5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

You wrote in “Which Way Did He Go?” that when Jesus died, He went to Paradise.  If that's the case, how does the act of atonement for our sins work?  And why would Jesus Himself claim that the Father forsook Him?

Sincerely,
Checking His Itinerary

Dear Checking His Itinerary,

Jesus atoned for our sins by paying for them with the blood of Deity.  It is a common misconception that Jesus paid for our sins by spending three days in hell on our behalf, but that isn’t what the Scriptures say on the topic.  There are two ways to pay for our sins.  We can pay for our own sins by spending eternity in hell (Rom 6:23), or God can pay for our sins through His blood (Matt 26:28).  In the Old Testament, God taught Israel that all sin had to be paid for with blood.  He taught them this through the animal sacrifice system, but the blood of animals only taught them about how sin is paid for… animal blood was never sufficient to actually pay the price for human sin (Heb 10:4).  Ultimately, it was God’s blood that had the power to remove sins (Rev 1:5).

As for Jesus’ statement that the Father forsook Him (Matt 27:46), those words were uttered by Jesus as He hung upon the cross.  Jesus wasn’t making an all-encompassing statement about the Father forsaking Him forever.  Jesus was simply crying over the agony of being left alone to suffer for the sins of mankind.  It is a statement of suffering, not of literal abandonment by the Father.  Jesus even said that the Father wouldn’t leave Him (Jhn 16:32).

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom

Did Jesus modify the Old Law, the Ten Commandments, and the Torah when He said, "I have come to fulfill the law {the ten commandments}"?

Sincerely,
Pending Change

Dear Pending Change,

Jesus didn't modify/change the Old Testament - He fulfilled it (Matt 5:17).  Jesus' life, death, and resurrection are the fulfillment of everything of which the prophets of old spoke (1 Pet 1:10-12, Acts 3:20-21).  Moses said that there would come a day when a Messiah would come... and that when He came, the Jews were to follow Christ instead (Acts 3:22-24).  Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament by being the Messiah and paying the price for mankind's sins.  The Old Testament was a tutor to lead us to Christ (Gal 3:24), but now that Christ is here, He has fulfilled the law, and we are no longer bound by its laws (Gal 3:25).

5 minutes a day 5 days a week - a year of Bible Wisdom