As the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29), Christ is the anti-typical sacrifice to which all the sacrifices of the type pointed. He was without blemish, though in all points tempted. He was the innocent victim of our guilt; and though He knew no sin, He was made . . . to be sin for us. The life which He gave us for our redemption was untouched by guilt of His own, and therefore was not under condemnation. Just before His betrayal He said to His disciples: Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for-the prince of this world comes and hath nothing in Me. John 14:30. It was this perfection of life which qualified Him to be the sacrificial substitute for guilty man. He had perfect life to give.
His sinless life was the result of His own choice. Of His own purpose He lived so that His life expressed only the will of His Father. Said He: I came down from heaven, not do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. John 6:38. Again He said: My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work. The Father bath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him. John 4: 34; 8:29.
Three times during His life in the flesh Jesus had the spoken assurance that His Father was well pleased with Him. We read that after He was baptized, Jesus went up straightway out of the water. And, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matthew 3.16, 17.
Again, during His ministry, He takes Peter, James, and John his brother, and brings them up into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them: and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with Him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if Thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spoke, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear you Him! Matthew 17:14
When facing betrayal and death, He exclaimed: Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. John 12:27, 28. He was qualified by the perfection of His life in the flesh to take guilty mans place, and to give His life a ransom for the sinner. Thus, as the sacrifice in substitution for guilty man, He was acceptable to the Father.
Through the offering of the body of Christ, once for all, we are sanctified by the will of God. Hebrews 10:10. But the sanctifying element in the sacrifice is the blood. To scorn the blood of the sacrifice, and count it an unholy thing, is to trample on the Son of God, and to do despite unto the Spirit of grace, through which Christ offered Himself without spot to God! Hebrews 10:29; 9:14. The sacrifice of Christ rejected, there remains no other sacrifice for sin. The sinner then must come into judgment unsanctified, and unsheltered from the fiery indignation which -shall devour the adversaries. Hebrews 10:26-31.
It is the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7. There is no sin from which we can be cleansed by any other agency. There is no sin from which we cannot be cleansed by the blood of Christ, if we seek such cleansing. No sacrifice, feast day, holy day, sabbath days or anything else can atone for our sins and cleanse us from unrighteousness; none but the blood of Jesus. (John 1:29). It is by His blood that Christ redeems us to God from our lost condition. Revelation 5:9. It is by the blood that Christ has entered into the sanctuary in heaven, there to complete the work of atonement by which sin is forever put away, and which was begun and shall all be wrought by the sacrifice of Himself. In the merits of that perfect sacrifice all accomplishment in our behalf by our High Priest in heaven is made possible.
In the next post, we will do some comparisons to illustrate how we "scorn the blood;" and how the message of the cross is "the loud cry" that every soul will have a chance to accept and understand.
