A DONE DEAL

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said, ‘Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here am I – it is written about me in the scroll – I have come to do your will, my God.’

First He said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” – though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then He said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all (Heb. 10: 5-10).

It’s a done deal.

King David, the man after God’s heart recognised, centuries before Jesus came, that animal sacrifices could not take away sin. After his own dismal moral failure with Bathsheba, he was terribly aware of his guilt before God. No amount of animal blood could wash away the guilt and pollution of his sin. He could only cast himself on the mercy of God and pray that God would forgive Him and wash him clean.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. . . Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me and I will be whiter than snow (Psa. 51: 1-2; 7).

He could not rely on a sacrifice to secure God’s forgiveness.

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings (Psa. 51: 16).

God was not interested in sacrifices as a substitute for ungodly living. Sacrifices were not intended to be a cover-up for sin. They were only a visual aid to remind His people how serious sin is – it can only be atoned for by death – the shedding of blood.

My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, God, you will not despise (Psa. 51: 17).

In Jesus’s day, the religious leaders arrogantly believed that sacrifice was all that God required. How they lived inwardly was irrelevant. As long as the smoke of their sacrifices kept rising up to God, they thought He was satisfied. How they missed it!

David also wrote the Psalm quoted in this passage. He spoke prophetically of Jesus, God’s sacrifice, who came in person, clothed in a human body, to offer Himself up after a life of perfect obedience to the Father. The prophecy states clearly that the purpose of His coming was to do the will of God.

Going a little farther, He fell to the ground and prayed that it possible the hour might pass from Him. ‘Abba, Father,’ He said, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will but what you will.’ (Mark 14: 36).

What was God’s will?

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand (Isa. 53: 10).

It was the will of the Father that He suffer, but not for suffering’s sake but for the outcome of His suffering – many children like Himself, who would be God’s family forever. His blood did not just cover sin, it removed sin, once for all by one sacrifice. Why would the Jewish people want to rebuild the temple and begin to offer sacrifices again when Jesus suffered for them, once for all? Sadly, they refuse to believe that Jesus is God’s Messiah and their Redeemer.

Hallelujah! Your sin, my sin has been removed from the record book forever. Where once we owed God a huge debt, there is now written over every page, “Paid in full”.

It’s a done deal.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.