Let no debt remain outstanding. (Romans 13:8 NIV)
The real situation that we were in before the beginning of time is compared to a debt that is impossible to pay. Therefore, it was God who made a way to cancel our debts—He sent His one and only begotten Son to die on the cross and pay the penalty for our sins. Because of this we were completely forgiven, and all our debts were paid in every respect.
Let us read the following passage:
At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel any loan they have made to a fellow Israelite. They shall not require payment from anyone among their own people, because the Lord’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed. (Deuteronomy 15:1–2 NIV)
When the Lord Jesus died on the cross, the Lord’s time for canceling debts had been proclaimed—no more debt remained outstanding.
The above passage is actually a prophecy fulfilled by the first coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God is now instructing His people to also forgive and to let no debt remain outstanding as stated by the below passage:
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. (Romans 13:8–10 NIV)
We were completely forgiven—we were cleansed and purified by the blood of the Lamb.
Let us now look at this wonderful New Testament story to see how the prophecy came to be fulfilled:
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe. (John 19:1–3 NIV)
Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). (John 19:16–17 NIV)
A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:28–30 NIV)
Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water … These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” (John 19:31–37 NIV)
From the above passages, we can notice five elements that were present during the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus.
What are these elements? Would there be any significance why these elements were present during that momentous day? What do these elements represent?
(1) The wooden cross
(2) The stalk of hyssop
(3) The purple robe
(4) The blood
(5) The water
To appreciate and understand this story from the New Testament, we need to connect it to the Old Testament.
Let us read the following passages:
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. (Psalms 51:7 NIV)
He shall purify the house with the bird’s blood, the fresh water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the scarlet yarn. (Leviticus 14:49–52 NIV)
It is clear from the above passages that the five elements mentioned in the New Testament were actually the required elements used for cleansing and purifying during the time of the Old Testament.
(1) The cedar wood corresponding to the wooden cross where the Lord Jesus was crucified
(2) The hyssop corresponding to the stalk where the sponge with wine vinegar was put to lift it to Jesus’s lips
(3) The scarlet yarn corresponding to the purple robe worn by the Lord Jesus before He was crucified on the cross
(4) The blood of the bird corresponding to the blood of the Lord Jesus
(5) The fresh water corresponding to the water that flowed (along with the blood) from the Lord Jesus’s side when pierced by one of the soldiers
These elements required for cleansing and purifying in the Old Testament were actually used by God to relay the prophecy of cleansing and purifying in the New Testament.
It is indeed a prophecy fulfilled—the five elements that were present when the Lord Jesus was crucified have brought a message of forgiveness for God’s chosen people.
We were already cleansed and purified, all our sins were forgiven, and the Lord’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed.
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is most worthy of praise.
Let us read the following passage:
This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. (1 John 5:6–8 NIV)
Download PDF: FIVE-ELEMENTS-REQUIRED-FOR-CLEANSING-AND-PURIFICATION.pdf
We can refer to the following books if we want to know more about the Year of Jubilee.
