The sacrifice of Jesus is appreciated when we have an understanding of the sacrificial system practiced by the Jews for almost 1,500 years.

An Historical Overview

God gave Israel a priesthood and a sacrificial system. The priest offered sacrifices on behalf of the people for their sins. The sacrificing of an animal conveyed how serious sin is because it demanded (1) that a death take place and (2) it be the death of an innocent victim. Though countless thousands of animals were sacrificed, none of these offerings secured the forgiveness of even one sin.

What purpose did they serve? They pointed forward to a time when God would provide the perfect sacrifice, the Lamb of God, whose sacrificial death would take away our sins.

Once For All

In the Old Testament times, the priest stood at the altar and offered animal sacrifices for the sins of the people. It is against that practice and background that the sacrifice of Jesus is presented. Scripture tells us that Jesus offered himself to the Father as the perfect atonement for our sins; he was the priest who offered himself.

"And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest [Jesus] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God … Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more. And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin." (Hebrews 10:10-18)

Through the one and only sacrifice of Jesus Christ, a full pardon of our sins has been made possible. Therefore Jesus does not need to make another sacrifice of himself, neither does his one sacrifice have to be continued for it would serve no purpose.

And to emphasise the glorious truth that his death secured our full pardon, the Bible used a powerful illustration to make the point.

"Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." (Hebrews 9:27-28)

The death of Jesus occurs as often as man dies – once!

Praise God for what took place on a hill called Calvary on a Friday we call, good