Upon returning from walking to check the cattle a few weeks ago, I saw red! I glimpsed brilliant red colors peeking from a secluded spot nestled in a thicket. Pausing, I deviated from my path for a closer view of the vivid red objects. Upon more focused inspection, I discovered a Virginia Creeper vine tinted by the autumnal temperature variations. What a profusion of vibrant scarlet in nature for anyone to see!
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| The pretty red leaves of the Virginia Creeper |
My mind recalled God’s
promise to the Israelite slaves prior to God granting them release from the pharaoh’s
cruel task masters. God succinctly gave a cause-and-effect couplet with
life-altering consequences. He told Moses and the whole Israeli nation in
bondage, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you.”
The final plague, the death
angel, would be sent. Every home with blood placed on the outer doorposts,
visible from outside, would be “passed over” by the death angel, sparing the
life of the first-born child in the home. Compliance with the directive lay
with each family.
All over the land of Goshen, Israelite
families carried out the ceremonial sacrifice of the lamb. The blood was
applied to the doorposts of the homes in faith that the death angel would see
the blood and preserve the life of the oldest child in each dwelling. All through
Goshen, the death angel saw red. No death occurred in Goshen.
John the Baptist announced Jesus
as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” The Jewish hearers
immediately drew the connection between the Passover lamb and John’s
identification of Jesus.
Following the death on the cross
and resurrection of Jesus, for Jewish followers, the linking of the yearly ceremonial
meal of Passover and the blood Jesus shed made perfect their understanding. Many
of the New Testament writers drew on this annual observance and its fulfillment
in Jesus’ atonement for all who receive Him.
Paul writes of the blood of
Jesus in Ephesians 2:12-13, “At that time you were without Christ...having
no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who were once
far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” All humans found
themselves without God, but the relationship longed for is bought by Jesus’
blood.
In Colossians 1:13-14, the
Apostle Paul pens, ‘He (God) has delivered us from the power of darkness and
conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” These powerful words illustrate
the transformation from darkness into the kingdom of His love, made possible through His blood.
John records what he was allowed to see in The Revelation of Jesus Christ. John hears the new song with these words of praise to Jesus for the blood He shed. What inclusivity is sung about in this song heard around the throne in heaven!
The
precious blood of Jesus made possible our relationship with God as our father
and that same sacrificial blood transformed
our lives. With every opportunity, may we share the inclusivity His blood provides
– redeemed ones from every tribe, tongue, and nation.
Reading Scriptures confirm the cleansing power of our salvation is in the blood of Jesus. Singing of the deliverance of the blood of Jesus strengthens our faith. As we approach Thanksgiving, may we express heartfelt thanks for the Blood of Jesus – not just this season, but every day of the year.
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