Our Lord’s ministry covered 3 ½ years, ending with his crucifixion, at the time of the Passover, in the spring of A.D. 33. In this he exactly fulfilled the prophecy concerning the remaining or last week (seven years) of promised favor, which says: “AFTER (7 and 62) sixty-nine weeks shall Messiah be cut off [“be slain”, Douay translation] but not for himself, in the midst of the week [the remaining 70th] he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease.”
The sacrifices which were offered according to the Law there ceased; not that animals, incense, etc., were not offered thereafter by the priest, for they continued to be offered year by year, but rather that they were no longer accepted by God, and were in no sense sacrifices for sin. The true sacrifice having come, our Lord Jesus having “put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb 9:26) God could no longer recognize other offerings as sacrifices, nor any necessity for them.
Understand this here and now Christ most certainly did put away sin, THE SIN, by the sacrifice of himself. Remember that we ALL have been condemned to death under the ONE SIN committed by father Adam. “…Just as through ONE MAN sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Rom 5:12) That is to say that we by heredity inherited not only the sin of our father Adam, but we also inherited the just penalty, death. We are not so much condemned because of our own sins, which are predominantly do to the fall and to heredity, as we are for the sins of our father Adam.
“For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation [to all]” Rom 5:16; Jer 31:29
The sin of the world is the sin of Adam, for "in him all have sinned." This left man "without strength," but “in due time Christ died for the ungodly." THE SIN made mankind "enemies," and we were "reconciled to God by the death of his Son." "God laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isa 53:6). And he "bore our sins on his own body on the tree (the cross)” 1 Pet 2:24.
“For as by one man’s disobedience ALL were made sinners, so also by one man’s obedience many shall be made righteous.” Rom 5:19
However even though the sin of Adam (Adamic sin) has been fully paid for, the merit of Christ sacrifice has yet to have been applied to the world, why? Because God has seen it expedient to allow sin to continue, this in order that the Church class, the body of Christ, may be fully tested and tried. If sin and all its adversities had been removed at the beginning of the Gospel, how could the church have been properly developed?
There, at the cross, Messiah, who had been sacrificing himself for 3 ½ years, finished the work (John 19:30) and thus “made an end of sin,” made full and complete reconciliation toward God for the iniquity of men, thus bringing to all mankind an everlasting justification (or “EVERLASTING RIGHTEOUSNESS”) from sin, instead of the typical yearly justification, accomplished by the types for the typical people, Israel.
The death of Messiah was also the “seal”, the guarantee of the fulfillment, of all the visions and prophecies of coming blessings, and “times of restitution of all things, which God had spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” (Acts 3:21) Those promises, BOTH the Abrahamic Covenant and the New Covenant, were secured, made sure, with “his own precious blood” (Luke 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25), which speak of better things for us than the blood of bulls and goats, even everlasting justification and putting away of sin, to all those who receive him.
And in the remainder or latter half of this 70th or last week of Jewish favor, 3 ½ years, beginning with Pentecost, his followers, “the most holy” of that nation (Israel), were anointed with the Holy Spirit of God, as Messiah had been at the close of the 69th week.
Thus were fulfilled the statements of Verse 24 of this prophecy: “Seventy weeks are determined [set apart] upon THY PEOPLE and upon thy holy city, (a) to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, (b) and to seal up the vision and prophecy, (c) and to anoint the most holy (i.e. the Israelite's indeed)”.
The prophecy did not show that this entire work would be deferred until the last “week”, when Messiah would be present; and doubtless they understood it to imply great moral reform on their part, which would prepare them for Messiah, and the anointing under him of their nation as the “most holy” people, to bless the world in general.
They had not learned by centuries of experience that THEY were powerless to put away sin and make reconciliation for iniquity, and that it would require a perfect ransom-sacrifice to accomplish this great work of blotting out sin and justifying the condemned. On the other hand, Daniel’s prophecy, while showing that Messiah would be cut off [die] in the midst of the last week, did not show that the mass of his people would be UNHOLY and therefore cast off, as they were, in the midst of that week. (Matt 23:38)
Another prophet had said, “He shall finish the work and CUT IT SHORT in righteousness [justly]”, (because the bulk of that nation were unfit to receive him) and all was finished in the first half week (3 ½ years of Jesus’ ministry), except the anointing of the most holy.
Continued with next post.
