Hebrews 10:12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God
It doesn’t matter what you’re working on, when you finish, there will be a brief respite and then you will see the need to return to your labor. Whether it’s a weight-loss goal, a home improvement, or just a clean up project, it seems that the work in a real sense is never done.
For well over a thousand years in Israel, one dove, sheep, and bull after another was brought to a priest. The sacrifice was examined for defects. If none were found it was pronounced worthy and the priest killed it and drained its blood in sacrifice. Both the priest and the one who had brought the sacrifice knew an unpleasant truth - it wasn’t going to last. Oh they felt better right then, but the knew that another sacrifice, and another, and another, was going to be needed. There really was no end to it.
Until Jesus came. He came to fulfill the Law. He came, lived, ministered, taught, healed, etc until the time came. He was presented. He was examined for defects. None were found. Pilate said, “I find no fault in this man.” Having been found innocent, He was not released. He was found innocent and by doing so was pronounced worthy. The prophetic words of John the Baptist were being fulfilled. “Behold the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!” He was taken to a cross where His blood was drained in sacrifice. But just before He died, He said, “It is finished.” He wasn’t speaking of His life.
When Jesus died on the cross He did so purposefully. He wasn’t just the helpless victim of a plot. He came to die. He took the sins of the world upon Himself and bore them to the cross. We could never be forgiven of our sins. They had to be paid for. The wages of sin is death. It’s the only way. Sin earns death and death will be the just penalty. But Jesus paid that penalty for any that wanted it.
If we don’t accept what He did for us we remain guilty in our sins. We can try various ways of dealing with it. They won’t work. At best, they might make us feel better briefly, but it will all have to be done again. And again. And again.
But if we accept His payment for our sins then we can find true forgiveness. We can be made new and find eternal life in Him. We can truly begin to live for Him. And all of our efforts to pay for our sins or make up for the bad things we’ve done? We can agree with Jesus, “It is finished!”
Blessings,
Pastor Russ
