Saved by the Bell

Exodus 28:34
a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe all around.

Before you read the Bible there is really only one question that you need to ask the Holy Spirit: where is Jesus?  It’s not about learning how to be a good person.  The Bible is not a book of helpful hints to the perfect marriage.  It’s not a cleverly penned instruction manual for parenthood that incorporates biographies and historical events just to give it credibility.  It’s not a how-to lesson plan for life.  The Bible from Genesis to Revelation is the written Word of God and it’s all about Jesus.

John liked to refer to Jesus as “The Word”.  He penned things like, “The Word became flesh...” and “In the beginning was the Word...”  Nothing in the Bible is coincidence; nothing is written without reason.  John called Jesus the Word so that we who do not see His physical, flesh and blood manifestation, can look to the book, the Bible, and see Him there.  

Jesus knew the importance of this understanding and so He demonstrated for us how to “use” the Bible for instruction in righteousness, that is, His righteousness.  On the road to Emmaus Jesus appeared to a couple leaving Jerusalem but He didn’t look like Himself.  While Jesus walked seven miles with this couple, He spoke to them about who He was and is.  He started with the beginning and went through the Law and the prophets and He told them all of the things concerning Himself (Luke 24:27).  (Note here that Christ did not tell them anything concerning themselves; He only spoke of Himself.)  Christ gave a demonstration immediately after His death and resurrection for our benefit on how to “use” the Bible.

Back to Exodus and our question: where is Jesus in this?  When you ask this question, don’t be alarmed when you get the answer.  God is faithful to show you Himself in His Word.

These pomegranates are made of blue, purple, and red thread.  Each one of these colors has a specific meaning.  Blue speaks of divinity.  Purple indicates royalty.  Red is the color of man’s blood; it points to humanity. (The name Adam actually means “red man” or “man of the red earth”.)  Each of these pomegranates speaks of Christ’s fullness as God, as man, and as King.  But they are lacking the one thing that every other part of the High Priest’s garments had.  They are lacking the gold, which speaks of righteousness.

I didn’t see it until the other day; I didn’t put it all together until I asked, and then God showed me.  The pomegranates are a picture of Christ on the cross.  It was there that He died: fully man, fully God, always the King.  It was on the cross that Christ gave up His righteousness and took on our unrighteousness (sin) in its place (2 Corinthians 5:21).  This is why the gold isn’t found in the pomegranates.

And this brings us to the bells.  The bells were made of gold.  The righteousness, signified by the gold, was made into chimes that would ring as the High Priest moved.  The Bible says that the ringing of the bells would keep the priest from dying when he went in and came out of a meeting with God (Exodus 28:35).

Friends, when Christ went to the cross He sacrificed His righteousness for us.  He held onto all of His divinity, all of His royalty, and all of His humanity, but He let His righteousness go.  Today it is His righteousness that sounds off to God when we are approaching and when we are leaving.  It is His righteousness that keeps us from dying.

I bet you’ll never hear a bell the same again.  Everything in the Bible points to the fullness of Christ and the work that He did for us on the cross.  It’s never about how-to.  If anything, the question could be “How come?”  But the truth is it’s all about Jesus.  Know Jesus, not rules.