"For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." - Hebrews 10:1–4
In ages past, sacrifices were a desperate attempt to forget- to forget all the shame-filled, guilty, anxious, biting, sharp words of self-condemnation that pierced one's mind until they were living under the constant scrutiny of themselves.
To live in the shadow of the law meant our minds often took up the robe and gavel- we were our own judge. And we are so, so guilty. The brightness of the law stood as a bold reminder of our failure, and comparison became a daily battle. There was a gaping chasm between who I should be and who I really am. In the age of sacrificial offerings, every year came new reminders of how we failed. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Why?
Because we have a long memory. The blood of animals may cleanse us in the sight of God (for now, until we would have to do it all again) but it cannot permeate into our minds. A dead animal does not have hands to reach out and heal us of our shattered perceptions of reality.
We were forgiven. But we could not forget.
And it was that lack of forgetfulness that allowed tyrannous thoughts to slip in and bind us- you'll just do it again. It's a cycle you can't break. You're stuck. This is who you are.
Every visit to the tabernacle would be a desperate attempt to forget the sins that just keep ensnaring us. Year after year after year, a confrontation.
And that is where the declaration, the bold assertion, that burst from John's lips at the sight of Jesus of Nazareth changed abslutely everything.
"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" - John 1:29
The Lamb of God. Who takes away the sin of the world.
This is the Truth that puts all lies on the altar until they burn like incense. If we could only get the darkest parts of us to behold the One who already gives us freedom of mind, peace of mind.
Jesus did not come to forgive us and forget our sins (though He removed them as far as the east is from the west), He came to do something unexpected. He came to bear every ounce of condemnation. Our minds are hostile, biting, and He took upon Himself the tyranny of the thoughts in our minds. He sought to restore us to the goodness of the true forms of these realities.
"Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted." - Hebrews 12:3
He takes away our consciousness of our sins, not by enabling us with a spirit of forgetfulness. Instead, He permits us the grace of new focus. He doesn't say forget your faults- He says remember Me.
"Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, 'Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.'" - Hebrews 10:5–6
And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, 'This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.'" - Luke 22:19–20
Behold the Lamb of God- our Reality. Think of it, the Creator who is bigger than eternity itself, who is outside of time and space, came as a sacrifice. He lived an entire life being prepared for our death. There is an argument I've heard from atheist thinkers that, "what's the big deal, God only gave up a weekend". I hate writing that here, but I include that here to show just how false that notion is- because Jesus, from birth to death, was the Lamb of God, He came to be a sacrifice. Thirty-three years of His life, laid down, poured out, and given.
And we are called to take up His life.
Our Sacrifice, our Atoner, He does not year after year rub our sins in our faces, even though we are deserving! But instead, Christ gives us a better covenant. His blood. That is what we are called to remember in complete freedom. Let the wooden frame of the cross reframe our view on reality- that our minds are day by day being woken up to the reality of an unshakable Kingdom in the land we are living in right now. Because those that are hidden in the Life of Jesus are breathing on earth, as it is in Heaven. We are His kingdom drawn near. We are His resurrected heart, hands, and feet- and shoulders to bear the weight of the cross.
"Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire." -Hebrews 12:28–29
As long as our consciousness is filled with our past sins we remain in a state of bondage, of slavery, of hiddenness. But Jesus allows us to partake in His thoughts. To receive Him and host Him in full measure, to allow His hands to heal what we cannot.
And thus, sacrifice and what it looks like, changes. Because like how our worldview is renewed, our sacrifice is too no longer an attempt to forget failures but to remember His goodness. We are so wholeheartedly, mindfully, soulfully, free. It is finished! All of it! So we can take up our cross, the easy yoke, and follow because we owe Him everything.
As the old Moravian prayer says, "may the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering". You are the reward. You with those helpless feelings, defeated thoughts, and heavy burden of anxiety on your shoulders. Shame. Guilt. Comparison. Crippling lies. Blind to the truth. Deaf to His voice. Or maybe you just didn't want to hear it because you felt undeserving. You, living in the shadow of the Law, trying to scavenge for a sacrifice to atone for yourself.
You are the reward. Christ looks upon you in your present, broken state of mind and says, I prepared my Body for her. I bore hostility so she would not know weariness or faintheartedness.
Distorted reality cannot change a heart, but the Truth can.
The Lamb of God heals our conscious mind so we are fully conscious of Him.
"Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed." -Hebrews 12:12–13
Healing comes when you lift your drooping hands. I was at a worship night a couple of days ago and a woman shared a line in a poem she had written that the Creator holds the universe in His hands and our cares on His fingertips. Meaning, hold out your hand and notice how your fingertips hover above your palms. When we cast our burdens upon the Lamb who cares for us, He does not take our honesty lightly but instead, they are on His mind, too. Our heaviest of cares and burdens don't get lost in the jumble, they are right on His fingertips, in the hands of the One who is ready to reach out, touch, and heal. Right on the tip, right on the edge.
So trust, take heart, and bear in your mind to have patience in His healing.
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