Reading Plan
25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. (TNIV)
These two verses explain to us how God was able to make things right with people in Christ and also why He had to sacrifice His son.
God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement. Some of the older translations render hilasterion (sacrifice of atonement) as a "propitiation" which would carry with it a sense turning away the wrath of God, but that doesn't appear to be how the people in Rome would have understood it, especially the Jews in the crowd. For the Jew, hilasterion referred to the "atonement cover" of the ark. The ark was the symbol of the presence of God for the Israelites, and sacrificial blood from animals would be sprinkled on the cover as a means of forgiveness of the sins of the people. While "propitiation" leans toward the wrath of God being the central force that needed to be appeased, "atonement" places forgiveness of sins at the forefront. Both agree that Jesus was the trigger for cleaning our sin-slate and reconnecting with God, though. How does your rendering of this verse could impact your actions and how you see God?
He did this to... The rest of this passage explains why God had to give His own Son as a sacrifice. In the time prior to Jesus, God didn't punish sins with full severity. Because of His mercy, He "passed over" the sins because there had not been an adequate sacrifice to atone for them. By doing this, He acted against His character of holiness, which would have required a sacrifice. By sending Jesus, He gives Himself as that sacrifice. STUNNING! The God of this universe chooses to give his people a bit of a pass for their sins, and then steps up to the plate and takes their sin on Himself. Can you feel the weight of this? His name was on the line here. We tend to see God in the Old Testament as a God of Wrath and destruction, but that just isn't the case.
As I grew up as a Christ-follower, I was taught that Jesus' death was an appeasement of the wrath of God and instead of me absorbing that wrath, Jesus took it for me. While this is true, this is not the only analogy for the sacrifice and only holding to that view can create a very judgmental view of sin and others. I have come to see other analogies that serve to give me a more robust understanding of the event we celebrate on Sundays. In Christ,
- God reconciles us - a relational view of our reconnection to God.
- God adopts us - a family understanding of things being set right between us.
- God sanctifies us - a cultic phrase implying a cleansing of our sin.
To see the various analogies active in this passage broadens our view. If God is only appeasing His wrath in this passage, then we miss the grace and mercy. If God is simply offering forgiveness of sins, we miss the severity of the sin and the violation against God that sin is. To understand both balances our view of God and necessitates the "atonement cover" as a means to provide an appeasement and an atonement for our sins. This is huge. Understanding this keeps us balanced in our view of God in our world today.
Did I go to academic today? What was the primary cause for Jesus' death that you learned in the past? Was one more dominant? If so, how did that impact the church where you learned from?
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