Paul Washer meme: The lamb who must die under the wrath of God

 We found this meme on Faceborg:

Transcript:

Paul Washer

Jehovah Jireh? It's not talking about providing a car. It's talking about providing a lamb. Lord will provide a lamb who must die under the wrath of God.

Repent, believe in Christ as the Savior of sinners. He is the mediatorial Prophet, Priest, and King.

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Assuming Mr. Washer actually said this, we shall note the three things that grab our attention regarding this meme:

1) The Sacrificial Lamb vs. Material Needs:

We think Mr. Washer is reacting against so-called "prosperity" teaching. This is understandable, because the "name it and claim" it folks are too often caught up in God as a piggy bank rather than God as the Holy One.

That being said, it is clear that Mr. Washer is setting up a false dichotomy, that the provision of the Lamb of God for our sin is in tension with the provision of material need. However, there is no tension; both can operate. 

The phrase Jehovah Jireh comes from

Ge. 22:14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”

Here is where God provided a lamb to sacrifice so that Abraham wouldn't sacrifice his son. This of course is a type for the lamb of God God would provide for us.

Nevertheless, there is the dimension of the provision of material needs that cannot be overlooked:

Mt. 6:11 Give us today our daily bread. 

The Lord's Prayer is a pretty weighty testimony.

Ph. 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. 

Here, Paul was in the midst of discussing the support he received from the Philippian church. And Paul promises all their needs will be met, and he was clearly not referring to Jesus' sacrifice.

2) Under the Wrath of God:

This is something we've covered often in our blog. Jesus was not punished by the Father, and He did not take our place. He died just like a sacrificed lamb did in the OT. The lamb was not punished, it was not regarded as guilty, and it did not substitute for the offeror. Similarly, Jesus' death was sacrificial, not substitutionary, and He was not regarded as guilty. He did not suffer the Father's wrath. He was not punished by the Father. The blood alone was enough.

3) Mediatorial:

This is a word not commonly used, so it is unfortunate that Mr. Washer finds the need to use it. We think that more conventional terminology should be preferred by anyone who thinks he's a Bible teacher. But since he used the word, let's explain.

We find one use of the word "mediator" here:

1Ti. 2:5-6 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men — the testimony given in its proper time.

In contemporary understanding, a mediator is one that reconciles differences between disputants. However, this is really not the ministry that Jesus engaged in. The Father didn't have a dispute with us, and we didn't have a dispute with Him. The "one mediator between God and men" didn't negotiate with the Father or us. He didn't reach a compromise. 

Rather, His sacrificial death brought us into communion with the Father. His death, once for all, ransomed us from the grave and delivered us into the presence of the Father via a new and living way, by the blood. (Hebrews 10:19-20). 

Memes are obviously not detailed explanations of things, but they are intended to carry a message. And here the the message is substantially flawed.