Easter: Heaven KnowsSample

Heaven Knows Where to Find Life, Pt. 1 Have you ever stopped to think about the meaning of Christ’s death? Why did God choose the cross as the means of our salvation? Why did there have to be a blood sacrifice? Why couldn’t God have just forgiven our sins and let us go on our way? The answer is simple, yet profound. A payment had to be made. Sin brings death, and death had to bring life. A blood sacrifice had to be made to pay for our sins, and not just any sacrifice would do. Our sin is against an eternal and holy God, so we needed an eternal and holy sacrifice to pay for our sins. Jesus Christ was that sacrifice. It’s amazing that the cross was prophesied hundreds of years before it even happened. In Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22, the cross is discussed and predicted long before crucifixion was invented by the Romans. It’s like predicting the winner of the Super Bowl before football has even been invented. Throughout the Scriptures, we see the theme of blood sacrifice. In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve sinned, but then God covered them with animal skins, the first blood sacrifice in the Bible. In Genesis 8 we see Noah offering a sacrifice. In Genesis 22 Abraham and Isaac provide an incredible picture of substitutionary atonement, where a ram is caught in a thicket and dies in place of Isaac. It’s a beautiful foreshadowing of what Jesus would later do for us on the cross. From Exodus with Moses and the Passover lamb, on to the Levitical law, and the millions of lambs slain to make a covering for sin, we see the theme of blood sacrifice. It all leads up to Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, (John 1: 29). Jesus went to the cross for us. No one took His life from Him, but He willingly laid it down for us (John 10:18) to give us life. As we reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross, we can’t help but be in awe of His love for us. He didn’t just cover our sins; He took them away. He didn’t just forgive us; He gave us life. May we never forget His amazing sacrifice, and may we forgive and love in light of that sacrifice every day.