4) An Introduction to The Jewish Narrative of Redemptive History - Part 4: Sacrificial Category
Introduction
This lesson explores the concept of Christ, or Messiah, and the intricate development of messianic expectations throughout the sacred Scriptures. This theological journey precedes the pivotal events of the death and resurrection of Jesus, unraveling the divine plan woven into the fabric of human history. Delving into the essence of God's chosen agent, "anointed," to enact the day of the Lord on His behalf, we uncover the significance of the Christ/Messiah as a transformative force. Anchored in the biblical verses from Philippians and fortified by apostolic witnesses, we unravel the multifaceted layers of messianic anticipation and underscore its undeniable culmination in the life and purpose of Jesus Christ. As we traverse this scholarly expedition, we are poised to grasp the intricate threads that bind the messianic promises, paving the way for a profound understanding of the redemptive narrative that unfolds through the ages. I curated this lesson using content from John Harrigan’s book, The Gospel of Christ Crucified: A Theology of Suffering before Glory.
Messianic Expectation
The concept of the Christ, or Messiah, and the development of messianic expectation throughout the Scriptures precedes the death and resurrection of Jesus. God could have restored creation through his Spirit without external involvement or mediation. He has chosen, however, to execute the day of the Lord through someone else: a human being whom he will appoint. In this way, the Christ/Messiah is God's agent, "anointed" to act on his behalf. Thus, the day of the Lord will be "the day of Christ":
So that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:10-11, ESV Bible)
Holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. (Philippians 2:16, ESV Bible)
The Day of Christ is when the Messiah comes and raises the dead by the Spirit of God, punishes the wicked, and creates the new heavens and earth. Though this messianic expectation could have been stated outright from the beginning, God revealed it progressively. How do we see the messianic expectation revealed throughout scripture? We are going to explore this in much detail in another module, but for now let’s look at a few examples:
After the initial sin of Adam and Eve, God promised that an offspring of Eve would be born who would crush Satan's head:
"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." (Genesis 3:15, ESV Bible)
This same promise of an anointed offspring is reiterated to Abraham:
I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:3, ESV Bible)
And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. (Genesis 17:7, ESV Bible)
And in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice." (Genesis 22:18, ESV Bible)
This same promise of an anointed offspring is reiterated to David:
When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. (2 Samuel 7:12, ESV Bible)
When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. (1 Chronicles 17:11, ESV Bible)
Hence God's agent would be born "the son of David, the son of Abraham":
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Matthew 1:1, ESV Bible)
Such messianic expectation was commonly assumed when Jesus was called “Christ" (Greek translation of Hebrew Mashiach or Messiah):
And Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ. (Matthew 1:16, ESV Bible)
The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). (John 4:25, ESV Bible)
The Messianic Character of Jesus
The apostolic witness emphasized the messianic character of Jesus:
Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified." (Acts 2:36, ESV Bible)
And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus. (Acts 5:42, ESV Bible)
Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. (Acts 8:5, ESV Bible)
But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. (Acts 9:22, ESV Bible)
"He is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead":
And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. (Acts 10:42, ESV Bible)
Confirmation of Messianic Hopes
The events of the cross and the subsequent resurrection of Jesus did not change any of the previously held messianic hopes but confirmed and intensified them.
Part of the sacrificial category of redemption is understanding why Jesus was destined to die in the first place. These questions are the substance of the Emmaus Road encounter:
That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, "What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?" And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?" And he said to them, "What things?" And they said to him, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see." And he said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24:13-27, ESV Bible)
Jesus explains his rhetorical question, "Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?" (v. 26, NRSV). The redemption of Israel (v. 21) and the eschatological glory would indeed come. God deemed it necessary, however, that his Christ should suffer first.
Four Broad Areas Explaining Messiah’s Suffering
Over the centuries, many have sought to identify the content of Jesus' exposition on the road to Emmaus. He likely revealed the same things in another account, when Jesus revealed teachings to his apostles during his forty days of post-resurrection (Acts 1:3):
He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. (Acts 1:3, ESV Bible)
Assuming the New Testament is a faithful representation of what Jesus revealed to his apostles during his forty days of post-resurrection teaching, we can identify four broad areas explaining why the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory:
Number One, Jesus would have pointed to direct prophecies concerning the suffering of God's Servant. Passages like:
Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53, ESV Bible)
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; “He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts. On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God. Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet— I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. But you, O LORD, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid! Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog! Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen! I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him. From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. The afflicted shall seat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it. (Psalm 22, ESV Bible)
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. (Zechariah 12:10, ESV Bible)
Number Two, because of the fallen nature of this age, the wicked generally prosper, while the righteous generally suffer:
And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’” (Malachi 3:15, ESV Bible)
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore. These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back. By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them. By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. (Hebrews 11, ESV Bible)
Moreover, the wicked have always persecuted the righteous:
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:10-12, ESV Bible)
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, (Acts 7:51-52, ESV Bible)
If God has allowed all of the righteous to suffer, why would he spare the Righteous One?
Number Three, in light of his crucifixion during the Passover festival, Jesus undoubtedly would have interpreted the Jewish calendar typologically (categorically; in categories), pointing to redemptive history as a whole:
For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 22:16, ESV Bible)
Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. (1 Corinthians 5:7, ESV Bible)
Number Four, and most importantly, Jesus would have interpreted the sacrificial system typologically, pointing to the necessity of a vicarious, sin-bearing sacrifice that holistically reconciles the enmity between God and humanity (cf. Eph. 5:2; Heb. 8-10):
And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:2, ESV Bible)
God accounts the Messiah's death as a "sin offering”:
For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, (Romans 8:3, ESV Bible)
It is this “sin offering” by which depraved humans are "declared righteous" in his sight. Such sacrificial shedding of the Messiah’s "blood" is referenced throughout the New Testament:
The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? (1 Corinthians 10:16, ESV Bible)
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, (Ephesians 1:7, ESV Bible)
How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Hebrews 9:14, ESV Bible)
But with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. (1 Peter 1:19, ESV Bible)
It is by his blood propitiation is made:
Whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. (Romans 3:25, ESV Bible)
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10, ESV Bible)
Justification is accomplished:
Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. (Romans 5:9, ESV Bible)
So that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:7, ESV Bible)
Redemption is achieved:
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, (Ephesians 1:7, ESV Bible)
Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. (Hebrews 9:15, ESV Bible)
Summary
In summary, the sacrificial redemptive category represents Jesus inaugurating the fulfillment of messianic hopes. Specifically fulfilling why the Messiah needed to suffer these things and then enter into his glory. As the Messiah, he was destined to suffer. The apostles best understand this through his teachings, during the forty days after his resurrection. He would have explained four broad areas concerning a suffering Messiah: 1) Jesus would have pointed to direct prophecies concerning the suffering of God's Servant, 2) Because of the fallen nature of this age, the wicked generally prosper, while the righteous generally suffer, 3) in light of his crucifixion during the Passover festival, Jesus undoubtedly would have interpreted the Jewish calendar typologically, pointing to redemptive history as a whole, and 4) Jesus would have interpreted the sacrificial system typologically, pointing to the necessity of a vicarious, sin-bearing sacrifice that holistically reconciles the enmity between God and humanity. Collectively, all of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection make up the sacrificial category of the redemptive narrative.