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Monday, 1 October 2018
The Meaning of the Cross

Question of the day: If you have a red-letter Bible (Yeshua's words in red) you'll notice almost every word of today's two chapters are the words of Yeshua. Is He speaking to the disciples or is He speaking to you?

Answer: Of course, whenever we read the Bible we should internalize and personalize it. Read it in a way that allows God to speak to your heart through His written word. Ask Him, "Is this for me?" The answer is always, "Yes."

In several places Yeshua commands that we keep His commandments, thereby showing our love for Him. At the same time, He reveals that loving Him is tied to loving the Father and loving each other.

And that, my friends, is a picture of the symbol of the cross. The vertical beam represents our relationship with God while the horizontal beam represents our relationships with each other, and they cross over Yeshua’s heart.

Interestingly, the High Priest would sprinkle blood on the mercy seat once a year in the Holy of Holies. He would dip his fingers and sprinkle once vertically and seven times horizontally. (We know this through the writings of the Talmud.)

Once vertically shows how quick and easy it is to get right with God. Getting right with God is based on His perfection (not ours - we have none).

Seven times horizontally represents our challenges in getting right with each other, (if only one of us were perfect it wouldn’t be so difficult) but seven is God’s number of completion. Hence, the last thing Yeshua said from the cross, "It is finished." Even our relationships with each other are made complete in His finished work of redemption.

The cross symbolizes the two great commandments ... Matthew 22:36-40 "'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Torah?' And He said to him, 'You shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The entire Torah and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.'"

There you have it, love God and love each other. Doesn't sound so complicated now, does it? WAYMISH (unrelated book by Lee Tomlinson) - Why are you making it so hard? But that's a question for another day, not today. Shalom.

Posted By Rabbi Michael Weiner, 10:17am Comment Comments: 0