Hand-out

Romans 1:16 (New Living Translation)
16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.

God gave His people, Israel, very specific laws about how, what, when, where, and why to sacrifice. He even had requirements for the animal to be sacrificed. It had to be male, without blemish. It had to be from the flock. It had to be selected by the transgressor and brought before the priest. It had to be inspected to ensure no defect. The bringer of the sacrifice had to lay his hands on it, and then it was his responsibility to insure that it was sacrificed. The shedding of blood was the responsibility of the sinner.

Jesus, our Lamb of God, fits all of these specifics. He was a male, without fault. (John 18:38) He was from the flock, being a Jewish born son of a carpenter, but more so, he was human like us all. He was targeted by the elders and brought before the chief priests for inspection. (Mark 14:53) They found no flaw with Him. (Mark 14:55) The people laid hands on Him and brought Him to Pilate for execution. He was taken by the Romans, scourged and crucified.

He met the requirements. So what does any of that have to do with Romans 1:16? I’m sure you’re wondering that by now. Before the lamb could be slain, the bearer had to lay his hands on its head. In that moment, in the laying on of hands, there was a spiritual transfer. The perfection of the lamb was put on the spirit of the man, and the imperfection of the man was placed on the spirit of the lamb. Jesus Christ, our Lamb and final sacrifice, had to fit all of the sacrificial laws in order to be the Lamb. The people had to lay their hands on Him, but it couldn’t just be the Jews because Christ came for the redemption of the world. The Romans (gentiles) had to have the transfer as well in order that everyone could be made righteous.

So just as the Word is to be preached in the world, first to the Jew and then to the Gentile, so too the transfer of righteousness went into the world: first to the Jew in the Garden when the Pharisees arrested Jesus under cover of darkness, and next to the Gentile in Pilate’s court. Finally, at the Cross, the sacrifice was complete and the blood was shed by all of God’s people for all of God’s people.