Follow the Hyssop Easter 2026

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Follow the Hyssop

Easter 2026

This Easter season, I would like to share with you a truth from God’s Word centered on a small plant known as hyssop. I will also share some news and testimonies from around the world which reaffirm that Jesus’ work on the Cross of Calvary is still powerfully reverberating in lives two thousand years later.

The current state of the world may be mystifying and troubling — at times even frightening. Yet the power of the Cross, the resurrection, and the promised Holy Spirit, has never been more evident than it is today in many countries around the globe. Jesus foresaw this, which is why He confidently stated to His disciples, ​“I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not prevail against it.” And in missions today, this is exactly what we are witnessing – success just as He promised and foretold!

The following is a revealing teaching that I invite you to reflect on during this Easter season.

Scattered throughout Israel, there is a small, common plant known as hyssop. It is a brightly coloured shrub that ranges from 12 to 24 inches in height. It is referred to only 12 times in the Bible, but each with great significance:

• Once in Exodus 12:22 – where hyssop was used to apply the lamb’s blood to the doorframe on the night of the Passover.
• Seven times in Exodus and Leviticus – where hyssop is used in purification rites.
• Once in 1 Kings 4:33 – Solomon speaks of plants ​“from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall.”
• Once in Psalm 51:7 – where David prays, ​“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.”
• Once, very significantly in John 19:29 – where Jesus isoffered sour wine on a hyssop branch during the crucifixion.
• And finally, once in Hebrews 9:19 – where hyssop is mentioned in connection with Moses sprinkling blood during covenant ratification.

There are three specific aspects of the use of hyssop that I would highlight for you during the Easter season:

1. Passover – At the first Passover, the children of Israel were instructed to take sprigs of hyssop, dip them into the blood of the sacrificial lamb, and apply the blood to the doorframes of their homes — much like using a paintbrush. This act marked their houses, so that in the time of judgment, the destroying angel would ​“pass over” them. Their deliverance came through the saving blood of a lamb, applied by means of hyssop.

This powerful image foreshadows the greater salvation that would come through Jesus Christ, the true Lamb of God. Just as the Israelites were spared through the applied blood of the lamb, so today those who trust in Christ are saved through His sacrificial blood.

2. At the Cross of Jesus – In John 19, the Apostle describes in great detail the events surrounding the death of Jesus. He tells us that when Jesus said, ​“I am thirsty,” moments before His death, He was

given a sponge soaked in diluted vinegar wine. This is believed to have been a drink common to soldiers and slaves, known as posca. The sponge was lifted to Jesus on a branch of hyssop. It was likely taken from the same flask used by the soldiers who were guarding the prisoners.

John’s description, noting the use of a hyssop branch to lift the sponge to Jesus (John 19:29) is far more than a random detail about the crucifixion. In fact, God was using the hyssop plant as one of the scriptural clues that helps us understand the mystery of salvation through Jesus and His sacrificial death on the Cross for our sins.

Because hyssop appears both at the Passover and at the Cross, it brings into sharp focus the declaration in John 1:29, where Jesus is identified as ​“the Lamb of God.” He had to die on the Cross so that eternal death would ​“pass over” all those who believe in Him and apply His blood to their sins.

3. Hyssop and Purification – Hyssop was used in various purification ceremonies in the Old Testament, addressing conditions ranging from leprosy, to the cleansing of a house, to the application of the ashes of the red heifer on those who had come into contact with death. In this way, hyssop is repeatedly associated with purification from impurity and from the consequences of sin.

In David’s prayer of repentance (Psalm 51:7), he pleads with God, ​“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.” David was not asking merely for a ritual cleansing, but for a deep spiritual purification that would make his life ​“whiter than snow.” Because of Christ’s victory on the Cross and the cleansing work of the promised Holy Spirit, His followers today can confidently pursue, like King David, a daily walk through life marked by clean living, pure thoughts, and gracious speech.

When you put together all three points listed above, you come up with this. The human race, from Genesis onwards, has been diligently searching for a cure for the plague of sin. This isn’t an Egyptian plague like frogs, flies, or boils, but a much more devastating and deadly spiritual disease. Every person since creation (except Jesus) has struggled with this dilemma — every generation, every tribe, every people group, every religious belief of all time—all have struggled to find God and His universal cure for sin and its penalty. The Passover event foreshadowed that the answer was coming, and it did, approximately 1,475 years later. Jesus was that cure through His death and resurrection. And then when the promised Holy Spirit came to indwell His followers, the final ingredient of cleansing and walking the pure life in the power of Christ, arrived. And it was the lowly, little hyssop plant that was the quiet bystander at each stage. The mystery had been solved.

There is a modern phrase that is used extensively – ​“Just follow the money”. In the greatest quest in every person’s life — that being eternal life with God — I would modify this phrase to read – ​“Just follow the hyssop.”

Millions and millions of people each year are discovering the Truth we celebrate at Easter, and you— the Empower Family — are playing an enormous role in introducing them to the Passover Lamb Himself – Jesus.

Stories of Encouragement from Around the World

Israel: A young Jewish woman from a broken home had struggled for years with depression and other serious mental and physical challenges. For a long time, she was unable to work or function normally. After the attacks of October 7, 2023, she was evacuated from her home in northern Israel and relocated to another area of the country where her mother lives. The upheaval of the war only deepened the struggles she was already facing.

After moving to the new area, a believing couple from a local messianic congregation became acquainted with her mother and invited them both to attend a Shabbat service. After spending weeks isolated in her room, shefinally agreed to go. What she encountered that day changed everything. She experienced the love of God, the Truth of His Word, and the genuine care of believers who welcomed her. The young woman began attending regularly, asking many questions, and joined a home Bible study.

In time, she gave her life to Yeshua and a few months ago she was baptized. Today she is truly a new creation. Her health has improved, her mind is clear, and she speaks openly about the One who changed her life. She is now praying for her family, who cannot ignore the transformation they see in her.

India: In 2018, a young woman named Sonu was diagnosed with blood cancer. She was only 34 years old. Doctors told her the situation was very serious, and many believed she would not survive. Sonu had married a Christian man, but she came from a non-Christian background and had never truly experienced the reality of Jesus in her own life. When she received the diagnosis, everything changed. In the midst of great fear that was consuming her, she sensed the Lord speaking to her heart: ​“No matter what people say, I am with you.”

Those words gave her courage, and she began to pray and trust Jesus for healing. For a full year she continued believing God. When she returned for medical testing, the doctors were stunned to discover the cancer was gone. There were no signs of disease left in her body, but there was another painful diagnosis. Doctors told her she would never be able to have children. Sonu believed that if Jesus could heal her from cancer, He could also give her a child. Three years later, in 2021, she gave birth to a healthy baby.

Last year Sonu suddenly became very sick again. Her platelet count dropped to just 17,000, when the normal minimum should be about 150,000. She began bleeding from her nose and became extremely weak. Around that time, she heard that a pastor was speaking at a nearby meeting. Even though she was weak, she decided to go, believing that God could touch her there. When she arrived, the tent was completely filled with a crowd of 5,000. There were no empty chairs, so she found a place to sit on the ground at the very back. As the meeting continued, she began to pray and quietly asked the Lord for a sign.

She said, ​“Lord, if your servant comes and places his hand on me and prays for me, I will know that you have healed me.” She was weeping and praying, but when she opened her eyes, standing beside her was the pastor, with his hand on her head, praying. She was overwhelmed. In her heart she said, ​“God, do you really answer prayer like this?” After the meeting she went for another medical test. Her platelet count had risen to 174,000, well above the minimum required. Once again, the doctors were amazed as God had performed another miracle in her life.

China: Sister Mei is a young church planter in a small coastal city in eastern China. She first came to Christ as a university student and later sensed a clear call from God to return to her hometown — an area steeped in idol worship and ancestral shrines — to share the Gospel and plant a house church. When she began, her own family fiercely opposed her. Her mother rebuked her, saying, ​“You have shamed our ancestors. Do not come home speaking about your foreign God.” Yet Mei quietly persevered, praying faithfully for her family.

Last year, Mei’s mother became gravely ill. Doctors discovered an aggressive tumor that was growing rapidly, and the family had no resources for surgery. In desperation, Mei’s father called her and said, ​“If your God is real, ask Him to heal your mother.” Mei and the small fellowship she led devoted three days to fasting and earnest prayer. On the fourth day, Mei visited her mother in the hospital. To everyone’s astonishment, the doctor reported, ​“The tumor has shrunk by half. We cannot explain it.” Two weeks later, it had completely disappeared. Shaking his head, the doctor said quietly, ​“This is something science cannot explain.”

That evening, Mei’s mother wept and said, ​“I do not know your God, but He knows me. I want to believe in Him.” Her father, who had long mocked Mei’s faith, soon began attending the small house church gatherings. Today, both of Mei’s parents follow Christ, and their home has become one of the primary meeting places for the growing house church. Villagers who once bowed before idols now gather there each week to pray and worship the living God.

When Sister Mei trains young women in ministry, she often shares this testimony, reminding them: ​“The greatest miracle was not my mother’s healing, but that our family — once divided — is now united in Christ. When God heals, He heals both body and soul.”

Ethiopia: A Muslim spiritual leader who was deeply respected in his community, had spent much of his life in the service of his faith. Then, he experienced a powerful vision of Jesus. In this encounter, Jesus appeared to him and spoke directly to his heart, calling the man to follow Him. The vision was so vivid and undeniable that it shook him to his core, challenging everything he had believed up until that moment. Struggling with this divine revelation, he could not ignore the truth of what he had seen. The conviction to put his faith in and embrace Jesus grew stronger every day.

With newfound faith, he boldly preached Christ, urging those around him to open their hearts to Jesus. His message was met with fierce resistance, and the consequences were severe. The authorities, enraged by his teachings, subjected him to brutal punishment. He was severely beaten, and in an act meant to silence him, he was thrown into a deep well and left for dead. However, in an incredible demonstration of God’s protection, the man emerged from the well miraculously unharmed. His body, though battered, showed no signs of lasting injury, and his spirit remained unbroken.

This miraculous preservation only deepened his resolve. Undeterred by the vicious attack, he returned to his village, where he continued to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His testimony of encountering the living Lord and surviving such a brutal attack became a powerful witness to the Gospel. The impact of his conversion rippled through the village. Nearly 300 people, inspired by his courage and testimony, came forward to be baptized, and embraced Jesus as their Savior.

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Our national believers and leaders around the world repeatedly tell me how thankful they are for the support you provide for them through Empower. And they ask me to extend their deepest gratitude to you, on their behalf. You are providing scripture, evangelistic outreach support, and funds for children’s ministries, as well as all the other tools we supply to expand the Kingdom of God! In this way, you are taking the wonderful news of Easter that we will be celebrating soon and the message of the Gospel to millions around the world right now.