I had a meeting yesterday with someone who had a key card on their belt loop. I instantly thought to myself, what does this open up for them? What can they get into that I can’t? Why is access limited?
Sometimes access is granted simply by who we are. For instance my kids have access to certain spaces of my life that no one else has.
Where do you have entry into spaces with limited access? A security code for your house or garage? A key for your job? Any of you work for a place that needs to scan your face to get in? That would be intense right? Oh wait, no, that’s just an iPhone now!
I have something in my house that requires a fingerprint to get into. No fingerprint, no access. It’s kind of like those movies where someone gets killed and the person then uses their fingerprint to get into the room. Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about. Does that really happen you think? It does in the movies at least.
Anyway, there are two things that have captivated my thinking this week. Can I share them with you and then bring a simple concluding thought?
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. ~Matthew 27:51
Psalm 100: A Psalm for giving thanks.
100 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
Here is why I’m riveted. Psalm 100 is a psalm of praise. It’s a psalm of gratitude. It’s a psalm of worship. It likely would have been sung as people offered up a sacrifice of gratitude in the temple. That is a sacrifice simply to say “thank you” to God. The psalm speaks of being in the presence of God. It talks about entering His courts. It talks about His enduring love. God offers us forgiveness and mercy through Jesus Christ. He doesn’t cop out or default on it. It’s eternal. We don’t have forgiveness one day and the next He all of a sudden changes His mind. It is ours FOREVER.
When they would make sacrifices there were portions of the temple not open to everyone. There was one day of the year, where the high priest would go into a section of the temple to offer sacrifice for the nations sin. They would wrap a rope around His ankle to pull him out. Why? If he was with sin, he’d drop dead. It was only open to the high priest. He alone had access. You know what that area of the temple was divided with? A curtain or veil. The veil that just so happened to be torn when Christ died, his sacrifice giving us DIRECT access.
Our great High Priest, Jesus Christ, was the sacrifice for our sins. We no longer live in a system that demands someone to make a yearly sacrifice for us. So when Christ died, the wrath of God was satisfied in Jesus on our behalf. Do you know what that means? We have a new identify. Let’s call it a new thumb print. A new thumbprint that gives us direct access to God.
Unholy Jason is made holy, because of Jesus. I have been given His perfection, therefore I have direct access to God. I can enter His gates, I can go into His presence, I can serve Him, I am His, I have been purchased with the blood of His Son.
Jesus died, then rose! Through His death and resurrection, you’ve been given a new identity. How are criminals identified? Often with a fingerprint. What can fingerprints also do? Grant access. You’ve been given a new fingerprint (Christ’s fingerprint!) that grants you direct access to God!
With this thinking and understanding, read Psalm 100 again.
Oh may we praise our Lord and Savior, not only this Easter season but daily. May we never lose sight of how beautiful it is to have direct access to God.
Eternally Thankful,
Jason Coache
Watch the video below for some personal thoughts from Jason...
