I desire Mercy not Sacrifice
“Go
and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’
For I
came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matt 9.13
We are coming into the season
of Lent. That time of the year that we reflect upon the crucifixion, death, and
resurrection of Christ. This is the central aspect of Christianity. Thus, there
is some truth to the perception that we are cult born of human sacrifice, and
that we continue to celebrated that sacrifice through the sacrament of Communion.
There are a number of things that I would like to address before I begin my own
reflection and commentary on Lent, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection.
First, the event that transpired on Golgotha and the
subsequent resurrection are not simple and straightforward. To say “Jesus died
for our sins” simply reduces the events to a sound bite that excludes the
significance of Easter weekend. What occurred had numerous layers, and
perspectives. That is why there are essentially seven different “theories” on
the crucifixion. The best we can do with any amount of authority to state that
Jesus died on the Cross, it had something to do with our sins, and on the third
day he rose from the dead.
Second, the execution of Christ and his resurrection are
one event in perhaps three parts. Without the execution, the resurrection could
not have happened. Without the resurrection, the execution would have been just
another dispsoing of an annoyance to the Roman government. What occurred between those events is a matter of speculation, but is important to consider.
Third, we diminish the shame and degradation of Christ on
the cross. The renderings of a naked Jesus are very few and far between. He
would not have been clothed. The essential point of execution by crucifixion
was to humiliate the condemned. There was a reason why Roman citizens were not
executed in this manner. And why Paul refers a faith focused on this as “a stumbling block to
the Jews, and foolishness to the Gentiles.”
Fouth, there is no authoritative perspective on the Cross
that is complete. Regardless of one’s perspective, that perspective cannot
fully embrace Christ’s passion and his being raised from the dead. I have
included a link to an article on the seven theories of the crucifixion below. The
reason why this is important is that I,
of course, will provide an eighth perspective on the crucifixion. I do so, not
authoritatively, but offering my perspective.
Fifth, Christ’s death on the Cross was not to justify
sending people to eternal punishment. In fact it was the complete opposite.
But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obeying the Lord?
To
obey is better than sacrifice,
and
to heed is better than the fat of rams. 1 Sam 15:22
9 I have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,
10 for every animal of the
forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every bird in the
mountains,
and the insects in the fields are mine.
12 If I were hungry I would
not tell you,
for the world is mine, and all that is in
it.
13 Do I eat the flesh of
bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 “Sacrifice thank offerings
to God,
fulfill your vows to the Most High,
15 and call on me in the day
of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”
There is the suggestion that every sacrifice prior to the crucifixion was representative of the sacrifice that Christ would make for us. Yet, I read repeatedly in the Old Testament that God preferred obedience, love, and mercy rather than sacrifice. This is not just an obscure verse or two. The verse below echoes the sentiment expressed in Deuteronomy, one of the oldest scriptures. (Deut 10.12 & 13)
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my first-born
for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
He has showed you, O man,
what is good; and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to
love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6.7&8
I will get to the point, we demanded the sacrifice. The sacrificial
system in the Old Testament, I believe, was a concession from God as to what we
think religion should be. I think the prescriptions for sacrifice were to keep
us from killing each other and our kids. (Even with a number of exhortations
children were sacrificed.)
Author Fleming Rutledge contends the point of the
crucifixion was to shame the condemned. In my experience, shame is much more of
an issue than guilt. Guilt is about what I have done. Guilt is resolved by
forgiveness. Shame is about who I have become. Shame is harder to deal with
than guilt. Shame demands that someone pay a price. It is shame that kept us
from experiencing the love of God.
In the crucifixion Christ paid that price for us. In his
death, as he took the punishment we believe we deserved, he cleared the way
that we could approach God with confidence. Christ took upon himself the burden
of our sin, our shame. But it was not God who demanded the sacrifice. It was
us.
For me, this much more humbling, much more sobering than the theories of the crucifixion that have God demanding a sacrifice. The sacrifice God preferred was our love, mercy, and obedience. For me, sacrifice, at least the kind of sacrifice we are talking of, is about taking our shame out on someone or something else. That is why I suggest, that God preferred the sacrifice of our forgiving others and ourselves.
This is only my opinion.
Rutledge, Fleming, The Crucifixion, Understanding the Death
of Jesus Christ. 2015, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan
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