The Precious Lamb We Did Not Buy

"... knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things, such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot."                                                                   1 Peter 1:18-19

Not with Silver or Gold

It is not with silver or gold that we are ransomed. We did not pay our way out of it. It was a life-for-a-life exchange. We had nothing to do with it. We were in bondage. We could do nothing about it even if we wanted to. We were dead in sin (Ro 6:11, Eph 2:5, Col 2:13). Not mostly dead, all dead. When Christ paid the ransom, he made us alive (Ro 8:11). Where the first Adam failed and brought death, the second Adam (Jesus) brought life (1 Co 15:45). He breathed His life and Spirit into us and brought us to life as a new creation (2 Co 5:17). Only God has the ability to call into existence that which did not previously exist (Ro 4:17).

Precious blood

God did not see Jesus' life as one to throw away. In fact, it is quite the opposite. It is the "precious blood of Christ" that saves us. Not only is it precious because it saves us but it is precious because of whose it is. Speaking of Jesus in Isaiah 28:16, God says: "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." Peter quotes this (2:6) to help drive home this truth: God loves Jesus and sees Him as precious. His life is not one to throw away. But get this; he then says we are also like living stones much as Jesus is the ultimate living stone (2:5). This means we are also chosen and precious. The Father saw us as too precious not to ransom. Just as the Father ransomed Israel from Egypt (see Ex 14), so he ransoms us from sin and death. He does so because He loves us and sees us as precious, as worth rescuing (Isa 43:3-5).

Perfect Lamb

Jesus was like "a lamb without blemish or spot". This is a stop-you-in-your-tracks kind of statement. To us it sounds arbitrary, but to the Jewish audience this was huge. Under the Old Covenant the Israelites were required to sacrifice a lamb without blemish or spot to atone for their sin (Ex 12:5). This was not a one-time event either. The Day of Atonement occurred annually. The Israelites constantly offered sacrifices for their sins. Something perfect had to die in their place. A blood payment was required to cleanse them from sin. When Jesus died as a blood sacrifice to ransom us, he died as a lamb without blemish or spot. He was the ultimate sacrifice. He paid the final price. No more sacrifices were accepted after Jesus' death. When Jesus died God tore the curtain in the temple to take away the separation from the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place (Ex 26:33, Mk 15:38). No longer was the Ark of the Covenant (and with it God's presence) separated from the people.

God met with the High Priest at the Ark of the Covenant (Ex 30:6). Only the High Priest had access to it once a year to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people (Lev 16:32-33). He could not come when he wanted either but only on the set day (Lev 16:29). When the Great High Priest (Jesus) became the ultimate sacrifice for us, He took away that separation (Heb 4:14). He paid the ultimate price so we could have access to God. He ushered us into access to God. He did what no other High Priest could do. He brought true access to God. Now we can come to God through our High Priest Jesus. When we accept Jesus as our Saviour our sins are paid for and we are truly free. We are children of God.