Wednesday, April 16th

Soon it will be Easter weekend, and Christians everywhere will celebrate it as the day that Jesus proved He is Who He said He is.  It's a wonderful time of solemn remembrance of Christ's power and victory over death, hell, and the grave.  Many churches will proclaim the glorious news of the resurrected Lord this weekend, but they will miss a very vital aspect of the resurrection.

In order for there to be a resurrection, there had to be a death.  And, Jesus' death was a horrible, agonizing one.  There aren't enough descriptive words in our language that adequately  depict the excrutiating pain He endured.   God knew that He'd have to turn His back on His only begotten Son, and what makes it even more amazing is that Jesus also knew that He would die all by Himself for your sins and mine.  The resurrection is the hope of Christ's story.  The terrible death He suffered is the sacrificial fulfillment of prophecy.

 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.  

Leviticus 17:11

And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.   Hebrews 9:22

Even though the Resurrection exalts our God far above all other false gods, without the blood sacrifice, the Resurrection wouldn't matter.  This Easter, while we celebrate Christ's rising from the dead, let us humbly remember the high cost of that resurrection.

Scripture Reading for the Day:

Mark 3
Proverbs 16