Recently in one of our PM services I finished a verse by verse study of Isaiah 53 where the prophet Isaiah graphically describes God’s perspective on the cross of Jesus Christ. It is always good to be reminded of the sacrifice that God made so each of us could have eternal life.
In the first chapter of John’s Gospel, John the Baptist presented the Lord Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. For the blood of the Lamb to be effective, it must be applied to our lives. John the apostle later writes, when he was present at the death of the Lord Jesus, his experience of seeing the shed blood of the sacrificial lamb. He writes, “The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water,” (John 19:32-34 NIV). Jesus shed His blood as the payment for the sins of the world. John gives graphic details of this important information as he was an eyewitness of these events. At the same time that Jesus was shedding His blood, many in the nation of Israel were sacrificing their Passover lambs and applying the blood of the Passover lambs to the doorpost of their homes. Jesus as our Passover lamb as described by Isaiah the prophet when he wrote some seven centuries earlier, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed,” (Isaiah 53:4 – 6 NKJV). What an absolutely, amazing thing that God has done for us in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, that saves us from all our sin.
Because of what God has done for us through His Son we have every reason for rejoicing and praise in the Savior. We also have a great reason for prayer. Last evening we had a few folks come out for our National Day of Prayer service at NDC. Being able to pray to our great God is truly based on the fact that we have a Savior who intercedes on our behalf. Paul tells us in his first letter to Timothy that, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men-the testimony given in its proper time”, (1 Tim.2:5-6 NIV). Jesus is the mediator that we seek to guide our steps. Many today think there are many ways to God and each person can choose their own preferred way. But Jesus is the one to who we bring our petitions because He is the one who has paid in full the debt of our sin. I hope that you have discovered that Jesus is the one that you can bring your prayers, knowing that He will mediate on your behalf before His Heavenly Father.
All for God’s glory,
Pastor Rich Sivo