1 John 2:2 Propitiation: A Meditation on The Most Beautiful Death in the History of the World Jesus says: Take and eat. This is my body broken for

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1 1 1 John 2:2 Propitiation: A Meditation on The Most Beautiful Death in the History of the World Jesus says: Take and eat. This is my body broken for you. Do this in remembrance of me. This is the cup of the New Covenant in my blood. As often as you drink it remember me (1 Cor. 11). Today, as we take the Lord s Supper together, we remember our Lord s death. In fact, it is because of Jesus death that we are gathered here today and call ourselves Christians. To non-christians, remembering death is not very practical. I was at a funeral this week and we remembered Aunt Elaine s life. But, we didn t think very much about her death. In fact, when we looked at her body in the casket, it reminded us all of where we will be one day. For the wages of sin is death. When I remember loved ones who have gone before, I don t recall their death. I remember their life and what they were like and the memories we had together. But, it is not the same with Jesus. Instead, He says, Remember my death. Remember my blood that poured out of my body! Why? Why remember his death? We remember his death because his death is beautiful to us. And it isn t that he tells us to remember his death because he simply wants us to remember what happened; how he was arrested, charged, beaten, and hung on a cross until he died. I think he wants us to recall especially what his death accomplished. And when we do, his death is unlike any other death. To the one who truly takes this supper in remembrance, it becomes the most beautiful death in the history of the world. So what is it about Jesus death that is so beautiful? The answer to this question is found in our text in 1 John. Look at 2:2. He is the propitiation for our sins... Now, in order to understand what propitiation means here we must first begin with what John has already said. Remember the CONTEXT! He is speaking about true fellowship (vv. 3, 6, 7). He is speaking about those who walk in the light (v. 5-7). He is speaking about those who confess their sins in the right way (v. 9). And because of this there is cleansing. There is forgiveness. In some way, our sins no longer separate us from God. In other words, these people have a right relationship with God. And this relationship, these benefits are because Jesus is the propitiation for our sins... So what does propitiation mean? In order to understand this word, we must consider the death of Christ. What does the death of Christ accomplish that makes it so beautiful? And in this way I think we can understand propitiation. Let s meditate on 3 truths from the passage. 1. We remember the death of Christ because it cleanses us. Look at v. 9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Do you remember in the OT, especially in the Law of Moses, God declared many things as unclean? In Num. 5:1-4 we read: The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead. 3 You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell." 4 And the people of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the LORD said to Moses, so the people of Israel did. God is light. And in him is no darkness. God will allow anything unclean into his presence.

2 2 So what does this have to do with propitiation? What does this have to do with the death of Christ? Well, in Lev. 14 God gives laws for the cleansing of lepers. If anyone was found to have a skin disease, they were put outside the camp. But, if they got better, they were allowed back into the camp. But before entering, the person had to go to the priest and the priest had to offer up a sacrifice for his cleansing. In Lev. 14:18-20 we read: So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf before the LORD. 19 "The priest shall next offer the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. Then afterward, he shall slaughter the burnt offering. 20 "And the priest shall offer up the burnt offering and the grain offering on the altar. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean. The word for make atonement is the same root as 1 John 2:2. It literally means, the priest makes propitiation on his behalf before the Lord. And, this sacrifice is in the context of cleansing. For the text says, he shall be clean. Now, as real as these ceremonial sacrifices of purification were, they were still ONLY a picture of another sacrifice of cleansing that would surely come in the future. The prophets looked forward to this time. Ezekiel speaks of this. In 36:25-27: I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You see, these ceremonies of cleansing could never take away sin. The person with a skin disease could be clean on the outside and come back into the congregation of the people, but all the people were still unclean. Their sins still separated them from God. This is why the writer of Hebrews says, But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God (9:11-14). This morning, Jesus death is beautiful because it makes us clean. If you are trusting in Christ today, YOU ARE CLEAN. You are no longer outside the camp, but have been brought near by the blood of Christ. In this way, his death is beautiful! And we can t stop here. 2. We remember the death of Christ because it brings forgiveness. Look at v. 9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us... Cleansing and forgiveness go together. This is why John mentions both of these truths in the same sentence. In some way, the death of Jesus effects the forgiveness of sins. In the OT, again, this word for propitiation is used in the context of forgiveness. I ll only read one of these instances. In Lev. 4 we are told about the bull that is brought to the altar as a sin offering. Verse 18: And he shall put some of the blood on the horns of the altar that is in the tent of meeting before the LORD, and the rest of the blood he shall pour out at the base of the altar of burnt offering that is at the entrance of the tent

3 3 of meeting. 19 And all its fat he shall take from it and burn on the altar. 20 Thus shall he do with the bull. As he did with the bull of the sin offering, so shall he do with this. And the priest shall make atonement for them, and they shall be forgiven. There are MANY verses like this that use the word propitiation in the context of forgiveness. John s Jewish audience would have understood this. There is something about the death of Christ (pictured by the animals sacrificed in the OT) that brings forgiveness. Heb. 10:4: For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Otherwise they wouldn t have continued those sacrifices year after year. Concerning the supper this morning, Jesus said: for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins (Matt. 26:28) The Apostles preached this message. After the death of Christ they didn t say, Go to the temple and present offerings. Instead they preached this way: Acts 2:38: And Peter said to them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. At another time when the Apostles were arrested they stood before the council of religious leaders and Peter said, God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins (Acts 5:31). In one of Peter s first sermons to the Gentiles he said: To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name (Acts 10:43). In one of Paul s first sermons at Antioch, he says, Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you... (Acts 13:38). At the very end of the Book of Acts Paul remembers his conversion as he speaks with King Agrippa. He says God saved me and sent me to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me (Acts 26:18). Today, as we take the Lord s Supper, we REMBER his death, that it brings forgiveness. And really what we are remembering with cleansing and forgiveness is that God takes away our sins. But, we cannot stop here with the death of Christ. It does more. And, this might be the key to understanding propitiation. 3. We remember the death of Christ because it turns away the anger of God. Now, this point isn t as clear in this passage. We see a hint of it in v. 9 when John says, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Notice the word just. There is something about the death of Christ that brings justice and takes away the anger of God. If you ve been paying attention, so far we ve been talking about the beautiful death of Christ BECAUSE his death brings cleansing and forgiveness. In other words, there is something about the death of Christ that TAKES AWAY our sins (expiation). And, this truth is bound up in the meaning of John s word propitiation. This is clear from this passage. And many theologians ONLY see this meaning in the word propitiation. In other words, they say, Christ s death takes away our sins. There is cleansing. There is forgiveness for those who believe in him. And THIS IS SO TRUE! But, I am convinced there is MORE to the meaning of this word. Let me explain. Do you remember the story of Jacob and Esau? Jacob and Esau did not like each other. There was away strife. And before Isaac died it was time to bless the firstborn Son Esau.

4 4 But, Jacob deceived his father and tricked him into blessing him instead of Esau. And when Esau found out, he cried out to his father, Bless me also. But, his father said, It is what it is. I have blessed Jacob. And He will be blessed. I can hardly imagine such anger. How angry would you be? In fact it was so bad that Esau wanted to kill Jacob. So Jacob moved FAR away. And he stayed away for many years. And in the meantime he got married, he worked for his uncle, and had lots of kids. And God blessed Jacob greatly. Meanwhile, Esau is back in Canaan where he also got married and had lots of kids. Finally, the day came for Jacob to go back to Canaan. So he left his uncle with his household goods, his cattle, his wives, and his children. Let me ask, How do you think Jacob was feeling as he started to get close to Esau? Well, here is what he did. He divided his family up into at least 3 groups. And he put himself at the very back of those groups. And with each group he instructed them to give Esau lots of gifts. So the first group would arrive and give gifts. Then some time would pass and the second group would do the same. Then the third, and so on. Why? The answer is in Gen. 32:20. These were the instructions of Jacob: And you shall say, Moreover, your servant Jacob is behind us. For he thought, I may appease him with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me. The WORD for appease is the same root as propitiate. Through his gifts, Jacob wanted to propitiate, take away the anger of his brother. Let me give you another picture. Do you remember the Ark of the Covenant that God told the Israelites to build? This was an elaborate box covered with gold that contained the Moses Tablets of Stone, Aaron s staff that budded, and an urn holding some manna. And this ark was placed in the back center of the tent in a place called the holy of holies. But, more importantly, on top of this box, God said build a special seat called the mercy seat and two angelic figures with their wings spread out over this seat. Let me read this from Exod. 25:17: You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. 18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Then in v. 20 he continues: The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings... Then finally in v. 22: There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony. Did you know that the word for mercy seat is again the same word for propitiation? And this was the most important place for the people. Why? It was the place where God met with his people. And there s more. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest would enter and take the blood from a bull and sprinkle it ON THE MERCY SEAT! And this was the place where God s anger and his wrath was appeased. In that Old Covenant, the anger of God was appeased for another year. Now, let s move forward to 1 John 2:2. He is the propitiation of our sins. You see, today, the cross of Christ, and not just the cross itself, but the death of Christ IS the mercy seat. His death IS the gift of appeasement offered to God. His death IS the place where the wrath of God is poured out. And because he is the LAMB OF GOD that has come down from heaven, lived a holy life, was faithful to obey and keep God s covenant faithfully, his death is DIFFERENT than those sacrificial animals. They could never atone or propitiate the wrath of God! This is what makes his death the most beautiful death in the history of the world. Our SINS have

5 5 separated us from God and God s righteous wrath and anger is the consequence. But, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins! So today as we remember his death, we remember the benefits of this death. There is cleansing! There is forgiveness! And the anger of God is turned away. In this way the righteousness of God is displayed to the world. This is why the Death of Christ is different. This is why the death of Christ is the most beautiful death in the history of the world.