I Will Forgive You
Matthew 26:28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Who came up with this crazy idea that we need forgiveness from some God we can’t even see? Really? It seems crazy.
The idea is this – it doesn’t matter how good a life you’ve lived, you could be the veritable Mother Theresa, but unless you’ve gone to God and asked for His forgiveness through Jesus, you’re going to hell.
Hmm… we all know some really, really good people, people who’ve lived lives of sacrifice for others and yet, if you believe these crazy Christians, unless those people believe in Jesus, they’re going to hell.
For such a long time you know, I poo-hooed the idea that somehow I needed God’s forgiveness. I mean – give me a break. But all the time, deep down, under that confident bravado, I knew that I was running away from God. Stand back and think that through and you realise how stupid it is to kind of run and hide from God – if God is who He says He is.
I was running away because frankly I just knew that the stuff that I was into, was plain wrong. I was greedy. I was selfish. I wasn’t, frankly, a particularly nice person.
And, this is how my thinking went (although I tried not to think about it all that often) – if and when I came face to face with this Jesus, who claimed to be the Son of God, my biggest concern was that I wasn’t good enough. And I was right. I wasn’t and what’s more … I never would be.
This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:28)
That’s a line that’s often quoted in churches when communion is celebrated. And, when you’ve done that, said that, heard that a few hundred times, it kind of just washes past you.
But, listen to Jesus’ words there on that last night, the Last Supper with His disciples, as He poured that glass of wine.
The fear of the disciples was palpable. You could have cut the air with a knife. The plot to betray Jesus to death, to crucifixion, was underway. And just before He’s taken away to be crucified, Jesus explains it so that we can’t make any mistake.
This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
We might think it’s crazy that God takes sin so seriously. But listen to me, He takes it so seriously, that He sends Jesus to die on that cross, to have his blood poured out on the ground, to pay the price for your sin and mine.
That’s why Jesus died for me … that’s why Jesus died for you and everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. That’s it.
That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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