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1 John 2:1-2 “JESUS CHRIST, ESQUIRE”

REAL! Sincere… authentic… Legit!

The word sincere comes from two Latin words, sine and cera, which mean “without wax.” It seems that in

Roman days, some sculptors covered their mistakes by filling the defects in their marble statues with wax,

which was not readily visible – until the statue had been exposed to the hot sun awhile. But more dependable

sculptors made certain their customers knew that the statues they sold were sine cera – without wax. Are you

the real deal… authentic… legit… sine cera? That was a big deal to John!

1 John 2 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if

anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is

the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

My little children,

I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. Matthew Henry's

Concise Commentary The gospel, when rightly understood and received, sets the heart against all sin, and stops the allowed practice of it; at the same time it gives blessed relief to the wounded consciences of those who have sinned.

Hughes… There are two possible misapprehensions John may be concerned about. First,

someone might be thinking, If sin is a reality and it is impossible for me to live a sinless life, why

bother? If I sin, big deal. God will forgive me. John worries that some Christians will think sin is to

be accepted as an inevitable part of the normal Christian life. I call this the “no big deal

syndrome.”

Second, others might think, As a Christian, I have liberty and am no longer under the Law, so I can

do what I want to do. If I sin, God will forgive me. I call this the “Rasputin syndrome,” after the

religious and political confidant of Empress Alexandra of the Romanov family in Russia at the

beginning of the last century. Rasputin justified his own sinful lifestyle from a clever misuse of

Romans 5:20-21. There Paul says, “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” Thus

Rasputin said when we sin as Christians, we provide God an opportunity to exercise and magnify

his grace, so sin away!

Now what John really means, “I am writing these things so you won’t regard sin as an inevitable

part of the Christian life and so you won’t presume on Christian liberty by thinking sin is no big

deal.”

There is no statement about the multitude of sins or the magnitude of sins. He just says, continuing verse

1…

And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; Jesus Christ the righteous means that Jesus is fully qualified to serve as our Advocate, because He Himself is sinlessly perfect. He has passed heaven's bar exam, and is qualified to represent clients in heaven's court of law.

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Advocate… The word “advocate” means “one who is called alongside to help in a time of need.” He is

our attorney… who has never lost a case!

We were falsely sued by our neighbors… Our home owners insurance defended us. Our attorney did several depositions with the one suing us. I’ll never forget his words… “I tried many cases in a courtroom… I have not lost one… one day I will lose a case… this is not the case I will lose… Jesus will never lose one… The jury is rigged!

It is as if we stand as the accused in the heavenly court, before our righteous Judge, God the Father. Our Advocate stands up to answer the charges: "He is completely guilty your honor. In fact, he has even done worse than what he is accused of, and now makes full and complete confession before You." The gavel slams, and the Judge asks, "what should his sentence be?" Our Advocate answers, "His sentence shall be death; he deserves the full wrath of this righteous court." All along, our accuser Satan, is having great fun at all this. We are guilty! We admit our guilt! We see our punishment! But then, our Advocate asks to approach the bench. As he draws close to the Judge, he simply says: "Dad, this one belongs to Me. I paid his price. I took the wrath and punishment from this court that he deserves." The gavel sounds again, and the Judge cries out, "Guilty as charged! Penalty satisfied!" Our accuser starts going crazy. "Aren't you even going to put him on probation?" "No!" the Judge shouts. "The penalty has been completely paid by My Son. There is nothing to put him on probation for." Then the Judge turns to our Advocate, and says, "Son, you said this one belongs to You. I release him into Your care. Case closed!"

Look at verse 2 with me… and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins;

The word translated “propitiation” means “place of mercy”.

Alford on propitiation: "The word implies that Christ has, as our sin-offering, reconciled God and us by nothing else but by His voluntary death as a sacrifice: has by this averted God's wrath from us."

New International Version He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, New Living Translation He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins

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Berean Study Bible He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, GOD'S WORD® Translation He is the payment for our sins,

and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. (All unsaved

humanity) Jesus satisfied the legal debt of sin for all, such that all humanity is savable should they meet in God’s condition for salvation, which is repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ.

Pulpit commentary… No man - Christian, Jew, or Gentile - is outside the mercy of

God, unless he places himself there deliberately.

The Bible is an integrated message system, the product of supernatural engineering. Root and fruit

Root… Old testament prophesies

Fruit… New testaments fulfillments

Leviticus 23 Feasts of the LORD

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to

them: ‘The feasts (MOED) means set time or appointed time of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations (recital or rehearsal), these are My feasts.

Yom Kippur also known in English as the Day of Atonement, is the most solemn of the Jewish

Holidays. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews have traditionally observed this holiday with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer.

Commenting upon the biblical purpose and power of Yom Kippur, the Mishna states: “Happy are you, O Israel; before whom are you cleansed, and who is it that cleanses you? Your Father in Heaven, for it is written; "You shall be clean before the

Lord" (Leviticus 16:30).

The primary way of achieving this atonement and purification for their sins was through

the special sacrifices offered by the High Priest. Of the various sacrifices offered, the

most central was the two he-goats.

Lots were cast to determine which he-goat would be

sacrificed

1. as a sin offering upon the altar to the Lord and

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2. which one would be designated as the scapegoat "for Azazel." The Scapegoat

carried the sins of a nation; the high priest would lay his hands on its head to transfer the sins of

the priests, Levites, and Israelites. The High Priest then fastened a scarlet woolen thread

to the head of the scapegoat; a second scarlet cord was tied to the entrance of

the holy section of the Temple. Next the High Priest would lay his hands upon the scapegoat again, reciting the following confession of sin and prayer for

forgiveness:

O Lord, I have acted iniquitously, trespassed, sinned before you. I, my household, and Aaron's descendants your holy ones. O Lord, forgive the iniquities, transgressions, and

sins that I, my household, and Aaron's descendants your holy people committed before

you, as is written in the law of Moses, your servant, "for on this day he will forgive you, to cleanse you from all your sins before the Lord; you shall be clean."

After all those present responded to this prayer, an individual was chosen, preferably a

priest, to take the goat to the precipice in the wilderness; where the scapegoat would be thrown over a steep and jagged cliff, so that its body would be completely torn

apart before it reached the bottom. The person escorting the scapegoat would pause for a moment when they came to the precipice in order to divide the scarlet thread into

two parts, one of which he tied to the rock and the other to the goat's horns, and then pushed the goat down (m. Yoma 6:1-8). People were stationed at intervals along the

way, and as soon as the goat was thrown over the cliff, they signaled to each other,

until the news reached the high priest, at which he proceeded with the rest of the Yom Kippur service.

The miracle of the scarlet thread happened when the scarlet thread on the door the temple would turn white… It was a miracle and God was saying I have covered your sins.

The he-goat singled out "For the Lord" was offered as a sin-offering to make atonement for the national transgressions of Israel. In general, the scapegoat ritual reminds us of

the serious consequences of our sins and our need immediate need for repentance.

Elaborating further on the spiritual purpose of the scapegoat, Rabbi Moshe Alshich, a

prominent 16th century biblical commentator, teaches that the scapegoat does not completely wipe out Israel's sin but only prevents the negative consequences

of sin from being manifested against the people. What is true of the scapegoat is true of all the sacrifices offered on the Day of Atonement, they only provided a covering

for Israel's sins but did not remove them all together.

The temple was destroyed in 70AD and Jesus

was crucified in 30AD. 40 years before the temple was destroyed Jesus Christ died on the cross to offer final sacrifice for the sins of all people who would trust in Him *Isaiah

1:18--Come now, an let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as

wool. 1 Peter 2:24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we,

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having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.

Isaiah 53

Ok here is the bomb! In the book of Yoma… 39b contained in the Talmud 40 years before the destruction of the Temple the Miracle of the Scarlet Thread ceased. It no

longer turned from red to white.

Why? Because the ultimate “scapegoat” John 1:29 The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world had fulfilled His appointed prophesied time and took upon Himself the sins of all of mankind… no longer to just “cover” sins but to remove them. verse 2 of 1 John

chapter 2, He Himself is the propitiation (scapegoat) for our sins;

and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

The word "scapegoat" has come to mean a person, often innocent, who is blamed and punished for the sins,

crimes or sufferings of others.

Jesus had offered himself as the ultimate sacrifice for sin. Thus Jesus’ sacrifice is

much greater then the he-goats offered by the High Priest on Yom Kippur for he removes doesn’t just cover… but removes our sin, brings forgiveness, and purifies

us for all time.

John writes to encourage us not to sin, but if we do, he tells us in 2:1, ”we have an

Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” We have an attorney better than

Perry Mason or Matlock... Jesus Christ, Esquire! No one in the universe except Jesus Christ can be

the Propitiation (atoning sacrifice) for our sins.

Lamb of God by Vertical Church!

You came from heavens throne… Acquainted with our sorrow

To trade the debt we owed… Your suffering for our freedom

The Lamb of God, in my place… Your blood poured out, my sin erased

It was my death you died… I am raised to life

Hallelujah, the lamb of God

My name upon your heart… My shame upon your shoulders

The power of sin undone… The cross for my salvation

There is no greater love… There is no greater love

The savior lifted up… There is no greater love

1 John 2 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if

anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; 2 and He Himself is

the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.