Kenneth Copeland - The Third And Fourth Passovers Of Jesus
Kenneth Copeland: Hello everybody. I'm Kenneth Copeland. Welcome to the believers, voice of victory broadcast. Now those of you that have missed the first half of this week, professor Greg Stevens instructor at Kenneth Copeland, Bible college and Hebrew studies and so forth. Also associate pastor at EMIC. And we have been studying with him, Hebrew customs. I mean this man, this... Amen, like I said Monday, I mean, I'm preaching and having my good time there and with the students and all and over there with his Hebrew bible and making sure I'm straight. No, no, no.
Greg Stephens: I'm not making sure.
Kenneth Copeland: Yeah you are, I plan on you doing that. Praise God, man. It is so wonderful. And I don't, I don't want to take much, much time right here. So I want to get back in. He he's talking about, um, all of the things, uh, that take us from the first covenant into the second covenant. Jesus is everything. He is in every word of both covenants. You just have to see him there and to, and to see the Jewish side of it. Cause they're expecting him. Yes.
Greg Stephens: They're looking for him.
Kenneth Copeland: They're looking for him.
Greg Stephens: Matter of fact, that piece that's broken, the Afikoman is referred to as the coming one.
Kenneth Copeland: Praise God.
Greg Stephens: They're looking for the coming one. So are we!
Kenneth Copeland: Yeah. Amen. That's right.
Greg Stephens: For when he returns for us.
Kenneth Copeland: Praise God.
Greg Stephens: Amen. The reason I look at the Hebrew Bible, sir, is because, um, I always say wash me in your word and reveal yourself to me. And, and there's some, there's some things in Hebrew that are so different than here. First you read from right to left, but the letter M the middle letter, um, Mim, there's two mims. It's one letter, but there's a, uh, two symbols for the... It's confusing. One, You only use it the first of the word, one you only use it, the second of the word. So that's, you know, you have to learn that, but there's, there's something that happens in Hebrew with the Eleftov and it's the strength of the covenant is what it means. And it's in the scripture untranslated. It's just there and to see it, and then that's a whole other week. John will write, I'm the alpha, the Omega, the first and the last beginning, what's the first and last letter? But I find it all through scripture where you'll find the first and last letter of Hebrew in scripture, there by itself with no translation to it. It's just there. And when you find it, you find it in the Passover. You find it in creation. It's Jesus initials. It's me. He's and he's, as he says, when you see this, John, the alpha and the omega, that's me. And there's thousands upon thousands of times where you find that, or you find Yahd Hei Vov Hei, just in the middle of a verse. And you can only, you can only see that when you read it in Hebrew.
Kenneth Copeland: Oh my goodness.
Greg Stephens: It's beautiful.
Kenneth Copeland: Oh, praise God.
Greg Stephens: All right. We we're talking about the Passovers of Jesus. This was, this is a favorite one of mine, John chapter six. Um, I'm gonna read this. I think the new King James here after these things, Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberius. Now, the reason it says that is it gives you a location where they're at on the sea, that a great multitude followed him because they saw the signs, his signs, which he'd performed on those who were diseased, Jesus went up on the mountain and there, he sat with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews was near. So here we are, it's Passover. Then Jesus lifted up his eyes and seeing a great multitude coming toward him. He said to Philip, where shall we buy bread? Here we go. Where's shall... cause it's Passover. I can't give him leavened bread. Um, where should we buy bread?
Kenneth Copeland: All of us gentiles man, we don't... We don't understand that that unleavened bread is what he was looking for. Where are we going to buy? Let me put it like this. Where are we going to buy communion for these people?
Greg Stephens: How am going to give all these people communion, where am I going to get it, man? Because you only need, you only need certain things. You don't need. The whole thing that we do today just needed certain things for that. Uh, he said this to test them for he, for he himself knew what he would do. And Phillip says 200 denari worth of bread is not sufficient so that everybody could have a little piece that you break off. Gotta have more than that. He said, make the people sit down. Well, you know the whole story, uh, that do this, it's multiplied. Um, they have 12 baskets left over. That's an interesting thing. There are 12 tribes of Israel. And I believe that went home with that little boy that had five barley loaves. Cause that's, that's the way prosperity works. He sowed it to the Lord, whatever you give to Jesus as multiplied, he never divides anything. He always multiplies it. Whatever seed you've sown, it's been multiplied. It's coming back to you, multiplied.
Kenneth Copeland: That's right.
Greg Stephens: Um, so Jesus answered them in 26 more to Surely, I say to you, you seek me not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves that were filled, do not labor for the food, which perishes, but for the food, which endures to everlasting life. Now he starts talking about this new covenant right here. And he starts talking about it, which the son of man will give you because God, the father has set his seal on him. That's a covenant seal. Then they said to him, what shall we do that we may work the works of God. Jesus answered and said to them, this is the work of God that you believe in him whom he sent. Here's here's all it requires. He's introducing, sir, a new covenant. It is righteousness by faith that you are justified. It's exactly what Abraham did. But with Jesus, it won't be accounted unto you as righteousness, you will be a, this a bold statement. Brace yourself for this. You're going to be as righteous as Jesus. Absolutely, as righteous as him.
Kenneth Copeland: It has to be the same. Because he, he was made sin with our sin. He was every bit sin. And then in order for that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. So, there are no sub heirs, only joint heirs.
Greg Stephens: That's correct. That's good.
Kenneth Copeland: Only joint heirs. And the, the righteousness of God, people get that confused with holiness, as you know, you grow in holiness. Yes. But not in righteousness. The moment you're born again, fifth chapter, second Corinthians says you are a new creation.
Greg Stephens: This goes to that last week of Jesus and the things that he does, he'll curse a fig tree. Perfectly good fig tree. Never did anything to him. And I had, I struggled with that. Why did he do that? Because he's making a statement. The fig tree parable of all the parables that Jesus ever taught. It's the only one he never explained. Cause they knew it. They're Jewish boys. They knew this fig tree. So when he curses that fig tree, I'm getting away from this over here in John, but he curses that tree. It goes, it's a statement of righteousness. What did the first Adam by one man's sin, sin came into the world death. By one man's uh, redemption, Jesus. All of us can partake of redemption. So what did, what did Adam do the minute he was unclothed from his glory. What'd he do? He ran and hid. And the father called out to him. I actually believe it was Jesus said to him, where are you, Adam? Well, he knew where he was. He knew exactly where he was. Cause he knows. And the Hebrew doesn't say, where are you? It says, why are you where you are? KENNETH:That's a whole different thing.
Greg Stephens: Why are you, why are you there? And then he said, who told you? That's the first question he ever asked him. Who told you that? So who told you you're broke? Who told you you're sick? You're the righteousness of God. So what'd they do. They took fig leaves, my God, getting to preach here, took fig leaves and they closed themselves in it. Jesus is the second Adam. And he said, there's not going to be any more of this covering sin. I'm going to eliminate it. And he cursed it. That's why that tree died. I'm not going to cover your sin anymore. I'm going to gear. I'm going to become it. And so that speaks to our righteousness. Abraham believed and it was accounted righteous and it was counted for him like an accounting term credited to it. Until next year when we do this lamb deal again, that's credit. There's no more credit. Now it's paid in full matter of fact, overpayment for, for me. Glory to God. So when you, when you get down into this, uh, here in verse 28, it says, then they said to him, what shall we do? That we may work the works of God. Now look, they're wanting to do the exact same thing. They're wanting to get into works of this. Jesus answered and said, this is the work of God that you believe in him, who they sent. Here's your work, receive your salvation and walk in this righteousness. Therefore they said to him, what sign will you perform then that we may see it and believe in you? Now, this is interesting. What work will you do? They ask him, our fathers ate the manna. Our fathers ate the manna in the desert is written. He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Then Jesus said to them, most assuredly I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven. Now, Moses instructs them about this bread. The Moses didn't...
Kenneth Copeland: He didn't do that.
Greg Stephens: He's going right at their, their belief system here. All because they challenged him. Um, most assuredly I say to you, Moses, did I give you the bread from heaven? But my father gives you the true bread from heaven for the bread of God, is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. Now Jesus is going to take that piece of bread and say, this is my body. I'm the true bread. When he's with his disciples, then they said to him, Lord, give us this bread always. Yeah, we want that. And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger. And he believes in me shall never thirst. That takes me back to Canaan of Galilee. With the water turned to wine. See it. But I said to you, you see me yet. You believe you do not believe all that the father gives me will come to me that now father gives it to me, will come to me. And the one who comes to me, I will by no means cast out. There's the chesed right? There's the mercy.
Kenneth Copeland: That's one of the biggest scriptures in the Bible. But most particularly for the, for the new covenant, beginning in the book of acts. Because he he's the same yesterday, today and forever. And he who comes to me, I don't know for no reason cast him out. Well, we've used that for people coming to get saved, but he didn't say that. He said anybody comes to me for healing. I won't cast them out. Anybody that comes to me for the Holy spirit. I won't cast him out. Anybody that comes to me for comfort, I won't cast him out. I don't care why you come. I love you. And I'm not going to cast you out.
Greg Stephens: He that comes to me as the source of your prosperity. I'll not cast you out. Glory to God. Because he just demonstrated that did by feeding all those people. They didn't have enough money to buy all the food for everybody. But he demonstrated right there for I've come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of the one who sent me. There it is. You'll never thirst. And he's revealing some things now here in, in John 17. And we'll get there John 17. He says, I have revealed... I have given them your name. I've revealed. Right there is one of the names of God. I am the bread of life.
Kenneth Copeland: I am the bread.
Greg Stephens: And he's got, he's got, this is one of the times he's revealing the father. Cause it, you can see it right here. My father is the one that gave the bread, not Moses. And you will never thirst again. You'll never hunger again. Okay. So now we're getting into that last Passover. And we talked a little bit about it with the symbolism as John chapter 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17. And there it is. It's interesting that he will send his disciples to Jerusalem with that very instruction to follow the man with the pitcher of water showed you that earlier in the week, the cane of Galilee, the pitchers that were made out of stone, those were the purification pitchers of water. And they're gonna find this guy and they're going to give this a, they're going to follow him. I believe it was a priest. And I believe what Jesus does that night is he will do a priestly thing with the disciples, John chapter 12. Let me show you, this gives you some of that flying that timeline or that final week gives you some understanding. We'll begin to tie so many things together. Um, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus, who had been dead, whom he was raised from the dead there made him a supper and Martha served. But Lazarus was, um, was one of those who sat at the table with him. Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard anointed, the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil, but one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son. So Judas, uh, Ben Simon is actual name, um, Iscariot is not a name. We'll get into that a little bit later, who would betray him said, why was this fragrant oil not sold for 300 dineri given to the poor. This he said not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and had the money box and he used to take what was put in it. Um, but Jesus said, let her alone, she's kept this for my day for my burial, for the poor you'll have with you always, but me you'll not have with you always now a great many of the Jews knew that he was there and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. But the chief priest, verse 10, the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also. Yeah, that's right, because that man is a walking advertisement.
Kenneth Copeland: Well, we gotta get rid of him.
Greg Stephens: Of who Jesus is. See half of them, you had the scribes, you had the Pharisees, you had the Sadducees, some income.
Kenneth Copeland: Whatever happened to thou shalt not murder?
Greg Stephens: The whole country is believing on Jesus right now, largely because of the feeding of the 5,000 and then now we get over to the Gentiles are believing because he had cast the demon's Legion out of that man, that man went back, began to evangelize everyone.
Kenneth Copeland: Preaching love.
Greg Stephens: Yes he did. And because that's what he experienced. It's when he ran into now, I'm not seeing that with the priest. I don't see love coming from them. They're ready to kill Lazarus. The chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also because on account of him, many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. Isn't that something? They're they're all beginning to believe. So the Sadducees didn't believe in the resurrection. Now you'll see it. When they start quizzing Jesus in that last week, the Pharisees come to him first, ask him a question. The Sadducees will then come and ask about, um, when the Messiah comes in that day in heaven and a woman who has been married, who would she be married to? Well, they don't believe in a resurrection, but they're asking a resurrection question. So Jesus will answer them. And so many people would get that wrong. They think Jesus is talking about marriage and divorce. He's not, he's talking about the question.
Kenneth Copeland: The question that they asked him.
Greg Stephens: And then scribes will ask him another question about, trying to trap him in his words. And he does the render under Caesar. Did we pay taxes to this and render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. And so that's all examination of the lamb. Those are those days prior to that. But when you, when you begin to look at all of this, they're ready to kill Lazarus too, because the Sadducees didn't believe in a resurrection yet resurrection is looking at them. Now it's not like he died and was dead for 30 seconds. And they did CPR on him. He had been in the grave awhile.
Kenneth Copeland: It's important right here, Greg. They learned in Egypt to mummify their dead. And there there's a, there's a wrong image in the minds of most Christians at the resurrection of Jesus. And when Lazarus was raised from the dead, he was mummified. Hmm. Yeah. And Jesus waited that four days in order for that whole thing to set up that, that mask over his face. And when he shouted Lazarus come forth, I mean that whole, that whole mummy carcass thing just came up out of there and was set right in the mouth of that tomb. And he said, Loose him and let him go. Get him out of that thing. Now that tells us what Peter and John's saw when they ran into that tomb. Yeah. All they saw folded was the napkin for the face. They saw this, the, this mummy when nothing in it. Well, they had already seen Lazarus come up out of there. So this wasn't strange to them and the way it looked, it wasn't strange to them. But how did he get out of there without tearing it up?
Greg Stephens: Ready?
Kenneth Copeland: Go ahead.
Greg Stephens: You ready? This is a shouting moment. Okay. So the arc of the covenant tremendous power in the arc, you touched it. Bam! There was a power that was so powerful that brought him up out of the pit of hell. Now there's an account in the gospel, what did you have in the arc of the covenant, you had the two Seraphim like this facing the mercy seat, not a judgment seat, but a mercy seat. Inside that was Aaron's rod and the tablets of stones. So the word was there. Aaron's rod...
Kenneth Copeland: How large a box was it?
Greg Stephens: Um, like this table four, four and a half feet. So Aaron's rod is budded, that's priestly. The word and the bread of life, mercy seat. It says that they stooped in and looked in there and saw an angel, an angel at the foot and the angel at the head of where he had laid and nothing but the stone. In the throne of heaven John sees it and the two are flying around the throne crying. Holy, Holy, Holy. Every, they come around, they see a new aspect they have never seen before. And they, Holy, Holy, they all fall down and just begin to worship. It says where two or three of you gather together in my name, we start talking about him. There is he in the midst of us. See the two of us right now creating an arc. And the presence is here and the presence rest between us. So that neither one of us control him. I can't control the presence of God. You can't control the presence of God. But as we, we talk about him, even as we talk about him with you right now, he's he's there. This is how he can be in your living room and here. And so now picture this Jesus body is laying right here. And these two Holy angels get on either side of him. And I don't know what they said, but they cried out, Holy, Holy, Holy. And the quickening power of God created an arc. He recreated the arc with the word and the bread of life and the priest laying right there. That's what they looked in and saw.
Kenneth Copeland: Yeah, they did.
Greg Stephens: That's the power that raised him from the dead.
Kenneth Copeland: Yes it is. The glory.
Greg Stephens: The glory of God is what pulled him out of there. And he came out of there victorious. That's why, when they saw those two angels and they saw only that covering their, where is he? Glory to God. That's why it's important when the two of us gather together, this is why it's such a Holy thing. When we come together in his presence and began to talk about him, that his presence is right there. That he's with. You never leave, you never forsake you.
Kenneth Copeland: Oh my God. No. God. Hallelujah. I sense his presence. Well, if you don't, your wood's wet.
Greg Stephens: Yes sir. Yes, sir. Yes. And that's what happened that day when they were in there. That's why the scripture makes a point to tell us those angels were there. And that makes a point to tell you that napkin was there.
Kenneth Copeland: Nobody knows how big those things are. It doesn't say big angel little angel, Hey, from experience that I've had in the times past, they were probably huge. Just huge. Just huge. Powerful, powerful men. Huge.
Greg Stephens: Hell couldn't stop him. Grave couldn't stop him. None of it could stop him. When they came together over the bread of life...
Kenneth Copeland: And we're out of time, I'm telling you.