We are a forgetful people in a land of distractions. Our minds are easily captivated by trivial and temporary inducements. New things quickly become old. In our mind’s eye even glory tends to fade and warnings tend to wane. It is no wonder that we who are invisibly united to Christ and visibly in and not of this world live in constant need of renewal. And what is true for the Christian is true for the church. This is a series that seeks to renew the mind of the church. Not so much by reviewing what she is called to do as much as what she is called. As with the Christian so with church, her God-given identity defines her. We who are the church are a people for God and none other.
Before we return to the book of Romans, we will be looking at the what scripture says about the Church, in its nature, how she expresses herself in song, and how the church cares and equips for its members.
The messages from this series can be found here:
Manny Pereira - October 10, 2021
Sovereign Lord and Sacrificial Lamb
Gloom here follows glory. A reversal of sorts is at work. Christ has just described His coming majesty. Now He speaks of an ominous darkness. Definitively, He steps into the shadow of His looming cross. He is directing His steps to the fulfilment of His mission. He speaks into motion the events that will soon secure His death. It is all very paradoxical. But paradox marks the person and work of Christ. In being, He is both God and man. In service, He comes offering the kingdom as both Sovereign and Servant. He is both the Lord of lords and the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The keynote of the next two chapters is sounded in the opening verses of this passage. Here, obscurity gives way to clarity. Christ’s redemptive purposes are now made plain. He has come to interpose the hell bound course of man, linking Himself to the Passover sacrifice. He is the Son of Man who will come in His glory to judge and rule from His throne (25:31) and yet He is the Son of Man who will first be delivered up to be crucified as a Passover sacrifice (26:2). Jesus is the Sovereign Lord and Sacrificial Lamb.
Scripture References: Matthew 26:1-5
