We read in John 1:14, And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. And we beheld His glory, glory as of an only begotten from the Father, full of grace and of truth. (LITV)
The above mentioned verse expounds how the Word became flesh, and made his dwelling or tabernacle among us. If we are wondering who this Word refers to, we receive a vivid comprehension of the same from John 1:1, In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. (NLT)
Genesis 1:1, the very first verse in the Bible begins this way, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (NLT) and John as he begins his gospel, begins in a similar way with the words in John 1:1 that, “In the beginning the Word already existed”.
As we compare these two verses, we will get the right understanding of who Jesus really is. He was the Word that was at the beginning, the Word that was God, the Word that was heard, who became flesh, in order that this Word who was proclaimed was now evident, and seen by the world.
We observe in John 1:1 that the words, Word and God have the first letters in capitals, and so also in John 1:14, we notice that Word, His and Father have their first letters in capitals. There are many today who have not fully comprehended the divinity of Jesus, and therefore are unable to receive the gift of salvation that He offers to them. This Word refers to Jesus, who being full of grace and truth, became flesh, and made His dwelling among us. The word used alternatively for dwelling, is the word tabernacle which implies that God set up tent to live amongst us.
Immanuel, God with us
We read in Matthew 1:23,"Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us). (ESV)
The name that was given to Jesus was the name ‘Immanuel’ which means, ‘God with us.’ Our God is one who desires to come, and make His abode with us. There are so many who are going in search of God, trying to find him in all kinds of places, perform various rituals, hoping that they can somehow get to know who God really is, find Him, and appease Him so that He can change the difficult situations in their lives. However, the God of the Bible in complete contrast is one who comes seeking after man. That’s what makes Him unique, for He is a God who comes searching for lost mankind.
The Tent of the Tabernacle
Almost 1500 years before Jesus came down to this earth, here are the words that God spoke to Moses.
It is recorded in Exodus 25:8, “The people must make a sacred Tent for me, so that I may live among them.” (GNB)
The Lord instructed Moses to raise a sacred tent so that that God could come, and dwell amongst His people. Though God desired to reside among men, sin separated a holy God from sinful man, and therefore God made a way for sinful man to approach Him, by abiding in the sacred tent. God also instructed Moses, and gave him the exact dimensions and design as to what this sacred tent should look like.
The length of the tent was to be 150 feet, and its breadth 75 feet. The tent was to be covered with white curtains all around, and no man could enter through these curtains. The white curtains symbolized the fact that God is a holy God, and sinful man had no permission to enter into God’s holy presence. Though there were white curtains all around, there was just one place of entrance for the tent whereby people could enter this sacred tent.
When sinful man was searching for a way to approach a holy God, the Lord has already in His divine plan made a way for that to happen. God’s plan to save fallen man was revealed in the Garden of Eden itself. God’s redemptive plan was to restore sinful man, back to the place of being in fellowship and communion with Him. Everything therefore that God did in the Old Testament was a pointer towards the great plan of salvation that God wanted to reveal to us through His Son Jesus Christ.
• The entrance to the tent
We read in Exodus 25:4 ... blue, purple, and red wool; (CEV)
There are 3 colors mentioned in this verse as woven on the entrance to the tent. The first color was blue. Most often when we see blue, the first thought that comes to our mind is the sky. The blue signifies the fact that Jesus was the Son of God who was to come from the heavens, sent down by the heavenly Father from above. The color on the other end of the entrance was red, signifying blood, revealing to us that though Jesus was the Son of God, He took on human form to become the Son of Man. When the blue and red mix the color that is displayed is purple, which usually substantiates royalty. This purple signifies the reality that because Jesus, the Son of God became the Son of Man, He is now exalted above all kings, and now reigns as the King of Kings.
For one to enter the sacred tent there was only one entrance, and simply no other way which was why Jesus said in John 14:6, I am the Way… and that without Him no one can come into the presence of the Father in heaven. No man on earth, no saint on earth has the authority to lead us into the presence of God except Jesus.
John’s Gospel portrays that Jesus was the Son of God, Son of Man, and the King of Kings
Let us read in John 19:7, The Jewish leaders replied, “By our law he ought to die because he called himself the Son of God.” (NLT)
We read in John 19:5, So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!” (ESV)
We also read in John 19:2, ….and they put a purple robe on him. (NLT)
The accusation that was brought against Jesus was that He claimed to be the ‘son of God’. In John 19:5 Pilate brought Jesus out to them and then declared to them ‘Behold the man’. When they brought Jesus out to trial they put on him a purple robe, which actually signified his kingship. We see the three colors blue, red and purple woven into the gospel of John, as he presented Jesus as the Son of God, Son of Man and the King of Kings who is the only Way to the Father.
• The brazen altar
When one enter the sacred tent the first thing that met their eyes near the gate, was the brazen altar. The altar signified that no man who is sinful could approach a holy God without a sacrifice. When a man sinned in the Old Testament he was required to bring a lamb or goat without blemish and offer it to the priest, and the priest would place all of the sins of the man on the lamb or goat and then slaughter it, so that the blood of the animal was shed on the altar. It was specified that the altar was to be made of bronze which signified the judgement of God. For anyone to enter the presence of God, they needed forgiveness of sins, and that was done symbolically by the shed blood of the animal that was sacrificed.
Many people today chose to live in deliberate sin only because they do not comprehend the fact that though God is loving, merciful and forgiving, He is also a God of justice, who will judge and condemn sin.
We read in Leviticus 17:11, “The life of every living thing is in the blood, and that is why the LORD has commanded that all blood be poured out on the altar to take away the people's sins. Blood, which is life, takes away sins.” (GNT)
It is only the shedding of blood that can take away the sins of mankind. The lamb or goat that was brought had to be spotless, without blemish, and it was only when the blood of the lamb was shed, could the person find propitiation for their sins. In the Old Testament, all that man could do was offer a sacrifice of a lamb or a goat, and his sins were placed on the animal. The shedding of the blood of the lamb was to symbolize that his sins were covered or set aside.
When John the Baptist introduced Jesus, this is what he declared about Him in John 1:29, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (ESV)
No man can get rid of his sins on his own, only the blood of Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God can do that for us. If our sins are not forgiven, we have no access to draw near to the presence of God. The brazen altar was a symbol of Jesus the Lamb of God who sacrificed His life on the cross, by shedding His precious blood for the redemption of all mankind.
That is why we read in 1 John 1:7,... And the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin (ESV)
• The brazen laver of water
The next thing that was kept in the tabernacle was the brazen laver of water that symbolized the waters of baptism that one must go through as an act of obedience to God, as a confession of one’s faith and salvation that they have received. Salvation is received only by faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross, whereby we are justified before God. But, the next step that is required of us, is that we go through the waters of obedience.
We can recall the incidence of Jesus, and His disciples seated at an evening meal in John 13 just before the Passover festival, when Jesus took a basin of water, and began to wash the feet of all his disciples. Peter was overwhelmed, and told Jesus that He could not wash his feet, to which Jesus replied Peter that he would have no part with Him if He did not wash him. Peter immediately requested Jesus to wash his hands and head as well to which Jesus said for one who has bathed needs to only wash his feet.
Baptism is that washing, which does not in any way imply that a person will remain sinless after being baptized, but we can go to the Lord Jesus time and again to experience the cleansing that He offers for all of our sins. Baptism is not a tradition, but is an acknowledgement before men that we are sinners, who need a savior. It is the knowledge we receive, and profess that Jesus bore our sins on the cross, died and rose again the third day. Baptism is that act of obedience that testifies to others that we are united with Christ in His death, to be resurrected to a new life in Jesus Christ. Baptism is not a guarantee that we are free from sin for all of us need that daily cleansing from the Lord.
In Romans 6:3-5 portrays this most vividly, “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection” (NKJV)
• The golden lamp stand
Beyond the Laver of water was the Holy place where the priest would enter. Inside this was the
golden lamp stand.
We read in Exodus 25:31, “You shall make a lampstand of pure gold. The lampstand shall be made of hammered work: its base, its stem, its cups, its calyxes, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. (ESV)
Having received the gift of salvation, and after being baptized we become members of the body of Christ which is the church, where Jesus Himself is a representation of the golden lamp stand. Gold always refers to the divine, and we find here that the gold had to be hammered to be fashioned into the lamp stand. It was only because Jesus, the divine Son of God was nailed and hammered to the cross did we receive the true light into our lives. Just as the lamp stand lighted up the holy place, and gave access to God’s presence, it is only Jesus who is the true light of this world who can dispel all the darkness in our lives and give us access into the most holy presence of God.
Jesus himself said in John 9:5, As long as I'm in the world, I'm light for the world."(GW)
The table of showbread
We read in Exodus 25:23-24, “You shall make a table of acacia wood. Two cubits shall be its length, a cubit its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a molding of gold around it.” (ESV)
Also in Exodus 25:30, “Place the Bread of the Presence on the table to remain before me at all times.” (NLT)
The table of the showbread was placed opposite the lampstand. This table was made of acacia wood, and was overlaid with pure gold. While wood reveals the humanness of Jesus, the gold refers to his divinity. On the table was placed the showbread which was to remain for all times.
The assurance we receive from the Lord is that once we become members of His body, the Lord desires to give us His word, which is our daily manna. That is why Jesus reiterated that ‘man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.’ Matthew 4:4
In John 6:35, Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. (ESV)
When Jesus said to the Jewish leaders and Pharisees ‘I am the bread of life’ they were confused and could not comprehend the truth that Jesus was the Word of God, the Word who was made flesh, and the one will could truly satisfy their soul’s hunger and thirst. Jesus is the only one who can satisfy both our physical hunger as well as our spiritual hunger. The table of showbread was also a representation of Jesus who was, the true and life giving Word of God. The one who believes in Jesus is guaranteed that springs of living water will flow out from him, which implies that not only will our soul’s thirst be satisfied, it will also overflow from us, and be a blessing to others to quench their thirst as well.
• The altar of incense
We read in Exodus 30:1, “You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood.” (ESV)
Also in Exodus 30:7, And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it, (ESV)
There are still those who follow this tradition of burning incense, not realizing the fact that when Jesus the reality came into this world, everything else which was a shadow was nullified. It was required in the Old Testament that every morning Aaron or the priests in his order were to burn these fragrant incenses. If we are wondering what these incenses signify let us read what the Psalmist says in Psalms 141:2, “Let my prayer be accepted as sweet-smelling incense in your presence. Let the lifting up of my hands in prayer be accepted as an evening sacrifice.”(GW)
Here the Psalmist refers to our prayers as the sweet smelling incense. If we were to understand how the altar of incense, which refers to prayer can be related to Jesus let us read Hebrews 7:25, And so he is able, now and always, to save those who come to God through him, because he lives forever to plead with God for them. (GNT)
Jesus is the one who is our mediator, praying and pleading always on our behalf to God the Father in order that we might be saved. Many desire for Jesus, but the question is how many are willing to commit their lives to Jesus so that He can be the Lord and Master of their lives? We need the assurance that our sins are forgiven, and for this to happen all we got to do is believe that the Lord Jesus indeed died for our sins on the cross of Calvary, and that His blood can cleanse us from all our sins. If we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ we will have the joy of being justified before God.
The next step is to take baptism where we with this knowledge that God has imparted to us, we are united with Jesus in His death, burial and resurrection. We are now in the process of being transformed into the image of our Lord Jesus Christ, and when we fail and sin, we can go boldly to the mercy seat of God seeking His grace and forgiveness. The word of God cautions us in Proverbs 28:13, He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. (NKJV)
When we have saved and baptized we become a part of the church, which is the body of Christ. Jesus the truth and light will fill our hearts and minds, so that our lives will be transformed. When the Light of Jesus shines in our hearts we will be able to assess ourselves the right way in the light of His presence. Also our real hunger and thirst will be satisfied with the eternal word of God. We also have the certainty that even if we do stumble and fall sometimes, we have Jesus, who is our mediator who will plead to the Father on our behalf.
When Jesus died on the cross, the final word that he uttered on the cross was ‘it is finished’. What was a tabernacle or sacred tent in the time of Moses, was a temple in the time of Jesus. The veil of the temple that separated the holy place from the most holy place was torn in two from top to bottom when Jesus died on the cross. As the body of Christ was broken on our behalf, the curtain in the temple, which also was a shadow of Christ was torn in two. Jesus came and dwelt among us. He did all that He should do on our behalf, but the question is are we ready to do all that we are required to do? Adam lost his life at the Garden of Eden by his disobedience, but, Jesus came to restore that life back to us. That is why Jesus said in John 10:10, I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (ESV) May we invite Jesus to come into our lives, to dwell with us so that we too can enjoy the abundantly joyful life that He offers to each one of us.
Rev. F. Andrew Dixon
www.goodnewsfriends.net
Transcribed by: Sis. Esther Collins
