Jesus: God's Eternal Solution

Once a year, Israel celebrated the Day of Atonement. The High Priest would wash, and sacrifice a bull for his personal sin, and the sin of his family. Then, he would enter the Holy of Holies -- the heart, and core, of the temple. The place where God would reside among his people. And he would bring with him two goats.

He would sacrifice one goat, and sprinkle the blood on the Ark of the Covenant. The sacrifice would satisfy God's judgment, and turn his wrath away from Israel for another year.

Then, he would pray over the other goat, and symbolically, lay all the sins of the people on the goat. Another man would take the goat away, and release it into the wilderness. Thus, sin was removed from among the people. 

Israel was required to perform this ritual, year after year, or the wrath of God would rest on the people. The contamination of sin would sit in their midst.

This was the Law's means of dealing with God's condemnation, and sin's corruption.

But God revealed a way to accomplish this outside of the Law. God gave his family a blameless, forgiven position in his presence. He gave it to anyone, who believes (give allegiance to) Jesus. Because Jesus redeemed his family, justifying them. Because of Christ's sacrifice, the eternal Judge declares: "the penalty is paid in full."

This sacrifice covers everyone. Jew and gentile. All have sinned. All have God's grace, and mercy, available to them.

Jesus was the sacrificed goat, because he satisfied God's judgment, and God's condemnation.

Jesus was released goat, because he removed sin from among God's family. And, rather than one year, his sacrifice is effective for all eternity.

God was just with the sin of the past, because Christ, and the Cross, spans all eternity. God is just with the sin of the present, because he gives room in the family to everyone, who comes to him now on the basis of Christ's blood.

Sin's penalty is broken. Sin's power is broken. We stand with God, because Jesus stood for us. We can know the Father. We can be -- really be! -- his sons.