On Atonement

Atonement. The word kind of defines itself. It means, basically, "at-one-ment." At the beginning of the story, two are separated, and atonement is required to unite them. The word came up in the Old Testament in the laws given in Exodus. All that stuff about offering bulls as a sin offering for atonement and such (e.g., Exo 29:36). In Exodus the word appears 11 times; in Leviticus there are 51 references. All of the Old Testament considered, there are 105 uses of the word. A running theme -- making atonement for sin ... because sin causes a rift between God and His creatures and something has to be done to remedy that condition. The New Testament doesn't use the word, but it has its own version. The Greek word is katallasso -- to reconcile. Of course, if sin isn't that bad, the whole concept is pointless. All those animals sacrificed in the Old Testament for the at-one-ment for Israel's sins were meaningless. Unnecessary. Someone -- probably the vast BigFarm co-op -- pulled a fast one on everyone (including Jesus) making them all think that sacrifices were necessary for sin when anyone with half a brain could tell you that God was just a nice guy and He didn't much care about all your trivial mistakes.

This is the week of at-one-ment. It's the week that we focus on it, put a laser pointer on it. This is the week we commemorate the Body broken for us and the Blood shed for us. It is the week that we remember the price paid for our sin. Jesus used the word "ransom" (Matt 20:28; Mark 10:45). He came to "seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10). Jesus said that He was the only answer, that "No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). Jesus thought that "many" would find their way to destruction but "few" would find the way to life (Matt 7:13-14). Jesus warned that a failure to repent would result in perishing (Luke 13:1-5). Sin, to Jesus, was a real problem that He came to provide a solution for -- at-one-ment. Reconciliation. Ransom.

If your understanding of the Crucifixion does not include Christ bearing the penalty for our sin (Isa 53:4-6), you do so against Scripture in general and Jesus in particular. If you miss the point that Jesus came to save sinners, you worship a different Jesus than the one we find in the Bible. On the other hand, if you recognize that this is the week in which we gratefully remember that Christ died for our sins and rose again on the third day, then you will see that this is indeed a monumental celebration.