Josh Benner

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  • Sermon: The Father, the Son, and the Law – John 7:14-24

    14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it. 22 Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well? 24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” 

    Prayer 

    Our heavenly Father, 

    It says in your Word that: Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 

    And: No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.

    And: in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 

    Your Son, our Lord taught: 

    I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” 

    Father, we thank you for our Lord Jesus who points us to you, who makes you known, and who has reconciled us to you. May we believe and know the truth of your gospel that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Let that be our only source of hope. May we know the saving work of Christ. May we live our lives in gratitude and the knowledge of your gospel. Lord, we continue to pray for greater trust and reliance on you, through all of the uncertainties and unknowns of this season. 

    1 God is our refuge and strength, 

    a very present help in trouble. 

    Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, 

    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 

    3 though its waters roar and foam, 

    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah 

    4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, 

    the holy habitation of the Most High. 

    5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; 

    God will help her when morning dawns. 

    6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; 

    he utters his voice, the earth melts. 

    7 The Lord of hosts is with us; 

    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah 

    8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, 

    how he has brought desolations on the earth. 

    9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; 

    he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; 

    he burns the chariots with fire. 

    10 “Be still, and know that I am God. 

    I will be exalted among the nations, 

    I will be exalted in the earth!” 

    May we trust that you are our refuge and strength. May we be still and know that you are God. And may we worship you for your greatness and goodness. Lord, we do not deserve you. We are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes but you are the eternal God who has promised eternal life through your Son. 

    Jesus is the one who makes you known and it is through him and him alone that we can know you and approach you. 

    And so may we humbly come before you in adoration and in a heart of worship to again study your Word. Lord, we ask that you bless our time and bless our hearts and minds as we seek to know you and to know your truth through the preaching of your Most Holy Word. 


    In Jesus’ name, amen. 

    Introduction – the Halo Effect 

    There’s the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover.” And the point is that we shouldn’t judge things merely by outward appearances or what’s on the surface level. 

    As people, we have a tendency to make assumptions about other people. 

    To give an example. There’s been vast psychological research into attractiveness. If all we have to go on is looks, we assume that a beautiful person is also nice, and intelligent, and competent. 

    Without any corroborative information. 

    If we think something good about someone, we’re likely to have other good associations with them. . 

    We take limited information and make larger assumptions. 

    It’s the same reason why leading male actors in movies are almost universally tall, unless a shorter stature is relevant to the story. 

    Even if the actor himself is short, they will utilize lifts in shoes, smaller props, and camera angles to make him look tall. Because we associate height with dominance and power. 

    And it works out in the real world. In a survey of Fortune 500 CEO’s, they averaged being 2.5” taller than the average person. 

    Of the 11 U.S. presidents since 1960, only one was shorter than 5’11” and the last president we had who was below average was William McKinley, almost 120 years ago. 

    We take limited information and make assumptions about a person. 

    It’s why we have family political dynasties because we assume competence to someone who’s related to someone else we like

    We judge books by their covers. 

    We’ll have more on that in a little bit. 

    Series context 

    We’re resuming in the Gospel of John this morning. 

    And to remind us of where we are in this gospel. Jesus has arrived at the Feast of Booths. And as we’ve discussed before, the Feast of Booths is an annual Jewish celebration in the fall which looked back to the time when the Israelites had to reside in the wilderness during their desert wanderings, it was a celebration of the fall harvest, and also looked forward to the following year. 

    And as we’ve talked about the autumn Jewish holidays over the last couple of weeks, this year’s Feast of Booths is actually currently happening this week. 

    But turning back to our passage. It’s the Feast of Booths and Jesus is in Jerusalem for the feast. He’s teaching in the synagogue and this is causing a stir among a new audience as well as the ruling authorities. It’s a passage where we’ll see themes relating to divine authority, the law of Moses and where we’ll revisit a controversy that Jesus has already been involved with in this gospel.

    We’ll look at this passage in three scenes.

    First scene – Misunderstanding Jesus 

     Verse 14 is where the passage begins: About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. 

    John mentions it’s the middle of the feast. The feast of booths lasts 8 days. But the point isn’t so much that it was exactly day 4 or exactly day 5, but that Jesus begins teaching at the temple at some point in the middle of the week long celebration. 

    Verse 15, the crowd responds to Jesus:  The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?”

    We don’t know specifically what Jesus has been teaching but the crowd is impressed with Jesus’ understanding of the scriptures and teaching of the scriptures. They knew that Jesus had not learned under any of the well known rabbis of the day and so they question how he has acquired this education. 

    For most Jewish boys in Jesus’ lifetime, your schooling ended in early adolescence, and then you generally moved into the profession of your father. For some who were especially bright, they might have continued in rabbinical training where they learned at the tutelage of a rabbi and this took several years. And having an academic pedigree mattered to the ruling authorities. 

    But Jesus did not have that. There would have been those who would have discounted what Jesus had to say because of that. Grant Osborne’s commentary of John points out that rabbis in Jesus’ day anchored much of their teaching and theology into what rabbis who had preceded them had said. People in academic circles still do this. 

    This type of elitism is certainly not unique to Jesus’ day. There are domains today where people expect a certain pedigree. Of the eight justices currently on the Supreme Court, all eight graduated law school at Harvard or Yale.

    I looked up men who have been the Chief of Operations for the United States Navy. Basically, the person who’s in charge of the navy. Of 32 men who have held that post, all but two have gone to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. 

    There were leading rabbinical figures in Jesus’ day. And Jesus hadn’t sat at their feet or learned from them. 

    After the ministry of Jesus, his disciples would still deal with this intellectual prejudice.

    Acts chapter 4, Peter and John appear before a ruling council of the Jewish leaders. 

    And we again see the low expectations of the council. 

    Acts 4:13: Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished.

    In fact, there are still scholars today who look at the fact that Peter would not have had much in the way of formal education and question if he was even capable of writing a book like 2 Peter, which is considered some of the highest level Greek in the New Testament. 

    It’s similar when people question Jesus’ family and background. 

    Matthew 13:53-55: 53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter’s son?

    We see the same thing at the beginning of John’s Gospel when the first disciples are following Jesus. Philip is enamoured with Jesus but his brother is not so sure, in sights his hometown as a justification for his prejudice. 

    John 1:45-46: Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

    And here again, the crowd marvels at Jesus and they question:  “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?

    I spoke in the beginning about not judging a book by its cover. People made all sorts of assumptions about Jesus based on little information throughout his ministry. But as is so often the case in the Bible, the things that we can be tempted to criticize in others are not always so different from our own sins and flaws.Because we’re all prone to rushing to conclusions and unfair judgments of people. 

    It can be based on appearance, based on how a person dresses or looks. In a small town where so many of the families are known, we can make unfair judgments about a person based on who their family is. If it’s a good family, we can assume good things. 

    And if it’s not such a good family, or an infamous family, we can also unfairly judge people based on background rather than who they are. 

    Again, I think it’s something that we’re all susceptible to. We don’t have perfect knowledge. We’re fallible people.  But I think it’s important to be proactive in showing fairness to people. 

    In James 2, the Lord’s brother James describes a situation in the assembly where the Christians are showing partiality and bias. 


    James 2:1: My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory

    James goes on to describe a situation where two types of people come to church. 

    James continues: if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

    The point is that we do have a tendency as sinful and fallen people to make such judgments. 

    But that that is sinful. 

    And it’s actually an idea to which Jesus will again refer at the end of this passage. 

    7:24:  Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”

    Again, it’s important to know the temptation to judge a book by its cover. But as Christians, it’s important to actively work against that. Because it’s an easy trap that anyone can fall into. 

    So that’s our first scene. How the world misunderstands Jesus. 

    We come to a second scene.  

    Second scene – The God Jesus points to

    So the crowd questions Jesus. It’s worth pointing out that there’s nothing wrong with them wanting to know where Jesus’ ideas come from. 

    It’s just that the problem was the ruling authorities put too much stock into man made systems as the authenticator. They’re counting on their assumptions about teaching and about the Messiah instead of on the scriptures. 

    Verse 16-17, Jesus responds: Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 

    Jesus’ teachings come from the ultimate source. Jesus has come with a divine message.

    Again, in the rabbinical tradition, teachings were often looked at in light of historical precedent. 

    But what if the initial teachings were wrong? Or flawed? 

    It was still ultimately the teachings of men. 

     If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 

    As Jesus has done throughout this gospel, he confronts the audience – and us the readers – with another bold claim. 

    If you truly desire to know the will of God, you will know that what Jesus is teaching is from God. 

    Put more simply: to know God is to know Jesus. 

    Let’s unpack that. And let’s look at this statement in our own lives. 

     If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 

    It’s both an ethical statement and a theological statement. 

    If you desire to do God’s will, to live out God’s will, that person will be able to recognize whether or not Jesus’ teaching is merely opinion or whether or not its of divine authority. 

    But how? 

    Because of the gospel. 

    Let’s work through the gospel in understanding why Jesus statement is true. 

    Beginning with sin. 

    Romans 3 has one of the great summaries in the Bible of the human condition. 3:10-12: 

    “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 

    It is the natural disposition of fallen humanity to not desire God or the things of God. It is through the regenerative effect of the gospel that a person  has a desire for the will of God. 

    Titus 3:4-6: But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

    So our desire for God is not something that we simply decide to have, but it’s a result of regeneration whereby we are given God’s Spirit. 

    2 Corinthians 2, Paul talks about the natural man and the Spiritual man. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:14-16)  

    So. It is not we ourselves who desire the truth of God but it is God working in us through the Spirit. And so it is true that to desire to know the will of God that we are necessarily led to the affirmation of who Jesus is. A desire for the will of God leads us to the truth of God and to Jesus who is himself the truth. 

    But that’s only part of the equation. Because anyone could make the statement that Jesus made. In fact, others have. As we’ve discussed before. But to further authenticate that Jesus himself is the one uniquely sent form God, we have the life and ministry of Jesus. 

    It is not merely big talk. 

    But that Jesus’ life and ministry are unimpeachable through his righteousness, through his teachings. Furthermore, his miracles speak to his divinely appointed ministry. And his death and resurrection point us to the truth of his gospel. That as he died and rose, we who are dead in sin have the promise of eternal life. 

    And we’re left with the overarching truth that a desire to follow the will of God will always lead us to the Son of God. 

    Given the Spiritual aspect of faith, we cannot truly seek God and be led in the wrong direction. 

    You might be tempted to ask “well then why are there so many other religions?” 

    Because men love darkness rather than the light. (John 3:19) 

    As Paul warned Timothy: the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

    Proverbs 21:2 says:  Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.

    The world likes to earn righteousness and salvation on its own and the Bible constantly points us to the reality that we cannot. Nearly every other religion works on a scale of righteousness and sins. But it is through the gospel, that we have a message of grace. Seeking the will of God leads to Christ.

    To attempt to follow any other way is idolatry. 

    As Hebrews 11:6 tells us, it is impossible to please God without faith. 

    Continuing in our passage. 

    Verse 18, Jesus says: The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.

    Jesus points again to the authority and glory of God. And Jesus himself is glorious. He is perfect. He is divine. 

    Think of the things the world applauds and celebrates? We create awards for ourselves. People who have enough prestige or wealth built monuments to themselves. Pay for schools or buildings to be named after themselves. 

    The world loves to bring itself glory. 

    Yet Jesus walked the earth to point to the glory of God. 

    As Paul wrote to the Philippians: who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6-8) 

    I think that’s a powerful example for all of us. 

    To live humbly. 

    To live to bring glory to God. To seek to bring God glory in every domain of our lives. As spouses and parents and grandparents. As friends, siblings, and fellow church members. In our jobs. Among our neighbors. Everything we do should be to the glory of God and point to God. The great composer Johan Sebastian Bach used to sign the initials S.D.G. to his church compositions. It stood for the Latin phrase Soli Deo Gloria which means “Glory to God alone.” 

    And that should be the heart we have for everything we do in our lives. 

    For the glory of God. 

    In the Westminster Catechism, it asks: what is the chief end of man? 

    And the response is: man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. 

    1 Corinthians 10:31 sums it up well: whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

    Jesus lived a perfect life. He did not tell people he was glorious, he displayed glory through his signs. He didn’t tell people perfect, he showed people his perfection through his perfect life. And so we have Jesus who is glorious, who is righteous, who is perfect, the one in whom the fullness of deity was pleased to dwell, yet he came ito the world and was submissive to God and followed the will of God. We’re just people. Finite and frail people. We were created to bring God glory, not to glorify ourselves or to glorify men. Because we’re not glorious. 

    So we’ve seen how the world understands Jesus and the God Jesus points to. 

    We come to a third scene which is the law Jesus fulfills. 

    Third scene – the law he fulfills 

    Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?”

    Verse 19, Jesus says that these people have the law of the Old Testament and that none of them keeps it. 

    I think there are layers of meaning to that statement. None of you keeps the Law. First, it’s true that no one keeps it in that no one keeps it perfectly and that everyone is sinful. Except Jesus. Secondly, we see their failure to oversee the Law in the fact that they’re seeking to kill Jesus. 

    For the experts in the Law, the religious leaders, the beginning of the passage has already informed us that they sought to kill Jesus.

    Despite the fact that Jesus is righteous. He never sinned. He broke no laws. He certainly never committed a capital offense. They would plot against Jesus. They would bring false accusations and trumped up charges against him. 

    That was a violation of the law. It’s also true on a third level in that the law and the prophets point to Jesus. So Jesus asks “Has not Moses given you the Law?”

    Having the law was a great source of pride for the Israelites, but if their ruling authorities truly understood that law, they would know to whom it pointed. 

    Jesus has already told this to a group of Jewish leaders in chapter 5. In chapter 5, Jesus has given a lengthy address in the aftermath of healing a paralyzed man on the Sabbath. 

    Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” 

    To truly know God is to know Jesus. Pause for a second. I’ve thrown a lot at you. In chapter 5, Jesus was also at the temple in Jerusalem speaking to a group. 

    It seems reasonable that not everyone listening to him in chapter 7 was in that original group. 

    So some people are totally confused by what Jesus has said. They think he’s crazy. 

    Verse 20: The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?”

    And as we’ve seen many times in this gospel, Jesus responds to a question by not answering it. 

    Jesus has talked about the plot to kill him. 

    But where does that come from?

    Yes, we saw it a couple weeks ago at the very beginning of chapter 7. 

    Just as a reminder, John 7:1 says: “After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him.”

    But the origin of the Jewish leaders seeking to kill Jesus originally starts in chapter 5. It’s in the wake of Jesus heals theparalyzed man on the Sabbath. This is looked at as being a violation of the Sabbath. Jesus responds that his father is working on the Sabbath and so is he. 

    And it is that incident to which Jesus refers when he responds to the crowd in verse 21. Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it.

    The one work was the healing on the Sabbath. That becomes evident as he continues speaking. 

    Stay with me, we’re almost done. 

    Verses 22-23: 22 Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well?

    Let’s try to tie all of this together. 

    Jesus goes directly to the heart of the Sabbath. And this ties into what he’s just been saying to the pharisees regarding the Law of Moses and the fact that they don’t keep it. 

    They don’t truly understand the law. They don’t truly understand the Old Testament. 

    Their failure to recognize Jesus shows that. 

    Their desire to kill Jesus shows that. 

    And so Jesus makes a comparison between circumcision and the Sabbath. 

    Both of these are integral elements of Judaism. 

    Both of which were Judaic practices which actually pre-dated the time of Moses. We see the Sabbath in creation and it’s observance is commanded prior to the Ten Commandments. And we see circumcision given to Abraham. 

    But then you also have them both in the Law of Moses. 

    Circumcision and the Sabbath. 

    Now Abraham was commanded that all of his offspring must be circumcised on the eighth day after they’re born. 

    But what about when the eighth day is the Sabbath? 

    The male was still circumcised. 

    And as Jesus says in verse 23, that was not a violation of the law. 

    And so Jesus asks the religious leaders: are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well?

    You can circumcise a baby on the Sabbath but you can’t heal a man on the Sabbath? 

    Leon Morris adds a helpful note in his commentary. Jesus is not undermining the Sabbath. He’s not criticizing the Sabbath. He’s not liberalizing the Sabbath. 

    He’s pointing them to the heart of the Sabbath. 

    The Jewish leaders could see the rationale to circumcise a baby. Even on the Sabbath. But they couldn’t see the justification of healing someone? 

    The law is not arbitrary. The law is not just a list of commands for the sake of commands.

    The law points to God, points to holiness, points to life. 

    Now circumcision does not have the religious significance for us that it did and does for observant Jews. But for them, it was profoundly meaningful. It was a God-given symbol of the covenant. And Jesus talks of healing the entire person. 

    That act of love and grace had more to do with the heart of the Law and the heart of the Old Testament, than the unnecessary rigidity of the ruling authorities. 

    At the end of our passage, Jesus says in verse 24:  Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” 

    They needed to hear that because they weren’t doing that. 

    And it is because they were not judging with proper judgment that they got both Jesus wrong and the law wrong. 

    They got God wrong. And so they didn’t understand his law or what it pointed to. They had a worldly perspective not a heavenly perspective. 

    They had  rigid view of the law, not a loving and gracious view of the law. 

    They had manmade opinions about the Messiah, and so they missed the Messiah when he was right in front of them. 

    They weren’t judging based on truth. 

    They didn’t truly know God and so they couldn’t understand the one whom God sent. 

    They didn’t truly know the heart of the law and so they could not appreciate the heart of God. 

    Jesus pointed to a greater revelation from God. A greater fulfillment of the law and the true understanding of the law. 

    And what this passage ultimately teaches is that we cannot get Jesus wrong and God right. 

    Because God’s word points to Jesus. His will was to send Jesus. His righteousness is lived out through Jesus. His wrath is absorbed by Jesus. His creation is redeemed through Jesus. 

  • Happy birthday Beasley

    Happy birthday Beasley

    I never truly appreciated the love that people have for their dog’s before we got Beasley. I’ve become a dog person. In a house of introverts, she’s the extrovert. Always the center of attention. She kept us laughing during the pandemic.

    She’s relentless when you’re trying to eat food. She will let nothing distract her from a person walking down the street if she can see them through the window. She’ll eviscerate a paper towel or roll of toilet paper if she gets half a second.

    She never met a person whose face she didn’t want to lick. She licks my face multiple times a day. Everyday. Never thought I’d allow it. But now it’s too late to try to stop it.

    She’s gone from being absolutely terrified of the vacuum cleaner to wanting to fight it. She pushes imaginary dirt on bones that she hides all over the house. She’s strong enough to win at tug-of-war.

    When we first went to the breeder, my wife said I could pick. Beasley was one of two puppies remaining and we bonded pretty quickly. she was so relaxed. She just curled up the first time we held her. When we finally brought her home a few weeks later, that relied personality lasted about a day and she’s been a maniac ever sense. It wasn’t what I expected when we got her. But I wouldn’t want her any other way.

    Dogs are truly a blessing that we don’t deserve. They’re always happy to see their people. It’s like the best moment of their life when they see you after being away. They’re always there for you.

    Happy birthday Bealsey.

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  • Blessed are the persecuted? The Christian life and opposition

    Blessed are the persecuted? The Christian life and opposition

    10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
    -Matthew 5:10-12

    Almost 2,000 years ago when Jesus preached these words, they also would have been radical to his audience. Persecution is never looked at as a blessing.But in Matthew 5, Jesus says that it is.Part of what Jesus is saying in these verses is that there is blessedness for the person who’s life is so clearly devoted to God, who is so clearly living out their Christian faith, that they face opposition because of it.

    If a Christian goes through life and never faces opposition, you might be living too comfortably in the world.If you never face any heat because of your faith, you might not be associating with anyone who disagrees with what you believe.

    In 2 Timothy 3, the Apostle Paul talks about persecution.“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”ALL who live for Christ will be persecuted.Persecution is part of the Christian life. The Bible does not shy away from this fact.Shortly before the time of his crucifixion, Jesus said to his disciples in John 5:18-19: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

    Something doesn’t have to be a matter of life and death to be persecution. In American society, we don’t generally hear stories of a person being killed just because they are a Christian. It’s not absolutely unheard of, but it’s rare.The persecution American Christians face is often times more social or legal. That can still put us in situations where it’s tempting to sin, where it’s tempting to respond a certain way that we shouldn’t. That still puts us in situations where it’s easier to just go along with what the world is doing than taking a stand for what you believe.

    I know a mechanic who’s a Christian. He was committed to being honest in his dealings with customers. He was so honest that his boss didn’t like him and eventually fired him.

    My wife told me a story about how when she was in high school, she was interviewing to be part of a local youth leadership program in her community. While she was at her interview, one of the people making the decision saw that she was a student at a Christian high school. He started berating her with questions about her faith, questioning how she could believe in Jesus. Asking nothing about this youth organization. Essentially just harassing her about her faith.

    Again, the gospel is a message that some find offensive. “To one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life (2 Corinthians 2:16).

    ”There have been examples of groups trying to silence coaches of public school teams from praying with players before games, even when it’s voluntary. I read a story today about the Freedom from Religion Foundation suing a public school in Ohio. A local pastor was leading a Bible study with students at lunch. It was optional. But FFRF still needed to swoop in and sue. There have been legal pressures on Christian universities to cover abortions for staff.Those are just a few examples.

    But in living for Jesus, in a fallen world, it is inevitable that there will be times when a person’s faith comes under fire.

    Responding 
    When a person is being persecuted and has a choice of if they’re going to respond in a Christlike way or if they’re going to respond in a hostile way. You can be light to a dark world or you can just spread the darkness.The Apostle James talked about the various trials that Christians face:“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4).

    ”As evil as the persecution that Christians face can be, it’s an opportunity to respond with love. Jesus told us to pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:44).God can use those situations as a way to strengthen us in our own faith. To focus us on what we truly value.Another part of the reason why persecution is seen as a blessing is that the harsher the persecution, the more that is taken away from a person, the more someone is able to live in total dependence on God and reliance in his ability to preserve them. That’s not to say that the persecution is good in itself. It’s obviously not. That’s not to say that sin is good. It’s not. But through the evils that people commit, God can still use that for good.

    Again, if you’re not ever facing any pressure because of your faith, you might not be living in a way that is distinct from the world. I’m not saying we should go out of our way to be combative. The verse does not say that all persecution is good. It’s when a person is following Jesus and is persecuted for righteousness’ sake that blessed a person. It’s a radical idea. But let us remember that we have a savior who faced the ultimate persecution for righteousness’ sake.

    Originally published February 27, 2017

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  • Amy Coney Barrett and the anti-religion of the left

    Amy Coney Barrett and the anti-religion of the left

    This weekend, President Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. Coney Barrett is a judge on the 7th circuit court of appeals in Chicago, a law professor at Notre Dame, and a former clerk for former justice Antonin Scalia. She’s also a mother of seven and a devout Catholic and her faith has come into question in regards to her potential SCOTUS rulings.

    This isn’t new for Coney Barrett. During her senate hearings to be on the 7th circuit court in 2017, several democrat senators questioned her faith. Dick Durbin (D-IL) asked Coney Barrett if she considered herself an “Orthodox Catholic.” Diana Feinstein (D-CA) stated “Whatever a religion is, it has its own dogma. The law is totally different. And I think in your case, professor, when you read your speeches, the conclusion one draws is that the dogma lives loudly within you, and that’s of concern.”

    Her Catholic faith is already coming into question again as her October confirmation hearings rapidly approach. Numerous articles have been written about Coney Barrett’s affiliation with an ecumenical, Charismatic Movement called People of Praise which drew comparisons to the Handmaid’s Tale. On MSNBC, they made it a point to reference the group in a graphic during her nomination. ABC incorrectly claimed that People of Praise inspired the Handmaid’s Tale novel (now TV series). The Guardian wrote about the “authoritarian structure” of People of Praise. And there have been other attacks. And there will be more.

    But it’s interesting.

    Joe Biden is a “practicing Catholic,” as we’re told. He’s spoken many times about his faith. So is House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Once upon a time, Nancy Pelosi who once talked about her faith and said “My favorite word is the word, is the word. And that is everything. It says it all for us. And you know the biblical reference, you know the Gospel reference of the word. We have to give voice to what that means in terms of public policy that would be in keeping with the values of the word.”

    Major political players who talk about their faith. And the vast majority of democrats in American politics claim a religious affiliation. But it’s Amy Coney Barrett who’s faith must seriously come into question. And the reason for that is because, unlike many of the democrats in congress, she lives it out. Someone who actually has sincere religious convictions terrifies the liberal elites. Because Christian ethics and teachings go against so much of the platform of the DNC.

    My point is not to judge the faith of Biden or Pelosi or anyone else in politics. But I will question the actions of leaders who support things which are totally contrary to the teachings of their faith.

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  • Sermon: the cost of forgiveness – Leviticus 16:1-22

    The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died, 2 and the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die. For I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat. 3 But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

     4 He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. 5 And he shall take from the congregation of the people of Israel two male goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. 

    6 “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. 7 Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel. 

    9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering, 10 but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel. 

    11 “Aaron shall present the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. He shall kill the bull as a sin offering for himself.

     12 And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the Lord, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and he shall bring it inside the veil 13 and put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is over the testimony, so that he does not die. 14 And he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat on the east side, and in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. 

    15 “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat. 16 Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses. 17 No one may be in the tent of meeting from the time he enters to make atonement in the Holy Place until he comes out and has made atonement for himself and for his house and for all the assembly of Israel. 

    18 Then he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it, and shall take some of the blood of the bull and some of the blood of the goat, and put it on the horns of the altar all around. 19 And he shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it and consecrate it from the uncleannesses of the people of Israel. 

    20 “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. 21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. 22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness. 

        Prayer

    Our heavenly Father, 

    We again come to you in a Spirit of thanksgiving as we praise your holy name. 

    May we marvel at your majesty over your creation. We praise you for the gift of everlasting life which is available to all through your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. 

    Forgive us our sins Lord, as we are fallen people in a fallen world. We struggle with our areas of selfishness, our failings, our instances of pride, the times when we choose sin over you. 

    Lord, may we come to you on our own in confession of our sins. 

    Lord, may you strengthen us to repent and to more and more live for you. May we be daily sanctified through your word and by the power of your Spirit. May we be transformed from one degree of glory to another. 

    I pray for each of us that we trust in Jesus, that we know him personally, that we know the salvation that he promises, that we believe in the life that he invites us into, that we have placed our hope for eternity onto his work, and that we might look to him as the greater priest who offered the final sacrifice, as the greater Son who makes us worthy to be your children, and as the greater sacrifice who gave his life for us so we could be forgiven. 

    May we all trust in that Lord. For any of us who are hanging onto any vestiges of self-justification or trusting in our own goodness as what will make us right with you, may we turn away from that and trust in Jesus. It is entirely by his work of a perfect life and his abounding grace that sinful people are forgiven. 

    We praise you as the everlasting and eternal God.  

    Context 

    Preaching out of the book of Leviticus 16 this morning. 

    By popular demand. 

    Yom Kippur is this weekend. That’s Hebrew for Day of Atonement. 

    In the Old Testament, that is the most sacred and holy day in their calendar. 

    I mentioned this last week, but there are three Jewish holy days in the fall. 

    Rosh Hashanah which is the New Year. That was last weekend. 

    Yom Kippur – the day of atonement – is from sunset tonight until sunset tomorrow. 

    And the Feast of Booths begins next weekend. When we get back into John 7 – Lord willing – next Sunday, that passage is in the middle of the Feast of Booths. 

    But today, our focus is on Yom Kippur and our passage outlines the procedures for the annual observance of Yom Kippur. 

    As the name suggests, the day of atonement was a day which revolves around atonement and holiness. 

    For the ritual aspect, the high priest would take two goats. One, he would sacrifice for the sins of Israel. The second, would be released into the wilderness. 

    But there’s much more that this passage has to say. 

    As Christians, we don’t have a mandate to observe this holiday. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not worth studying in the scripture. 

    Because everything in this passage points us to Christ and the gospel.

    As another note. The word atonement. Atonement refers to God’s work of dealing with our sin. 

    Because of sin, the relationship between man and God has been broken. 

    But with the Day of Atonement, it was an annual picture of forgiveness that people could have. 

    Secondary introduction 

    Before we fully delve into this passage, I have a couple brief things to note. 

    Leviticus is the third book of the Bible. 

    In Leviticus, we see the many of the laws of God given to Israel which regulated Israelite conduct for sacrifices, for worship, for ritual cleanliness, for the priestly system, for the observance of the holy days. Among other things. 

    And with that, we come to Leviticus 16.  

    Bridge 

    The main idea of this passage is that the forgiveness of our sins have a cost we cannot pay. 

    We unfortunately don’t have the time to cover everything in this chapter this evening. So we’re going to focus on three things. A priest and 2 goats. 

    I. The priests

    The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord and died, 

    To give some background. This first verse is referring to an event in Leviticus 10.

    In Leviticus, Aaron – the brother of Moses – is the High Priest. 

    In chapter 10, after the commands had been given for the priests about various the offerings and practices, Aaron’s two sons go and they defiantly do unauthorized sanctuary rituals.

    And God strikes them dead. (Leviticus 10:1-2) That might sound like a fairytale or a made up story. 

    That a couple of Old Testament priests got it wrong and God struck them dead. 

    I think our initial reaction of that might be that that’s too heavy handed. That that punishment doesn’t fit the crime, that that’s too severe. 

    But what that does is shows us the reverence we are meant to take for the holiness of God. 

    # It’s a point that I’ve made before, but we do not approach God in any ole way we want to. We don’t approach God on our terms. 

    I think our society pays little attention to the holiness of God. 

    # Some people just want to emphasize the love of God. And God is love. And he is infinite in His love, he is perfect in His love. And He loves you more than you could ever comprehend or appreciate. 

    But he is also awesomely holy. And approaching Him demands reverence. 

    And so a transgression that profanes the holiness of a righteous God is something that does warrant death. It’s God’s grace that he does not strike people dead whenever they sin. He would be within his righteous justice to do so. 

    But the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Exodus 34:6). 

    But there is wrath towards sin. 

    And Aaron’s son’s bore that wrath for their action.  

    When we judge God’s judgment of sin, that shows a low view of God’s holiness. We can never be too holy in our lives, and Jesus shows we can never be holy enough. There is total holiness needed to approach God.  

    Do you look at God as being Holy? Morally righteous, set apart? Mighty and majestic? Worthy of praise and glory? A God who is so great that you could never truly be worthy to enter his presence on your own? 

    Because that’s who God is. 

    # There’s nothing casual about God. There’s nothing informal about approaching God. That no one has the right to profanely approach God. The two sons of Aaron, God knew saw their actions, he knew their hearts. 

    And so it’s in that context that the Lord has spoken to Moses who then tells the message to his brother Aaron, who’s the priest. 

    2 and the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat that is on the ark, so that he may not die.

     So we see here a stern warning given. 

    Where the text says “not to come at anytime,” it obviously doesn’t mean that the high priest couldn’t go ever. It meant he couldn’t come anytime he wanted. 

    The text mentions something called “the Holy Place.” 

    What’s that? 

    History 

    It’s referring to the inner sanctuary of the tabernacle. 

    As we’ve talked about numerous times, during the Israelite’s desert wanderings, they did not have the temple to worship in. They were on the move. And so God had instructed the tabernacle, which allowed them to bring the place of worship with them during their wanderings. 

    The tabernacle was a tent and it was portable. 

    Now the tabernacle was a holy place. And as we’ve said, the holiness of God demands reverence. Inside the tabernacle was an inner sanctuary which was called the Most Holy Place. Or the Holy or Holies. Or the Sanctum Sanctorum, in Latin. 

    And not just anyone could enter the Most Holy Place. It was reserved for the high priest, and even he could only go in once a year. On the Day of Atonement. 

    And the high priest was able to be in the presence of the Lord, that one day, as a representative on behalf of all of the Israelites. 

    Verse 3 starts to get at the procedures by which the High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place. 

     3 But in this way Aaron shall come into the Holy Place: with a bull from the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

    The text says that before entering, he had to offer a bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering to atone for his sins and those of his family. Because the priest was sinful too.

    Verse 4 continues: He shall put on the holy linen coat and shall have the linen undergarment on his body, and he shall tie the linen sash around his waist, and wear the linen turban; these are the holy garments. He shall bathe his body in water and then put them on. 

    As part of the priest’s preparation for entering the Most Holy Place, the presence of God, was that he had to put on special linen garments. Everything about entering into God’s presence was meant to be holy, set apart, different from everyday life. 

    He had to wash before entering the Most Holy Place.

    And on the Day of Atonement, one of the last things the high priest would do before going into the holy of holies was that he would take two goats. 

    Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 

    And the two goats are absolutely essential to the Day of Atonement. 

    Verse 8 says that the High Priest would cast lots over the two goats. 

    Casting lots is similar to rolling dice. In this situation, for one of the goats, you would cast lots, and if they came out a certain way, that goat would be sacrificed, if they came out a different way, the other goat would be slaughtered. 

    The ESV says “one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel.” 

    Many translations will say something like “scapegoat” there. 

    We don’t know EXACTLY what Azazel means. It’s a Hebrew word. It could mean goat who’s released, or “scapegoat.” It could mean that. It could also be referring to the wilderness that the surviving goat was released into. 

    We don’t know 100% either way. 

    But regardless, the point is the same that the priest would take two goats, but only one was sacrificed. 

    For the other goat, as verse 10 tells us, he was “presented alive before the Lord to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.” 

    The next couple verses continue the process by which the High Priest would prepare to enter the Most Holy Place. The sacrifices he would make, just so he could enter the presence of God. 

    Final preparations before he could enter the Most Holy Place. 

    He would take some of the blood of the bull he had sacrificed for his own sins and verse 14 tells us he would sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat on the east side, and in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. 

    The passage says that he would sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat. 

    Inside the Most Holy Place, there was the Ark of the Covenant. This contained the tablets of the Ten Commandments, manna, and Aaron’s shepherd’s staff. Respectively, these were a symbol of God’s covenant with his people, his provision for his people, and the choosing of his people.  

    On top of the ark, there was a golden lid, and there was detailed artistry in forging angels in the gold, and this was the covering of the Ark of the Covenant. So you have a holy place with angels who are giving praise to God. It is a symbol for heaven. For the heavenly throne room of God. 

    This completed all of the preparations for the high priest to enter the Most Holy Place. 

    And so the High Priest enters the Most Holy Place.

    Like we said in the beginning, everything in this passage points us to Christ. 

     You have the high priest who had to cleanse himself before entering the temple. 

    But in the gospels, we see that Jesus is the true High Priest. And Jesus doesn’t need to purify himself, or atone for his own sin to enter the presence of the Lord because he is the perfect High Priest. 

    Hebrew 7:26: it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

    Keep in mind the purification rituals needed for the priest. The Holiness that was required to enter the presence of the Lord. And look at the language that’s used here to describe Jesus. Holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 

    While the Day of Atonement was just one day out of the year, there were animal sacrifices. But because Jesus is holy and righteous, he doesn’t need to purify himself to enter the presence of God. He’s God on earth. 

    Hebrews 7:27 offers another comment on the priestly system. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.

    The perfect High Priest and it is only because of Christ’s perfection that we are enabled to enter into the presence of God. He is the one who is our representative before God. 

    The forgiveness of our sins has a cost we cannot pay.

    So that’s the priest. 

    Next, we look at the two goats. 

    The first goat. The one who is sacrificed. 

    II. The atonement by the goat 

    So the sacrifice the priest has thus far made is for himself. 

    Verse 15. “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for the people and bring its blood inside the veil and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, sprinkling it over the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat.

    So the blood is sprinkled in the Most Holy Place and this is what the sacrifice is meant to do to atone for sins, to cover up our sins. The sacrifice of the goat was meant to symbolically bear the sins of the people. Thus he shall make atonement for the Holy Place, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel and because of their transgressions, all their sins. 

    All of their transgressions and sins. All of their intentional defiance to God.

    As verse 16 continues, he would finish cleansing the tent itself. 

    And so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.

    In verse 18-19, he would also make atonement at the alter of the Lord by sprinkling blood on the alter. 

    Again, because of the sacrifice of this goat, it was a powerfully symbolic way for atonement, for a restored relationship with the Lord. For sins being covered by the blood of the goat. 

    Today, we have the gospel. We have Jesus. But before Christ, this would have been an incredibly powerful symbol for the sins of the people being atoned for. 

    We see that the sacrifices then point us to the greater sacrifice today. That Jesus is the priest but he is also the sacrifice. Because while a goat could not atone for our sins. While a goat’s blood could not cover up our sins, Christ’s could. He was the worthy sacrifice.

    I know to the word, the idea of an animal sacrifice to atone for our sins seems arctic, seems backwards. 

    But it was merely a shadow. 

     Because our forgiveness could never have been truly paid for by the life of some animal. 

    # It’s a point that’s worth repeating but it’s not that the sacrifice of that goat actually was the reason why God forgave the people. It was a heart that came to God in faith and recognized the cost of sin that mattered. Just like today. 

    Hebrews 10:4 says: it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.  

    They were never intended to take away sins. It is only the blood of Christ which can do that. 

    And atones for our sins. He covers up our sins. His blood washes away our sins. 

    The first goat on the Day of Atonement was sacrificed for sins. 

    But the second goat was not slaughtered. 

    And the attention turns to that goat in verse 20.

    III. The scapegoat

     “And when he has made an end of atoning for the Holy Place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat.

    21 And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. 22 The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.

    The first goat is a symbol of the need for a sacrifice to atone for our sins. 

    But our sin is associated with the second goat too. Both hands placed on this goat. It was symbolically transferring sin to that goat. The first goat died and his blood was a symbol of our sins being covered. The second goat is the result of our atonement. It was a symbol for sin being taken away. 

    Set free in the wilderness. 

    Like in Psalm 103:12 where it says 

    12 as far as the east is from the west,

    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

    Sin is totally removed when you trust in God. 

    Again, this was the most holy day in the Jewish calendar. 

    What a reminder as that goat is set free. 

    That we are set free from sin because of God’s grace. 

    Again, we don’t need to sacrifice anymore because Jesus is the perfect sacrifice. 

    What a picture that is. If you’re someone who ever struggles to believe that God could forgive you. If you’ve done something really bad in your past, or if you have an area that you’re struggling with today and you feel like God wouldn’t love you, couldn’t forgive you. If there’s ever any lingering worry about that, our sins are taken away because of Christ. 

    They are totally removed, like the second goat, sent away, never to be heard from again. 

    We don’t deserve it but that’s how God atones for our sins. He forgives us of our sins. He removes our sins and our relationship with him can be restored. 

    Because of the work of Christ, because of the grace that God offers to all who accept him, you don’t have to feel that way. Your sins are forgiven. But not only are they forgiven, they’re totally removed, they’re taken away. 

    Not because we’re so good but because Christ is that good. 

    Both in the Old Testament and today, what mattered is faith. Trusting in the Lord. Recognizing that we don’t live up on our own. That we aren’t holy. We aren’t worthy. 

    But when we trust in Christ, he makes us worthy, he makes us holy. 

    But maybe that’s not a struggle for you. You know you’re forgiven. 

    But how are you doing at being a forgiver? 

    Because what a challenge that can be? 

    In this passage, we also see the cost of forgiveness. And the forgiveness of our sins has a cost we cannot pay.

    Forgiveness always comes at a cost. For a sinful humanity, the cost was so great that the only way that cost could be paid was for Jesus to die so our sins could be atoned for. The death we deserved. His blood shed so that our hearts could be cleansed. 

    I love this quote from Tim Keller, 

    “…God’s grace and forgiveness, while free to the recipient, are always costly for the giver…. From the earliest parts of the Bible, it was understood that God could not forgive without sacrifice. No one who is seriously wronged can “just forgive” the perpetrator…. But when you forgive, that means you absorb the loss and the debt. You bear it yourself. All forgiveness, then, is costly.”

    When you forgive someone, you pay the price. And the greater the sin, the greater the cost. If someone does something minor, might not even give it a second thought. But when someone has sinned against you or has wronged you in a major way, it’s hard to just forgive the person.

    However you’ve been wronged, whatever rights you may have at retribution or getting back at them. No matter how justified that may seem, that you forfeit any right to be angry or bitter at a person. You forgive any debt of guilt they should have. That’s hard to do. Because in forgiving a person, you’re actually bearing some of the cost yourself.

    Incredibly difficult, when it’s something major. 

    And yet there’s Jesus, paying the price for our since by sacrificing His own life. 

    # That’s how much our sin costs.  

    And that’s what we see in the gospel. That our sin was so great that Jesus was the only one who could pay it. Our sin was so great, that God on earth, dying for our sin, was the only sum that could afford it.

    The forgiveness of our sins has a cost we cannot pay.

    It’s fascinating as I think of all of the ceremonialism in the Old Testament Law. Everything was done for reasons. All of the exact and meticulous detail under which the tabernacle was built. All of the specific instructions given to the priests, the very specific laws regarding sacrifice, the specific ways in which to approach God. The cleansing that needed to be done, the atonement for sin.

    It’s teaching us the holiness of God. A holiness we don’t have, that we can’t live up to. But we are welcomed into the presence of the Lord because of Christ.

    For God to forgive us, the Lord paid the price. And he does that for anyone who comes to him by faith. Let this passage be a reminder that there is a cost for sin. And the great savior who was the great high priest who allows us to enter heaven, who’s the ultimate and perfect and final sacrifice. And who gave his life so we could be forgiven.