The Better Word

Hebrews 12: 22-24, ESV.

But you have come […] to God […] and to Jesus […], and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 

Today we’re looking through another biblical 'lens' at what Jesus did for us; another way of understanding how he 'changed the game,' bringing our redemption. This time we’re understanding salvation as Jesus’ ‘better word’. 

When the writer of Hebrews coined this phrase, they were creating a pretty cool image. Waaaaaay back in Genesis 4, Cain kills his brother Abel. It’s tragic – recorded as the first ever human murder. Following Abel's death, Scripture says that his blood cried out to God from the ground (Gen. 4: 10). What did it say? What ‘word’ did Abel’s blood speak? 

Well… I bet you that it didn’t speak something nice, because, moved passionately by the ‘cry’ of Abel’s blood, God placed a curse on Cain, saying, ‘When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth’ (Gen. 4: 12). Adding his own merciful caveat, God assured Cain that he would be protected from anyone who might try to kill him.Nonetheless, we can safely assume that the ‘word’ spoken by Abel’s blood was a vengeful one. The cry of his blood was to answer sin with justice through punishment.

So, what ‘better word' has the ‘sprinkled blood’ of Jesus spoken over us? Although we don’t know the exact words that Abel’s blood cried in death, we do know those of Jesus. On the Cross, he said ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do’ (Luke 23: 34). The cry of Christ’s blood was not for justice through punishment, but for forgiveness through self-sacrifice.

That really is better. Abel’s blood spoke a curse, but Jesus’ blood broke a curse. This is our greatest reason to be thankful.

Prayer — Thank you, Jesus, for your forgiveness and grace. Today, please help me see the situations where I can follow your lead in forgiveness and self-sacrifice.