Sacrifice was a sacred word that has now become secular, and has taken on a different meaning to what it had years ago. Abraham was willing to obey God by offering his son Isaac on the altar as a sacrifice. His act of obedience was a portrayal of the Father’s heart in His future provision of His only-begotten Son Jesus, as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.
Today, people reject as gruesome the idea of Jesus shedding his blood on the Cross. Yet they see on television the sacrifices made by police officers in giving their lives in defence of civilians from terrorists. We speak of their willingness to do their duty, even at the risk of their lives. A young constable who alone bravely faced three Islamic terrorists on London Bridge years ago with nothing but a baton, bled when they slashed him with knives. He survived, and was commended for his courage.
Can we not see what Jesus did, in a far greater way, when after facing a hateful crowd alone, was flogged mercilessly, and died after being crucified and shedding his lifeblood, in order to save us. Not just saints alone but also sinners.
Why is that people honour those who have done their duty by giving their lives for the innocent, and yet do not honour the innocent Jesus, whose quiet courage in Pilate’s judgement hall has inspired countless numbers of sinners around the globe to confess him as their Lord, and to die as martyrs rather than deny their newfound faith.
Sacrifice is still a sacred word — even in this secular world. It’s just that many think of Jesus only in religious terms, as the Cross as an icon in church history, when in fact his well-documented ordeal at the hands of Roman torturers and suffering and death on a cross have transformed the lives of a countless number of people around the globe.
We shrink from the murderous acts of bloody-minded Islamic terrorists, but should not shrink from the greatest act of sacrificial love of the Lord Jesus Christ, in shedding his lifeblood for everyone — including those that hate him without cause — including those bloody-minded terrorists, if only they knew it.