Leviticus 1:3-5
A priest in Israel had many important duties during the course of a day while working in the tabernacle. One of the most significant tasks was the pouring of the sacrificial blood onto the brazen altar, which sat near the door of the tabernacle. The blood was a foreshadowing of the blood of Christ, which would be shed at Calvary for the removal of our sin debt. The door is Christ, the only way to get to the Father (John 10:7).
The role of the one who had sinned was quite simple, but very important as well. If you sinned, you were to take a male from among your cattle and offer it of your own free will as a sacrifice. The priest inspected it to make sure that it was spotless and without blemish and then you laid your hand on its head as a type of the transference of your sin onto the body of this animal. Only then did you kill it, for it was now a sacrificial animal, bearing your sins in its body.
Notice that the priest did not inspect the sinner, but rather the sacrifice. The man was the one who had done wrong, not the animal, yet it was the animal that went through the full inspection to see if it qualified as a sacrifice. It was not that God did not recognize sin in the man, but the whole point of the sacrificial system was that God could be appeased while His prized creation could live. God thoroughly inspected His Son’s life and found Him to be spotless (2 Corinthians 5:21) which qualified Him to bear in Himself the sin of the entire human race; past, present and future. When the man symbolically transferred his sins onto the animal, it could then die. When Jesus bore our sins at the cross, He was ready to cry “It is finished” (John 19:30).
Not until Jesus cried “It is finished”, could He die! In that moment, He had fully made the payment for our sins, “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). When you accept Him, you are accepting the one who did what bulls and goats could never do (Hebrews 10:4), for they could only cover up sin. These animals brought God no pleasure (10:6) while He was constantly pleased with His beloved Son (Luke 3:22).
The death of Jesus on the cross satisfied the wrath of God and now you can face this day with a clean conscience (Hebrews 9:14), knowing that you need not bring an animal into Him, for He has taken care of this once and for all. There is no longer a need for bulls and goats for we have our redeemer!
Be at peace today in the knowledge that since God has thoroughly inspected Jesus, He is not thoroughly inspecting you. When He sees into your life, He sees the finished work of His Son and that satisfies God. Fear not, this won’t lead you to a life of sin and shame. You are born-again, and your heart and desires have changed accordingly. You have been made righteous because your Lamb was made to be sin.
A priest in Israel had many important duties during the course of a day while working in the tabernacle. One of the most significant tasks was the pouring of the sacrificial blood onto the brazen altar, which sat near the door of the tabernacle. The blood was a foreshadowing of the blood of Christ, which would be shed at Calvary for the removal of our sin debt. The door is Christ, the only way to get to the Father (John 10:7).
The role of the one who had sinned was quite simple, but very important as well. If you sinned, you were to take a male from among your cattle and offer it of your own free will as a sacrifice. The priest inspected it to make sure that it was spotless and without blemish and then you laid your hand on its head as a type of the transference of your sin onto the body of this animal. Only then did you kill it, for it was now a sacrificial animal, bearing your sins in its body.
Notice that the priest did not inspect the sinner, but rather the sacrifice. The man was the one who had done wrong, not the animal, yet it was the animal that went through the full inspection to see if it qualified as a sacrifice. It was not that God did not recognize sin in the man, but the whole point of the sacrificial system was that God could be appeased while His prized creation could live. God thoroughly inspected His Son’s life and found Him to be spotless (2 Corinthians 5:21) which qualified Him to bear in Himself the sin of the entire human race; past, present and future. When the man symbolically transferred his sins onto the animal, it could then die. When Jesus bore our sins at the cross, He was ready to cry “It is finished” (John 19:30).
Not until Jesus cried “It is finished”, could He die! In that moment, He had fully made the payment for our sins, “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). When you accept Him, you are accepting the one who did what bulls and goats could never do (Hebrews 10:4), for they could only cover up sin. These animals brought God no pleasure (10:6) while He was constantly pleased with His beloved Son (Luke 3:22).
The death of Jesus on the cross satisfied the wrath of God and now you can face this day with a clean conscience (Hebrews 9:14), knowing that you need not bring an animal into Him, for He has taken care of this once and for all. There is no longer a need for bulls and goats for we have our redeemer!
Be at peace today in the knowledge that since God has thoroughly inspected Jesus, He is not thoroughly inspecting you. When He sees into your life, He sees the finished work of His Son and that satisfies God. Fear not, this won’t lead you to a life of sin and shame. You are born-again, and your heart and desires have changed accordingly. You have been made righteous because your Lamb was made to be sin.
