“Therefore, come, all families of men, you who have been befouled with sins, and receive forgiveness for your sins. I am your forgiveness, I am the passover of your salvation, I am the lamb which was sacrificed for you, I am your ransom, I am your light, I am your saviour, I am your resurrection, I am your king, I am leading you up to the heights of heaven, I will show you the eternal Father, I will raise you up by my right hand.” – Mileto of Sardis c. AD 165-175, “Concerning the Passover” (verse 103)
One of the earliest sermons still in existence is “Concerning the Passover” by Mileto of Sardis. It is a expositional, passionate, theologically rich, and beautifully written. Mileto showed his congregation how Jesus Christ is the true Passover lamb. Here’s an excerpt near the middle:
When this one came from heaven to earth for the sake of the one who suffers, and had clothed himself with that very one through the womb of a virgin, and having come forth as man, he accepted the sufferings of the sufferer through his body which was capable of suffering. And he destroyed those human sufferings by his spirit which was incapable of dying. He killed death which had put man to death.
For this one, who was led away as a lamb, and who was sacrificed as a sheep, by himself delivered us from servitude to the world as from the land of Egypt, and released us from bondage to the devil as from the hand of Pharaoh, and sealed our souls by his own spirit and the members of our bodies by his own blood.
This is the one who covered death with shame and who plunged the devil into mourning as Moses did Pharaoh. This is the one who smote lawlessness and deprived injustice of its offspring, as Moses deprived Egypt. This is the one who delivered us from slavery into freedom, from darkness into light, from death into life, from tyranny into an eternal kingdom, and who made us a new priesthood, and a special people forever.
This one is the passover of our salvation. This is the one who patiently endured many things in many people: This is the one who was murdered in Abel, and bound as a sacrifice in Isaac, and exiled in Jacob, and sold in Joseph, and exposed in Moses, and sacrificed in the lamb, and hunted down in David, and dishonored in the prophets.
This is the one who became human in a virgin, who was hanged on the tree, who was buried in the earth, who was resurrected from among the dead, and who raised mankind up out of the grave below to the heights of heaven.
This is the lamb that was slain. This is the lamb that was silent. This is the one who was born of Mary, that beautiful ewe-lamb. This is the one who was taken from the flock, and was dragged to sacrifice, and was killed in the evening, and was buried at night; the one who was not broken while on the tree, who did not see dissolution while in the earth, who rose up from the dead, and who raised up mankind from the grave below. (verses 66-71).
Available from http://www.kerux.com/documents/KeruxV4N1A1.asp
My Circuitous Journey – (Part 1 of 4)
June 15th, 2010
This series of Tuesday posts are from Roy Knicley.
Pastor Mike’s June 6 message and the approaching date of June 15 have made me think about the “circuitous journey” God took me on to bring me to Christ. I have a new appreciation for the time period in which Israel wondered in the wilderness. This June 15 marks the 40th year since I asked Christ into my life as a teenager.
In this first part, I would like to share my journey in coming to Christ. In the next three parts, I plan to share some of the people, places and passages God has used during these last four decades.
People – God used people to bring me to Himself. I was born to young teen age parents who did not actively walk with God at the time but they respected Him. I was blessed to have grandparents and other extended family that gave me a sense of security and identity in my early years. It was not until I was six years old that I remember Ernie & Helen who took me to a small rural church where I heard about God and enjoyed being with God’s people. In subsequent years, He used Sunday school and VBS teachers along with camp counselors to help create a favorable view of Himself and His people. Then, He used three teen age friends to help me answer some of my questions and peek my interest in the gospel.
Places – I remember looking at a picture of the crucifixion in a large coffee sized bible as a 4th grader and saying out loud, “Jesus, why did you do that? You didn’t have to worry about where you would go after you die like I have to.” By the time I entered my sophomore year of high school, I had changed schools 14 times and remember periods of acute loneliness and insecurity. God used my three teenage friends to invite me to a Campus Crusade Conference where I found answers to my questions and doubts about who Jesus is and who I am.
Passages – In the process of coming to Christ…God used the illustration and truth of Revelation 3:20 – “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup (fellowship) with him, and he with me.” I had a God consciousness for many years but I didn’t know that I could invite Him in to take over my life until that day. He then used John 1:12 – “But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God, even to them that believe on his name.” to help confirm and seal that decision.
Like many of you, I am thankful for the journey took me on for 16 years to bring me to Himself. Next week, I plan to share more on the places, people and passages He has used since I started this journey 40 years ago.
Part 2, 3, 4
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