SACRIFICE AND SATISFACTION

SACRIFICE AND SATISFACTION   Luke 22-23 April 5, 2009 Given by: Pastor Rich Bersett [Index of Past Messages] Introduction Begin with the reading of Luke 22-23 I read that rather lengthy text this morning for a couple of reasons: first, it is the scripture that inspired me a few weeks ago to preach on this topic. Secondly, I wanted us to experience some of the drama of what Jesus went through during the week before His crucifixion, and maybe just a taste of what it was like for Him to know He was the sacrificial lamb prefigured in the historic Jewish Passover meal. Third, I have been impressed with the charge Paul gave to Timothy—“devote yourself to the public reading of scripture, to preaching and to teaching.” The final reason for the long text was that I have a brief message today. I would like to focus my teaching on a single topic—the doctrine of the “substitutionary atonement” of Jesus. Don’t let the multi-syllabic size of that term scare you or put you off. It simply means that when Jesus volunteered to suffer and die, there was a very important reason for it. His suffering and death were in substitution for us. We are the ones who deserve the punishment Jesus took on Himself. He served as our substitute. As Isaiah the prophet put it, Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows … he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities … the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed… (Isaiah 53:4-5) When Jesus went through the agony of what we now call “Holy Week,” it was for the purpose of bringing us healing for our souls. This was God’s plan from the foundation of the world, the Bible tells us, God’s Son taking our place, taking our suffering and death on Himself. In that enormously self-less, loving sacrifice, Jesus paid the price of forgiveness for our sins, mading a way for sinners to be reconciled with Him—restored as friends of God. The Bible word for this manner of being restored to the Father is: ATONEMENT. You don’t need to be a theologian to understand this term; any dictionary will give you a definition similar to this one: “Satisfaction given for wrongdoing; reconciliation through the payment of a debt”. The Bible teaches that sin separates us from God, makes us His enemies. And because our sin offends the holiness of God it also condemns us. The Bible teaches that every soul (or person) who sins will die, physically, spiritually and eternally. The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23) Our sin puts our heavenly Father in a pickle. Because He is perfectly just, He must carry out the sentence of consigning the sinner to hell. But, because He is perfectly loving, He does not want to send sinners to hell (and He tells us so repeatedly in the Word). What could He do? He sent His own Son to pay our debt in order to atone for our sins and guilt, and to thus reconcile us to Him again. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we can be at one with God the Father again. AT-ONE-MENT. The suffering Jesus endured on our behalf was a substitution for us. We should have paid the price of our sins, but out of His great mercy, Jesus suffered vicariously FOR us. Most people have a hard time with the idea that they are sinners. At one level, it is just easier to ignore our guilt and our alienation from God, by either insisting that we are not any worse than others, or by denying the very existence or relevance of God. Of course, our denial doesn’t make the problem go away. Daniel Meyer wrote about his mission trip to Ecuador where he spent a couple of weeks traveling in the mountains among the Quechua Indian people, a large tribe who live in what he described as the most mind-numbing squalor. Disease and disfigured bodies were everywhere, as were the bugs and the horrible stench. Most of the people lived in a hole in the ground and called it their house. They fed themselves on rotten food, the garbage thrown out by others. They were a most unfortunate people—but they didn’t know it. Why? Because all their people lived that way. They had never been given any understanding of what it means to be a healthy human being with an adequate diet and living conditions. So they had no idea what abundance or even minimal subsistence was. Author Dan Meyer suggests that is our problem, too. The reason we think of ourselves as largely innocent people, and not sinners who created the need for a divine Savior to die for us, is because we don’t know how spiritually unwell we are. There is only One who fully understands what life is intended to be—fully satisfying, honoring to God and fulfilling to man. Psalm 14 pictures God looking across the divide, an infinitely larger gap than that between us a the Quechua villagers. The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. But all have turned aside. They have together become corrupt. There is no one who does good, not even one. We are condemned and don’t even know it. Vicarious sacrifices are not anything new. They litter the pages of the Old Testament and are plentiful in the laws of God’s people Israel. In fact, God has throughout history been very interested in knowing this one thing: forgiveness comes through the shedding of blood. That message was designed to prepare humanity for the great, once-for-all blood sacrifice Jesus would make for our sins when the time had fully come. It simply couldn’t be any clearer: Jesus was destined to give His life as a ransom for sinners like us. 2 Corinthians 5:21 - He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Romans 4:5 - He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. A young man said, "It's like a heavenly bank account. As long as I make more deposits than withdrawals, I'm in good shape." It’s another way of denying one’s real spiritual dilemma—just make up a whole new legal system. What he and others need to hear and understand is that the very first time he made a withdrawal, the account was emptied and closed forever. He’ll think that is a bit harsh, but we don’t make the rules; God does. The truth is not easy to take, but the truth is, James says, whoever keeps the whole law and stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. (James 2:10) If you're a believer, your account has been closed, too. But a new one was opened for you in Christ's name. You're wealthy, not from your own deposits; Jesus made you rich. And you can't make another deposit. As Christians we just get the benefits of this new account, living off the interest. Paul the apostle described it as receiving every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3)—all because He has lavished on us the forgiveness of sins, and reconciled us to God. John Muir was a famous explorer and naturalist. In his book, Travels in Alaska, Muir tells an amazing story of the Thlinkit and Sitka Indians, two tribes that eagerly accepted the preaching of the gospel in Alaska in 1879. He writes: The Thlinkit tribes give a hearty welcome to Christian missionaries. In particular they are quick to accept the doctrine of the atonement, because they themselves practice it, although to many of the civilized whites it is a stumbling-block and rock of offense. As an example of their own doctrine of atonement they told Mr. Young and me one evening that 20 or 30 years ago there was a bitter war between their own and the Sitka tribe, great fighters, and pretty evenly matched. After fighting all summer, watching for every chance for a shot, none of the women dared venture to the salmon-streams or berry-fields to procure their winter stock of food. At this crisis one of the Stickeen chiefs came out of his block-house fort into an open space midway between their fortified camps, and shouted that he wished to speak to the leader of the Sitkas. When the Sitka chief appeared, he said: "My people are hungry. They dare not go to the salmon-streams or berry-fields for winter supplies and if the war goes on any longer most of my people will die of hunger. We have fought long enough; let us make peace. You brave Sitka warriors go home, and we will go home, and we will all set out to dry salmon and berries before it is too late." The Sitka chief replied: "You may well say let us stop fighting, when you have had the best of it. You have killed ten more of my tribe than we have killed of yours. Give us ten Stickeen men to balance our blood-account; then, and not till then, will we make peace and go home." "Very well," replied the Stickeen chief, "you know my rank. You know that I am worth 10 common men and more. Take me, and make peace." The noble offer was promptly accepted; the Stickeen chief stepped forward and was shot down in sight of the fighting bands. Peace was thus established, and all made haste to their homes and ordinary work. That chief literally gave himself a sacrifice for his people. He died that they might live. Therefore, when missionaries preached the doctrine of atonement, explaining that when all mankind had gone astray, had broken God's laws and deserved to die, God's son came forward, and, like the Stickeen chief, offered himself as a sacrifice to heal the cause of God's wrath and set all the people of the world free, the doctrine was readily accepted. "Yes, your words are good," they said. "The Son of God, the Chief of chiefs, the Maker of all the world, must be worth more than all mankind put together; therefore, when His blood was shed, the salvation of the world was made sure." God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21) Jesus Christ, the only sinless one gave Himself as our sacrifice and satisfaction before the holy God, and says that if you will trust in Him, he will save you forever. Why would you not say yes to this offer?     [Back to Top]