So, here is a little quiz: Below are the word clouds for Genesis, Exodus, Matthew and Mark. Click on one to enlarge it and then try to guess which is which (no prizes for guessing which is Old or New Testament), then click on the link  below to find the answer (and lots more of these word clouds). Got them all right? Check the answers out here…

[Hints: key words to distinguish Genesis and Exodus (apart from the many biblical characters) are the relative weights of the words used for God - LORD is God's "proper name" YHWH (Yahweh, Jehovah) revealed to...? Matthew or Mark? Only one of them uses the distinctive phrase "kingdom of heaven"...]

By the way, if you want to create your own word cloud from a document or a talk you have given, go to Wordle – endless fun!

And here’s what Aaron’s garments may have looked like:

For an extended New Testament commentary on all of this, the best place to look is chapters 7-11 of Hebrews. Christ is both the perfect High Priest and the perfect sacrifice, the fulfilment of the whole sacrifical system under the old covenant. We’ll be reading a lot more about that system in the weeks to come. It’s a system that graphically represents a number of theological truths: (1) God is holy, (2) sinful people cannot approach a holy God without their sins being dealt with first, (3) this is done through sacrifice.

Unlike the sacrifices made by priests under the old covenant, which had to be made repeatedly, Christ’s sacrifice of himself needed only to be made once. In the words of Hebrews: ‘… he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. … The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming – not the realities themselves.’ (Hebrews 9:26b and 10:1, NIV).

In the New Testament we come to the end of Matthew’s gospel, with Jesus’ death and resurrection. And just to drive home the point that Jesus’ death has dealt with the separation from God caused by sin, notice 27:51 – at the time of Jesus’ death the curtain in the temple is torn in two, from top to bottom. This curtain is the equivalent of the one that hung in the tabernacle, separating off the Most Holy Place, where the ark of the covenant was and where God’s symbolic presence dwelt. We read about it in Exodus 26:31-33 last week. If you tear down that curtain it means that you have access to God. And that’s what Jesus’ death has done for us.

The Law that follows, with the Ten Commandments at its heart, defines for Israel how they are to live in this special relationship with God. Some of it will sound strange to us, because it is shaped to suit the conditions of its time. But if we look at the big picture, we see a holy God, full of love and justice, showing his people how to be a holy people who reflect his character in the world. This is how they can be a people ‘in his image’.

Chapters 25-31 will contain instuctions for the people’s worship, and the various materials required. It would be easy to get bogged down in the detail. But perhaps we can focus on two things: (1) it is a remarkable privilege for this people to have God dwelling in their midst, and (2) he deserves the very best that they can bring him in worship. Of course, the same things are true of us.

Matthew 24 has caused much scratching of heads over the years, as you can imagine. The language is highly poetic and uses a lot of imagery taken from the Old Testament. At least some of what Jesus is predicting was fulfilled in AD 70 when the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans after a Jewish revolt. But how much, if any, is about Jesus’ Second Coming and the final judgement? In verse 3, Jesus seems to imply that he is going to talk about two things: (1) the destruction of the temple, and (2) ‘the end of the age’. Dick France, author of the IVP Tyndale commentary on Matthew, thinks that Jesus is talking about (1) up to verse 35 and (2) from verse 36 onwards. If he’s right, then the disciples can expect warning signs leading up to the destruction of the temple, but about ‘that day’ (the Day of Judgment and of Christ’s return), no-one knows, not even Jesus himself. That’s why his followers should be ready for it to come at any time.

Reading about the Israelites’ experience of slavery in Exodus 5, being forced to make bricks without straw, I wonder how people would describe their experience of slavery to sin. On one interpretation, that is what Paul is describing in Romans 7:7-24, a struggle to live right that is constantly messed up by sin.

Some great Psalms this week – 22 with its foreshadowing of the cross, 23 with the wonderful image of God as a guiding and protecting shepherd, 24 with its assertion of God’s ownership of the world.  As fuel for prayer, look out for Psalm 25:4-5:

Show me your ways, O LORD,
teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Saviour,
and my hope is in you all day long. (NIV)

In Matthew we’re heading towards the last days of Jesus’ life on earth, with the triumphal entry into Jerusalem in chapter 21 at the end of the week. There’s some meaty teaching in here, perhaps especially in the parable of the unmerciful servant in 18:21-35, and Jesus’ encounter with the rich young man in 19:16-30. These are two passages where familiarity may work against us. Let’s not underestimate the challenges they pose.