It is argued that it was not necessary for Jesus to die on
the cross. Why not? Because God had been able to forgive Israel before the
cross! Taking this a step further – if Jesus is unnecessary, then it would seem
that this opens the door to the claim that there are many ways to salvation,
not just through faith in Jesus.
Let’s break this issue into two parts:
1.
God did “forgive” repentant Israelites in view
of Jesus’ assured future payment of sins’ like leasing a car in view of the
monthly payments.
2.
However, this “forgiveness” did not cleanse and
eradicate sin but merely covered it over.
I plan to only focus on #2. Before Jesus’ atonement for sin,
the sin problem was merely “passed over”:
·
[Jesus Christ] whom God put forward as a
propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s
righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former
sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be
just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:25-26)
God would only truly forgive sin after the “show of his
righteousness.” It was through the cross that He demonstrated His love for us
(Romans 5:8-10) and the enormity of our sins that required nothing less than
the death of God Himself.
What then was the fate of the OT saints? Their complete
forgiveness also had to await the cross. The blood of bulls and goats could not
pay for our sins:
·
For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the
sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the
purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our
conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore he is the
mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the
promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from
the transgressions committed under the first covenant. Hebrews 9:13-15 (ESV)
The OT saints could not be purified, redeemed, or even
forgiven without the atoning blood of Christ, which worked retroactively to
forgive the “transgressions committed under the first covenant.”
It was the promise of the New Covenant (NC) that would bring
the true forgiveness and cleansing from sin. To demonstrate this, Hebrews cites
Jeremiah regarding the promised NC:
·
…then he [the Holy Spirit] adds, “I will remember their sins and their
lawless deeds no more.” [Jeremiah
31:34] Where there is forgiveness of
these, there is no longer any offering for sin. (Hebrews 10:17-18; 8:12)
Evidently, there hadn’t been any “forgiveness of these” until
the cross. Instead, the continuous offering of animal sacrifices demonstrated
that they could only accomplish a superficial and temporary forgiveness:
·
For since the law has but a shadow of the good
things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by
the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those
who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the
worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness
of sins? But in these sacrifices there
is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls
and goats to take away sins…We have been sanctified through the offering of the
body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10:1-4, 10)
Instead of eradicating sin, the animal offering served as a “reminder”
that they were still in their sins. It is only through the blood of Christ that
we are sanctified and purified so that we can approach God in confidence:
·
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to
enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he
opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we
have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart
in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19-22)
The OT saints had been terrified by the presence of God. Only
the high priest could enter into the Holy of Holies, representing the presence
of God, and only once a year after making the most elaborate preparations. This
had taught the Israelites that there still existed a sin-separation between
themselves and their God.
However, this was all changed when Jesus took our sins upon
Himself and died for us. Upon His death, the separating curtain of the Holy of
Holies was torn in two, symbolizing that they could then enter into His
presence (Hebrews 9:8-9):
·
And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn
in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The
tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep
were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into
the holy city and appeared to many. (Matthew 27:51-53)
Presumably, these saints then ascended into heaven where
they could now reside in the presence of the Lord. Why? Because they could not receive
this privilege until the atonement of Jesus:
·
These all [the former OT heroes of the faith] died
in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and
greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and
exiles on the earth… And all these, though commended through their faith, did
not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us,
that apart from us they should not be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:13, 39-40; 1
Peter 1:12)
These exemplary OT saints could only be cleansed of their sins after the cross. How blessed we are today, having the confidence that we have been entirely cleansed of our sins and have the Spirit of Christ abiding within us. While the OT saints had been visited by the Spirit, they could not be indwelt until they were cleansed by a God now satisfied that righteousness has been accomplished. There is no other way!
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