Jesus Is the Lamb of God
By Pastor Ed Hedding
When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the Tent of Meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat's head. He shall send the goat away into the desert in the care of a man appointed for the task. The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a solitary place; and the man shall release it in the desert. Leviticus 16:20-22
As we reflect on the significance of Good Friday, one of the stories of the Old Testament brings home to me the significance of Jesus being the lamb led to slaughter to pay for the sins of the world. In the verses we read for today, we see Aaron, the High Priest, the representative of God’s people before God, going before the Lord on the Day of Atonement. This day was commemorated once a year as the High Priest would make atonement for all the sins of the people of Israel. On that day, he would go by himself into the Holy of Holies to meet directly with God with a blood sacrifice.
The significance is that he would take two goats. He would use one for the sacrifice and the other would have blood sprinkled on it while the sins of the people were ceremoniously placed on the goat’s head. The live goat would be driven out of the tabernacle into the streets and then driven out of camp. In later years, this would be done in the temple and the goat would be driven out of the streets of Jerusalem and then beyond the walls of the city. Tradition says that a relay team of couriers would drive the goat into the wilderness, even over a cliff some say, to its death. The couriers would then relay back the message by yelling “It is finished” in Hebrew, then another one would say to another, “It is finished.” The people of Jerusalem would be gathered along the wall of the city waiting to hear the last courier repeat the message, “It is finished,” and then the people would celebrate with song and shouting because Yahweh had forgiven them of their sins for another year.
Jesus hung on that cross more than 2,000 years ago in excruciating pain and suffering as the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. When He gave up His life by saying “It is finished,” He was saying God’s payment for sin was satisfied and forgiveness was available to all who would believe on His name. He was the final sacrifice for sins, the final payment that would satisfy God’s righteous anger.
So we should rejoice today in the finished work of Christ on the cross. The Greek word tetelestai (It is finished) that Jesus used is one that means an action was finished with continuous results in the future. His act on the cross paved the way for us to celebrate the permanent forgiveness of our sins, when we come to Jesus at the foot of the cross and claim His royal blood to cover over our sins. When God looks on the believer’s sin, He sees our wickedness covered by His Son’s blood, and that satisfies God’s judgment and gives us the relationship we so desire and He desires to have with us.
May we focus on the significance of the words Jesus shouted on the cross:
It is finished!
Lord, thank You for being willing to lay down Your life as the sacrificial lamb on my behalf. May I walk in confidence in a relationship with You knowing that You have forgiven and will forgive all my sins as I confess them to You.
No comments:
Post a Comment