Easter 2021 Redemption

 Our daily reading highlighted Hebrews 9:11, 12 which says: 

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; 12 and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

David Jeremiah wanted to focus on the idea of redemption. That was the purpose of the Cross. It was to provide the redemption for lost mankind. Then he made a statement that I have heard misconstrued many times. It was, “It was God’s plan to enjoy fellowship with His creation for eternity....” I am sure that Dr. Jeremiah did not mean it as it is often presented.

The erroneous idea is that God was somehow diminished or deprived of something that He desired when Adam chose to disobey. There is even a “praise song” that says something like God didn’t want heaven without me or a similar sentiment. It is accurate in proclaiming that the Lord did not want us to miss heaven, but He is not diminished nor impoverished by our absence. And to keep our egos in check, it is no better with us there.

The reason God created us, and subsequently redeemed fallen mankind, was so that we could enjoy the blessing of eternal fellowship with Him. The Godhead, in the Persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, has constant, complete, and eternal community, communication, and fellowship. He does not “need” anything, let alone the adoration or attention from His creation. God was not reduced in any way when Adam sinned. Adam was the one who lost it all.

I was trying to imagine an example of God’s fellowship and first considered the comparison of a billionaire giving out dollar bills, or for that matter, hundred dollar bills. He has so much that giving away a few would not cause a dent in his net worth. But the analogy breaks down in the sense that even if the reduction was a mere iota, it would be a loss. God can give without “losing” anything. He is not diminished, nor enriched for that matter, by anything that happens.

Then the perfect analogy “occurred” to me. (Call it whatever you want. Was it inspired?) God is like a book. The book can and will dispense information to anyone who reads it. The book does not “lose” anything when read, and it still has all of the information available for the next person who chooses to read it.

Extending the analogy even further, the book is neither enriched nor impoverished when people read or do not read it. It is there, and it is available. The “loser” is me if I refuse to avail myself of its contents. Conversely, I am enriched when I consume the content. The book is unchanged.

And that is how and why Easter, the death and resurrection of the God-man, Jesus, comes into focus. The “book” was not taken away from us. We were disqualified from being able to read it: to participate in the fellowship of God. And not only were we disqualified, we were disabled. We were not able to do so because of our state. The “loser” was crippled man, you and me. And, like our friend Samson, millennia after Adam, we did not know that the Spirit had left us. (Judges 16:20) We do not truly know what we have lost, nor that we have even lost it. God did not lose anything, because He, like the book, was offering the opportunity for knowledge of Himself to all mankind. When we walked away it did not injure nor “cost” Him anything.

But, unlike the book, He recognized the problem. We were disabled and disqualified. Even if we could live a perfect life from now on, we would still have the history of rejection, rebellion, and failure. So the perfect, omniscient, omnipotent One made a way for the imperfect, unknowing, and impotent creation to be redeemed.

He sacrificed Himself, in the form of Jesus, The Son, to pay the ransom, which was “perfect blood.” That is what the verses above mean. The cost, the ransom to release the captives, and enable them, us, to return to the condition in which we can enjoy Him, was paid. (That is a complicated, if not convoluted sentence.) It was, “Paid in full, and paid eternally.”

“Once and for all,” is repeated in Hebrews 7:27. The translators did not put an exclamation point there, but it certainly needs it. ! There! And maybe a few more!!!

The Resurrection was the proof that the payment was sufficient, accepted, and efficacious. I get a notice from the bank when I deposit a check. But it says the check is “pending.” If, for some reason, the check does not “clear,” I get another notice. Finally, when I attempt to withdraw the funds, I discover that it was or was not valid. The “Bank of Heaven” sent the notice that the payment was received, it was accepted, and it was sufficient to cover the entire bill for redemption. That was the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Now that gets a “Glory! Hallelujah!”

Incidentally, that is why the defense of the validity of the Resurrection is so vital. If we allow it to be explained away, all is lost. Just read 1 Corinthians 15 to get the whole argument. Paul did a masterful job of defending it, and explaining why he had to do so. Read it.

The parable of the prodigal son falls down on this point. The father was diminished by the loss of his son. And the killing of the fatted calf also reduced the herd. Finally, the father was enriched by the return of the son. But the parable is not about the father nor the household finances. It was about the Prodigal Son. He lost it all. The difference is, that he knew what he had lost. His memory was the agent to reveal his true condition.

The picture is completed by the Holy Spirit in our lives as He is the Agent, the memory, that brings to us the realization that, “in my Father’s house there is plenty for all, even the servants. I will arise and go to my Father.” We read the book. And we went home.

Easter reminds us that the mercy shown to the Israelites in Egypt when the angel of death “passed over” them, is likewise extended to us. We have the opportunity to live, forever. We can continue to pursue this analogy, but we will not do that here. 

The Book is open for you to read. If you have not, please, do so. Like Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:20, we are ambassadors of Christ, we plead with you, we beg you, be reconciled to God. Read the Book.