“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!'” — John 1:29
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In the outer courtyard of the tabernacle, there was the bronze altar where bulls and lambs were sacrificed. Our sin offends a holy and perfect God, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22). There is always a cost to forgiveness.
Several years ago, Dwight Howard of the Houston Rockets let teammate Chandler Parsons borrow his white Ferrari. Now, imagine if Chandler was driving recklessly and crashed Dwight’s car into a fire hydrant. I’m sure Chandler would apologize and ask for forgiveness. And because of his love for his teammate, I’m sure Dwight would forgive Chandler. But Dwight would have one question: “Who is going to pay to have my damaged Ferrari repaired or replaced?” Someone would have to atone so that Dwight’s anger is appeased.
There is a cost to forgiveness. In this case, either Dwight pays out of his own pocket or Chandler pays for a new white Ferrari.
When John the Baptist saw Jesus in John 1:29, he exclaimed, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” The priests would sacrifice bulls and lambs to atone for sin, but when Jesus, the Lamb of God, died on the cross, He uttered in John 19:30, “It is finished.” No more sacrificing bulls and lambs.
Jesus paid the price to pay for the forgiveness of our sins. So today, give thanks that you are forgiven and that God’s righteous anger has been appeased by Jesus Christ.
— Ikki Soma, Houston Rockets chaplain
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