Preacher: Rev. Joel Beyer
Keywords: sacrificial lamb , shofar , sacrifice , cross , perfection , imperfection , maundy thursday
Summary:
Our society places a high priority on a perfection that just can’t be achieved. We want to be the perfect parents, have the perfect diet, be in the perfect neighborhood so that our children can have the perfect education. Prepare for the perfect retirement. Belong to the perfect church where everything is catered directly to our tastes and have the perfect boss and coworkers who we work perfectly with. Push for a perfect moral society. In Christ Jesus, he gives us the strength and the power to pursue such things, but always keeping in mind the reason why. Not because we are such perfect people, or because we can attain such perfection on our own, but because we were bought by the King with a price, not with gold or silver, but the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot, in other words, the perfect lamb of God.
Detail:
Maundy Thursday
“I am Your Sacrificial Lamb”
“How could you do this to yourself, Angel?” Angel’s parents, John and Elaine couldn’t understand what had led up to this situation. Their daughter was in the ICU. She had almost died. John and Elaine din’t understand why Angel, a beautiful 17-year old girl would starve herself nearly to death. They felt they should have noticed what was happening. Angel confessed that the past few months had been a blur of bingeing and purging, which she had kept from them until the past few weeks. Her bulimia had almost killed her. Angel said she hated her body. Even when she fell below 100 pounds, she said she felt fat and ugly. She said her imperfections were always on her mind, waking or sleeping. Angel, unfortunately isn’t alone.
It comes as no surprise that millions of young men and women across the world are in search of perfection that just doesn’t exist. From the scandals about photoshopping women to enhance their figures in catalogues and advertisements, to the millions of people who go in each year for plastic and cosmetic surgeries to make themselves look and feel better than they are. In fact, last year alone over 15 million procedures were done in the US, up 5 percent from last year and up 45% from ten years ago. And it doesn’t look like its going down. Name a body part, and sure enough there’s a surgery to transform it. From eyelids, to calves to cheek implants, it’s incredible the amount of pain and cash people are willing to go through in order to feel good about themselves.
In fact, some are even now calling botox injections a cure for depression. Researchers say there is a link between the muscles in the face and your brains emotional response, thus if you smile more, may actually feel happier. And when you frown, you can actually create or perpetuate feelings of anxiety or depression. And so botox injections into your cheeks and lips and eyes may actually keep you from frowning, thus make you unable to become depressed. There’s also the flip side where you might be so depressed because you can’t smile either.
Now I’m not saying that plastic surgery is evil and you shouldn’t have it done, for many people it can be an incredible blessing, I’m just pointing out that our society places a high priority on a perfection that just can’t be achieved. We want to be the perfect parents, have the perfect diet, be in the perfect neighborhood so that our children can have the perfect education. Prepare for the perfect retirement. Belong to the perfect church where everything is catered directly to our tastes and have the perfect boss and coworkers who we work perfectly with. Push for a perfect moral society. And its not that those aren't worthy goals, because they are. In fact, the apostle Peter writes that we should strive to be holy as our heavenly father is holy, perfect, in all that we are, in our relationships, in our service to God and to others, in our vocations as Christian people in this world. (elaborate). And in Christ Jesus, he gives us the strength and the power to pursue such things, but always keeping in mind the reason why. Not because we are such perfect people, or because we can attain such perfection on our own, but because we were bought by the King with a price, not with gold or silver, but the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot, in other words, the perfect lamb of God.
You see, the world is disfigured, you and I are disfigured and imperfect, yes in our appearances physically, but also spiritually because of sin. Our disobedience to the perfect will of God to serve Him above all else and to love our neighbors as our selves, was inherited at our birth and continues to wreak havoc in our relationships and in our world even today. No matter how hard we try to remove sin and its consequences, it rears its ugly head each and every day. Angel felt it. No matter how thin she got, there was never perfection. The insecurity that she felt in her body went much deeper than skin. It was an insecurity in her soul, that she would not be loved. She could not love herself, much less love others unless she was perfect. Her imperfections caused her to sink deeper and deeper into herself. Have you ever done that? Have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror, or looked back upon your performance at work, or pondered the last fight you had with a friend or a spouse and said, “it’s hopeless”. I am just no good. And instead of jumping up to fix what it wrong, or change your attitude, you simply sulk and complain. I know I have. Sin has wrecked every chance of perfection this side of heaven.
But what Peter is saying, is that for those who are IN CHRIST JESUS, sin does not have to be the last word. Imperfection does not have to be the driving force in our life. Despair over our insecurities and failures is not the end, because we have been made perfect in the eyes of the only one who matters. The sinless and perfect Son of God, the perfect lamb of God, came down to this earth and was disfigured, marred, stricken, smitten, and afflicted, pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our sins, and the punishment that was upon him brought us peace. Although we are not perfect, nor will we ever be, Christ, the one without blemish or defect was holy for us. Through Him, we come into full perfection. Christ’s perfection is ours, just as the perfection of the lamb to be sacrificed substituted for the imperfections of the people.
We are disfigured because of our sin. In this beautiful exchange, our sins our imperfections were placed upon Him, and through the shedding of His blood we received the perfection of God.
I’d like to shed some light on the sacrificial system that was in place during the time of Christ for a moment. Over a thousand years before Jesus was born, God instituted this practice of animals being sacrificed for the forgiveness of sins of the Israelites. And the average Jew at Jesus’ time knew because at the Temple Sacrifices were made at least twice a day at morning and night. At that precise moment, a priest would blow a shofar. (Show the video). In the city there would be the hustle and bustle of sounds of people and as soon as the shofar blew, it was silent, and everyone would stop and know that a lamb was sacrificed and sins were forgiven. Twice a day this happened for over a thousand years. Oh yeah, and I forgot to tell you what times those sacrifices took place, the first was at 9:00 a.m., which was also the time when Jesus was nailed to the cross. and the other time? 3:00pm. And it was at three in the afternoon that the Scriptures say Jesus gave up his spirit and died. And if you were in the city that day you would have heard that shofar blow at those times and knelt down in prayer and thanksgiving for the forgiveness of your sins, but right outside the city, Jesus, THE PERFECT LAMB OF GOD, was being sacrificed for the sins of all those people, but not just them, for you and and me and all people everywhere, and that changes everything doesn’t it?
On the cross, the Sacrificial lamb of God, the perfect Son of God was given for us though He had done nothing wrong, and instead of looking upon the world and you and I with disgust as our sins deserve, the Father looked upon His Son with disgust and turned His head, and forsook him. Now, the lamb of God has taken our place, we are made perfect in His sight, Completely and Fully, and Jesus says to You and to me, my perfect and beloved child, I am Your Sacrificial Lamb, and SOON you will be with me in paradise.
But what about today? This doesn’t meant that we now enjoy full and visible perfection today, we still experience the limitations of flawed sinful life, but we are by faith able to see through to the end of our imperfections and to that day when all our weaknesses will be eliminated and we will rejoice, and in the meantime , we are free to strive for the holiness of God knowing that we are completely sinful, yet completely perfect in God’s eyes. We are free to be sober-minded in the midst of chaos. We are free to have hope in the midst of suffering. We are free to love even those who have hurt us and continue to do so. We are free to share this Good news of the mercy and love of the sacrificial lamb of God with people like us who don’t deserve it.
Because even on the night that Jesus was betrayed by Judas, on the night that Peter would misinterpret Jesus Lordship strike a man’s ear off, on the night when His disciples couldn’t stay awake and watch with Him while He prayed, and the night that Jesus told Peter he would deny Him before men out of fear, Jesus, the perfect lamb of God, the one worthy of honor and glory and praise, the one by who's name every knee will one day bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord of all creation, got down on his hands and knees and washed His disciples feet and said if I don’t serve You, you have no part with me. And then he took bread and he said, here, take and eat. You aren’t perfect, far from it, but this is my body given for you. Here, take and drink, this cup of my blood is poured out for you for the forgiveness of your sins. Angel, I know you see yourself as less than ideal, but to me you are perfect. Christian, I know you struggle with depression and lust and bitterness, You are broken and disfigured because of your sin, but to me, You are my beloved child. Jesus became the perfect sacrificial lamb who died once and for all, taking our present imperfections upon Himself and through faith, giving us His perfection.
While our sin still sticks with us today, and our perfection is only visible to us by faith and not by sight, one day we will join the angelic hosts in proclaiming “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! (Revelation 5:12) And in that day ironically and wonderfully, all who now suffer disgrace and shame will know that the “Lamb at the center of the throne will be our shepherd; He will lead us to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from our eyes” (Revelation 7:17). Receive tonight, we receive the body and the blood of the lamb, Jesus Christ, who was slain for us, a foretaste of that glorious feast that is to come, when our faith is made sight, and our perfection made complete. Rejoice in that hope, cling to that good news, be holy as Your heavenly Father has made you holy, and rest in His grace. Amen.
