Jesus the Freedom Saver
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
That same Jesus that we look to and consider in Colossians is the one in Revelation that sends this greeting:
Revelation 1:4–6
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, [5] and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood [6] and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (ESV)
He is first and foremost of those that will rise from the dead at the end of the world. He is also the One who has freed us from our sins by His own blood.
It’s like when you go to the philharmonic or the movies and the dad goes through the line first with a fistful of tickets. For the next 4 people, they don’t even have a concern. I give the ticket-taker the tickets, and my kids walk through all eyes on the building. They don’t even know the ticket taker is there.
Jesus didn’t take away our sins so that we can keep on staring at them and being sad that He paid for them. He FREED us from our sins. They don’t hold us any more. He made PEACE between us and God, so that we no longer have to be afraid of judgment.
His glory and His dominion reign and rule over the judgment of our past sins, and over the judgment of our future sins. We can be confident in His once-and-for-all sacrifice (Hebrews 10:10)
Grace to you, younger brothers and sisters of our firstborn big brother, Jesus.
Grace to you, who will be the next-born risen from the dead on the last day.
Grace to you, all freed slaves of sin, because your sins are gone and aren’t counted any more.
—
You can get the Daily Bible Readings to your inbox via email every day by subscribing here. Join the discussion online on Facebook or Twitter.