"Reason Why"
Daniel Valles

READ Gen. 4: 4-5

Why did Abel sacrifice a lamb? Why was his offering accepted, and not Cain's? Why were the sacrifices necessary in the first place? Well, first of all, what is the sacrifice? Whenever someone breaks a law, or commits a crime, punishment should be dealt. We, as humans, have sinned against God in direct disobedience. (Remember, sin is knowing what God wants, but deciding to do things our way instead. Jam. 4:17) Over time, (even a day) someone can commit many sins. Each one demanding punishment. Remember, the Bible says that "the wages of sin is death!" To put it in modern terms, the wages of murder is capital punishment. Every day, thousands of people are dying, and are being punished for their sins. Jesus Christ, however, offered the first humans a chance to have their sins forgiven. Since Jesus had not died on the cross yet, something else had to take the place of the accused.... something living. Since the wages of our sin is death, something had to die. Christ accepted the lamb offerings. Cain's offering could not be accepted, because it could not pay for the sins... it couldn't pay the wages of Cain's sin, because food cannot die or shed blood! That's the reason why Cain's offering could not be accepted.

Cain and Abel offered to God two different offerings. Only one was accepted. Yesterday, we learned why. Today, we will be looking into some of the symbolism their sacrifice had to Christ's death on the cross. First of all, the sacrifice had to be perfect. The lamb that Abel offered was not some runt picked randomly from his flock, it was the "firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof."  (Something I didn't notice before until I read this passage today, is that it quotes his offering as plural, i.e.. 'firstlings'). Jesus Christ was perfect. He was sinless. Being sinless and perfect also meant that He didn't have sin to pay for. It also meant that He could take the place and be the substitute for someone. That someone was the human race. Jesus Christ came down from Heaven, He left its glory, to become a simple human. He loved us so much that He didn't care about the cost. He paid it., in full! When a Christian dies, Jesus can look at him and say to His Father, "He's pardoned Father. I took his punishment. It's paid in full." When you get to Heaven, can Jesus say the same for you?

In these verses, Abel offered up a lamb. Today, we will continue looking into more of the symbolism and similarities between Abel's offering, and Christ's death on the cross. One of the main important ones deals with innocence. Abel offered up some of the finest of his flock.... Did they deserve to die?... Did they do anything worthy of this? No. Then why did they have to die? Because they were without sin. They were perfect. Since the wages of sin is death, only someone without any sin could take a guilty person's place. It was a substitutionary death. They took Abel's record of sin on themselves in place of Abel. Likewise, Christ was also perfect. He didn't deserve to die either. Pilate said he found no crime in Jesus deserving the punishment of death on the cross. Yet, Jesus willingly came down to earth. He came and died as a perfect and sinless man on a cross, paying for the sins of the whole world. But, just like in the modern world today, convicted persons can turn down pardons. They have to be accepted. Jesus paid the bill... He has your pardon... will you take it? Ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins, tell Him that you want Him to take your place. Remember, the wages of sin is death, and all the pardons in the world won't help you once you die. Accept Him as your Savior today.