Seeking to be succinct, the apostle Paul told the Corinthian Church: ‘For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified’ (1 Cor.2:2). His basic message was about a person: Jesus the Christ (or Messiah, the Anointed One) and His work (He was put to death on a cross). Although this was an act of human brutality, it was also an act of God’s wonderful lovingkindness. The death of the Messiah cannot simply be explained by pointing to Caiaphas’ charge of blasphemy, Pilate’s desire to keep his job, and the crowd’s baying for blood. The apostle John tells us that ‘In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through Him’ (1 John 4:9). Paul writes in a similar vein, that ‘God shows His love to us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us’ (Rom.5:8).
What, then, is the connection between the love of God and the death of His beloved Son in such a cruel manner? The answer is that there is a penalty for sin which must be paid if sinners are to be redeemed. The penalty is death (Gen.2:16-17), and it must be paid in full. Sinners can pay for it through the second death, under the holy judgment of God, or they can accept the payment from a sinless substitute, Jesus Christ. Christ says quite specifically that He came as the Son of Man (the king in God’s kingdom) to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). What should happen to the many, will be taken upon Himself by the Son of Man.
The notion that no act of redemption is needed implies that God was wasting His time in the book of Leviticus where He sets out laws for sacrifice and offerings on the principle that an animal without blemish will pay the penalty for the guilty Israelite (e.g. Lev.1:4). If God kept a record of all our iniquities, no one could stand before Him (Ps.130:3). Even the prophet Isaiah and the apostle Peter were convicted of their sins in the presence of the Lord (Isa.6:5; Luke 5:8). The need is not universally recognised, but it is universal.
Cannot God just forgive, and let by-gones be by-gones? No, because His justice is one of His essential attributes. It can be satisfied, but it cannot be set aside. Forgiveness is not a bare declaration of mercy, standing in mid-air, but acquittal based on the ransom being paid to God (Rom.3:24; Eph.1:7; 5:2; Heb.9:15). The curse that was on all sinners through our disobedience to the law was taken by Christ at Calvary (Gal.3:10, 13). Christians are thus bought with a price, the price of Christ’s own blood (Acts 20:28; 1 Cor.6:20; Rev.5:9-10).
Because of who Christ is – the sinless Son of God – His blood is precious (1 Pet.1:18-19). Indeed, as Martin Luther put it: ‘One drop of Christ’s blood is worth more than heaven and earth.’ Not only is Christ’s blood precious, it is also efficacious. It works! If I were to attempt to add my imperfect works to the perfect work of Christ, I would detract from it. If Johann Sebastian Bach were playing one of his cantatas, it would be unseemly of me to try to accompany him on the mouth organ.
Before the perfect Son of God’s death on the cross to pay the penalty for sin, it would be more than unseemly for me to mention my niceness to the old lady across the street or the fact that I teach Scripture in schools. It would utterly out of place, and would surely be blasphemous. The Puritan, Thomas Brooks, put it simply: ‘Christ’s blood is heaven’s key.’ And there is no other key.
The converted Pharisee, Paul of Tarsus, summed up his testimony in his letter to the church at Philippi: ‘Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith’ (Phil.3:8-9). The good Shepherd gave His life for the sheep (John 10:11). The human problem of unrighteousness cannot be solved by self-righteousness, but only by Christ’s self-giving righteousness. God’s love leads to Christ’s ransom and the salvation of His beloved people.
With warmest regards in Christ,
Peter Barnes