Fifth Sunday in Lent (6 April 2025)

We will very soon be stepping into another Holy Week when we remember the Last Supper, Jesus’s Crucifixion, death and resurrection. Before we move to Palm Sunday, I would like to bring before us the reason for Jesus’s passion and death. I would like us to remember what we have gained because of our Lord’s passion.

I would like to start by sharing some background information about the book of Hebrews. Bible doesn’t give clear information about the author. The book was written in Greek language. Theologians believe that this epistle was written before 70AD. Theologians believe that this epistle was written by a person who was close to Timothy based on Hebrews 13:23. In this verse, the author said that his brother Timothy was set at liberty. Bible researchers also believe that Paul wrote this in Hebrew and Luke translated in Greek, so the language style is like Luke’s Gospel.

The early Christians who followed Jesus Christ from the tribe of Judah were expecting the second coming of Jesus in their time. This is because Jesus said, “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also”. We read this in John 14:2, 3. The early church was waiting for the Messiah to come and receive them. When the second coming of Jesus did not happen, their faith began to falter. The intention of the writer of Hebrews was to encourage the early Christians in Jerusalem and Judea to wait upon Jesus and to expect His second coming. In Hebrews 9, the author compared the Old Testament Law and New Testament Law about the remission of sins. In Hebrews 9:22 we read, “almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission”.

The people under the Old Testament law gave many offerings like burnt offering, sin offering, meat offering, peace offering, sin offering, trespass offering, etc. The priest used to offer blood sacrifices for the remission of sin. In the first few chapters of Leviticus, we read about the Old Testament laws about sacrifices. From these chapters, we can understand the procedure for sin offering and trespass offering. Chapter 6 explains about the trespass offering. But the sacrifices did not give permanent remission of their sins. Every time people sinned or disobeyed God, they had to offer sacrifices for the remission of their sins. It was a repetitive practice. We all know that the Almighty Father sent His only Begotten Son as the one-time sacrifice for the sins of the whole world to stop this practice of offerings and sacrifices. Jesus came into this world and He suffered for our sins and trespasses. As Isaiah 53:5 says, “he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed”.

Jesus died on the cross, shed His precious blood, rose again from the dead and redeemed us with His blood. As He offered Himself as the onetime sacrifice, when we accept Jesus as our Saviour, we don’t have to offer any sacrifices for the remission of our sins. The Prince of Peace fulfilled the first covenant and made a new covenant with us. Jesus made this new covenant with us by breaking His body and shedding His blood. He made this covenant with us on the night that He was betrayed at the Last Supper Table. I would like to mention just two blessings that we have received because of Jesus’s passion:

1.    As He became the Lamb of God who was sacrificed for the sins of the whole world, we do not offer sacrifices to be redeemed from our sins. Hebrews 9:12 reminds us about this: “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us”. We are all redeemed by the sinless blood of our Saviour Jesus.

2.    We do not require a high priest to offer sacrifices for the redemption of our sins. We are reminded this in Hebrews 7:27: “Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself”. We do not need a high priest to receive salvation as Jesus if our high priest who shed His blood for our redemption.

Jesus promised us in John 8:51 that we will not see death is we keep His sayings. Here, death refers to the spiritual death of our souls. If we accept Jesus as our saviour and are born again, we will inherit everlasting life and will not see death; that is, we will not be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. Jesus completed His part by shedding His blood on the Cross for us because “without shedding of blood is no remission”. He has made a covenant with us that if we eat His body and drink His blood in the spiritual manner that he intended, we will not see death. It is now our responsibility to keep our part of the covenant for the covenant to be valid and binding.  

Today, like the early church, we are also waiting for the second coming of our Lord and Saviour. His second coming is delayed because of His grace. The faith of the early church began to falter because of the delay. Unlike them, we have been given the Bible, so we need to ask ourselves if we are ready for His second coming. To the world, we are Christians but only we know if we are ready to face our Saviour. Our role is to prepare ourselves and prepare others also. We are to wait and expect His second coming. As almost all things are by the law purged with blood, and without shedding of blood is no remission, Jesus offered Himself as the one-time sacrifice for us. Let us offer ourselves to Him and resolve to grow in holiness.

During this period of Lent, I would like to remind the verse from 1 Peter 2:24: Jesus “bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed”. There may be areas in our life that require healing: it may be spiritual, mental or physical. Before we remember Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem as King next Sunday, let us self-examine ourselves and receive the healing He offers. May we be healed in all areas of our life by His stripes. Let us be purged by His blood to receive remission of our sins and be healed in all walks of our life. Before we close this season of Lent, I hope and pray we have renewed our relationship with our Lord that leads us to receive His peace and tasted His unconditional love for us.

Let us pray! 

Heavenly Father, we thank the incredible sacrifice on the Cross. Thank you for the new covenant that was made by Your dying on the Cross. We know that without the shedding of Your sinless and precious blood there would have been no forgiveness of our sins. We thank You for dying for us and for giving us Your Holy Spirit. Help us to live a life that is holy and pleasing to You and be truthful to the covenant that You have made with us. In Jesus name we pray, AMEN.