Resurrection Perspective
This article is written by Bill Peach and is used with his permission.

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Why was Jesus' blood so important to God? Why do we need it to be cleansed of our sins? Looking at these questions while I studied the Scripures helped me to understand and appreciate in a deeper way what Jesus has done for me and for all of us.

We are precious in God's sight
"The ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough" Psalm 49:8

The Bible teaches that each person's soul is incredibly valuable in God's sight. If you hawk a camera at a pawn shop:
(a) you don't get as much for the camera as the camera is worth, and (b) it doesn't cost you much more than you paid to get it back.

When I sold my soul as a slave to sin: (a) I didn't get near what it was worth, and (b) I can never redeem it on my own, except by paying the price in Hell.

What is valuable to the Almighty, Eternal God who created everything?
"For you know that it was not with perishable things such as gold or silver that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you by your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through Him you believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your hope and faith are in God." 1 Peter 1:18-21

Gold and silver are precious to us. Money is precious to us. We scramble and claw after it. We fight over it. We hoard it. We'll risk our lives for it. We'll shipwreck our faith for it.

Gold and silver don't impress God. Why?

  • It's all His, anyway.
  • It doesn't last.
  • It's just a thing.

So, what can be precious to God? What can matter to the One who made everything, owns everything, was before everything, and will be after everything? It's the same in the Old Testament and the New Testament. It's the same for God and for Jesus. It helps us to understand why we need Jesus. Here is a start on the list:

I think about Abraham and why God held him up in the Bible. I think about his life and his relationship with God. He trusted God with his life. He trusted God with the life of his precious son. He spoke with God, and was very open and honest with God. Obeying God and being true to Him was so important to him that he did not even hold back his "son of the promise" Genesis 22:1-19

James says something very special about Abraham: "he was called God's friend" (James 2:20-24)

Our redemption cost God, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit. It cost them the unbroken fellowship they had "since before the creation of the world". They were the only ones that had enough to pay the price. Because of who they are and their own nature, they were willing to pay the price to redeem us back from the consequences of our sins.

Larry Jackson wrote a song which is now in our songbook. The song is "Take A Look On The Mountain." Every time I read it or sing it I choke up, because it shows so clearly how much it cost Jesus. The middle verse is especially compelling: "See the nails in His hands. See the darkness over the land. Hear the voices say that He's to blame. Hear Him call His Father's Name."

Read Mark 15:25-39

Almost 2,000 years later and half a world away, we can still hear the echo of how much it cost Jesus to purchase our forgiveness. His blood is empowered by His life, His sacrifice, His death, and His resurrection. We cannot comprehend how much it cost God, to see His Son suffer in our place, to feel that communion and unity broken by the effects of our sins, and to hear, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" from the anguished lips of our crucified Savior.

We are precious indeed, to Them. We need to remember, and be thankful, that Their perfect love was demonstrated in a sacrifice that towers above all the other sacrifices that have or will happen, combined.

The best thing is that the story doesn't end with the cross. As powerful as Jesus's sacrifice is, it's encouraging to know there is a happy ending. There is a resurrection. There is heaven for us to look forward to. There is a Lord who will lead us there. Here are a few of my favorite Scriptures (a few of many):

Jesus WILL come back
Hebrews 9:22-28

Our faith has a goal: Salvation
1 Peter 1:3-9

Christ's Spirit predicted suffering, then glory
1 Peter 1:10-12

Jesus is our example
1 Peter 2:18-25

Even though it doesn't earn our salvation, God has made it clear that there is a correct response (and many wrong responses) to the forgiveness we have been given.

The common themes in the right response are love, trust, and sacrifice. Our love, our trust, our sacrifice of faith in what They have done and They will do for us, their precious family.

I'd like to end with two passages that mean a lot to me. To close please take a look at 1 Peter 2:4-10 and Titus 3:1-8.