Shammah Temple Fellowship: Sermon of March 31, 2024
By Pastor Egide Nibitanga
Theme: Jesus Christ, the worthy sacrifice to save sinful mankind
Reference scriptures: 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
In life, almost everyone wants a soft life. There are people who pay the price for others to reap fruits of the sacrifices and hard works accomplished by others. Some work on things that will benefit for the next generation. Spiritually, Jesus did exactly that, in a way not seen ever before and that will never be in any other circumstances.
God had decreed that to be able to approach Him, people needed to give sacrifice. From the rich to the poor, everyone needed to give something – as good as God wanted. Unfortunately, all the sacrifices of the sort could not take the sin away, they could only hide it, let’s say temporarily put it into hiding. Finally, God resolved
Why Jesus had to be given as a worthy sacrifice?
- Jesus Christ was in a human flesh
Though in flesh, Jesus needed to be born not from bodily desires, the reason why He was born from a woman who knew no man. God was never satisfied by all the other sacrifices and Jesus was the ultimate savior to mankind. “Therefore, when Christ enters in the world, He says, ‘Sacrifice and offering you have not desired, but [instead] you have prepared a body for me [to offer]; In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have taken no delight’” (Heb 10:5&6).
- Jesus Christ was holy
The life of Jesus Christ was so righteous that even those who had to accuse Him before crucifixion couldn’t find sin in Him. Judas also regretted at last to sell a sinless person in Jesus Christ. “He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness]” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
For that, we were accepted by God because of the exchange – Jesus stood in our place and He gave us His place to take over His own righteousness.
How does God see us through Jesus Christ?
God sees us as His own people [through Christ]
We have become God’s own people through the work Jesus did on the cross. We were adopted to be called Jesus’ own brethren, God’s own children though we didn’t really deserve it. Jesus is not ashamed to be called our brother. No “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear [of God’s judgement], but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons [the Spirit producing sonship] by which we [joyfully] cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ ” (Romans 8:15).
All in all, our Easter celebration should reflect the real meaning of Jesus sacrifice to our redemption. Jesus being a worthy sacrifice that could save us from death, he had to be in flesh to endure in depth the horrors of this world and also be righteously holy to be accepted by God to save mankind. May we always remember this, not just on Easter, but in our daily lives.
