Today’s Scripture Reading (February
24, 2015): Hebrews 9
The last
thoughts of Sydney Carton, the alcoholic barrister who becomes a selfless hero
in Charles Dickens “A Tale of Two Cities” was that this final act was “a
far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better
rest that I go to than I have ever known." The act that Carton was
accomplishing was the taking the place of an innocent man, who looked amazingly
similar to the Carton, at the guillotine – and all for the love a woman. The
idea was that because he loved Lucie, he was willing to “embrace any
sacrifice” for her and “for those dear” to her. Carton’s sacrifice is seen as
being the perfect sacrifice for several reasons. First, Carton was clearly
innocent of the charges (actually, even the man who Carton is taking the place
of was clearly framed.) His innocence means that the punishment he is suffering
cannot be viewed as a just consequence, but rather that it is a true sacrifice.
Secondly, it is perfect because Carton chooses to make the substitution and
sacrifice himself of his own free will. There is no one who is compelling this
line of action. In fact, to accomplish it he even has to drug Charles Darnay,
that man that he is to replace at the guillotine, and have him removed from the
prison. The sacrifice of Carton is not a line of action that even Darnay would
accept. It is also considered to be the perfect sacrifice because the
motivating influence is love. Sydney Carton loved Lucie, and for that reason he
was willing to sacrifice his own life for her happiness. And this brings us to
the last reason why Carton’s sacrifice was perfect. At least in Carton’s mind,
it was rational. Lucie would never truly love him, but she did love Darnay. And
only this action could secure her future happiness.
It is no accident that the action of Carton mirrors the
actions of Christ on the cross. Dickens is very intentional with his imagery.
The problem with the sacrificial system that existed before Christ was that the
sacrifice could not be considered perfect, even though the animals to be
sacrificed were to be as perfect specimens as possible. An animal sacrifice
only fulfills one of the criteria of a perfect sacrifice, and that is that the
animal was innocent. The animal could not choose to be sacrificed of its own
free will, it did not allow the sacrifice because of love, and the sacrifice
would never be the rational decision of the animal. And because the sacrifice
was not perfect, the sacrifice itself had to be repeated over and over again.
But that changed with the sacrifice of Jesus, and thus
the redemption that was available for a short period of time with an animal sacrifice
was made eternal because of the Jesus Christ’s perfect sacrifice. Jesus himself
was without sin, and therefore was innocent of the charges laid against him. He
freely chose to go to the cross, choosing freely to sacrifice himself for
Israel and the world. He made that choice because of his love for the world,
and it was the only rational way that we could be released from the crippling
guilt of our sin. It was a rational response.
The sacrifice of Jesus Christ was the perfect sacrifice that
could bring to us eternal redemption in a way that nothing else could. And as
much as we may struggle with the concept, it had to be this way – there was no
other alternative.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Hebrews
15
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