Bloody Valley

Just a quick picture of Christ's journey toward the cross from John's Gospel: John 18:1 When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. R. Kent Hughes writes, "A drain ran from the temple altar down to the Kidron revine to drain away the blood of sacrifices. At this time of year more than 200,000 lambs were slain. So when Jesus and his band crossed the Kidron, it was red with teh blood of sacrifice." Jesus would have been reminded of the price He was about to pay. After all, He was the "Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world." (John 1:29) In the days between now and Easter, we will do well to think of our Savior's intentional march to the cross - for us. Maybe one way to do this is to think of the bloody Kidron stream each cross a river or stream. Whether the Platte River in Smithville or the Missouri River on our way into Kansas City or smaller, unnamed streams - let them be a moment to reflect on the price paid for our salvation. One more thought: Reading on in John you'll see that Judas led the Romans to Jesus along this same route. To do so he too would have crossed the same blood-red stream. I wonder what he thought... if he noticed it at all?