11:19 – 12:2 – Ark of the Covenant
2 Maccabees 2:4-8 and Revelation 11:19 – 12:2 – Ark of the Covenant
2 Maccabees 2:4-8
The same document also tells how the prophet, following a divine revelation, ordered that the tent and the ark should accompany him and how he went off to the mountain which Moses climbed to see God's inheritance. When Jeremiah arrived there, he found a room in a cave in which he put the tent, the ark, and the altar of incense; then he blocked up the entrance. Some of those who followed him came up intending to mark the path, but they could not find it. When Jeremiah heard of this, he reproved them:
"The place is to remain unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows them mercy.
Then the Lord will disclose these things, and the glory of the Lord will be seen in the cloud, just as it appeared in the time of Moses and when Solomon prayed that the Place might be gloriously sanctified."
Revelation 11:19 – 12:2
Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery.
Comment
The small empire built up by David and expanded by his son Solomon broke up after Solomon died (see 1 Kings 12). The two small kingdoms of Israel and Judah could not stand up against the great world powers. First Israel fell to Assyria (see 2 Kings 17:1-6); then Judah fell to Babylon (see 2 Kings 25).
The prophet Jeremiah had warned the people of Judah that God's judgment was coming upon them. But he had also predicted a time when God would build up His people again and make a "new covenant" with them (see Jeremiah 31:27-34).
A story in 2 Maccabees 2:4-8 tells us that Jeremiah prepared for that time by hiding the Ark of the Covenant on Mount Nebo.
Since that time, the Ark has never been seen on earth again.
The Ark would not be seen again until the time when God showed His mercy and gathered His people together again. But when would that be?
Luke uses parallel language and images to make his point about the Ark of the Covenant. But John, the author of Revelation, tells us directly that he saw the Ark of the Covenant - the holy object that had been lost since Jeremiah's time - in a vision. This is a strange string of images, almost overwhelming - like much of the book of Revelation. But certainly the statement that the Ark of the Covenant was visible must have caught the attention of the first people who heard the vision.
If the Ark had been seen, then the time Jeremiah spoke of must have come: the time when "God gathers his people together again and shows them mercy," the time when "the glory of the Lord will be seen in the cloud, just as it appeared in the time of Moses" (see 2 Maccabees 7-8)
And indeed the sights and sounds are the same as in the time of Moses - storm and earthquake:
"There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a violent hailstorm" (see Revelation 11:19).
"On the morning of the third day there were peals of thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled . . . Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke, for the LORD came down upon it in fire. The smoke rose from it as though from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently" (see Exodus 19:16, 18)
Naturally, we want to hear more about the rediscovered Ark of the Covenant.
And John goes on to describe what he sees: "a woman clothed with the sun" (see Revelation 12:1).
In our modern Bibles, there is a chapter division between the appearance of the Ark of the Covenant and the description of the "woman clothed with the sun."
But chapter divisions were added in the Middle Ages (in the twelfth century) to make the books of the Bible easier to refer to.
John did not make any divisions: he wrote straight through from Revelation 11:19 to Revelation 12:1 without a break.
In the dream-like but deeply significant logic of John's vision, the Ark of the Covenant is "a woman clothed with the sun."
But does this passage in Revelation really refer to Mary? Some say the woman represents Israel or the Church, and certainly she does. John’s use of rich symbolism is well known, but it is obvious from the Bible itself that the woman is Mary.
The Bible begins with Genesis with a real man (Adam), a real woman (Eve) and a real serpent (the devil) — and it also ends with Revelation with a real man (Jesus, the Last Adam, 1 Cor 15:45), a real woman (Mary the New Eve, Rev 11:19—12:2) and a real serpent (the devil of old). All this was foretold in Genesis 3:15.
Source: a Bible Study from SalvationHistory.com (that is why you see all of the scripture references in brackets)
Plus the inserted text at the end is from
Steve Ray’s article about the Ark of the New Covenant
2 Maccabees 2:4-8
The same document also tells how the prophet, following a divine revelation, ordered that the tent and the ark should accompany him and how he went off to the mountain which Moses climbed to see God's inheritance. When Jeremiah arrived there, he found a room in a cave in which he put the tent, the ark, and the altar of incense; then he blocked up the entrance. Some of those who followed him came up intending to mark the path, but they could not find it. When Jeremiah heard of this, he reproved them:
"The place is to remain unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows them mercy.
Then the Lord will disclose these things, and the glory of the Lord will be seen in the cloud, just as it appeared in the time of Moses and when Solomon prayed that the Place might be gloriously sanctified."
Revelation 11:19 – 12:2
Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery.
Comment
The small empire built up by David and expanded by his son Solomon broke up after Solomon died (see 1 Kings 12). The two small kingdoms of Israel and Judah could not stand up against the great world powers. First Israel fell to Assyria (see 2 Kings 17:1-6); then Judah fell to Babylon (see 2 Kings 25).
The prophet Jeremiah had warned the people of Judah that God's judgment was coming upon them. But he had also predicted a time when God would build up His people again and make a "new covenant" with them (see Jeremiah 31:27-34).
A story in 2 Maccabees 2:4-8 tells us that Jeremiah prepared for that time by hiding the Ark of the Covenant on Mount Nebo.
Since that time, the Ark has never been seen on earth again.
The Ark would not be seen again until the time when God showed His mercy and gathered His people together again. But when would that be?
Luke uses parallel language and images to make his point about the Ark of the Covenant. But John, the author of Revelation, tells us directly that he saw the Ark of the Covenant - the holy object that had been lost since Jeremiah's time - in a vision. This is a strange string of images, almost overwhelming - like much of the book of Revelation. But certainly the statement that the Ark of the Covenant was visible must have caught the attention of the first people who heard the vision.
If the Ark had been seen, then the time Jeremiah spoke of must have come: the time when "God gathers his people together again and shows them mercy," the time when "the glory of the Lord will be seen in the cloud, just as it appeared in the time of Moses" (see 2 Maccabees 7-8)
And indeed the sights and sounds are the same as in the time of Moses - storm and earthquake:
"There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a violent hailstorm" (see Revelation 11:19).
"On the morning of the third day there were peals of thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled . . . Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke, for the LORD came down upon it in fire. The smoke rose from it as though from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently" (see Exodus 19:16, 18)
Naturally, we want to hear more about the rediscovered Ark of the Covenant.
And John goes on to describe what he sees: "a woman clothed with the sun" (see Revelation 12:1).
In our modern Bibles, there is a chapter division between the appearance of the Ark of the Covenant and the description of the "woman clothed with the sun."
But chapter divisions were added in the Middle Ages (in the twelfth century) to make the books of the Bible easier to refer to.
John did not make any divisions: he wrote straight through from Revelation 11:19 to Revelation 12:1 without a break.
In the dream-like but deeply significant logic of John's vision, the Ark of the Covenant is "a woman clothed with the sun."
But does this passage in Revelation really refer to Mary? Some say the woman represents Israel or the Church, and certainly she does. John’s use of rich symbolism is well known, but it is obvious from the Bible itself that the woman is Mary.
The Bible begins with Genesis with a real man (Adam), a real woman (Eve) and a real serpent (the devil) — and it also ends with Revelation with a real man (Jesus, the Last Adam, 1 Cor 15:45), a real woman (Mary the New Eve, Rev 11:19—12:2) and a real serpent (the devil of old). All this was foretold in Genesis 3:15.
Source: a Bible Study from SalvationHistory.com (that is why you see all of the scripture references in brackets)
Plus the inserted text at the end is from
Steve Ray’s article about the Ark of the New Covenant
2 Samuel 6:12-14 and Luke 1:39-43, 56 – Ark of the Lord
2 Samuel 6:12-14 and Luke 1:39-43, 56 – Ark of the Lord
[9] And David was afraid of the LORD that day; and he said, "How can the ark of the LORD come to me?"
[10] So David was not willing to take the ark of the LORD into the city of David; but David took it aside to the house of O'bed-e'dom the Gittite.
[11] And the ark of the LORD remained in the house of O'bed-e'dom the Gittite three months; and the LORD blessed O'bed-e'dom and all his household.
[12] And it was told King David, "The LORD has blessed the household of O'bed-e'dom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God." So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of O'bed-e'dom to the city of David with rejoicing;
[13] and when those who bore the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling.
[14] And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.
Luke 1:39-43, 56
[39] In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah,
[40] and she entered the house of Zechari'ah and greeted Elizabeth.
[41] And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit
[42] and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
[43] And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
[44] For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy.
[56] And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home.
Comment
Soon it will be the season of Advent where many will focus on the scripture leading up to and including the Birth of Jesus, our Saviour.
Some of this weeks scripture touches on Advent but also follows the theme that Ben introduced two weeks ago on the ‘Ark of the Covenant’
I hope to present some verses from the New Testament which relate to the Ark of the Covenant but in a ‘new’ way.
There are an incredible number of similarities found in the Old and New Testaments – the Ark of the Covenant is but one topic of many.
Christians for the last 2000 years have seen these similarities and probably the best quote to reflect this understanding is from Saint Augustine (354-430AD):
The Old Testament is revealed in the New and the New is concealed in the Old.
Some parallels seen in the above two passages - taken from Steve Ray’s article about the Ark of the Covenant.
• Mary arose and went to the hill country of Judea. Ein Kerem where Elizabeth lived and O'bed-e'dom from which the Ark was carried are a stone’s throw away from each other. Mary and the Ark were both on a journey to the same hill country of Judea.
• When David saw the Ark he rejoiced and said, “Who am I that the Ark of the Lord should come to me?” and what does Elizabeth say? She shouts out almost the same words, “Who am I that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?”
• When David approached the Ark he shouted out and danced and leapt in front of the Ark. He even wore an ephod which was the clothing of a priest. When Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant approaches Elizabeth John the Baptist leapt in his mothers womb – and John was from the priestly line of Aaron. Both leapt and danced in the presence of the Ark. David was filled with the Spirit to dance and rejoice; Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
• The Ark of the Old Covenant remained in the house of Obed-edom for three months and we are told that Mary remained in the house of Elizabeth for three months
[9] And David was afraid of the LORD that day; and he said, "How can the ark of the LORD come to me?"
[10] So David was not willing to take the ark of the LORD into the city of David; but David took it aside to the house of O'bed-e'dom the Gittite.
[11] And the ark of the LORD remained in the house of O'bed-e'dom the Gittite three months; and the LORD blessed O'bed-e'dom and all his household.
[12] And it was told King David, "The LORD has blessed the household of O'bed-e'dom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God." So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of O'bed-e'dom to the city of David with rejoicing;
[13] and when those who bore the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling.
[14] And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod.
Luke 1:39-43, 56
[39] In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah,
[40] and she entered the house of Zechari'ah and greeted Elizabeth.
[41] And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit
[42] and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
[43] And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
[44] For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy.
[56] And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home.
Comment
Soon it will be the season of Advent where many will focus on the scripture leading up to and including the Birth of Jesus, our Saviour.
Some of this weeks scripture touches on Advent but also follows the theme that Ben introduced two weeks ago on the ‘Ark of the Covenant’
I hope to present some verses from the New Testament which relate to the Ark of the Covenant but in a ‘new’ way.
There are an incredible number of similarities found in the Old and New Testaments – the Ark of the Covenant is but one topic of many.
Christians for the last 2000 years have seen these similarities and probably the best quote to reflect this understanding is from Saint Augustine (354-430AD):
The Old Testament is revealed in the New and the New is concealed in the Old.
Some parallels seen in the above two passages - taken from Steve Ray’s article about the Ark of the Covenant.
• Mary arose and went to the hill country of Judea. Ein Kerem where Elizabeth lived and O'bed-e'dom from which the Ark was carried are a stone’s throw away from each other. Mary and the Ark were both on a journey to the same hill country of Judea.
• When David saw the Ark he rejoiced and said, “Who am I that the Ark of the Lord should come to me?” and what does Elizabeth say? She shouts out almost the same words, “Who am I that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?”
• When David approached the Ark he shouted out and danced and leapt in front of the Ark. He even wore an ephod which was the clothing of a priest. When Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant approaches Elizabeth John the Baptist leapt in his mothers womb – and John was from the priestly line of Aaron. Both leapt and danced in the presence of the Ark. David was filled with the Spirit to dance and rejoice; Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
• The Ark of the Old Covenant remained in the house of Obed-edom for three months and we are told that Mary remained in the house of Elizabeth for three months
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Jesus in the Garden
Typology is found throughout the Bible and helps us better understand God’s Word.
Typology can be said to be where the stories in the Old Testament and New Testament match.
As Saint Augustine said: the New Testament concealed in the Old and the Old Testament is revealed in the New.
In Romans 5:14 Paul specifically calls Adam a type of Christ – a foreshadowing of Christ –a dim image that Christ would later perfect and fulfil.
If we are going to understand what Jesus did in the New Testament, we have to go back and look at what the first Adam failed to do.
And so, when we go back to Genesis Chapter 2, God created man and put him in the garden. Verse 15 says The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and to keep it. Now that word ‘keep’ is a very interesting word. In Hebrew it is ‘shamar’ and it literally means to guard, to protect, to preserve. And so you have to ask yourself at that point, guard it against what? We don’t know at that point.
Verse 16 and 17 goes on to say: the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die." That is what we call the ordeal in the early story – keep and guard this garden but don’t eat from that one tree or the penalty will be death.
Then God creates Eve and He takes Eve from Adams rib, creates and fashions Eve and brings Eve to Adam and the two become one flesh. It is implied that Adam will have to teach Eve that we have to guard the garden and she may say “Guard it against what?” He would reply “I’m not sure at this point, but if we eat of that one tree we are going to die”.
And that is the issue, obedience and death. God has created us in His image and likeness which means that we have an intellect and a will.
In Genesis Chapter 3, the serpent comes into the garden. Now that word serpent is not a cute little garden snake. The word serpent is the word “nahash” in Hebrew, and it is also translated to the great Leviathan, a sea monster, a large venomous creature. The serpent says immediately to the woman "Did God say, `You shall not eat of any tree of the garden'?"
Now that’s a question right away. Not "Does God exist, but can you trust Him?". The woman gives an explanation what to eat and the serpent replies "You will not die”. Now the question is “Where is Adam here?” Adam has a responsibility to guard and protect the garden and his bride, but he is very silent. Why was Adam silent in the garden and why did he let Eve to answer on his behalf?
It is likely that he was scared, very scared! In the Hebrew, the sentence is incomplete when the serpent says “Did God say? and there is a veiled threat in the snakes question that is “if you don’t eat of that fruit you are gonna die because you are gonna mess with me".
God says "You will die if you eat it. I am implying here that you are gonna mess with me if you do eat it” Adam is stuck in the middle. He has several choices. One, does he entrust himself to the Father, as Peter told us to do in his letter and say Father I need help what should I do?, Or does he roll up his sleeves and say to the enemy “You are not getting my bride, you are not getting this garden and I am willing to even suffer and die for what God has told me to do". But he is silent. Naturally it is pride that causes the fall of Adam and Eve, but it looks here like Adam is afraid to suffer and they end up falling.
What is interesting after this, is the curse. In Genesis 3:15 God says “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." The Early Church Fathers tell us this is the proto-evangelium, the first announcement of good news and the answer to the problem of original sin is going to involve a deep bruising and it will be in the heel. Christ is the head we are the body.
In verse 16, God says “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” What is He saying to Eve? God is saying "I am going to help you see how to love. Here is the penalty, you are going to give yourself to your husband, you are going to love your husband, the result will be pain. You are going to have pain, in childbirth, but it results in fruit, the birth of a child". And God says to Adam, "You are going to work the fields, you’re going to sweat, there are going to be thorns and thistles".
But what’s going to come out of the field, fruit - bread. Jesus has assumed the curse of Adam upon Himself, the curse of sweat, the curse of blood and thorns. What God is teaching them at this point is that “You’re afraid to suffer and trust Me when I told you something to do, I am going to help you learn what real love is all about”.
Now if you go to the New Testament, you will see the opposite of this in Jesus. We asked the question earlier, "Why did Jesus come?"
People say, He came to die for my sins, but He came to more than just die. Because if He came to just die, He would have done it right away and got it over with. But Jesus came to do a few other things. He was silent on death. He ran away from death at every turn before Matthew 16, but then in Matthew 16 He gives the keys to Peter and establishes the kingdom. Then immediately after establishing the kingdom, what does He bring up. In Matthew 16:21 it says “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Now you remember back in Genesis, what did the enemy say to Adam “you surely shall not die”.
And that is the issue, you are not gonna die. There is an easier way Adam, there is an easier way to get on in life separate from God. Right away when Jesus said to the disciples “I am going to suffer, I am going to die”, Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him saying “God forbid it Lord, this shall not happen to you”. And Jesus realising what’s happening here, that he is entering his ordeal as the last Adam and about to enter the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus says to Peter “Get behind me satan, you are a stumbling block to me for you are not setting your mind on Gods interests but mans”.
And so Jesus then enters His ordeal when he goes to His garden and there is an uncanny parallel between the Garden of Gethsemane and the first garden with Adam and where Jesus (the second Adam) enters the garden, and you know the story in Matthew 26 where Jesus underwent tremendous agony in the garden to the point of death.
What’s interesting about the story is that in Matthew 26:36-38 it says “Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsem'ane, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here, while I go yonder and pray. And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zeb'edee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me."
The same wording that we see in the Old Testament ‘keep watch, keep the garden’ is used by Jesus when he said "Keep watch with me" and then He does what Adam failed to do. He entrusts himself to the Father which is not what Adam did. Adam was filled with pride and he was silent. Then in Matthew 26:39-42 it says: And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, thy will be done."
And that is the difference in the last Adam and the first Adam, Jesus totally entrusted Himself to the Father in doing what the Father asked Him to do. He poured Himself out in complete love, complete offering and He sets the example for us that we can trust the Father even if it there is suffering involved, even if there is pain involved in the redemption of man. We know that Jesus rose from the dead and so we look at His life and we say I may suffer with Him now but I will be glorified with Him later.
The second Adam, Jesus, went into the Garden, was sinless and was also tested. Jesus went to the tree and laid down His life for His bride, the Church.
The Cross becomes the Tree of Life as the Early Church Fathers called it.
In the deep sleep of Adam, from his side came forth Eve.
The second Adam, Jesus, went to the tree and in the deep sleep of death came forth blood and water which represented the waters of Baptism and the blood of the Eucharist as the Early Church Fathers understood it. The blood and water was the sacramental material from which the New Eve, the Church, is formed.
The Two Trees
Adam and Eve were not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden
Eating of the fruit wounded them, it killed them spiritually speaking. It wounded the human race with the poison of sin
The second tree was the Tree of Calvary, upon which Christ hung on the Cross.
And the fruit of that tree, the Tree of Calvary, the Holy Eucharist, is the antidote to the poison that was introduced into the world through Adam and Eve.
In one garden, the Tree of Life brought about death and in another garden the Tree of Death brought about Life.
Eve, the first mother of the living was at the foot of the first Tree and Mary, the second Eve, is at the foot of the second Tree
The Apostle John goes out of his way to inform us that the Cross and the Tomb were in a garden.
For the first Christians, Mary was also seen as the second (or New) Eve, the woman who undoes by her obedience the sin that Eve brought by her disobedience.
The first Eve listened to a fallen angel and succumbed to temptation bringing sin into the world.
Mary listened to an unfallen angel and thus brought about, through Jesus, our redemption.
Christ was conceived in Mary’s womb, and therefore is “bone of (her) bones and flesh of (her) flesh.” We read in Genesis 2:23 Adam exclaim, “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”.
What really blew my mind in the midst of all of this was realising that in this Garden of Gethsemane, guess who the bride was? You and I. You and I are standing there and Jesus is rolling up His sleeves and saying “OK I am going to offer myself for you” and now that we’re redeemed He joins us with himself and says walk as I walk, love as I love. We can use your suffering for the redemption of the world also.
Scripture supporting ‘joining our suffering with Jesus’
Collossians 1:24 -
2 Cor 12:9 – thorn in the flesh
2 Cor 4:8-11,14
2 Corinthians 1:5 – We share in Christs suffering
*****
Jesus goes into the garden. Jesus goes to the tree and undoes what Adam did and does what Adam failed to do.
Adam failed to lay down his life for Eve. Jesus says “Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his beloved.”
Why would Adam fear death at that stage if he hadn’t sinned, for God said “Eat of the tree and you will die”
Jesus also hadn’t sinned and sweated blood and felt ‘death’ in the garden.
The devil was defeated by Jesus as the devil has the power of death.
Jesus did what Adam failed to do as scripture says “Perfect love casts out fear”
Mother Teresa said once “It is not possible to LOVE GOD except at ones own expense”
Source: (primarily) Jeff Cavins plus Scott Hahn, Steven Ray and Patrick Madrid
Typology can be said to be where the stories in the Old Testament and New Testament match.
As Saint Augustine said: the New Testament concealed in the Old and the Old Testament is revealed in the New.
In Romans 5:14 Paul specifically calls Adam a type of Christ – a foreshadowing of Christ –a dim image that Christ would later perfect and fulfil.
If we are going to understand what Jesus did in the New Testament, we have to go back and look at what the first Adam failed to do.
And so, when we go back to Genesis Chapter 2, God created man and put him in the garden. Verse 15 says The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and to keep it. Now that word ‘keep’ is a very interesting word. In Hebrew it is ‘shamar’ and it literally means to guard, to protect, to preserve. And so you have to ask yourself at that point, guard it against what? We don’t know at that point.
Verse 16 and 17 goes on to say: the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die." That is what we call the ordeal in the early story – keep and guard this garden but don’t eat from that one tree or the penalty will be death.
Then God creates Eve and He takes Eve from Adams rib, creates and fashions Eve and brings Eve to Adam and the two become one flesh. It is implied that Adam will have to teach Eve that we have to guard the garden and she may say “Guard it against what?” He would reply “I’m not sure at this point, but if we eat of that one tree we are going to die”.
And that is the issue, obedience and death. God has created us in His image and likeness which means that we have an intellect and a will.
In Genesis Chapter 3, the serpent comes into the garden. Now that word serpent is not a cute little garden snake. The word serpent is the word “nahash” in Hebrew, and it is also translated to the great Leviathan, a sea monster, a large venomous creature. The serpent says immediately to the woman "Did God say, `You shall not eat of any tree of the garden'?"
Now that’s a question right away. Not "Does God exist, but can you trust Him?". The woman gives an explanation what to eat and the serpent replies "You will not die”. Now the question is “Where is Adam here?” Adam has a responsibility to guard and protect the garden and his bride, but he is very silent. Why was Adam silent in the garden and why did he let Eve to answer on his behalf?
It is likely that he was scared, very scared! In the Hebrew, the sentence is incomplete when the serpent says “Did God say? and there is a veiled threat in the snakes question that is “if you don’t eat of that fruit you are gonna die because you are gonna mess with me".
God says "You will die if you eat it. I am implying here that you are gonna mess with me if you do eat it” Adam is stuck in the middle. He has several choices. One, does he entrust himself to the Father, as Peter told us to do in his letter and say Father I need help what should I do?, Or does he roll up his sleeves and say to the enemy “You are not getting my bride, you are not getting this garden and I am willing to even suffer and die for what God has told me to do". But he is silent. Naturally it is pride that causes the fall of Adam and Eve, but it looks here like Adam is afraid to suffer and they end up falling.
What is interesting after this, is the curse. In Genesis 3:15 God says “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." The Early Church Fathers tell us this is the proto-evangelium, the first announcement of good news and the answer to the problem of original sin is going to involve a deep bruising and it will be in the heel. Christ is the head we are the body.
In verse 16, God says “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” What is He saying to Eve? God is saying "I am going to help you see how to love. Here is the penalty, you are going to give yourself to your husband, you are going to love your husband, the result will be pain. You are going to have pain, in childbirth, but it results in fruit, the birth of a child". And God says to Adam, "You are going to work the fields, you’re going to sweat, there are going to be thorns and thistles".
But what’s going to come out of the field, fruit - bread. Jesus has assumed the curse of Adam upon Himself, the curse of sweat, the curse of blood and thorns. What God is teaching them at this point is that “You’re afraid to suffer and trust Me when I told you something to do, I am going to help you learn what real love is all about”.
Now if you go to the New Testament, you will see the opposite of this in Jesus. We asked the question earlier, "Why did Jesus come?"
People say, He came to die for my sins, but He came to more than just die. Because if He came to just die, He would have done it right away and got it over with. But Jesus came to do a few other things. He was silent on death. He ran away from death at every turn before Matthew 16, but then in Matthew 16 He gives the keys to Peter and establishes the kingdom. Then immediately after establishing the kingdom, what does He bring up. In Matthew 16:21 it says “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Now you remember back in Genesis, what did the enemy say to Adam “you surely shall not die”.
And that is the issue, you are not gonna die. There is an easier way Adam, there is an easier way to get on in life separate from God. Right away when Jesus said to the disciples “I am going to suffer, I am going to die”, Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him saying “God forbid it Lord, this shall not happen to you”. And Jesus realising what’s happening here, that he is entering his ordeal as the last Adam and about to enter the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus says to Peter “Get behind me satan, you are a stumbling block to me for you are not setting your mind on Gods interests but mans”.
And so Jesus then enters His ordeal when he goes to His garden and there is an uncanny parallel between the Garden of Gethsemane and the first garden with Adam and where Jesus (the second Adam) enters the garden, and you know the story in Matthew 26 where Jesus underwent tremendous agony in the garden to the point of death.
What’s interesting about the story is that in Matthew 26:36-38 it says “Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsem'ane, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here, while I go yonder and pray. And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zeb'edee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me."
The same wording that we see in the Old Testament ‘keep watch, keep the garden’ is used by Jesus when he said "Keep watch with me" and then He does what Adam failed to do. He entrusts himself to the Father which is not what Adam did. Adam was filled with pride and he was silent. Then in Matthew 26:39-42 it says: And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, "So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, thy will be done."
And that is the difference in the last Adam and the first Adam, Jesus totally entrusted Himself to the Father in doing what the Father asked Him to do. He poured Himself out in complete love, complete offering and He sets the example for us that we can trust the Father even if it there is suffering involved, even if there is pain involved in the redemption of man. We know that Jesus rose from the dead and so we look at His life and we say I may suffer with Him now but I will be glorified with Him later.
The second Adam, Jesus, went into the Garden, was sinless and was also tested. Jesus went to the tree and laid down His life for His bride, the Church.
The Cross becomes the Tree of Life as the Early Church Fathers called it.
In the deep sleep of Adam, from his side came forth Eve.
The second Adam, Jesus, went to the tree and in the deep sleep of death came forth blood and water which represented the waters of Baptism and the blood of the Eucharist as the Early Church Fathers understood it. The blood and water was the sacramental material from which the New Eve, the Church, is formed.
The Two Trees
Adam and Eve were not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden
Eating of the fruit wounded them, it killed them spiritually speaking. It wounded the human race with the poison of sin
The second tree was the Tree of Calvary, upon which Christ hung on the Cross.
And the fruit of that tree, the Tree of Calvary, the Holy Eucharist, is the antidote to the poison that was introduced into the world through Adam and Eve.
In one garden, the Tree of Life brought about death and in another garden the Tree of Death brought about Life.
Eve, the first mother of the living was at the foot of the first Tree and Mary, the second Eve, is at the foot of the second Tree
The Apostle John goes out of his way to inform us that the Cross and the Tomb were in a garden.
For the first Christians, Mary was also seen as the second (or New) Eve, the woman who undoes by her obedience the sin that Eve brought by her disobedience.
The first Eve listened to a fallen angel and succumbed to temptation bringing sin into the world.
Mary listened to an unfallen angel and thus brought about, through Jesus, our redemption.
Christ was conceived in Mary’s womb, and therefore is “bone of (her) bones and flesh of (her) flesh.” We read in Genesis 2:23 Adam exclaim, “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”.
What really blew my mind in the midst of all of this was realising that in this Garden of Gethsemane, guess who the bride was? You and I. You and I are standing there and Jesus is rolling up His sleeves and saying “OK I am going to offer myself for you” and now that we’re redeemed He joins us with himself and says walk as I walk, love as I love. We can use your suffering for the redemption of the world also.
Scripture supporting ‘joining our suffering with Jesus’
Collossians 1:24 -
2 Cor 12:9 – thorn in the flesh
2 Cor 4:8-11,14
2 Corinthians 1:5 – We share in Christs suffering
*****
Jesus goes into the garden. Jesus goes to the tree and undoes what Adam did and does what Adam failed to do.
Adam failed to lay down his life for Eve. Jesus says “Greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his beloved.”
Why would Adam fear death at that stage if he hadn’t sinned, for God said “Eat of the tree and you will die”
Jesus also hadn’t sinned and sweated blood and felt ‘death’ in the garden.
The devil was defeated by Jesus as the devil has the power of death.
Jesus did what Adam failed to do as scripture says “Perfect love casts out fear”
Mother Teresa said once “It is not possible to LOVE GOD except at ones own expense”
Source: (primarily) Jeff Cavins plus Scott Hahn, Steven Ray and Patrick Madrid
Romans 5:12-14 - Adam is a type of Christ
SCRIPTURE Romans 5:12-14
Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned - sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
COMMENT
In the above verse Paul calls Adam a type of Christ – a foreshadowing of Christ –a dim image that Christ would later perfect and fulfil.
This is an example of typology.
A simple definition for typology is where the stories in the Old Testament and New Testament match.
To illustrate the definition - the Old Testament contains the ‘shadow’ and the New Testament contains the ‘real thing’.
The Old Testament is the ‘negative’ whereas the New Testament is the ‘full colour photo’.
Typology is found throughout the Bible. From the first century to today, typology has been used to better understand God’s Word.
Saint Augustine (354-430 AD) aptly put it “the New Testament is concealed in the Old and the Old Testament is revealed in the New.”
The Two Adams
Unfortunately, by far the best explanation I have ever heard of understanding about what Jesus did in the New Testament by looking at what the first Adam failed to do is a little long (2 pages). So I have decided not to include it. Should anyone want a copy emailed to them just let me know.
Below are two other interesting examples of typology, as it relates to Genesis.
The Two Trees
Adam and Eve were told not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden.
Eating of the fruit wounded them, it killed them spiritually speaking. It wounded the human race with the poison of sin
The second tree was the Tree of Calvary, upon which Christ hung on the Cross.
And the fruit of that tree, the Tree of Calvary, the Holy Eucharist, is the antidote to the poison that was introduced into the world through Adam and Eve.
The word "Eucharist" comes from the Greek noun εὐχαριστία (transliterated, "eucharistia"), meaning thanksgiving. (Definition from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucharist)
The Two Eve’s
Adam did not act alone, for Eve cooperated substantially in the Fall of man.
In one garden, the Tree of Life brought about death and in another garden the Tree of Death brought about Life.
Eve, the first mother of the living was at the foot of the first Tree and Mary, the New Eve, is at the foot of the second Tree
The Apostle John goes out of his way to inform us that the Cross and the Tomb were in a garden.
For the first Christians, Mary was also seen as the Second or New Eve, the woman who undoes by her obedience the sin that Eve brought by her disobedience.
The first Eve listened to a fallen angel and succumbed to temptation bringing sin into the world.
Mary listened to an unfallen angel and thus brought about, through Jesus, our redemption.
Christ was conceived in Mary’s womb, and therefore is “bone of (her) bones and flesh of (her) flesh.” We read in Genesis 2:23 Adam exclaim, “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”.
Source: Typology observations from Steven Ray and Patrick Madrid
Transcribed from a radio show titled “Typology of the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus”
Additional observations from Scott Hahn
Note: The typological observation in regard to the title New Eve above is not to be confused with the title the Bride of Christ which refers to Us, the Church.
Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned - sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
COMMENT
In the above verse Paul calls Adam a type of Christ – a foreshadowing of Christ –a dim image that Christ would later perfect and fulfil.
This is an example of typology.
A simple definition for typology is where the stories in the Old Testament and New Testament match.
To illustrate the definition - the Old Testament contains the ‘shadow’ and the New Testament contains the ‘real thing’.
The Old Testament is the ‘negative’ whereas the New Testament is the ‘full colour photo’.
Typology is found throughout the Bible. From the first century to today, typology has been used to better understand God’s Word.
Saint Augustine (354-430 AD) aptly put it “the New Testament is concealed in the Old and the Old Testament is revealed in the New.”
The Two Adams
Unfortunately, by far the best explanation I have ever heard of understanding about what Jesus did in the New Testament by looking at what the first Adam failed to do is a little long (2 pages). So I have decided not to include it. Should anyone want a copy emailed to them just let me know.
Below are two other interesting examples of typology, as it relates to Genesis.
The Two Trees
Adam and Eve were told not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden.
Eating of the fruit wounded them, it killed them spiritually speaking. It wounded the human race with the poison of sin
The second tree was the Tree of Calvary, upon which Christ hung on the Cross.
And the fruit of that tree, the Tree of Calvary, the Holy Eucharist, is the antidote to the poison that was introduced into the world through Adam and Eve.
The word "Eucharist" comes from the Greek noun εὐχαριστία (transliterated, "eucharistia"), meaning thanksgiving. (Definition from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eucharist)
The Two Eve’s
Adam did not act alone, for Eve cooperated substantially in the Fall of man.
In one garden, the Tree of Life brought about death and in another garden the Tree of Death brought about Life.
Eve, the first mother of the living was at the foot of the first Tree and Mary, the New Eve, is at the foot of the second Tree
The Apostle John goes out of his way to inform us that the Cross and the Tomb were in a garden.
For the first Christians, Mary was also seen as the Second or New Eve, the woman who undoes by her obedience the sin that Eve brought by her disobedience.
The first Eve listened to a fallen angel and succumbed to temptation bringing sin into the world.
Mary listened to an unfallen angel and thus brought about, through Jesus, our redemption.
Christ was conceived in Mary’s womb, and therefore is “bone of (her) bones and flesh of (her) flesh.” We read in Genesis 2:23 Adam exclaim, “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh”.
Source: Typology observations from Steven Ray and Patrick Madrid
Transcribed from a radio show titled “Typology of the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus”
Additional observations from Scott Hahn
Note: The typological observation in regard to the title New Eve above is not to be confused with the title the Bride of Christ which refers to Us, the Church.
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