Let’s rejoice and be exceedingly glad,
and let’s give the glory to Him.
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and His wife has made herself ready.
Revelation 19:7
It was the night of the Passover. A marriage contract was offered. It was to be sealed by the bride drinking wine from a ceremonial cup handed to her by the groom. If the bride drank, it meant she agreed to the marriage. The groom knew he would not see his bride again until he had prepared a place for her and it was the day of their wedding.
It happened the night before Jesus was killed. Everything that was done would happen at a Galilean betrothal. Jesus offered the cup to His disciples in the upper room at the Last Supper. They accepted the cup and drank. When they drank from the cup, a spiritual betrothal was sealed. Jesus told His disciples He was going away to prepare a place for them...for us... and would come back for us. He said He would not drink wine again until He drank it new with us in His Father’s Kingdom.
Jesus was trying to tell us—all who would choose to follow Him—that we are His bride. In a betrothal, there was a bride price to be paid. Jesus knew the price He had to pay. It was exorbitant. Separation from His Father and torture awaited Him. He, who had known no sin, was about to take the sin of the world on Himself. He would carry the guilt and shame for every murder, every rape, every abused child—the sins of all mankind for all times. The enormity of the price He had to pay for His bride weighed heavily on Him. He asked His Father if there was some other way —if this cup could pass from Him. [1]
Jesus knew He was the Lamb slain from before the foundations of the world.[2] He knew He would be betrayed, slandered, and killed. He knew all that lay before Him—and He chose it. He drank the cup His Father gave Him. If He hadn’t—we would be doomed to Hell for all eternity. The wages of sin is death. He paid our wages so we wouldn’t have to—so we could be free from the penalty for sin.
This briefly describes what happened after the betrothal…
Peter, James and John accompanied Jesus to the garden of Gethsemane. Judas arrived with blazing torches and a band of soldiers. The betrayal was swift and brutal. Judas had been given thirty pieces of silver to betray his friend with a kiss. Jesus asked the soldiers who they searched for. They replied, “Jesus of Nazareth”. When He said, “I am He” the men fell to the ground. The power and authority of His voice knocked them backwards. Impetuous Peter swung his sword at the high priest’s servant, cutting Malchus’s ear off. Jesus touched the man and the ear was restored. The disciples fled and left Him alone.
So much happened so swiftly after that. Jesus was bound and led away to Annas, the father-in-law of the high priest. Peter and John followed the soldiers—and just as Jesus said would happen—Peter denied he knew the Lord three times before the rooster crowed. Peter was so guilt-ridden he went out and cried bitterly. Judas never repented. His story ended badly. He killed himself. The Messiah was then sent bound to Caiaphas, the high priest. Not having the authority to kill a man, the priest sent him to the Roman ruler. The soldiers threw Jesus before Pontius Pilot, who asked the crowd who should be released, Barabbas—a murderer—or Jesus who is called the Christ? Many who days before lay their cloaks on the road and hailed Him as Messiah, now screamed for His blood.
The soldiers stripped Him, put a scarlet robe on Him, placed a crown of thorns on His head, placed a reed in His right hand, bowed the knee before Him, and mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews”. They ripped out his beard, spit in His face, then took the reed and hit Him, driving the cruel thorns into His head. The soldiers flailed Jesus’ naked body with a cat of nine tails. The whip had nine leather strips with shards of broken glass, sharp pieces of bone, jagged rocks, and broken pottery attached to the ends. The nine tails wrapped around his body thirty-nine times and tore him open from front to back. The whipping was so brutal his flesh hung in shreds and all his bones could be seen.[3]
He was marred more than any man ever had been. A bystander was summoned to carry the cross so Jesus wouldn't die before reaching Golgotha. He was to be hung on a tree, as foretold by the ancient prophets of God. He endured unbearable agony and pain. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross.[4] The sound of the metal spikes pounding through his flesh must have reverberated throughout Heaven. I wonder if the angels cried? It was a miracle none of his bones were broken,[5] just as was prophesied about the Passover lamb.
The crucifixion scene was cloaked in darkness for three hours. Were there peals of thunder and flashes of lightning illuminating the sign nailed above His head, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS? [6] Pilot didn’t realize He was crucifying the Lord of Life, the Creator and Sustainer of all that is. Gazing at His persecutors, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” [7]
The Father turned His face away. He had to. His eyes are too pure to look on evil.[9] Jesus cried out, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” meaning, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?”[8] Even in death Jesus showed compassion—a home for his mother—“Woman, behold your Son.”[10] —and pardon for a dying criminal—“Today you shall be with Me in paradise.”[11] Jesus carried the death penalty for all mankind as He breathed, “It is finished.”[12] “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.”[13]
This is amazing. The crucifixion was at the time of the Feast of Passover when a spotless lamb was killed as a memorial of the Jewish people’s miraculous deliverance from the bondage of Egypt. As Jesus breathed His last, the High Priest in the temple killed the sacrificial lamb. Jesus, the Lamb of God, died at that exact moment, to free us from the bondage of sin. Heaven must have been filled with the sound of weeping.
When Jesus died, the veil of the temple that separated the holy place from the holy of holies was torn from top to bottom. God Himself tore the curtain. He showed the way into His holy Presence was now open to all who would come. The bride’s freedom from the law of sin and death was purchased. Jesus paid the bride price with His life’s blood.
Jesus descended into Hell. Lazarus, King David, Moses—all the righteous dead who waited in Abraham’s bosom to be set free, heard Jesus voice. The depths of Hell were shaken.There was a great earthquake in Jerusalem. Rocks split and many dead saints came out of their graves and were seen walking in the streets of the city. Jesus grabbed the keys of Hell and death from Satan, and stripped him of any legal rights to mankind. All power and authority now belong to Jesus.
Three days after His death, an angel rolled the stone away from the tomb. It wasn’t so Jesus could get out of the burial cave. It was to show the world He wasn’t there. Many who saw Him dead and His body mutilated, must have been astonished to see Him alive, totally whole and in a perfect forever body.
Forty days later He ascended into Heaven. He is the firstborn from the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth. He is in Heaven, preparing a place for His bride—for us. I am sure He is eagerly waiting for the day His Father determines all is ready. He is praying His bride will be strong and remain faithful. One day, our Abba Father will say, “MY BELOVED SON, GO GET YOUR BRIDE!”Jesus will be accompanied by an innumerable throng of jubilant angels. He will appear in the Heavens above the Earth. Can you imagine the excitement?
The bride had been told to be ready. She knows the bridegroom will come at an unknown time, as a thief in the night, with the blast of a shofar. She has been told to watch. One day, Jesus will stand in mid-Heaven—in the clouds—calling His bride. Those who are ready—who have placed their faith in Christ—will hear His voice. The righteous dead will rise first—then those who are alive and remain will rise into the air to forever be with the LORD.
Keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.[14] Abba has invited you, and all who desire, to be in His royal, forever family. One day, there will be a magnificent marriage supper. The King will raise His glass of wine as a toast and I believe will say something like this, “L’Chaim—to life—everlasting life—with My beloved, precious bride. There will no longer be any death, mourning, crying, or pain. The sufferings, sickness, and sadness of Earth is over. There is no longer anything that defiles—no more evil intentions or betrayal. Sin, fear and torment are forever gone. Come. All is ready. I have prepared a wedding feast for you, My beloved bride."
Passover 2024 begins on Monday, April 22nd. This message is based on a chapter from my book, Convergence—A Window Into Eternity— Part 3 in the Narrow Path Trilogy. Available on Amazon.
[1] Matthew 26:39
[2] 1 Peter 1:19,20
[3] Psalm 22:17
[4] Hebrews 12:1-2
[5] Exodus 12:46, Numbers 9:12, John 19:33, 36,
[6] John 19:19
[7] Luke 23:34
[8] Mark 15:34
[9] Habakkuk 1:13
[10] John 19:26
[11] Luke 23:43
[12] John 19:30
[13] Luke 23:46
[14] Matthew 25:1-13