Devotion Corner

Psalm 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

The women that had come together to go to Christ’s tomb that Easter morning, were ready to face the many of horrors of death. Though heartbroken, their love for their Lord meant they were ready to face the deeply distressing wounds on their Master’s body. They were prepared to be assaulted by the smell of a body riddled with stench of stale blood. They came prepared to mask the smells of corruption to the mortal body in death, with spices and perfumes. 

Yet as the psalmist foretold a thousand years prior, such sweet-smelling fragrances would not be needed. For the sweetest savour had already been offered up to God by Christ Jesus on the cross. This sweet savour of atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world, was joyfully received and blessed by the Father, and witnessed by the Holy Spirit to be a true and worthy sacrifice. 

The Son of God may have recited this verse of Psalm 16 to Himself upon the cross. For He knew that His sacrifice was full and final and would be accepted by the Father. All because His life, His precious blood, is pure and without blemish or sin. And so sin cannot corrupt what it has never touched. Thus, His body laid untroubled by the stench of death. Those spices and perfumes were never required. Such things could only mask the stink of death. The Son of God would not mask death, He would overcome it!

So it is with our well-intended efforts in life. We are like those earnest women of that first Easter morning. We look to cover the stench of death that resides in our spirits, by our earnest and well-meaning efforts. Yet those efforts can never conquer the stink of our sinful natures. That is where we are driven to the empty tomb by the Holy Spirit. Here we see that the air is clear, the stain of sin purged, the task of redemption complete. All this done for us by the conquering King that is the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Here we are invited to put down our spices, those efforts we carry looking to hide the stench of our sins and kiss the Son. By doing so, we are brought close to the Lamb of God. He who’s pure, shed blood never knew corruption. Because of this wonderful truth, we can rest knowing that our sins are washed away by that same pure, precious blood of Christ Jesus. Amen.