The
Passed Over
Lamb

Teachings from John 18:37-19:37

The Passed Over Lamb. How many times have you read the account of the arrest and death of Jesus? On this crisp morning the Holy Spirit showed my heart some new “nuggets” in this passage. ThoughtI would share them with you…………….

Look at John 18:37:
"You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."

Wow! Jesus is talking about me there. But yet, do I always listen to Him? It was like He was “taking up” for His followers. It is true, as spoken earlier in this same book: Jesus said, if you love Me, you will obey Me. John14:15. Now that sounds like the same thing.

So listen means obey. Do I obey Jesus? My immediate answer is why yes of course I do. Yet the more intently I look into the very Words of our Lord, I find I obey less. It is a startling thing. However, knowing Him more and more allows Him to change you. So might I encourage, admonish, challenge you to listen to Jesus by reading His Word and obey it’s Truths. All of His Truths IN CONTEXT. So you too will be on the “Side of Truth”.

Then the very next verse spoke of the “Untruths” I might say.
Verse 38 says: "What is truth?" Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, "I find no basis for a charge against him.

What stuck out to me so staunchly was that Pilate did not stay to listen for the answer to his question! It just showed inquiry, curiousity, but no heart to really hear The Truth and without the “listen” you can not be on the side of Truth. This is so true today. How many times have I heard a minister/pastor say: Well I got to keep the sermon to 20 or the people won’t listen. Hum………makes ya wonder. I love to hear Truth. I do not have trouble sitting for a long time hearing Truth speaking! That is also the whole thing behind seeker services, programs to draw a crowd, magicians, dances, plays, performances, etc, etc, etc, is to get peoples attention because the simple, unadulterated, undazzled, unplugged, untimed, unboxed, Truth will not keep the attention of the audience that is prefers a performance over The Person.

So the opposite of those who “listen” to Him, which are on the side of Truth. Are t hose who don’t listen and walk away. They may even have curiosity. Perhaps they are on committees at your church. Maybe even teach a Sunday School class, sing in the Choir, maybe even be the pastor, are those who hear but do not Listen! There is a difference.

Verse 39 Points out that the Lamb is right there, but the people pass Him over. They do not even see Him, the Lamb for the very occasion in which they are to celebrate. This is even more depicted to me in verse 31 of chapter 19


In the one simple phrase on thing that jumped out at me. The phrase "the day of Preparation."

Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.

I thought Oh My, yes, it was a day of Preparation. The Jews were preparing to celebrate the “Pass over”. Yet they sought the “wrong” Lamb! Even after they had tortured Christ and nail pieced His hands and feet. And earth shaking, darkness, dead people rising from the dead and so on………………they were busy getting everything in order for the festivities to come. Thus they wanted to get this killing over with so they could finish their day of preparation! So that everything would be perfect for the festival.

Yet on the same day of Preparation Jesus Christ was preparing for the occasion too. He prepared to be The Lamb but was passed over by those preparing the lamb. Oh how sad that the very occasion that they celebrated the saving of life back when the death angel had passed over them with the blood of a lamb on the door frames, would now condemn those who did not seek The Lamb that would give them eternal life!! They passed over The Lamb at Passover that would make everyone perfect!!

I ask you, do you celebrate what you do not know?

If so, you will be passed over, when The Passover Lamb calls your name at the day of Judgment, because only those on “The Side of Truth” listen to Him!

L.D.W.