The need for reconciliation between humanity and the divine is at the very heart of Christian theology, and this reconciliation is made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In Christianity, every human is understood to be in need of reconciliation with God due to sin, and this reconciliation is brought about by Jesus' act of sacrifice on the cross. The cross is not merely an instrument of death; it is the place where the ultimate mediator between God and humanity—Jesus, the Messiah—unites the two. By being "lifted up" on the cross, Jesus offers Himself as the ultimate sacrifice, the perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. His sacrifice is the final and complete act of reconciliation, making possible the restoration of the broken relationship between humanity and God.
This act of reconciliation is also deeply connected to the idea of nourishment. Just as the Israelites were fed with manna in the wilderness, Christians believe they are spiritually nourished through the body and blood of Christ. In the sacrament of the Eucharist, the bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. Through this divine food, believers are not only spiritually fed, but they are also drawn into deeper communion with Christ and with each other. This feeding symbolizes the way in which the Messiah, through His sacrifice, sustains and unites His followers, providing them with the strength to live out His teachings and to share His message of reconciliation. The Eucharist is not simply an act of remembrance, but it is the means by which Christ continues to nourish and unite His Church, offering believers a tangible way to partake in His sacrifice and to experience the ongoing work of reconciliation.
The Messiah’s priestly ministry is at the center of this divine work. In the Old Testament, priests served as mediators between God and the people, offering sacrifices for sin and reconciliation. Jesus, as the anointed Messiah (Meshiach), fulfills this role of the high priest, but His sacrifice is once and for all. He offers not the blood of animals, but His own blood, and His sacrifice is the final and complete means of reconciliation. His priestly ministry is not only about offering a sacrifice; it is about becoming the sacrifice, laying down His life to draw all people to Himself. Through His death on the cross, He reconciles humanity with God in a way that no animal sacrifice ever could. His sacrifice, and His role as both priest and sacrificial Lamb, brings about the unity between the divine and human realms, where Christ Himself becomes the bridge that spans the gap caused by sin.
The cross, with its imagery of sacrifice and reconciliation, is also the place where believers are gathered. The Eucharist, celebrated in the Mass, is the central act in Christian worship where believers come together to share in the body and blood of Christ. The very word "Mass" comes from the Latin missa, meaning “sending forth,” which marks the conclusion of the Eucharistic celebration but also emphasizes the act of gathering and sending out the faithful. This gathering around the body and blood of Christ is not only about coming together for worship, but it is about being sent forth to share the message of reconciliation and to live out the Gospel in the world. In this way, the Eucharist is both a gathering of the faithful and a sending forth of the Church to fulfill its mission. The act of partaking in the body and blood of Christ is a spiritual act that unites believers with one another and with God, making the cross the focal point of both worship and mission.
The priestly ministry of the Messiah is, therefore, not just about the act of reconciliation through His sacrifice; it is also about nourishing the people with the divine food that He offers. Through His body and blood, believers are spiritually sustained, and through His sacrifice, they are united with God. This is the priestly ministry of reconciliation that the Messiah performs—He offers Himself as the perfect sacrifice, and through this act, He reconciles humanity to God, nourishes believers with His own life, and unites all who believe in Him. This is the fulfillment of the work of reconciliation that was promised in the Old Testament and brought to completion in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
The cross is, of course, a paradox—something that appears as a symbol of defeat, shame, and death, but in reality, is the means of victory over sin and death. The message of the cross may seem foolish to those who do not understand its deeper spiritual meaning, but to believers, it is the power of God for salvation. This paradox highlights the divine wisdom behind God's plan of salvation. The power of the cross is not something that can be grasped through human understanding alone, but it is revealed to believers through faith. For Christians, the cross is not a symbol of failure but the ultimate symbol of God’s love and power, where divine mercy and justice meet, and where humanity finds its salvation.
The Messiah’s role as both mediator and sacrificial Lamb is central to the Christian understanding of the Gospel. Through His sacrifice on the cross, He offers reconciliation to all people, drawing them into communion with the divineand with each other. This act of reconciliation is not just about individual salvation, but about unity—unity between humanity and God, and unity among all believers. Through the body and blood of Christ, the Eucharist, the faithful are nourished and united, and through the cross, all are drawn into the power of God that brings salvation to the world. The cross is the ultimate place of meshing—the place where the divine and human meet, where the power of God is revealed in the greatest act of love, and where the Messiah, through His priestly ministry, offers His body and blood to draw all people to Himself. Through this reconciliation, believers are made one with God and with each other, united in the divine purpose of salvation.
Stephen D Green with ChatGPT, 2024
