The Vision, painted by Domenico Fetti, portrays Acts 10:9-16.
At the peak of national controversy, I saw a picture on Facebook of a plate of delicious-looking bacon-wrapped shrimp with a message underneath, “Sorry, Christians, this is forbidden to you in Leviticus 11. You can’t cherry pick the Bible.” I posted underneath, “Boy, have I got good news for you! Turn on over to the right, all the way to the New Testament, and find the abundance that’s waiting for you there. You’ll be amazed what you can eat now. Christ suffered and died to fulfill the law of the Old Testament. He set us free from the strictures of the law. And as an added bonus, we can eat all the bacon-wrapped shrimp we want. And so can you.”
The cup is a reminder of the suffering Christ endured for us. There is no good news, no new testament, without the blood. His body, broken and spilled out, became the sacrifice that satisfied our sin debt and paid the price for our salvation. The picture of bacon-wrapped shrimp, meant to shame Christians into accepting intentional sin, instead became a reminder of the feast Christ has prepared for us.
O the blood
Crimson love
Price of life’s demand
Shameful sin
Placed on Him
The Hope of every man
“O The Blood” – Thomas and Mary Beth Miller
Sweet Jesus, my mind can barely comprehend the cruelty of the cross. You took my place. You paid my debt. You bridged the gap, bringing me to the Father. Wash me in Your blood. Make me clean and whole. Make me worthy of Your great sacrifice. Amen
I really enjoyed playing that song with the praise team yesterday at church. It’s one of my favorites. Thanks for the devotional.
I love that song, too.
Your example of the young man not knowing his New Testament is just a reminder of how much things have changed even in just the last decade with general Bible knowledge. I like the point you made about the power of Christ’s shed blood setting us free.
You are so right, Sophia Rose. Students don’t even recognize biblical references in classic literature, not that they see much classic literature these days. And the world uses biblical ignorance against us, the same way Satan, the serpent, intentionally misquoted God’s words to Eve.
Every special interest group wants to rewrite scripture to suit their preferences. And every time they do that, they move further away from the message that would deliver them from those chains that bind them.
Thanks for commenting!