Sandy in NZ

Animal sacrifice is not part of life in the modern western world. Those who live or have lived in a farming area will be familiar with the killing of animals as part of the lifestyle, either for food or because the animal is old, diseased and suffering. Some will have grown up in societies where animals are still sacrificed as part of pagan religions. However, most of our population in the developed world now lives in an urban environment so animals are increasingly seen as pets, cute baby animals in petting zoos or amazing creatures of the wild to be photographed and admired. Many have become vegetarian, partly in pity for the restrained life of many farm animals, partly in horror at the killing of animals to give us meat and partly for reasons of health. Since the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, Jewish people have thought they must alter their thinking about how to approach God. Since they could no longer practise animal sacrifices, they have rationalised their faith to say that prayer and living a good life are sufficient. Now most Israelis see animal sacrifice as not only unfamiliar but also unnecessary, although a few would like (and are actually planning) to re-build the temple and once again offer sacrifices.

Anger is an appropriate response of God to our sin for two main reasons. Firstly it is an affront to God: we have not trusted, listened and obeyed him. Secondly, our wrongdoing always harms ourselves and those around us. A loving God sees the consequences of our sin more than we do. It's like a parent who gets angry that one son opens the gate to a main road and the younger brother wanders out, unaware of the danger of passing cars. Anger in people can be an appropriate response if we, too, see the repugnance of sin and the danger of its consequences. Anger can motivate us to take action, to speak up, to intervene where someone is being treated wrongly. The difference between capricious and effective anger is that one flares up in the heat of the moment and may be tainted by our "holier than thou" attitudes, selfish indignation that we are being insulted, and so on. The other is tempered by self-control ( a fruit of the Spirit), prayer, wisdom and good timing. Sometimes we need to act quickly, as when someone's life is in danger, but mostly there is time to take our anger to God and pray about a right response. If I myself am the victim of an injustice or hurt, I need to take that to the cross first, along with any elements of judgement, hurt pride, desire for revenge, etc. Once I am at peace with God and the person who has hurt me, I am more in a position to see how to act or what to say to rectify any injustice, misunderstanding or harm. We can also become very angry at the injustice or harm meted out to someone else. This, too, needs to be purified in prayer so that any wrong attitudes are put right before we take up our banners and start fighting a cause.

In the context of first century Israel, a lamb was often used as a sacrifice to atone for sins. It had to be an unblemished animal, it had to be killed in the right place (the temple in Jerusalem), in the presence of a priest and its blood and body offered up to God. The concept of "for the sin of the world" was very radical because, until then, sacrifices were made for individuals or for the Jewish nation, never for the entire world.