A Better Word

Blood speaks. But what does it say? Well, it depends on whose blood is speaking. After Cain had murdered his brother Abel, the Lord said to him, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.” (Genesis 4:10) Abel’s blood was crying out for justice and retribution. Punish the guilty one! But someone else’s blood is speaking, and it speaks a better word. “…Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” The word “better” is the Greek word, kereitton, meaning more excellent. Just as the Lord Jesus is more excellent, His blood speaks a more excellent word than justice and retribution. His blood cries forgiveness, redemption, and grace. The verb “speak” in this verse is a present active participle, which really isn’t all that complicated. It just means that the blood of Jesus is continually and presently speaking this more excellent word. He lives always to intercede for us, speaking forgiveness, redemption, and grace. We are accepted in the Beloved.
Paul says in Ephesians 1:7 that “In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” He lavished grace on us in the form of redemption and forgiveness. Lavished means, “to exceed a fixed number or measure.” I love that. There is no end to His grace. You can’t measure it, and you can’t out sin it. Whatever number man can count up to, His grace exceeds that. So God can afford to lavish this grace on us. In fact His whole purpose in saving us was so that for all of eternity He could show us this grace by His kindness to us in Christ. (Ephesians 2:7) Amazing. He died for our sins, shed His blood to save us so that He could, for all of eternity, lavish grace on us. There is no better word than that.