Today we are beginning a sermon series through the book of Leviticus – I’ll give you a moment to think through that statement again. Indeed, if something inside of you did not think, “Did he just say we are going to go through the book of Leviticus,” then you are utterly unlike the vast majority of Christians today. In almost every respect, the book of Leviticus is roundly neglected for a variety of reasons: it is difficult to understand, it is boring and repetitive, it no longer applies to us, etc. There are all kinds of reasons to neglect this book.
Having said that, there is also a crucial, central reason not to neglect this book. In short, the book of Leviticus tells us about Jesus Christ. Jesus is the very center of Christianity – our entire religion and life centers on him. If Jesus did not exist or did not do the things we say he did, then we are lost and without hope. Jesus Christ is the foundation of all that we are and all that we do. Knowing that, I can make this bold statement: if you neglect the book of Leviticus, you neglect Christ. That is a bit of an overstatement, but I mean to say that understanding the book of Leviticus will give us a better understanding of the person and work of Jesus Christ. And if we are unable to understand Leviticus, then we will be unable to understand at least some of what Jesus Christ accomplished for us. This is more than enough reason not to neglect this difficult book.
Understanding the importance of this book, we need to gain a bit of context before we embark on studying it. In order to understand Leviticus, we need to understand the beginning of the history of Israel as a nation. Most of us know the story of Israel’s enslavement in Egypt. After being enslaved for 400 years, they cried out to the Lord, and the Lord raised up Moses to lead them. Through an incredible series of judgments and miracles, the Lord delivered his people from Egypt and they began a journey to the glorious land that God promised them in Canaan. But along the way, they make a crucial stop at Mount Sinai. In fact, this “stop” occupies a huge part of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament). The people of Israel are camped at the base of Mount Sinai from Exodus 19 all the way to Numbers 10 – 57 chapters! This helps us understand what is happening in Leviticus, because the book of Leviticus consists of God speaking to the people at Mount Sinai – telling them what they must do and how they must live.
But even understanding the way Leviticus fits into Israel’s history, we are still left to wonder why God had to talk about such detailed and mundane things. Why does God bring up the things that he does? In order to understand the answer to this question, we need to understand a progression that occurred in Israel’s relationship with God. In Exodus 19, when God first spoke to the nation at Sinai, he spoke from the top of the mountain and only Moses was allowed to come near. The common people were told to stay away lest they die. God could not be in the midst of this people because of his holiness and their wickedness. Interestingly, this eventually changed. Exodus 33:7 says, “Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp.” So here we see that Moses no longer had to go up Mount Sinai, but he still had to go outside the camp. In a very real sense, God’s presence still did not dwell in the midst of the people but “far off” from them. But when we come to the end of the book of Exodus, we see this pattern altered again. In a glorious moment, as the construction of the tabernacle is completed, God’s glorious presence fills the tabernacle – to the extent that Moses is not even able to enter because of the glory. You would think that this glorious presence of God in the tabernacle would result in its being placed far away from the camp. But Numbers 2:1-2 makes clear the exact opposite – the tabernacle was to be set up in the very center of the camp with three tribes camped on each side. It was the very center of Israel’s life as a nation.
How could this be? If God is so holy that the people could not even touch Mount Sinai and so holy that the tent had to be set up far off from the camp, how in the world can he take up residence in the midst of this sinful people? The answer is because of the book of Leviticus - or, more specifically, because of the material the book of Leviticus contains. The reason God goes into such incredible detail is because such detail is absolutely necessary for the holy God to take up residence in the midst of a sinful people. In the book of Leviticus, we see just how much is necessary for God to interact with us – there is an incredible chasm that must be bridged by the very things discussed in Leviticus.
Understanding the context of the book of Leviticus as a whole, we come to our specific text for this morning – Leviticus 1-7. In these first seven chapters, the main topic is the sacrifices and offerings that have to be offered by the people of Israel. As we said, it is not surprising that these sacrifices would be the first thing God brings up after his glorious presence filled the tabernacle – because the offering of these sacrifices is absolutely necessary if the perfectly holy God is to dwell in the midst of a sinful people without absolutely destroying them for their sin.
As we think about these offerings, we should keep this reality in mind: though there are a large number of rules and regulations given to the people in this text, this is an incredible act of mercy. The framework for the book of Leviticus is set out in its first two verses: “The Lord called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, ‘speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or from the flock” (1:1-2). The phrase “The Lord called to Moses” – or some slight variation of it – occurs 9 times in these first 7 chapters. The emphasis is on the fact that the Lord initiated these things. He is showing mercy in revealing to the people how they can have fellowship with him. The book of Leviticus is an incredible demonstration of grace by God to his people, Israel.
Also, for the purpose of understanding these chapters, we should understand that these first 7 chapters divide clearly into two parts. Essentially, God lays out the rules and regulations for 5 offerings – and he goes over those rules twice: once for the common people who would actually be bringing the offerings (1:3-6:7) and once for the priests who would be officiating the offerings (6:8-7:38). Each group has certain things that they need to know and understand about the offerings, so God goes over each one twice with a different audience in mind. So as we go through each sacrifice this morning, we will draw from both sections of the text in order to understand each of the offerings.
Before looking at each of the offerings separately, we should note that there are some elements that are common to most of the offerings – especially those involving animals. As you read through Leviticus, you find very quickly that many of the offerings have a great deal of overlap. Before we look at the particularities of each offering, I want to briefly point out some of these common elements and their significance.
First, the animal that was brought had to be “without blemish” (1:3,10; 3:1,6; 4:3,23,28,32; 5:15;18; 6:6). This was necessary for two main reasons: 1) the offering was to be a costly offering from the best that the offerer had – that which is brought to God should be without spot or blemish and 2) the offered had to understand that the animal was dying not for their own defects but for the defects of the offerer – their sin. The fact that the animal had to be without blemish is a common stipulation that we will see among most of the offerings in these chapters.
Second, notice that – before the animal died – the offerer was to put their hands on the head of the animal (1:4; 3:2,8,13; 4:4,15,24,29,33). This was in essence an act of identification. By laying the hand on the animal, the offerer demonstrated that their sins were being transferred to this animal. In a very real sense, the animal was dying as a substitute for the offerer. Their sins had to be punished and they were punished in this animal. The laying on of hands was symbolic of the transfer of guilt from the offerer to the animal. Like the command to bring an animal without blemish, this act is common among the animal sacrifices.
Third, notice that the blood of the sacrifice is absolutely crucial. With every animal sacrifice that we will look at this morning, there are explicit instructions regarding how the blood of the offering is to be handled (1:5,11,15; 3:2,8,13; 4:5-7, 16-18,25,30,34; 5:9). The reason for this can be deduced from other scriptures: in Lev. 17:10-11, God tells the Israelites never to eat blood because “the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.” Likewise, the author of Hebrews says, “…without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Heb. 9:22b). The blood of an offering is crucial because it belongs to God. It is the blood that actually serves to pay for the sins of the offerer.
1. The Burnt Offering (1:3-17; 6:8-13)
Having looked at some of the common elements of the offerings, we can turn our attention to each specific offering. Even though the offerings shared a great deal in common, it does seem that each of the offerings has at least one crucial element that is highlighted for the purpose of emphasis. As you read through Leviticus, it is easy to lose focus and assume all the offerings are exactly the same. But as we read, we recognize that the offerings are not all exactly the same – and it is the minor differences that actually reveal to us the particular emphasis of each one.
The first offering the Lord mentions is the burnt offering, and the essential elements of this sacrifice are not difficult to grasp. The offerer was to bring their animal (a bull, goat, sheep, or bird based on their level of wealth – Lev. 5:7,11) to the tabernacle and place their hand on its head. Then the offerer was to kill the animal and let the priests throw the blood of the animal against the sides of the altar. Then the sacrifice was cut into pieces and arranged on the altar along with the wood by the priest. Then the entire offering was left on the altar until it was fully consumed (1:3-9). After the sacrifice was burned, the priest changed out of his holy garments and carried the ashes outside the camp – while simultaneously making sure that the fire of the altar was never extinguished, always ready to burn offering to atone for sin (6:8-13).
The purpose of this offering is not hard to grasp. This was the most basic, common sacrifice that the Israelites offered and it was done for the purpose of appeasing the wrath of the holy God against the sin of the people. We see this very clearly in the text itself. The offerer was to bring the animal to the tabernacle “that he may be accepted before the Lord” (1:3). The entire reason for bringing this offering is a desire to be accepted by God. Moreover, he was to lay his hand on the head of the animal “and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him” (1:4). The reason that there might be a question of whether a person was accepted by God is because of sin, and this offering is explicitly done for the purpose of making atonement before God – that is, for the purpose of dealing with the wrath of God that inevitably arises against sin. And after the sacrifice is burned we read that it was “a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord” (1:9). This phrase indicates that the offering is accepted by the Lord, and – by association – that the offerer is accepted by the Lord. In the death of the animal, the wrath of God was appeased because the sin was punished.
We see that this was the purpose of this sacrifice through its use throughout the Old Testament as well. In 2 Sam. 24:25, we read that David offered burnt offerings to appease the wrath of God that had broken out against his sin in the form of a pestilence that killed 70,000 of them. When David made these offerings, the Lord stopped the spread of the pestilence. Likewise, in 2 Chr. 29:7-8, we read that during the reign of King Ahaz, there were no burnt offerings made and “therefore the wrath of the Lord came on Judah and Jerusalem.” In the same way, Job 1:5 says that Job offered burnt offerings for each of his children in case they had sinned against God. If such a thing had happened, he wanted to turn the wrath of God away from his children by making the offering.
The key element of this sacrifice is that it is burned up entirely (1:9) on the altar – signifying total punishment, total appeasement of God and total satisfaction of his wrath. As we will see, other offerings were only partially consumed on the altar, but the main point of this offering was the appeasement of wrath, so it was entirely consumed to show entire satisfaction.
2. The Grain Offering (2:1-16; 6:14-23)
The second offering that we read about is the grain offering. This offering was closely tied to the burnt offering and the peace offering (which comes directly after it). Among the 5 offerings in this section, these three share the distinction of being “a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord” (2:9,16). More explicitly, in Numbers 15:1-10, God clearly tells the Israelites that when they offer a burnt offering or a peace offering, they are also to offer a grain offering. It seems that these offerings – and the messages that each offering carried – were closely bound together.
That said, it is not difficult to look at this offering and see that it is quite different from every other offering. For starters, there is not an animal or blood involved at all! Rather, this offering consisted of grain mixed with oil and frankincense. This grain could be brought as it was or it could be cooked in an oven, on a griddle or in a pan. When it was brought, the priest would take a handful of the offering and burn it on the altar. Whatever was left of the offering belonged to Aaron and his sons – they were allowed to eat it (2:1-10).
The fact that no animal or blood was involved makes clear to us that the essential purpose of this sacrifice was not atonement (though its close association with the burnt offering makes clear that it was connected to atonement). Rather, this offering seems to be a tribute of sorts – that is, like duty or tax paid by an individual to someone who rules over them, this offering was a tribute of sorts offered by the subjects (Israel) to their ruler (God). In essence, the offering of this sacrifice was an illustration that the people were submitting themselves to God and his will and his favor. This is evidenced by the statement of 2:14-16 about the Israelites bringing a grain offering of firstfruits. By bringing the firstfruits of their harvest to offer to the Lord, they were signifying that it belonged to him and that they belonged to him.
The key element of this sacrifice is given in 1:13 as we read: “You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.” This stipulation at first seems strange, but if understood, it contributes to the overall message of the offering. This salt is meant to symbolize the covenant between God and Israel. The salt of the offering symbolized the eternal nature of the covenant. This same phrase and idea is found in 2 other Old Testament passages. In Numbers 18:19, God calls his covenant with Aaron “a covenant of salt” – emphasizing its eternal nature. And in 2 Chronicles 13:5, Abijah calls God’s covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7 “a covenant of salt” – emphasizing its eternal aspect.
The reason salt was to be included in this offering is to remind the people of the covenant. The reason that the Israelites were to bring tribute to their ruler was because God has chosen them and made a covenant with them. By offering this sacrifice, the people were not only illustrating their faithfulness to God but being reminded that the basis of that faithfulness was their covenant relationship with God.
The Peace Offering (3:1-17; 7:11-36)
The third offering discussed in our text is the peace offering. Just like the grain offering, it was closely connected with the burnt offering. In fact, even the instruction given in Leviticus say, “Aaron’s sons shall burn it [the peace offering] on the altar on top of the burnt offering, which is on the wood on the fire; it is a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord” (3:5). So we see that this sacrifice was even offered on top of the burnt offering. Moreover, in other parts of the Old Testament, it seems that this offering was often made alongside the burnt offering. So, in 2 Sam 24:25 – a text we looked at earlier concerning David seeking to turn aside the wrath of God – we see that David offered up both burnt offerings and peace offerings. All three of these first three offerings seem to be intimately connected.
As we look at the elements of this offering, it seems that it was done almost exactly like the burnt offering. The offerer brings the sacrifice to the tabernacle, lays his head on the animal’s head, and slaughters the animal right there. Then the priest takes the blood of the animal and splashes it on the side of the altar (3:1-2). In fact, so far, this is exactly like the burnt offering. So what is the difference between the two? The difference comes in what happens next – in the burnt offering, the entire sacrifice was burned up in order to demonstrate entire forgiveness and acceptance. In the case of the peace offering, only the fatty parts of the animal are burned – signifying the best parts of the animal (3:3-5). Regardless if the animal is a lamb (3:6-11) or a goat (3:12-17), the procedure is the same. In the peace offering instructions given to the priests in Lev. 7:11-36, we learn that the rest of the animal, which is not burned on the altar, is split between the priest (who receive the breast and the right thigh – Lev. 7:28-36) and the offerer himself! The offerer (and presumably whomever he invited to partake) was then supposed to eat the remaining part of the sacrifice within a certain amount of time (depending on the type of peace offering).
The very elements of the offering actually give us a clue into the main purpose of this offering. As Leviticus 7 makes clear, there could be any number of reasons to offer this sacrifice ranging from thanksgiving for something the Lord had done (7:12) to fulfillment of a particular vow that had been made to the Lord (7:16) to simply proclaiming the graciousness of God out of the good pleasure of one’s heart (7:16). Any of these could serve as reasons to bring the offering, but the central thing that all of these purposes have in common is that they demonstrate the thankfulness of the offerer that they are in a right and peaceful relationship with God. Even though this peace offering shares much in common with the burnt offering – indicating that atonement and forgiveness of sin is foundational to this offering – atonement of sin is not the primary focus of this offering. Rather, the focus in the peace offering is the celebration of the fact that the offerer is indeed at peace with God! This is highlighted by the fact that anyone who was unclean was not allowed to partake in the meal of the peace offering (7:19-21). This meal was reserved only for those who were at peace with God!
And indeed, it seems that the presentation of a peace offering – and the accompanying meal – became an incredibly joyous occasion that was meant to celebrate an incredible, and almost unbelievable, reality – that sinful people were at peace with the perfectly holy God because their sins had been atoned for. One striking example of this offering is found in 1 Kings 8:62-66. After King Solomon finished the temple, this passage tells us that he offered 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep as a peace offering to the Lord. Then, we read in verse 65, “So Solomon held the feast at that time, and all Israel with him, a great assembly, from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt, before the Lord our God, seven days On the eighth day he sent the people away, and they blessed the king and went to their homes joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the Lord had shown to David his servant and to Israel his people” (1 Kin. 8:65-66). This meal that succeeded the peace offering was a festive and joyous occasion in which the peaceful relationship that resulted from sin being forgiven was celebrated.
4. The Sin Offering (4:1-5:13; 6:24-30)
The last two offerings that appear in our text this morning – the sin offering and the guilt offering – move us into a new set of offerings. As we have seen, the first three offerings all centered on the atoning of sin and the results of that atonement. The burnt offering served to atone for the sin, the grain offering demonstrated the faithfulness of the people to the God who had atoned for their sin, and the peace offering celebrated the fact that, because of atonement, sinful people could be at peace with the holy God. As we come to chapter 4, we realize that the offerings mentioned so far seem to have as their focus the intentional sins of the people. It seems to be the case that when the people sinned, they were immediately to bring an offering to the Lord to make atonement for that sin.
Beginning with the sin offering in 4:1, we see that the emphasis is changed to sins of an unintentional nature. Throughout chapters 4 and 5, there is a repeated emphasis on the unintentional nature of the sins being atoned for (4:2,13,22,27; 5:2,3,4). Here we see the sobering truth that sin needs to be atoned for regardless of whether it is intentional or unintentional. Sin is sin, and it is offensive to God – it must be dealt with and atoned for.
Much like with the burnt offering and the peace offering, this sin offering shares a number of common elements. Depending on the social status of the one who has sinned, that individual brought a particular animal to the tabernacle, laid their hand on its head and killed the animal in front of the altar. Again, this is the same procedure we saw with the burnt offering and the peace offering. So what is the difference? Just like with the peace offering, there is a slight difference in the details that demonstrates to us a different emphasis in this offering. With the burnt offering and the peace offering, the blood of the animal was thrown against the side of the altar – indicating that it was shed before the Lord. In the sin offering, the majority of the blood is likewise poured out at the altar, but a bit of the blood is also sprinkled before the veil in front of the Holy of Holies and smeared on the horns of the altar of incense (4:5-7,16-18,25,30,34). Then, the fatty parts of the offering were burned on the altar, the meat was given to the priest to consume (6:26) and the remaining parts were carried out of the camp and burned on an ordinary fire.
The fact that some of the blood was sprinkled before the veil and smeared on the altar of incense demonstrate to us the central purpose of this sacrifice: purification. While this sacrifice was atoning for the sin that had been committed, it was also making a point that that sin had the effect of polluting the very area in which it was committed. Since the tabernacle rested in the very midst of the people of Israel, any sin – even an unintentional sin – committed in the midst of Israel resulted in the pollution of the sanctuary itself. And as that sin was atoned for, that pollution had to be purified. This offering ensured that this purification took place.
It might seem strange to us to think of sin polluting other things, but one striking example of this principle is found in Lev. 18:24-25 when God tells Israel: “Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.” Here we see that the sin of the wicked nations of Canaan actually polluted the land! The same was true of Israel’s sin – it polluted the very area in which it occurred, and that pollution had to be purified. The sin offering was given to the people for the purpose of achieving this purification. It was by this means that not only the offerer but the area itself was purified so that God could continue to dwell amidst his people.
5. The Guilt Offering (5:14-6:7; 7:1-10)
The final offering that we see in our text is the guilt offering. It is not described in great detail – most likely because it was to be handled in much the same way as the other sacrifices. It is placed together with the sin offering because it is concerned with unintentional sins (5:15,17; 6:4). And the elements seem to be much the same. The offerer – once their sin becomes known to them – is to bring a ram, or its equivalent, to the priest, so the priest can make atonement for the sin and so the offerer can have forgiveness (5:14-16). Just like with the sin offering, the fatty parts of the ram were offered on the altar and the rest was given to the priest to eat (7:1-10).
The element of this offering that sets it apart from the other offerings is the fact that this offering also included a stipulation that restitution had to be made. If the offerer had somehow desecrated the holy things of God, he had to replace those things and pay another 20% of their value as well (6:14-16). Likewise, if someone defrauded their neighbor, they had to make the sacrifice as well as repay their neighbor the amount they took plus 20% (6:1-7).
The fact that this sacrifice includes this element of restitution makes clear to us its central purpose: it was meant to deal with the consequences of sin that existed apart from the obvious ones such as incurring the wrath of God. Here we see that the sin must not only be atoned for, but that restitution must be made for that sin if such restitution is possible.
Having understood the message of our text, it should cause us to wonder why such sacrifices are no longer offered. If these sacrifices were so vital, and the neglect of them brought such horrible results (2 Chr. 29:7-8), how can we call ourselves followers of God and yet neglect this central part of the worship of God? For the Jews themselves, the answer to this question is that there is no temple. Sacrifices are only to be offered in the temple, and since no temple exists, there is no way to perform the sacrifices. They hold that when, and if, the temple is rebuilt, then these sacrifices will be reinstituted.
But this is not the answer of those who follow Jesus Christ. We have a better answer – we no longer need to offer these sacrifices because Jesus Christ, when he died on the cross for our sins and was raised from the dead, accomplished everything that these sacrifices exemplified. Can this be true? Can we honestly say that Jesus Christ accomplished all of these things? The emphatic answer is, “YES!”
As we saw earlier, the first three offerings in Leviticus all centered around atonement for sin. As we saw, they were a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. His Christ become that? Ephesians 5:2 says “Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Just as those sacrifices were accepted by the Lord because they were a pleasing aroma, Christ’s sacrifice was a pleasing aroma and his sacrifice was accepted by God.
But even if we look more specifically at the offerings, we see that Christ accomplishes them for us. The primary purpose of the burnt offering was to turn away the wrath of God. Has Christ done that? Romans 5:9-10 says, “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his [Christ’s] blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” We no longer fear the wrath of God as we once did, because the sacrifice of Jesus has dealt with that wrath.
But there was more to the offerings than just the turning away of wrath. The grain offering reminded the people of the covenant they were in with God. What does Christ’s death have to do with that? Luke 22:20 tells us that Jesus told his disciples, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” Hebrews 8:6 tells us that this new covenant is better than the old. Hebrews 9:15 says, “Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.” How glorious is this sacrifice for us? It redeems us from the curse of the old covenant and ensures us that we are in covenant relationship with God.
But what about the peace offering, can we be sure that we are at peace with God because of Jesus Christ? Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We can rejoice just like those who offered the peace offering in Leviticus because we are in right relationship with God. And we even have our own meal through which to rejoice – communion. It is the “meal” in which we proclaim our joy in knowing that we are at peace with God. And just like the peace offering in Leviticus, those who are “unclean” (those who do not know Christ) cannot eat it – only those who are at peace with God.
But what about the sin offering, what about the pollution that our sin brings about? Can we be sure that we are not only forgiven but purified from the effects of that sin in Christ? Hebrews 1:3 says that Jesus made “purification for sins.” And the same author goes on to say, in Hebrews 13-14, “For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” We are purified and cleansed! Let us rejoice and glory in the wonderful sacrifice that has made such a thing possible.
But what about the residual effects of our sin? The guilt offering made clear that restitution must be made. Are we cleansed from all of that? 1 John 1:7 says, “…if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” We are clean, and our sins are dealt with fully in Jesus Christ.
But I do not want you to think that Jesus is merely equal to these offerings, I want you to understand that he is infinitely better than those offerings. Hebrews 9:24-26 says, “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” Here we see that Jesus is not just like the Old Testament offerings but that he is better than those offerings. The offerings we looked at today in Leviticus had to be offered again and again, but Jesus has made one sacrifice for all time and now, it is finished! This is the essence of Jesus’ statement on the cross – the offering has been made and never needs to be made again. Sin has been atoned for and it is finished!
As yet another evidence that the sacrifice of Jesus is better, Hebrews makes clear that the offerings we looked at today never actually took away sin at all. Rather, they served as reminders of sin and examples of the way sin really would be taken away. Hebrews 10:3-4 says, “But in these sacrifices [the sacrifices of the Old Testament] there is a reminder of sin every ear. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” But how could God declare those people forgiven if the blood of bulls and goats was useless? The answer is that God is not bounded by time as we are, and according to Romans 3:25, he “passed over former sins” – knowing that those sins would ultimately be paid for in Christ. This is another reason that the sacrifice of Jesus is so glorious – it atoned for every sin that has ever been committed by God’s people. This is a glorious sacrifice indeed!
Understanding then that Jesus is actually the fulfillment of all of these sacrifices – the ultimate and true sacrifice – what does this mean for us?
First, for those who are believers, does this mean that we can live however we please because our sins are atoned for? The emphatic answer of Scripture is, “NO!” Because we can trust that Jesus is the perfect and acceptable sacrifice for us and for our sins, the Bible is clear that our proper response is a life of gratefulness and thankfulness. It even uses the language of sacrifice to speak of the way we should live. Romans 12:1, says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” But what does it specifically mean to offer our bodies as sacrifices? What does that look like in real life. The author of Hebrews writes, “For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through him [Jesus Christ] then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” (Heb. 13:11-16). Here we see that the proper response to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ – which sanctified us – is to follow him in his suffering, offering up praise to God for what he has done and being sure to do good to others and share what we have with them.
For those of us who have been redeemed, we have been purified for all time by the blood of Jesus Christ. That blood cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). Our response to that glorious reality should be to offer up our bodies and our lives as sacrifices of praise. Our thank offerings are lives lived in faithfulness. Do you want to demonstrate your thankfulness to God for Jesus? Obey him. Do you want to praise the Lord for his graciousness in Christ, live faithfully. This is our sacrifice of praise – and, because of Jesus’ sacrifice – it is acceptable and pleasing to God.
For those who are not believers, you need to reckon with the reality of your own sin. You need to understand that your sin is absolutely real. You need to understand that it justly brings the wrath of God upon you. You need to understand that you are not at peace with God. You need to understand that you are polluted by sin and that God cannot accept anyone who is thus polluted. You need to understand – just as we will see next week with Aaron’s sons – that if you come before God without a proper sacrifice or with some other sacrifice than what God has put in place, you will die. The only acceptable sacrifice is Jesus Christ. He lived a perfect life – becoming the ultimate lamb without blemish. And he died on the cross for sin. He was buried, and three days later, he was raised from the dead as the only sacrifice that can make guilty sinners right with God. If you trust in him and cling to him as your Savior, confessing him as Lord and believing that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. If you reject him, the wrath of God will be poured out on you for all of eternity because you have no other sacrifice by which to atone for your sins except your own self.
As we come to the table, we are coming with a better understanding of just how glorious the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross really was. Even in what we saw today, we have just scratched the surface of the incredible and infinite glory that was displayed on calvary. As we eat the bread and drink the cup, we remember that Jesus’ flesh was broken and his blood was spilled so that we might be right with God. And even now, in our continued sin, the blood of Christ pleads for us. We are right with God because of Jesus Christ. So let us rejoice as we remember his ultimate sacrifice. Let us glory in our redeemer together! Amen.