Advent Pt. 3 Series

Lev. 17.11; Hos. 13.14; Dan. 9.24; Matt. 20.28; Rom 5.11 KJV; 1 Tim. 2.6

A Atonement is a word used in the OT & NT and carries various meanings.

1 Atonement can mean “to cover, to cancel, to offer, effect reconciliation, pay ransom”

a The Jewish feast of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) was a very special day in the life of the people/nation of Israel.

aa On this day, the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and sprinkle blood on the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant (The lamb/goat had probably been raised in Bethlehem, just 5 miles south of the Temple)

bb Reason? To cover/forgive the sins committed in the last 12 months in Israel for one more year.

cc Satan had stolen, destroyed something very precious in the Garden of Eden/ Fall of Man.

b When the priest had completed his task the sins had been forgiven.

aa The Day of Atonement was a day Israel could sense the closeness of God in, on, with them.

bb The sin barrier that had stood between them & God had been, at least temporarily, removed by the application of the blood (Heb. 9.22).

cc At-one-ment with God once more.

2 The whole concept atonement was God’s idea.

a God made Israel aware (1) that they had fallen out of fellowship; (2) I have provided a way for fellowship to be restored through the blood of goats, sheep, & bulls.

b The Word has made it clear to us that we have fallen out of fellowship with God!

aa Isa. 53.6; Rom. 3.23; 1 John 1.8

bb There is nothing we can do about in our own strength, power, goodness, righteousness; someone must do something about our sin for us.

3 If I told you a man from Europe left someone $15 million to an American you give too much thought to it.

a If I told you he left you the money you all of a sudden get very interested and want to know all about it!

b We are likely to think that Jesus died for sinners, everybody and for nobody in particular.

aa In reality, we see that Jesus died for us individually, personally . . . we get a lot more interested.

bb 1 Cor. 15.3; Heb. 9.15; 1 Peter 3.18

B Gal. 4.4-5, Jesus has been sent to pay our ransom; tear down the walls of sin that separate us from God.

1 Our understanding of Christ’s nature is imperative to understand His atoning work.

a Jesus is both God & Man. (Simultaneously)

aa He is the eternal, preexistent Second Person of the Trinity; He is God in the same sense/degree as the Father.

bb Being human didn’t subtract from His divinity; didn’t give up His divinity. FULLY GOD.

cc And, Jesus was one of us! (W/o sin, fault) Suffered, struggled the same way we do.

dd His death was enough to atone all of humanity. (Your/my death couldn’t do that!)

b Jesus’ death meant more than ours (or anyone elses) because as God, Jesus didn’t have to die.

aa In dying he did something which God wold never have to do. He wasn’t dying for Himself, He laid down His life for my life.

bb He didn’t just die for me, He died instead of me! (Not just a good example for me to follow, but He was my sacrificial lamb from Bethlehem.)

2 The cross is a fitting symbol of the atonement, for it represents two attributes/facets of God’s nature.

a Holiness of God & Love of God.

b Holiness requires payment of the penalty; love provides the payment. (John 1.29)

C In 1972, a shepherd had brought his sheep into a walled-off, enclosed area for the night, and he had just gone to sleep when he heard a commotion.

1 He quickly discovered that a wolf had snuck in and was trying to drag off one of the shepherd’s sheep through a small hole in the wall. (Blood & fur were flying everywhere.)

a The shepherd immediately began hitting the wolf and then the wolf turned on him: began biting & attacking the shepherd.

aa The wolf bite the shepherd over and over while the shepherd was beating the beast with his staff.

bb Finally, with one final blow of his staff he killed the wolf as he himself collapsed into a bloody heap.

b He managed to pull himself over to the half-dead sheep, bandaged the lamb’s wounds, gave it some water, took the lamb in his own bloody arms and shepherd and sheep went to sleep together.

aa The next morning the shepherd was found dead, with his body literally draped over the sheep to comfort it/keep it warm.

bb The following day the headline in the Jerusalem Post was “Sheep Alive, Covered in Shepherd’s Blood.”