The Scarlet Thread:

From The Garden of Eden to the Cross of Calvary!

If you read the Bible like a story, there's something tragic that happens really early on. In Genesis, Adam and Eve are created in God's image. They're made for relationship with God. They're walking with Him in the cool of the day. Everything is perfect. Everything is beautiful. And that goes awesome for about one page.  Then sin enters the picture. Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit, and immediately—I mean immediately—something changes. The Bible says their eyes were opened, and they knew they were naked. For the first time in human history, shame enters the world. And what do they do? They run and hide. They hear God walking in the garden, and instead of running toward Him like they always had, they're running away from Him, hiding behind trees.  They start fashioning fig leaves together, trying to cover themselves. Trying to cover their shame.

But when God has lost kids, He doesn't just let them stay lost. He chases them down. He pursues them. He calls out, "Where are you?" Not because He didn't know where they were—God knows everything—but because He wanted them to know that He was coming for them.  And when He finds them, cowering behind their pathetic fig leaves, God does something absolutely stunning. He kills an innocent animal. The Bible doesn't tell us exactly what kind of animal it was, but many scholars believe it was probably a lamb. And God takes the skin of that slain animal and makes garments for Adam and Eve. He covers the shame that was caused by their sin with the garments of the slain lamb.

The very first sacrifice in human history wasn't man's idea—it was God's. Man tried to cover himself with leaves. God said, "That's not going to work. Let me show you how this is done." And right there in Genesis chapter three, God establishes a pattern that will echo throughout all of Scripture: sin requires a sacrifice, but God Himself provides the sacrifice. Blood must be shed for sin to be covered.

Now fast forward about 2,500 years. We're in Egypt. The Israelites are slaves. God has sent plague after plague, and Pharaoh's heart keeps getting harder and harder. We get to Exodus chapter twelve, and God is about to send the final plague—the death of the firstborn. The angel of death is going to pass through Egypt at midnight.  But God, in His mercy, gives His people a way of escape. He says, "Here's how you can protect your family from the judgment to come. Go find a lamb—not just any lamb, but a spotless lamb, without blemish. And slay that lamb." Then God gives oddly specific instructions. He says to take a hyssop branch, dip it in the blood of the lamb, and put that blood on the two doorposts and on the lintel—the top of the doorframe—of your house.

If you could get into a time machine and go back 3,500 years to that night in Egypt, you know what you would find? You would find a bunch of houses with crosses of blood on every door. Blood on the left doorpost, blood on the right doorpost, blood on the top. That's a cross. And wherever there was a bloody cross, the angel of judgment passed over that house and spared that house from the consequences of its sin.  The pattern continues. An innocent lamb dies. Blood is shed. And those who are covered by that blood are saved from judgment.

Now fast forward a little bit more. Jesus a few years later, 1500 years later shows up and John the baptizer wearing camels hair eating locust and honey out in the wilderness sees Jesus and do you know what he says the first time he sees Him. Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.

Fast forward three more years. Jesus is in the upper room with His disciples. It's Passover night—the same celebration that commemorates that night in Egypt when the angel of death passed over the houses marked with blood. Every year, faithful Jews celebrate this meal with very specific elements. There's unleavened bread. There's bitter herbs. There's wine. And there's supposed to be a lamb—a roasted lamb right there on the table.  But on this particular Passover night, something's different. All the normal elements of the Passover meal are on the table, but one conspicuous element is missing. Can you imagine the disciples looking around? "Bro, what's going on? Where's the lamb? There's no innocent lamb on this table. Where is the slain lamb?"  And here's the powerful truth: the slain lamb was not on the table because He was sitting at the table. Jesus was the Lamb. He had always been the Lamb. And in just a few hours, everyone would understand why.

Because just a few hours after that meal, Jesus would be arrested. He would be beaten. He would be mocked. He would be spit upon. And then He would be nailed to a bloody cross.  And here's what you need to understand: wherever that bloody cross is found, and wherever a person claims the effects of that bloody cross, judgment passes over that person. The sins that should have fallen on you—the judgment you deserved, the death you earned—all of it was visited upon the slain Lamb who died in your place. 

From Eden to Egypt to Calvary, it's the same scarlet thread running through the entire story. God pursues His lost children. God provides the sacrifice. The innocent Lamb dies so that the guilty can live. Blood is shed so that shame can be covered and judgment can pass over.  This isn't just ancient history. This is your story. This is my story. This is the gospel.

Whatever your fig leaves are, they're not going to work. They didn't work for Adam and Eve, and they won't work for you.  But here's the good news—the best news you'll ever hear: God is pursuing you right now. Right this moment. He's calling out, "Where are you?" Not because He's lost you, but because He wants you to know He's coming for you.  And the Lamb has already been slain. The cross is already bloody. The sacrifice has already been made. Jesus has already died in your place. The only question left is this: Will you claim it? Will you stop running and let the sacrifice cover you? Will you stop trying to save yourself and let the Lamb save you? 

So stop hiding. Come out from behind those trees. Throw away those fig leaves. And claim the cross. Let the blood of Jesus cover your shame. Let the sacrifice of the Lamb take away your sin. Let judgment pass over you because you're covered by the blood.  The Lamb has been slain. The cross is waiting.