Anyone familiar with Jesus of Nazareth – who many people believe is the Son of God – will be confounded, perplexed and, often, offended by the truth advanced in the atheist meme that kicked off this blog.
So stick with me while I do my very imperfect best to explain it and, hopefully, give you a life-giving new perspective on what it means to be a Jesus follower.
First, a little history. In ancient Jewish culture (when He was physically on Earth, Jesus was a Jew), a goat was selected annually to symbolically bear the weight of all the wrong things people did that year and all the right things they failed to do.
That goat, called the scapegoat, was sent into the wilderness to die. It sounds bizarre to us, but it was a pillar of ancient Jewish thought. Please note, however, that the scapegoat forgiveness was only symbolic and it only lasted a year.
Now, you may be thinking that this kind of thing is absolutely unnecessary today, but consider these two facts:
- God’s standard for spending eternity in Heaven with Him is perfection. The proof? Jesus told anyone willing to listen that “you must be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect.”
2. No one can achieve God’s standard on their own. I can’t, you can’t and even the most saintly person on this planet can’t. God knew that so He did something about it. He sent His perfect Son to Earth to live a humble life, bring incredible miracles and teaching to people in desperate need, then die on a cross.
That death was life-changing because for His followers, it permanently forgives ALL the wrong things we’ve done and ALL the right things we’ve failed to do. No exceptions. In this way, Jesus did what the ancient Jewish scapegoat could never do.
Three days later, Jesus fulfilled His own predication by rising from the dead and, according to one of His most accomplished followers (a guy named Paul of Tarsus), appeared to more than 500 people. Through this, He proved His claim to be the divine Son of God.
So why can’t God just snap His fingers and forgive us all? Good question. Because just as a forgiven thief still has to serve jail time, so our “sins” still have to be paid for; there’s nothing unreasonable about that. And Jesus pays the cost of forgiveness for all His followers.
I regard this as very good news. And there’s more. When you say yes to following Jesus – when you sincerely declare Him your Lord, Saviour and best friend – He comes into your life and starts making you more of the person you were created to be. And that process won’t end until this life ends and you meet Jesus face to face.
Sound interesting? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.
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