It seems to me, when you make a sacrifice, you are actually giving up something that you really want or value. For instance, I might want to go to a much anticipated one-time-only event tonight, but my wife wants to go to a movie. In the interest of marital harmony and my wife’s happiness, I decide to sacrifice my event in favor of her movie. I can never go to that particular event again.
Now Jesus, we are told, gave up (sacrificed) his life as a ransom for our sins. But what did he really give up? He knew he would be raised on the third day, and to an even more exalted position.
Wouldn’t you or I do the same thing? But would you or I (or Jesus) agree to make that sacrifice if we knew we wouldn’t be resurrected, that in fact we’d be dead eternally?
Here's a good line from an old post: "...Jesus didn't sacrifice his life for mankind, as the thing that makes death so bad is it's permanence. Jesus just had a bad weekend for man."