And He [that same Jesus Himself] is the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins, and not for ours alone but also for [the sins of] the whole world. 1 John 2:2 (AMPC)
Jesus is our sin bearer. He Himself bore our sins in His own body to the Cross-1Peter 2:24.
As the atoning sacrifice Jesus didn’t appease or make compensation to God as if God demanded reparation from us for our sins rather Jesus satisfied our own self judgement. It is not God who demanded payment for our wrong doings before we can relate and fellowship with Him. It is us who were under condemnation for our sins, we judged ourselves unworthy of God, unworthy of acceptance, unworthy of love unworthy of life. Acts13:46.
All this ended in us rejecting God and turning into His enemies. So God in His unchanging love, mercy, and kindness had to pay a great price to convince and win us back to Him. This priceless sacrifice is the very Life of His Son Jesus Christ.
Right from the garden it is Adam who ran away from God after sinning and ever since it has been like that, man always running away from a loving good Father God who on the other hand is relentlessly reaching out in mercy and kindness to all of us His sons and daughters. It is Adam who saw himself naked, inferior and disqualified so God had to kill an animal thus shedding innocent blood and clothing or covering Adam who felt unworthy. That was a foreshadow of the true Lamb of God Jesus who was later slain to die our death and His shed Blood cleansed and freed us from guilt, sin consciousness and condemnation.
When the prodigal son returned home the father ordered that the fatted bull be slaughtered. He directed that the son be clothed with a new robe, ring and sandals for his feet.
All this wasn’t about reinstating the son to his place and position with his father and in the family. To his father the prodigal was always a son even when he left home and was out there in wasteful living.
It was not to make the father change his mind about his son from disappointed, dissatisfied with him to approving of and accepting him.
Everything that was done for this son was to change his mind and attitude which had led him to turn against and run away from the father in the first place. It was to convince the son that he’d always been and will always forever be in the father’s good books – always forever loved, worthy and accepted.
Jesus the atoning sacrifice is for us and not God. It is to free us from the bondage and effects of sin. It is for the purpose of cleansing, and changing our mind and attitude so we believe and are convinced of what Father God believes about and is convinced of us – His own, His beloved, His accepted ones.
