I have just returned from a trip to England where a friend and I walked part of the Pilgrim Way. The Pilgrim Way is one of the many footpaths throughout England, but it is unique in that it was the path that Christians, for hundreds of years, took as a pilgrimage. For some it was a way to do penance and earn merit with God. For others it was a special time which they used to concentrate on their relationship with God and deepen their spiritual walk. It was a great experience to walk where so many before us had walked. The trail ends at Canterbury at the Canterbury Cathedral where Christians completed their pilgrimage by kneeling at the spot where Thomas Becket was killed by the knights of Henry II. As we walked into the town of Canterbury and entered the great Cathedral there, we, like so many before us, went to the place which marks Becket’s martyrdom. We knelt there to ask God that we would, like Becket, live courageously for him in spite of the powers and pressures of the world.
The story behind the death of Becket is that he was a close friend of Henry II who appointed him to his court. When the position of Archbishop of Canterbury came open, Henry placed Thomas Becket in the position thinking he would do his bidding. But something happened to Becket after he was appointed as spiritual leader of England. He stopped being complacent about his faith. He put politics and luxury behind him. He gave up his former wealth and style of life. And to his peril, he began to oppose the king when it came to differences between the church and the government. He paid the ultimate sacrifice.
But Becket’s willingness to be a martyr for the faith did not earn him a place in heaven. Neither did the pilgrimage to this site, great sacrifice though it was for many of those Christians, earn them merit points with God and celestial favors. The whole point of the Christian faith is that we could never earn our salvation no matter how hard we worked, or how great a sacrifice we could make. Even if we gave our bodies to be burned for the love of Christ, it would not make us one bit more worthy. If we could crawl to Jerusalem on broken glass it would not make us one bit more worthy of heaven. There is only one way that our sins can be taken away — only one sacrifice that is sufficient to atone for our sins. It is the perfect sacrifice of Christ, and this sacrifice makes all other sacrifices unnecessary.
Jesus’ sacrifice was the perfect sacrifice, first of all, because: He was one of us. In Old Testament times God told the people to sacrifice animals as a temporary covering for their sins. It was a temporary plan for the perfect sacrifice that was coming. As they confessed their sins and laid their hands on the head of the animal which was to be sacrificed, they understood that something was dying in their place. They deserved to die, but God was providing a substitute. This sacrificial lamb was to be a picture of the perfect Lamb of God who would come. After the lamb was sacrificed on the altar, the person who offered the lamb would take it home and the whole family would eat the lamb in a sacrificial feast. The sacrifice would actually become a part of them. The sins of the people in Old Testament times were covered as they looked forward to the perfect sacrifice that was coming. Our sins are taken away as we look backward to the perfect sacrifice of Christ.
We are here today to confess our sins and have them placed on the head of the one who was our substitute and sacrifice. Because he died in our place and was offered as a sacrifice for our sins, we partake of his body and blood as we receive the wine and bread of communion. It becomes a part of us as we ingest it. And now, when God sees us, he sees the sacrifice of Christ. We do not come depending on our own ability to make a worthy sacrifice — we know that is impossible — we come depending only on the sacrifice of Christ.
The sacrifice of animals could never take away our sins, except as they were representations of the true and perfect sacrifice of the Lamb of God. An animal could not take away human sins. The perfect sacrifice had to be one of us. The writer of Hebrews puts it like this: “The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming — not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:1-4).
An animal sacrifice would not do for human sin. That is why the Bible says, “For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17).
The second point is that Jesus was the perfect sacrifice because: He was sinless. There was a problem with priests offering sacrifices for the sins of the people — they were sinners just like the rest of the people. Before they could offer sacrifices for anyone else’s sins they had to offer sacrifices for their own sins. They were human like all the rest, but how can one sinner atone for the sin of another sinner? This is why I cannot atone for my own sin, no matter how great the sacrifice, because I am a sinner. A sinful person cannot do something that can take away sin. What we needed was someone who was a part of the human race, but one who was sinless. The prospect looked hopeless. No one could fill this requirement. But God had a plan. He would come to us as one of us, and then sacrifice himself for us. In doing this, he would do something that no one else was able to do — he would become both the priest who would offer the sacrifice, and also become the sacrifice himself. If you could be good enough to get into heaven on your own, then Jesus Christ died for nothing. If you could make a sacrifice sufficient to earn you eternal life, then the sacrifice of Christ was irrelevant.
That is what is meant when the Bible says, “But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:12). He sat down, because his work was complete. He was able to do this because he was sinless. The Bible says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). It says, “Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself” (Hebrews 7:27).
The third point is that Jesus is the perfect sacrifice because: He was deathless. There was one great problem with the Old Testament sacrificial system — when the lamb was sacrificed it died. To be sure it died in the place of the one who had sinned and deserved to die according to the law, but it could not continue to be a sacrifice for the person. Because Jesus Christ is alive, he is able to continually be our living sacrifice before God. The Bible says, “Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our need — one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens” (Hebrews 7:23-26).
During Napoleon’s Austrian campaign, his army advanced to within six miles of Feldkirch. It is a beautiful little village nestled in the mountains of Austria. It looked as though Bonaparte’s men would take the little unprotected town of Feldkirch without resistance. But as Napoleon’s army advanced toward their objective in the night, the Christians of Feldkirch gathered in a little church to pray. It was Saturday night before Easter morning. At sunrise the bells of the village pealed out across the countryside. Napoleon’s army, not realizing it was Easter Sunday, thought that the Austrian army had moved into Feldkirch during the night and that the bells were ringing in jubilation. Napoleon ordered a hasty retreat, and the battle at Feldkirch never took place. The Easter bells caused the enemy to retreat, and peace reigned in the Austrian countryside.
What a wonderful God we have who has put our spiritual enemy in retreat and given us spiritual peace because of the resurrection of Christ. He always lives to intercede for us. Because he lives, our spiritual enemy has not only retreated, he has been totally defeated. We come here today to eat the sacrificial meal of our Perfect Sacrifice who is alive and here with us.
Rodney J. Buchanan
April 14, 2002
Mulberry St. UMC
Mt. Vernon, OH
www.MulberryUMC.org
Rod.Buchanan@MulberryUMC.org
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION (April 14, 2002)
1. Read Hebrews 10:4. Why were animal sacrifices inadequate for the removal of sins? Think of several reasons.
2. The priests had to sacrifice for their own sins before they could sacrifice for the sins of the people. Read Hebrews 4:15. How was Jesus different and why was this important?
3. Read Hebrews 10:1-2, and then read verse10. Pay special attention to the last three words. What important way was Jesus’ sacrifice different from the Old Testament sacrifices?
4. The Old Testament sacrificial system was important because it taught us about what Jesus would do on the cross. How do Jesus’ sacrifice and the sacrificial system of the Old Testament relate to each other?
5. Read Hebrews 10:12. What is significant about Jesus sitting down?
6. Read Hebrews 7:23-26. What important truths is this scripture teaching? What is Jesus doing for us now as the ever-living Sacrifice?
7. Jesus fulfilled two roles at the same time. What were these according to Hebrews 7:27?
8. In the Old Testament the people ate the sacrifice that had been killed in their place. How is this acted out in the church today?
