For the season of Lent, we have encouraged our congregation to sacrifice something as a reminder of the sacrifice that has been made on our behalf. During that same time, we have looked at pictures of sacrifice that God has given to us through the Old Testament. We have learned some lessons about the sacrifice of Jesus.

We looked at the picture of Adam and Eve, standing there in the garden, hopeless, accused and ashamed of their sin. But God does not leave them this way-He provides for them skins from animals, animals that they themselves may have cared for in the garden. God initiates the sacrifice that we need for sin.

We looked at the picture of Abraham leading his most precious son Isaac up that mountain to make a sacrifice How much must Abraham have been praying for God's provision while he tied his son to that altar and raised the knife to kill his one and only son. And God did provide a ram for the burnt offering. God provides the sacrifice that we need for sin.

We looked at the picture of the temple and each of its articles. God had stringent requirements for all those who would approach Him - it could not be just anyone and it could not be in just any fashion. There was only one way to approach God. God makes a way for the sacrifice that we need for sin.

We looked at the picture of the various sacrifices that were commanded by God and we saw that there were several barriers blocking our access into the presence of God. These barriers kept us from the presence of God. God overcomes the barriers for the sacrifice that we need for sin.

We looked at the picture of Aaron running out into the midst of the plague of God's judgment on Israel. Running out into the midst of the people so that he might stand between life and death to make atonement for the people of God. The cost of sin is death. God pays the price for the sacrifice that we need for our sin.

We looked at the picture of Moses with the grumbling, miserable people who lacked trust in what God had promised them. In the midst of a plague of venomous snakes Moses is commanded to place a bronze snake on a pole in their midst. The picture of their own death on a pole so that all who looked in faith at that pole would be saved from death. God requires nothing more than faith for the sacrifice that we need for our sin.

We looked at the picture of the Passover lamb. Its body broken and eaten. Its blood, when applied to the doorposts of one's house, a protection against death itself. God brings life out of the sacrifice that we need for our sin.

We looked at the picture of the cross and saw that in the cross all the other pictures of sacrifice come together. This God-initiated, God-provided sacrifice, overcomes the barriers between us and God and pays the price for sin. Through faith, the cross provides the one way to eternal life with God.

It's interesting how many passages of Scripture carry these themes. On Easter we focused on Romans 5:1-11 and saw how in the empty tomb is peace, grace, hope, love, salvation, and joy because Jesus is risen! But notice how that the empty tomb is: God-initiated (v. 8); God-provided (v. 6, 8); the only way (v. 2, 10, 11); overcomes the barriers between us and God (v. 1, 10); pays the price for sin (v. 9); is only through faith (v. 1); requires blood application (v. 9).

Our salvation in Jesus is in one sense so simple that we can effectively communicate it even to little children. And yet, as we mature and grow in our understanding of salvation and our knowledge of God, we find that our salvation is far more complex, extensive, and comprehensive than we ever imagined.

Praise God because Jesus is risen!!