Thought for Today
Genesis 49:18 I wait for your salvation, O Lord.
Psalm 18:46 The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation,
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. 17 Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—
“We have in his death the complete fulfillment of salvation, for through it we are reconciled to God, his righteous judgment is satisfied, the curse is removed, and the penalty paid in full.” (Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2.16.13)
Yesterday, during worship we reflected on Exodus 12:1-14. My sermon was titled “Try To Remember.” The passage is basically about God’s directions to Moses and Aaron establishing what is today known as Passover. One of our congregants remarked to me about what a bloody passage that is. Bloody not in the British common adjectival use of the word, but literally, bloody in the sense of the focus of that passage on sacrificial blood.
Protestant Christianity rarely addresses the topic of atonement. The Judaism of Jesus’ time basically understood atonement through a sacrificial system We can read about the various details of the system in the Torah, especially in Leviticus. “In Leviticus, the laws of offerings — known in Hebrew as korbanot — are detailed in the first five chapters. These chapters describe the different types of sacrifices, such as the burnt offering, peace offering, sin offering, guilt offering, and wave offering, along with the specific requirements, procedures, and occasions for each.” (Copilot Search)
For many of us today, sacrificing animals on an altar sounds very primitive and barbaric. But, for most of human history, the offering of life, especially innocent life, upon an altar was understood as the only way to appease an angry god. The concept was so fundamental to our history that it has become a trite motif in books and movies. For Jesus and his ancestors, the concept was integral to society. So much so, that many understand the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22:1-14 to be a repudiation of the sacrificial practices of most of the Jews semitic neighbors.
Yesterday, I commented about Exodus 12:1-14 that “This passage and this day of remembrance, this perpetual ordinance is basically all about God’s gift of salvation.” The history of our faith, from Abraham until today recognizes the perpetual truth of the revelation to Abraham, “Genesis 22:14 So Abraham called that place ‘The Lord will provide’; as it is said to this day, ‘On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’"
God has historically provided. God still provides today. God will provide until the end of time. Holidays, festivals and holy days exist to help us remember God’s providentially providing. Most Protestant Christians do not celebrate Passover. Instead we remember through our celebrations of Jesus’ Resurrection and Easter.
Calvin recognizes all of this in those words above. “Calvin goes on to say that it is in Christ’s resurrection that he ‘came forth victor over death, so the victory of our faith over death lies in his resurrection alone.’ (2.16.13). Christ’s resurrection gives his death its ‘power and efficacy in us.’ (2.16.13)” (Coffee with Calvin, pg. 9)
We no longer follow “Exodus 12:7 They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.” For most of us that sounds unsanitary and a bit icky. We need to remember why those Israelite slaves did mark their abodes. They did so to differentiate themselves from those around them who did not believe in God, did not worship God, who did not pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
We should ask ourselves every day, “How do I remember?” “How do I differentiate myself, as a Christian, as one who believes in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God from all those around me who do not?” We may sing the song, but will they know we are Christians by our love?
Have faith, act so as to reflect your belief, trust God,
Pastor Ray