Human beings have a fundamental problem.\u00a0 It is a problem some acknowledge and some do not.\u00a0 It is the sinful nature we all have that tends to resist what God wants in our lives.\u00a0 It is one thing to acknowledge the existence of evil in the world, but another thing altogether to face up to evil in your own heart.\u00a0 God led the ancient nation of Israel in a covenant governed under the Law of Moses.\u00a0 There were elaborate procedures for atoning for sin and dealing with what was called “uncleanness.”\u00a0 Reading about all this in Leviticus you think to yourself, “How did they do all this?”\u00a0 It would have been a tough thing to live by.\u00a0 I think the law taught the Israelites about the pervasive nature of sin and how it affects everything we think and do.\u00a0 There are certain important things in Old Testament times that were teaching about atonement and sacrifice for sin, things that point to what Jesus was to do one day.\u00a0 One of these important lessons was the story of Abraham being told to sacrifice his only son.\u00a0 God asked Abraham to do a very tough thing as a test and when it came time to do it, God stopped him and provided a substitute sacrifice.\u00a0 But it raises the issue of how is the life of a ram equal to the life of a man?\u00a0 It isn’t equal, but it was a lesson that God would provide a solution for sin.\u00a0 Another lesson on atonement was an annual practice by the ancient Israelites.\u00a0 It was part of the special annual sacrifices on the Day of Atonement.\u00a0 After other steps were taken to deal with the priests own sins, there was a practice of taking two young goats, sacrificing one and setting the other one free far away in the wilderness.\u00a0 The blood of the sacrificed one was used to ceremonially “cleanse” the altar.\u00a0 The priest put his hands on the other goat’s head and figuratively placed all the sins of the Israelites on that goat, the one that came to be called the scapegoat, and then that goat was taken far away and set free.\u00a0 This teaches the lesson of one individual’s sin being treated as transferred to another and of sin being put away.<\/p>\n
These both bear similarities to what Jesus did in dying for the sins of the world.\u00a0 Like Abraham almost had to do, God gave the life of his only Son.\u00a0 Like the scapegoat, the “spotless” sinless one had our sins laid on him and he was put away as if he was guilty.\u00a0 Imagine being guilty of a crime in which the penalty is death, but after the judge renders a verdict, the judge gets down off the bench and turns himself in to take the penalty for the accused!\u00a0 Then the accused is allowed to go free.\u00a0 We are the\u00a0accused and Jesus took our penalty.\u00a0 How can Jesus death be a\u00a0substitute for the sins of the world?\u00a0 It is because he is both fully God and fully human.\u00a0 Because he is a sinless human, he can die for humans, the just for the unjust.\u00a0 Because he is God, his life is valuable enough to pay the price.\u00a0 Also because Jesus was given all authority in heaven and Earth by God the Father, he had authority to determine his own death.\u00a0 In John 10:18 (NIV)\u00a0Jesus said this about his life and death, “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Jesus’ life and ministry from a worldly natural perspective could appear to be a failure.\u00a0 Jesus was very popular with the masses and he did great miracles.\u00a0 The people of Israel wanted to make him King but he never pursued any political power or economic gain.\u00a0 In the end he was rejected, largely because the Jewish leaders rejected who He was.\u00a0 He was hated in the end enough that the crowds wanted a murderer set free instead of Jesus!\u00a0 Pilate, who was no softy, wanted to release Jesus but he gave in to the pressure from the Jews.\u00a0 Jesus, as the Old Testament said he would do, did not even try to defend himself when he was being tried.\u00a0 Jesus allowed his ministry and his life to end in being rejected by his people and then being crucified like a criminal.\u00a0 It appeared to the disciples and perhaps to the Jewish leaders that the whole thing would have been over after Jesus died.\u00a0 The Jewish leaders had seen other controversial leaders come and go and be forgotten.\u00a0 They may have thought Jesus would have just been another forgotten movement.<\/p>\n But death could not hold Jesus.\u00a0 The solution was for Jesus to go through the suffering first to make atonement, then much later in history He will return to reign as King of the world.\u00a0 Jesus did not give in to Satan’s temptations in life and Satan did not prevent Jesus from his mission.\u00a0 Even though the disciples had trouble understanding and believing what Jesus told them about his death and resurrection.\u00a0 Even though there was a traitor among Jesus twelve disciples, and even though Peter denied that he knew Jesus.\u00a0 None of these things stopped God’s plan.\u00a0 Jesus’ death also did not stop God’s plan, but became a key part of it.\u00a0 When Jesus was on the cross people mocked him because it looked like a defeat.\u00a0 But what was physically like a defeat was spiritually a victory.\u00a0 God’s solution to man’s problem is not intuitive for fallen humans to understand.\u00a0 The resurrection authenticates Jesus as being both God and Man, and proved everything he said about himself to be true.<\/p>\n Because Jesus rose from the dead, it also means he is alive and able today to save those who believe in him.\u00a0 The Jewish leaders could only deal with his resurrection by making up lies and then ignoring the issue.\u00a0 Jesus body was not dumped into a mass grave with other criminals, as some have alleged.\u00a0 That would have made it very easy to refute the Apostles and others who claimed to see him risen from the dead.\u00a0 He appeared to many people over a 40 day period.\u00a0 Jesus also gave believers hope when he said he would be with us always and when he said he was going to prepare a place for us.\u00a0 Jesus defeated Satan by what appeared from a natural human perspective to be a defeat.\u00a0 Since that meant there was an atonement for sin that was sufficient for anyone and everyone, the only remaining thing was for people to hear the good news and believe it.\u00a0 That began the so-called “Church Age,” which we are now in.\u00a0 So for whoever believes, sin no longer has the power to dominate their life.\u00a0 There is power to change, a child-father relationship with God, and purpose for living life.\u00a0 Easter is a rememberance of Jesus resurrection and a reminder of God’s solution to man’s problem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Human beings have a fundamental problem.\u00a0 It is a problem some acknowledge and some do not.\u00a0 It is the sinful nature we all have that tends to resist what God wants in our lives.\u00a0 It is one thing to acknowledge the existence of evil in the world, but another thing altogether to face up to … Continue reading Easter and God’s Solution<\/span>