“He did this once and for all when He sacrificed Himself, therefore He does not need to offer sacrifices on a regular basis, like those high priests did, first for His own sins and then for the people’s.” (Read Hebrews 7:27)
Priests served as intermediaries between people and God. They made sacrifices and prayed on behalf of the populace. But as we saw yesterday, they were forced to do so on a daily basis in the absence of a conclusive resolution to the sin problem. Jesus was a different priest altogether. He gave Himself up! Because He was an ideal Lamb who was offered as a sacrifice, the Bible also refers to Him as “the Lamb of God.” Furthermore, because He was blameless beyond measure, it was not necessary for Him to die in order to atone for humankind’s crimes. People’s sins could not truly be washed away by the blood of thousands of animals. They served as a sign, directing attention toward Jesus. His death was “once and for all” sufficient to make peace between God and humanity.
One could wonder why Jesus felt the need to take this action. Why would God the Son be willing to take on human form, endure suffering, and ultimately die? Because of His unending love is the only possible response. God is so devoted to the earth that He offered Himself—His Son. Whether you accept Jesus’ death on your behalf is the crucial question. All of humanity is not “automatically” cleansed of sin by his sacrifice. Your sins are only erased if you accept Him as your Savior and Lord.
Do you believe?
