Smeared

Old Testament Law. The Bible has a lot to say about it. It started with the Ten Commandments, given to show us that we were fallen, sinful creatures. When we looked into the law, it was as if we were looking into a mirror which reflected back our sinful lives. That was its first purpose … but then man added more and more "handwritten ordinances" that made it even more impossible to keep. That's why we needed a savior.

Even before the Ten Commandments were written on stone, man in the Garden of Eden was asked by his Creator to do one thing … just one … and he failed in that simple task. Mankind didn't start off very well did he? And it was all downhill from there.

The first Adam failed and by doing so plunged the human race into sin. But God so loved the world (John 3:16) that He sent a second Adam by the name of Jesus … made in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:7) and who was the exact express image of God (Hebrews 1:3) … He was God in the flesh. I think this explains why Jesus was able to live without breaking even one of the laws of God.

Jesus came to do something about the Law, in which natural men, because of the fallen sin nature within them, even trying the very best they could, still could not keep from sinning and breaking that Law.

Paul, in the following verses is saying, because of what Jesus did …

Romans 8:1-4 … "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus … for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, (ineffective against the sin nature) God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us …"

The Law of God was at odds our human nature and stood in opposition to what our flesh wanted to do. So how was God going to fix this problem that had existed for the past 4,000 or so years? His answer was Jesus.

When the first Adam sinned, God sacrificed a lamb … because as the writer of the Book of Hebrews states (my translation) … "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin." (Hebrews 9:22)

So God sends Jesus … the second Adam … or as it says in the Book of John, "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." The second Adam did not sin as the first did, but instead became that sacrificial Lamb.

Hebrews 12:24 states that Jesus is the mediator of … "the new covenant" and of "the sprinkling of the blood."

Hebrews 13:12 continues speaking of why Jesus sprinkled His blood on the mercy seat in Heaven … "that He might sanctify the people with His own blood …"

Paul also confirms this in Ephesians 1:7 with the words … "In whom we have redemption through His blood ..."

This sinless Lamb of God, by hanging on the cross and shedding His own blood did something to the Law of God that fixed the problem man had with the Law. What did Jesus do?

Ephesians 2:15 … "Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances …" (rules that our flesh rebelled against), and by doing so Jesus became the mediator between God and man.

The word "abolished" in the Greek is "katargeo" and means … to be rendered entirely idle and useless … and by implication means (do away with, make of no effect, make void.) The word "enmity" in the Greek is "echthra" and means … hostility or opposition.

If I understand all this correctly, Paul is saying that Jesus "abolished" the law of "commandments" that was in "opposition" to our flesh and made them void.

So how did He do this? What did He do? Allow me to paint a picture for you that only happened spiritually (not materially) while Jesus hung on the cross. I like to think that God, seated on His throne had the Book of the Law in His hands when …

Jesus took the Law from Him and nailed it to His cross. This next verse may be one of the most important verses in the Word of God. Look at it very closely …

Colossians 2:14 … (Jesus) "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross …"

The two words "Blotting out" are "exaleipho" in the Greek; and that one word means … to smear out.

When Jesus nailed the Law to the cross, His blood ran down the cross and smeared the handwriting of ordinances that was against us on the pages of the Law, so we could not be judged by them any longer. They are … "rendered entirely idle and useless."

So today when God looks at the pages of the Law, it's all blotted out; all He sees is … a big bloody smear … and that smear is the blood of His Son Jesus.

Wow … I never saw that before.


Comments welcome.