Have you ever thought about living a simpler life? Have you thought you would like to go back to a life without computers, tablets, cell phones, and electronic games? Have you thought about what it would be like to live in the old west? What about the time Jesus came into the world?
I must confess, I have often thought I could live in the old west. I have wondered what it might have been like to have lived a hundred years ago. I have even wondered what it might have been like in first century Israel. I try to understand that time period to better understand Jesus.
When Jesus was born, the Jews were still abiding by the sacrificial system. When you understand that roughly ninety percent of the population lived in poverty, living day-to-day, you quickly realize it was no piece of cake. They didn’t have machinery to use for building or farming. They used an abacus to make computations. Pulleys and ropes were used to move heavy objects or lift objects to a rooftop. Oxen and a single bottom plow were used to plow a field. Planting the field was done by hand.
Not only did the people live a day-to-day existence but they were required to provide sacrifices periodically to God for their forgiveness. Imagine barely scraping out a living to provide a home, clothing, and food for your family, then having to give up your firstborn sheep as a sacrifice. That is the world Jesus came in to.
When Jesus when to the cross so that no other sacrifices were required, imagine the freedom that provided for those who believed in Him. There was an immediate positive financial impact. There was an immediate feeling of relief. There was an immediate freedom from worry and anxiety over any sin someone might commit. They no longer had to forfeit the possibility of feeding their family to provide a sacrifice for forgiveness. We, too, live with this same freedom.
I pray we all recognize the freedom we live in. I pray we understand the impact Jesus’ sacrifice has had. I pray each one of us give thanks to God for the sacrifice Jesus made for us. You live in freedom. Understand Jesus’ impact. Thank God for his plan. Know your forgiveness comes through Jesus.
Hebrews 10:5-7 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body you have prepared for me;
in burnt offerings and sin offerings
you have taken no pleasure.
Then I said, ‘See, God, I have come to do your will, O God’
(in the scroll of the book it is written of me).”
Marty Pressey 