WASHED BY INNOCENT BLOOD

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Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“If a man is found slain, lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns. Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke and lead her down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and where there is a flowing stream. There in the valley they are to break the heifer's neck.”

“The priests, the sons of Levi, shall step forward, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of the Lord and to decide all cases of dispute and assault. Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, and they shall declare: ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done. Accept this atonement for your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, O Lord, and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent man.’ And the bloodshed will be atoned for. So you will purge from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the Lord.”

Deuteronomy 21:1-9

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As Deuteronomy, Chapter 21 opens, we see where the subject is the shedding of innocent blood. Specifically, God uses the following scenario to frame His guidance:

“If a man is found slain, lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,,,”

In this instance, we read where there was a series of prescribed steps that involved the elders, judges, and priests carrying out certain functions which included measuring the distance from the discovered body to the neighboring towns. Then, “the elders of the town nearest the body” were to “take a heifer” that had “never been worked” nor “worn a yoke” to “a valley” near “a flowing stream” that had “not been plowed or planted”. In that valley, the heifer was to be slain and the elders were to “wash their hands over” the sacrificed heifer, declaring the following:

"Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done. Accept this atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, O Lord, and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent man."

By doing this, Israel was to “purge from (themselves) from the guilt of shedding innocent blood”.

Fast forwarding to the days of Jesus, it’s too bad that this same matter of not shedding innocent blood wasn’t honored. For we know that Christ came to the nation of Israel as their long awaited and prophesied Messiah who was completely sinless and yet was brutalized before being crucified on a cross outside of Jerusalem located on a hill called Golgotha (fittingly translated as “the place of the skull”).

At that time, there were no measurements taken to the nearest city or town, no heifer selected and slain, and no hands washed with the exception of Pontius Pilate, the pagan Roman governor of Judea who had examined Jesus and found Him not guilty of any crime. Yet, the Jewish religious authorities and the people they encouraged still cried out, “Crucify Him!”.

Given this, the scriptures tell us that Pilate “took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd” saying:

“I am innocent of this man's blood...It is your responsibility!" Matthew 27:24

To which the people proclaimed:

“Let His blood be on us and on our children!" v.25

And so it was…and remains today.

For we can’t wash our hands of Jesus anymore than the people of Israel. None of us are innocent because none of us are free from sin. And it was your sin and my sin and the sin of all mankind that were nailed into the innocent, unblemished, sacrificial Lamb of God and as His blood streamed down the cross from His thorn-pierced head and nail pierced hands and feet, we were washed clean of the very sins that He died for.

What a blessed cleansing and washing this was…but at such a great cost.

Friends, as we live every second of every minute of every hour of every day, let us not forget the cross where the innocent Son of God was slain, not accidentally but intentionally, and how our Savior willingly allowed His death to happen so that we might be saved from our sins.

As I close, let me share these words of one of my favorite hymns that proclaims the power found in the innocent blood shed by Jesus:

Verse 1

What can wash away my sin?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus;

What can make me whole again?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Chorus

Oh! precious is the flow

That makes me white as snow;

No other fount I know,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

 

Verse 2

For my pardon, this I see,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus;

For my cleansing this my plea,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Chorus

Oh! precious is the flow

That makes me white as snow;

No other fount I know,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

 

Verse 3

Nothing can for sin atone,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus;

Naught of good that I have done,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Chorus

Oh! precious is the flow

That makes me white as snow;

No other fount I know,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

 

Verse 4

This is all my hope and peace,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus;

This is all my righteousness,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Chorus

Oh! precious is the flow

That makes me white as snow;

No other fount I know,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

 

Verse 5

Now by this I’ll overcome—

Nothing but the blood of Jesus,

Now by this I’ll reach my home—

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Chorus

Oh! precious is the flow

That makes me white as snow;

No other fount I know,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

 

Verse 6

Glory! Glory! This I sing—

Nothing but the blood of Jesus,

All my praise for this I bring—

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Chorus

Oh! precious is the flow

That makes me white as snow;

No other fount I know,

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

 

AN ATTITUDE OF PEACE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. He shall say: ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. For the Lord your God is the One who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.’"

“The officers shall say to the army: ‘Has anyone built a new house and not dedicated it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else may dedicate it. Has anyone planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else enjoy it. Has anyone become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else marry her.’ Then the officers shall add, ‘Is any man afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his brothers will not become disheartened too.’ When the officers have finished speaking to the army, they shall appoint commanders over it.”

“When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you. If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city. When the Lord your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it. As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the Lord your God gives you from your enemies. This is how you are to treat all the cities that are at a distance from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.”

“However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—as the Lord your God has commanded you. Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God.”

“When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees of the field people, that you should besiege them? However, you may cut down trees that you know are not fruit trees and use them to build siege works until the city at war with you falls.”

Deuteronomy 20

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

One thing was certain as Israel was about to enter the Promised Land. They weren’t entering a land that wasn’t already occupied and those who were there weren’t going to surrender without a fight. Conflict was inevitable.

There was one other thing that was sure. The Israelites weren’t any ordinary force coming into Canaan for they had the Lord on their side…the Almighty, Omnipotent God of all Creation…the God who promised He would be with Israel and deliver their opposition to them. We know this is truth from our scriptures today where we read this:

“When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. He shall say: ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be faint-hearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them. For the Lord your God is the One who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.’"

What an assurance this must have been for Israel! For they knew God was with them before they even entered any conflict, working things out in their favor in accordance with His will.

And so it is with us as well today.

For it’s inevitable that we will enter into our own skirmishes in life as well. Sometimes these happen when we enter new territories but more often than not, they occur on ground that is more common and familiar to us like the workplace, in our home, or perhaps with family members close and afar. Regardless of the situation, the part or parties involved, or the location of the adversary, God is with us nonetheless and is ready to lead us through any battle we might encounter, a truth we should never forget.

Before I close, there is one other important part of this scripture passage for today. Look at these words again:

“When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you. If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city.”

Note here that the Israelites weren’t supposed to enter into immediate attack on every city it came upon. No, the first thing they were to do is offer peace before conflict and although we don’t know how many cities accepted this offer, I would have to guess there were some. This tasking for Israel was important because resolution of a potential battle can sometimes happen quickly if the right initial attitude is taken…an attitude of peace.

I know I can vouch for this from personal experience. In fact, I have found that I can often bring someone with a combatant attitude to my place of peace by refusing to exchange the same combatant attitude with them. Maybe you can relate to this. For have you ever witnessed two people get into an argument with one another and watch it escalate as neither person is willing to back down? Usually it results in one person trying to one-up the other until words turn into physical altercations. No one wins in these circumstances and, more often than not, someone just gets hurt.

Conversely, have you ever witnessed someone who wanted to get into an argument with someone but the other person remained calm, collected, and unwilling to enter into heated discussion with the other? Perhaps you noticed in these circumstances where the dispute ramped down to the level of the calmer person much like throwing cold water on a burning flame? Either that happens or the angry person just walks away frustrated because the peaceful person refuses to engage them in anger.

I have learned in my life that this approach is golden and use it all the time because I want to be an instrument of peace, not strife…just like Jesus, the Prince of Peace. And I can do it because the Holy Spirit is alive within me.

So how about you?

How do you handle matters of conflict?

Are you an instrument of dissension or peace?

Do you see God as always being with you…ready to guide and direct you through any clash when it comes?

Friends, God’s Word today is speaking loudly, bringing us great wisdom and good news. Thanks be to God that we never need to fear walking this world alone. Thanks be as well that as we do walk it, we can do so with an attitude of peace.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

PASSION WEEK SERIES: GO QUICKLY AND TELL

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from Heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ Now I have told you.”

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell His disciples.

Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” He said. They came to Him, clasped His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see Me.”

Matthew 28:1-10

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today is Resurrection Sunday, the day when Jesus came back to life while conquering sin, death, and the grave. It is a day of celebration, a day of recovery from the sadness and sorrow of the cross and Jesus’ crucifixion. It’s a day that brings us a hope that can never be taken away if we choose to accept Jesus as our personal Savior.

So how did the resurrection miracle unfold and what is our role in it more than 2,000 years later?

We’ll look at this in today’s message, the last one in this Passion Week series, as we examine these scriptures from the Gospel of Matthew:

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. Then go quickly and tell His disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ Now I have told you.”

So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” He said. They came to Him, clasped His feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see Me.”  Matthew 28:1-10

The Sabbath after Jesus’ crucifixion concluded at sundown on what we would consider Saturday today. Jesus had been taken down from the cross by Joseph of Arimathea and, after gaining approval to prepare the body for burial, he did just that along with Nicodemus before placing Jesus in a new tomb. Scripture tells us that Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James (also referred to as the “other Mary” to distinguish her from Jesus’ mother) were present at the tomb owned by Joseph on the day of Jesus' burial.

And then everyone went to their respective dwelling places to recognize the Sabbath, obedient to God’s commands.

Can you imagine the anxious anticipation of the women as they had to wait more than a full day to get to go to the tomb? These women had spent a lot of time with Jesus, traveling with Him during His ministry. They had great adoration and love for Him, an adoration and love they wished to express through anointing His body with spices and perfumes.

So at the light of dawn on the first day of the week (the day we know as Sunday which actually had begun at sundown on Saturday), the women went to the tomb. Looking at the sum of all the Gospel accounts, we know the names of some of the women (Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Joanna, and Salome) but not all. Of interest, Mark’s Gospel tell us that the women were discussing how they might get the stone rolled away from the tomb to access Jesus’ body but once they arrived at the tomb, they would find that God had already taken care of it.

For the scriptures tell us that a violent earthquake struck as “an angel of the Lord came down from Heaven” and rolled away the stone which he then sat on. You’ll recall that Pontius Pilate had been approached by the Pharisees and chief priests the day after Jesus had been crucified…asked to place guards at the tomb so none of Jesus’ disciples could come and take the body before claiming He had been raised from the dead. Pilate sent guards to the tomb but as we see in our passage from Matthew, they were so terrified after seeing the angel that they “became like dead men” and would therefore not be a deterrent for the women to look in the tomb to see Jesus was indeed gone.

Note that the guards weren’t alone in being afraid because the women were also frightened, something sensed and addressed by the angel who said this to put the women at ease:

“Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.”

He then followed this by telling them that Jesus was not in the tomb:

“He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay.”

As mentioned prior, the women had been with Jesus during His ministry journeys and were aware of Him saying that He would be crucified and rise again on the third day. Now His words had come to life and the angel extended an invitation to the women to go into the tomb and see where Jesus had laid before giving them this command:

“Go quickly and tell His disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ Now I have told you.”

And the women wasted no time to do what the angel had told them to do. After seeing the tomb was indeed empty, they “hurried away from the tomb” to “tell the disciples”, even though they were still “afraid” but also “filled with joy”. Then suddenly, before they could reach the disciples, we find Jesus appearing to them, simply saying:

“Greetings.”

Even in the midst of their fears, imagine the absolute elation that the women had to experience at that moment. Miraculously, their risen Savior was before them, a Savior they thought they had lost, never to be seen again. But here before them was Jesus, not only able to be seen but held as well for we read where the women “clasped His feet and worshiped Him”.

Who wouldn't, given the circumstances?

Now, note that Jesus didn’t let the women stay with Him long. There was still much to be done on the day He was resurrected and so He told the women to do just as the angel had told them prior:

“Go and tell My brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see Me.”

And so the women did what their Lord and Master had commanded. They went quickly to tell Jesus’ disciples that He had risen from the tomb and was very much alive, something they knew first-hand because they had seen and touched Him themselves.

So that brings us to today and our resurrection day celebration.

What do you think Jesus would say if He appeared to us this very moment?

I think His words would be the same as they were to the women. He would tell us to go quickly and tell others the good news of His resurrection…that He had been raised from the dead just as He said He would. He would want us to let everyone know that because of His resurrection, those who place their hope and trust in Him can experience their own resurrection when this earthly life ends.

Friends, this day, Easter Sunday (also referred to as Resurrection Sunday), is not a day that we are expected to rejoice in and then forget. Rather, we are to consistently and intentionally share the good news of everlasting life through Jesus with everyone we encounter during each day God blesses us with, seeking to carry out His Great Commission command in obedience.

For there is much work to be done to carry on what Jesus started and, like Him, we shouldn’t rest until our time here on earth is finished.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.