IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ONE GOD, AMEN

GOOD MORNING,

The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ has a magnificent attraction force. This force shows the Divinity of Christ and His Divine power as He said: “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you shall know that I am He,” John 8:28.  The nature moved at the time of crucifixion by earthquake, the sun was darkened, the veil of the Temple was rent in the middle, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45.  “The rocks rent. And the graves were opened and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,” Matthew 27:51-52. Therefore, the centurion and they that were with him, they believed, Matthew 27:54

When the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, brought them to Jesus and respectfully asked a favor. “What is your request?”  Jesus asked. she replied, “In your kingdom, will you let my two sons sit on two thrones, next to yours?”

But Jesus told her, “you don’t know what you are asking!” Then he turned to James and John and asked them, “Are you able to drink from the terrible cup I am about to drink from?”  “Yes ,” they replied, “we are able!”  “You shall indeed drink from it, “  He told them. “But I have no right to say who will sit on the thrones, next to mine. Those places are reserved for the persons my Father selects.” Mathew 20:22.

When we became Christians and were baptized to become a part of Jesus Christ through His death, the power of our sinful nature was shattered. Our old sin-loving nature was buried with Him by baptism when He died, and when God the Father, with glorious power, brought Him back to life again, we were given His wonderful new life to enjoy.

For we have become a part of Him, and so we died with Him so to speak when He died,

and now we share His new life, and shall rise as He did, our old evil desires were nailed to the cross with Him, that part of us that loves to sin was crushed and fatally wounded, so that our sin-loving body is no longer under sin’s control, no longer needs to be slave to sin. Romans 6:4.

When we came to Christ He set us free from our evil desires, not by a bodily operation of circumcision but by a spiritual operation the baptism of our souls. For in baptism we see how our old evil nature died with Him and was buried with Him, and then we came up out of death with Him into a new life because we trusted the Word of the mighty God who raised Christ from the dead. Colossians 2:11,12.

Let us now contemplate on the baptism of our Lord Jesus , as soon as He emerged  out of the water, the heavens opened up and the Holy Spirit hovered above Him confirming the truth of His sonship in the likeness of a dove and the Father’s voice from heaven proclaimed: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”  The opening of the heavens brings to mind the tearing down of the Temple veil; this veil separated the Holiest of Holies – a most sacred part of the Temple – which held the Ark of the Covenant which in turn represented God’s presence amongst His people. This veil which used to separate God’s presence from His people was torn apart when Jesus died on the cross. In the same manner, heaven was opened up at the Lord’s baptism in order to receive fallen people of the world who have been  transformed into a glorified spiritual state capable of seeing heaven’s glory.

Before the epiphany, the heavens used to separate man and God, and when the heaven opened, God, the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove, and His voice was heard by those who were present to witness it. Likewise, the veil which used to separate the people in their assembly inside the temple, and prevented them from beholding the Holiest of Holies, was torn apart and the worshipers were able to see and to be in the presence of God after the redemption which Jesus completed on the cross. The barrier which used to separate the people from God was no more.

As we study the New Testament closely, more mysteries of the Old Testament are revealed. After Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden and man’s subsequent separation from his Maker, God became unknown to mankind. But the barriers obscuring God, were removed when Jesus declared from the cross that “ it is finished!” Jesus’ body was surrendered willingly to death. Although His appearance was like that of any other man, Jesus’ body contained God – deity was hidden within humanity. The deity was revealed when Christ surrendered his Spirit while being hung on the cross; at that same moment the temple veil was torn asunder, a violent earthquake shook the earth, and the Roman captain cried out: “ this man truly is the Son of God”.

Epiphany commemorates the baptism of Christ by John the Baptist in the River Jordan.

The body of Christ which was covered with water during His baptism represents the church which is washed from its filth in order to be purified before receiving the Holy Spirit, just as it was with Noah. God had arranged for a safe Ark which was drenched with the flood waters, but when the new beginning was at hand, Noah sent out a dove which came back bearing an olive branch symbolizing new life.

So the baptism of Christ symbolizes salvation for every soul found within the church – the body of Christ – which was submerged in the River Jordan, emerging to receive the

Holy Spirit just as the Ark emerged from the flood and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descended upon it signifying the coming newness of life. Just as the flood ended a world of sin and initiated a new world with Noah and his descendents, the New Testament is also an end of an evil world, hated by God, and the beginning of a new one established by Christ for his church.

Another related symbol concerns the children of Israel and the River Jordan. After crossing the Red Sea and wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, the Israelites were ready to enter the Promised Land. Moses had died and Joshua was leading the people in his stead., The Promised Land represents the Kingdom of Heaven. The barrier before them was the River Jordan and the challenge was how to cross it. Joshua told the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant to go forward; as soon as they set foot in the River,  the waters parted and everybody crossed the River safely. The same scenario happened at the baptism of the Lord; the priests carrying the Ark represent Christ who is Himself the Ark of the New Covenant. The Ark of the Old Covenant was made of wood and it contained the words of God inscribed in stone, but the Ark of the New Testament was Jesus Himself, who was the incarnate Word of God who descended into the river, and by  doing so, he parted the waters and opened the gates to the Kingdom of God.

We conclude from the foregoing that all the symbols of the Old Testament pointed to the coming of the Lord the Christ as the Savior and living God in order to take the church into the Kingdom of Heaven.

In conclusion the church on the 3rd Sunday of Lent that is to say the mid period of Lent exalts the cross in front of the believers that they may remember His victory over that which was not seen as He was hanging helpless upon the cross, in other word it gives us, fasting believers the strength to continue in our fast that we may reach the same victory of the resurrection of the Lord.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

oly SpiritHoly