Joh 19:28-30 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
Joh 19:34-35 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.
THE SCARLET THREAD
Thread is the fundamental element required to weave any fabric together. The quality of a fabric is entirely dependant on the quality of the thread used. The quality of that thread is based upon its integrity, its ability to withhold wear and tear and still maintain its strength.
When God created the heavens and the earth, when he wove together time and matter and space. When he formed man in his image and breathed His breath of life into man, God created a fabric that was flawless, perfect in its structure and purpose and wholly complete in it’s essence of being exactly what God created it to be.
When Adam sinned, a tear was made in the fabric of God’s creation. A rift that took a perfect creation and not only marred it but ruined its integrity, its value and its wholeness and it became eternally flawed.
Any good tailor can mend a garment. They can make a patch using a piece of the fabric, they can hand stitch a rip together so that you barely know there was a flaw. But they can never mend a rip so well that the fabric is again flawless.
The tear that sin made in the fabric of God’s creation was more than could be repaired with a patch. More than could be fixed with a few stitches. God couldn’t use the same thread for the repair that he used to make the fabric, he required more than what was available through his own creation. So God began to make a thread that was superior in its quality, strength, integrity and ability to hold together and repair the tear that sin created.
God put to the spinning wheel his heart and as he began to spin the wheel his heart began the process of being drawn out in to a long strand. To that strand he added his forgiveness and his mercy, his peace and his grace and he spun them all together. When he was finished he looked at the thread he created and added to it the element that would both band together all the other pieces and give it its dark scarlet color; he added his blood.
When God was finished making that thread, he began to weave the scarlet thread in and out of creation, in and out of humanity. He started to carefully weave the scarlet thread into the fabric, with his promise of redemption to Adam. He wove the scarlet thread through Noah, through Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He wove the scarlet thread through Judah and on the hand of Zarah. Through Moses and Joshua and out of Rahab’s window. He wove the scarlet thread through David and through the words of the prophets and the poetry of Solomon. He weaved the thread through centuries of idol worship and betrayal, through animal sacrifice and feasts and laws and the thread weaved through the Levitical priesthood. He wove that thread through Joseph and the thread flowed through a young woman, Mary. Now after all the intricate stitching he made beneath the surface of his tapestry he exposed the scarlet thread to his creation and we beheld it not. Finally the scarlet thread weaved itself to the judgment hall of Pilot, innocent before its accusers, it weaved itself through the taunts of Roman soldiers and cries of “crucify him!”. The scarlet thread weaved through horrifying brutality and bitter mocking. It weaved through the crown of thorns, and through nakedness, it weaved until it reached its end. And then the scarlet thread tied itself to the cross.
It would not come down. It would not defile its purpose. It would not betray its principle. So it hung on the cross until it had accomplished what it set out to do. It displayed its great power, the true strength of its integrity and it completed its task of redemption.
When Jesus hung his head and declared “It Is Finished”, he did what nothing or no one else was able to do. When the soldier pierced his side and the blood and water flowed from the hole made in his heart; Christ repaired a rift, a tear in the fabric of humanity that had destined us to certain death and separation from the God that so masterfully and methodically created us. And because his heart poured out on to the dirt from which humanity was formed that thread is still weaving today. It continues to complete in us the work it finished at Calvary.
The scarlet thread weaves through our heartache and our sorrows. It weaves through malice and bitterness, through envying and strife. The scarlet thread weaves through adultery and fornication, through addiction and low self esteem. It weaves through fear and unbelief and it weaves through every situation and every circumstance we face. The scarlet thread continues to draw us together with the God that loves us so much He was willing to weave Himself through all our filthiness and unrighteousness. It is because of that thread that we have the privilege of being adopted as sons. It’s because of the scarlet thread that we have a hope that maketh not ashamed. It’s because of this thread that there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. This thread made the way for us to live free of guilt, shame and judgment. And this thread is what makes us free from Sin.
Let us not underestimate the power of the scarlet thread and its ability to bind together ever area of our lives that feels like it’s falling apart. It can tie together marriages and families; it can mend a broken heart and a broken body. And the scarlet thread, the blood of Jesus can bind together the body of Christ so that it is a garment without spot or wrinkle that will withstand the test of time and the attack of the enemy. There is no place too far, no situation too hard, no amount of distance or sin can keep the blood of Christ from reaching us.
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.
