2 Corinthians 5:17-19 NIV
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
The second aspect of redemption is reconciliation. The dictionary definition calls reconciliation a change from a state of enmity and fragmentation to one of harmony and fellowship. Synonyms include reunite, merge, bring together, or to mend.
The definition of reconciliation that Christians care about is wrapped in the word atonement, with its original meaning, at-one-ment. Jesus has opened the gates for us to be at one, in harmony with the Trinity once more.
Jesus has accomplished atonement as a visible reality, drawing us to himself by becoming one of us. The incarnation of Jesus brought atonement in a way that transcends the power and scope of any mechanisms related to accounting or legal concepts. Jesus has achieved real, not just theoretical atonement in two ways. First, Jesus came from the Father to be “God with Us”. Jesus said, “if you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father”. Now that Jesus has shown us God, we’re either attracted and drawn to Jesus, or we try to ignore and avoid Jesus. Second, the representative head of the human race is now part of the Trinity, and seated at the Father’s right hand. In Christ, we are now very literally “at-one” with God.
Through Jesus, we can know our Creator
The 2 Corinthians verse above says God was reconciling people to himself, in Christ. The Bible never says God needed to be reconciled to his people. It’s significant that even though humanity is the offending party, God doesn’t resent us; it is we who need to change our posture toward God, not the other way around. This idea is reinforced by a verse where Jesus grieves for Jerusalem.
Matthew 23:37 NIV
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.”
God has always been willing. It is mankind who needed our hearts changed. We needed to meet God in person, and see his love in a tangible way.
Jesus, as “God with us”, made God known to us. In Jesus, we have tangible evidence that God wants to be with us and include us in his family. Jesus celebrated at weddings and cried at funerals, loved people, and was always ready to forgive. Jesus provided countless stories and pictures that illustrate God’s nature for us. We’ll look at a few:
The Parable of the Prodigal Son:
In this parable, one of the father’s sons asks for his inheritance so he can leave home and make his own way in the world. The father doesn’t get angry; instead, he gives him what he wants, which leads to his ruin. After he squanders everything, he comes to his senses, and turns back toward home, planning to ask his father for forgiveness and a position as one of his servants. The father, representing God, is beside himself with joy when he sees his son returning home. The message is clear: God wants us to return to him, to come home.
The Good Shepherd:
In the Gospel of John, Jesus declared “I Am the gate to the sheepfold”, and “I Am the good shepherd”. These are first of all statements that Jesus is God incarnate, but they also lead to an important understanding of God’s nature: Jesus is the Good Shepherd, pictured for us in Psalm 23.
Sheep are mentioned in the Bible more often than any other animal. Sheep are followers, by instinct, and they can be helpless by themselves, so they naturally seek safety in a shepherd. In the Old Testament God often compared himself to a shepherd, and his people the flock.
Ezekiel 34:15-16 NLT I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign LORD. I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak. But I will destroy those who are fat and powerful. I will feed them, yes – feed them justice!
In the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus pictures a shepherd who has 100 sheep, and one goes missing. The shepherd leaves the 99 others to search for the one sheep who is lost and in trouble. And when he finds the lost sheep, he rejoices. The message is that God wants all of us, sinners who have strayed from the path, to turn around and come home to him. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, has come to search for and gather his flock, and to lead them home.
When Jesus passed responsibility for his Church to Peter, he used the image of a shepherd three times: “Feed my lambs, Take care of my sheep, Feed my sheep”.
The Woman Taken in Adultery:
An unfortunate woman was brought to Jesus, accused of adultery. The leaders asked him what should be done, since the law said she could be stoned. Jesus understood this was a trap for him, so he turned the tables and told them whoever was without sin should throw the first stone. Then he stooped and wrote in the dust. Whatever Jesus wrote helped the crowd see their own sins. They each turned and went away quietly. Jesus saw us all just as we are, and didn’t condemn us. He forgave us. Jesus even forgave the soldiers as they pounded nails into his hands and feet.
Jesus on the Cross:
Jesus has indeed drawn all of us to himself. If you encounter him in the Bible, with an open mind, you’ll be drawn to him.
Before his crucifixion, Jesus told his disciples:
John 15:13 NIV
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
On the cross, arms outstretched, Jesus is inviting us to come home, to spend eternity with him, and to be reconciled to God.