The Meaning of Easter – God Accepted the Sacrifice

In the Old Testament, once a year, the High Priest would present an offering to God for his unbelief and then an offering for the unbelief of the people.  When the High Priest came out from the Holy of Holies the people were assured that the sacrifice had been accepted by God.

In court, when the prosecutor and the defense attorney agree to a plea deal the defendant may think his ordeal of judgement is over. However, one step remains for the settlement to be finalized.  The judge has to accept the deal.  Until his signature is on the order, nothing is complete.

Each of us is guilty of unbelief.  Every time we fail to acknowledge God as God and either forget to or refuse to give Him thanks we prove the case against ourselves.  God is the prosecutor, the defense attorney and the Judge.  As Paul says in Romans 3:26, “He is the one who is just and the justifier.”  As the one who is just, God pronounced death as the penalty for unbelief.  Because He is just, one of two things had to happen.  Either everyone who unbelieved had to die (everyone) or someone had to live a perfect life in perfect belief and then die as a substitutionary sacrifice

Before God gave the Law to Moses He made a covenant with Abraham.  God promised Abraham, through his advocate, (defense attorney) that He was going to cut a plea deal with everyone who believes.  Unbelief was in the world before the Law because it was passed down through Adam to everyone who came after.  But Abraham believed God and it was credited him as righteousness because of God’s covenant promise.  However, even for Abraham, God as judge had to accept the plea deal and agree that the penalty for unbelief was paid.

On Friday we reflected on the pain and suffering that Jesus went through to prove His Love for us.  Rarely will someone lay down their life for a good man, but Jesus showed the depth of His Love for us in that He died while we were still unbelievers.  We can be assured of God’s love by Jesus death on the cross.  But can we be assured that our sin is removed and our guilt is taken away?

Not until Easter morning!  On Sunday morning, the first day of the week, God as judge showed that He had accepted the sacrifice (the plea deal) because He raised Jesus from the dead.  Just like the children of Israel knew that God had accepted the sacrifice when the High Priest came out of the Holy of Holies, we know that God accepted Jesus death as our payment when Jesus (our High Priest) came out of the grave.

On Easter morning we exclaim, “He is Risen!”  And we respond, “He is Risen Indeed!”  Because God has accepted the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus we are now justified (just-as-if-I’d-never-unbelieved).  By God’s grace we have received access into the very chambers of the judge, unashamed and unafraid.  And in His presence we are being changed by His Glory and His Love (sanctified).

HAPPY EASTER!  HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!