Verse: Romans 3:25 “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.”
Message: In this day and age we can tend to overlook the first half of the bible, the Old Testament, and place much more emphasis on the second half of the bible, the New Testament. In order to understand the principle of “Atonement” we must spend a lot of time reading and meditating on the Old Testament. It’s so amazing how the entire bible is tied together from creation to today. Atonement is the process of making amends. In a biblical sense, it is the reconciliation process of men and women to a holy God through death and blood. God set up the process of atonement in order that forgiveness could come to sinful people.
The day before Jesus was about to die, He took his disciples to a quiet place to partake in the Passover meal, a Jewish festival that had been celebrated for centuries since the time of Moses. There are many reasons for the Passover meal, but one is that God wanted the people to remember. The Israelites were to remember the salvation He brought to them during their time of slavery in Egypt when the angel of death “passed over” the homes of those who had the blood of a lamb painted on their doorposts. Jesus celebrated this festival with His disciples, just as He did every year. Except this time, Jesus did something that had never been done. He spoke of Himself as being the “Passover” lamb that would be slain to bring salvation from eternal death. He told them how the unleavened bread would represent His death and how the wine would represent His blood being poured out for their sins. This was all done to fulfill the prophecy that there would be a Messiah that would make “atonement”, once and for all, for the sins of men and women.
God wanted us to remember, to be grateful for, and to never forget that Jesus, the Messiah, came to earth, lived a perfect life, died, and rose again “For Us”! Through His death and the shedding of His blood, we are made right and our sins are forgiven or “atoned for” in the eyes of a holy God. He did this for the world and more importantly for those who were His children. We must respond by believing and having faith that Jesus is the Messiah. Will you put your faith in Him? Will you remember Him today? Will you come before the feet of Jesus in praise and gratitude for the punishment He took for us and for the atonement He made with His blood? God really does love us so much that He sent His only son Jesus, to pay a debt for us that He did not owe.
Prayer: “God, I thank You and praise You that You asked Jesus to come to this earth to atone for my sins so that I could be made holy in Your eyes. I realize that there is nothing within myself that can be good or obedient enough to pay the price of my sins in exchange for righteousness in Your eyes. Today I put my faith in Jesus, my Messiah, believing that He is the Lamb that You sent to die for me. I believe God, that He is the Messiah and have faith that His blood has made the atonement for my sin. Thank you Jesus, I live to serve You today!”
Going Deeper: First Read Exodus 12:1-28 and Matthew 26:17-30; Then Read Romans 5:6-11 and Hebrews 9:1-15
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