Thursday, March 13, 2014
Hebrews 12:24 You have come to God. ... to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
GLORY BE TO JESUS, WHO POURED FOR US HIS LIFEBLOOD
When God confronted Cain about the murder of his brother Abel, He told Cain (Genesis 4:10-12),
"Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you."
From God's sentence upon Cain it is plain that Abel's blood cried out for for justice, for an appropriate punishment for this world's first murderer. And God did just that. The earth into which the blood of Abel soaked would never produce a crop from any other sowing from the hand of Cain -- and the murderer became a homeless vagabond.
Now, if the sin of Cain resulted in the death of his brother, what shall we say of the death of the Man who left heaven's throne to become our Brother. Surely our sins resulted in His death. That is without question. But His blood -- the blood not of a sinner, but of the holy Son of God -- does not cry out for justice and for our punishment. Just the opposite.
The blood of Jesus is like the blood of the Old Testament sin-sacrifices that was symbolically sprinkled on the people of Israel to show that God had forgiven them their sins in keeping with His promise. Except Jesus' blood actually does result in the cleansing of our guilty consciences when we rest our hearts on Him and His sacrifice.
Abel's blood for vengeance Pleaded to the skies;
But the blood of Jesus For our pardon cries.
It the conscience sprinkles, Frees our guilty hearts;
Satan in confusion Terror-struck departs.
