Day 4: The Altar. Because someone needs to die.

He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by the means of His own blood, thus securing aha eternal redemption.
Hebrews 9:12

We know from the last time that the only way into the courts where the Tabernacle was located was through one gate. The ancient Hebrews came through this physical gate, but we today understand that (by His own words) there is only ONE way in and that is through the gate of Christ. And now we are in. Or, at least we have taken a couple of steps inside. For right before us is a ‘toll bridge’ of sorts. And in this case the toll bridge is the alter. For even in the ancient Hebrews day they knew that the wages of sin were death. And to approach a holy God with the stain of sin WAS literal death immediately. That is why the altar is placed prominently in front, so that the entrance fee could be paid. All it cost was a life. For the wages of sin and all…(Romans 6:23). For the sacrifice the Hebrew would make was good for one year. Every year a sacrifice, every year a life was taken.

The alter (Exodus 27:1-4) was really just an open top box, 71/2 feet square and 41/2 feet tall. It is here the the sacrifice was offered, to be burnt (totally consumed) for the sins of the person offering the sacrifice. The idea being that the animal being sacrificed-an innocent lamb, without spot or blemish, would take the place of the person offering it, bearing the sins of the person and an atonement for the same. Because since the wages of sin are death, something has to pay the price. Something has to die. For them, a lamb. But as we stand before the altar, we do not have a lamb. In fact, there is no longer a temple, altar, sacrifice-it was all destroyed in 70 A.D. even if we wanted to give one. We are responsible for ourselves now. But that’s also where we are lucky-grace.

For Christ stands there and says ‘no, I will do it. I will offer myself as a sacrifice-not yearly, but once and for all time.’ (Hebrews 11:1-18). Free grace, and cheap. Cost us nothing but to accept it. So we accept it, and are good to go! Fully forgiven for all time, because we accept that we are sinners and Christ has offered Himself up, holy and pure, for our sins. Free, cheap grace for all! Who wouldn’t want THAT? Much luckier than the ancient Hebrews who have to actually raise the animal-or get the money to buy the animal. That has a price they had to pay. But WE do not have to pay ANY price, just accept this free, cheap grace.

But there is one thing we tend to overlook. Yes, someone has to die. And Christ said He would do it. But He has to be killed, and someone has to do THAT. That’s where the priests come in. They take the sacrifice-after we have acknowledge they have taken on our guilt. And the priest stands there waiting to offer it. Looking at us. Waiting. For what we tend to overlook is the fact that the priest did not kill the sacrificial animal, the one offering the sacrifice had to kill it. Read that again. The priest does not kill the sacrifice, only offers it after it has been killed by the one who is acknowledging their guilt. Then, and only then would the priest take it and offer it. After the animal was dead. After it was killed. The sin and guilt transferred to it. And Christ, being both the sacrifice and the Great High Priest is right there ready to offer us this free, cheap grace. 

But first, something has to die. The sacrifice has to be killed. And we are the ones offering the sacrifice. We are the ones who have to kill Christ. It wasn’t the Roman soldiers, it wasn’t the Pharisees or anyone else. It was us. We were the ones who accused Him and blamed Him. But instead of stepping aside and let God, in His holy anger and righteous judgement strike US for what we were saying about His son, Christ turned to Him and said “Father ,forgive them, they don’t understand’. 

We were the ones who placed the thorns on His head. And He said, “Father, forgive them’. We were the ones who took the lash and scoured the flesh from His back. And still, He said ‘Father, forgive them’. 

It was us, each and every one of us who forced Him to carry that cross up the hill, and when He stumbled we didn’t help Him, we didn’t bother-we made someone else carry that burden as well. And still He said, ‘Father, forgive them’. We drove the nails in His hands and at each strike of the hammer, driving that spike deeper into His flesh, instead of letting God do what He surely wanted to do, still Christ looked at His father and said “please, forgive them.’ 

Then in a final act of supreme humiliation He had to watch as we stripped Him bare, the final shred of humility and dignity He might have had and forced Him to watch us as we gambled away the last shred of cloth, exposing Him who had no sin, forcing our own upon Him. And still, He stood before God and said ‘Father, please forgive them, they do not know what they do.’ And finally, He said to the Father ‘It is FINISHED’. And He died.

The sacrifice was dead. We had killed it.

Immediately He stood in the throne room of God, now as the Great High Priest ready to offer the ultimate sacrifice. He held out His nail scarred hands, showed His torn back, offered up His death and said ‘The sacrifice-the debt THEIR debt-has been paid.’ 

Our debt.

And the great curtain that was in the Temple-the one that separated us from God-40 feet wide, 30 feet tall, 4 inches thick-was torn from top to bottom. No longer was there a separation between us and God. The sacrifice had been made. Someone did die. And we killed him.

We sink to our knees in front of that cross-in front of that altar and realize what we have done. Then and only then can we say ‘Surely, this was the Son of God’.

Grace? Yes. Free? Yes. Cheap? No. Not at all. We killed Christ. This is not cheap. And as we kneel there with all the guilt and shame of what happened a great white light appears beside us, and we feel a warmth of a thousand suns on us. Dimly we see a hand-pure, supple, strong-and scarred with the prints of a spike-reach out and pull us up and we hear His voice, now strong and pure and full of love unbound, say to us ‘It is finished. Your sins are forgiven for all time. You are mine and I will never leave nor forsake you.’ And we understand what John meant when he wrote the future vision of heaven-when we will see the lamb that was slain, and we throw our crowns at His feet and shout ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise…(Rev. 5)

Grace. It isn’t cheap, but thank God that He made it free!

Scripture reading for today:

Hebrews 9:24-28
For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

John 10:11
I am the Good Shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for his sheep.