Believe!

Let’ take a short side trip:  When you’ve heard someone say, “Jesus died for your sins,” have you ever wondered, “how did Jesus dying on a cross have anything to do with my sin? Well, the answer lies in the religious practices of the Jewish nation. According to Mosaic law, the Jews were to sacrifice an animal (often a lamb) for the forgiveness of sins.  As I previously mentioned, the animal was to be both flawless and of great value to its owner.  This sacrificial system was set in motion shortly after the Jewish nation was established. Now remember, God knew that man had fallen, that man was not holy.  And … He knew that He alone could establish a truly lasting and viable rescue plan.  God established the Jewish nation for the sole purpose of acting as the lineage through which Jesus, rescuer and Messiah, would appear on this earth.  The Old Testament character, Abraham, was the individual upon whom the Jewish nation was founded. The virgin Mary was a direct descendent of the Abraham’s blood line.  

The mission of Jesus Christ, therefore, is to deliver man from his sin and renew the original fellowship that existed between God and man.  Jesus, who was God living in the flesh, lived a perfect and sinless life.  In the Jewish model, that made him a perfect lamb.  Let me quote John the Baptist as he speaks of Jesus, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). Jesus was further qualified to be our sacrifice because he was of great value to his heavenly Father (God the Father).  We can now see how Jesus’ position as Son of God, His sinless life on this earth and His death, all reflect the sin sacrifice that is required by the Jewish law.  That idea would have been universally understood at the time that Jesus lived and was Crucified. 

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