Good News for All

Jesus willingly chose to die on our behalf. His life was the price paid to buy us out of slavery to Satan. His example demonstrates how to serve God, by denying ourselves and dedicating our lives to God's eternal purpose. God loves all his creation and desires that no one should perish. Our sins are an obstacle because God is also just, and as Judge he is responsible for the well being of all his creation. He cannot allow sin to cause harm and spread corruption without consequence.

Jesus the Lamb of God

The Bible compares Jesus to an innocent and perfect lamb sacrifice. The Passover lamb, whose blood was placed on the doorposts of Jewish homes in Egypt, was a sacrifice by means of which those Jews escaped from bondage. Similarly Jesus became the way through which all of mankind can escape from the bondage of sin that keeps us under the influence of Satan.

• John 1 29, 36 "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
• 1 Cor 5:7 "Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed."
• Rev 15:3 "they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb".

Jesus entered Jerusalem on the same day that the High Priest brought the Passover lamb into the city, and through the same gate. He was crucified at the Passover on the first day of the Feast, the same day the Passover lamb was killed.

His Life a Ransom

In the ancient world kidnapping was common and those who were valued for their wealth or status were held for ransom. Even Julius Caesar became a kidnap victim, when on a journey from Rome to Asia Minor, and was ransomed. Furthermore, God made a special claim on every firstborn of Israel, as representatives of the entire nation, and they were fated to die in the absence of redemption or a substitute.

• Exodus 13:13 "every firstborn of an ass you ransom with a lamb, and if you do not ransom it, then you behead it: and every firstborn of man among your sons you ransom."
• 1 Timothy 2:6 "who [Jesus] gave himself as a ransom for all"
• Matthew 20:28 "the Son of Man [Jesus] did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many"

We have been taken captive by Satan, snared in temptation and sin, held apart from God and subject to death (Ezekiel 18:20 "the soul who sins shall die"). The payment for sin was death. His life is what Jesus paid on the cross as our ransom, so we could go free and be reunited with God.

Substitute

Jesus came as the firstborn and dearly loved Son and Messiah to substitute for us. We deserved to die because of our sins, but Jesus took our place. He demonstrated the love of God that he taught, when he became a willing and perfect sacrificial substitute. The cross was where God registered his extreme disapproval of sin showing that he is determined to punish sinners and will not be soft on sin. The Son of God was found a worthy substitute, and a satisfactory payment was made. God can forgive our sins on condition we repent, without subverting the justice of his moral government over creation, because he took on himself the burden of our just punishment.

Jesus the High Priest

The priesthood of Israel acted as intermediaries between God and the people. The High Priest in particular represented the nation before God, offering prayer and sacrifices on behalf of the people. He was the spiritual leader of the nation, speaking on behalf of God to the people, and responsible for the administration of God's law. Every year on a special day called Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) the High Priest of Israel was to enter the presence of God behind the veil in the Temple, and offer sacrifices to cover the sins of the entire nation. This involved the blood of bulls and goats and was effective for just one year.

Jesus is compared and contrasted with the Aaronic High Priest in Hebrews 7 and 8. As Messiah he is the eternal spiritual leader for all nations. He brought his own blood to the altar of the cross, offering up himself as the final sacrifice. He did not just cover sins for a year, he removed them for eternity. When he died the Temple veil was torn from top to bottom, revealing the presence of God openly now that sin had been atoned, and making a way for every one of us to enter the presence of God directly. He is now in Heaven in the presence of God as our mediator. You have Jesus to represent you before the Throne, and he also speaks through the Bible direct to your heart on behalf of his Father.

 Victor

The cross of Christ looked like a defeat, but it was in fact a great victory over Satan. Death did not defeat Jesus. He rose from the grave in triumph. He has the power to enable you to overcome death in all its forms. When you place your trust in Jesus, he will give you a new heart. With his help, you can be victorious over your past, over sin, and over temptation.

 Example

Jesus did not attack his enemies or kill them with a sword. Instead, he taught love, humility, meekness, prayer and dependence on God. He overcame evil with good, and pursued the heart of his Father with willingness and enthusiasm. That pursuit led to the cross, where he demonstrated the things he had been teaching.

Faced with the cross he willingly embraced death, confident that the reward of his trust in the will of God would far exceed the suffering. Jesus calls us to follow his example, take up our cross (Luke 9:23) and follow him. However challenging this may seem, know that you cannot out-give God, that the reward will far exceed what you imagine you might lose.