Sacrifice

“If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.” (C. T. Studd, English Missionary 1860-1931)

In the story of King Kong, tribal tradition held that a young woman was to be placed on a platform in the jungle for a gargantuan primate as a sacrifice to maintain peaceful relations between the beast and the people living nearby. Somehow this arrangement was agreeable to all parties involved and the young woman served a greater purpose in death than in life by acquiring peace and sparing the lives of her people. One planned sacrifice replaced random violence and unexpected death.

This arrangement is not unique to jungle tribes. Or to Hollywood. Or to the Aztecs. The concept of sacrifice to appease a higher power came from none other than God Himself. The fact that humans have corrupted and misunderstood the process does not detract from the perfection of the original plan.

God sacrificed the first animal to atone for human sin back in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve took the forbidden fruit and tried to hide their shame and nakedness from God. So “the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” (Genesis 3:20) That skin came from an animal that had to die to cover the shame of the ones who had sinned.

Many of the details of a sacrificial system in the theocracy that was the nation of Israel are described in the book of Leviticus. A sin offering required a young bull without defect. (Leviticus 4:3) A guilt offering required a young ram without defect. (Leviticus 5:15) Some situations required cakes to be baked with oil and salt. Some required animals. But the purpose of the sacrifices, or offerings, was to remind the people of the God who made them and whom they served. A symbolic gesture to clear guilt and make amends for their sin or to acknowledge God’s blessing and provision by giving something back to Him. A constant reminder of their need to repent and of the God who would forgive them.

Our sin required sacrifice, too. An offering to atone for the corrupt nature of mankind and for the individual sins of each person on earth. Animals may have served the purpose for a while, but the greater purpose of the system was to point the way to the perfect sacrifice to come – Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Perfectly human to sympathize with our weakness, but also perfectly and fully divine so that He could pay the price for sin once and for all.

So if Jesus paid the price once and for all – the perfect sacrifice – is the concept of sacrifice now obsolete? Are we exempt from the requirements of the biblical followers of God? As atonement for sin, yes. As a way for us to respond to God, no.

What does God want from us in terms of sacrifice? What does it mean in New Testament terms and for us today? Here is an Old Testament passage that I love, demonstrating the nature of sacrifice more than the details of the act itself.

²² David said to him, "Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the LORD, that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price."

²³ Araunah said to David, "Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this."

²⁴ But King David replied to Araunah, "No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing." (1 Chronicles 21:22-24)

Notice the key line that King David utters: No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing. For us, Jesus said that first part: He paid the full price for our sin. For the fall of mankind. He redeemed us. We cannot pay the full price; we have grace. “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people.” (Hebrews 9:27-28) God demonstrated His love for us by sending Jesus to die for us, while we were still stuck in our sin. (Romans 5:8) That’s grace.

As for the second part of David’s response to Araunah, that’s something we can relate to. In his statement is the idea of responding to God’s activity in such a way that reveals our gratitude and commitment to Him because of His great love and power. While Christ’s sacrifice for our sin was once and for all, our sacrifice in response to His grace is ongoing. And there is a difference for us, like there was for the Old Testament Jews, between going through the ritual motions of a sacrifice (i.e. fasting for Lent, tithing) and fully responding to God’s Presence and activity in our lives with whatever we have to give.

Look at what the apostle Paul has to say about what our lives should look like:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1-2)

Or the psalmist:

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Psalm 51:17)

And what about Jesus’ own words, in quoting the prophet Hosea?

On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means; ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:12-13)

What exactly is required or expected based on these verses? What is God’s desire for us today? I see the following concepts in these and other passages of Scripture, as it relates to the concept of sacrifice.

1) Nothing is off limits. There is nothing in our lives that does not belong to God. Therefore, our very bodies and everything we do with them are meant to be offered back up to God in thanksgiving for the love and blessings He has shown us.

2) God wants our hearts more than our rituals. If the psalmist is right, and the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, and if Scripture tells me God wants truth in the inmost parts and that He holds my tears and prayers in Heaven, then my emotional honesty is valued highly by my God. He wants me to confess my sins quickly and accurately to clear the way for our relationship to grow. He wants me to rage when my heart is angry and to cry when it’s broken. He is the only source of healing and direction and everything in His character longs to have His children come to Him and receive what healing and comfort He alone can offer. Obedience matters most to God when we come with our hearts in it.

3) Sacrifice costs something. David understood that monetarily. Hosea learned the lesson emotionally. And Jesus wanted the Pharisees to understand it, too. We can’t protect ourselves from life’s worst-case scenarios or from heartache by following the rules to skate by. Nor can we skirt the real issues in our lives, thinking that by not dealing with them, we can stay off God’s radar and not go deep into our spiritual lives. Following Christ with our whole hearts for our whole lives is work. Just like marriage. Just like valuable friendships. But oh, the payoff! Struggling to find the right words, or fighting the embarrassment to apologize and confess to make a relationship good again are valuable sacrifices that bring us closer to God.

4) God cares a great deal about how we treat others. He would rather have us treat one another compassionately than to kill an animal to follow the rules. He wants our lives to reflect His character of unconditional love, humility, mercy, and forgiveness to the people around us. And depending on whom God brings into your life, that may feel more sacrificial some days than others!

Which means more to you – a Christmas present at an office gift exchange or a “just because I was thinking about you” present? The one that shows an effort and something personal, right? Genuine thoughtfulness means more than rote obligation any day. And in that, I believe God is like us. He would rather have our spontaneous praise and our heartfelt sacrifices when life is hard than a robot following the rules. But make no mistake – the commitment is hard and the price is high. But in the words of Peter, when Jesus asked if the disciples wanted to leave Him after hearing a hard teaching: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6:68-69) The sacrifice of our entire lives devoted to giving back to God all that He wants from us is hard. But what’s the alternative?

• Read Hebrews 10:1-18. Does this shed more light on the way that Jesus fulfilled all the Old Testament Law requirements for sacrifices? What insight have you gained?

• Which of the Scripture passages in today’s lesson resonate with you most? Why? How will you choose to respond to what God is saying to you through that passage this week?

• Is there an area of your life where you feel God is calling you to sacrifice? Relationships? Worship? The way you treat your body? How does that make you feel – Apprehensive? Excited? Wary?