Only One Place — CALVARY
[A Good Friday/Easter Message]

This is the time of the year when the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ tends to have greater prominence in our worship services than at any other time, although, of course, it is a subject that is relevant for every day of the year, and is therefore referred to frequently from our pulpit. This is right and proper, because without the death and resurrection of Christ there would be no Church. Indeed, Christianity itself would not exist. But during the month when we observe and celebrate Good Friday and Easter day, it is inevitable that these two important events in the life of Christ will be uppermost in our minds.

         There is on record an account of a conversation held many years ago between a Pastor and a Jewish Rabbi. Apparently the Pastor was thinking of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, and wanted to “draw out” the Rabbi, so he began by asking the question, “How do you Jewish people today obtain forgiveness of sins?” He knew full well, of course, as did the Rabbi, that according to the Old Testament there was only one place in the whole world where sacrifice could be made for the atonement of sin, and that was on the Temple site. But there is a problem. That site is now occupied by an Islamic mosque, sometimes called the Mosque of Omar, but is more popularly known as the Dome of the Rock.

         The Rabbi replied, “We obtain the forgiveness of sins through prayer.” The Pastor then asked, “But on what basis do you come to God? The Old Testament Scriptures state that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin, so by the position of this particular Islamic mosque you are denied the place, the only place, the Temple site, where God ordained sacrifice for atonement of sin.” The Rabbi was unable to give an answer, because, whilst the Jews are taught the Law and the Commandments in their synagogues, they have no specific place where they can offer sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins.

         The Pastor had a reason for asking the questions. He wanted to witness to the Rabbi by bringing him to the point where he would see that God had actually (he believed) allowed an Islamic mosque to prevent the continuance of the Old Testament sacrifices. Why? Because Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, fulfilled the Old Testament type of the paschal lamb by the offering of Himself at Calvary. Christ died “once for all”, the Bible says. There is now no more sacrifice for sin, and by allowing an Islamic mosque to occupy the Temple site, God ended what was no longer required.

         The writer of the Hebrews confirmed this thinking. Writing before the destruction of the Temple by the Roman army in AD70, and the eventual construction of the Mosque of Omar (Dome of the Rock), he wrote, “We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifice, which can never take away sins. But when this priest [Jesus] had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:10-12).

         But why, we may well ask, did God appoint, under the Old Covenant, only one place in the whole world where atonement for sin could be made? And again, under the Old Covenant, how do we know it was on Mount Moriah, which is the Temple Mount where the Mosque of Omar  (Dome of the Rock)  now stands?  Before we answer those questions, we must understand that much in the Old Testament is a “type” of what was to come, recorded in the New Testament. To put it another way, many important events in the Old Testament were forerunners of events that could only be fulfilled by the obedience of Jesus Christ. The study of “types” is a fascinating one, but space (or lack of it) will not permit such a study in this article. Let this single illustration suffice as we follow the Scripture through.

         Firstly, we establish the location. God said to Abraham, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about”…Isaac asked Abraham, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” Following the sacrifice of the “ram caught in the thicket”, Abraham called the place, “The Lord will provide.” And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided” (Genesis 22:2,7,8,14). “Then Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah” (2 Chronicles 3:1).

         Secondly, we illustrate the “type”. God appointed, under the Old Covenant, but one place in the entire world where atonement for sin could be made, because there always has been only one place for the forgiveness of sins. There still is only one place, but under the New Covenant, that place is CALVARY. One was to be a “type” of the other. The “one place” in the Old Testament - the Temple Mount - was the forerunner of the “one place” in the New Testament - Calvary _ a fulfilment of prophecy through the obedience of Jesus Christ. It was on the Cross of Calvary that Christ took upon Himself the sins of mankind by the sacrifice of Himself in obedience to His Father’s will. We have to come to the Cross. That is the starting point for every believer. It is not only a symbol of our faith, it is also central in God’s great plan of redemption for mankind.

         As one commentator puts it, “It ever remains a mystery how the Jewish people fail to see in Christ’s suffering and death on the Cross the fulfilment of the Old Testament Scriptures in which they profess to believe.” Perhaps the Pastor referred to earlier in this article had that thought in mind when he engaged the Jewish Rabbi in conversation. The amazing truth is that Jesus Christ actually fulfilled over three hundred Old Testament prophecies in His life on earth, and when He died on Calvary’s Cross, He fulfilled twenty-nine major prophecies on that one day. To give but one example alone, the prophecy in Isaiah 53 find remarkable and complete fulfilment in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Add to this the fact that this prophecy was given over 700 years before Christ came, we see how wonderful is God’s foreknowledge. He foretells what is to come with greater accuracy than man can record past history. Man has the faculty of remembering what is past, but God has the ability also to foretell the future. He knows the end from the beginning because He is a Sovereign God.

          Of course, we must not forget that the resurrection of Christ was also prophesied as well as His death. Indeed, it is the greatest fact of history and the foundation stone of the Christian faith. The resurrection of Christ was proof of God’s acceptance of His Son’s death on our behalf on the Cross in the one place in the entire world where atonement for sin could be made - CALVARY.

         There is a remarkable fact in connection with Christ’s death which is worthy of consideration. In John 19:34 the apostle records that as Jesus hung upon the Cross, a soldier “pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.” This is very significant. Not until centuries later was this fully understood. The discoverer of chloroform, a Dr. Simpson of Edinburgh, wrote a pamphlet in which he revealed on scientific grounds that Jesus Christ died from what is called “extravasation of the blood”, or, in more popular language, a “broken heart”.

          Dr. Simpson wrote, “When one dies in this way, the arms are thrown out (of course, Jesus’ arms were already stretched out on the Cross), there is a loud cry (such as Jesus uttered, ‘My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?’), the blood escapes into the pericardium and prevents the heart from beating. There the blood stands for a short time; it separates into serum (the water) and clot (the red corpuscles, blood). When the soldier pierced the bag (pericardium) the blood and water flowed out! This is the scientific explanation of the recorded fact, but John did not know the explanation. No one then living knew it; no one knew it until centuries afterwards.”

         Here is further proof - if such was needed - of the accuracy of the Scriptures, and as we look to Calvary and see the “Lamb of God” bearing away in His own body the sins of mankind, we know that there, and only there, at that one place, is there forgiveness for sin. It is the shed blood of Christ alone that makes atonement for sin. We believe it. We receive it. As the hymn-writer puts it, “When I survey the wondrous Cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride. See from His head, His hands, His feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown?” We bow and worship in the light of so great a salvation where “sorrow and love flow mingled down”, on the Cross, at the one place called CALVARY.

© 2005 Denis A. Wheadon. All rights reserved. Website: http://www.Pen4God.co.uk. This document is the property of the Author and
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