Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!

— Romans 5:9

As we noted yesterday, when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus at Eastertime, we may often hear about the Easter bunny and eggs and chocolate. Those old secular traditions have nothing to do with Jesus’ gift of new life for all who believe in him. But they can be distracting if we forget to focus on God’s amazing love shown to us through the death and rising of his Son, Jesus.

Reflecting on the shed blood of Jesus may make us uncomfortable. Perhaps we would rather focus on nicer, sweeter things—like chocolate or some other treat—at this time of year. But the sacrifice of Christ is the only thing that could pay the debt of our sin and bring us peace with God. There is no redemption through chocolate.

Our redemption from sin and death came through the shed blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God. As we saw earlier this month, when God delivered his people from slavery in Egypt, the sacrificed lamb of the Passover pointed ahead to the sacrifice of Jesus, God’s only Son. He became “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). By his death we have life. By his shed blood we are set free and cleansed from all sin!

Lord God, you have freed us from sin through the blood of Christ shed on the cross for our sake. Through his death we can now enjoy full life in you. In his name we pray. Amen.