Matthew 26:24 NIV
[24] The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.”
The events of the week of passion continue. We read about Jesus asking his disciples to go and prepare for the feast of passover. This was one of the festivals that God instituted for his people when they came out of Egypt. At least 2 major features of the festival was that blood was shed, and the angel of death passed over all who had the blood sprinkled on their door posts and houses. These 2 features are relevant to our season today. Just as blood was shed at the first passover, so was blood about to be shed again. The blood at the time was that of a lamb without defect. The blood here is also of a lamb without defect, called the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. The lamb had to offered on the anniversary of the passover, in commemoration of the deliverance of Israel from captivity. The lamb now been offered would be a one-time but valid-for-all-time offering, made to seal the redemption and sanctification of all who come to put their trust in Jesus.
The above fits into the plan and purpose of God for the salvation of all mankind. The death of Jesus on the cross is the key to access to all that is God's. It does not matter what my past looks like; in the hands of this God, and by the blood that has been shed, I have a new beginning. Unfortunately, like the verse above also makes clear, it is possible that there would be someone who does not believe or accept the sacrifice that has been made. It is God's plan that all men be saved, but He gives me the power to choose Him of my own freewill. If I reject Him to the end, I cannot turn around and blame Him for the consequences of my own decisions. Judas Iscariot was one of the 12 disciples, and had seen the mighty miracles that Jesus wrought in the land, yet his heart was fixed on profit and money. He would steal from the purse, yet Jesus did not reject or throw him out.
Unfortunately, Judas would not learn until it was too late. By the time he realised his mistake, there was no room for repentance. As it was then, so is it now. It i1s God's will that all men be saved, and His provision is adequate and sufficient to meet this will. It has been written that the lamb of God would be offered for the sin of the world, but it is also written that some will reject Him to the end. God's Word cannot be broken, and all His promises will be fulfilled. Let it not be that I will only enjoy this earthly phase, and have no eternity with God to look ahead to. Let it not be that the provisions of this world will distract me from the provision of eternal life in God. Nothing of this earth can adequately compensate a man for the loss of eternity with God. Make sure you have Him. God's time of favour is here.
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