What is the
Bible all about? If you had to sum it up succinctly it might be God revealed to
us through Jesus Christ. The Old Testament describes the fallen nature of man,
the continuous cycle of seeking God, trying to please Him, falling away and
eventually turning back to Him again, all the time conscious of sin and the
need for a Saviour. The New Testament is the gospel, good news, the coming of
Jesus Christ and His ultimate glorification of His Father God and redemption of
fallen sinners in a new covenant.
The New Testament
does not negate the Old, rather it is the fulfillment of it. Tim Keller has
presented an interesting series available online concerning finding the gospel
in every book of the Bible, how Jesus is proclaimed in every book.
Recently my
church did a study series on the book of Nehemiah. This is the story of how one
man, Nehemiah, returned from exile in Babylon to Jerusalem and encouraged the Israelites
living there to rebuild the walls which surrounded the city, walls which were
in ruins and destroyed from enemy attacks. Different families and groups of
people worked together to repair different sections of the wall.
In Nehemiah
chapter 3 the first recorded completion and dedication of a gate in the wall is
noted – the Sheep Gate was repaired and constructed by Eliashib the high priest
and his priestly colleagues. This was the gate in which flocks of sheep would
be brought into the city for sale and sacrifice.
This detail
holds great symbolism. In the New Testament, in John’s gospel, we read the
following:
“So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.All those who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly. “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” John 10:7-11
The Sheep
Gate in Old Testament times was the way in which the sacrificial sheep and
lambs were through the wall into a protective space where they were to be the
atonement for sin. The Old Testament is full of examples of how this practice failed
to fully reconcile the people to God. They continually turned away.
Jesus
though His words and actions demonstrated that He became the sacrificial Lamb
of God, that He became the only way for us to be saved and in right relationship
with God. This is a new covenant- a promise that salvation is not through our
own works or sacrifices but through what Jesus has done. Only through faith in
Jesus do we have communion with our Heavenly Father, Son and guiding Holy
Spirit and the promise of protection, blessing and the most wonderful life
appointed for us.
