Today’s Bible Reading:
1 Kings 8; 2 Chronicles 5; Psalm 99; Romans 3
Topic: Propitiation
SCRIPTURE: Romans 3:23-26
23 for all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25
whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to
demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over
the sins that were previously committed, 26
to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and
the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Rom 3:23-26 NKJV)
OBSERVATION:
Romans 3:25 speaks of Christ, by the shedding of His blood,
having been a propitiation for the
sins of man. To propitiate means “to gain or regain the favor or goodwill of:
appease, conciliate, pacify” (Merriam-Webster). The Greek
word translated here as propitiation is hilasterion
which is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew kapporeth, a direct reference to the cover of the Ark of the
Covenant—the mercy seat. The mercy seat represented the very presence of God.
It was here, upon the pure gold mercy seat, between the two cherubim, behind
the veil in the holy of holies, that the high priest sprinkled the blood of the
sacrifice once a year on the Day of Atonement to make appeasement to God for
the sins of the people. Thus kapporeth (a cover) came to have the
broader definition of the covering or removal of sin by means of expiatory
sacrifice.
Hilasterion is a
derivative of the “hilal” word groups
in Greek. Hilal carries connotations
of cheerfulness and graciousness (i.e. in averting some calamity). Indeed, it is from hilasterion’s word family we derive our English word “hilarious”; a good mood.
The concept of cheerfulness and hilarity in connection with
Christ’s shed blood and atoning sacrifice is intriguing. On the one hand we have the picture of
Christ’s passion—His overwhelming suffering; hardly a joyful picture. On the other hand we have a picture of
gladness and joy. How do these two
extremes go together?
APPLICATION:
We don’t like to think of blood being spilled. We don’t like
to think of suffering and pain. We’d like to have our world always be sterile
and clean. We don’t like messes. We don’t like death. We certainly don’t want
to think that bloodshed could or should ever be necessary. Yet the Word of God
tells us bloodshed is necessary: “…without
shedding of blood there is no remission (of
sins)” (NKJV Bible, Hebrews 9:22). It is only through Christ’s sacrifice
that we are reconciled to relationship again with our Creator.
When I see the excruciating ordeal of Jesus—when I see the
massive quantity of blood gushing forth—when I see the ugly, agonizing
messiness—when I watch Hell unleashed on Him and realize, that should be me—I
can be at once repulsed by that visage and filled with gratitude at what He
accomplished on my behalf. Such
gratitude evokes praise, worship and adoration—tearful and joyful at the same
time.
It is interesting that the universal word for praise to God,
hallelujah, also comes from the “hilal”
family of words. Hallelujah is literally
“praise ye Jah,” a combination of joyous, celebratory praise and adoration (hallal) coupled with the object of that
praise, Jehovah or Yahweh (shortened to Jah). Thus Christ’s propitiation (hilasterion) embodies the rich meaning
of His sacrifice and our joyous gratitude toward Him.
PRAYER:
Hallelujah! My God, I lift my praise, honor, worship and
thanksgiving to You for the joyful life You have given to me by Your
sacrificial love. Thus my adoration of you is often expressed aptly with
laughter and weeping. Amen. –AP
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