Part II: Jesus' Sacrifice
For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son,
in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed
but have everlasting life - John 3:16
For God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son,
in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed
but have everlasting life - John 3:16
The opening scripture (John 3:16) is probably one of the most popular and oft-cited scriptures among those who claim to be Christian. Before I begin this post, I would point out that this happens to be a particularly appropriate time for the topic that is to be discussed here (although I had not originally planned it that way). The reason is because this is the time of year that Jehovah's Witnesses begin thinking about Christ's sacrifice, and what it means for humanity. Every year, around Nisan 14 on the Jewish Calendar, Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide gather together at their local places of meeting to commemorate Jesus' death and observe the Lord's Evening Meal.
This year, the observance will be held on April 5. If you are inclined to attend, you can get more information at your local Kingdom Hall. If you are unsure of how to contact your local Kingdom Hall, you may be able to have someone come to your door if you visit the JW website at http://www.watchtower.org/ and click "contact us" at the bottom of the page. You may be more likely to get a quicker response if you mention in the e-mail that you are interested in attending the observance of the Lord's Evening Meal.
This year, the observance will be held on April 5. If you are inclined to attend, you can get more information at your local Kingdom Hall. If you are unsure of how to contact your local Kingdom Hall, you may be able to have someone come to your door if you visit the JW website at http://www.watchtower.org/ and click "contact us" at the bottom of the page. You may be more likely to get a quicker response if you mention in the e-mail that you are interested in attending the observance of the Lord's Evening Meal.
Also, apparently, Robert King will be hosting an online memorial for those interested. Information on that can be found on his website at http://e-watchman.com/.
This observance was established by Jesus himself (Luke 22:19) and it replaced the Jewish observance of Passover. At 1 Corinthians 5:7, Paul likens Jesus to the Passover Lamb to be sacrificed--in this way, the Passover, like the rest of the Mosaic law, had become a "shadow of the good things to come" (Heb. 10:1). In fact, the Bible tells us that the purpose of the Law was "to make transgressions manifest, until the seed [Jesus] should arrive to whom the promise had been made" (Gal 3:19). A little further down, it states, "However, before the faith arrived, we were being guarded under law [emphasis added], [...] Consequently the Law has become out tutor leading to Christ, that we might be declared righteous due to faith. But now that the faith has arrived, we are no longer under a tutor" (Gal. 3:24-25). So, the whole purpose of the law was to teach people of their own sinful nature. In this was, the law is a tutor, and it leads to Christ inasmuch as it was capable of allowing individuals to wipe out individual transgressions through animal sacrifices. This foreshadowed Christ's ability, through his own sacrifice, to wipe out the transgressions of all mankind "once for all time" (Heb. 7:27).
This observance was established by Jesus himself (Luke 22:19) and it replaced the Jewish observance of Passover. At 1 Corinthians 5:7, Paul likens Jesus to the Passover Lamb to be sacrificed--in this way, the Passover, like the rest of the Mosaic law, had become a "shadow of the good things to come" (Heb. 10:1). In fact, the Bible tells us that the purpose of the Law was "to make transgressions manifest, until the seed [Jesus] should arrive to whom the promise had been made" (Gal 3:19). A little further down, it states, "However, before the faith arrived, we were being guarded under law [emphasis added], [...] Consequently the Law has become out tutor leading to Christ, that we might be declared righteous due to faith. But now that the faith has arrived, we are no longer under a tutor" (Gal. 3:24-25). So, the whole purpose of the law was to teach people of their own sinful nature. In this was, the law is a tutor, and it leads to Christ inasmuch as it was capable of allowing individuals to wipe out individual transgressions through animal sacrifices. This foreshadowed Christ's ability, through his own sacrifice, to wipe out the transgressions of all mankind "once for all time" (Heb. 7:27).
That the Mosaic Law was a shadow of things to come was true in many, many respects, but the ultimate truth foreshadowed by the Passover was Jesus' own sacrifice, which was also foreshadowed when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac and in Abel's sin offering to Jehovah (see Part 1 of this series in the previous post). It is also foreshadowed in the sin offerings that were prescribed to the Israelites, for both sacrifices removed sin. However, unlike a sin offering, which could not return the individual to perfection, Jesus' sacrifice has the power to restore all of humanity to perfection by repurchasing what Adam had lost (for more information on this, refer to the blog post, Jesus' Death: Why Was Jesus' "Temporary" Sacrifice Sufficient to Buy Back All of Humanity?). God commanded the Israelites that their sacrifices be the "first fruits," or the "firstlings" of the flock (which is to say, that in order for a sacrifice to be acceptable to Jehovah, it had to be the very best that the person had to offer). Even this commandment to sacrifice their very best foreshadowed God's willingness to give mankind his very best--his very own first born son.
With sin offerings, however, notice that Jehovah never commanded the Israelites to torture the animal (this was true of all animal sacrifices). It would not be in Jehovah's nature to request that a living creature be tortured--this was also true of Jesus. It was not God's intention for Jesus to be put up on a stake (Jesus was not put up on a cross--however, this point deserves its own post) and tortured as he was--that was done at Satan's insistence. So why would God allow Satan to have his way with Jesus? As with all things, Jehovah's purpose for this was to vindicate his sovereignty (see "The Problem of Evil: How Can God Be Good If He Allows Evil?"). By allowing Jesus to endure that trial, Jesus' faith answered Satan's challenge a man will not remain faithful to God even unto death: "Skin in behalf of skin, and everything that a man has he will give in behalf of his soul" (Job 2:4) Since Satan insisted that Jesus be put through a torturous ordeal, God allow this evil so that it would vindicate him that much more.
So if Jesus was not originally supposed to be tortured by his opposers, how exactly was he supposed to die? After all, he was perfect, and therefore would live forever if not put to death in some way. Just like the animal sacrifices of old, a priest would have pierced Jesus' heart, resulting in the most humane death possible at the time, and would have presented him as a sacrifice to Jehovah in behalf of mankind. Sadly, Satan's self-serving whims got in the way of this plan, and Jesus' death was a lot more painful than it had to be.
With sin offerings, however, notice that Jehovah never commanded the Israelites to torture the animal (this was true of all animal sacrifices). It would not be in Jehovah's nature to request that a living creature be tortured--this was also true of Jesus. It was not God's intention for Jesus to be put up on a stake (Jesus was not put up on a cross--however, this point deserves its own post) and tortured as he was--that was done at Satan's insistence. So why would God allow Satan to have his way with Jesus? As with all things, Jehovah's purpose for this was to vindicate his sovereignty (see "The Problem of Evil: How Can God Be Good If He Allows Evil?"). By allowing Jesus to endure that trial, Jesus' faith answered Satan's challenge a man will not remain faithful to God even unto death: "Skin in behalf of skin, and everything that a man has he will give in behalf of his soul" (Job 2:4) Since Satan insisted that Jesus be put through a torturous ordeal, God allow this evil so that it would vindicate him that much more.
So if Jesus was not originally supposed to be tortured by his opposers, how exactly was he supposed to die? After all, he was perfect, and therefore would live forever if not put to death in some way. Just like the animal sacrifices of old, a priest would have pierced Jesus' heart, resulting in the most humane death possible at the time, and would have presented him as a sacrifice to Jehovah in behalf of mankind. Sadly, Satan's self-serving whims got in the way of this plan, and Jesus' death was a lot more painful than it had to be.
