JESUS, SACRIFICE AND
THE SALVATION
The Rev. Harold Shepherd, CD, M.A., S.T.M., LL.B., LL.M.,
Ph.D.
Sermon from November 16, 2003
And every priest stands day after day
at his service, offering again and again the same
sacrifices that can never take away sins. But when Christ
had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins,
“he sat down at the right hand of God”…
For by a single offering he has perfected for all time
those who are sanctified. Hebrews
10:11-14
The New Testament writers use a number of different images
to help interpret the significance of Jesus’ death on
the cross. For example, Mark says that Jesus did not come
to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom
for many (Mark 10:24). This language refers to the practice
of paying money to obtain a person’s release from
slavery. Like allusions to Israel’s exodus from
Egypt, it evokes the idea of liberation from the dominion
of sin and death and rebirth into the Kingdom of God. Paul
refers to Christ as our Passover- the lamb whose blood
keeps away the angel of death.
Today’s reading from the Letter to the Hebrews
interprets Jesus’ death in light of the sacrifices
offered for the forgiveness of sin in the Jerusalem Temple.
In addition to regular sin offerings, the High Priest would
go into the inner sanctuary once a year on the Day of
Atonement (Yom Kippur) to atone for the sins of the nation.
There is a certain degree of academic debate about the
significance of the various types of sacrifices in the
Hebrew Bible. Does the sacrificial animal symbolically take
the place of the person offering it through substitutional
atonement? Or, given that Leviticus teaches that the life
of the animal is in the blood, is this a form of offering
life to God that he may look favourably on us- a form of
transaction by which forgiveness is obtained in exchange
for the offering? Alternately, does blood that is used to
sanctify the altar and the Temple also serve to sanctify
us, given that life is in the blood? Be this as it may, a
clear connection was made between various types of
sacrifice and forgiveness of sins. However, they all dealt
with past sins, not future ones. For this reason, the Day
of Atonement needed to be repeated every year to atone for
the nation’s sins committed during the previous year.
Similarly, individuals needed to go to the Temple
periodically to make atonement for their personal sins. The
sacrificial system was administered in Jerusalem by priests
and Levites who also authored the Book of Leviticus. Their
emphasis was forgiveness of sin through sacrifice. However,
this is not the only means of obtaining forgiveness
presented in the Hebrew Bible. Time and time again, the
prophets of Israel pointed out national sin and called for
repentance. If the people complied, God would turn away his
judgement and spare the nation. In this context,
forgiveness was dependant on repentance, amendment of life
and obedience to God. Israel did not need to wait until the
Day of Atonement to sort things out with God. From this we
can see that sacrificial and prophetic traditions of Israel
worked harmoniously together most of the time, but not all
of the time. There are some examples of prophets
proclaiming that God wants obedience, not sacrifice.
The writer of the letter to the Hebrews does not believe
that the Temple sacrifices were really able to forgive sin.
Jesus’ death is interpreted in two ways. First, it is
a one-time event that has atoned for our sins. God will
remember them no more. Second, “we have confidence to
enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and
living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that
is, through his flesh)- Hebrews 10:19-20. Here the writer
alludes to the Day of Atonement when the High Priest enters
the sanctuary with sacrificial blood to atone for the sins
of the nation. Through Jesus’ blood shed on the
cross, all of God’s people have direct access to his
presence. The veil that separated us from him has been torn
apart. We can now behold his glory. The sacrificial and
prophetic traditions of Israel have been fulfilled in
Christ. God has now written his law in our hearts by the
Holy Spirit (Heb. 10:16, quoting from Jeremiah 33). This
inner transformation and rebirth combines something we do
-believe and repent, with something God does- forgive us
and empower us for service. Reconciliation with God is not
an end in itself (as for example, obtaining fire insurance
for the after-life), but rather a new way of relating to
God, to the world, and to others. When the veil of
separation is torn, we recognise not only the face of God,
but also his face in others created in his image. We can
never see the world through the same eyes. We now see
God’s world and the signs of his presence and love
around us and in us. Thanks be to God!