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Q2. (Luke 23:39-43) Why is the thief's faith so astounding in this situation? What did the thief receive that day? What do you think this meant to Jesus? The thief's faith is oustanding because when every one else including the disciples felt that all was over for Jesus who was expected to deliver Israel but failed and now helpless, the thief saw in Him, a redeemer who will take him to Heaven. Because of his great faith, he received salvation and a place in heaven. This development made Jesus Christ happy that at the time of great darkness and desrtion from evry one, some one still believe in him.

Q1. (Luke 23:34) Who was most responsible for killing Jesus? What responsibility do you and I bear in this? In what sense was Jesus praying for us? We the grand children of Adam were responsiple for killing Jesus. Adam sin made all of us snners, seperated from God and condemned to eternal death. But God loved us that much that he son had die to take our place on the cross. Jesus prayed for the soldiers, scribes and the leaders of the day who plotted to kill him because of jealousy and hatred. He also prayed for us because we were the root cause of his suffering and death.

Q5. In what way does each celebration of the Lord's Supper anticipate a future Passover meal? (Matthew 26:29; Luke 13:28-29; 14:15; 22:30; Revelation 19:9; 1 Corinthians 11:26) One day, we will sit togather with our Lord at the Great Supper in heaven. I will be there.

Q3. (Matthew 26:28) Why should the words, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" fill us with sorrow? Why should they fill us with joy? The words quoted above should cause us sorrow because it was because of our sins that the sinless son of God had to die by pouring his blood to save us from the resultant punishment for our sin. However, the words should cause us joy because we are now redeemed because of His sacrificial pouring of His blood for our redemption from sin and death.

Q2. Compare the annual Jewish Passover celebration meal in Jesus' day with the Christian's celebration of the Lord's Supper. Where are the similarities? Where are the differences? The annual Jewish Passover celebration meal in Jesus'day and the Christian's celebration of the Lord's Supper were similar in that they both represented marking of God's deliverance. In both, there was the breaking of bread, sing of hymns and prayers. The main difference was that in the Jewish Passover celebration, there was animal sacrifice and blood shedding while in the Christian's Lord's Supper there wasn't.

The lambs of the first passover protected the children of God through the blood of the slaughtered lamb that was smeared on the lintels of the doors. The messenger of death saw the blood and spared the first born of the family where the blood of the lamb was on the door lintel. The blood of Jesus Christ was shed on the cross to protect us (those who believe in Christ) from judgement of eternal death as result of our sin just as the blood of the first lambs protected the first born of the Israelites in Egypt from God's judgfement over Egypt..

We have been set free from the bondage or slavery to sin in the sence that Christ paid the penalty for our sin by dying in our place. In the same vein, we are crucified with him by putting to death our members and are risen with him through baptism with water. Nevertheless, we need the power of the Holy Spirit to be able to overcome temtation to yield to sin again.

According to the slave- ransom analogy, the slave is any one who has not receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. Such a person is enslaved to sin and the associated passon/ desires for worldly pleasures. God/Jesus Christ is the One who pays the ransom Satan is the false owner of the siner that is why he is not paid the ransom. He was acturely quonquered and the siner taken away from him.

That we are not our own because we were bought with a price means that Jesus has paid the price for our salvation and we now belong to Him. This means that we have to live for him obeying his commands and not doing things that please us only.

In the Old Testament, we see God as kins-man Redeemer who redeemed His children from slavely in Egypt. In the New Testament, Jesus is the Redeemer who came and paid the price to set me free from the bondage of sin and any one who believes is also freed.

In the old testament time, slaves were the class of people that were freed by payment of a ransome. Slavery was owning and using humans for forced labour. This was a terrible situation. Jesus, Paul and Peter used the terms slavery and ransom to show show the ugliness of being slaves to sin and the good news that Christ has paid a price to set us free from such ugly state captivity.

The Servant (the Lamb of God) did not only bear the sin man, He bore man's punishment. Every siner gets punished for the sin. But God had mercy on us. He knew we could not be able to carry the huge and heavy punishement for the ugly sin of rebelion against God, thus, Jesus took the punishment on our behalf. He was physically assulted, insulted, ridiculed, beaten and finally crucified and left to die by wicked men. While this was happening to Him, God deliberately abandoned Him to this fate because the punishment was necessary for our salvation.

The sin of man made him guilty and punishable. But God loved him so much that He made arrangement where His Son was made to carry man's sin and the resultant punishment by his sacrificial death on the cross. What amazing love, mercy and grace. Praise God.

Some of the New Testament parrarels to Isaiah 53: 1. "...Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28=Mark 10:45). 2. "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:28 = Mark 14:24) 3. "Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected?'"(Mark 9:12) 4. "'Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?' And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself." (Luke 24:25-27) I believe that the Old and New Testaments contain the Word of God. I also believe that all prophesies in the Old Testament were fulfilled in the New Testament and that the prophesy in Isaiah 53 was fulfied in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Lamb that takes away the sins of the whole world.

God's provision is for removal of sin for all the world. Any one who accepts the provision and recieves the Lord Jesus Christ as his/ her saviour will be saved. It means that if every one in the world receive Jesus as his/ her sacrificial lamb, he/ she will be saved. However, although Jesus died for all the people of the world, many have rejected the offer and therefore wasted the sacrifice.

Moses took so long to decide to delagate his functions to others probably because he felt that God wanted him to personally carry out the functions by himself. The qualities required for any one to be a judge, he had to be : capable, God fearing, honest and accountable. Moses'role was similar to that of the leaders in eph 4:11-12 in that they were both equiped to gromm others to leadership roles. The annointng of the Holy Spirit in Christian leadership is that such annointed leaders will be spiritually led and will take the right decisions that are not based on their own wisdom but by the wisdom of the Holy spirit.

God provided manna to to the people of Isarael in fulfilment of His promise to take care of the people and show His ability to meet their needs no matter how long it takes. The manna stopped when the children of Israel have reached the promised land and there was the opportunity to begin to reap from what God had also pre arranged for them. The Israelites eventually took the manna, god's supernatural bountful provision for granted because they exhibitted what can be termed as femilirity breeds contempt.

Grumbling agaist a leader can be doing so against God because the leader is ordained by God Himself to carry the service for the people. However, some times if a leader does what God has not instrcuted him to do and if the action of the leader is not a righteous act then the grumbling taht will follow this act will rightly and justifiably be against him and NOT against God. Leaders who believe that they have a responsibility for the people they lead tend to have a personal ego and thus a feeling of personal self injury to their pride if people complain about their action. A leader should carry God's instruction rightly and also always pray to God to grant him the grace to always bear in mind what God has said in His word that any grambling against a minister is grumbling agaisnt Him. This realisation should encrouge the leader.

The children of Israel grumbled because of fear of: thirst; starvation; dying at battle; frustration due to difficult situation and envy. These causes of grunling are also found with us today. Fear cause our faith to diminish and we tend to find some one to blame as the cause for the situation we find our self in. We blame the Pastors and Elder in our Church whenever our expectaions are not met. we also grunble agaisnt our Mangement when things dont seem to be moving well in the Company because we do not want to loose our jobs. We blame the Government for many things including the economic downturn in our countries. The solution to fear of any sort is to turn to God in prayers and God will deliver us from fear and from the cause of fear itself.

God intended to teach us that just as killing the animal and shedding its blood looked horrible, our sins are horrible in the sight of a holy God and a penalty must be paid by us. Fortunately for us, God is holy but loving, gracious and merciful in nature and could therfore not bear to see us pay such a high costly penalty, hense the animals substituted the sinners in the old days and the Lab of God- my substitute.

Animal sacrifice was an indication of God's mercy because by God's standard, the soul that sins shall die. But because of His love, compassion, grace and mercy, He provided a substitute to take and bear our penalty thropugh the animal sacrifice. Animal sacrifice was however not adequate to wipe away our sins permanently. A greater sacrifice was necessary hense the sacrifice of the Lamb of God was the ultimate solution.

The basic elements involeved in the sacrifice of sin are: 1. Confession of sin is essential 2. There is an element of cost involed because the animal required must be without deffect and therefore more costly. 3. There is a relationship between the animal and the sinner, the transfer of sin from the man/ woman to the animal through the laying of the hand on the sinner on the head of the animal. 4. The man/ woman who is making the sacrifice slaughters the animal himself (not the priest) Confession of sin is still relevant and necessary even today. I believe the transfer or exchange of sin has already taken place when Jesus died on the cross and shed his blood for all mankind. Believers only need to put their faith on Jesus and confess their sin and the are declared NOT guilty. Furthermore, the relationship between the sinner and the lamb exist but is now more of fellowship with the risen lamb of God

Animal sacrifice is repulsive to the modern man because it involves taking a life or shedding of the blood of the animal. This attitude or reaction to animal sacrifice is more in the city compared the village where animals are killed more frequently for food.

Anger is appropriate when a violation of the expected conduct or behaviour occures. For instance when a spouse cheats the other. Anger that is focussed on the sin or the violation is healthier than that which is on the snner. God is angry because our sing and not against us.

God's glory is important in Exodus because the Isralelites had been in Egypt for about 400 years and were under slavery for most of this period. The Egyptians had superiority complex and Pharaoh himself who was god needed to be shown that there was a Superior God. Furthermore, The Israelites had a lower sence of value of their God and themselves and thus it was necessary for God to show them that He was superior to any other god. Recognition of God's glory would boost their faith, cause them to endeavour to walk in holiness and to have reverence for God. When leaders take credit for themselves for what God had done, they attract the wrath of God because He has stated that He would not share His glory with any body.