Good morning, everyone. Handouts at the back, pens as well. I'm a bit more alive today.
I might still cough, so please excuse me, but I'm here. I'm well. Let me pray and we'll
just dive straight in. Lord God, we thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ, the Anointed
One, the Prophet, Priest and King who has come to save us, who intercedes for us in heaven
right now and whose cross, that glorious cross, is our salvation. And we ask that we would
gain a deeper appreciation and understanding of his work today, of his death, of the cross.
And would we not only know it in our minds, but would we love it in our hearts? And we
ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Amen. So this is a series all about the work of Christ. As we've seen over the past few
weeks, we've seen that God saves us through offices. So through prophets, priests and
kings. So God doesn't just generally save. He doesn't just zap this thing called salvation
down to us. No, he saves by providing three types of men, three offices, which are given
to solve our three problems of sin. Prophets cure ignorance, priests cure guilt, and kings
free the enslaved. And over this series, we're seeing how each of these offices Christ fulfills,
and that's how he saves us. And so when Christ came to save us, he came to fulfill these three
offices. That's how he saves. So as we learn these offices, we then better appreciate how
Christ saves us. And that's the intention of this whole series. And today we've come to
the office of priest. And there's a lot to get through. So let's first just define what a
priest is and does. And this is the first point today. A priest brings us to God. So Hebrews
5 gives us the classic definition of a priest. For every high priest chosen from among men
is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
So just a few things to note here. We'll unpack this as we go. But just a few things to note here.
First, do you see a priest is a man, a human being. They're chosen among men. And that's important
because a priest is appointed to act on behalf of men. A priest represents the people. And representing
how, did you see, in relation to God. So they don't represent the people on behalf, like toward other
nations or towards animals or nature or whatever it might be. No, that they represent the people in
relation to God. A priest represents God's people up to God. So we can't come to God on our own.
We can't come individually or kind of in any old way. But instead, a priest represents us to God,
brings us to God. And what does he do for us in order to bring us to God? Do you see at the end of
verse one, he offers gifts and sacrifices. Sacrifices are inseparably tied to the priesthood
and coming to God. Priests and sacrifices go together. But if you want to just simplify all
that, just think, a priest brings us to God, okay? And this is in distinction to prophets who bring
God to us. So think of it like this, and think back to all we've learned about prophets. A prophet
is a mediator who brings God down to us, and the arrow goes down, right? So we need to hear from
God, and so a prophet does that. A prophet represents God to the people. But a priest represents the people
up to God. So we come to God through a priest. And we need both of these for salvation, don't we? So we need
to know God for eternal life, and we need to hear from him, prophets. But also, we need to be with God
for eternal life. Knowing him means being with him. And to understand why we need a priest to do this,
to be able to come to God at all, we need to understand that the effects of sin are very vast.
So first, just think, as we think of prophets, we've seen that sin has done something in us.
Hasn't it? So it's changed us. Do you remember why we need a prophet? Well, because sin has done
something in us, we've become ignorant, haven't we? Our minds have become darkened.
And in ourselves, we've become corrupt.
So sin has done something in us. I would just kind of like you put this, that over us and in us were not that artistic.
So just think, all that sin is in the people, with the people.
And so God sends prophets to save us from these effects of sin.
But sin has also done a lot more than that.
Sin has done something to God's attitude toward us.
How God relates to us has changed.
So just look at some of these verses to see God's disposition toward us as sinners.
So Ephesians 2.
We are children of wrath.
In our sin, God's attitude towards us is wrathful.
And what else?
Sin has faced God's wrath and fury, Romans 2.
We are God's enemies.
There's enmity now.
What else?
And how does God feel about his enemies?
Well, he says they need to die.
That's why the promise to Adam is, if you sin, you shall surely die.
And the wages of sin is death.
And that means both physical death and eternal death in hell.
So something has changed in our relationship with God.
Ever since the fall, God's attitude and relationship toward humanity has changed.
He's now wrathful and furious.
Now, that isn't to say that God has changed in himself.
As if, kind of, he was a nice God before, but now with sinners, now he's turned into an angry God.
No, no, we're not saying that.
Think back to our doctrine of God classes.
God doesn't change in himself.
That's why I've written these words, not in God, but kind of in the relationship between God and man.
That this is a change in relation.
That this change is a reaction towards sin.
Our sin now provokes God's holiness and the justice of God, which results in a change of relationship.
Wrath.
And so now, there is this huge and terrifying demand hanging over humanity, and it's needing to be met.
It's separating us from God, and it's this demand needing to be met.
And it's weighing down on humanity.
So it's going to be like this.
Okay, we can just sum it up with wrath and death.
Okay?
So, that there is now, in our relationship with God, that there is now this huge demand both separating us, weighing down on us.
And it's a demand that needs to be met.
It's a penalty.
A demand needing to be met if we're to relate to God at all.
And so, we can't approach God as we are.
God is too holy, too righteous, too just for us to just approach him as we are in our sin.
Because as soon as we approach him, all that we would encounter is his wrath and death.
These demands separate us from God, bar us from coming to him.
And so, if we want to approach God and be reconciled to him and to know him and to have a good relationship with him and to have life with him, what needs to happen?
These demands need to be met.
They need to be satisfied, paid for, dealt with.
But how can that happen?
Well, we need someone holy enough to come into his presence.
And we need that same person to deal with the demand that stops us approaching him.
That is the only way we can come to God.
In a word, we need someone to achieve propitiation for us.
This is a strange but important word.
I want to teach you new words here.
And I want us to learn this.
Propitiation means to appease God's anger.
To end and satisfy the demands of God's justice and anger.
So, when someone propitiates God, they settle his anger.
Okay?
Is everyone on board with that?
And so, we need someone to achieve propitiation.
Okay?
So, propitiation is the state in God.
With God's anger settled.
And the verb to propitiate, someone propitiates toward God.
And when that happens, this relationship is restored.
We can come to God when that happens.
And when someone does that, this is called atonement.
Atonement.
And this is another word I want us to learn.
Atonement.
There's a handy way to remember this.
Atonement means being at one with God.
Right?
At-one-ment.
Atonement.
It means dealing with guilt.
The guilt of sin.
And propitiating God's anger.
Restoring the relationship.
And so, when you have propitiation, that means that disappears.
And when you have atonement, it means it kind of refers to the whole relationship.
The whole thing is restored.
And so, we need someone to step in between us and God.
A mediator.
To propitiate God's wrath and achieve atonement.
And this is where a priest comes in.
A priest does exactly that.
God provides priests as mediators to propitiate the wrath of God.
And provide atonement.
And provide atonement for our sins.
And how do they do that?
Remember the definition from Hebrews 5.
They achieve this through sacrifice.
So, if we are to come to God at all.
We need a priest and a sacrifice to be able to come to God.
One and two.
Right?
That's the only way to come to God.
So, God says, you can't approach me in any old way.
Your sin is too severe.
My justice is too perfect.
Instead, you must come through an appointed office.
A priest.
And through an appointed means.
Sacrifice.
And through him, only then can these demands be met.
And only then can you approach God.
And so, sacrifices are key to any priestly work.
And key to propitiation and atonement.
And coming back to God.
They're key to salvation.
And so, with this in mind.
I want us to now just look at the Old Testament.
And at how sacrifices and priests worked.
And then we'll kind of piece it all together.
And I want us to use all of this to shape our understanding of the cross.
So, we'll do a quick Old Testament priests and sacrifices overview.
So, this is the second point today.
And there are two things I want us to see about the Old Testament.
The first sub-point is this.
Animal sacrifices were substitutes and propitiation.
Now, there are various types of sacrifices in the Old Testament.
And that we used at different times for different occasions.
But I kind of want us to just simplify things for now.
And just show that the typical sacrifice for sin.
And the process went like this.
So, if I was an Israelite sinner.
I would bring an animal to the tabernacle or the temple.
I'd bring it to the outer court.
So, not inside the holy place or the holy of holies.
I'd bring it to the outer court.
And the outer court was a bit like a butcher's house.
A slaughterhouse.
So, I'd bring my, let's say, goat or bull.
I'd bring it along.
I would take it to the outer court.
I would lay my hand on it.
And then I would kill it.
And then the priest would come along.
And take the dead animal.
And he would take it over slightly in the courtyard towards the building, the tabernacle of the temple.
And just before you get to the entrance, there's this big metal grate, a big barbecue, basically.
And you would put the sacrifice on that.
Burn it.
And depending on what type of sacrifice, there'll be different parts of the animal that would be burned.
But ultimately, the priest would take it and burn it.
Okay?
That's kind of the sacrificial system in a nutshell.
So, look at Leviticus 1.
These are some of the commands of what happened.
Now, key thing I want us to see here is the laying on of hands.
When the sinner placed his hand on the animal, this was a sign of his sin and guilt transferring to the animal.
It was showing my sin is now passing from me onto something else, onto this lamb or goat or bull.
And so, in Leviticus 16, this is all about the Day of Atonement, when the high priest would atone for all the sins.
Just look what he would do.
This makes the picture a little bit clearer.
And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel
and all their transgressions, all their sins.
As he touched the goat and confessed all the sins of Israel, it was showing that all the sins of Israel are now going onto this goat.
Whatever happens to this goat from now on, this is happening instead of the people.
The animal became a substitute for the sinner.
And what would happen to it?
It would be killed.
It would die instead of the sinner.
The sacrifice of this animal is this real vivid picture of what needs to be done to us.
My sin goes to that goat and so that goat must die.
The whole sacrificial system of the Old Testament, it reveals this demand of death and the need for propitiation.
It's saying the only way you can approach God is if your sin goes onto something else and that something else needs to die
because those are the demands separating you from God.
And so the only way for us to approach God is for that wrath to land on something or someone else.
Because look what this then achieves.
Leviticus 1 again.
It shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
Do you remember atonement at one with God?
These sacrifices propitiated the wrath of God and achieved atonement for the sinner.
So, think of it like this.
As the Israelites placed his or her hand on the animal, what happens?
It's like all the sin...
Let me write sin here.
It's like all the sin and guilt of that people...
It's going...
It's not on them anymore.
It's going...
Onto the sacrifice, onto the animal.
And so what then happens to the animal in death?
Well, all the demands of God upon sin...
It's not going on to the people anymore.
It's going on...
To the animal.
To the sacrifice.
It's being diverted.
So the sin on us is being diverted to another.
And the wrath, the demands of God are being diverted to another as well.
And so, what is this whole thing?
So, this...
You can think of this little section here.
This is propitiation.
This is the demands, the wrath being satisfied.
And this whole thing, with this restored relationship, this whole thing is atonement.
So you can kind of think that's propitiation.
But this whole thing is atonement.
Right?
And so, as the offerer laid hands on the animal, all the sin and guilt is going to be transferred to the animal.
And in its death, the wrath of God, all these demands are being met and falling onto the animal instead.
And then, the worshipper would then be made right with God.
You see, atoned for.
And so, the animal sacrifices were substitutes, right?
In place of the people.
And they were propitiation.
Because the death goes onto the animal.
But a second thing about the Old Testament.
Priests carried the people with them.
I think this is on the other side of your sheet.
So, whenever the priests sacrificed and laid hands and went into God's presence in the tabernacle or did anything,
it's important to understand they never did this kind of in solitude or just for themselves.
Priests carried all the people of God with them in whatever they did.
So, have a look at this picture of a priest that I got there for you.
I want you to notice what they're wearing.
Just have a look.
What catches your eye?
So, in Exodus 28, we read, it's kind of a whole laws about the garments for the priests.
And we read that the priest had to wear two stones on their shoulders.
You can kind of see them a little bit.
Just on their shoulders there.
Two stones on his shoulders.
And on those stones were written all the 12 tribes of Israel.
Simeon, Gad, Reuben.
And not only that, look on their chest.
They had a breastplate.
And if you can count, how many stones were on that breastplate?
Twelve.
Each of those stones also had a name of the tribe of Israel written on them.
And so, you could say that the people's names, all the people of God, were written on the heart of the priest.
And he would carry God's people on his shoulders.
And so, this was an amazing picture showing that whatever the priest did, he did it on behalf of the people.
United to the people.
Sacrificing and coming to God for them.
On behalf of them.
And so, when Aaron entered into God's presence in the temple,
He was not just one bloke going in alone.
But actually, all of Israel were coming in with him into God's presence.
And so, God set all this up, all this system up, these priests and these sacrifices,
all so that his people could come to him and approach him.
Okay?
This is the only way you can do it.
But there's something insufficient about all this Old Testament priesthood and sacrifices.
And I want you to look through Hebrews to find out what they are.
So, in the little breakout box there, break out into groups and just answer two questions.
Shouldn't take long.
We'll give you a couple of minutes.
Look up these passages and find out what is the problem with the Old Testament sacrificial system.
Thank you.
My name that that Ryan who has the Ryan who has the
okay let's bring it together so what is the problem with the old testament sacrificial system
uh hebrew said what was the problem with the the priesthood remember there are two elements
the priests and the sacrifices uh moses what what was wrong with the the priesthood they would die
right so so we need a priest to come to god but but that priest would die and so you would need to
replace that priest and that priest would die then replace that priest and so in this system if we need
a priest to come to god this these priests really aren't doing it but because they're kind of a
temporary measure to get us there but then they would die and we need to replace
and so it he can only bring us to god as long as he lives so it's a bit like um have you ever seen
watson gromit in the wrong trousers amazing film you know in the final kind of big uh train chase scene
do you remember that um uh gromit's riding this little uh toy train and he's coming to the end
of the track and what he does is uh he picks up a box of spare track and he's kind of laying it as he
goes you're in that it's amazing um and so he he's uh you kind of think think of the old testament
sacrificial system like that like we're trying to get to god and so we put a a priest down a bit of
track and then we come to the end of that and we've got to lay another and so we're just constantly
having to lay a new track new track but we're never really getting to god but we need a permanent
eternal priest who can lead us all the way to god and who will never die
and how about hebrews 10 what was the problem with the old testament sacrifices um malvina
um they were never sufficient um yeah right yeah yeah there's a lot going on there but but it's
quite it's quite striking isn't it it is impossible for the blood of bulls to take away sin to to to
achieve forgiveness
and that's in part because animals can't pay for human sins
but remember the demands of death for us for humans
and so think of all the the millions of liters of blood
that was poured out by israel over the centuries even all that blood
being shed every day throughout the centuries that that's just like throwing a thimble of
water onto a fire so it's not actually solving the issue
otherwise this is the point the writer the hebrews makes
otherwise if a bull was good enough then one bull will do
but but the constant sacrifices every day every week every year throughout the centuries
these constant sacrifices were a constant reminder that this isn't really achieving propitiation
or atonement it's not really doing it and so what do we need we need a priest who can live forever
and we need one sacrifice that is good enough to atone for sin forever
and so with this priesthood and this problem in the background that this shapes everything about why jesus had to become man
what jesus's death achieved
and what jesus was doing for us on the cross
and i want us to see these three things as we look at jesus the great high priest
i want us to see how jesus fulfills all this
so look at the first point jesus became man
to be a human sacrifice
so look what hebrews says about why jesus had to become human
why christmas
hebrews 2
therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect
so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest
in the service of god to make propitiation
for the sins of the people
the son of god
had to become human
because only human sacrifices will do to save us
only a human sacrifice will make propitiation for our sins
so jesus he was born
with a purpose
he was born in a human body
to be a sacrifice
and because he's sinless
and because he's the son of god
and his life is infinitely valuable
infinitely more valuable than
than any animal or bull or goat
that means his life
can match
this huge and terrifying demand
that hangs over us
and that is why it says in hebrews 9
but as it is he has appeared once
for all
at the end of the ages
to put away sin
by the sacrifice of himself
millions of liters of animal blood
could never do this
but the cross
definitively
once and for all
atoned for the sins of the people
but also
think about this
if jesus was the sacrifice
who offered that sacrifice
priests
priests offer sacrifices
don't they
right
so if jesus is the sacrifice
who offered it
where's the priest
in this transaction
jesus is the priest
he offered himself
but what does jesus say
in john 10
i lay down my life
for the sheep
who laid it down
who offered it
jesus did
jesus is both
the priest
and the sacrifice
and so when christ
comes in the fullness
of time
we have this pattern
of priest
and sacrifice
needing to be fulfilled
and how is it fulfilled
it's fulfilled
one man
who will live forever
the christ
and it's
on his cross
on that first good friday
as the skies were darkened
something priestly was happening
the true priest
was offering
the sacrifice
of himself
on the altar
of the cross
and his blood
was shed
to propitiate
god's wrath
and atone
for the sins
of the people
this is why
jesus is called
the lamb of god
this is why
his death
occurs
on the passover
that's no coincidence
god is showing us
that this is the sacrifice
and the priest
to end all sacrifices
but a second thing
all this shows us
what the cross
achieved
so if we understand
what jesus was
on the cross
he was a sacrifice
we can understand
what he achieved
on the cross
jesus
was
satisfying
the demands
of god's justice
all the force
of god's
holiness
on evil
all the wrath
that needs to be
poured out
on sin
it was all
falling
on jesus
to propitiate
god's anger
which means
jesus didn't only
die a physical
death
which he most
certainly did
but he also
died a spiritual
death
he felt
the wrath
of god
in his soul
he experienced
what it is
truly like
for god
to unleash
his anger
on a sinner
and that's why
in gethsemane
do you remember
what happened
in gethsemane
that's why
he was so
terrified
about what
was about
to happen
that's why
he sweat
drops of blood
he knows
he's about
to drink
the cup
of god's
wrath
all these
demands
and so
look what
the bible
has to say
about what
that achieved
what did
the cross
achieve
1 john 2
he is
the propitiation
for our
sins
in this
is love
not that
we have
loved god
but that
he loved
us
and sent
his son
to be
the propitiation
for our
sins
christ jesus
whom god
put forward
as a
propitiation
by his
blood
finally
propitiation
has been
achieved
christ has
ended
the anger
of god
for his
people
for you
and so
there isn't
a single
demand
hanging over
your head
anymore
richard
dawkins
once said
this in
an interview
he said
this
if god
wanted to
forgive our
sins
why not
just forgive
them
without having
himself tortured
and executed
in payment
well can we
see why
he's so
wrong to
think that
what needs
to be
done
if there
is to
be any
atonement
or forgiveness
what does
it take
the demand
of god's
justice
and anger
and wrath
that needs
to be
satisfied
god is
too holy
for this
just a
slide
and he's
too just
to just
ignore these
demands
this
wrath
it has
to go
somewhere
but the
question is
where is it
going to
go
who's it
going to
go on
and on
the cross
jesus was
our priest
propitiating
god's wrath
so that we
can now
come into
his presence
the wrath
isn't on
us anymore
it has all
in the past
been laid
on christ
which brings
me to the
final thing
to see
here
we'll wrap
up in a
minute
jesus was
representing
us on
the cross
so just
like aaron
had the
people written
on his
heart as
he went
to the
altar
so jesus
had our
names
written on
his heart
as he
went to
the cross
this is
why we
can and
we do
say jesus
died for
us
he was
representing
us on
that cross
look at the
language of
the bible
god shows
his love
for us
in that
while we
were still
sinners
christ died
for us
for the
love of
christ
controls us
because we
have concluded
this that
one has
died for
all
therefore all
have died
he himself
bore our
sins in
his body
on the
tree
so let
me ask
you did
you die
on the
cross
in one
sense no
praise god
i didn't die
on the cross
because i
could never
do that
only jesus
could have
done that
he was
the substitute
in place
of me
jesus was
replacing me
on that
cross
but in
another in
another sense
did you die
on the cross
yes
because he
was representing
you he
had your
name in his
heart carrying
you on his
shoulders and
your sin in
his body
and so you
were united
to him
on that
cross
this is why
paul says
we have
been united
with him
in a
death like
his
and so
what is
happening on
the cross
can be
described in
three words
again i want
to teach you
new words
here what
happened on
the cross
was penal
substitutionary
atonement
so you might
have heard
these words
before it
just means
that on
the cross
jesus was
the propitiation
for our
sins
he took
the penalty
that demands
the penalty
of god's
wrath
penal
he did
it in
our place
representing
us
substitutionary
and that
death
what did
it achieve
atonement
and so
there's a lot
that we can
say about
the cross
but this
is the
heart
of it
this is
just the
utter
beauty
of it
and it's
really shaped
and appreciated
but when we
understand
that this
isn't random
jesus worked
it didn't
come out
of nowhere
it's not a
mathematical
transaction
either
no
he is a
priest
who offers
the sacrifice
of himself
to achieve
the propitiation
of god's
wrath
and what
does he
achieve for
us
we now
have
atonement
i'll end
there and
i'll open
up to
questions
you