When my son had learned to drive and was about to get his first car, we didn’t have enough money saved to purchase a vehicle that we felt provided adequate reliability and safety. As a result, I decided to sell my SUV. The problem was, the dealership offered me a few thousand dollars less than its value. My first thought was, “No way!” But my wife and I would rest better knowing that he was in a vehicle that was safe and reliable. So I made the sacrifice and decided to sell my SUV. While I often think about that SUV, it is with little remorse, because it allowed us to purchase a vehicle for our son that was exactly as we expected!
Every day in Israel, the Levitical priest offered a sacrifice for the sins of the people after first offering a sacrifice for himself. The priest carried one of the most important job functions in the Israelite community. Although there were other parts of his job, this was most significant because it responded to the human condition of sin.
True Sacrifice
Webster defines sacrifice as an act of offering to a deity something precious. When we think of sacrifice today, we don’t usually reflect on it in this sense. Instead we think of it in terms of suffering an inconvenience or selling something for less than its value like I did with my SUV.
In the Old Testament, the Israelites offered a precious lamb that had no imperfections as a sacrifice so they could obtain forgiveness for their offenses against God’s Law. The idea was that there would be a transfer of suffering and death from the offender to the sacrifice.
A Necessary Sacrifice
This sacrifice was necessary because the penalty for man’s sin is death under God’s law. The Bible says in Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death. . . .” Under God’s law, there was no forgiveness for sin without the shedding of blood. Because of God’s love for Israel, He provided a sacrificial offering for them.
God likewise extended His love to us by providing a sacrificial lamb for our sins in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ. It was through Jesus’ death that all who accepted Him as Savior would receive eternal life! When He died, God transferred our sins to Him. This is how we have redemption and the forgiveness of our sins through the shedding of His blood.
The Perfect Sacrifice
History records many who sacrificed their lives for others. We would call them martyrs or heroes. While their sacrifices cannot be disputed, like Israel’s Levitical priest, they were not perfect sacrifices because these people were sinners. On Easter Sunday, we celebrate much more than the deeds of a martyr or hero. We celebrate the One without sin who gave His life so that we would receive eternal life upon accepting Him and His sacrifice on Calvary. What does this have to do with Easter? Unlike other martyrs or heroes, after three days in the grave, JESUS ROSE AGAIN!
If you would like to know how to receive this eternal life through Him, please click on the link below. Accepting Him will allow you to see Easter as you’ve never seen it before!
Article by Dr. L.W. Edwards
*To learn how you can have eternal life, please click here.
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