A Sacrifice to Forgive the Sins of Many

March 23, 2016

A Sacrifice to Forgive the Sins of Many

“When Judas, who had betrayed him, realized that Jesus had been condemned to die, he was filled with remorse. So he took the thirty pieces of silver back to the leading priests and the elders.”

Matthew 27:3

Judas betrayed Jesus. Judas apparently did not contemplate that his act of betrayal would result in the death of an innocent man. Remorseful, and in an act of repentance, he confesses his sin to the Chief Priest and returns the money he had received for his treachery. In his arrogance, the Chief Priest offers no absolution. The Chief Priest is not at all troubled to have the blood of an innocent man on his hands, but Judas is very troubled.

The Chief Priest betrayed God and the very heart of the Law of Moses. In an act of blatant hypocrisy, the Priest bought a field from a potter (a person who made pots) and used it as a cemetery for foreigners. How ironic that this cynical act took on a note of honorable charity, as for many hundreds of years a public cemetery for indigents was known as the “Potter’s Field.”

Tomorrow, on Maundy Thursday, we will join Christians around the world in remembering the Last Supper. Judas was at the table when Jesus initiated the Sacrament of Holy Communion. As he held a cup of wine, Jesus said, “Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many” (Matthew 26:27b-28).

The death of Jesus was sufficient to cover the sins of Judas, and the High Priest. And mine! Even so, I struggle to “lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12 NASB).

It is hard to fully grasp such marvelous grace, isn’t it?

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.