7 Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.
The first significant point in this verse is that the Holy
Messiah who is full of grace and truth (vs. 6) offers himself as a sacrifice for sin. Sacrifice was a part of the Law of
Moses as a means of teaching and preparing Israel for this very divine
sacrifice, but why would the Savior offer himself rather than someone or
something else? After all, most, if not all other religions that require blood
sacrifice or something similar do it to appease
their gods and make it so they don’t get angry. But in this case the God is the sacrifice, and any other ceremony
is just for the purpose of teaching that. I think there are a few very
significant reasons for God the Son to offer himself as a sacrifice.
1.
He loves us. Christ taught that there is no
greater expression of love than this, “that a man lay down his life for his
friends” (John 15: 13). The only other expression of love that we know of that
compares with Christ laying down his life for us, his friends, is that of the
Father, who “so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,” for this
very purpose of sacrificing his life for us (John 3: 16). Why couldn’t the
Father sacrifice himself instead of sending his Son? Partly because the Law of
Justice binds him, but another big part is that He was already immortal. He couldn’t die for our sins because He
couldn’t die at all. That is why the Father depends on the Son.
2.
He was perfect. Jesus Christ had to be the one
to offer himself because in order to cover everyone’s sins and afflictions with
one person’s sacrifice, the One being sacrificed had to be perfect, without
spot. Jesus was the only person in history who lived a perfect life and was
unblemished by sin. That disqualifies everyone else from eligibility.
3.
Christ was the only person physically capable of
performing the Atonement. In order to be able to endure the physical pain
required to do this, which pain was so great that it caused Him to bleed at
every pore, Christ had to have complete control over life and especially death.
He needed that immortal quality inherited from his Father so that he wouldn’t
die or pass out before the job was done. I love how Tad R. Callister describes
it:
“He took upon him infinite
suffering, but chose to defend with only mortal faculties, with but one
exception—his godhood was summoned to hold off unconsciousness and death (i.e.,
the twin relief mechanisms of man) that would otherwise overpower a mere mortal
when he reached his threshold of pain. For the Savior, however, there would be
no such relief. His divinity would be called upon, not to immunize him from
pain, but to enlarge the receptacle that would hold it. He simply brought a
larger cup to hold the bitter drink” (The
Infinite Atonement, Deseret Book. 2000. p. 119)
Christ was the only person who has ever in our history had
all these unique qualifications. Even Lucifer, who in the Council in Heaven
also volunteered to be our savior, could literally not be able to accomplish
this task, even if he had conformed to Heavenly Father’s plan instead of his
own agency-killing plan. Why? Because he wanted it for the wrong reason.
Lucifer wanted the glory for himself. He was too selfish to love mankind enough
to stick it out. In order to endure what Christ went through, and not give up
before the job was finished, His motive had to be bigger than himself. Christ
(and therefore Lucifer) could not have stuck it out without a purpose, a cause,
a reason that was bigger than and outside of Himself. Love is the only thing
big enough to handle it, and Lucifer, even if he fit all the other
qualifications simply did not love enough. He wanted it for the wrong reason,
and therefore could not physically have accomplished it. So the Messiah had to
offer himself a sacrifice to answer the ends of the law.
What are the “ends of the law?” We read in verse five that
the law is what separates us from God. By the law we are cut off, both temporal
and spiritual, and the law justifies nobody. It is rigid and must be followed.
By that standard we have no chance to reunite with Heavenly Father. The law is
a powerful problem for us, with eternal consequences. According to the demands
of the law no unclean thing can dwell with God, and we are all unclean things,
so we have no chance. That’s the end or conclusion of the law. This powerful
and eternal problem for us requires a powerful and eternal answer. Enter the
Savior who, for reasons discussed above, is our only hope of overcoming the
effects of the law and return, or be reconciled to our Father.
The trick is that we have to do our part as well. If we don’t
do our part we cannot access the answer offered by Jesus the Christ. It’s a
free gift, but it requires that we accept it. And if we don’t accept the
Atonement, this answer to the ends of the law, then we are on our own to suffer
the natural consequences of breaking the law. There’s no way around this; it’s
the major condition of applying the answer. This appears to be an eternal law
that cannot be broken even by God, at least not if He is to continue as God. I
think that’s why this verse says, “unto none else can the ends of the law be answered,” instead of, “will the ends of the law be answered.”
God has to live by this law as much as we do. It’s not just a rule He made up
to force us into servitude. We don’t have
to accept the answer offered by the Savior, but the penalty has to be paid
somehow. Again, in order to accept the free gift we have to do our part.
I once received an email from a student I advised at school.
She said she had received notification that she had a scholarship that she had
not applied for. All she needed to do is fill out a form and write a letter of
thanks in order to receive it. The tone and gist of her letter to me was one of
mistrust that she could be offered this free gift to help pay her tuition. So
she asked me if it was legitimate, or if she should ignore it. I did some
checking around and found that an organization in her hometown offered this
scholarship to their high school graduates who went to college, and then the
college supplied matching funds. It was completely
legitimate, even though she didn’t know it had happened, and that she qualified
for the scholarship. All she had to do was accept the scholarship and write a
thank you note to receive it. She almost didn’t accept the scholarship because
she didn’t trust that she could receive a gift like that without her even
requesting it. Of course, I advised her to meet the conditions and accept the
gift. How like the Atonement is that story! How many people don’t accept the
conditions of the Atonement because they can’t believe it’s that simple to
accept? We just need to exercise faith and humility, and the free gift is ours;
we just need to look to Him and live (see Alma 33: 19–22).
- Romans 10: 4
- Alma 42: 15
- 3 Nephi 9: 20
- D&C 19: 16–17
