It's the oldest paradox: Justice vs. Mercy.
If G-d is perfectly just, He must punish sin.
If G-d is perfectly merciful, He must forgive sin.
How can He be both?
The Torah's answer: Atonement.
The Blood Covers What the Law Condemns
On Yom Kippur, the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies with blood.
Not his own. The blood of a lamb.
The lamb died. The people lived.
Substitutionary atonement.
The innocent takes the place of the guilty. Justice is satisfied. Mercy is extended.
But the Sacrifices Stopped
In 70 CE, the Temple was destroyed. No more sacrifices. No more atonement.
Or is there?
Isaiah 53 describes a "Suffering Servant" who would be "pierced for our transgressions" and "crushed for our iniquities."
Not a lamb. A person.
Who would bear the sins of many. Whose death would bring healing.
Yeshua: The Final Atonement
Yeshua died on Passover: the feast of the sacrificial lamb.
He didn't die as a martyr. He died as a substitute.
"The punishment that brought us peace was on Him." (Isaiah 53:5)
Justice satisfied. Mercy unleashed.
G-d didn't overlook sin. He absorbed it on the cross.
The Invitation
Atonement isn't about guilt. It's about love.
Love so fierce it would rather die than lose you.
If Yeshua is the final atonement, then you don't have to earn forgiveness.
It's already been paid for.