DAILY DEVOTIONAL – October 17, 2019
“Take Cover”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, Your word gives life. Help us as Your disciples to effectively communicate the amazing grace and salvation that You have provided for us in Your blood and atoning sacrifice. Amen.
Scripture – Hebrews 2:14-17
14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17 For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.
Devotional – “Atonement”
In the church and in theology we use a lot of big words that can often times be confusing not only to those who have never read the Bible or been in church before, but I have found that a surprising number of Christians who have spent considerable time in the church still struggle to understand some of the fundamental words they hear in sermons almost every Sunday. One of those words is the word “atonement.”
Imagine a scenario with me. You are speaking with someone that has just opened their Bible for the first time. They turn to our passage today from the book of Hebrews and read verse 17 which says, “For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.” After reading it they ask you, “what does it mean that Jesus might make atonement for our sins? What is atonement?” How would you answer them? How would you describe what it means that Jesus atoned for our sins?
Now, as I have said many times before, there is never a perfect analogy to explain the incredible and unfathomable love and grace of God that has been given to us in the blood of Jesus. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:13, “we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.” Although there may not be a perfect way to explain the spiritual truth of Christ’s atonement, we also must remember that God has given us His inspired word in a language we can understand; using human experience and human hands to communicate to us His eternal truths. So although no analogy is perfect, there are some that can be helpful in communicating the incredible grace of God in our Lord Jesus.
One analogy for what it means to “atone” for, and what it means that Jesus atoned for our sins, is the analogy of a covering – of a protective covering of sorts.
Michael Monsoor, a U.S. Navy SEAL, was killed during the Iraq War. In 2008, President Bush posthumously awarded him the Medal of Honor for his iconic act of heroism.
Monsoor was a member of the Delta Platoon and was sent to Iraq in April 2006 and assigned to train Iraqi Army soldiers in Ramadi. Over the next five months, Monsoor and his platoon frequently engaged in combat with insurgent forces.
On September 29, 2006, an insurgent threw a grenade onto a rooftop where Monsoor and several other SEAL and Iraqi soldiers were positioned. Without hesitation, Monsoor jumped on the live grenade, covering it with his body, absorbing the resulting explosion and saving his comrades from serious injury or death. Monsoor died 30 minutes later from the catastrophic wounds caused by the grenade explosion.
Monsoor selflessly and willingly covered a live grenade with his body to save his fellows soldiers. Monsoor covered sure death for the entire platoon by giving his life for theirs.
That grenade meant certain death for every soldier on that roof. When Monsoor covered the grenade with his body he absorbed the full lethal force into himself and shielded his brothers in arms, saving their life. Monsoor paid the price of death so that his fellow soldiers could live.
A 28 year-old lieutenant who served with Monsoor said, “He never took his eye off the grenade, his only movement was down toward it.”
All of us, every man and woman, has sinned against God and rebelled against Him. As God said would happen if we did this, the penalty of sin is death. We all have sinned so we all will die. However, God in His incredible mercy and love shielded us from His wrath and anger against our sin. Instead of punishing us as we rightly deserve both in this life and eternity, God instead sent His only Son down to earth, Jesus Christ, and God punished Him instead.
As our atoning sacrifice, Jesus never took His eye off of obeying His Father in heaven…and never took His eye off of the cross. Christ selflessly and willingly threw Himself over the live grenade of human sin. Christ absorbed the full wrath of God into His body on the cross. Jesus paid the price we should have paid for our sin and fully satisfied God’s just anger toward us. By God’s grace through faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus as our atoning sacrifice, His blood now covers us in the eyes of God. When God looks at those who believe and put their trust and faith in Christ, He no longer sees the darkened black of sin that is within us, but instead sees the bright and vibrant life-giving blood of His perfect Son Jesus. By faith in Christ as our atoning sacrifice, we are forgiven by God and no longer die, but live eternally with Christ in the presence of God forever.
Well hopefully this illustration proves helpful in helping you communicate the Good News of Jesus to those in your life that need to hear it. God bless you in your continued study in the Word of God, and remember that God has forgiven yesterday, is with you today and has already taken care of tomorrow. Amen.
