by Barbara Latta
Have you ever made the connection between Old Testament
shadows (Colossians 2:17) and New Testament fulfillment?
Jesus’ purpose was already being displayed when he was born
(John 18:37). The baby would have been rubbed with salt and oil (Ezekiel 16:4),
wrapped in cloth resembling a mummy, and then laid in a manger (Luke 2:7). (Mangers
were carved stone troughs not the wooden box we usually think of). Angels were
proclaiming his birth.
Thirty-three years later, Joseph of Arimathea was given the
body of Jesus to bury. He anointed the body with about one hundred pounds of
spices, wrapped a linen cloth around the bloody sacrifice, and laid the
precious gift to man on a stone slab in a tomb (John 19:38-40).
On Sunday
morning, Mary Magdalene and went to the tomb and discovered it was empty.
Looking inside she saw two angels, one at the head and one at the feet where
the body of Jesus had lain (John 20:12). which paints a perfect picture of the Mercy
Seat—a slab on top of the Ark of the Covenant covered with two angels one on
each end.
Each year, on the Day of Atonement, the priest would
sprinkle blood on the Mercy Seat, representing that the sins of the nation had
been atoned for that year. After Mary discovered the risen Christ, Jesus told
her not to touch Him because He had not ascended to the Father. He still had to
place His blood on the Mercy Seat of Heaven to atone for our sins. But this
time atonement was forever. No more would there be a sacrifice made because the
perfect blood had been given (Hebrews 9:11-15).
The blood shed during birth showed us He was the Son of Man,
the blood shed at His death was as the Son of God who entered heaven and
sprinkled His blood on the altar to atone for our sins forever.
Christmas is the manger bringing to us the blood on the
Mercy Seat—the greatest gift of all.
What does that gift mean to you? Share your thoughts.
