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“Where the paschal blood is poured, Death’s dread angel sheathes the sword; Israel’s hosts triumphant go Through the wave that drowns the foe. Alleluia!
“Now no more can death appall, Now no more the grave enthrall; You have opened paradise And Your saints in You shall rise. Alleluia!”
Blood saves lives. The Red Cross and other organizations remind us of that fact as they ask for donations of the life-saving gift. On the night God set the people of Israel free from slavery in Egypt, it was different blood—and the promise of God—that saved them. The Lord told the Israelites to mark the lintels and doorposts of their homes with the lamb’s blood. In an act of judgment, God destroyed the firstborn of Egypt, but He passed over the blood-marked Israelite homes. According to God’s promise, death did not harm them. Leaving Egypt, the host of Israel passed in triumph through the parted waters of the Red Sea as the waves returned to drown the pursuing Egyptian forces.
According to the promise of God, we are saved from death through the blood of the Lamb. On the night before He died on the cross, Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples. As they remembered the miraculous deliverance of the Israelites, Jesus gave to them, as He still gives to us today, the gift of His body and blood, given and shed for the forgiveness of our sins. The just penalty for sin is death and, as Scripture says, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22b). Jesus, the Lamb of God, died on the cross, suffering the penalty of death in our place, for our sins. It is not our doors but our lives that are marked by the blood of Jesus. Just as Israel passed safely through the waters of the Red Sea, when the Lord calls us home to Himself, we will pass safely through death into eternal life in the presence of our Savior.
“Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7b). In Holy Communion we receive the body and blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God who shed His blood to deliver us from sin and death. As our hymn proclaims, death is no longer an appalling, unconquered foe. The grave can no longer enthrall, that is, enslave us. The ancient Israelites were delivered from slavery in Egypt. Jesus suffered and died to destroy the devil “and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” (Hebrews 2:15). Jesus has opened the doors of paradise to us. Death is defeated! When Jesus returns, His saints will rise in triumph over death to live forever in the presence of the Lamb who was slain to save us.
WE PRAY: Jesus, Lamb of God, You saved me. Keep me strong in faith as I cling to Your promises. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. It is based on the hymn, “At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing,” which is number 633 in the Lutheran Service Book.
Reflection Questions:
- Have you ever given your blood for a blood drive or, perhaps, when someone needed it?
- What is important about the blood Jesus shed on the cross? Why was it necessary for the forgiveness of our sins?
- How can we celebrate the gift of Jesus’ body and blood for our salvation?
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