“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” – Matthew 26:28 (NKJV)
Do you remember your first day at kindergarten or Sunday School? How about the first day of your first job? Though nervy, I am sure they were significant moments – a time to give our very best. Did we even realise that we were setting or should have been setting a model for the days that will follow? Let’s look at Jesus.
Jesus could have begun his public ministry with a miraculous healing service or a deliverance service of great fanfare. Instead, He performed a quiet miracle of turning water into wine to save a bride and groom from embarrassment. Did Jesus have more important things to attend to? That thought crossed my mind. What about all the people who were hungry, the sick who needed healing, the demon-possessed who needed to be set free, and even the restoration of worship in the temple?
But Jesus is part of the Holy Trinity, Who fully participated in the creation and knew His assignment was to come humbly to earth as a man to serve as our Redeemer. He knew the time would arrive for Him to confront peoples’ hearts. He knew about the suffering and resistance He would face. But, at the present, it was time for a wedding ceremony.
Three years later; it was a completely different story, with Him being hung on a cross, dying for our sins. The bridegroom was ready, declaring that His work was finished. The purpose of Jesus’s life and ministry was to prepare His people to become His spotless bride. At Cana, He changed water to the “best” wine. The night before His crucifixion, He lifted a cup of wine, declaring to His disciples; “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” On the cross, He turned the costly wine into His own precious blood.
I encourage you today to strive to be like our Saviour. Serve your purpose in humility so well that long after you are gone, you will be remembered for changing the lives of others by helping them to meet, know and have a relationship with Him.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, forgive me for any temptation to forget who Jesus really is and to treat His life as just an example of correct living rather than to fully embrace His purpose for coming to earth. I ask you, Father, to fill me with Your Holy Spirit to live avidly as someone who the blood of the Lamb has redeemed. This I pray in Jesus’s name, Amen.
Read: Psalm 62:7; Mathew 26:42
Bible Reading Guide: Psalm 74:10-17; Acts 10:24-48; Acts 11:1-18; I Kings 1; I Kings 2:1-12
