Sitting in the Stickiness
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:6
"For the wages of sin is death," (Romans 6:23). A truth we've read many times, but may not always sit in. This week, my Sunday school teacher introduced the topic we would be studying for the next few months, and challenged us to pay attention if certain verses or commands made us feel a little uncomfortable. She pointed out that sitting in the stickiness of those uncomfortable feelings can be a good thing, forcing us to take a closer look at ourselves and how we measure up to the teachings of Jesus.
I had this in mind as studying the process of animal sacrifice and scattering of blood this week made me feel uncomfortable. Because of the age in which we live, we are not familiar with the act of animal sacrifice. Most of us couldn't possibly picture killing an animal once, let alone as a routine ritual. But just because the act bothers us now, doesn't mean we should assume it didn't bother people back then. We shouldn't view them as numb to it. For most, these were animals that they had helped birth and raise alongside their mothers. I'm sure when they realized an animal would be set aside for sacrifice due to its unblemished nature, they would try not to become too attached. It was inevitable, though, for tears to be shed at the entrance to the tent of meeting, tears not only over the sins for which they were atoning, but tears for the life that had to be lost to make things right again with God.
As I was studying Leviticus 3, the specific instruction to "lay your hand on the head of the offering"(Lev. 3:2, 13) kept jumping out at me. This action was meant to symbolize the sins of the person transferring to the animal, which would then be slaughtered to atone for those sins.
In the commentary I've read alongside this study, the author encourages the reader to ask herself what these Old Testament sacrifices reveal about Jesus in the New Testament. I coupled this challenge with sitting in the uncomfortableness of it, so that when I read the instruction to lay one's hand on the animal's head before slaughter, I pictured myself laying my own hand on the precious head of Jesus before He was lead to the cross. This picture immediately brought tears to my eyes as I saw in sharp relief my personal connection to the darkest day in history. And in that moment, I found that I related more closely to my Old Testament predecessors than I ever thought possible.
Maybe, like me, you sometimes forget, or don't fully appreciate, the deep significance of Jesus becoming the sacrificial lamb, the substitute who carried our sins. Isaiah 53:6 sums up this relationship well: "We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (NIV).
WE have gone astray.
WE have sinned.
WE have fallen short.
But on HIM was the iniquity laid.
He died so that you and I could live. He bore the weight of your sins and mine so we could walk free. In that moment, the hands of every sinner were laid on His head, and then He was led away to be slaughtered.
The perfection OT sacrifice through the promised Lamb of God is summed up well by the author of Hebrews:
In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness…For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But He has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him" (Hebrews 9:22, 24-28).
Of course, we can read about Jesus's crucifixion with the knowledge of what joy would come in three days' time. But I think it is helpful, if not necessary, to sit in the uncomfortable quiet of the in-between time. To acknowledge and appreciate the sacrifice of the Lamb. I encourage you to think about this alongside me this week, friend. I'm not saying I want you to walk around feeling sad and sorry, but rather alert and sober-minded, letting this idea of substitutionary sacrifice lend perspective to how you choose to go about your days. Let's make the choice today to not overshadow or underappreciate the immense gift we have been given. Amen.
