As the flowers bloom and the green hue begins to spread like wildfire, this time of year always blooms and ignites my soul along with everything around me. The season of spring has always been my favorite as breaths somehow feel fresher and deeper and the peace is almost palpable. When entering into spring, things gradually seem less depressing and more encompassed by light. It always leads me to think about the sobering reality that around two thousand years ago Jesus was entering into this season knowing that He would not be enjoying the harvest, but rather laying His life down for the ultimate harvesting of souls. Jerusalem, the place where Jesus was killed, sits in the hilly region of the Judean mountains where the first grain harvest of barley took place in late March to early April. As others were preparing for the first harvest of the year, Jesus was preparing to lay His life down so that His people (you and me) could be spiritually harvested. The word harvest in the original Hebrew language was “qastar” which meant the cutting down of what had already grown to maturity. Jesus (the figure of ultimate spiritual maturity on this Earth) had His body symbolically cut down via His death on the cross so that through His resurrection God could begin to gather people to Himself.

John 12:24 says, “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.” Jesus died so that we could someday bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. & Self-control.

This harvest happened right around the time that the Jewish people were preparing for the Passover. Now what is the Passover you might ask, stay with me because the series of events are complex but SO intentionally designed for the purpose of us being reconciled to our creator. So… the Israelites, the people God made His original covenant with, spent 400 years enslaved by the Egyptians. After these 400 years, God sent a series of plagues to force Pharaoh, the Egyptian king, to release the Israelites because He was tired of seeing His people suffering. The final plague was that the firstborn of every family would be killed, however God promised to spare the firstborns of the Israelites. They were instructed to sacrifice a lamb without blemish and put its blood on their doorposts. Exodus 12:13 then reads, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you.” Therefore, God’s judgement passed over the houses marked by the blood of the lamb. Following this, the Israelites were released from slavery and they celebrated the Passover every year in remembrance of God’s promises and provision.

Fast forward to Jesus’ life now. He was becoming the talk of the town due to the many miracles He was performing and the countercultural messages He was sharing. This did not fare so well with the Jewish leaders at the time who did not believe Jesus to be the promised Messiah, or Savior, they had long awaited. He was not a political leader or what they thought of to be a King at that time; He was a poor son of a carpenter from a nobody town and was therefore overlooked by many despite fulfilling every single Old Testament prophesy written about him hundreds of years prior. Due to His popularity and many of the Jewish people choosing to follow and believe in Him, the Jewish religious leaders decided they needed to take matters into their own hands. They reported to the Roman governor that Jesus was claiming to be King of the Jews which would appear as treason against Caesar, hints at why the sign in front of Jesus’ crucifixion read – Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Jesus was then crucified as punishment for his “crimes” on the exact day of the Jewish Passover celebration. Just think about this, you simply cannot make this story up. His blood poured out for us on the cross is what allows God’s judgement to pass over those who believe in Him and are therefore marked by His blood. He lived a perfect, sinless life and did not deserve to be killed just like the LAMB WITHOUT BLEMISH that was used for sacrifice in the Jewish Passover festival! Like honestly tell me what human mind would think about all these intertwined connections.

Jesus was the final lamb that was slain, the One whose blood covers us completely and paid the price we could never pay. Not anything of our own doing, but simply because He loved us so much. It is truly incredible when you take a second to sit in this reality. If you are hearing this story for the first time, or even it is the hundredth time, and you want to talk more about what it means to have faith in the One I just wrote about, please email me at allicundiff@yahoo.com. I can promise you that the hole inside us that we attempt to fill with money, fame, adventure, relationships, careers, control, validation from others, you fill in the blank is perfectly sized for Jesus and Jesus alone. Nothing else will ever truly satisfy. He loves us and cherishes us so much, every single one of us, even those who choose not to believe in Him. Alright friends, signing off. Tis’ indeed the goodest Friday as Jesus made a way for us to be in relationship with Him on this exact day. Happy Easter weekend to each and every beautiful soul reading this, love you dearly ❤