Appeasing A God

I John 2:1-2

I remember seeing many shows and movies growing up in which a young beautiful woman was going to be thrown into a volcano as a sacrifice to a pagan god. Of course, the natives were always viewed as savages and the hero would save the beautiful damsel in distress at the very last moment. Even some of the old cartoons would incorporate this storyline into it. While we find it audacious and entertaining, it really isn't that far-fetched from what people have done in religious practices throughout history.

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"My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world."

I John 2:1-2

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When we understand what this verse says, it sounds loosely like the idea of the movies I saw as a child. There is someone standing between the common people and the deity that is offended. There is also some type of sacrifice that is being used to propitiate or appease the deity. Stay with me though. This is very different from the volcano movies.

In the movies, there was some crazed priest trying to force a human sacrifice. John tells us about Jesus being our "Advocate with the Father" (v.1). He is the one who represents us to God. This idea of sin means that we have offended this God. So, Jesus, "the righteous" is our mediator or go between. Righteous means that He is a good man. That is good because we do not have to worry about Him misrepresenting us, or cheating us.

The fact that we need a propitiation or something to appease God means that He is "angry" or "bringing judgment" that we hope can be averted. This is factual. God is righteous, just, and holy. We are sinners. A holy, righteous, and just God must judge sin. Judgment of sin for the one who is guilty is not pleasant or fun. It brings condemnation, rejection, and death. None of us honestly want that.

What differentiates Jesus and the Father from those pagan worshippers and deities in the movies is verse 2. Rather than trying to throw someone else into the volcano, Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice on the cross to be the propitiation of God's judgment. He paid the price Himself. When we combine this with what we know of the Gospel of John, The Father sent the Son for the purpose of dying on the cross. The Son submitted to the will of the Father and went to the cross. After being dead for three days, the Father raised the Son back to life. God's wrath was appeased, the judgment for sin was carried out, His Son lives again, and we can be spared from having to pay the price for our sins. How much better does it get than that?

God could not simply ignore sin. That would have made Him unjust and unrighteous. He could have required us to pay the price for ourselves, and that would have been fair. However, God is love, and He made a way for us to not have to pay that price. Jesus is our propitiation, and because of that, He now serves as our advocate to the Father. We don't have to make continual offerings or sacrifices. The payment was made once and for all.

Father, thank You for Your perfect plan. Your Son did and is doing all the work. He is the High Priest and the sacrifice. He stands between You and us. As God, He relates perfectly to You and is sinless, holy, and righteous. As man, He knows our weaknesses and struggles. We could never have come up with a plan any where near as great as this.