Dr. Chris’ Easter Blogs 2023
Week 4
Good Friday to Easter Sunday
Good Friday (continued)
What was it like for the Jews on that day when Jesus died on the cross for them? The high priest
would have offered up the Passover lamb as an atonement for their sins. When the sacrifice was
completed, the trumpets would have sounded and the smoke from the offering arose to heaven.
Then he would have uttered the words “It is finished” which signified that Israel’s sins were
atoned. For 1200 years, they had practiced it exactly this way. Millions of people were in
Jerusalem at this time for the Passover sacrifice. This was being done at the exact time Jesus
uttered His same words and died. The true Passover Lamb died for them that day, and they
missed it, just like they missed seeing the Messiah be revealed to them on Palm Sunday (Lamb
Selection Day).
Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth
quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the
saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His
resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. So, when the centurion
and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had
happened, they feared greatly, saying, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’ (Matthew
27:50–54; author’s emphasis).
When Jesus died and the rocks were split and there was so much power of God present that
people were raised from the dead, just like had occurred in the Garden of Gethsemane. At the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem over Calvary, you can actually see the large rock
that split. I have seen it.
After Jesus died, the veil of the Temple was torn in two. This signified that Jesus had opened the
way for all men to be able to enter the Holy of Holies and into the presence of God. This rending
of the veil of the Temple from top to bottom when Jesus died has incredible significance. The
veil separated the priest from the Holy of Holies in the Temple where the presences of God
dwelt. When the Temple veil was split in two, it opened up the pathway between man and God.
At the same time as Jesus was dying on the cross, the High Priest Caiaphas was making the
Passover sacrifice. He was about to step past that veil. He was planning to offer the blood of the
Passover lamb. Rick Renner explains that just as he was about to enter the Holy of Holies, the
veil was torn by the divine hands of God.
Imagine how shocked Caiaphas must have been when he heard the ripping sounds above
his head and then watched as the veil was torn in half, leaving two sides of the once
massive curtain lying collapsed to his right and his left. Just think about what must have
gone through this evil high priest’s mind when he saw the Holy of Holies was opened –
and that God’s presence was no longer there!
You see, when Jesus was lifted on that Cross, the Cross became the eternal mercy seat on
which the blood of the final sacrifice was sprinkled. Once that sacrifice was made, it was
no longer necessary for a high priest to continually make sacrifices year after year, for
Jesus’ blood had now settled the issue forever!
For this cause, God Himself ripped the veil of the temple in half, declaring that the way
to the Holy of Holies was now available to everyone who came to Him through the blood
of Jesus! (Renner. 2003, 274)
Pastor James Ward in his “The Blood Covenant” message at Family Harvest Church (now
Insight Church in Tinley Park, IL) explains more about the precious blood of Jesus. He explains
that the father’s blood is in the baby and not the mother’s blood. Because Adam’s blood passed
down the sinful, tainted, guilty and defective blood to all his children, God needed another plan
for Jesus. It was like God said “For my Son to come as the Redeemer, there can be no earthly
man to pass along the defective earthly blood to My Son. Jesus was conceived of the Holy
Spirit. It was God’s DNA that conceived and sired Jesus Christ and not the defective blood of a
man.” The breath and life of God was flowing in Jesus’ veins to sustain His life. Jesus’ blood is
supernaturally powerful because it contains the life of God Himself. It is the most powerful
substance in the world.
John Hagee explains it this way in his CD series Prophecy of the Seven Feasts. CD #3 is on the
“Feast of First Fruits” and he states in minute twenty that “Jesus only had the blood of God and
not one drop of Mary’s blood. If He had it, the blood would not be worthy to cleanse our sins.
God put His seed in Mary’s womb, blood included.”
I pose this for consideration. The authenticity of the Shroud of Turin as Jesus’ burial garment
has been questioned for centuries. The proof of authenticity would be to sample the stains and
analyze the blood. It would prove that it is not the blood of man. But who on earth is even
worthy to touch the blood of Jesus? No one.
Holy Saturday
When Jesus’ body was lying in the tomb, He was really in Hades taking back the keys to the
earth from Satan (Revelation 1:18). During this time, the Jews were oblivious to what was
occurring, and were celebrating the Feast of Unleaven Bread. The Feast of Unleaven Bread
began the day after Passover and lasted 7 days. It was a celebration remembering the Israelites
and how they fled Egypt so quickly that they did not have time to let the leaven bread rise. In the
Bible, leaven symbolizes sin. Jesus was the only sinless person. He was the Unleaven Bread
and fulfilled this Feast Day. When Jesus’ body was in the tomb it did not decay according to
Psalm 16:10. That is because He had the life of God in His blood, which was still in His body.
Easter Sunday
Then on Resurrection Sunday, when the Jews were celebrating the Feast of Firstfruits, Jesus rose
from the dead. The Feast of Firstfruits occurs on the second day of the Feast of Unleaven Bread.
Thus Passover, the first day of Unleaven Bread, and the Feast of First Fruits occur on
consecutive days. The barley harvest was beginning to ripen. The first fruits of the barley
harvest were harvested and presented to the Lord in a ceremony at the Temple. During the
celebration of the Feast of First Fruits, Jesus was raised from the dead. He was our First Fruits.
Mary Magdalen was the first to see Jesus after He had risen from the dead.
Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to
My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My
God and your God.’” (John 20:17; author’s emphasis)
This was because Jesus had to first present His blood before the Father in the Tabernacle of
Heaven before He could be touched again on earth.
At the same time that the High Priest was presenting the Firstfuit barley offering to God, Jesus
was presenting His blood to the Father. Jesus fulfilled another Feast Day on this very day. He
was the fulfillment of the Feast Day of Firstfruits, and again the Jews missed it.
After forty days, Jesus ascended into heaven where He sits at the right hand of the Father. He
remains THE Lamb of God but is coming again soon as both the Lamb of God and the Lion of
the Tribe of Judah. AMEN!!
Please read my book “The Lamb Eternal” for more in-depth information on
these teachings.
Wishing all of you a Happy Easter. May you experience it with a deeper
understanding.
Dr. Christine Van Horn