Easter through Cain and Abel

Easter is a celebration of Jesus Christ, His death on the cross on Easter Friday and His resurrection on Easter Sunday. 1 Peter 3:18 tells us that Christ died once for all sins, past present and future. Upon his death upon the cross Christ shouted ‘It is finished!’ He had won. He had defeated death. As Christ was perfect, He was the ultimate sacrifice, sufficient to pay for the sins of all forevermore. No longer were insufficient animal sacrifices in the Temple required.

Easter Friday is all about the crucifixion and the ultimate and marvelous sacrifice made. Easter Saturday is the time when Christ descended into the earth, to proclaim His victory over death in Hades and to preach to those saints who had died before Christ had come and to take them to heaven (see the article ‘when heaven was empty’ for information on this). Easter Sunday is all about life. Through Christ’s resurrection we may have life. If you are a BAC with Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour then you have been through everything that Christ has been through, in Him. You have died to sin, and through the power of God you have risen, through Him. Now you are seated at the right hand of God, through Him. It is finished. You have fought the good fight, you have finished the race, you have kept the faith! (2 Timothy 4:7).

Whilst Christmas is supposed to be about the birth of Christ, Easter is about the death and resurrection of Christ and the fulfilment of Scripture! (As a child, I used to get very confused. People told me that Jesus was around 33 years old when he died, yet I couldn’t understand why there was only 4 months between His birth in December and His death in April!!).

As we know, everything in the OT points to Christ, who He is, what He would do, what He will do and how it will come to pass. Let’s look at the story of Cain and Abel as an illustration of why we need Christ.

Genesis 4:3- 5 And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. 4 Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, 5 but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

Why was Cain’s offering not acceptable to the Lord? From Sunday school most learn that it is because Cain did not give his best, whilst Abel gave the best of his flock, the firstborn. This is incorrect. To find the answer we must turn quickly to the book of Leviticus.

Leviticus 17 concerns the Sanctity of Blood. The bible tells us that blood is life. Leviticus 17:11 “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’”.

Leviticus 16 concerns the Day of Atonement. On this day a sacrifice is made by the High Priest for the sins of the nation of Israel. The sacrifice is a blood offering. Leviticus 16:27 tells us “The bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place…”

Blood is life, and it is the blood that cleanses sin and uncleanness. Revelation 7:14 states that those saints who survive the end times have ‘washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb’. It is through Jesus’ perfect blood that we are able to be cleansed of our sin and appear acceptable before God. Through the pouring out of Jesus’ blood on the cross, we are able to claim the words in Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.”.

Returning to the story of Cain and Abel, the reason Cain’s sacrifice was not acceptable to the Lord and Abel’s was is because Cain did not give a blood offering. Psalm 14:3 states: “For all have turned aside, there is none that are good, no not one”. Abel recognized that God is a perfect God and man is sinful. He recognized that it was impossible for a sinner to come into the presence of the holy God and that he must have a mediator (a middle man). The blood of his sacrifice was that mediator. This blood that is life was spilled to make atonement for Abel’s sin and to make him momentarily clean before the Lord. Cain on the other hand did not come before the Lord through a mediator. He came in his own strength and pride, thinking that he was good enough to come before the Lord without a mediator. This is why Cain’s offering was not acceptable to the Lord.

As BAC’s our mediator is the blood of Christ, spilled out on the cross to make atonement for our sins. If we come before God through Christ, our mediator, God will be pleased with us and invite us in with open arms. However, in today’s world there are so many like Cain. There are so many who think that they are ‘good’ in their own right. Maybe by man’s standards they are good, however by God’s standard they are not. There are none that are good, no not one. Isaiah 57:12 tells us that The Lord will even “declare your works and your righteousness, for they will not profit you.” With these folk, God will not be pleased and they will not be able to come into the presence of God.


If we want to come into the presence of God, we must accept Christ as our mediator. We must accept that we are not good compared to God and that it is futile for us to attempt to earn God's favour through 'good' works. We need Christ. What happened at Easter 2,000 years ago made it possible for us to be seen as spotless before God - spotless in Christ. Let us celebrate Easter by remembering and taking on board what it is Christ has done for us, and why we are able to gain God's forgiveness through Christ.

Happy Easter

-BACChristian