Our Sins were Transferred to Jesus
(THURSDAY before Easter) APRIL 1
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit. 1 Peter 3:18
A Roman soldier and a prison guard walk down a narrow corridor in a Roman prison. Imagine this scene: the soldier holds up a torch. Back in the shadows, a man crouches in terror. The guard with his key opens the door. “Barabbas, get up and come with me.”
Barabbas begins to plead, “No! No, wait! Don’t take me! Have mercy!” The soldier says, “You’re not going to die. Come here. Look over on that hill. That’s the cross we made for you. But there’s somebody else on it. He’s taking your place.”
I’m not implying that Barabbas was saved, but that God arranged a perfect picture of substitution.
When the Lord Jesus Christ died, He fulfilled yet another Old Testament symbolism. The high priest would take a goat called “the scapegoat,” lay his hand upon its head, and confess the sins of the people. Their sins were symbolically transferred to the goat, which would then be led outside the city walls, where the goat would be killed and his bloodshed. Jesus was led outside Jerusalem’s walls where His blood was shed and He died. Jesus was our scapegoat. Our sins were laid upon him. He carried them to the cross wherein agony and blood He died.
The sole purpose for the cross of Calvary was substitution. God forgave our sin through Jesus’ suffering in our place. Just and sinless, Jesus died for the unjust—Barabbas, you, me, everyone—that He might bring us to Himself. Salvation, eternity in fellowship with God—it’s all there for the taking. Receive God’s offered gift today. All you must do is receive Him and make Him Lord.
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