Jesus’ Sacrifice For Your Sins Has Depth Spanning over 1000 years
May the Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always.
When I go to church, or hear people preaching the word of the Lord on the street, it is taught, that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world. This is a line that we keep saying without realising it’s true meaning. This article will deep dive into Jesus’ sacrifice, what it meant at the time, and what it means for us today.
The first thing to understand is his sacrifice for us, and what exactly was it. You see, after Jesus Christ was born, he was placed into a manger, and a manger was where sacrificial lambs would be placed into to be sacrificed as an atonement of sin in Jewish tradition. He was placed into the manger as he was the sacrifice of our sins. That is why we sometimes call Jesus the “The Lamb of God” as a lamb is symbolic of sacrifice. The second point about Jesus’ birth and where he was born. He was born in Bethlehem, as foretold by the prophet Micah, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Bethlehem was one of the main places from which sacrificial lambs were found and brought to Jerusalem. In case you are wondering, a sacrificial lamb was generally spotless so that is how one could identify them.
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The next thing we need to understand is Jesus when he is sent to Pontius Pilate to be crucified. Under Roman law at the time, Pontius wasn’t legally allowed to kill Jesus — since he was 100% innocent and hadn’t done anything wrong. So in attempt to keep the peace, Pilate decided to scourge Jesus; at a pillar, so then the Jews could keep their peace. So Jesus was scourged. Beaten up to a pulp. They whipped him. They hit him. He was stripped of his clothing, tied to a post, and flogged with a flagellum (a whip with multiple leather lashes studded with bone or metal). However, what Pilate thought would calm down the crowds, only made them more angry. They wanted him killed. So Pontius Pilate ordered crucifixion for Jesus, put on two pieces of wood, pierced nails through his wrists and feet, and mocked him with a crown of thorns on his head. Jesus then had to carry his own cross, which would have weighed about 50kg, for about 6 hours, after being beaten, whipped, and lashed at.
On top of all the physical pain Jesus endured, being innocent mind you, he also suffered the spiritual pain. HE died for the sins of the world. This is the critical detail — not for the sins of those who believed that he is the Son of God, or not just for the sins of his apostles, or those who repented for their sins, but FOR THE SINS OF THE WORLD. All the sins of the world. Your sins. My sins. Every single person that you know, and every single person that I know. Every single person that walked beside you on the street today. And every single human being that I’ve ever seen with my own eyes. Every. Single. Person.
In Deuteronomy 31:6, God says to us: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” But the Father, left the Son. God the Father, forsaked the God the Son. It is written in Matthew 27:46: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”. Jesus literally experienced abandonment from the Father which symbolises the agony he went through as he bore the sins of humanity. In this line Jesus directly quotes the opening line of Psalm 22, a prophetic descrpition of the crucifixion. The Book of Psalms was first written around the 15th Century BC, so Jesus was directing observers to the full context of the psalm.
The next thing we need to understand is that God let out all of his wrath on Jesus Christ, his only begotten son. In the times of Moses, the lawgiver of God to all the Jews, God had trust with Moses. God told him to speak to a rock, and water would flow from it. Moses, however, on this one instance simply didn’t believe that water would actually flow from a rock. So to punish Moses for his sin against God by not believing in God’s powers, he promised that Moses would not enter the Promised Land (the land of Israel, where the Messiah would come from). Also, in the times of King David. David, with the power of God, defeated a 9 foot 9 inch giant called “Goliath”, who defied Israel and Yahweh. However, with the power of God beside him, he committed adultery, and God punished him for this by killing his pregnant wife’s child. Lastly, Zechariah was the father of John the Baptist, and God told him, even at such an elderly age, that his wife would give birth. He did not believe God, and God punished him for his disbelief by making him mute until the John was born. In all these examples, God punished those who sinned again him before the Messiah had arrived, and after he came, he took our punishment with him.
We never realise the depth of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. For you, and for me. He took away the sins of the whole world, so that whoever believes in his power may have eternal glory in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus was born humbly in Bethlehem, laid in a manger, showing that God chose to enter the world not in power but in humility and love. It becomes clear why His sacrifice was so powerful. When Jesus was forsaken, He took upon Himself the punishment that humanity deserved, turning judgement into mercy. His life and death fulfilled God’s promise of redemption, proving that love was stronger than sin. In this, Jesus became the lasting hope for forgiveness and restoration for all people.
May the Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with you always.
