Tag Archives: Isaiah 53:12

‘…to give his life as a ransom for many.”‘ – (Matthew 20:28 Explained)

The aim of this explanation of Holy Scripture is to peaceably share how in no place does it, or any other Scripture allow for human sacrifice – rather, the verse uses the word ‘ransom’ in a unique way, as the Law of Moses and the rest of Holy Scripture forbids human sacrifice (Deuteronomy 24:16, Jeremiah 31:30, Ezekiel 18:20 etc.).

Instead, when the verse says ‘ransom’, it speaks of the Messiah’s (Christ’s) personal walk and obedience until death – to fulfil prophecy spoken of himself, and be declared High Priest in the order of Melchizadek forever to then intercede for the sins of many (Psalm 110:4, 45:7, Isaiah 53:11-12).

1 John 2:1-2: ‘…propitiation for our sins…’ –  Christ Makes Intercession, And Is Not A Human Sacrifice (Explained)

This explanation aims to show how God’s good commandments forbid human sacrifices (ref. Deuteronomy 24:16, Ezekiel 18:20), and thus 1 John 2:1-2 (or any other similar verse for that matter) is in no way saying that Christ (Messiah) was a literal human sacrifice for our sins.

Instead, with verse 1 first telling us that Christ is our ‘advocate’, the word typically translated as ‘propitiation’ in 1 John 2:2 is then reviewed.

We see that the English dictionary’s definition for ‘propitiation’ can be defined as ‘appeasing’, and in phrase form can be described as how ‘Christ lifts his hands in prayer to God as our representation in a propitiation-like, priestly manner, to please Him on our behalf.’.

We will see that this is the better rendering and translation of what the word ‘propitiation’ means in this instance, as other verses confirm Christ appeases G-d, by praying (interceding) for us here (Isaiah 53:12, Romans 8:34), as advocate and mediator (1 John 2:1, 1 Timothy 2:5).