Jesus Paid It All

I hear the Savior say, “Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray, Find in Me thine all in all.”

Chorus
Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

For nothing good have I whereby Thy grace to claim,
I’ll wash my garments white in the blood of Calvary’s Lamb.

And now complete in Him, my robe His righteousness,
Close sheltered ’neath His side, I am divinely blest.

Lord, now indeed I find Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots and melt the heart of stone.

When from my dying bed my ransomed soul shall rise,
“Jesus died my soul to save,” Shall rend the vaulted skies.

And when before the throne I stand in Him complete,
I’ll lay my trophies down All down at Jesus’ feet.

While reading through Deuteronomy recently, I came across an interesting passage of Scripture (at least interesting to me).  It is found in Exodus 30:14-16.  The Bible reads “Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls. And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.”  I don’t know about you, but that passage struck me funny.  What was interesting to me was the specific reference to the rich not paying more and the poor not paying less.  We often see proportional giving in the Bible – giving based upon what you have or as a % of your increase.  Here however, the Bible is clear that the required offering for everyone was the same.  I believe the key to understanding this passage, however, is to understand what kind of offering this was.  This was an atonement offering.  In this particular type of offering, the price for atonement was a half shekel.  Nothing more.  Nothing less.  The same is true for us today.  There is a price that has to be paid for our redemption.  It is not Grace + Works.  It is not Grace + Sacrifice.   The price is not different for rich or poor, Jew or Greek, or, even though I hate to say it, Oklahoman or Texan.   The price is the same for everyone.   What is great about this is we don’t have to pay anything – unlike the Old Testament requirement to bring your half shekel out of your own resources.  As this hymn reminds us, it is the blood of Jesus that pays it all.

Couple of comments on the lyrics:

• Change the leper’s spots – To be honest, I have always heard a leper can’t change his spots.  (It’s okay, you can laugh at a corny joke every once in awhile).  Seriously, though, since leprosy is not a part of the American culture, I think it is hard for us to realize what kind of life lepers must have lived during Bible times.  Shunned by your family.  Shunned by the religious community.  Constantly having to call out “unclean” when you went places and have people run away from you.  Children were scared of you.  People avoided you.  Life had to be miserable.  Can you imagine however being a leper who was healed by Jesus?  What a transformation in your life!  The change on the inside was probably just as dramatic as the physical change on the outside.  A change in demeanor and outlook on life.  A gratefulness for what you had been given – a fresh start.  We have received a deeper cleansing than the lepers received in Jesus’ day.  Jesus cleansed all the dark spots of sin in our life and made us white as snow.  We too should recognize that great transformation, and hopefully our lives display that.

• Melt the heart of stone – What is interesting about this phrase to me is the word “melt.”  I typically don’t think of stone melting.  I think of stone being broken or stone being crushed, but I have never heard of stone melting.  Two things come to mind.  I would think it would take a lot of heat to melt stone, and I think that this process would take a long time.  From a spiritual perspective, the same may also be true.  If someone who has lived a hard life and really has a “hardened” heart, it probably takes a long time to melt that heart of stone.  It may also take a dramatic or even tragic event to bring that person to the point when they are even receptive to the Gospel.  That tells me that we, as Christians, should be ready to share with unbelievers during those difficult times, but also to realize it may require us to persist for a long period of time in showing grace and compassion to those with hardened hearts even though it may be hard to do.

There’s an old tradition I learned about while watching a house renovation on the TV show “This Old House.”   I believe this was a Victorian tradition, but I’m not 100% sure.  Back then, when people paid their house off, they would purchase a large crystal or glass pineapple and mount it on the stairpost at the bottom of the stairs in their foyer.  This was a sign to anyone that came into the house that they had paid off their mortgage, and that they owned the house free and clear.  It was a somewhat subtle sign to one’s family, friends, and other visitors that they had paid off their mortgage, and that they didn’t owe the bank any longer.  (By the way, that would be a wonderful feeling I’m sure).  If you’re like me, that practice sounds rather arrogant and snooty.  My initial reaction was “Be grateful that your house is paid for, but you don’t have to tell the world about it.”  Am I right? 

But this tradition made me think.  Is there something that I do to display to others the fact that my sin debt has paid?  Is there something about the way I live that tells the world that I have been redeemed?  Hopefully, my actions communicate this fact to others in more than just a “subtle” way.  I hope my actions speak loudly about it.  However, I also know that I need to tell others about this fact.  You, too, have had your sin “mortgage” stamped “PAID IN FULL” so my question for you is “Are you bragging about it?”  Are you letting others know that you have been forgiven and redeemed? 

I leave you with these words from Matthew 5:14-16 from “The Message” version regarding being a light.  “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”  

My prayer is that you would have “open house” with your heart and “show off the crystal” signifying your debt has been paid.  It is something worth telling others about.