October 21

The Remission of Sins

This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. — Matt 26:28 BSB

At the heart of the Lord’s Supper, we are reminded of two important things—the price paid for our redemption and the deliverance that this redemption brings us. The price was the precious blood of Christ; the deliverance is the forgiveness of sins.

There is an ancient custom in the East that can help us better understand the way Christ made atonement for our sins. As Dr. A. J. Gordon explains, “When a debt was settled, either by full payment or by forgiveness, it was customary for the creditor to take the cancelled bond and nail it to the door of the debtor’s house, so that all who passed by could see that the debt had been paid.” What a blessed picture this is of our remission! The cross is the door of grace, and behind it lies a world that was hopelessly in debt to God’s law. But see Jesus, our bondsman, coming forward with the long list of our debts in His hand. He lifts it up for God, angels, and humanity to see, and as the nails pierce His hands, they also pierce the bond of our sins, cancelling it forever, wiping out the record of our transgressions by nailing it to the cross.

This is the powerful act of remission that is so vividly portrayed in the cup of the Lord’s Supper. The nails that held those bonds to the cross also pierced the body of Christ. His blood flowed as the payment for our sins—the blood of the Son of God. The cup that brings us such sweetness was first emptied of its bitter contents by the Lord Himself, filled instead with heaven’s richest blessings, and handed to us. As we rejoice in the forgiveness we have received, let us never forget the price our Redeemer paid, and the amazing grace that removes our sins “as far as the east is from the west.”