Jesus Christ's sacrifice stands as a supreme victory, not a defeat. He held His head up until the end, bowing it only when He gave up His spirit, having finished perfectly what the Father had given Him to do. His death, after living a completely sinless life, fulfilled the sin offering, while His complete devotion to the Father up to His death fulfilled the burnt offering. He served humanity to the utmost, satisfying the meaning of the grain offering, and poured Himself out as a drink offering. His death reconciled God and men, making harmony and fellowship possible, as pictured by the peace offering. Though marred beyond recognition, with His bones countable, Jesus Christ remained unbroken, embodying an unbroken body. Through the Passover, we unite with Jesus Christ in a sacrificial meal, partaking of the bread and wine as acts of communion, indicating sharing, participation, and fellowship. The bread, broken for sharing, remains one bread, symbolizing that we are part of one unbroken body, Christ's body, which is not divided. When Jesus spoke of bread in relation to His flesh, He presented it as a symbol of life, not death. He described Himself as the bread of life, the living bread that came down from heaven, giving life to the world so that whoever eats of it will not die but have eternal life. The bread, representing His flesh, is living, pointing to a living body. While aspects of the Passover picture death, such as the wine representing shed blood and the lamb that had to die, the bread symbolizes life—the life He gave through sinless, devoted service so the world can have life. Eating the bread at Passover symbolizes taking in and being joined to His sinless life, not a dead or broken body. We are saved by His life, accepted into God's presence on the basis of Christ's sinless flesh, and we must eat this living bread to continue our connection to our Savior and to others who partake of it.

As God leads us through conversion, He challenges our concept of Him, sharpening our mental image of His character and nature. Searching the Scriptures is paramount, for they testify of the Father and the Son, clarifying our vision of Them. Yet, some find it difficult to accept the harsh reality of Jesus Christ's sacrifice, a resistance that causes us to overlook one of His major works. It is often easier to hurry past challenging verses than to let their meaning sink in, but without accepting this facet of His sacrifice, we miss a significant part of what He did. In the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 53, the Lord the Father laid our iniquities on the Messiah, just as the high priest laid hands on the azazel in Leviticus 16, confessing over it all the iniquities of Israel. Isaiah describes the physical trauma He endured—stricken, smitten by God, afflicted, wounded, bruised, chastised, and scourged. Justification results from the Messiah bearing iniquities, and He bore the sins of many, fulfilling this role as if it were already done when the prophecy was given. Christ bore our sins while on the tree, in His own body, not as an abstract legal pronouncement but with real-life application and recorded fulfillment. During hours of extreme suffering, He experienced shame, reproach, anguish, piercing, crushing, bruising, smiting, grief, and other terrible effects of sin. Though His crucifixion does not remove the pain or shame of our sins, He intercedes as our Mediator, having borne the full chastening we deserve. We receive mediated chastening, not more than we can bear, to continue the sanctification process. God's merciful chastening yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness, offset by the chastening Christ received in our stead. Healing comes from Christ's stripes, encompassing both physical and spiritual restoration, with spiritual healing being infinitely more important. This spiritual healing turns us from straying like sheep to the Shepherd, addressing our spiritual condition. Despite reluctance to view the Son of God as representing sin, God the Father made Christ to be sin, fulfilling the dreadful role of the azazel. Christ became a curse for us, bearing our iniquities as He hung on the tree. Christ's sacrifice took place outside the gate, unlike typical sin offerings killed at the tabernacle. Like the azazel, led outside the camp after becoming sin, He was led away and suffered for hours, bearing our sins in His body. He felt every second of becoming sin and a curse, enduring all the chastening so that we might have life with Him. God's mercy provides a way for us to be healed and reconciled to Him, through the Messiah's terrible yet necessary role.

During the Passover season, our minds are more forcibly focused on the importance of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ to our salvation. This time of the year, if properly used, purges the fog of forgetfulness that accumulates throughout the year. Do we hold the sacrifice of Jesus Christ freshly in mind throughout the entire year to remind ourselves to honor it each day? It is Christ's sacrifice that forgives our sins, opens the way into God's presence, and pays the way for us to have a relationship with the Father and Son. How good are we at honoring and protecting the value of what that sacrifice purchased? Despite the value and durability of gold and silver to a human, they cannot even begin to pay the redemption price from sin's consequences. Only the sacrificed blood of the perfect Creator God's life can do so. Faith in that blood's value can have everlasting, imperishable consequences. Our daily struggle to come out of sin will keep its value in mind by reminding us of why we are doing as we do and will also bring honor to the name of God by giving a good witness to the world. When we strive to avoid sin, we keep in mind the perfect, sinless example of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we truly desire to be in His image, it cannot but help us to emulate His sinless behavior as closely as possible. He is always the example we hold before us.

Jesus Christ's sacrifice stands as a profound act of divine purpose, fulfilling the need for a sinless being, both human and divine, to pay for mankind's sins. At the moment of His birth, He became exalted to a role He had not held before, serving as the New Covenant High Priest. Throughout His ministry, He performed this role, already qualified as God, without needing to prove Himself further. His death and resurrection completed the prophecy, establishing Him as the ultimate sacrifice, akin to the unblemished animal offerings, yet surpassing them as both God and man. Hebrews 1:3 clearly states that He provided purification for sins by Himself, with no other being—animal, man, or angel—involved. This act of atonement places a significant claim on mankind's conduct, opening the door to God's offer of salvation to those He calls. Despite this, many remain unmoved, lacking faith in the guarantee of His sacrifice, which is backed by the authority of the Father. Sin continues to prevail as mankind often disregards the profound opportunity His sacrifice presents for a transformed life. His exaltation to the right side of the Father in heaven, following His resurrection by the Father's power, further underscores His role in Their unified plan to shape mankind in Their image. Yet, faith in this sacrifice remains underutilized, as many fail to seek His help in producing fruit that glorifies God. Mankind, as a whole, often shows little concern for engaging with Him through prayer, missing the vital connection to the One who holds the power to save and desires to do so for all eternity.

The sacrifice of the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, stands infinitely greater and more efficacious than any human sacrifice. There is no comparison to the magnitude of Their act. The blood of bulls and goats under the Old Covenant could not remove sin, as their value was lesser than that of a human life. A greater sacrifice was needed, one that could not only cover sin but completely pay for and remove it. This required a sacrifice of unmatched worth, found only in the life of the Creator God who became flesh as Jesus Christ. His value was sufficient to pay for the sins of all mankind and still hold worth beyond that, allowing Him to die and be raised again to life as the source of life for us. In the atonement ritual, the sin offering of the goat, representing Christ, was killed, and its blood covered the sins of the people, cleansing and sanctifying them. This offering was carried outside the camp, mirroring how Jesus Christ was crucified outside the city of Jerusalem, identifying Him with this act of atonement. As the High Priest, He performs all the atoning work, placing the guilt on the Azazel goat and ensuring the cleansing through His blood. His dual work not only pays for sin but also bears it away, removing it completely so that no taint of guilt remains, fostering trust and reconciliation between mankind and God. The Father's sacrifice in sending His Son into the world as Savior was as poignant as the Son's. The Father endured the agony of watching His only companion suffer and die, experiencing separation during the three days and nights in the tomb. There was risk in this act, as Jesus Christ, though unlikely to sin, faced constant temptation in human form, a state of weakness He had not experienced before. Both Father and Son anticipated this sacrifice from before the foundation of the world, living with the weight of this potential loss for millennia, a testament to the depth of Their commitment. The blood of Jesus Christ, precious beyond measure, encapsulates His life, a life the Father willingly gave up for mankind despite Their eternal companionship. Jesus Christ emptied Himself of His glory, becoming human, enduring every stage of life from conception to death, facing myriad temptations without sinning, and ultimately giving His life's blood in cruel agony and shame. His sacrifice extended beyond the colossal act of crucifixion to daily selflessness, exhausting Himself in healing and teaching, forgoing comforts, and suffering ridicule to serve others. This great sacrifice was made to redeem mankind from lawless deeds and to purify a special people for Himself, not just to cover sins but to make them holy as children of God. It was an act of pure, selfless love, driven by outgoing concern for humanity's eternal good, aiming to bring unity with God. Through His sacrifice, Jesus Christ also judged the world and cast out the ruler of this world, proving Himself immeasurably stronger, ensuring that when He returns, His victory will be complete.

Jesus Christ's sacrifice stands as a profound fulfillment of spiritual realities, transcending the physical rites given to Israel. He observed the Passover with His disciples at the beginning of the 14th day of Abib, just after sunset, sharing bread, wine, and the act of footwashing, emphasizing humble service and forgiveness. However, His death occurred later, during the daylight hours of the 14th, around 3:00 pm, on the preparation day for the first day of Unleavened Bread. As our Passover Lamb, His sinless blood was shed on Passover day, yet not at the time the lambs were traditionally slain, nor in exact accordance with the original instructions, such as being roasted in fire or having His blood smeared on doorposts. His crucifixion did not align with the morning or evening sacrifices, nor with specific holy days like the Day of Atonement, though His sacrifice is described in imagery related to that day. He entered the heavenly Temple as our High Priest, fulfilling all sacrificial requirements spiritually, in a manner determined by the Father and the Son, satisfying God's plan and sense of justice. His one sacrifice, planned from the foundation of the world, encompassed the requirements of Passover, Atonement, and all other offerings, though the timing of His death did not correspond to any specific holy day or commanded sacrifice. Through His example, He set the pattern for observing Passover with bread and wine in remembrance of Him, while His death in the afternoon of the 14th draws attention to a momentous purpose beyond merely being the Passover Lamb.

Christians cannot be self-indulgent, as getting for ourselves opposes the way of God, which is the way of love and outgoing concern. Selfishness turns Christianity on its head, mocking the sacrifices that form its foundation and the freely given grace of God that makes it possible. It begins with God the Father, who so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. As the great Sovereign of the universe, the Father set the supreme example by sacrificing what He loved most, that the world through Him might be saved. His Son followed in the same way. The One who became Jesus Christ did not cling to His power, glory, and equality with God, but humbled Himself to be incarnated as a lowly servant, a human being. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself further and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. He declared He would sacrifice His flesh, His precious life, for the life of the world. To cover the sins of those who would believe in Him and provide access to the Father, Christ, in faith, was willing to give up everything.

Our Savior, Jesus Christ, died a most horrible death on a stauros or cross, enduring unimaginable suffering for our sake. He faced crucifixion, a gruesome form of execution reserved for slaves and the worst criminals in His time, a method so painful and gory that death often lingered for days. As a substitutionary sacrifice, He had to die by execution to pay the penalty for our sins, a penalty that could not be fulfilled by a natural death but required the shedding of blood for remission. His death, pronounced by Pilate, was not due to any guilt of His own, for He was sinless, but to bear the death penalty our sins deserved. God allowed His Son to suffer crucifixion, a shameful way to die, reserved for those considered the scum of the earth, to depict the shame brought on by our sins. Crucified between two robbers, Jesus endured humiliation, exposed naked to spectators, including His mother and others, adding to the disgrace He bore for us. His shameful death underscores the shame of sin, teaching us to be ashamed of our transgressions, as sin brings dishonor to us and our families. Through His sacrifice, He endured both the physical torment and the profound humiliation of crucifixion to cover the horrors of our sins.

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ stands as a profound act, unparalleled in its significance. Jesus of Nazareth, the only begotten Son of God, was crucified as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins. He is the propitiation, the appeasing force, through which we can enter into God's presence. God, the righteous Judge of all mankind, provided Jesus Christ to pay the incalculable price for sin. At Passover, the focus centers on Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God, slain for the sins of the world, a human sacrifice of the most sublime quality. The cup at Passover symbolizes the blood Jesus spilled in sacrificing His life, sealing God's agreement of salvation with us. Through the blood of Christ, He certifies His promise to justify us in preparation for salvation. Such a monumental sacrifice must be fittingly remembered, for if Passover becomes a mere ritual, it loses its significance, and Christ is not truly honored with understanding and appreciation. The purpose of Passover is to grasp the point of Christ's death, and failing to comprehend its meaning makes us more likely to treat His death unworthily. Understanding Christ's sacrifice properly determines the quality of our observance of Passover. To prevent taking it carelessly, we must examine ourselves, discerning the Lord's body, contrasting our spiritual and moral failures with the perfect glory of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who lived without committing even one sin. The focus at Passover is not on ourselves but on the payment for our sins, the means by which we are forgiven, concentrating on the most elementary precepts of our salvation, especially on the part Jesus Christ plays in it. The value of Christ's sacrifice is immeasurable, as only the sacrifice of the sinless God-Man, Jesus Christ, could meet the qualifications to pay for all sin. God designed this payment for sin to be so profound that the heirs of salvation, out of overwhelming gratitude, would drive themselves from sin. The theme of Passover is the awesome cost of salvation, manifested in the sinless sacrifice of Jesus Christ, whose sinlessness was not mechanical but filled with sympathy, empathy, compassion, kindness, and concern for the helpless slaves of sin. Passover forces us to focus on our weakness and Christ's strength, our need and His abundance, our sinfulness and His perfection, our sentence of death and His offer of life. The Bible sees sacrifice as the holy act, the very essence of love, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son in sacrifice. The sacrifice of the sinless God-Man, Jesus Christ, has the power to cleanse from sin, establishing a New Covenant based on an intimate personal relationship with our Creator. Gratitude, worship, and obedience are the only appropriate responses to such a sacrificial gift as the body of Jesus Christ, for there is no other acceptable sacrifice for sin that will allow us to continue living.

Jesus Christ's sacrifice was foreordained before the foundation of the world. For thousands of years, countless animals were sacrificed as a shadow of what was to come, reminding us of our required daily living sacrifices. Jesus Christ, God the Son, came to earth to demonstrate God's way of sacrifice. His sacrifice is both substitutional and representative. First, His sacrifice is substitutional, a once-for-all, perfect offering for sin and trespass, which He made for us to open the door to our relationship with God, allowing God the Father and God the Son to dwell with us and fill us with Their enabling Spirit. Second, His living sacrifices while on earth are representative, serving as an example of the daily offerings we must make through our own living sacrifices. His sacrifice replaced the need for animal sacrifices, but the need for ongoing daily work of sacrifice remains, as those animal offerings were merely a shadow of what was to come.