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Articles
Reflecting on Jesus' Sacrifice
If you knew someone was in need of help, struggling to make ends meet, someone who was broken - and you were able to help them, financially, or otherwise - but you also knew ahead of time they would squander your generosity, take advantage of your help, that they would use your kindness to make bad decisions, would you still help them? Would we still have a heart to lend a helping hand? If so, to what extent would we be willing to help?
I understand that is not necessarily an easy question to answer. It should probably raise many other questions. You'd certainly want more information, so maybe we'd just say that we have take it on case-by-case basis...But, in every case, that is, the case of each of us, Jesus lent his helping hand by going to the cross. Yes, there are conditions to receiving the benefits of his grace, but his sacrifice has been made.
For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6-8).
Because of the context (Paul writing to Christians) we may think, 'Yes, Christ died for US, we who are saved...' That's true. But what's also true is that He died for us AND everyone else.
For the death he died he died to sin once for all; but the life that he lives, he lives to God (Romans 6:10).
Jesus died for those who would believe in him, and those who he knew would never believe. He made redemption possible for everyone, because he loves everyone.
By this we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God (Hebrews 10:10-12).
One sacrifice for sins, for all time…Jesus knew ahead of time that the world needed him. He knew that he was and is and will always be the only solution to sin. He knew ahead of time every single soul that would reject his grace. And he knew ahead of time every single soul that would accept his grace. And even after accepting it, even after being saved, how many times have we failed him? Jesus knew already.
And he still went to the cross, where his body was broken. Because without him, we are broken. And he's the only one who can make us whole.
