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The Blood of Jesus Speaks Better Things!
By Dr. Jeanne W. Edward (ThD)
Hebrews 12: 18-24
When the world demands justice and law enforcement to avenge the cause of the innocent, Christ shows a better way.
This portion of Scripture says that we have come to Christ the mediator of the new covenant and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel, meaning the blood of Jesus speaks better things than the blood of Abel. Let’s go back to the story: Abel was killed by his own brother over jealousy (Gen 4:10). God said to Cain,”What have you done? The voice of your brother, Abel, is crying out to Me from the ground.” Even to this day, his blood cries out as the innocent are killed.
Abel, whose sacrifice pleased God, was innocent. Jesus was not just innocent but sinless. He didn’t merely offer a pleasing sacrifice but offered Himself as the sacrifice that removed the curse that was brought about by the killing of Abel as well as the curse that entered through Adam and Eve.
The blood of Abel cried out to God asking for justice and punishment; every drop of blood that fell to the ground cried out to God asking God to avenge his death. This is all man can do when his innocent blood is shed. In spite of his innocence, he is still a sinner. (Romans 3:23). Man can only ask for himself. That’s what Abel did. He asked justice for himself. Man cannot save another by his sacrifice when it comes to spiritual things. His blood will only ask for justice.
But, the sinless Blood of Jesus speaks of better things. Abel was killed, but Jesus came to die, to offer Himself as the Sacrifice to cancel the curse once and for all. His blood asks for mercy, forgiveness, healing, redemption and salvation. His blood speaks of grace that the Law could not provide.
When the whole world joins Abel, crying for justice and punishment, the blood of Jesus is crying out for mercy and forgiveness. Every drop of blood that He shed for us says ‘forgive’.
That’s what the blood of Jesus does first and foremost – it cries out “forgive!” Out of that forgiveness stems the rest – acceptance, blessing, healing, provision etc., etc..Has the crying out of innocent blood ever brought these? No! It cannot! Look around us – what do we have in the name of justice? Do we find peace, joy, forgiveness etc., etc.? No!
Those of us who say we are under the covering of the new covenant of the blood of Jesus – are we also crying out for mercy and forgiveness for those who do us wrong or are we asking for justice? If we ask for justice and pursue it – we will get what we want. For that, we don’t have to go very far: just simply take matters into our hands.
But, if we are under the blood of the Lamb of God, who took away our sin, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to speak through us and cry out for mercy and forgiveness for those who do us wrong. Not merely because it is the right thing to do, but because that is the only thing He would do through us.
Have we been struggling to forgive; finding it hard to bless people; have we been struggling to face people who have hurt us? Are we hurting inside because no justice was done to us, no one heard us out? Then, is there any point in continuing what we have been doing? Is there any point in our further struggling with the same situation? Isn’t it time to do something different; something better that may work out?
Yes! The blood of Jesus speaks better things than that of Abel. We say we are under the blood of Jesus. Then, in that case, we need to let the blood of Jesus speak through us: better than what we have been speaking.
The blood of Jesus sought and found forgiveness, mercy and grace. The blood of Jesus broke through every barrier that had been blocking the very presence of God from His people, and by doing that it ushered in all the blessings that have been kept from us for centuries and thousands of years.
His blood speaks to us to and shows us what blessings He has made available to us – if only we will let go of the blood of Abel: wanting justice, revenge and punishment for those have wrong us. We cannot mix the two or walk in both blessing and cursing. You may say that justice is our right and it is a good thing to have justice. From a human point of view you are right. That’s what we see all over the world: strikes, picketing and demonstrations – all in the name of justice.
Let’s not forget that we suffer the cost of justice one way or another. There is hardly a win-win situation when we demand justice. Above all, if God were to deal with us in that context of justice, there won’t be any of us left to tell the story. He has not dealt with us according to our iniquities.
That’s why we need to decide whether we do it our way or God’s way. Are we going by Abel’s standard or Christ’s? Abel’s blood cries out for justice but has limits to what it can and cannot do, whereas Christ’s blood asks for totally the opposite - forgiveness and mercy! Without limit! Without reservation! His blood brings us to the very presence of God and into Himself. So powerful is the Blood of Jesus!
Are we taking advantage of this blessing? We may want to and may even think that we are being blessed. But in reality we may be missing out on many of those blessings He has designed for us if we are not exercising that forgiving power of the blood of Jesus. If we are in this situation, we need to take stock of things and it is never too late.
Is the blood of Jesus speaking better things in your life and are they materializing? If not, we need to check and see if there are any drops of Abel’s blood left behind somewhere in a corner that we have allowed to stay that stops the blood of Jesus from flowing into every nook and corner of our lives speaking forgiveness, mercy, healing, protection, peace, hope, joy, comfort and victory!
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https://www.sundayobserver.lk/2016/12/18/yuletide/true-spirit-christmas
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https://www.sundayobserver.lk/authors/timothy-edward
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