Question 20: Is the Sacrifice of Jesus Real Since the Offering Was Recovered?

The Question

Question 20: A real sacrifice is when you can’t get back what you have offered, so what would be the big deal about such a sacrifice if God could recover the same offering (according to the Christians’ terminology)?

The Short Answer

Your main question is: Is the sacrifice of Jesus real since the offering was recovered? The short answer is: Yes, the sacrifice was absolutely real. Being resurrected from the dead does not cancel, undo, or erase the real agony, injustice, and voluntary sacrifice Jesus endured on the cross. His resurrection was the necessary legal consequence of an unlawful execution, allowing Him to ascend to the Father in heaven and present His spilled blood as an offering of eternal mercy for all who believe.

God Knew They Would Kill His Son

To understand the reality of the sacrifice, we must first look at the roles of both the Father and the Son. God the Father gave His Son out of His infinite love for the world (John 3:16). He sent Jesus into this world knowing fully well that the corrupt earthly and spiritual rulers would abuse their authority and conspire to kill Him. It was part of the plan to redeem humanity.

“which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (1 Corinthians 2:8)

On Jesus’s part, going through the ordeal of the cross—enduring betrayal, mockery, severe and unnecessary beatings, the crown of thorns, the piercing of His hands and feet, and the physical spilling of His blood—was a real, painful, voluntary sacrifice. Jesus did not go through an imaginary, illusory experience; He suffered genuine human agony to fulfill the Father’s purpose.

“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:8)

The Serious Legal Misappropriation

Why was Jesus resurrected? Was it a trick to “recover” an offering and pretend nothing was lost? No. Under divine law, death is the rightful wages and consequence of sin (Romans 6:23). However, Jesus was completely sinless; He committed no transgression, nor was deceit found in His mouth (1 Peter 2:22). Therefore, under the laws of heaven and earth, death had zero legal right or claim over Him.

When the spiritual principalities and human rulers executed a sinless man, they committed a severe legal misappropriation and an act of gross injustice in heaven’s court. Because Death took a sinless life unlawfully, it was legally impossible for the grave to hold Him captive. God’s righteousness demanded that Jesus be raised from the dead.

“whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it.” (Acts 2:24)

Jesus was not raised to “cancel” the sacrifice; He was raised because divine justice demanded His acquittal over the illegal sentence of death.

Resurrection Does Not Erase the Injustice or the Sacrifice

A major flaw in the objection is the assumption that if an innocent victim is vindicated or restored after suffering an injustice, their suffering never happened.

Consider a practical example: If an innocent person is falsely accused, arrested, tortured, and imprisoned for years, but later exonerated, compensated, and set free, does their eventual freedom undo, erase, or cancel the real trauma and pain they suffered? Absolutely not. The torture was real, the loss was real, and the bloodshed was real.

In the exact same way, being raised from the dead on the third day does not cancel, undo, or erase the real blood that was spilled, the anguish of Gethsemane, the shame of the cross, or the voluntary surrender of His life. The physical price was paid in full, and the suffering was real.

Ascending to the Father with the Offering of His Blood

Because a monumental injustice was committed against a sinless man, Jesus gained supreme legal standing in heaven’s court. Following His resurrection, His first ascension into heaven’s tabernacle was to present the evidence of that injustice—His own spilled blood—before God the Father.

“Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.” (Hebrews 9:12)

“For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;” (Hebrews 9:24)

Jesus presented His spilled blood not as a cry for vengeance against His killers, but as an offering of mercy. His blood opened a legal window of mercy in heaven’s court for anyone who believes in Him, allowing their sins to be washed away and their debt to death fully canceled.

Conclusion

The sacrifice of Jesus was entirely real. Resurrection was not a cheat code that wiped away the cost; it was the legal triumph of righteousness over an unlawful execution. Jesus endured real suffering and shed real blood, and by ascending to present that blood before the Father, He secured an eternal door of mercy and salvation for all who put their trust in Him.

Next, I’ll be answering the question: Would bad Christians go to hell, or are all Christians promised heaven no matter what they do?

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