The Resurrection and the Blood - Part 5
In the previous posts, we established a few things. First, 1 Corinthians declares that if Jesus had not been resurrected, then our faith is in vain and we are still in our sins. That alone should eliminate the idea that Jesus’s “It is finished” statement meant the end of His mission. Second, Hebrews demonstrates that the Day of Atonement (the “Day”) constituted a type or shadow for the real sacrifice or “atonement.” By examining the Day, we understand that “sacrifice” means more than the mere shedding of blood. It includes the ceremonial sprinkling of the blood on the Mercy Seat in order to achieve atonement. With those ideas in mind, we head to the cross.
who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness. (2 Peter 2:24, RV).
This verse presents to us a vivid picture of the “shedding” part of Jesus’s offering. Consistent with Hebrews 9:22, He was required to shed His blood for the remission of our sins. By other scripture, we understand that this blood was spotless. He was born of a virgin so that He would not carry the taint of sin in His blood. The incarnation was also necessary so that He could present Himself as a Lamb, a spotless offering without blemish, upon the cross. In this verse in 2d Peter, the word “bare” in the Greek carries with it the connotation of a priest bringing forth a sacrifice upon an altar. By this we see that Jesus presented Himself upon the cross as a spotless offering. (See also Ephesians 5:2 - “gave himself up for us, an offering and sacrifice to God”).
Once He took His place on the cross, however, the shadow of the Day becomes reality. The Day’s sin offering was not a lamb, but a goat. (actually, two goats, but I am only dealing in this series with the blood). A goat was used to exemplify sin. A lamb wouldn’t do. While upon the cross, He was made, in effect, the goat:
Him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
and the Lord hath laid [made to light] on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)
Recall the high priest laying his hands on the goat and pronouncing Israel’s sins on it. What has been ceremoniously celebrated in shadow for 2,000 years became real on Good Friday. When sin was made to light on Him, He became separated from God, the Father. When that moment came, He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
The Gospel accounts show that after Jesus had become sin, He cried out, “It is finished,” and He bowed His head and died. We can now see from scripture that the statement could not mean the end of His mission. Though His blood had been shed, it had not been ceremonially applied to the Mercy Seat and there had been no resurrection. So, what could it mean?
“It is finished” meant the end of the Old Covenant and the Holy of Holies upon the earth. The New Covenant could not be established as long as the Old Covenant was in place. (Hebrews 9:8 - “the way into the true Holy place is not yet open so long as the outer tent [first tabernacle] still remains in existence.”). When Jesus was born, He was required to live under the Old Covenant Law in order to fulfill or end it. (Galatians 4:4). In Matthew 5:17, 18, we read His own statement about the Law:
Think not that I came to destroy the Law or the prophets. I came not to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished.
In order to enter into the New Covenant, established by Jesus in His sacrificial death and resurrection, the Law had to be fulfilled. In effect, He had to become a curse under the Law though He fulfilled it. (Galatians 3:13). He announced its fulfillment with his last breath. The effect of His life and this statement is evidenced in Matthew 27:51 which states that the veil of the temple was ripped from top to bottom when He breathed His last. (cf. Matthew 23:38 - “your house is left unto you desolate.”). This is also consistent with Hebrews 8:13 which confirms that the Old Covenant became obsolete when Jesus established the New Covenant.
By this post, we see that the first part of the “Day” offering was made on the cross. In order to effectuate redemption, however, Jesus had to go “beyond the veil” and present his blood to the Father. In the next and last post (Monday), I will demonstrate that He did exactly that on the third day which is completely consistent with the shadow of the “Day and Luke 13:32 (“on the third day I am perfected”).