03/31/2024
(Long post for those who don’t care about Easter, doubt Jesus, or don’t fully understand what it’s all about. It’s ok.)
——-
Many, many people don’t understand the concept of the death of Jesus even though they’ve heard the story, wear a cross around their neck, dress up and attend Easter Sunday services, and even seek to follow Jesus and his teachings.
We are far removed from the culture of Jesus’ day when death and blood shed were daily occurrences. Everyone saw animals die even on a daily basis, often at their very own hands as part of their food preparation. For Jews, the death of an animal was also fitted into a religious doctrine and part of their understanding of God’s design for the order of life and justice. Never ever did an animal walk up a d request to be the next meal. In Jewish practice the sacrifice of various animals signified the model of justice for humanity. That guilt brought repercussions, a ripple effect that could never be avoided, affecting untold numbers of other people in a myriad of devastating consequences. To magnify how sin damages humanity, a flawless (“spotless”) lamb would be required to be surrendered at a cost, to be handed to the priest, as a “substitute” for the guilty person. It was a somber, sad practice that was meant to sting. One who longed to be at peace with God after feeling guilty for an attitude of rejecting God in order to grasp the folly of sin was prescribed the sacrifice of the young lamb. Seeing that animal suffer and die was a striking, startling, sobering moment that was meant to catalyze severity of rejecting God, even if for a moment of self pleasure. Blood would flow, innocence was forced to surrender to justice at no fault of the animal. Sin equals death. That was picture. And it actually was designed at the very beginning with Adam and Eve who sinned and immediately saw they were running around naked. When God came to visit with the first couple they hid from him out of shame. God asked why they were hiding and they admitted they were naked despite throwing together some hastily made “clothes” made out of vines. God said that the only way to “cover” their shame was to destroy the innocent life of an animal. He made clothes for them out of a lamb—and the imagery was born; Justice demands satisfaction of a substitution to cover the error and to bring a sort of resolution to the imbalance brought into perfect order God created.
Fast forward to the time of Jesus when his cousin explains the whole reason for the life of Jesus: “Look everyone! There it is—Jesus—the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!”
Why would God take the perfect person, born for peace, and the healing of humanity, and crush and bruise that perfect lamb? It was because Jesus, who was God, manifested in the flash, became the first perfect, innocent sacrifice, that willingly, voluntarily surrendered itself to take on the guilt of the guilty. Jesus, death was more than just this sacrifice, because in the first time in the history of humanity, Jesus was not subject to death. It could not rule over him, because he had no such judgment upon him. That’s what made this sacrifice the ultimate and FINAL SACRIFICE: this perfect Lamb would die and then KEEP LIVING. It is a perpetual gift from the innocent to the guilty. The Judge paid the price and made a declaration: “It is finished!” (The actual term in the Greek is “it has been PAID.” It was said at the completion of a transaction when full payment has been received. But the resurrection proved two things at least: the innocence of Jesus because death was voluntary. At the apex of his pain and doubt (Jesus saw only what God wanted him to see, just like us) Jesus said to his Father who was in control “into your hands I put my life; it’s not my will that matters, but yours.” And his heart stopped beating—voluntarily. From that moment Jesus went on a covert rescue mission, to make proclamations of finality to the underworld where the villains, instigators, and accusers of humanity were imprisoned and where captives were being held—some in darkness and some in a place called Abraham’s Bossom—a waiting room for the new transaction to be completed. After three days Jesus’ spirit came back to his body that was miraculously restored and renewed and for the next 40 days Jesus made his final plans to put his followers in charge of his new covenant (the new system).
Today, this moment, Jesus (who is called the Great High Priest), has put to rest the old system of animal sacrifices and is SEATED (job is complete) and constantly proclaims our innocence even though we are “guilty.” The fact that Jesus conveys his righteousness on we who confess that he is our “peace with God” revolutionizes the way we see his death.
