You Deserve to Die Because of Your Sin

While running through my blog roll this morning, I came across this link from Between Two Worlds of a video showing a Jewish passover sacrifice. It's unpleasant to watch, to say the least. But Professor Todd Bolen of BiblePlaces.com believes there's value in Christians seeing it. Here's why:

We talked about the appropriateness of putting this online. The 5-minute video is as graphic as it gets. More and more people today don't realize that meat doesn't originate at a grocery store. They have little concept of an animal being raised and then slaughtered. Furthermore, almost no one in the Western world has ever sacrificed an animal for religious purposes.

I think, however, that is precisely why this *graphic* video should be shown. We read about sacrifice in the Bible but we don't really understand what that means. We read passages that talk about the "life being in the blood," but those are just words that we don't really consider. We "know" that the wages of sin are high, but we don't get the life lesson that the ancient Israelites received every year.

The point of sacrifice was simply this: you deserve to die because of your sin. This animal is dying in your place. Watching the priest slice his throat and watching the blood drain out drove the point home much better than reading a chapter of Leviticus

I thought mostly of how much God hates sin. To require such a bloody, painful mess resulting in death from the Israelites on an annual basis is one thing. But that He required it from his own Son, our Lord, did make me reflect on the cost of my sin in a way I hadn't before. As Bolen says later in his post, forgiveness isn't cheap.

Comments

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1. Rael said the following at 8:52 AM on Apr 10:

Thanks for posting this, Motte. What a horribly real reminder of what happened 2,000 years ago outside Jerusalem on this Good Friday. May God helps us know more fully the weight of our sin and the worth of Christ the Innocent Lamb's death in our place!

2. Lissa said the following at 8:57 AM on Apr 10:

Wow. Thanks for the post. I am so glad I watched I this video even though it was hard. This gives Easter a whole new meaning.

3. Keith said the following at 9:46 AM on Apr 10:

That was a rather disturbing video. I was bothered that they didn`t cut the head off in one blow to kill the animal instantly¯ but instead cut its throat and let it suffer for a while. But then again, Christ suffered for a long time too. It would have been easier if they had just beheaded him, so it was over and done with instantly, but he waited and suffered. But He suffered even more than this lamb, because he also bore the sins of the world. What Christ did on the cross is pretty amazing.

4. Dan Gill said the following at 10:40 AM on Apr 10:

Not near as graphic as it could have been. They took pains to make sure the blood ran into the vessels.

Our society amazes me with how disconnected we are from reality. Those chicken nuggets you get at the restaurant came from a living, breathing bird. Those steaks came from a steer that had to be rendered down in a labor-intensive, messy job. Death is a part of life, and has been ever since the fall.

5. Nelima said the following at 11:58 AM on Apr 10:

A good reminder as to what the atonement should mean for us..
Keith (#3)They weren't to break any of its bones (Exodus 12:46). Cutting off the goat's head (animal in the video looked like a goat to me) would be a violation of that.

6. farmer Tom said the following at 12:02 PM on Apr 10:

Where's the love, Motte?

Why do you have to post such graphic violence?

Can't we just talk about love, sing happy songs, think pleasant thoughts and focus on the good things?

You radical Christians are so into blood and violence. Always talking about death and sin and shed blood and punishment and damnation and the law and right and wrong.

Can't we just ignore all that and love everybody and everything.

Love is the answer, love, love.

This comment posted as a preemptive strike against some mindless "christian" who does not understand the following passages of Scripture.

Romans 3: 23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Romans 5: 8But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 6: 23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Hebrews 9: 19For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,

20Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.

21Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.

22And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

23It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

24For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:

25Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;

26For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

27And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

28So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

7. Melisssa S. said the following at 12:15 PM on Apr 10:

I kept thinking of Isaiah 53: He was wounded for our transgressions...He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before it's shearers is silent, so he opened not His mouth. Seeing that video helped me realize more what an offense against God my sins are and made me feel more sadness/seriousness about what Jesus suffered on the cross, immensely grateful that God was willing to sacrifice His son, and that Jesus willingly submitted Himself like that. Because of Jesus, I'm clean! O, what manner of love!

8. dana111 said the following at 5:33 PM on Apr 10:

I deserve to die for my sins. God's grace is more than I can imagine, and I praise Him for it.

9. Charlotte C. said the following at 4:09 AM on Apr 11:

Thanks for posting this.

It'll make it easier to understand the Bible and what it meant to sacrifice a lamb.

10. Rachael said the following at 11:26 AM on Apr 11:

I've not seen the sacrifice video, though I think last year or something I came across a link to one.

The image of the 'lamb' is somewhat in my head this year. When I was watching TV with my husband the other night there was a drama about Jesus on, and I remember seeing a boy - I think,Jesus- holding a lamb. I don't know if He ever did that in real life, but still...

And to think about lambs. Perhaps I'll search for a cute picture of a lamb later on...or look for the picture in my animal rights calendar if I can find it.

To think that such a sweet, innocent creature was the sacrifice for so long...and then Jesus became the lamb! He is the "lamb" of God. How often did I come across that description without really thinking about the imagery.

Then last night at a Bible study 1 Cor. 5, or something, was brought up, and in there it called Jesus the lamb....

My name means lamb.

Jesus replaced the lamb. He died in the place of the lamb, in the place of me...

11. brx said the following at 12:06 PM on Apr 11:

Bleeding to death is probably one of the least painful and most humane ways to die.

At Boundless, we often talk about what it means to be a real man. A few guy friends organized a feast with fresh roasted meat that we would slaughter outselves. We thought it would be a manly, bonding experience. Wielding the knife and intimately cutting the animal's warm flesh - something we had never done before - we realized a closer and more connected understanding of what it means to sacrifice one life to feed others. We hadn't expected that.

It's still a far cry from Jesus' sacrifice. You're right Motte. Forgiveness isn't cheap; its turning away wrestles hard with justice which demands equity.

Grace & peace

12. brx said the following at 12:27 PM on Apr 11:

Re: Charlotte C. [#9];

For more intimate understanding, I highly recommend talking with some Messianic Jews and visiting a few small-community Seder suppers. Each Seder with different groups has been slightly different and I pick up new details I didn't know before.

We who don't know the Jewish culture miss soooooo much of the rich culteral references in the Gospels because they were written to Jews in a context where much understanding was already assumed by the authors. The Gospels are so much more vivid when we understand the details of the cultural context. It's like switching from a silent black&white film where you're trying to interpret expressions and guess what they're saying -- to full-color wide-screen and 5.1 channel surround-sound in native language!

Grace, peace & adventure!

13. Charlotte C. said the following at 4:34 AM on Apr 12:

brx #12

Thanks for the suggestion :)

I'm trying to read the Bible these days but I find it difficult because I don't understand the rituals or customs that take place in the Bible. If I get the chance, I'll try it out. Or maybe going on a trip to Jerusalem may be helpful too.

14. Charlotte C. said the following at 4:59 AM on Apr 12:

Farmer Tom #6

In addition to that, we got to understand that the world is far from clean, happy, lovey dovey and pleasant. After the fall of man humans had to experience pain, death, sin, etc.

We need to be reminded of what had to take place when we sinned before Jesus died for our sins. Sin meant death and to cover for that sin, we needed to take the life of another, which was a lamb, etc. Life through the Blood, right?

But Jesus died for our sins so we don't need to sacrifice a lamb or any other animal for that matter. God loved us too much to see us all die in our sins so he sent Jesus to the Earth for us. The sacrifice and suffering Jesus went through for us, I'm sure was much graphic in real life. But through believing Jesus, the one who died for our sins, we are redeemed and have life. Isn't His love wonderful?

Talking about that doesn't make us 'radical Christians'. We should find it helpful because it reminds us of our sin and how humble we should be about that. In the Old Testament, that's what took place when a person sinned. It doesn't make anyone 'radical' to accept that.

It's a good reminder for us all and it helps us be even more grateful for what Jesus did for us. To avoid the whole topic would be avoiding the truth of the situation.

God Bless :)

15. Collin said the following at 6:28 AM on Apr 14:

While doing missions in Uganda this summer I killed a goat in the exact same way. I remember being nervous and then thinking at the time, "I've eaten so many animals, but I've never seen one slaughtered before." We live in a pretty different environment where the imagery used in the Bible can fail to impress us like it should. I think it's important that everyone sees that. Thanks!

16. Pat said the following at 10:57 AM on Apr 14:

Watching the slaughter of this innocent lamb as a "sin offering", I am reminded of verses that speak of offerings being an offense to God, he prefers obedience. I was sad to see this beautiful, innocent creature killed. How happy I am in the one, final and complete sacrifice offered in Jesus!

1 Samuel 15:22-23 (NIV) .."Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry."

Matthew Henry: "Obedience was the law of innocency, but sacrifice supposes sin come into the world and is but a feeble attempt to take away that which obedience would have prevented. It is much easier to bring a bullock or lamb to be burnt upon the altar than to bring every high thought into obedience to God and the will subject to his will."

Psalm 40:6-8 (NAS) Sacrifice and meal offering Thou hast not desired; my ears Thou hast opened; burnt offering and sin offering Thou hast not required. Then I said, "Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me; I delight to do Thy will, O my God; Thy Law is within my heart."

17. Jo said the following at 8:52 AM on Apr 15:

I love that farmer Tom's preemptive strike was completely unnecessary. :P

18. Rose Cotter said the following at 4:46 AM on Apr 16:

I dont understand it...why does there have to be a sacrifice of blood? and why was it so cruel?

Like i understand that the life is in the blood but why????

19. Tommy Marx said the following at 11:54 PM on Apr 19:

If God hated sin, why did he create a race that would sin? If God didn't create sin, then why are we worshipping a middle man instead of the One powerful enough to overrule God?