The Scriptures make it clear that Christ is the only One worthy to secure our salvation. His life was the only sinless human life, the only example of a life that rendered perfect satisfaction to the glory of the Father. He is the spotless Lamb of God, and now He stands at the head of the human race as our eternal security. At the same time, He took our guilt on Himself, satisfying the judgment that is God’s response to wickedness. As John witnesses the incredible scene of heavenly beings gathered around God’s throne, he is told to stop weeping because “ ‘the Lion of the tribe of Judah . . . has prevailed’ ” (Rev. 5:5, NKJV).
Think, too, just how bad sin is, and just how fallen the human race really is, that only the death of Jesus, God Himself, would suffice to solve the problem of sin. No doubt, if there were some other way that God could have saved us, without violating the principles of His divine government, surely He would have done it.
“The broken law of God demanded the life of the sinner. In all the universe there was but one who could, in behalf of man, satisfy its claims. Since the divine law is as sacred as God Himself, only one equal with God could make atonement for its transgression. None but Christ could redeem fallen man from the curse of the law and bring him again into harmony with Heaven. Christ would take upon Himself the guilt and shame of sin—sin so offensive to a holy God that it must separate the Father and His Son. Christ would reach to the depths of misery to rescue the ruined race.”—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 63.
Discussion Questions:
John sees the Lamb enter the throne room looking as though He had been “slain.” Revelation 13:8 informs us that Jesus has been “slain” since the foundation of the world. What can we learn about God through the fact that the plan of salvation was already in place before we needed it?
Many atheists believe that we are alone in a cold, uncaring universe. In contrast, the Bible talks not only about God but about how He loved the world so much that He came down to it and even died for it. How differently should we view the world and our place in it, in contrast to those who don’t believe in God at all? In other words, how should the reality of the Cross impact all that we do?
Why was the life, death, and resurrection of Christ the only means by which the human race could be saved? Again, what does such a cost tell us about how bad sin must really be?
Supplemental EGW Notes
“The Passover,” in Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 273–279;
“He That Hath Seen Me Hath Seen the Father,” Signs of the Times, June 9, 1890, par. 1–13.\
The above quotations are taken from Ellen G. White Notes for the Sabbath School Lessons, published by Pacific Press Publishing Association. Used by permission.