Once And For All
"11Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. 13Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, 14because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy."
- Hebrews 10:11-14
Today we come to Good Friday. The darkest day of the year. The day when hope is crushed. The day when truth is destroyed. The day when Christ is crucified.
The world changes in the wake of catastrophic events. Many believed that the world changed as a result of events like Hiroshima or 9/11. Though these events are horrific, they do not compare to the way the world was changed with the sacrifice of Christ on Good Friday. It is through Good Friday that we are redeemed once and for all. If Christ's sacrifice was once and for all, then how does it effect our lives today as disciples?
First, is the blood of Christ sufficient? Absolutely. We are no longer like the priests of the old covenant who sacrifice daily the lambs and bulls, but never have their sins taken away. We have a new high priest who became the lamb himself for all time. One reason I hold to pacifism is because of the ONE sacrifice of Christ. There is no need for war or violence because enough blood has already been shed. The blood shed once on Good Friday is all the blood that needs to be shed. Any more blood shed on the battlefield or at home is completely unnecessary and insult to Christ himself. The whole reason Christ died on Good Friday was so that the world could be spared a violent death. Like the great song goes, "he could have called ten thousand angels to destroy the world and set him free, but he did alone for you and me." Despite what comes, the only blood that will ever be on my hands is the blood of Christ.
Second, who did Christ die for? For all. At the center of campus of Lipscomb University there sits a statue of the bison mascot. Social clubs have made a tradition of spraypainting the bison with various colors and messeges. On 9/11, some "Christian" spraypainted on the bison "Bin Laden: Dead or Alive". In response, me and friend designed a shirt with the messege of Hebrews 10 that basically said that if Jeus died for all, then Jesus died for Bin Laden. Bin Laden is not out of reach of God's grace and forgivness. If he would just ask for it with a sincere heart, then God because of Christ's sacrifice for all would forgive Bin Laden. The simple truth is that if Christ didn't die for Bin Laden, then he didn't die for me.
So this Good Friday I ask us to realize what we have been saved from and how much we have been forgiven. Such a realization can only result in one offering the same grace to those at home and around the world. How void is the world of such grace? It is easy to lose hope in the face of Good Friday, but Sunday is coming. MLK said death may occupy the throne for day, but soon it must make way for the drums of Easter. Today hope is crushed and truth is destroyed, but it is not lost. Our hope is in the truth that the kingdom is coming in its fullness. When the kingdom comes in its fullness there will be no more Fridays, but everyday will be Sunday.
CJE
Coming next week: Spiritual Adultery
