This is the week! This is what it is all about! The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus are what make it possible for us to be made right with God and to freely enter into His presence. He made us pure and blameless before God once and for all time! We now have new life and victory in Him!

In today’s blog, I am going to focus on the Old and New Covenants. This is exciting, y’all! However, in order to get to the exciting part, we must revisit the horrifying and agonizing time of suffering for our Savior.

In the beginning of the week, we recounted the tremendous price Jesus paid for our freedom and our new life. Every charge that stood against us according to the law was nailed with Him to the cross, never to be held against us again! We paused to deeply consider, imagine, listen to, and see with our mind’s eye each hammer of the nails, each stripe on his back, the extreme intensity of the beatings, the humiliation of the mocking and jeering, and the agony of separation from the Father as He carried the weight of the sins of the world on His back.

Here is a point that was only briefly mentioned, but I see it as one of the most significant events in the account of the cross.

Matthew 27:51 says, “And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.”

Do you see the significance here? The veil, or the curtain, that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies in the temple, or the barrier that kept us from being able to enter into the presence of God directly, was torn into! At one time, only the high priest could enter into the presence of God to offer sacrifices once per year to atone for the sins of the people, but now we have been given direct access into the very throne room of God!!

For centuries, priests had been offering sacrifices to pay for the sins of the people, but the blood of lambs could never wash our sins away (Hebrews 10:4). The law and the system of sacrifices were only a shadow of what was to come (Hebrews 10:1), and that was when the perfect, sinless, spotless lamb would come to wash our sins away once and for all time (Hebrews 10:10)!

Here is something even deeper. When a covenant was cut on Old Testament times, an animal was sacrificed, and the people making the covenant would pass between the pieces, signifying the permanence of the covenant. When Jesus’ body was broken on the cross, his was the sacrifice that made possible the New Covenant God was making with us that completely fulfilled the Old Covenant once and for all (Hebrews 10:11-12)!

When the veil was torn, it was because we no longer needed a barrier to keep us from the presence of God. The sin that had separated us from God has finally been paid for and nailed forever to the cross (Colossians 2:13-14)! Jesus broken body became the pathway through which we could pass freely into the presence of God, just like passing through the pieces of a sacrifice to consummate a covenant. Jesus’ body took the place of the veil, and it made the way for us to be made pure and blameless before God and to be able pass through into His presence.

Now we have a New Covenant. Instead of trying to obey the letter of the law, which could never make us right with God anyway, God has written His law in our hearts and has given us His Holy Spirit to dwell within us.

Hebrews 10:16-18 NLT says it so clearly:

Then he says,

And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.

And, what is all this about the significance of the veil being torn in the temple? Hebrews 10:19-22 spells it out perfectly!

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

Isn’t that exciting! We can boldly and freely go right into the presence of God without fear or shame. We are holy in His sight because we are been given the holiness of Jesus Christ Himself! Once and for all! Do you get that? You are accepted! You are His! And,you are holy if you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior!

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NASB

But, we can’t stop there! The story does not end with Christ on the cross. He is no longer on the cross! He has risen, triumphing forever over sin, death, hell, and the grave! Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that if our hope is only in this life, and if Christ had not resurrected from the dead, we would be utterly hopeless and still be dead in our sins.

It is Christ’s resurrection that gives us victory, life, and hope!

And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 1 Corinthians 15:17 NLT

But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 NLT

I want to conclude with these words from Peter in Acts 2. After Jesus had risen, he told the disciples to stay in the city and wait until they were “clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). Once Jesus ascended, it made the way for the coming of the Holy Spirit. When the Day of Pentecost had come, God poured out His Spirit on those waiting in the Upper Room, and the church was born!

By the way, did you ever notice that Jesus was crucified on the Passover, and the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Day of Pentecost, or the Festival of Firstfruits? Didn’t we mention that the Old Covenant was merely a shadow of things to come? Perhaps these feasts were there merely to point to their fulfillment in the Messiah? Hmmm, something to think about!

Here is part of Peter’s sermon as thousands were added to the church that day. A perfect conclusion to our study!

“God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this. Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today.

“So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”

³⁷ Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

³⁸ Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.”  Acts 2:32-39 NLT

Week 10 Discussion Questions

ICE BREAKER: What is a skill you would love to learn?

QUESTION 1: What was it about Christ that might have surged such vehement envy in the religious leaders?

QUESTION 2: Two part: 1) In your own words, according to Colossians 2:13-14, what was nailed to the cross? 2) What kinds of things might Simon have been thinking or feeling as he carried Jesus’ cross?

QUESTION 3: Describe the range of emotions and thoughts that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary must have experienced at the tomb?

QUESTION 4: Can you think of a time when Christ walked beside you, but you did not recognize Him until “after the fact”? If so, share briefly.

QUESTION 5: Christ did not have to retain the scars in His resurrected body. Why do you think He did?

QUESTION 6: What is something you learned this week that you can personally apply to your life?

Homework for the Week

1. (Optional) View Beth Moore’s video. (This is not required because of the cost. The study can be completed without the videos.) Here is a link to the viewer guides with the answers if you are unable to view the videos.
2. Attend a small group meeting in our Heart to Heart Facebook group. This is the last one!
3. Register for our fall Bible study. (See below)
4. Scripture of the week:

“And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” Luke 24:49 NASB

Congratulations! You have completed our ten-week study of Jesus the One and Only! I pray this has been a tremendous blessing to you in your walk with Christ! I can’t express to you how honored I am to have had this opportunity to learn and grow together with you through the Word of God! 

Join us for our Fall Bible Study!

I want to invite you to join us for our fall study, The Faithful, as we will join together with LifeWay Women. This is a five-week study of five heroes of the Old Testament: Esther, Gideon, Malachi, Nehemiah, and Hosea. Instead of small groups for this study, we will have “come as you go” posts where we can interact and discuss what we are learning whenever it is convenient for you. All you need is the book! You can find it at your local LifeWay store, or call LifeWay at 478-405-0428 and request to have the book shipped to you. Videos will be provided for free, either online or at your local LifeWay store. You can register right here: https://blog.lifeway.com/womenallaccess/2018/09/04/announcing-the-faithful-online-bible-study/

Enjoy some time to rest and refresh, and I look forward to studying with you again soon! God bless!