This is why He came...

{Daily Selah}

Jesus didn't come to give us a reason to celebrate once a year. He didn't come to give us a reason to give one another gifts. And, He didn't come to give us an excuse for extravagance.

He came "... to give his life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). 

The moment Jesus died, something amazing happened that would benefit all mankind if they simply chose to accept it. Take a look at Matthew's account of one of the greatest events in all of history...

Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent... (Matthew 27:50-51).

This was no ordinary curtain like the curtains we hang in our homes. This curtain was designed to keep people from entering the holy of holies. It was 60 feet long, 30 feet wide and 4 inches thick. One commentator estimates that it weighed 2 tons. A barrier to prevent sin entering the holy place, this massive curtain served as a reminder that sin separates us from God. 

At the very moment Jesus died, this enormous barrier was torn in 2, from top to bottom, signifying what Jesus had done. The writer to the Hebrew describes the benefits for you and me...

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)  (Hebrews 10"19-23).

The benefit is that you and I, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, now have access to the holy place - the presence of God -through the blood of Jesus. Jesus paid the penalty you and I deserve so we could be forgiven and free. No longer does our sin have to keep us from God. If you know Jesus as your Savior, His blood has washed you and made you clean and righteous in God's sight. 

We have direct access to the presence of the Most High God! We have no reason to doubt, fear or waver. That's a reason to celebrate each and every day and a reason to hold fast.

This is why He came!



{Daily Selah} is a mini-devotional, a pause to ponder about the Lord and how He wants us to live.