Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

“‘Also in the day of the first fruits, when you offer a new meal offering to Yahweh in your feast of weeks, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work; but you shall offer a burnt offering for a pleasant aroma to Yahweh: two young bulls, one ram, seven male lambs a year old; and their meal offering, fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths for each bull, two tenths for the one ram, one tenth for every lamb of the seven lambs; and one male goat, to make atonement for you. Besides the continual burnt offering and its meal offering, you shall offer them and their drink offerings. See that they are without defect.”
(Numbers 28:26-31)

“If I don’t do the works of my Father, don’t believe me. But if I do them, though you don’t believe me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” They sought again to seize him, and he went out of their hand. He went away again beyond the Jordan into the place where John was baptizing at first, and he stayed there. Many came to him. They said, “John indeed did no sign, but everything that John said about this man is true.” Many believed in him there.“
(John 10:37-42)

Ten sacrificial animals. A bull, a ram, and seven lambs followed by a goat. That’s a LOT. And it wasn’t a one-off. There had been more offering before this and even more offerings AFTER this (next chapter). What does this tell us? That our sins (personal iniquities) and Sin period are serious stuff. It takes more than a ‘sorry’. Sin is DEADLY stuff. And animals aren’t enough to cover it. Not really. A single one OR a group of them. God was MERCIFUL and was WILLING to cover their sins if they took the price of their sins seriously. If they came with HONEST hearts in TRUE repentance, God would cover them. God has that power. God is POWERFUL. He does miracles and signs and wonders in order to SHOW US that He CAN do what He SAYS He CAN do. It’s important to realise that.

This is the importance that Jesus put on it. In fact, Jesus pointed to the display of that power as His credentials. Because Jesus was ALWAYS pointing toward the Father. And His point was that if they chose to deny what Jesus SAID to them, they should at least acknowledge the POWER the Father was demonstrating – since only the Father could release His power. Jesus was desperate for them to understand this because He was about to become the PERFECT offering for Sin and our personal sins (iniquities). The Father gave Jesus a command: you CAN lay down your life and you CAN pick your life up again. Jesus CHOSE to die for us. He did not DESERVE to die, but He did BY CHOICE, WITHOUT BEING FORCED, so that instead of covering Sin and our sins were ELIMINATED. This could never happen without the Father’s POWER behind it. And the Father’s power WAS behind Jesus. Every step of the way.

Summary

Jesus paid for Sin PERIOD and for ALL of OUR PERSONAL sins (iniquities). He did it before you were born. He did it before you sinned. He did it before you knew about it. He did it before you knew about Him. He did it so that you COULD benefit no matter WHAT you CHOSE to do. This happened because God is POWERFUL and His POWER is behind it. The miracles that still happen. The signs that are still given. The wonders that still occur. They are all pointing to the TRUTH that the power of God is REAL and ACTIVE and PRESENT and available to perform what God SAYS it can perform. This is how Jesus operated. This is how WE should operate. And we shouldn’t take up GUILT or SHAME for when we fail, but instead we should embrace the TRUTH that our PERFORMANCE is not what clears our sin, but Jesus’ perfect LOVE FOR US in the sacrifice He made. If we will honestly repent, He will totally cleanse and forgive us and then help us navigate the consequences of our actions according to His will.