I know that scripture does not record everyone who was at the foot of the cross on that first Good Friday. I cannot help but think that there had to be some there who were saying to themselves: “What are you doing up there, Jesus?” Here was a man who had roamed their land for the past three years—mostly in Galilee—who had healed the sick, fed the hungry, taught about God’s love—who God actually was, and gave the religious leaders a hard time (which they probably needed anyway). But, none of that deserved this kind of death, did it? So, “What are you doing up there, Jesus?” I hope we can answer that question today…
And, we’re going to do that by learning about one word: ‘atonement.’ What in the world does this really mean … and can we understand the last 24 hours of Jesus’ life—the Christian faith itself—without understanding this word? Well, let me start by talking about what ‘atonement’ means today … in other types of relationships…
Jane and I, when we were first married, actually got into a fight or two. Yeah, I know, that may disappoint some of you to hear that, but at 20 & 21 years old, I think we were pretty normal—both in need of some growing up at that time (especially Rom!). I can’t even remember what we were fighting about (and it probably wasn’t significant anyway), but what I do remember is that I must have been the one to really mess up … because I remember having an incredible sense of ‘I need to patch things up … and soon!’ To the best of my memory, I had flowers delivered to Jane’s place of work—Krueger True Value Hardware, Neenah, Wisconsin. (I didn’t think about it until after I’d done it, but the flowers being delivered may have been a bit of an embarrassment to her, since afterward I found out that folks were asking her if it was her birthday or something.) Anyway, I bought flowers, had them delivered … and then had a huge apology planned for when we saw each other that evening… (ARE THERE ANY GUYS HERE WHO’VE EVER BEEN IN THAT PREDICAMENT BESIDES ME?) Do you know what I was in need of? I was in need of ATONEMENT! I desperately needed to be AT-ONE with Jane again! And, that wasn’t going to happen unless there was a price paid… In this particular case, it cost me flowers … and the letting go of my pride! But, the fact is … it cost me! My bad behavior (sins) had to be ATONED for…
The truth is atonement can take place in all kinds of relationships: parent/child, siblings, friendships, etc. Are you getting the picture of how important AT-ONE-MENT really is? Fellas, we wouldn’t have a chance without it, would we?
Now, let’s move to the greatest example of atonement (or at-one-ment) in history… Listen carefully:
And they nailed him to the cross. They divided up his clothes and threw dice to see who would get them. 25 They nailed him up at nine o’clock in the morning. 26 The charge against him—THE KING OF THE JEWS—was printed on a poster. 27 Along with him, they crucified two criminals, one to his right, the other to his left.
28 29 People passing along the road jeered, shaking their heads in mock lament: "You bragged that you could tear down the Temple and then rebuild it in three days— 30 so show us your stuff! Save yourself! If you’re really God’s Son, come down from that cross!" 31 The high priests, along with the religion scholars, were right there mixing it up with the rest of them, having a great time poking fun at him: "He saved others—but he can’t save himself! 32 Messiah, is he? King of Israel? Then let him climb down from that cross. We’ll all become believers then!" Even the men crucified alongside him joined in the mockery. 33 At noon the sky became extremely dark. 34 The darkness lasted three hours. At three o’clock, Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" 35 Some of the bystanders who heard him said, "Listen, he’s calling for Elijah." 36 Someone ran off, soaked a sponge in sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down." 37 But Jesus, with a loud cry, gave his last breath. 38 At that moment the Temple curtain ripped right down the middle. 39 When the Roman captain standing guard in front of him saw that he had quit breathing, he said, "This has to be the Son of God!" – Mark 15:24-39 (MSG)
In yet another theory of the atonement—the ‘sacrificial offering’ theory, we view the crucifixion through the lens of the Old Testament’s sacrificial system. Let me see if I can explain, by looking back to our faith history for just a moment. First:
AN UNDERSTANDING OF AT-ONE-MENT IN THE OLD DAYS … is what we need. Yom Kippur (and maybe you’ve seen that holiday on your calendar at home before), or the Day of Atonement, takes its tone from Leviticus 16:29-34 (NRSV), where God gave these instructions to Moses:
“This shall be a statute to you forever: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall deny yourselves, and shall do no work, neither the citizen nor the alien who resides among you. 30 For on this day atonement shall be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins you shall be clean before the LORD. 31 It is a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall deny yourselves; it is a statute forever. 32 The priest who is anointed and consecrated as priest in his father’s place shall make atonement, wearing the linen vestments, the holy vestments. 33 He shall make atonement for the sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tent of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the assembly. 34 This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the people of Israel once in the year for all their sins. And Moses did as the LORD had commanded him.”
This was the first part of God’s instructions, through Moses, about how the annual atonement process (the Day of Atonement—Yom Kippur) was to be carried out… Today, it’s known as ‘the Sabbath of Sabbaths’; it’s also called ‘the White Sabbath’; you get the idea just how holy this day is, don’t you?
- Today, this is the only day where a Sabbath fast is never postponed … for any reason!
- It is the only day where one wears a prayer shawl (tallit) for the entire Sabbath (all five services), beginning with the evening service on Friday.
- For many non-observant Jews, this is the only day of the year in which they go to synagogue (In the Christian Church, we calls these times Christmas & Easter!)…
In our relationship with God there has always been a need to acknowledge our sin, repent of it, then seek to make things right; this is what the Day of Atonement has always been about…
Here’s where it all began, however: In the old days (O.T.), God made a way for human beings to patch up their relationship with him, any time there was a rift! You see, even before there was a Temple in Jerusalem (a more permanent place to worship—to meet God), Moses and his cohorts wandering through the desert had what they called a Tabernacle—a tent-like Temple that they traveled with…
- In that Tabernacle, there was (just like in the more permanent Temple to come) a place known as the ‘Holy of Holies’—where God lived with the Ark of the Covenant, the throne room of God…
- Once a year, there was a special sacrifice for sin that was offered by the high priest (Aaron) for himself and for his family; that sacrifice was a big one, a bull…
- Then, the high priest would prepare the sacrifice of a goat—its blood spilled for the sins of ALL the people of God; he would offer that sacrifice and, in so doing, plead with God for forgiveness for the sins of ALL the people…
- Then, the high priest would take a second goat … and figuratively place the sins of ALL the people on it; this was the ‘scapegoat,’ which was then sent away into the wilderness … never to be seen again … just like their sins… Very symbolic, isn’t it?
- After these sacrifices were prepared by the high priest, he could then enter the ‘Holy of Holies,’ continuing to petition God’s forgiveness on behalf of EVERYONE… (This was the big sacrifice of the year, folks!)
- What separated the ‘Holy of Holies’ from the rest of the Tabernacle (or Temple in Jesus’ day)—the area where only the high priest was allowed to go—was a curtain…
So, one huge day of sacrifice—first a bull, then a goat—was offered by a high priest, who represented everyone on that Day of Atonement—to atone for the sins of ALL… You have to have at least a basic understanding of what took place in the old days … in order to understand what Jesus was doing up there on the cross! So, an understanding of AT-ONE-MENT in the old days…
…HELPS US TO UNDERSTAND AT-ONE-MENT TODAY! Verses 37-38 tell us, again: “But Jesus, with a loud cry, gave his last breath. At that moment the Temple curtain ripped right down the middle.” With the background from the Old Testament, we can now understand that Jesus acted as the high priest on that first Good Friday, representing all of humanity! Jesus always referred to himself as ‘the Son of Man.’ This self-given title said that he was a representative of all humanity, thus the high priest… Being fully human, it was here that Jesus also represented a new humanity, reflecting what we were meant to be… In this capacity, he became our high priest—our Ambassador—before God—as well as the sacrifice itself! So, what’s our response going to be today to what Jesus did for us?
Back in 1830 George Wilson was convicted of robbing the United States Mail and was sentenced to be hanged. President Andrew Jackson issued a pardon for Wilson, but he refused to accept it. The matter went to Chief Justice Marshall, who concluded that Wilson would have to be executed. ‘A pardon is a slip of paper,’ wrote Marshall, ‘the value of which is determined by the acceptance of the person to be pardoned. If it is refused, it is no pardon. George Wilson must be hanged.’
On that first Good Friday, Jesus offered not a bull or a goat for our pardon … but himself as the Son of Man and as our high priest! Good Friday, folks, is our Yom Kippur; it is, in fact, our Day of Atonement, when Jesus went to God and atoned for all of our sins; he asked God, on our behalf, to forgive us… Isn’t that an unbelievable LOVE? But, the truth is, what we do with this pardon … is up to us; it’s only a pardon if it’s accepted…
So, there’s what Jesus did for us! That’s the ‘big deal’ about Holy Week, which we are entering into today! How does the old saying go? “When you care enough to send the very best …” Well, Hallmark wouldn’t do this time (…or flowers for that matter)! Instead, GOD SENT US JESUS—nothing short of perfect … to patch up our relationship with him, to get us back to being at-one with God again! And, folks, that’s the very best place to be…
With Jesus’ death, I might add, we see the curtain in the Temple—access to the Holy of Holies (God’s throne room)—torn in two; with Jesus as our high priest, we now no longer need another high priest, but can go before God’s throne on our own. Because of Jesus, we now have this kind of access to God…
Folks, the good news is we can be right there with God this Easter season because Jesus loved us enough to pay the price. He’s handed us the pardon; now, what are we going to do with it? Let me remind you: It’s only a pardon … if we accept it!