("Study Notes": - Quote Out of Context & Altered - From Commentator)
“To believe in the crucified one- is to want no other victims of ritual killing. To depend on the blood of Jesus is to refuse to depend on the sacrificial blood offerings of the Levitical priesthood. It is to swear off scapegoats. Sacred redemption - (by way of the "guilt offering" - the "blood of the Lamb") promises offerings of future atonement within the priesthood in accordance to righteousness.”
“Seen from this perspective, the somewhat obscure actions of Christ make complete sense. Jesus, in the role of a victorious Messiah defeated the opposing evil of the “iniquitous gift” by a direct battle. God would never build a new world on “ritual murder”. God found a way- once and for all- to turn to "good" what man had founded in evil.”
“Jesus steps into this double bind and overcome it. No other than the Messiah could. This task is appointed to him alone. No ordinary victim could change the process, could uncover what was obscured in the constant practice of scapegoating.”
“To submit passively to the sacrificial mechanism would do nothing to change it. That only smooths the way for future victims and condemns them to invisibility. Such is the dilemma, the malignant wisdom of an evil that we seem doomed to serve whichever way we turn. Humanity is caught in this bondage, caught without even being able to name it directly. We know not what we do.”
“Redemptive violence (the "blood of the Lamb")- was a means of overcoming the sin, removing the pollution and punishing the transgression on the people that has brought disaster on the community. The sin that the Messiah overcame was the offense of the scapegoat, for it was the sin of the one that jeopardized the many.”
“Only a Jew, representing the “guilt” of the nation of priests could undeniably vindicate many, by suffering this sacrifice, to reverse it. The work of the cross is the work of a transcendent (awe-inspiring) God, breaking into a cycle we could not change alone. It is a saving act of God, a victory over the powers of this world, a defeat of death.”
PSALM 50:14 “’Sacrifice (offer) to God thanksgiving [as a tribute of gratitude for His divine grace and goodness]; and repay to the Most High your vows [in affirmation of faithful obedience to the Law and Will of God- ]. And call upon Me in the day of distress [when pressed hard to a point]; I will save you [as a nation of priests] and you will glorify Me.’”
Verse 15 "...and he who sets a way, I will show him the salvation of God.’”
JEWISH VENERATION
(Justification by Law)
(Continuing: "Study Notes" - Out of Context Quote & Altered Quote) “It is God alone who can reveal the entire reality of the sacrificial process, reverse it through the resurrection of Christ, and structure an alterative option for human solidarity.”
“This is why Christ is explicated in the New Testament as the truth, the life and the way.”
“True teachings are dangerous, the Buddha is supposed to have said. And the best teachings are the most dangerous. The theology of the cross can be the best or the worst. The two are poised close together. The cross is a kind of intersection, where different atonements meet.”
“The Romans are at odds with the Judean Jews. Jewish factions are at odds with each other. The Romans are afraid of rebellion. The religious leaders are afraid of repression. Pilate is ready to make Jesus a politically redemptive sacrifice, to keep his contagious preaching from stirring social crisis. Some of the chief priests are ready to make Jesus a religiously redemptive sacrifice, to keep his blasphemy and sin from contaminating the community.”
“They all expect Jesus’ death to have a reconciling effect on this situation.”
“We have gone astray if we think that God endorses the mechanism of scapegoating sacrifice and of which the crucifixion is just the largest and most powerful example. The sacrificial process is turned inside out. Sacrifice is turned against sacrifice.”
ISAIAH 66:3 “’But whoever sacrifices a bull [as a substitute offering for sin, in lieu of repentance is] like one who kills [the eternal soul of] a man, and whoever offers a lamb [the life blood of the innocent in payment for the guilty, is] like one who breaks a dogs neck [further depriving the sinner of conscious guilt for wrongdoing]; he offering a present [the life blood of the guilty- as a charge levied by human authority ] (as) (one who presents) blood of swine [an abominable, "ritual killing" and wickedly evil offering]…’”
"The sacrificial process is turned inside out. Sacrifice is turned against sacrifice. The legal demands of the law have been meet in the innocent 'blood of the Lamb.'"
PSALM 49:8-10 “A man can not at all redeem (release) a brother [from the righteous demands of the law]; and give not to God a ransom [a sacrificial payment] for him- for the redemption of their soul [from the consequence of sin] is precious, and it [the unredeemed soul] ceases forever- for he [the redeemed man] shall yet live forever; not he shall see corruption [of the soul in the grave].”
NOTE: Proverbs 21:18 “The [demand for righteous legal action against the] wicked [shall be] a ransom [a means of release for] the righteous; and in the place of the upright (shall be) the treacherous.”
