Paying the Debt

Leviticus 5:5

When he is guilty in any of these matters, that he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing; and he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD for his sin which he has committed

I heard a leading Jewish media personality recently speak on why he does not believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the promised one who was to bring freedom to the Jewish people. He summarized his understanding of Christian teaching by saying that we are fundamentally incapable of taking on the debt of our own sin so we have to have somebody come in the form of Christ to Earth in order to accept that suffering for us.

Thats why, he said, Christians believe that Jesus is necessary. He went on to explain why his modern Jewish belief is different. The Judaic point of view, he claimed, is about accepting the responsibility for my own sins on myself because I can’t say that there is the suffering servant, the lamb of God who sacrificed himself for me.

I was quite surprised. This Jewish man was dismissing the entire Old Testament…the Law of Moses and the Psalms and the Prophets…who taught that God will judge all people according to their actions (Ezekiel 18), and that the priests were to sacrifice a spotless lamb as an offering to make atonement for the sin of each person (Leviticus 5).

King David appealed for the Lord’s mercy and asked God to blot out his transgression in Psalm 51 because he could not atone for what he had done. In Ezekiel 36 the Lord says He is the one that will cleanse us from our filthiness.

Even if Jewish teachers disagree as to who is the man written about in Isaiah 53, the prophet clearly spoke of one who would be pierced through for our transgressions and that the Lord would lay on him the iniquity (sin) of us all.

So is the good news of a Savior a Christian teaching made up by Jesus and his disciples to create a new religion that was inconsistent with Judaism?

No, Jesus was the fulfillment of the promise from God that He would provide a way to pay the debt for our sin, a debt we each have because of our choices. Jesus was the spotless lamb sacrificed for you and I.

In the same way the Jewish people were instructed to put their faith in the sacrifice of the animal to pay for their sin, you can put your faith in what Jesus did for you and God will wipe away your transgressions.

The modern Jewish man can never be sure that he is right with God. What would it mean to have the assurance of forgiveness for your sin?

The Apostle Paul says that we now have peace with God. That means I am no longer trying to earn His favor or “get on His good side.” My prayers can now be offered with confidence that He hears me and is ready to offer His grace to help me.

When you experience complete debt forgiveness, you can feel that heavy weight lifted off your shoulders. Thank Him today and walk in that truth.