This time of year we reflect on the sacrificial death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, King Jesus. If you’ve been in Christian circles for a while, sometimes the language we use can lose its meaning and impact. Without understanding the cultural/historical context of Jesus’ day, his sacrifice can too easily be abstracted away to cliché theological truths. What does it really mean to say Jesus’ sacrifice saves us from our sins?
Aiming Arrows
First off, what is “sin”? Often, people boil this down to doing something morally wrong, a deviation from what God (or the majority of society) deems right. In the Bible, one common word translated “sin” is hatah, an archery term that literally means “to miss the mark”. That begs the question: what target or goal are we aiming for, and how do we hit it?
Romans 3:23 aptly states, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” When we sin, we undermine the reality of God’s weighty significance by missing out on the relationship he wants to have with us. To fire the arrows of our lives on target, we need a trajectory to follow. The Hebrew word for firing an arrow is yarah, which is the root for the word torah, meaning instruction or teaching (often translated “law”). God has given us his Torah to guide our lives to be in a right relationship with him.
Rules of a Relationship
But you might ask, “Isn’t the Torah just a bunch of ancient rules? What does that have to do with us today?” While it’s true that only about a third of the 613 traditionally enumerated laws in the Torah do not have practical application for Gentiles outside the land of Israel today (for a variety of reasons), each of them still radiates God’s wisdom. When we break a commandment, we break our relationship with God.
Consider the 10 commandments. After rescuing Israel from slavery, God proposes to “take you as my own people” (Exodus 6:7), marrying them at Mount Sinai (Exodus 20). Don’t hear these laws as a fun-crushing list of do’s and don’ts; consider them like wedding vows God has made to his people:
- As I loyally loved and rescued you, be loyal to me alone in this exclusive relationship.
- Love me for who I really am, not for how you might imagine or fantasize me to be.
- You reflect my character, so uphold my reputation with the honor and respect it deserves.
- Once a week, I’ve scheduled a special date night for us to spend time together uninterrupted.
- Get along with the extended family, especially your parents: the next generation needs to see this love modeled right.
- And yes, that includes your brother and sister who hate you: please forgive and love even them.
- Our intimacy is a special gift: remain faithful and don’t seek love from anyone else.
- As I generously provide all your needs, be generous with others: there’s no need to take matters into your own hands.
- Don’t play the blame game: honesty and vulnerability with clear, truthful communication makes or breaks a relationship.
- Tell me about your desires so I can give you the abundant life that truly satisfies.
Breaking of Bonds
The first temptation in Eden wasn’t only to break a command but also to break relationship with God. Genesis 1 uses the word Elohim to describe God in the grand cosmic sense (the word can more generally refer to any god or spiritual being). Genesis 2 switches to the relational, covenantal LORD God (Yahweh Elohim). Genesis 3 continues to use God’s relational name, but when the serpent tempts Eve, he asks “Did God [Elohom] really say…?” (Genesis 3:1), as if to say “Who’s that impersonal voice in the sky to boss you around?”
All temptations since have, at their root, been a question of authority. Will I trust my loving Father, who knows what’s best for me, to call the shots, or are these rules impersonal guidelines that I can choose what’s best? Sin has real consequences. How often do we reflect on the grief it causes in our relationship with not trusting Jesus as King?
Conversely, striving to follow all the rules without a real relationship can only get you so far. Yes, your life will be for the better if you live a moral life according to God’s wisdom, but the Christian life is more than doing your “duty” of going to church and giving to charity. Without a heart transformation, how can we right the wrongs we’ve made and restore our relationship going forward?
Presents in His Presence
After God pronounced his wedding vows, he moved into a tent with his people. This Tabernacle was built based on blueprints that reflected God’s heavenly throne room (Hebrews 8:5). God came down to mend the relationship, but the sinful people still could not approach a holy God.
So God instituted a system of sacrifices that allowed people to draw near. The word most commonly translated “sacrifice”, korban, literally means “that which is brought near” (an offering). The smoke of a roasting animal going up into the skies symbolically allowed the worshipper to come near to God’s holy presence.
While the people were now closer to God, how did an animal’s death rectify their relationship with God? Some suggest that before Jesus came to earth, people were saved by these sacrifices, but Hebrews 10:4 clearly states “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” Instead, many of these offerings were for thanksgiving or mending relationship with others (what better way to celebrate than with a barbeque!). Sacrifices only atoned for sins with repentance. The sacrifices allowed the worshipper to approach holy God, covering their sins, and their repentance restored the relationship.
Salvation in Sacrifice
At best, Levitical sacrifices could cover over (atone) an offense. Only God can completely forgive and remove sins. All the chocolates and roses in the world are no substitute for having a healthy relationship with your significant other. Remember how the Tabernacle had heavenly blueprints? A lamb’s blood can’t fix our relationship, but the Lamb of God offered in the heavenly Tabernacle can (Hebrews 9:11-14).
To be “saved” means applying salve to our relationship with God for him to rescue us from our sin. The sacrifices we offer and effort we make won’t heal; only Jesus’ blood is the effective antidote for our souls. While the revelation of this salvation has grown over time, the means have remained constant. Before Jesus, salvation was trusting in what God would do; after Jesus, salvation is trusting in what God has done. Before Jesus, sins were covered, but after Jesus’ sacrifice, they could be removed.
At the Jesus’ last Passover meal, he took the cup of redemption after the meal and proclaimed, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:20). This new covenant comprises the same laws of God’s wisdom as the old, but no longer are they sterile, external rules on stone tablets. Now God writes his wisdom relationally on our hearts and minds (Jeremiah 31:31-33).
Return to Repentance
As we abide with the Spirit of God who dwells within us, he enables us live in right-relationship with God and others. When life’s arrow veers off course, the Spirit’s wind blows us back on target. In fact, that’s literally what the word “repentance” is: to turn or return in direction.
That fateful night 2000 years ago, Jesus purchased your life from slavery to sin and restored his relationship with you by offering himself in the heavenly tabernacle so you can draw near to him. Will you grant him authority to guide the arrow of your life? Only then can you hit the target of who God made you: a beloved child of the eternal King.
May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13: 20-21