Scripture Reference:
Hebrews 2:9
But we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He, by the grace of God, may taste death for everyone.
Reading Guide for Mom and Dad:
Throughout history, covenants took place between people. Covenants took place between tribes, countries, and individuals. With a covenant, there is usually an exchange between the two parties. Exchanges of robes, clothes, or weapons are made between people or groups of people. Today we exchange rings, names, and vows in marriage.
A Marriage Covenant was made when Jesus died on the cross. At the cross, this marriage covenant was sealed with His blood. If He was going to the cross to make a marriage covenant, then surely He should have been dressed as the Bridegroom on His way to the cross.
Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
When Jesus was dressed as the Bridegroom, He was clothed with the garments of salvation, clothed with the robe of righteousness. The robe is a symbolic picture of righteousness.
Matthew 27:28 And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.
They took off His robe of righteousness and put on Him the robe of scarlet. This robe of scarlet is a symbolic picture of our sin.
An exchange was made for us:
2 Cor 5:21
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
This marriage is made IN community of property, whatever is ours becomes His. Whatever is His, now becomes ours. We enter this marriage with sin, He enters this marriage covenant with righteousness. He took our sin onto Himself and His righteousness becomes our righteousness. He takes the sin and He dies on the cross because the wages of sin is death. Jesus dies, He deals with sin and as He rises, the marriage is only based on righteousness. There is no sin left in the marriage. It was the final sacrifice that dealt with sin. Jesus took all sin onto Himself. He took our robe of scarlet onto Himself and gave us His robe of righteousness.
Matthew 27:29-30 When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"
If the robe is a symbolic picture of an exchange, then maybe the crown is also a symbolic picture of an exchange. What crown was Jesus wearing as He walked on earth?
Hebrews 2:9
But we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.
When Jesus was on earth He was crowned with glory and honor - this is the crown of God's Spirit and of God's character, the crown of His divine nature which we need in order to rule. (You are welcome to read more about this in Lesson 8) Jesus was ruling wherever He went, He was healing the sick and raising the dead, walking on water, calming the storm, multiplying the fish - He was ruling all the time.
There was an exchange taking place at the cross: They took a crown of thorns and placed it on His head. This is a picture of the crown that man was wearing since Adam. In Genesis when the ground was cursed, man could no longer rule over the ground. The ground produced thorns and thistles. Mankind now had a useless crown - a crown of the curse and thorns.
Jesus gave us His crown of glory when He died on the cross. He took onto Himself the crown of thorns. Who wears a crown? Kings wear crowns and they rule over Kingdoms. This is all about the Kingdom of God.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
In a marriage covenant, the two become one. We find ourselves IN Christ, we are made new. We are the bride of Jesus Christ and our sin was dealt with once and for all. We can have fellowship with God, the veil was torn and we can enter the Holy of Holies by the blood of the Lamb. It is important that we realize that we are IN Christ, we are a new creation and we can rule with Jesus.
Teaching Reference on YouTube by Gavin Porter: IT is FINISHED!
Conversation Starters with the little ones:
Proverbs 4:9
She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you.
What do you think a crown of glory means? If we receive this crown by Grace, do we need to do something to receive it? What does grace mean? Who wears crowns? What do Kings do in the Kingdom? If the crown of glory refers to the ruling character of God, what do you think God's character is?
Teach them to Rule and Multiply:
We took out my wedding dress and had a dress-up party, what fun! We did our make-up, hair, and nails. Mia felt like a real princess in my wedding dress. It is so obvious how our hearts long for Jesus, for our Bridegroom. My little one was beaming and couldn't stop looking at herself in the mirror. Introduce the concept of a wedding to your little ones in a playful manner and talk to them about what marriage means.
Kettle Prayer Suggestion:
Lord Jesus, thank you for the finished work of the cross. I pray that my children come to know you more, may they know You face to face. May You Jesus be the Love of their life. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Visual aid - you are welcome to download this visual aid for your own personal use:
Kommentare