Towards the end of John’s Revelation he sees the future Marriage Supper of the Lamb. This is the final destination that the Passover Feasts and the Lord’s Supper and all the times we’ve received Communion have been pointing to all along. The great multitude cry out in praise once more, “Hallelujah! For our Lord God almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready!” Then an angel tells John, “Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” We aren’t just invited into the Lamb’s Kingdom, but we are invited to his family table during a marriage celebration when Jesus, the Lamb of God, comes once again.  

The Apostle Paul is dealing with a church in Corinth with lots of problems. One of the worst problems is a man in the church is openly sleeping with his father’s wife! Paul, chastising the church for letting this continue, drops in this beautiful line that has been used in communion liturgies in the church for centuries, “For Christ, our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us keep the Feast!” This means that Christ was not only sacrificed in order to save us from past sins or current wickedness, but also to make us holy. To make us more like Jesus, living in “sincerity and truth.”  

John the Baptist is one of the more mysterious characters in the NT. As preparer for the Way of Jesus, he proclaims and baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The right response to the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world is repentance.

This story is set in the context of Israel in captivity in Egypt. God, working through Moses and Aaron, has brought plagues to Egypt. The only way for the people of Israel to avoid the plague of the death of the firstborn is to sacrifice a lamb and take the blood of the lamb and put that blood on the top and both sides of the door frames of their homes. The sacrificed lamb became known as the passover lamb. This story would be remembered by God’s people in the passover feast every subsequent year. This illustrates the point that we need to be sprinkled with the blood of the lamb in order to receive salvation. 

This is the story of the patriarch Abraham being asked by God to sacrifice his son Isaac up on a mountain. This is one of the most dramatic and most theologically significant stories in Genesis. They make it up to the mountain but Isaac questions Abraham why there is no Lamb to sacrifice. Abraham says that God Himself will provide the lamb for the sacrifice. Just as Abraham is about to kill his one and only son, God does provide an adult male sheep, a lamb for the sacrifice. We too often get caught up in the impossible command that Abraham was given by God, rather than the important theological truth that Abraham holds onto: God Himself will provide the sacrifice we all need. This first adult male sheep sacrificed in place of Isaac, points to Jesus, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world with his sacrifice on the cross. 

Jesus uses a metaphor of two builders to illustrate the importance of building one’s life on a solid foundation. The wise builder constructs on Jesus, the rock, while the foolish builder builds on sand, ignoring Jesus’ teachings. Storms reveal the truth about one’s foundation, exposing the strength of those who build on Jesus and the weakness of those who do not. Life’s storms reveal the strength of our foundations, with Jesus being the only solid foundation. Building on anything else, whether money or prestige or comfort, leaves us vulnerable to the storms of life. The call is to run to Jesus, take refuge in Him, and build our lives on His words and authority.