How Exactly Does Jesus Pay for Our Sins?

Over the last several weeks we’ve been looking at Genesis and the reality of Sin and Salvation. We’ve talked about what sin is, who the serpent in the Garden of Eden is, and who the Seed is who will crush Satan’s power and remove the Enmity between God and those who have sinned. We’ve talked a lot about Jesus and His role in all of this, but how exactly does He pay for our sins?

Let’s look at Genesis first then jump forward from there. In Genesis there is a short verse that actually foreshadows exactly how Jesus pays for our sins.

Gen 3:21 “Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.”

By definition, a skin is the outer covering of a person or animal. So it would be reasonable to conlcude an animal died to cover Adam’s and Eve’s nakedness.
Basically, blood was shed to cover their sin.

Blood is also the difference between two offerings made by Adam’s and Eve’s first two children.

Gen 4:3 “And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the LORD. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the LORD respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the LORD said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door.’”

In Gen 8:20 we also find Noah making an offering to the LORD of animals (blood), and in Genesis 22 God asks Abraham to offer up his son Isaac as a sacrifice to Him. Gen 22:7-19 “…Isaac spoke to Abraham his father… ‘Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?’ And Abraham said, ‘My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.’” Abraham then prepares to offer up his son, and just when he is about to slay Isaac, “the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven…‘Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.’ …and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide…”

Trekking forward then to the Israelites in Egypt, we come across God telling them to go out into the desert to sacrifice to Him. (Exo 3:18, Exo 10:25) We then have the slaughtering of the Passover Lamb (Exo 12:21, Exo 12:29-36) as the only way to accomplish Egypt’s Pharaoh releasing the enslaved Israelites. (Which is interesting since Egypt is often uses as a symbol of sin in the Bible)

In Exodus when God is instructing Moses in the building of the tabernacle and the use of the items within, God says, “And Aaron shall make atonement upon [the altar’s] horns once a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonement; once a year he shall make atonement upon it throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD.” Exo 30:10

And in Leviticus God says, “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When any one of you brings an offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of the livestock—of the herd and of the flock. If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the LORD. Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.’” Lev 1:2

Lev 17:11 ‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’

By the time of the New Testament, there is an understanding that sin is paid for with blood. But unlike in the Old Testiment where this is done over and over again with animal sacrifices, the New Testament brings the promised provision, a Sacrifice to end all sacrifices, an Offering made once for all. “Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood [Jesus] entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” Hebrews 9:12

John 1:29 “…John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’”

Mat 27:22-24 “Pilate said to them, ‘What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?’ They all said to him, ‘Let Him be crucified!’…When Pilate saw that he could not prevail at all…he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, ‘I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it.’”

Jhn 19:33-34 “But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

1Jo 5:6 “This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood.”

1Pe 1:17-21 “…you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”

How exactly did Jesus pay for our sins? Jesus paid for our sins with His blood offered to God on the altar once and for all.

If Jesus hadn’t lived a perfect life on earth, could He still have offered up Himself as our sacrifice? Check out next weeks post for the answer.