Atonement, the 2007 movie starring Kiera Knightley, James McAvoy and Vanessa Redgrave details
the story of a young woman Briony, who has a crush on Robbie, the son of a family servant. Robbie is in a heated love relationship with Briony’s older sister Cecilia. Long story short, Briony catches them in a tryst and in a jealous rage, later falsely accuses Robbie of a crime – the raping of her cousin Lola in a nearby field. Robbie is sent away to prison and ultimately to war to die. This separates him from his only love, Cecilia. Briony, a budding and soon to be famous author, devotes the latter part of her life to making amends by re-telling the story in fiction so that the two lovebirds end up happily ever after despite her jealousy, lies and deceit. Through her writings she works to atone for the wrong she has done…at least in her imagination. The movie’s tag says…“Joined by love, separated by fear, redeemed by hope.”
Atonement means reparation for a wrong or injury. In religious contexts, it is expiation: to appease by a sacrifice for sin. Teachers illustrate by separating it to AT-ONE-MENT – a sacrifice that puts relationships between God and man, and individuals back together in unity again after a sin or transgression. The restoring of relationships is called reconciliation. When we reconcile, we are stating that, “God is not counting your sin against you… and neither am I.” (2 Corinthians 5:19)
Today, Jews around the world observe Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement, which celebrates the
forgiveness God extended to Israel through Moses’ intercession, after they created the idol of the golden calf while Moses was receiving the Law on Mount Sinai. (Exodus 32) It is the yearly sacred day when Jews, after having settled accounts with one another, bring their wrongs before God for His forgiveness through repentance. It is a day of strict rest. The High Priest entered the Most Holy Place only once a year to atone for his own sins and the sins of the people with the blood sacrifice of an animal to cover their transgressions and appease God. (Hebrews 9:7) According to the Law, everything was purified and cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. (vs. 22)
When you look at a picture of an animal sacrifice, it is hard not to think of the anguish of the innocent lamb led to the slaughter for the sins of people he does not even know. It is also difficult to escape the gory bloody mess that is created to atone for sin. We can almost imagine the shrieks of the lamb and the stench of the blood and guts as they are torn from him. It’s important to think about these things to grasp just how filthy sin is and how much it costs to right what’s wrong.
We begin to understand what the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary’s Cross really meant for us. This forgiveness is not something for which we could ever work! Jesus mediated for God to forgive us just like Moses did. Paul writes in verses 12-14:
He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!…
Thank God that Jesus, the precious Lamb of God, didn’t have to do it yearly! Jesus Christ has appeared once for all the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself (vs. 25b) He suffered the greatest anguish and was marred more than any other man in order to redeem us! We don’t have to make up a story to ease the guilt of our consciences for the wrongs we’ve done. We have HIS STORY that not only covers, but has removed all of our sin and it’s eternal penalty forever!! So thank God today for the indescribable gift of ATONEMENT through Jesus Christ!!
