Where Judgment and Mercy Meet (ἱλαστήριον)

Hilastērion (hil-as-tay'-ree-on): Propitiation, Atonement Cover, Mercy Seat

Most people know Romans 3 talks about Jesus as our "propitiation." But most of us don't really know that word and if we do, our understanding of it barely scratches the surface of what Paul is actually saying.

This week's Greek word is hilastērion and it is the same exact word the Greek Old Testament(Septuagint) uses for the lid of the Ark of the Covenant. The mercy seat. The place where blood was sprinkled once a year so a holy God could dwell with sinful people without wiping them out.

So when Paul says God "set forth" Jesus as the hilastērion... he's telling us Jesus IS the mercy seat now. Not a sacrifice that happens near the mercy seat. He becomes it. The place where judgment and grace meet, once and for all, out in the open for anyone to see.

Have you ever thought about the fact that you don't need a temple, a priest, or a yearly sacrifice to get close to God anymore? You already have access to the mercy seat. His name is Jesus.

Where in your life do you need to remember that the throne you're approaching is a mercy seat, not a judgment seat? Where do you need to trust Christ's atonement on the cross FOR YOU?

Scriptures where we find "hilastērion":

Exodus 25:17 — "You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold..."

Romans 3:25 — "whom God put forward as a mercy seat by his blood..."

Hebrews 9:5 — "the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat..."