Good Friday and Easter Sunday stand at the zenith of the Christian calendar. During these holiest of days, we remember, revere and rejoice over the mystery of Calvary and the garden tomb-the cross and the resurrection. Comprehending the significance and implication of these history-changing events is a lifelong aspiration for every Christian.

The Old Testament patriarch, Abraham, provides the initial glimpse into the mystery of Calvary. Genesis 15 records God’s promise that his descendants would be numberless as the stars in the sky and that Abram, as he was then known, would possess the land God had given to him. When he requested assurance that the promise would be fulfilled, God made a covenant with him.

God directed Abram to sacrifice various animals by cutting them in half, from top to bottom as was the ancient sacrificial custom. God then caused Abram to fall into a deep sleep, during which there appeared to him a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch. The fire pot represented God, and the torch the coming Messiah who, standing alone in the place of all mankind, would make the lasting covenant with God. Both the smoking pot and the torch passed between the cut pieces, confirming the permanent covenant made between God and humankind through the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ.

The sacred covenant God made that day was also for all of Abram’s descendants. God established his covenant with humanity, binding himself with his creation-his children-forever. As a confirming sign of his everlasting covenant, God gave Abram (“exalted father”) a new name: Abraham (“father of many nations”). This was a covenant of grace for Abraham and for his spiritual children throughout history. As Christians adopted into the family of God, we too have become covenantal partners with the God of creation.

From God’s covenant with Abraham, we journey 1,800 years to Calvary where Jesus, God’s Son, the promised Messiah, was crucified on a rough wooden cross, forever sealing the divine covenant. Matthew 27:51 tells us that at the moment of Christ’s sacrificial death the holy veil in the Temple was slashed in two-from top to bottom, emphasizing its sacrificial root. The veil divided the holy place from the holy of holies. When the veil split, it signified the establishment of the new and long-awaited covenant. No longer was it necessary for the high priest to enter the holy of holies annually on Yom Kippur (the Jewish Day of Atonement). As the writer of Hebrews explains: “When Christ came as high priest … he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands…. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the most holy place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption…. For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant … now that he has died as a ransom to set [us] free from the sins committed under the first covenant” (Hebrews 9:11-15).

According to ancient tradition, the final step in a covenant agreement was the “giving up” of the oldest male child, providing the outward appearance of sacrifice. In order to seal the covenant, the first-born son was given to the covenanted family as a gift-offering. In Genesis 22, we read how Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son to seal the covenant with God. The writer of Hebrews describes the covenantal drama: “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son…. Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death” (Hebrews 11:17-19).

Years later, Jesus carried wood on his back for his own sacrifice, as did Isaac centuries before him. The Lamb of God, the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, died on Calvary’s cross as the faultless, supreme sacrifice. Three days later, he rose from the dead and became “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep…. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:20, 22).

Martin Luther declared his fundamental maxim sola fide-“by faith alone.” Faith is the gateway to experiencing the mystery and transforming power of Calvary. By faith alone we have the privilege of entering the joy-filled, life-changing and eternal covenant relationship with the risen Christ.

Hallelujah!

Commissioner William W. Francis, Territorial Commander