Jonathan Bernis - Jesus, Our Sacrificial Lamb
Jonathan Bernis: We are so glad you're joining us today. I'm Jonathan Bernis, and I'm joined again by my co-host Ezra Benjamin. And today we're gonna dive into something that we're asked all the time. We get so many questions about this, Ezra.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: Why did Jesus have to die? This is a real hang-up, especially for people who haven't had the revelation that Jesus had to die for our sins, or just assume that he had to die because they've been initiated into that. But unbelievers are really struggling with this. If God's God, why couldn't he just forgive us all with a wave of his mighty hand?
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: So, this is a really important topic.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: Let's, let's dig in.
Ezra Benjamin: We tend to create this false choice, right, between the God of truth and the God of grace. Or the God of the law and the God of forgiveness and grace. But the scriptures are very clear, John says that, "Jesus, Yeshua in Hebrew was full of grace and truth". So, Jesus had to die for the forgiveness of our sins, but he was doing it as the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. Not as the inventor of a new religious system just full of grace and forgiveness.
Jonathan Bernis: Such a good point. He's the God of love and mercy and forgiveness, but he's also the God of justice, of judgment, of vengeance. These all part of the nature of God. And if you focus on one without the other, you're on the curb.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: You have to get it both. You have to hold one intention with the other.
Ezra Benjamin: You're right.
Jonathan Bernis: So, why did Jesus have to die for our sins?
Ezra Benjamin: Well, grab your pens, and more importantly even, grab your Bibles. We're gonna give you three reasons plus a bonus at the end in the few minutes we have today, on why Jesus had to die. And the first one, Jonathan, we can put it up on the screen here, this is from Leviticus 17:11. And it says, this is God speaking to Israel as he's rolling out the hundreds of commandments, the law. This is the way by which an unholy, stiff neck, stubborn-hearted people can relate to a holy God who exists in glory. And he says, talking about the way that they could get close to him through the sacrificial or through the priestly system. It says in Leviticus 17:11, "For the life of the flesh or the life of a creature is in the blood. And I've given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar". It's the blood that makes atonement for one's life. And so, the idea here is that yes, there's this sacrificial system. We actually see it in the Garden of Eden, you know, centuries before, right? Adam and Eve sin, and they're suddenly aware of their nakedness and they're ashamed. And it says that, "God killed an animal and took the skins of that animal and gave it to Adam and Eve to cover themselves".
Jonathan Bernis: This is such a great point. Now, I'll go even further. They try to cover themselves with a leaf.
Ezra Benjamin: With fig leaves. And God says, "No, this is not a proper covering".
Jonathan Bernis: Exactly.
Ezra Benjamin: And blood is shed.
Jonathan Bernis: So, hundreds of years before Moses, before God's making this covenant with Israel, we see right from jump, we'd say in my generation, right? From the beginning of the story in Genesis, that God has to kill an animal. There has to be a sacrifice of flesh to make covering, right? In Hebrew, in the Jewish calendar, every year there's Yom Kippur and it's the day of atonement. But literally in the Hebrew, it's the day of covering. So, something about the sacrifice of flesh being covering for our sins. But the Lord's being clear here. It's not actually about the flesh, it's about the blood.
Ezra Benjamin: You're making such an important point because this is not a New Testament versus Old Testament idea.
Jonathan Bernis: That's right.
Ezra Benjamin: It's actually Torah foundational as we like to say.
Jonathan Bernis: Right, right.
Ezra Benjamin: You have an animal sacrifice to cover Adam and Eve, the fig leaf is not sufficient.
Jonathan Bernis: Right.
Ezra Benjamin: And then you have an implied in different places of scripture.
Jonathan Bernis: Right.
Ezra Benjamin: When Noah recovers from the flood.
Jonathan Bernis: Right.
Ezra Benjamin: The first thing he does is he makes sacrifice. This is judgment, the flood is a judgment and Noah is sacrificing. It's not specifically mentioned as it is in Leviticus, but there's already a knowledge that there has to be sacrifice.
Jonathan Bernis: That's right.
Ezra Benjamin: And then you see it again with Abraham and the covenant that God cuts with Abraham, where animals are cut in half and and the Spirit of God moves in this bright lamp or light moves through the center.
Ezra Benjamin: Yeah.
Jonathan Bernis: Of the sacrificed animals. It's there if you look.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: It's in the Torah's.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right. It's not a new Christian idea that began in Calvary, right.
Jonathan Bernis: Yeah, very good.
Ezra Benjamin: Jonathan, less people are listening going, "Okay, you gave me an Old Testament proof, but where do I see it in the New Testament"? Granted, let's look at the letter of Hebrews in chapter 11. Hebrews, not a big surprise, is a letter to Hebrews or Jewish believers. And chapter 9:22, this is the author of Hebrews. There's some debate on who that was. But the author of Hebrews explaining to Jewish believers, he says, "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood. And without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness". This is written decades after Yeshua, Jesus dies on the cross and is resurrected in the sense, to be with the Father.
Jonathan Bernis: It's so clear, you know, of course, there's the issue then of, well, why did God do it that way?
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: Why did God choose to kill an innocent animal? And that actually bothers some people that I've shared with. It's just troubling. But you know what? That's the point where you say, "God is God, and his ways are above our ways". And he has instituted the principle that there must be the shedding of blood for sin. It certainly demonstrates the severity of sin.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right, that's right. So, Jonathan, we've established that blood is required. The shedding of blood is required for the forgiveness of sins. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. The second point, the second reason that Jesus had to die in the way that he did, that his blood had to be shed. We need to also look even before Leviticus in the book of Exodus, second book in the Bible. You know the story, Israel's being delivered from slavery to freedom. But remember that last plague was the death of the first born. And God says, "I myself will pass over the land of Egypt and I'll kill the first born". And what we don't think about a lot is that the children of Israel, those firstborn also would've died had God not made an atonement. And the atonement was in the Passover lamb, a lamb without blemish or spot.
Jonathan Bernis: I love this one because Jesus, Yeshua, fulfills the requirements of the Passover lamb.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: In every detail.
Ezra Benjamin: Amen.
Jonathan Bernis: Including no bone is to be broken. This is a picture of the Passover lamb, Yeshua.
Ezra Benjamin: Jonathan, something we don't think about a lot that's very clear in the scriptures is the Jewish people, the Israelites in Egypt weren't exonerated from this 10th plague. They were just given a way to be kept from it. And that way was the sacrifice, it was the shedding of blood.
Jonathan Bernis: What's interesting also is it doesn't talk about sin here.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: And it doesn't single out the Israelites as being free from this plague.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: What it does is provide a way of covering, a way to avert the angel of death, which means that if an Israelite told an Egyptian that believed in the God of Israel, they were also spared. And we know that's the case because there's a mixed multitude leaving Egypt.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: I see it that way at least, that's my interpretation.
Ezra Benjamin: Yeah.
Jonathan Bernis: But it's not a sin thing. Leviticus 17:11 is, "I've given it to you to atone for sin".
Ezra Benjamin: To make atonement.
Jonathan Bernis: To make atonement for sin. But the Passover story is the idea that Egypt is under judgment.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: And to avert that judgment, you need the blood of a lamb.
Ezra Benjamin: On the doorpost.
Jonathan Bernis: And that's repeated in the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Ezra Benjamin: Exactly. And something else you may not have thought of, I didn't get it until, you know, the Word of God is living inactive. So, sometimes we have to read something 50 times. And then on the 51st time, Jonathan, it comes alive. But later on, when God's giving the law to Israel and making this covenant through Moses, he says, "Every firstborn that comes out of the womb", not just animals, but firstborn sons, "Belonged to me". And so, there was this whole elaborate temple tax system where you had to, in essence, tithe or give this offering into the tabernacle through the priests to say, "Lord, I recognize that my firstborn belongs to you, and I'm tithing to have him back". Now, why did the firstborns belong to the Lord? Because the Lord gave life for the first born of Israel in Egypt.
Jonathan Bernis: Oh, I love that. That's great. Another little tidbit is the Mezuzah.
Ezra Benjamin: Yeah.
Jonathan Bernis: Why is there a shin on the Mezuzah? Because it is representative shaddai. The one who guards the doors or the gates of Israel.
Ezra Benjamin: Yeah.
Jonathan Bernis: The doorposts of Israel.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: This is God actually guarding against the angel of death striking down the first born. He is watching over us.
Ezra Benjamin: Amen.
Jonathan Bernis: And this is the result of the blood covered doors.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: Right?
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: So, not only do we have the atonement for sin, but we have the redemption of the firstborn and we have divine protection over the family.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: All in blood.
Ezra Benjamin: Amen. Amen. And we have to remember, it was a lamb without blemish and without spot. It had to be perfect.
Jonathan Bernis: I wanna keep going. I wanna keep going. We have to take a break. I don't wanna take a break, but we have to do, hear our announcer tell you about the incredible opportunities to you that to support Jewish Voice. We have medical outreaches, clean water initiatives, but most importantly, we're sharing the gospel and we are planting Messianic Jewish congregations in remote places of the world. Serving Jewish people and their neighbors suffering through devastating conditions in Africa. And you can make a difference with us. So, I wanna encourage you to get involved today. Here's how.
Jonathan Bernis: Welcome back to, I think, one of the most important discussions we've ever had on this program before. Why did Jesus have to die? Before we jump back into it, we want to take a moment to say thank you for your support of Jewish Voice. Honestly, we could not do this work without you. Your giving makes all the difference in the world, to Jewish people and their neighbors in remote places of Africa, in Israel. In fact, around the world. So, thank you for your support. You are transforming lives through your prayers and financial support. We're so grateful.
Ezra Benjamin: We are. We really are.
Jonathan Bernis: Ezra, let's jump right back into this. Just recap these points. Why did Jesus have to die?
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: Rather than God waving his hand and saying, "You're all forgiven".
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: He is the Creator of the universe, but he chose a different path.
Ezra Benjamin: We remember that Adam and Eve sinned. And of course, any of us who are born in flesh, in bodies, which is all of us, in case that wasn't clear, are in Adam. We're in sin.
Jonathan Bernis: We are.
Ezra Benjamin: "And the wages of sin," the scriptures tell us, "Is death". So, the God of mercy, even during the time of Moses, creates a system by which sinful man can be reconciled, can be brought near again to a holy God. And we talked about this, the life of the flesh is in the blood. Yes, it's sacrifice of bulls, and goats, and other animals in the sacrificial system. But it's not the flesh itself, it's the blood that's being spilled for the forgiveness of sin.
Jonathan Bernis: Let me just say again, the foundation of this is in the Torah. It's not some New Testament idea.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: Life is in the blood and it's required.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: And we talked about it from the time of Adam and Eve that tried to cover their sin.
Ezra Benjamin: Exactly.
Jonathan Bernis: Their nakedness with a fig leaf. And God said, "No". And an animal was sacrificed, blood is shed.
Ezra Benjamin: Exactly. So, the wages of sin is death. We can put up the second reason that we've already discussed. Remember the Passover lamb, the angel of death. And God says, actually, "I myself, Adonai. I'm going to pass over the land of Egypt. And because of the wickedness of the land, I'm gonna strike the first born with death. But Israel, I'm giving you and anyone who had join with you in faith in this promise, a way to make atonement". And it was a pure and spotless lamb without blemish.
Jonathan Bernis: Yeah. It's a reflection of the condition of the world. Egypt is a picture of the world, all have sinned.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: Not a few, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There's no one righteous. That's really the reality in Egypt. But God says to the Israelites, "I'll provide a way out for you".
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: And this is the divine provision.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: And that lamb is a prototype, is a picture, is a foreshadow of the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world.
Ezra Benjamin: Amen.
Jonathan Bernis: And so, he has to lay down his life.
Ezra Benjamin: Amen. So, the third reason here, and as the clock, ticks away, we wanna get you this reason. Grab your pen again. Is this idea of the second Adam. "Well, Ezra, that sounds weird. What do you mean by that"? "As in Adam all die". Let me actually just read it. It's 1 Corinthians 15, and I'm gonna begin in verse 20. It says, "But Christ, or, but the Messiah has indeed been raised from the dead. The firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man," Adam. "The resurrection of the dead comes also through a man for as in Adam all die, so in the Messiah, all will be made alive". So, the question is, okay, we understand, we get it. There had to be a blood sacrifice, had to be pure and spotless. Well, why couldn't God send a pure and spotless lamb, and march it up to Jerusalem, and have it slaughtered, and then everybody's okay? Because sin came through a man. So, a sinless life, which equals a righteous death through the spilling of Jesus' own blood. And because it was a righteous death, resurrection from the dead. He took up authority over sin and the grave. Also had to come through a man.
Jonathan Bernis: You know, Ezra, this answers the question, why did Jesus have to die?
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: Okay. Why did a man have to die? Why did Jesus have to die?
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: Animals had to be sacrificed, blood had to be poured out.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: But why a man? Why the Messiah? And the answer is what you just read.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: Adam sells us into slavery. Adam and Eve actually make us slaves to sin, the sin nature. Now, you can debate original sin. That's...
Ezra Benjamin: Sure.
Jonathan Bernis: We can get off on a rabbit tail. But the reality is that we're born into a condition of sin, we'll all eventually sin.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: At a very early age. There's no one righteous. And now, as in Adam, all die, a man has to bring us back into life.
Ezra Benjamin: Right. And that's this idea that we're talking about here of the second Adam. And something else I wanna point out here is not only is Jesus, and the book of Hebrews unpacks this, we encourage you to read it. It's written to Jewish believers, but it's applicable to all of us. Not only is Jesus our pure and spotless Passover lamb, but he's also our great high priest. And part of his needing to come in human form, in the weakness and the frailty of a human body is that he had to be susceptible to all the vulnerabilities and temptations that you and I are. And yet to resist those. To resist those, to call upon the strength of his Father in heaven and to stand true and spotless. So, in that way, he's not only our Passover lamb, he's our great high priest, who right now in a resurrected body seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven, is making intercession for you and for me?
Jonathan Bernis: So much spiritual truth here. He's our high priest, he is the second Adam. I also see in the sacrifice of Isaac. Abraham has raised the blade to kill Isaac and God stops him.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: And there's a ram caught in a thicket, and the response is, "God has provided himself a ram".
Ezra Benjamin: Amen.
Jonathan Bernis: That's a picture I think of Isaac as representative of the second Adam, who God stops him and says, "This isn't the one it's going to be, I'll provide myself the atonement".
Ezra Benjamin: Exactly. And Jonathan, that bonus point that we wanna make, that we mentioned a few minutes ago, is this. Sometimes we think, you know, everything would've been okay. And then Adam and Eve sinned, and in heaven there's a panic, right? "What are we gonna do? Adam sinned. We didn't see it coming. I know, we'll send Jesus". But the scriptures are clear that he was slain from the foundations of the world in heaven before God created Adam, before he created you and me, he knew we would sin. And Jesus wasn't plan b.
Jonathan Bernis: I think that is so comforting.
Ezra Benjamin: Yeah.
Jonathan Bernis: For me that's so comforting.
Ezra Benjamin: It is.
Jonathan Bernis: This is not an afterthought. This is the plan of God before the foundation of the world.
Ezra Benjamin: Jonathan, it's so comforting and encouraging to know that God in heaven did not have to scramble when Adam messed up. That before time began, God who's omniscient, he's outside of time, knew exactly what was gonna happen. He knew the serpent would get to eve. He knew they would succumb to sin, and that the wages of sin are death. And yet in heaven, the son Jesus, Yeshua, is saying to the Father, "You need a sacrifice so that they can be with you forever". I'll be that sacrifice. Jonathan the love is overwhelming.
Jonathan Bernis: And Ezra, it's so clear in the ministry of Jesus that he's destined to die.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: He's born to die and he repeats it over and over again.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: He repeats that this is his destiny to lay down his life. He's very clear with the disciples that he's gonna be buried and resurrected. He understood all this.
Ezra Benjamin: Exactly.
Jonathan Bernis: And yet still, when it came down to it, the intensity of the pressure.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: That he was going to bear the sins of the world.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: For all time.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: I just can't even imagine the immensity of that.
Ezra Benjamin: Right. Jonathan, I'm thinking of, it was almost a prophecy, though. He probably didn't realize that the high priest, Gamaliel talked about this, right? In the days leading up to Jesus' death, he understood something from the Jewish scriptures that a man had to die for the sins of the whole world.
Jonathan Bernis: Yeah. Now, this is where there's a departure from American thinking. Which is that Jesus died for me. Very true.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: That, he is my Savior, but it's very individualistic. Jewish people at least in times of old, did not think about the individual. They thought about the corporate identity and the corporate wellbeing. Israel was judged and blessed as a people. And Gamaliel recognizes that it's expedient for one to die for the sins not of an individual, but of a nation.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: For all time. There's a corporate reality to this. He's redeemed for my people, which is Israel. And, of course, then by application, all people.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: God so loves the world. There's a corporate reality to this, and that's for another show.
Ezra Benjamin: Right.
Jonathan Bernis: But Yeshua, Jesus dies for the individual, but he also dies for the nation and for the world. He dies for the nation of Israel. Isaiah 53, he's led as the lamb to the slaughter. And God is laid upon him the iniquity of us all.
Ezra Benjamin: Yeah.
Jonathan Bernis: At one time.
Ezra Benjamin: That's right.
Jonathan Bernis: That's a really important point. But again, that's going off to...
Ezra Benjamin: No, no, it's important. I think, like you said, in our north American mentality, maybe you're watching and you're not from north America, but part of where we can become off track here at times is that we see this in a very myopic way. Jesus is my Savior, and absolutely that's true, but he's in fact the redeemer of the world. Do we recognize Jesus as the redeemer of the world?
Jonathan Bernis: Yeah, wow. We need to take a short break so our announcer can share some information about the resources that we're making available to you this week as you support Jewish Voice outreaches around the world. Make sure to stay with us. At the end of the program, Ezra and I are gonna come back and pray with you, for you and your family. God answers prayer. Watch this.
Jonathan Bernis: One of the most important things we do on this program is to pray for your needs and the needs of your family. We get a lot of prayer requests and we pray for everyone by name specifically, and we'll continue to do that. Ezra, would you just lead out in prayer? There's people that are really going through a lot of challenges right now. We know from the request that people feel isolated, and lonely, and confused, and fearful. The list goes on.
Ezra Benjamin: Yeah. Let's pray together. Lord, we thank you that you are that Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And we thank you for bringing us into your kingdom. And we thank you as we thank of those in our families and our communities who are far from you, that you would stretch out your hand and gather them to yourself. Bring them into your kingdom by the blood of Yeshua, our Passover lamb, and our great high priest. Lord, and we commit the needs in our lives to you right now. We thank you that you're the waymaker, we thank you that you're the provider, that you're the defender and the protector of those you love and who love you. And so, Lord, we commit the needs, the ones that we've spoken to others, and the ones that we're carrying in our own hearts that we haven't shared with anyone Lord. You know these needs and we thank you that you're well able to meet them.
Ezra Benjamin: Yes, Lord.
Jonathan Bernis: Beyond what we could ask or imagine. So, we roll those burdens over to you. And thank you that you'll give your perfect shalom in return. In Yeshua's name we pray. Amen.
Ezra Benjamin: Peace, peace, peace upon you.
Jonathan Bernis: Amen.
Ezra Benjamin: Just as the Israelites dwelt in the safety of God, as the angel of death pass through Egypt, so may you experience that peace and that covering.
Jonathan Bernis: Amen. If you'd like more information about our ministry, you can log onto our website, jewishvoice.tv, and you can find many helpful resources there. Or you can send us your prayer request right on the website. And again, we will pray for all of you your needs because God cares for you, and we care about you too. I wanna thank you for your support of Jewish Voice. We couldn't do what we do without you. And one last request, remember to pray for Israel this week. They need our prayers. "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, may they prosper who love thee". Thank you to Ezra Benjamin for joining me today. And until next time, we wish you both shalom in the name of the Prince of Peace, Yeshua the Messiah. God bless you.