I have wrestled with something for a while and I think I have finally reconciled it. Here’s the question:
If Jesus purchased us with His blood, to whom did He pay?
In any money transaction, there has to be someone who pays and someone who receives.
Jesus paid; who received? In other words, who was Jesus in debt to? I’ve heard that Jesus paid satan, which really doesn’t make sense to me. The logic is this: Adam gave up his dominion - given from God - to satan, therefore satan held God in ransom for our debt and God had to pay satan.
Can God owe anyone anything? Wasn’t God asking this question to Job? Who has preceded Me, that I should pay him? Everything under heaven is Mine. (Job 41:11)
I think it’s the wrong question I’ve been asking. The debt wasn’t God’s; it was mine. It was inherited from Adam, just like the trillions of $ Obama is appropriating will go to future generations debt. Adam relinquished all of humankind’s dominion, not just his own. It was a generational thing. I was put into the slavery of sin and Jesus’ blood purchased me out of that slavery and into the slavery of His righteousness. His blood saved me from God’s wrath - not satan’s reign - which Adam had put me in b/c of his disobedience to God’s command.
The propitiation of my sins is the satisfying of God’s wrath. Jesus, fully God and fully man, paid God. He was the only one that could. The blood of Jesus is the ‘money’ if you will; but the debt was mine. He just paid it for me so I wouldn’t be under God’s wrath and would be fully restored. And it cost Him all that He had.
How precious is the blood of Jesus?
What My Dad Would Think
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In January of this year, I drove our van into the driveway, slipped it into
park, and burst into tears. They weren’t the silent tears that pool at the
corn...
6 years ago
Posts
2 comments:
Hi Esther! I recall hearing years ago that there was a sacrifice in the Old Testament with two goats: one was sacrificed in the tabernacle, and the other was driven out into the desert to die. I heard that it represented two different payments that Jesus made. I've never been sure whatever to believe that interpretation, and had almost forgotten about it, but your post has brought it back to my memory. I'll have to read up on it again.
Thank you for posting this, Esther! It's not politically correct, but it's better to err on the side of caution than to wake up when it's too late. I see a certain tension in the scriptures : On the one hand, we are commanded to honour our leaders (in Paul's case, the leader he was referring to was Nero - a far more evil man than anyone we know of today). On the other hand, we are also called on to expose and rebuke leaders who advocate or practice wickedness (as John the Baptist rebuked Herod, and paid for it with his life). We need to hold fast to both of these, which isn't easy. On the one hand, we have to honour a leader who is far from righteous -in practical terms, that must include praying for him. But we must also expose and challenge him when he is clearly wrong - as his stand on abortion, gay marriage, and a multitude of other issues, is.
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