Lesson 4 The Link between Jesus atoning sacrifice and Hyssop plant

The Link between Jesus atoning sacrifice and Hyssop plant

Introduction

• I will put a short article on Hyssop or Ezov in the Hebrew language from the Wikipedia encyclopedia. 
• Hyssop does have a slight fragrance sort of like disinfectant.  I have bought some anointing oils from Israel and one of them is Hyssop and it does have a refreshing antiseptic fragrance.
• Hyssop is mentioned a lot in the bible in both the Old and New Testaments.
• It is connected to the death of Jesus on the cross as well.
• I will write about how Jesus in His atoning work on the cross is connected to the Hyssop plant, in its different qualities.

Ezov
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EzovZa'atar shrub in Jerusalem

Ezov (Hebrew: אזוב‎) is the Classical Hebrew name of a plant mentioned in the Bible in the context of religious rituals. In some English-language Bibles, the word is transliterated as ezob.

The Septuagint translates the name as ὕσσωπος hyssop, and English translations of the Bible often follow this rendering. The Hebrew word אזוב and the Greek word ὕσσωπος probably share a common (unknown) origin.  The plant commonly called hyssop in English is not usually considered to be the hyssop of the Bible.

In the Bible, ezov is described as a small plant found on or near walls, with an aromatic odour.  Maimonides,Saadia HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saadia_Gaon"  HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saadia_Gaon"Gaon and earlier Jewish commentators identified ezov with za'atar, which may refer to various local herbs, including marjoram, oregano and thyme, which have aromatic and cleansing properties, grow wild in Israel, and can easily be bunched together to be used for sprinkling. In Modern Hebrew, ezov refers to Origanum syriacum. 

The book of John in the New Testament (written in Koine Greek) mentions that hyssop was used, along with vinegar, to alleviate the thirst of Jesus, during his Passion. 

Matthew and Mark mention the occasion but refer to the plant using the general term κάλαμος (kálamos), which is translated as "reed" or "stick." Origanum has short stems and some scholars say it would have been too short to reach the mouth of Jesus during crucifixion. A number of scholars have proposed that ezov is the caper plant (Capparis spinosa), which the Arabs call azaf. The caper is native throughout the Mediterranean HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Basin" Basin, and considered to have cleansing properties. 

Ritual use 
Caper plant
In the Old Testament, when the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt, they used ezov in the Passover ritual, using it to sprinkle lamb's blood on the door posts and lintels of the slaves' quarters in which they lived, so that the angel of death  would pass over them as he slew the first-born of the Egyptians.  

Later on, once the Israelites had settled in Israel, they used ezov more regularly for other rituals. It was used in the ritual for cleansing from leprosy; and for ritual purification. In Psalms, the sprinkling of ezov is used allegorically to refer to purification of the heart. 

The Roman Catholic Church, and also some sects, interpreting ezov as hyssop, have adopted the biblical practice of sprinkling with water to ritually cleanse objects (including churches) and people, in a ritual termed aspersion during the Asperges.

There are other articles on the internet giving details about the use of Hyssop, types of Hyssop origins and uses of Hyssop as a medicine and disinfectant.  

Just be careful where you look on the net as some sites are to do with Herb lore and witchcraft and some are just useful natural remedies for treatment of common ailments and use of a natural plant for disinfectant uses.

Use of Hyssop in Exodus 12
Exodus 12:21-25
21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.
22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
23 For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.
24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.
25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.

Then in the New Testament we read about John the Baptist calling Jesus the Lamb of God.
John 1:29-39
29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
30 This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me.
31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water.
32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.
34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.
35 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;
36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!
37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.
38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?
39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.

The use of Hyssop in sprinkling the people of Israel at Mt Sinai when God cut covenant with them.  
Exodus 24:1-8
1 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do.
4 And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord.
6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.

• Hebrews – The verses in Hebrews mentions the word Hyssop whereas Exodus doesn’t but it would have been used to sprinkle the people.
• Hebrews – The difference between the covenants God made with the Israelites the Old Covenant through Moses through the blood of animals and the New Covenant that God made with us through Jesus.  Who is the New Covenant through the pouring out of His life blood on the cross.

Hebrews 9:11-28
 11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
18 Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.
19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
25 Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;
26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

• Jesus is our New Covenant and He is the one that purifies us uncleanness and sin.
• Apparently Hyssop was used as a type of disinfectant to cleanse and purify people, vessels and places from uncleanness and sin.
• King David talks of this in Psalm 51:7 

Psalm 51:7
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

• In Leviticus it is used as a purifying agent to cleanse people from skin diseases mostly leprosy and buildings too and used for cleansing people from touching dead bodies too.

 For a person with leprosy for cleansing.
Leviticus 14:4-8

4 Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:

5 And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water:

6 As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water:

7 And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.

8 And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days.

For a building that needs cleansing.
Leviticus 14:49-53

49 And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:

50 And he shall kill the one of the birds in an earthen vessel over running water:

51 And he shall take the cedar wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and dip them in the blood of the slain bird, and in the running water, and sprinkle the house seven times:

52 And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, and with the running water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet:

53 But he shall let go the living bird out of the city into the open fields, and make an atonement for the house: and it shall be clean.

In the use of cleansing from touching dead bodies with the water of separation and the ashes of a red heifer by sprinkling people, vessels with Hyssop.
Numbers 19:1-6,9, 12 -21a

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

2 This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke:

3 And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face:

4 And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times:

5 And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn:

6 And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.

 9And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation: it is a purification for sin.

12 He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.

13 Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the Lord; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.

14 This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.

15 And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean.

16 And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.

17 And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel:

18 And a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:

19 And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.

20 But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the Lord: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.

21 And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even.

The connection between Hyssop and the death of Jesus

• So what does Hyssop have to do with our Lord Jesus Christ and His atoning death on the cross?
• For a start Jesus is like the plant Hyssop which was used to put the blood of the sacrificed Passover Lamb on the lintels of the houses of the Israelites in Egypt.
• Secondly Moses used Hyssop to sprinkle the nation of Israel in making the covenant between the people of Israel and God this was to signify they were forgiven of sin and cleansed from it as a nation.
• Thirdly Moses was instructed to use Hyssop in cleaning people and buildings from Leprosy and for cleansing people and vessels in a building from contamination due to be in contact with a dead person.
• Fourthly King David knew when he sinned with Bathsheba and ordered the death of her husband in battle that nothing could cleanse him from sin.
• Other than being purged from his sin through hyssop which symbolised cleansing deep cleansing from sin.
• In reality hyssop and the blood of animals including a red heifer was only a type of shadow of who was to come to cleanse all of humankind from sin.  
• These things were only symbolic they couldn’t really cleanse the person on the inside they were done as an act of faith in God that He is gracious to forgive the person of their sins when they offered up an animal in sacrifice unto the Lord.  
• Or when Hyssop was used in the case of the first Passover, the cutting of the covenant between the nation of Israel and God.
• Or when a person needed to be cleansed from leprosy or being cleansed from being contact with a dead person the Hyssop plant though a purification agent like a disinfectant or antiseptic.  It could only clean on the surface but it still couldn’t do a deep cleanse of the human heart from sin.
• There is only One person who could do this and that person is God Himself and He did this by sending His only begotten Son to come to earth. To die on a cross to cleanse all of humankind from deep seated sin and to give them a new heart.  
• This also includes the nation of Israel who is yet to recognize that God has cleansed them as a nation and have yet to turn to Him as a whole nation which will not take place until the end of the age.
• His blood is sprinkled on our hearts to cleanse them from sin.  He like the Hyssop plant purifies our lives cleanses them you could say acts like a deep cleansing disinfectant cleaning away the stain / germs of sin.
• In a way Jesus was also taking on the role of Hyssop in cleansing and purifying us from sin.

The comparison of the colour of the Hyssop plant and the robe Jesus wore at His trial.

• As the Hyssop plant has purple flowers some have different coloured flowers but I will focus on it having purple flowers.
• Jesus was dressed in a robe of purple after He was cruelly beaten by the Roman soldiers.
• Of course purple represents royalty and the soldiers were mocking Jesus by putting on Him a purple robe.
• To mock Him as being the king of Israel.
• Yet to me this purple could also spiritually indicate that Jesus is like the Hyssop plant He is going to the cross as a King but also as one who will purify us from sin.

John 19:1-5
1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.
2 And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,
3 And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.
4 Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.
5 Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man!

• When Jesus hung on the cross He said I thirst and they gave Him vinegar on a reed but in John’s gospel it said on hyssop.  
• Possibly the reed may have had a bunch of hyssop attached to the top of it and they dipped the hyssop into the vinegar and gave it to Him to drink. 
•  After He had tasted it, He said it was finished and gave His Spirit into the keeping of His Father.

John 19:28-30
28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
29 Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

• Jesus is our purifier, He cleanses us to the utmost from sin, just as Hyssop has purifying agents to cleanse, to heal from common ailments, to represent cleansing from sin.
• So too Jesus has healed us from sin, sickness, grief and sorrow.
•  He became sick like a leper with sin, leprosy represents sin so when Jesus hung on the cross taking our sins the sins of the world upon Himself he became like a leper unclean.
• He became the branch of Jesse, the twig, the One that God will use to cleanse humankind and Israel from sin. 

Isaiah 11:1
1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots

•  He became the bunch of Hyssop that will cleanse and purify.  
• He even was clothed in a purple robe by the Romans while they mocked Him and beat Him and put a terrible crown of thorns upon His brow that would have dug deeply into His skull and mind causing Him such pain and agony.
• Jesus knew what it was like to suffer, pain, sorrow, grief, depression, emotional agony and mental anguish plus physical suffering.  
• He went through all of these things leading up to His crucifixion John 12:27.

John 12:27

27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.

• Please read what He suffered in the twenty four hours leading up to and including His crucifixion Matthew 26:36-27:50, Luke 22:39-23:46, Mark 14:32-15:37, John 18:1-19:30.
• Jesus knew what it was like to suffer torture, to go through a false trial, to have false unfounded accusations against Him, to be beaten, to be spat upon and interrogated without mercy.
•  He went without sleep, food, water and basic care given Him, He had no comfort from anyone, even His closest friends and disciples fled from Him.
• He was cruelly mocked on the cross, laughed at and jeered at by passers-by and some of them may have been the same people He healed, fed and taught.
• He became as though He was leprous stricken and unclean as though God had forsaken Him and He was too terrible to look upon. 
•  Men scorned Him and no one had pity for Him at all only John His closest disciple, His human mother, and some other women stood by the cross in His dying moments Matthew 27:55-56, Mark 15:40-41, Luke 23:27,49, John 19:25-27.
• To get a clearer picture of what He suffered read Psalm 22, Psalm 69 and Isaiah 52 -53.  
• Jesus died of a broken heart because of the rejection by His people yet He still regards them as His friends in Zechariah 13:6 it says He was wounded in the house of His friends which would be the House of Israel.  

Zechariah 13:6

6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

• Though for a season He did become their enemy in allowing their temple to be destroyed.
• Yet now as the time of the Gentiles is drawing to a close and as the time of Jacob’s Troubles approaches God will draw Israel again to Himself and woo her again like He did in the wilderness in Exodus.  
• Though two thirds will perish one third will remain and will call for the Lord to come and save them and He will come and save them from heaven’s Zion to earth’s Zion Zechariah 13:8-9, Romans 8:25-27.
• Jesus is in heaven at Father’s right hand as Israel’s High Priest (and ours too) He is praying for Israel to repent and turn back to their God Acts 5:31. 
•  He is the One who is the seed of Abraham through whom all the nations of the world will be blessed beginning with Israel by cleansing them from sin Acts 3:25-26, Acts 5:30-31.

Acts 5:30-31
30 The God of our forefathers raised up Jesus, Whom you killed by hanging Him on a tree (cross).
31 God exalted Him to His right hand to be Prince and Leader and Savior and Deliverer and Preserver, in order to grant repentance to Israel and to bestow forgiveness and release from sins.
Acts 3:25-26
25 Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
26 Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

• So Jesus became, our sacrificial Lamb, the unleavened bread of sacrifice, the bruised and crushed grain of wheat for His body was bruised for us. 
•  He is the grain of wheat that fell into the ground and lay there for three days alone before He came back to life and was the first fruits of many brethren John 12:23-24.
•  He became the oil of God which was poured out in the olive press where His soul was crushed and tested in the Garden of Gethsemane.
• This is where He asked Father to allow the cup of judgment the cup of redemption to pass by Him but He said not His will but Father’s be done.  Matthew 26.

John 12:23-24
23 And Jesus answered them, The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified and exalted.
24 I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains [just one grain; it never becomes more but lives] by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces many others and yields a rich harvest.
Matthew 26:36-46
36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and He told His disciples, Sit down here while I go over yonder and pray.
37 And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to show grief and distress of mind and was deeply depressed.
38 Then He said to them, My soul is very sad and deeply grieved, so that I am almost dying of sorrow. Stay here and keep awake and keep watch with Me.
39 And going a little farther, He threw Himself upon the ground on His face and prayed saying, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will [not what I desire], but as You will and desire.
40 And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, What! Are you so utterly unable to stay awake and keep watch with Me for one hour?
41 All of you must keep awake (give strict attention, be cautious and active) and watch and pray, that you may not come into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
42 Again a second time He went away and prayed, My Father, if this cannot pass by unless I drink it, Your will be done.
43 And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were weighed down with sleep.
44 So, leaving them again, He went away and prayed for the third time, using the same words.
45 Then He returned to the disciples and said to them, Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of especially wicked sinners [whose way or nature it is to act in opposition to God].
46 Get up, let us be going! See, My betrayer is at hand!
Luke 22:39-46
39 And He came out and went, as was His habit, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples also followed Him.
40 And when He came to the place, He said to them, Pray that you may not [at all] enter into temptation.
41 And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw and knelt down and prayed,
42 Saying, Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but [always] Yours be done.
43 And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him in spirit.
44 And being in an agony [of mind], He prayed [all the] more earnestly and intently, and His sweat became like great clots of blood dropping down upon the ground.
45 And when He got up from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from grief,
46 And He said to them, Why do you sleep? Get up and pray that you may not enter [at all] into temptation.

• He became the hyssop branch so that He can cleanse us (disinfect us spiritually from sin) through the sprinkling of His pure blood upon our hearts. 
• His pure, spotless blood totally cleanses us make us totally pure from all sin.
• We can have healing from the sickness caused by sin which is separation from God through His atoning death.
• Through His blood cleansing us from sin we can have access to God again.  

Isaiah 53:2-5
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

This leads us to the last lesson on this mini series of studies on the work Jesus and His Father did for our salvation.
Lesson 5: Jesus and His Father are the Ones who will bring Israel to repentance and salvation