Today
is a significant day in Christendom, a day Christians worldwide are
commemorating the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.
A lot of things that have been written on the significance of today usually
refer to it as Good Friday; others have come to call it Passover as the former
has pagan roots. This post will focus on the fact that Jesus is the one and
only acceptable sacrificial Lamb of God.
Let
us look at what sacrifice means? Sacrifice
in ordinary lay language means “to give up, to forgo, let go, surrender”. But according
to Strong’s concordance it is called “zâbach or zebach” in Hebrew which means “to
slaughter an animal, kill, offer, slay (the victim or the act). In other words,
it is not just slaughtering or killing an animal but also any act or attempt to
slay or offer a victim is a sacrifice too.
In
Greek, it also means the same thing; it is called “thusia” which means “the act
or the victim” whether used literally or figuratively. It is also called “thuo”
which is a verb meaning to “rush (breathe hard, blow, smoke) and it implies “to
sacrifice by rushing through fire” and by extension “to immolate [set ablaze]
for whatsoever reason”.
In
other words a sacrifice is a physical way of communing with God by killing a
victim as an offering or by atonement. It involves shedding the blood of the
victim or an attempt to slay, kill the victim. God Almighty was the first to
institute the means of a sacrifice as a mode of worship, adulation or
atonement. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, He had to kill an animal and
used the skin to cover the nakedness of Adam and his wife, Eve. Ever since the
days of Adam and Eve, man has seen it as a way of worshiping God and deferring His
judgment and anger, and mitigating His justice. What then is the significance
of the sacrifice of Jesus on the altar of Calvary? And what is the significance
of His precious blood that was shed?
1 Peter 1:19 AMP
But [you were purchased] with the precious blood of Christ
(the Messiah), like that of a [sacrificial] lamb without blemish
or spot.
The
blood of Jesus actually covers our spiritual nakedness brought about by sin and
clothes us with His glory. This means that Jesus had to be sinless
in order to become a suitable sacrifice. He had to fulfil and keep all the
requirements of the law in the flesh, not as God but as a man. Only then could
He become the final and lasting sacrifice
for the remission of our sins.
Romans
3:25 AMP
(Jesus) Whom God put
forward [before the eyes of all] as a mercy seat and propitiation by His blood
[the cleansing and life-giving sacrifice of atonement and
reconciliation, to be received] through faith. This was to show God's
righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had PASSED OVER and ignored former sins without punishment.
Beloved
most noteworthy, the blood of Jesus is what makes God pass over and ignore our
sin. Thank God for the blood of Jesus. This is why Jesus Christ is regarded as
the one and only sacrificial Lamb of God.
Hebrews 9:14 AMP
How much more surely shall the blood of Christ, Who by
virtue of [His] eternal Spirit [His own pre-existent divine personality] has
offered Himself as an unblemished sacrifice to God, purify our
consciences from dead works and lifeless observances to serve the [ever] living
God?
If
Jesus is the only perfect sacrifice that means there must have been some kind
of forerunner in terms of sacrifices to God. In the Bible, there are several
cases of sacrifices offered to God as a way of worshiping and serving Him. Cain
and his brother, Abel were the first humans on record to make a sacrifice to
God. Noah made a sacrifice to God immediately after the flood for saving
him and his family. There are cases where God instructed man to make sacrifices
to Him. God instructed Abraham to offer his only son Isaac to Him on mount
Moriah but in the end God provided a substitute. He did the same thing for us
with Jesus. God instructed the children of Israel, through His servant Moses to
offer several kinds of sacrifices.
The
Old Testament mentions various sacrifices such as: burnt offerings, fellowship,
grain and guilt offerings as being instituted by God for the reason of
atonement. But none of these modes of sacrifices were a lasting solution to the
sin problem. They did assuage the anger of God but they could never erase or remove
sin from the book of records.
The scripture says in Psalm 49:7-8, “None of them can by any means redeem [either
himself or] his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him-- 8For the
ransom of a life is too costly, and [the price one can pay] can never suffice--” God
because of His love for humanity had to send His only son Jesus Christ to come
and stand as the sacrificial Lamb for the remission of sins.
1 John 4:10 AMP
In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us
and sent His Son to be the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our
sins.
Salvation
required that the Son of God should die and rise from the dead for you and me
to be saved. What a heavy price!
1 John 2:2 AMP
And He [that same Jesus Himself] is the propitiation
(the atoning sacrifice) for our sins, and not for ours alone but also for [the
sins of] the whole world.
Comments
Post a Comment