MEMORY VERSE: ‘Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation [worthless lifestyle] received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.’ 1 Peter 1:18-19.
LESSON AIM: To show that the problem of our guilt and our sin cannot be solved by the payment of gold or silver or by anything we try to do.
The wages of sin is death. Instead of the human race being wiped out, Jesus, in love for us all, came and took that penalty for us. He came to give us hope, the hope of life. By His resurrection, Jesus Christ opened the door to eternal life for each one who will walk forward with Him.
A priest is one who stands between the worshippers and God. Jesus is our High Priest. Because of His great act of love for us, He can rightfully stand between sinners and the high and holy God. In the sanctuary of old, the work of the priest involved ‘blood’ that was carried or sprinkled or poured out. A priest could not carry out His work without blood in his hands. Jesus, therefore, could not be our High Priest, until He had died, and shed His blood and had His blood to present in the heavenly sanctuary. ‘Blood’ in the Bible is a code word for Jesus’ death for us. ‘Blood’ in the Bible is the currency that buys all the good things of God for us, our daily bread, our forgiveness, and all our hopes and help. It was this same blood that ratified all the promises of Scripture for us.
But we cannot carry that sacred blood to God by ourselves. It is not ours to present to Him. Jesus therefore became our High Priest. He can rightfully present His own shed blood, that of His death as the Lamb of God to pay the price for our sins. We can only stand beside Him in gratitude and humility as He offers the blood of His death on our behalf to the Father. He says to us: ‘All the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God, by us.’ In our gratitude, we can only whisper at the end of our prayer to our Father, ‘In the name of Jesus, Amen, so be it.’ We may not realise it but, as we request the blessings Jesus bought for us, this brings more and more praise and glory to our Father who gave Jesus to us. Then we in turn are to teach others how to give glory to God, through the Gospel promises, thus hastening the end of sin.
1. How essential is the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of our sins? Matthew 26:28; Romans 3:25 [‘Propitiation’ - to bring us back into favour with God]; Hebrews 9:22.
COMPILER’S NOTE: ‘Almost all things’ refers to the fact that not all offerings were blood sacrifices; some offerings in the sanctuary were meal offerings, offerings of flour.
NOTE: ‘These brothers [Cain and Abel] were tested to prove whether they would believe and obey the word of God. They understood the system of offerings which God had ordained. They knew they were to express faith in the Saviour whom the offerings typified, and at the same time to acknowledge total dependence on Him for pardon. Without the shedding of blood, there could be no remission of sin. They were to show
their faith in the blood of Christ as the promised atonement [the means of making us one with God again after our sins have separated us from God] by offering the firstlings of the flock in sacrifice.’ From Eternity Past, page 37.
2. How do we see, in the sanctuary of old, that shed blood was essential for forgiveness, and for being brought into oneness with God? Leviticus 4:30-31.
NOTE: ‘Paul gloried in the cross, and well he might; for it was here that he humbled himself that he might be lifted up to true greatness. The price paid for his redemption revealed to him the value of his soul. The Son of God had to die for the sins that Paul had committed; the blood shed on the cross was for him, to save him from eternal ruin. The precious blood of Christ was of such value that a full atonement was made for the guilty soul, and this was to Paul his “glory.” It was through the blood of Christ that he had redemption, even the forgiveness of sins.’ Signs of the Times, November 24, 1890.