Day 31: A Complete Sacrifice

For many people from a variety of backgrounds, the cross is simply a symbol they hang around their necks or put on the walls of their churches or homes. I am not critical of those practices, in fact, when I have been in a strong anti-Christian social environment, I have always been glad to see somebody with a cross around their neck, because it makes a bold statement in that environment.

The New Testament presents us with a number of different reasons why nothing must ever be allowed to take the place of the cross. The first aspect of the cross that we must keep central is that it represents one perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice.

Hebrews 10 contrasts the priests of the old covenant with Jesus as the High Priest of the new covenant.

“And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:11–14)

This passage expresses in the strongest possible linguistic forms the completeness of what Jesus did. By one sacrifice ‘He has perfected.’ The Greek verb is in the perfect tense, which means to do something perfectly. It is done; it is finished—never having to be done again or repeated. This complete sacrifice covers all time and all eternity. Jesus sat down because He was never going to have to offer another sacrifice. By one sacrifice, He has made total and perfect provision for every need of every human being.

We need no other basis—because there is no other basis. It is very important to understand this—because if you come to God for mercy and grace on any other basis except the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, God will not meet you.