Eating the Passover meal, lamb, with His twelve disciples, Jesus stated: “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28 NIV). This is the most direct statement by Jesus of how He would make the atonement for sins. In speaking of pouring out blood, Jesus states it is His blood. He is using the wine as a symbol for His blood, yet less than 24 hours later, Jesus did shed His blood as He was nailed to a cross. The blood of Jesus was poured out on the day of the Passover. And Jesus even said disciples of Him are supposed to partake of the elements of bread and wine in a manner of remembrance of Him.
In my last piece I told of how Jesus stated the Son of Man would be the “ransom for many.” Yet in that statement, Jesus speaks of the Son of Man in the third person. Speaking in the third person, speaking in flowing discourses which have the main point tucked within, and speaking with metaphors, are all manners of an “oriental” style of speech and writing indicative of the culture of the “ancient near east.” Especially those who adhere to a Greek style of speech and writing poplar in Western culture can dispute Jesus was speaking of Himself. Yet after I wrote that piece I remembered this statement by Jesus which was a direct claim He would be the atonement for sins.
The purpose of pouring out His blood was for the forgiveness of sins. And He stated it at a Passover feast, a time when a lamb was slaughtered at twilight, and then the blood was brushed on the top and both sides of a door frame. Doing such was to be a lasting ordinance for Jewish people as is stated in Exodus 12:24. Jesus truly was the Passover Lamb for the whole world.
Further His pouring out of blood was the fulfillment of the atoning sacrifices made in the temple in Jerusalem which were supposed to be made consistently and which were supposed to be done every year on the Day of Atonement. On that occasion the high priest was to sprinkle blood on and in front of the “atonement cover” (Leviticus 16:15) of the Ark of the Covenant. Why all of this blood stuff? Blood gives life to the body, including bringing oxygen to the body. That is why a person needs a properly functioning heart to stay alive. The pouring out of the blood of the animals signified the death of the animal, a sacrifice. Yet what did the sacrifice accomplish? The forgiveness of sins. Romans 6:23 states, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The consequence of sin by people is death, physical and spiritual. The animal sacrifice represented this, but such physical death of animals could not be a permanent substitute for the spirits of people. Only God could provide the permanent sacrifice, and He did. Jesus, God the Son, was the substitutional atonement as He died, pouring out His blood, on the Cross.
So Jesus was direct in saying the reason His blood was poured out was for the forgiveness of sins. And Jesus shed His blood on the Cross. Thus Jesus directly stated what His disciples taught:
“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood…” (Romans 3:23-25 NIV). Taking this verse in context, it does not mean you only have faith in the blood of Jesus, but that faith in Jesus is faith in Him who was the atonement for the world by his sacrificial atonement on the Cross where He shed His blood. I add Paul often uses the word God generally where more specifically you could say “God the Father.”
And as Jesus physically shed His blood, there was also a spiritual element to the sacrifice! “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:14 NIV). Christ’s death on the cross was physical and spiritual.
Jesus stated the ransom by the Son of Man was for many, and that His blood was poured out for many. A number of folks in Christian history have interpreted this to mean that Jesus died for a select number of people, those predestined by Him to be saved. But that is a wrong interpretation. (Calvin was right on with his doctrine of penal substitution, saying Jesus took the punishment for sins, and I even go with Calvin regarding his doctrine for the Lord’s Supper that there is a spiritual feeding taking place in addition to the remembrance, a doctrine many of my “Calvinist” brothers and sisters do not even adhere to, yet Calvin’s doctrine of predestination conflicts with Scriptures overall.) Scripture teaches Jesus loves everyone, thus He died for everyone, that all may have an opportunity to be saved. “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9 NIV), is a key verse, and John 3:16 is another. Then why was His blood only poured out for “many?” Jesus, being God the Son, knew that some people would reject Him and thus would not be saved. It is a person’s choice. So the doctrine of universalism which claims all people are saved by the atonement of Jesus is also shown to be wrong, since Jesus foreknew those saved would be “many” not all. Yet all have the opportunity. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (I John 4:10 NIV). If you believe in Jesus, you will be forgiven of your sins by God, the One who died on a cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone. If you believe in Jesus, you will have everlasting life with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit in heaven!
+: Thank You Jesus for pouring out Your blood so we can be forgiven of our sins. Thank You!
Hunter
Disciples of Jesus teach about the sacrificial atonement of Jesus in letters of the inspired Scriptures in books often referred to as Epistles. Yet did Jesus Himself teach He is the atonement? As God incarnate, I think the central mission of Christ needs to be proclaimed by the Messiah Himself. Truth is, Jesus did teach of Himself as the sacrificial atonement. And a key word He used in His direct teaching on the subject was ransom.
(Granted Jesus spoke of Himself as the ransom in the third person, which was fitting for the ancient near east culture, yet after I wrote this piece I thought of even a more direct occasion from Matthew 26:28. For that proclamation by Jesus, see my next blog piece, "Poured out for you." Yet ransom is key!)
“Kidnappers” are people who have captured a person or people, and sometimes their motive is to ask for money from family of the person they abducted along with a threat to harm the hostage if money is not given, whereas stating they will free the hostage if money is given. The money demanded is the ransom. (Sometimes there is some other ransom demand, such as a political demand.) Thus the purpose of the kidnappers in this evil act of abduction is to steal money by such a sinister scheme.
A movie was released in 1973 entitled Benji about a smart and cute dog named Benji who does not have a family. The movie was made on a limited budget, yet it became one of the biggest hits of the year. I saw the movie as a young boy and then again one year ago on DVD. Benji is befriended by two children and their nanny, but their father who is a medical doctor refuses to allow a dog to be brought into the family. But then the two children are kidnapped, brought to a deserted house, and held for ransom. Imagine the damaging trauma a kidnapping would actually bring to a child, (or anyone), which was not expressed in the movie, and you can guess who the star of the movie is by the title of the movie. Yet I thought the movie was a quality film. And it is a fictional yet prime example of the demand for ransom.
The question involved in a ransom scheme: “Why is a ransom needed? What if the ransom is not paid?” Such a scheme always involves a threat by the kidnappers that they will harm or kill the person they have abducted, usually within a time limit so the police do not have time to track them down. Modern philosophy on the subject is to not pay a ransom, since criminals may harm the person or persons abducted anyway so that no clues are left as to their identity. Also, agreeing to pay a ransom only encourages others to try such evil. Yet others advocate you should pay a ransom to save lives.
Though Benji was a fictional movie, evil demands for ransom have taken place in real life throughout history. And ransom was the word which Jesus used of His mission. Rather than people being abducted by sinister kidnappers, people are on the tract of spiritual death because of their own wrong doings. It all started with Adam and Eve being disobedient to God, which caused humanity to be separated from God. Once there was separation, people began to sin, sin defined as that which is apart from the will of God. And now there is a need for all people to be saved from spiritual death, the results of sin as stated in Romans 6:23. The only one who can save people from sins is God. And God provided the Lamb as a ransom.
Jesus gives a number of metaphors regarding His atoning work, such as in John 10:14-18, yet where was the direct teaching? The direct teaching by Jesus on the subject of His atonement is this: “…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28 NIV). Likewise, Mark quotes Jesus: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45 NIV). Jesus paid the ransom for sins for all people who accept His sacrifice by dying on the Cross as the substitute for sins.
So the ransom was Jesus dying on the cross. But who was the ransom paid to? Not Satan, as was a popular theological conviction in the west in the early medieval period. God is sovereign over Satan and owes him nothing. Rather the ransom was necessary payment to satisfy the justice before our Holy God. God is merciful, and God is just. The ransom of Jesus’ death on the cross carried out both mercy and justice by and before our Holy God.
Josh McDowell gives an illustration of how wrong doing results in consequences which must be dealt with in More Than A Carpenter. “For example, let’s say my daughter breaks a lamp in my home. I’m a loving and forgiving father, so I put her on my lap, and I hug her and I say, ‘Don’t cry, honey. Daddy loves you and forgives you.’ Now usually the person I tell that story to says, ‘Well, that’s what God ought to do.’ Then I ask the question, ‘Who pays for the lamp?’ The fact is, I do. There’s always a price in forgiveness.”(1)
When a person sins, God is grieved, and that person and often other people get hurt. God accounts for sin because He is just, wanting no one to get hurt. A child of God can always be grateful to Jesus that He paid the penalty which we could never pay, since the hurt we have inflicted upon ourselves and others has no less required payment than separation from our perfect God which results in spiritual death.
Why was Jesus’ death an acceptable ransom? Because Jesus is God. An angel from God told Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ --which means, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 2:22-23 NIV). Because Jesus was Immanuel, He could be the ransom required to save people. Jesus freed me from the bondage of sin so I have everlasting life. I could not have escaped sin on my own. I could not overpower sin. There was no hero animals or people who could save me. I was like a helpless child in the hands of a fatal need being unfulfilled which was going to bring my inevitable spiritual death in hell. Yet Jesus saved me. Jesus is one with the Father, and Jesus is God the Son. As I received Jesus into my heart by faith, I received the ransom He paid. Thus I have forgiveness, and thus I have been united with God. The same can be true for you, because though Jesus makes it clear that some are not saved by His ransom, all have the opportunity, as is expressed by the apostle Peter in 2 Peter 3:9.
And lastly, why did Jesus pay that ransom? Because Jesus loves everyone. If you believe in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, you will be forgiven of your sins, because Jesus paid the price for sins. Jesus died in your place on the Cross. Believe in Jesus, and you will have everlasting life.
Hunter Irvine
[1] Josh McDowell, More Than A Carpenter (Wheaton: Living Books, 1977), 116.
John 19:14 "It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour" (NIV).
John 19:31 "Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down" (NIV).
The Passover took place at twilight on the fourteenth day of Abib as is stated in Exodus 12:6 and Deuteronomy 16:1. Now a new Jewish day began at sundown. Thus the Passover was to be sacrificed there at the beginning of a day, since if it is twilight, then the sun must be down "under" the horizon.
There are a huge number of current Bible scholars who advocate John is in conflict with the testimonies of Matthew, Mark, and Luke concerning what day Jesus celebrated the Passover, which I learned about in the course of my CCU studies. Matthew, Mark, and Luke clearly note Jesus celebrated the Passover on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread [Matthew 26:17, Mark 14:12, and Luke 22:7]. But John states the day Jesus was crucified was the "day of Preparation of Passover Week." Many scholars interpret this to mean that John states Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples a day early! Then many of those scholars say John was trying to make the metaphorical point that Jesus was the Passover lamb. But then the Passover lamb died before the Passover, because Jesus died before twilight! He died at three o'clock in the afternoon. There is a huge misinterpretation of John's witness.
This is a golden example that Scriptures of the "New Testament" must be taken in the context of Scriptures of the "Old Testament." From Exodus 12:16, we learn what the "day of Preparation" really is: "On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat--that is all you may do" (NIV). So we learn from Exodus 12:16 that in daylight hours following the night before when the Passover lambs were to be killed, blood was to be put on the doorposts, and the lambs roasted and eaten, there was to be a sacred assembly with only food preparation work allowed. Thus the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the "day of preparation" are the same day. This "preparation" is not in regards to preparing for the Passover meal.
I admit the issue is not totally settled because reconciling John 18:28 is tough. This verse states some Jewish people had yet to eat the Passover, but wanted to eat the Passover, at the time they took Jesus to Pilate. My only suggestion is that maybe these folks had been so preoccupied with the arrest and trial of Jesus that they failed to eat the Passover at twilight.
Thus I still say with confidence Jesus was crucified on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and the day of Preparation, both of which were the first day of "Passover!" Eating the Passover meal at twilight, the start of the day, Jesus then died within 24 hours. He truly was the Lamb of God, as so identified by John the Baptist in John 1:29. Jesus was the atoning sacrifice for the sins. "...For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed" (I Corinthians 5:7 NIV).
Hunter Irvine
