Prophets and the Altar of the Lamb Gen 8:20-22; Isa 6:1-13; John 12:23-26, 36-41
Audio:https://www.daleappleby.net/index.php/mp3-sermons/51-recent-sermons/1054-prophets-and-the-lamb
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OncSjHLh40
Introduction
Last week I spoke of Great Awakenings and attempted to ground what happened in the tremendous revivals of past centuries in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Whilst I think it is a mistake to focus on revival phenomena, I believe it is helpful to consider the Spirit’s preparation of the leaders of awakenings. The Wesleys and George Whitfield were part of the so-called “Holy Club” at Oxford whose members were rigorously dedicated to prayer, fasting, Bible study and caring for the poor. To get our minds straight we should remember that “holiness” is primarily a matter of being set apart from ordinary things for the purposes of God. The truth behind this quote, “The holiness of God is his glory concealed. The glory of God is his holiness revealed.” (Bengel), means that if we would see the glory of the Lord we must be holy people. Following this through, the offerings of the Old Testament, like the guilt offering, are called, “most holy” (Lev 14:13). These offerings were of male lambs, which points us to one the most exalted titles for Jesus in the New Testament, “the Lamb of God”. Jesus said of John the Baptist that he was the greatest man ever born (Matt 11:11), so when he hear John ecstatically proclaiming concerning the Lord, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29), we must pay careful attention. The Lamb of God is supremely powerful in God’s kingdom because a lamb means an altar of sacrifice.
The Altar of God
Last week I explained how the writers of scripture were men of the Word of God and prayer because they knew their communities existed at the interface between the evil forces of chaos and the good ordering power of God the Creator. Virtually everyone in the ancient world shared this sense and this explains why temples and altars were everywhere. Altars were places where sacrifices were made initiating an exchange between the worshipper and the g/God. An insight into what is for us a strange way of thinking about the power of altars is behind Jesus remark about the altar in the Jerusalem temple. “You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?” (Matt 23:19). To be effective places of exchange between earth and heaven the offering on the altar must cost something and be given up to a greater power. This urge to turn the g/God from wrath to favour by a costly offering was so powerful that despite the prohibitions of the Law of Moses (Lev 18:21, 20:3; Deut 12:30–31, 18:10) there were examples of child sacrifice (2 Ki 18:10; Ps 106:37-38; Ezek 16:20-21; Jer 7:31 etc.) even in Israel. The inner drive to calm the guilty conscience by sacrifice shines through Paul’s announcement that in Athens he found “an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’” (Acts 17:23). This compulsion to have a dedicated place of sacrifice reflect something of Ecclesiastes 3:11 describes, “God has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”. Despite some exceptions, like ANZAC rituals, much of the neuroses of modern Western society flows from people have nothing greater than themselves to offer to, no place to go to expunge their guilt and fears. Having a Christ-centred perspective on the power of God’s altar totally reverses this deficiency.
Eternity
At the end of the Bible we read that the new Jerusalem has no temple, because “for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.” (Rev 21:22). This is because everything symbolised by a temple will be present in Jesus’ relationship with his Father on our behalf. The New Testament writers understood that the power of the sacrifice of Jesus exceeded all limits. Peter expresses this by explaining, “you were ransomed…, 19 …with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown/chosen before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you” (1 Pet 1:18-20), John the seer understood it, “All who dwell on the earth will worship him (beast), whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” (Rev 13:8). The scriptures testify that from eternity God purposed to share his glory with humanity through the sacrifice of the Son of God. If heaven and earth were created to be a vast temple (Ps 78:69) with the image of God at its centre (Gen 1:26-28; 2:7; Ps 8), the altar upon which the Lamb will be slaughtered (Rev 5:6), the cross, was foundational to the “possibility” of creation. There is an “eternal altar” in the heart of God from which all altars to the Lord derive their power, and of which all other altars are false imitations (1 Cor 10:18-20).
Old Testament Altars
The first altar mentioned in scripture is that of Noah. After the devastation of the global Flood Noah offers sacrifices to the Lord whose pleasing aroma before the Lord moved his heart to covenant to never destroy the world by water again (Gen 8:20-22). The coming power of the cross was being released through the faith of Noah, for as Ephesians 5:2 puts it, “Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.””
The patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were builders of altars (Gen 12:7-8; 13:18; 22:9; 26:25; 33:20; 35:1, 3, 7) as places where as a holy priesthood they “called on the name of the Lord”. In praise and petition they were prophetically witnessing that the time was coming when the one true God would take possession of the land and evict the nations and their idols. The inhabitants of the world (cf. Rev 11:10; 13:8, 14; 14:6 etc.) were put on notice that the sovereign dominion of the Creator and Lord of all was coming.
Before building the tabernacle, Moses constructed altars for offerings to the Lord (Ex 17:15; 24:4 cf. 20:24-25). And as a sign that the altar of God held primary place for the old covenant community was that after the return from exile it was built before temple (Ezra 3:2-3). Fear of the hostile surrounding peoples and their worship of false gods intensified the need to offer sacrifices acceptable to the Lord. Whilst everything about old covenant altars prefigured the cross, one incident is particularly prophetic of the death of Jesus, the call of Isaiah.
Previsioning the Cross
I can clearly recall the atmosphere after a sermon on The Revival We Need preached on Isaiah 6 at Adelaide university on 17/6/74 by Geoff Bingham. It was one of those rare occasions, Donna was there, when the audience sat completely stunned. It is the transformation in Isaiah’s identity which makes him a classic example of revival. Confronted with a vision of the holiness of the Lord Isaiah is filled with dread about his imminent perishing under the weightiness of the presence of the glory of God (Isa 6:3-5). This was a wholly realistic apprehension. Then through pure grace his lips are cleansed by a coal from the altar of incense (Isa 6:6-7). As the incense cloud from the altar sheltered the High Priest from the wrath of God on the Day of Atonement (Lev 16:12-13) so that he could sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat to cover the sins of the people, so Isaiah’s guilt is taken away. How did this all “work”?
The key to understand what was going on is provided by a surprising New Testament reference. After quoting from Isaiah 6:10 (John 12:40), John tells us, “Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.” (12:41). Isaiah had seen the glory of Jesus 740 years before the Lord appeared on earth. This sounds fascinating, but a far more important question is, “Which glory di the prophet see?” In John’s Gospel the glory of Christ embraces his death as well as his exultation (John 12:23-33). The powerful cleansing communicated from the altar of incense that transformed Isaiah from an ordinary priest into an extraordinary prophet was the cleansing and forgiving glory of the cross (cf. Eph 5:2). Isaiah the priest was transformed by an exchange of holiness and glory between heaven and earth. That’s the true power of revival and it all flows from the ultimate altar of God in the cross.
The Altar of the Cross
The writer to Hebrews testifies that the cross is an altar, “We have an altar from which those who serve the tent have no right to eat.” (Heb 13:10). All the conditions for the cross to be an altar of sacrifice are present. The offeror must give up something of worth, Jesus gives his infinitely precious life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45; 1 Pet 1:19), and the offering must be given to someone greater than themselves. Jesus says, “I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I” (John 14:28). Jesus offers up his body as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God in pure spiritual worship (cf. Rom 12:1). Such a sacrifice of the greatest conceivable/most perfect/spotless being that could ever enter this creation has limitless power not only to take over the sin of the world but to multiply the glory and goodness of God in everything. This was Jesus’ own understanding of the power and scope of his offering.
““The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:23). The sacrificial submission of the Son of God will fill the new creation with sons and daughters of God fully in his likeness. For the fullness of God’s purposes to come on earth as in heaven the Church must understand the power of the altar of the cross.
United with the Altar
To be “in Christ”, is to be united with his sacrifice. As Paul expounds, “are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?” (1 Cor 10:18). In Christ, we share in the power of his altar to glorify God. As Jesus was a living altar and sacrifice so are we (cf. Rom 12:1). In Christ our lives, prayers and witness can bear away the wrath of God on lost humanity. Paul freely uses sacrificial language of his life and ministry. “Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.” (Phil 2:17). “…I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.” (2 Tim 4:6). In the Plan of God the laying down of our lives for Jesus on behalf of others completes (cf. Col 1:24) his offering. If the purpose of the sacrificial altar of the Son of God was to multiply sons for the glory of the Father (Rom 8:29; Heb 2:10) we share this calling.
Multiplication
Paul sees the offering of his life to the Lord as multiplying the acceptability of the offering of the nations to God, “because of the grace given me by God 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” (Rom 15:15-16). The substance of this truth of multiplying glory applies to us all.
Whilst (Eph 4:12ff.) apostles multiply churches (Acts 14:23), prophets multiply Christ-centred submission (Rev 19:10), evangelists multiply converts (Acts 8:4; 21:8), pastors multiply healthy sheep (1 Pet 5:1-4) and teachers multiply the mind of Christ (Phil 2:5), we are all called to multiply the things of the Lord Jesus. Those with wisdom gifts multiply wisdom in others, with praise gifts multiply adoration, with prayer gifts inspire and enable prayer, with hospitality gifts multiply appreciations, gifts of friendship, finance, listening, humour etc. etc. are all to be offered to the Lord for his multiplication and glory. What has the Lord given you to multiply in others for his glory, and is it happening??
I was responding to someone recently about marketplace (cf. local church-based) ministries, and “came up” with a description of believers as “mobile temples” (cf. 1Cor 3:16). As mobile temples we are also mobile altars. As living altars, we are called by God to always be offering up to him something good for the sake of the gospel on the altar of faith e.g. I know brothers/sisters who are very clear that they shall never marry because of their devotion to the gospel (Matt 19:12; 1 Cor 7:7-8), others who have sacrificed/given away career, finances, family, cars, houses (2 examples), and perhaps the most precious commodity of all, time. Someone came to see me this week who had a dream about praying in the night watches (Pss 63:6; 119:148; Isa 62:6-7) so he is praying between midnight and 2 a.m. twice a week. As men and women of faith offer themselves to the Father through Jesus on behalf of other people we will see multiplication through the power and presence of the kingdom of God (Mark 4:1-9; 26-29). The final vision of all those who place their lives on the altar for God to multiply is that “the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.” (Hab 2:14 cf. Isa 11:9).
The Lord spoke to me about these sorts of things in an unusual way some years ago. I entered into “The Furnace”, a youth-based prayer house, and felt led to take up some crayons to draw. (Apart from sharks and rhinos I have never been a drawer) The result was the diagram in front of you (http://cross-connect.net.au/about/cross-connect-vision/ ) The prism in the middle of the cross comes from connecting the places on Christ’s body from which he bled, when the holy light of God (left side) shone through Christ’s sacrifice to reconcile the world (Col 1:20) the eternal glory of God (right side) was revealed (Gal 6:14). What was first true of Jesus becomes true through us as united to the power of his death (Rom 6:3-4) we lay down our lives for the salvation of the world. We become prism-altars who in turn multiply prisms to the glory of the Lord.
As I was praying over these things yesterday, I could see the beautiful colours of the Lord being splashed abroad by the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5 K.J.V). The polychromatic wisdom and love of God in music, poetry, painting, writing, teaching, serving, praying etc. multiplying and spreading. This is a wonderful vision; but let me pause.
Other Altars
If there is something about the inner nature of glory which communicates itself so that it in turn is communicated, why haven’t the nations already been discipled and converted by the many-coloured wisdom of God (Eph 3:10)? The absence of the power of multiplication in the mainstream Church must mean that believers are bowing down to altars of false gods. In the biblical order of things, revealed so clearly to Isaiah, if the sacrificial worship of the one true God multiplies his glorious presence, devotion to dead idols multiplies spiritual deafness and blindness (Pss 115:6; 135:16; Isaiah 6:10; Jeremiah 5:21; Ezekiel 12:2; Matthew 13:15; Acts 28:27; Romans 11:8). Such a spiritual lockdown on the people of God can only be overcome by a deeper union with the altar of God.
Conclusion
Jesus said, ““Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.” (Mark 10:29-31). Through the gospel the followers of Jesus should know that the giving away of the good things in this world for Christ’s sake is the substance of the new creation (Mark 10:29 cf. Acts 2:45; 4:34). I started with a note on holiness let me end with one. To be holy is to be set apart/consecrated to the Lord on his altar of sacrifice. There’s a famous quote to this effect I want to modify. “The world has yet to see what God can do with a man fully consecrated to him. By God’s help, I aim to be that man.” (D.L. Moody via Henry Varley). The problem with this quote is…. that Jesus isn’t at its centre.
The greater the vision of the eternally purposed sacrifice of the Son of God, the greater the revelation of the altar of the Lamb, the more the human spirit is provoked to offer what God has given us back to him on the altar of sacrifice. What have I been given to give back to the Lord for the multiplication of his glory? “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required” (Luke 12:48)