This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.
Hebrews 5:3,4
The idea of running for cover is really pretty simple. Something’s coming to hurt us. To wreck us. To crush us. We never run for cover when something good is on its way. Running for cover is always, always, always hiding from danger. From destruction.
Since we live in Florida, we go through hurricane season every year. In 2004, three hurricanes pretty much went right over top of our house[1]. Our plan to run for cover was to hide out in our bedroom closet. It had no windows and was made from reinforced concrete walls.
We all have times in our lives when we have to run for cover. Times when the only thing to do is hide.
When I was in elementary school, we practiced air raid drills. We either hid underneath our desk or went into the hallway and stood up against the lockers with our hands behind our neck. Somehow, this was supposed to protect us against a nuclear bomb.
Once I was in an office building when the warning siren went off. A tornado had been seen nearby and we needed to immediately take cover. No one stopped to ask questions. There was no time. We all went into the basement and waited for the all-clear. We prayed for the all-clear.
When the COVID pandemic hit, we ran for cover and stayed in our homes. We put on gloves and masks. We wiped everything down. We weren’t hiding from invading army or something we could see. We ran for cover to avoid from getting infected.
It may sound strange, but then again it’s me, but offering sacrifices for sin is a lot like running for cover. Think about it. Why do you run for cover? Because you’re afraid of something. Something that can hurt you. Something that can ruin you and your life. That can destroy you. And what does a sacrifice for sin do? It’s supposed to protect you from sin. Or to be a bit more precise, a sacrifice is to protect you from the results of sin. From the consequences of sin.
When we think of sacrifices, we tend to think about how it’s going to hurt us. How something’s going to come and make our lives more difficult. Because of some sin in our life, the car won’t start. Or the roof will leak. Or the internet goes down. Or we lose our job. Or a relationship is broken.
If a sacrifice was just to make you and God happy, then people wouldn’t pay all that much attention to them. They’d be like the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae. Chocolate icing on a cake. Butter on top of popcorn. Because sin’s so big, sacrifices must be a much bigger deal than we think.
Sin isn’t so much about how it brings pain to us, but that it brings pain to God. God’s given us everything[2]. And when we turn away from him, it hurts him so deeply. It’s so offensive and nasty to him, that he has to turn away from us[3].
Have you ever given yourself to someone and they’ve turned around and hurt you? You gave them everything and they just took it and walked away. Have you given your love to someone and they betrayed you? How did that make you feel? Remember the hurt? In some small way this is how God feels. Because he’s so holy and pure[4], it’s got to be so offensive to him. Is it any wonder that God hates sin ?
Think about a surgeon. I’m sure they took a bath and washed their hands before leaving home for the hospital. But is that good enough? Do you want them to just walk in and start operating on you? No, they have to be more than just clean. They have to be totally sterile. And that’s why any dirt or contamination is so important to him and us.
This is where sacrifices come in. They have one purpose: to cover sin. But sacrifices made by human priests have to be made over and over again. There’s no end to them because there’s no end to our sin. Our sacrifices weren’t powerful enough to finally take care of sin so that it was gone forever.
That’s why God had to step in. Since people priests couldn’t really take care of sin, God had to do what we couldn’t. He would come as out great high priest and offer a single sacrifice once-and-for all. For all sin. For all people. For all time. When Jesus made his sacrifice for sin, he didn’t have to make a sacrifice for his own sin. He was sinless and didn’t need a sacrifice to cover his sin. From the time of his conception by the Holy Spirit[5] till his dying breath on the cross, he never, never, never sinned in word, thought, action, or attitude.
The sacrifice of Jesus is enough to cover any and all of our sins. That’s why our only response can be overflowing thankfulness followed by a deep desire to please the one who loves us. To please the one we love.
Noodling Questions
What is it about fear that makes us want to run for cover?
How do you explain what a sacrifice is? How different is that from God’s view?
Why is the sacrifice of Jesus over and above every other sacrifice?
[2] Job 1:21
[3] Isaiah 59:2
[4] Revelation 4:8
[5] Luke 1:35
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