Day of Atonement

Tuesday 31 March 2020

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

1 Peter 3 v 18

I have always loved the Chronicles of Narnia, which have delighted many adults and children alike over the years and have also been made into Disney films. There is a clear and beautiful illustration of Christ’s work on the cross in C.S. Lewis’ famous fantasy, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. The gist of the story is that four children find their way into another world called Narnia through a magical wardrobe. They quickly learn that an evil and powerful witch has seized control of Narnia and proclaimed herself its Queen. One of the children called Edmund ends up conspiring with the Queen against his three siblings, with whom he never got along well. with   Fortunately, Edmund’s siblings are able to elude the wicked Queen.
While on the run from the Queen, the three siblings encounter Aslan, the magnificent good lion who is the rightful ruler of Narnia. Aslan graciously heads up a successful rescue operation for Edmund, but before long he’s confronted by the evil Queen. She reminds Aslan of the moral order of Narnia, and, in the words of the wicked Queen, it stipulates that “every traitor belongs to me as my lawful prey and that for every treachery I have a right to kill. And so,” the witch continues, “that human creature is mine. His life is forfeit to me. His blood is my property.”
Aslan cannot refute the Queen’s claims. There is indeed a moral order that holds Narnia together, and cannot simply be waved aside. To break covenant with God, the source of all life, is to forfeit our life. Edmund forfeited his life to the evil Queen when he sinned against his brother and sisters, and this could not be changed.
Yet, Aslan loves Edmund, despite his sin, and so he offers himself up as a sacrifice in Edmund’s place. Since the great Lion is obviously a much greater prize than any “human creature,” and since the Queen thinks killing Aslan would allow her finally to rule Narnia unopposed, she accepts the offer.
Later that night Alsan sneaks away to the Queen’s camp, is mocked and tortured by her evil minions, and is finally put to death on “the Stone Table” where the justice of Narnia’s moral order is carried out. But, of course, Aslan does not remain dead. He is resurrected a while later and the Stone Table is split in two.
Wecontinue our study through the biblical feasts today and will be exploring the connection of Jesus with the Feast of “The day of atonement” Read Leviticus 16 for details.

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 Isaiah 53v 1-12

"At the heart of the story stands the cross of Christ where evil did its worst and met its match."

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