How Did Christ’s Death Change the Early Believer’s Theology?
Mosaic from an Early Church at El-Khirbe
Imagine what it would have been like to personally observe Christ minister on this earth in 29 A.D.; to taste the water He turned into wine; to see Him walk on water; to witness Him raise the dead! You would have been a young Jew who had been looking for the Messiah to come. Every Shabbat you would dream of seeing Him come back. Every year at the feast of Passover you would hope He would come before the next Passover. Then finally you see Him right in front of you. You are able to witness what followers of God had been imagining for centuries.
Then you hear that this Jesus had been crucified during Passover. How could this be? You were so sure He was the Messiah; the one who came to fulfill all the prophecies of the Old Testament. He was supposed to set up His kingdom on this earth and rule and reign with a rod of iron. He would deliver His followers from the oppression of their enemies. Now He is dead? How could this be?
Your disappointment is relieved and your hope is restored when you hear that He has risen from the dead! Now you know that is He is the Messiah! The next step in His plan is to set up His kingdom on earth. Now that He has risen you understand that His death was prophesied. He became the Passover sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Suddenly everything He taught you makes sense.
How would Christ’s death change your beliefs and practices?
Today we have numerous views of what the first century followers of Christ believed and practiced. Those views account for the variations in theological thinking. If we could determine what the first century Disciples of Christ believed and practiced, then we would know what God wants us to do.
The Early Church left us evidence of what they believed and practiced. This tile mosaic was found in an Early Church at El-Khirbe. Unfortunately parts of the mosaic are missing and the inscriptions are incomplete. I can read part of them but I don’t want to draw conclusions based on an incomplete inscription. I will continue to work on deciphering these inscriptions. However this mosaic is filled with icons that we do know the meaning of.
The central icons in this mosaic are the Temple icons. The pillars of Yachin and Boaz are clear. There are four pillars in the front of the Temple, as opposed to two, so these icons represent the Second Temple. Above the pillars is the triangle that represents the Holy of Holies. In the triangle is the icon of the Shekinah glory of God above the Ark of the Covenant. The interesting part of this Temple is that the veil is open. The early believers understood the change that Christ’s death brought to their theology. The difference is the Holy Spirit is no longer in the Holy of Holies but indwells the believer. This powerful message energized the Early Church. This change is necessary for the Messiah to establish His kingdom on earth.
The other elements are interesting as well. The other icons in the mosaic include the elements of the Seder meal for Passover. The Menorah is on the right side of the mosaic. These early believers still believed in worship at the Temple. They observed Passover. The only icon here that is distinctly different is the veil. Christ’s death did not bring a whole new theological system or worship system. It simply impacted the believer’s worship and practice by allowing them to have direct access to the Holy Spirit. As my friend John Grooter puts it, “The Holy Spirit Changed residence.” This single change impacted their theology and practice
God did not end the command to keep Shabbat or the feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. He did not create a new method of salvation. Salvation comes the same way it always has: by grace through faith. The new focus of the Early Church after Christ’s death was the Holy of Holies that resided in their hearts. God has given us the privilege of entering the Holy of Holies and into the presence of the Shekinah Glory of God. The Shekinah will shine when we focus our hearts on God.
© Dr. Steven L Smith 2016
Then you hear that this Jesus had been crucified during Passover. How could this be? You were so sure He was the Messiah; the one who came to fulfill all the prophecies of the Old Testament. He was supposed to set up His kingdom on this earth and rule and reign with a rod of iron. He would deliver His followers from the oppression of their enemies. Now He is dead? How could this be?
Your disappointment is relieved and your hope is restored when you hear that He has risen from the dead! Now you know that is He is the Messiah! The next step in His plan is to set up His kingdom on earth. Now that He has risen you understand that His death was prophesied. He became the Passover sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Suddenly everything He taught you makes sense.
How would Christ’s death change your beliefs and practices?
Today we have numerous views of what the first century followers of Christ believed and practiced. Those views account for the variations in theological thinking. If we could determine what the first century Disciples of Christ believed and practiced, then we would know what God wants us to do.
The Early Church left us evidence of what they believed and practiced. This tile mosaic was found in an Early Church at El-Khirbe. Unfortunately parts of the mosaic are missing and the inscriptions are incomplete. I can read part of them but I don’t want to draw conclusions based on an incomplete inscription. I will continue to work on deciphering these inscriptions. However this mosaic is filled with icons that we do know the meaning of.
The central icons in this mosaic are the Temple icons. The pillars of Yachin and Boaz are clear. There are four pillars in the front of the Temple, as opposed to two, so these icons represent the Second Temple. Above the pillars is the triangle that represents the Holy of Holies. In the triangle is the icon of the Shekinah glory of God above the Ark of the Covenant. The interesting part of this Temple is that the veil is open. The early believers understood the change that Christ’s death brought to their theology. The difference is the Holy Spirit is no longer in the Holy of Holies but indwells the believer. This powerful message energized the Early Church. This change is necessary for the Messiah to establish His kingdom on earth.
The other elements are interesting as well. The other icons in the mosaic include the elements of the Seder meal for Passover. The Menorah is on the right side of the mosaic. These early believers still believed in worship at the Temple. They observed Passover. The only icon here that is distinctly different is the veil. Christ’s death did not bring a whole new theological system or worship system. It simply impacted the believer’s worship and practice by allowing them to have direct access to the Holy Spirit. As my friend John Grooter puts it, “The Holy Spirit Changed residence.” This single change impacted their theology and practice
God did not end the command to keep Shabbat or the feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. He did not create a new method of salvation. Salvation comes the same way it always has: by grace through faith. The new focus of the Early Church after Christ’s death was the Holy of Holies that resided in their hearts. God has given us the privilege of entering the Holy of Holies and into the presence of the Shekinah Glory of God. The Shekinah will shine when we focus our hearts on God.
© Dr. Steven L Smith 2016