Happy Easter to our Break the Grey family! I hope you all are having a blessed day remembering hope and rescue. I had a few thoughts to share with you all in honor of this day:
Last Sunday at Genesis Church (my church home while away at school) Paul Mumaw, our lead pastor, preached the last sermon in his "Red Letter Day" series about the words of Jesus uttered from the cross. The last phrase He said was, "It is finished," which in the Greek is one word: "Tetelestai." It means, "to end, to complete, to discharge a debt." This word was used in only three contexts:
1. A servant who had finished his work (Philippians 2:5-11; Isaiah 52:13-ch. 53)
2. A merchant who had paid his debt (Colossians 2:13-15)
3. A priest after examining and approving a lamb for sacrifice (Hebrews 4:14-5:10; 7:23-ch. 8)
(See the verses in parenthesis to draw connections between this word uttered from Jesus' lips and how He is described throughout Scripture.)
When Jesus uttered this phrase - tetelestai - on the cross, the debt had been paid in full. The wrath of the Father that was intended for us - yes, indeed, for the cross was intended for us - was completely satisfied in Jesus' sacrifice. His atoning work was finished. We were ransomed in that moment.
Paul, our pastor, talked about the emphasis that is placed, especially around this time of year, on the blood of Jesus. Why blood? What is so significant about blood? Hebrews 9:22 gives us the answer:
"Under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." (ESV)
In the Old Testament, sacrifices had to be made to atone for sin. Blood had to be spilled in order for the debt to be paid: a life for a life.
It reminded me of a time when I was about 13 or 14-years-old and I was inpatient on 7 West at Kosair Children's Hospital. I was pretty sick and I needed blood drawn and an IV placed. The results of my blood tests would tell us how well (or not) my kidney was working and if I my infection had spread to my blood. The tests were crucial.
Anyway, I am a very hard stick. My nurse had stuck me multiple times to draw this blood and she couldn't get it. It was hours past when the tests were supposed to be run, and my medical team was not happy. One of my doctors actually came into my room to watch her draw the blood.
Finally, she got the blood! Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. My patience was wearing thin, and I was so glad to be done.
Then, she dropped the syringe.
As she went to transfer my blood from the syringe to the tubes, she dropped all of it.
Blood went everywhere.
Bright red stains covered the white sheets and the white tile floor.
Since it had all been lost, we had to start over again. I remember in that moment as I gathered myself and prepared to endure more pain, thinking about the blood of Jesus. If my blood was this important, and if spilling it had such dire consequences, how much more power did the blood of my Savior hold?
Because the blood of Jesus covers all of my sins and cancels all of my debts, nothing separates me any longer from the love of my Heavenly Father.
Not my sins.
Not kidney disease, immune deficiency, or needle pokes.
Not even childhood cancer.
No - Jesus' blood covers even that.
I love the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases Romans 8:31-39:
"So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing Himself to the worst by sending His own Son, is there anything else He wouldn't gladly and freely do for us? ... The One who died for us - who was raised to life for us! - is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture...None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing - nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable - absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us." (emphasis mine)
That is not to say that those things - kidney disease, immune deficiency, childhood cancer - don't matter or are not hard.
That is to say that even so, His love endures forever because of the blood of Jesus on the cross.
So even though it is hard, be encouraged. Look to the cross. May it remind you that God is good, and He is with you, and He is for you. And, in the end, He wins.
We ended the service last Sunday by singing "Our God" by Chris Tomlin:
"Our God is greater
Our God is stronger
God, You are higher than any other
Our God is healer
Awesome in power
Our God, our God
And if our God is for us
Then who could ever stop us?
And if our God is with us
Then what could stand against?"
Yes, indeed: our God is greater, stronger, higher. And He triumphs in the end - yes, even over childhood cancer.
This Easter, take heart. Be encouraged. Look to the cross - for there you will find a love relentless and a hope unswerving.
Hoping, Believing, and Never Giving up,
Sarah
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