Transcript of Midweek Meditations podcast episode aired on Wednesday, 9th September 2020.
Captain America: one of Marvel’s most popular superheroes. He’s often shown with his nearly indestructible shield, painted with red, white, and blue; complete with a large 5-pointed star in the centre. With his shield in hand, Captain America charges into danger to defend or protect the world from any threat.
In the fictional world of Marvel, the shield is a symbol of hope. Where do you find hope in this life? Are there symbols you see in the everyday that give you courage or hope for the day? Maybe it’s the hand or numbers on a clock ticking closer to the end of your day! As we meditate on God’s Word, we remember one of the symbols God gives us as a symbol of hope:
The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
Exodus 12:13 (NIV)
In Exodus 12, we read about the first Passover. This is the final moment of the Israelites, slaves in Egypt. The LORD was about to do something terribly awesome in Egypt—terrible for the Egyptians, awesome for the Israelites — the LORD would pass over Egypt in death.
The LORD commanded the Israelites to prepare a lamb for this Passover. They would take the blood of a lamb and put it on the doorframes of their house. By doing this, when the LORD saw the blood, he would pass over them and the plague didn’t touch them.
The blood served a symbol of love and mercy. Every year the Israelites would celebrate Passover and remember what the LORD did in Egypt. For the Israelites, blood would forever be a symbol of the LORD’s love and mercy to his people.
The Christian’s Passover
For Christians, the significance of blood shouldn’t be lost on us. However, we don’t celebrate Passover and we don’t remember the LORD’s actions in Egypt. We remember the Passover, but a different Passover. Not the one in Egypt, but in Israel.
We remember a Passover when darkness came over all the land; and blood stained, not doorposts, but a cross of wood. Upon the cross hung a man, an innocent man. His blood flowed down a cross of wood. When God saw his blood, he passed over the sins of the world.
This man is Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world by the shedding of his blood on the Cross. Jesus is nothing less than the love and mercy of God personified. His blood shed for us on the Cross is our greatest hope, a reminder of the depth and extent of God’s love and mercy for you.
Next time you see blood or a cross, remember the hope made available to you in Jesus, remember the abundant love of the Father, and the undeserved mercy of a holy God. Let’s pray.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, what love is this that you would send Jesus to die on the Cross for the sins of the world? To die for me? Yet, in your mercy, you give us Jesus, your precious Son. As you see his blood flowing down on that Cross, you washed away our sin and cleansed us from all unrighteousness.
Lord Jesus, you died for the sins of the world. You died for me! In love and obedience to the Father, you go to the Cross and take on the sins of the world on your shoulders. The judgment and wrath of God poured on you as you hung on the Cross. Thank you, Jesus, thank you.
Holy Spirit, come. Open our eyes to see. Help us to see. To see the blood of our Lord and Saviour poured out on the Cross for me. Cleanse our hearts with the precious blood of Jesus, wash away our sins, and remove them from our sight. May we cling to Jesus, our hope and salvation.
This we ask in Jesus’ name, amen.
