John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

For the Christian community worldwide Easter brings focused concentration on the sufferings of Jesus. On what we call Palm Sunday we are reminded that Jesus arrived in Jerusalem on a donkey.  He was greeted by a crowd which welcomed him by throwing their cloaks and palm branches in his path and shouting loudly “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.” (Read the full account in Luke 19: 28 – 44).

By the end of that week Jesus had been betrayed, arrested, tried, mocked and beaten and the refrain of the crowd had changed to “Crucify him! Crucify him!” (Luke 23:20). Fickle humanity! So the Son of God was crucified, hanging from a cross while his blood streamed from his forehead, his hands, his side and his feet. In earth’s darkest hour it seemed briefly that the created had triumphed over their Creator. But, no, because it was on that cross Jesus said, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34). And in that moment not even the religious leaders, who supposedly had studied prophecy, believed that Jesus would be raised from the dead on the third day. But he did! God’s salvation’s plan for mankind was complete.

It seems to me that since Adam sinned, God has been on repeated rescue missions for mankind and every time that happened, blood had to be shed. In the Garden of Eden, an animal had to die so that the Lord could provide covering for Adam and Eve. When God entered into the covenant of circumcision with Abram, blood had to be shed. When he was about to rescue the children of Israel from bondage in Egypt, the blood of the Passover lamb had to be shed. And later the blood of bulls and goats had to be shed repeatedly so that sin could be cleansed.  A couple of  months ago, I was reading in Genesis 17 where God told Abram that not only should the circumcision apply to him and his descendants, but that it should include those born in his household or bought with money from a foreigner – those who were not his offspring. That caught my attention and I wondered why they were included. The answer is simply that God is not willing that any should perish but that all men should come to him. His salvation plan has always been inclusive. The Holy Spirit witnessed to me in that moment:

“My covenant with Abram was inclusive as a matter of principle. All people whom I have created have access to me. They, like Israel, can come to me to be forgiven. My love for them is no less if they will humble themselves and bow to my Son. It is his blood that cleanses from sin.”