Jubilee Church
Reflections in the Mirror - Part 3 FINAL
      • Bible Trivia
        Loading...
  • You Are Good (Bethel)
  • Surrounded (Fight My Battles)
  • Break Every Chain
  • Waymaker
  • Cleansed By the Blood

    In Leviticus 8:14 “The priest lay their hands on the sin offering.” They then sacrificed it, sprinkle the blood as commanded, then washed their hands of its death.
    WHY? It is the passing of blame that began in Genesis 3:12-13 “This woman You gave me….This serpent You created gave me…” They blamed each other, the serpent, the creation, and ultimately they blamed God Himself.
    In response- Genesis 3:21 “God made for man garments of skin.” Innocent blood was shed to cover man’s nakedness resulting from his sin. This same blame that Adam and Eve put on God, He took at the cross. And the people of Israel had no idea that they indeed were placing all of their sin on the sacrifice who was not a bull but God. Matthew 27:25 “And the people replied, His blood be on us and our children.”
    As A.W. Tozer sates, we still play this blame game when we refuse to accept responsibility for our own sinful actions and attitudes. Blame will hinder your freedom in Christ. Blame is always evident of sin. Where there is blame there is blood. And when we do so, His blood is on our hands.
    But Christ, our Highest of Priests, took the blame and the blood so your hands could be clean from the stains of sin.
    In the days of the Tabernacle of Moses even through the Temple periods, once the priest had ministered at the altar for the sins of the people, he was covered with blood and ashes. The next thing he had to do was to be cleansed by the pure water of the Brazen Laver. Even his garments had to be clean before he could go into the Holy Place. Just as Scripture tells us that without Christ's sacrifice and living water our righteousness is as filthy rags. So, he did not just wash his hands. This cleansing at the Brazen Laver was basically a type of water baptism.
    In Ex. 30:20 it states, "...they shall wash with water, that they die not..." Purification before and during service in the Tabernacle was mandatory for the priests who ministered before God. Today, you are called as priest to continually minister before God through your daily lives. Though Christ's death justified us in righteousness, the requirement to stay pure remains. The idea of cheap grace or antinomianism does not hold up in light of the model of the Tabernacle if indeed we are now the temple of God. God brought you out of the slavery and bondage of sin. God cleansed you through the righteous blood of Christ. He did neither of these only for you to go back into the bondage of sin and dirty your soul again with the stains of dead works yet feel good about it and escape the consequences. That would mean Christ died so you could continue to live rebelliously yet stand unclean before God.
    The priest had to wash the defilement from their hands and feet before entering the Tabernacle to serve Lev. 16:24
    Leviticus 16:24 ESV
    And he shall bathe his body in water in a holy place and put on his garments and come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people and make atonement for himself and for the people.
    Thus, the Psalmist states in Psalm 24:3-4
    Psalm 24:3–4 ESV
    Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.
    The priest had to be both spiritually and physically clean before they could enter into the presence of and communion with a holy God. Thus, God demands in Lev. 11:44
    Leviticus 11:44 ESV
    For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy.
    The brazen laver was located in the outer court between the brazen altar and the entrance to the Holy Place. It was comprised of two components: the round brass bowl created from the polished brass mirrors the women brought with them from Egypt; and the brass pedestal (Ex. 38:8). With the brazen altar we see our justification. Here in the brazen laver, we see our sanctification through the washing of the water of the Word of God who is Christ Jesus (Eph. 5:26; John 1:1-14; 15:3).
    When they looked into that laver to wash off the blood of an innocent sacrifice for their sin, they saw their reflection in a mirror that reminded them of the slavery God had delivered them from and the reason they were enslaved in the first place. It also reminded them of their deliverance from that slavery. Now with Christ as our sacrifice, the innocent man who took on himself the penalty of our sin, we see God’s merciful forgiving kindness. We do not see our past because Christ was never a slave to sin. Because He was an innocent sacrifice, His blood could atone fully having no reflection other than the Father’s mercy.
    When the priests washed in the brazen the laver, they saw the reflection of their image (1 Cor. 11:31-32; Heb. 12:6). It was a daily reminder that they were but men, and God was God. It also reminded them that they were created in God's “likeness” (damuth - to think God's thoughts; Isaiah 55:9). Thus, as the priest washed, there was an internal process of introspection or self-assessment that resulted in humility and brokenness before entering into the Holy Place in service to God (Ps. 34:18; 51:17)
    Thus, it states in Psalms 34:18
    Psalm 34:18 ESV
    The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
    Throughout Scripture we find that there are four agents involved in the process of sanctification. 1. The Father chastens us from sin (Heb. 12:10); 2. The Son provides the means for sanctification through His sacrifice (Heb. 13:12); 3. The Holy Spirit applies the truth of God's Word to our lives (2 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:2); 4. and we are to separate ourselves from sin (2 Cor. 7:1).
    During the final hours of His life, Jesus demonstrated the very practice and principles of the brazen laver as our High Priest. In John 13:1-10, Jesus stands from the Passover meal and taking a towel and basin of water, He washes the disciples' feet. When Peter refused in his pride, Jesus stated, "If not, then you shall have no part of me." Jesus was saying to Peter, "Just like the priest in the Tabernacle who had to wash, search their hearts and be clean from the inside out before having communion with God, so you cannot have fellowship with me." Immediately, Peter's offense revealed him, and he repented and said, "Then Lord, not just my feet, but all of me."
    Just like the disciples, even though we have been cleansed by the blood of Christ, we must daily be cleansed through our walk with Christ. In Jesus' day if you went into someone’s house it was customary for them to offer you a towel and water to cleanse their feet, or a servant come and cleansed them, of the dust of the day. If you did not, you dishonored them. When Jesus and the disciples gathered for the Passover meal, none of them offered this honor to Jesus or one another. Each day has its dust. Each day Jesus cleanses us from it (1 John 1:8-9). Just as Isaiah stood in God's presence and pronounced that He was undone, God took the burning coal from the altar and purged him of all unrighteousness.
    The greatest privilege, to have direct access to the very presence of God, began with the brazen altar and laver (Heb. 10:19-22). The physical aspect has changed, the process has not (1 Peter 1:15-16). Christ became our sacrifice and the laver who cleanses us. He became the mirror whose reflection is the love of the Father. When we embrace His pure and holy life we become that reflection through the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ.
    Does your life reflect the power of the blood? Would you ask Him, “Lord, not just my feet but all of me.”
      • 2 Corinthians 5:10NASB95

      • Matthew 23:1–4NASB95

      • Exodus 20:20NIV2011

      • Matthew 23:27NASB95

      • Matthew 11:30NASB95

  • Make Room