Justice Satisfied, Mercy Released

The Cost of Love Revealed

As the Day Begins

The gospel dares to say something unsettling and yet deeply consoling: God did not set aside His justice in order to save us; He fulfilled it. In Romans 3:25, Paul writes that “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness.” The Greek word Paul uses, hilastērion, carries the sense of a mercy seat, the place where wrath is not denied but met, where justice is not ignored but satisfied. God’s glory shines not in bypassing judgment but in bearing it Himself. The cross, therefore, is not divine leniency; it is divine fidelity to righteousness expressed through sacrificial love.

Ezekiel Hopkins captures this tension when he argues that God was more glorified in justice by sending His Son than by condemning all humanity. This assertion forces us to reconsider how we understand wrath. Scripture does not portray the wrath of God as impulsive anger but as His settled, holy opposition to sin. In 1 John 2:2 we read, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” The Greek term hilasmos emphasizes appeasement—not of a capricious deity, but of a just God whose moral order cannot be violated without consequence. Justice demanded satisfaction; love provided the offering.

Hebrews 10:5 draws us into the mystery of the incarnation with startling intimacy: “Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: ‘Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me.’” The Son did not merely appear human; He assumed flesh fully. The humanity of Jesus is essential here. Justice could not be satisfied by animal sacrifice or symbolic gesture. It required obedience, suffering, and death lived out in real human vulnerability. The Son entered our condition so completely that divine justice could be fulfilled from within humanity rather than imposed upon it from above.

This reframes how we walk into the day ahead. If justice has been honored at such cost, then our lives are no longer driven by fear of punishment but by reverent gratitude. As 1 John 4:10 reminds us, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” Love did not emerge because wrath disappeared; love triumphed because justice was met. The cross stands as both warning and welcome—sin is serious, yet mercy is stronger. To begin the day under this truth is to live soberly, humbly, and confidently before God.

Triune Prayer

Heavenly Father, as this day begins, I come before You mindful of Your holiness and Your unwavering commitment to justice. I thank You that You did not compromise Your righteousness to rescue me, nor turn away from the moral weight of sin. Instead, You revealed the depth of Your character by providing what Your justice required. Teach me today to honor You not casually, but reverently, remembering that grace is costly and obedience matters. Shape my decisions so they reflect gratitude rather than entitlement, and help me walk in a manner worthy of the mercy I have received.

Jesus the Son, I thank You for taking on flesh, for entering fully into the human story with all its pain, limitation, and sorrow. You offered Yourself willingly, “without blemish,” fulfilling what no other sacrifice could accomplish. As I move through this day, help me to live in the freedom You secured, not returning to guilt that You have already borne. Let Your obedience inspire my own, Your humility guide my posture, and Your love define my interactions with others. I receive again the gift of Your sacrifice with awe and trust.

Holy Spirit, I invite You to make the reality of the cross active within me today. Illuminate my understanding so that justice and mercy are not abstract ideas but lived truths shaping my conduct and conscience. Convict me where I drift toward self-justification or indifference to sin, and strengthen me to walk in holiness empowered by grace. Guide my thoughts, words, and actions so that they bear witness to the redeeming work You continually apply in my life. Keep me attentive to Your voice as You form Christ within me.

Thought for the Day

Because God’s justice has been fully satisfied in Christ, I am free to live today not under fear, but under grateful obedience shaped by love.

Thank you for beginning your day in God’s presence. May this truth steady your heart and guide your steps.

For further reflection, consider reading a related article on the atonement at Desiring God:
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/what-happened-on-the-cross

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Mercy Seat

This is known in Hebrew as the kapporet.

This was the solid gold lid put on the Ark of the Covenant. It had 2 cherubim at the ends to cover & make the space in which Yahweh/God appeared & lived. It holds major significance in Judaism & minor significance in Christianity. The Ark of the Covenant is mentioned only once in the Quran.

The design of the Mercy Seat was heavily detailed in the Book of Exodus (25:17-22). The space between the 2 cherubim was considered the earthly throne of God, the place where His presence (often described the Shekinah glory), where He would live & commune/communicate with Moses.

The Ark & Mercy Seat were kept in the Holy of Holies. This was the Temple’s innermost sanctuary which was separated from the other parts of the Temple by a thick curtain called a parochet. The Holy of Holies could only be entered by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur. This is the holiest day of the year in Judaism.

The ritual described, in detail, in Leviticus chapter 16. The High Priest would sprinkle the blood of a sacrificial bull onto the Mercy Seat as an atonement for the sins of his own & his family. A sacrificial goat would be for the sins of the people of Israel. This act of sprinkling the blood would be a symbolic covering of the sins of the people. This allowed for a temporary reconciliation between a holy God & His sinful creation. The blood was a substitute representing a life given in place of the lives of the people who transgressed against God’s law.

For Christians the Mercy Seat is seen as a powerful foreshadowing of Jesus. The New Testament, in Hebrews & Romans, draws a direct & profound connection between the Old Testament ritual & Jesus’ work on the cross.

Jesus on the cross was a greater atonement & the formation of a New Covenant (Hebrews 9:3-15). The continual sacrifices for sin under the Mosaic Law/Covenant became obsolete following Jesus’ one-time sacrificial death, as the Lamb of God.

The author(s) of Hebrews explains that Jesus is the ultimate High Priest (Hebrews 9:11). Unlike the Old Testament priests who HAD to offer sacrifices for sins, Jesus was without sin (or original Sin for that matter) & offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice “once for all.”

The blood of the bulls & goats could only give a temporary “covering” of sin(s) (Hebrews 10:4). Jesus’ own blood, that was shed on the cross, is presented as a perfect & final atonement. THis provides a permanent solution to the problem of sin & guilt.

At the moment of Jesus’ death, the veil of the Temple that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the building was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). This is understood as a symbol that the separation between God & humanity had been removed. Thus through Jesus’ sacrifice, believers now have direct access to God’s presence.

The Greek word for Mercy Seat used in the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) is hilasterion. This is a term that carries the idea of an atoning sacrifice. In Romans 3:25, the Apostle Paul uses this exact word to describe Jesus: “…whom God puts forward as a propitation (or Mercy Seat) by His blood, to be received by faith.” This verse teaches that God’s righteous wrath against sin satisfied God’s justice in the Old Testament.

In this way, Jesus is seen as a fulfillment of everything the Mercy Seat represented. The place where God’s holiness & justice meet His mercy & love & the means by which humanity can be reconciled with God. The Mercy Seat was a physical representation of a spiritual truth, one that Christians believe was fully realized in the person & work of Jesus.

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