Valuing the Atonement

As I was going about my daily work routine, it came to my attention that this year the Jewish Holy Day of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) falls on September 27, 2009. It is an observation of God’s commandment that “On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your so11uls and present an offering by fire to the Lord” (Lev. 23:26-27, NASB). It was a day set aside in for the children of Israel to make animal sacrifices to atone for the sins they had committed (Lev. 16:29-34). The Old Testament sacrifice, with a priest making a bloody animal sacrifice to cleanse a person from the sins they have committed before a holy God was one of the defining characteristics of the ancient worship of Israel.

The ancient Hebrew experienced the consequences of sin. They understood the bitterness of sin heaped upon them, having survived slavery under a cruel Pharaoh, who placed them into hard labor and sent midwives executive orders to kill all first-born males (Exod. 1-15). They also had first had experience in realizing they themselves, the Hebrew people, could also sin against the holy and righteous God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This became evident when they fell and worshipped the golden calf (Exod. 32). It became clear to them that a sacrifice was necessary for the remission of their sin. It also served as a bitter reminder that sin was costly in that a precious animal would have to be slaughtered to absolve them of their transgression and give them a right standing before God.

Sinfulness of man, however, made it impossible for the Hebrews to avoid corrupting the very system of sacrifice given to them by God Isaiah the prophet declared, “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me? Says the Lord. I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed cattle. And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs, or goats” (Isaiah 1:11, NASB).

John the Baptist’s declaration, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) anticipates what Christ would accomplish in His ministry. In fact, the crucifixion, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ revolutionize the way New Testament writers viewed the Old Testament sacrifice. They understood the sacrifices prescribed in the Mosaic Law to be types and shadows that pointed to something far greater, which was the person and work of Jesus Christ. As the writer of Hebrews puts it:

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Heb. 9:11-14).

The New Testament writers communicated that man cannot save himself from sin, but Christ gives up His own life so that the sinner can be made right before a holy and righteous God. Christ dies in place of the sinner. Christ dies to appease the wrath of God against the sinner. Christ was ultimately the final sacrifice for all time and eternity. It helps us understand that God is merciful in that He can extend grace and forgiveness to sinful people, while at the same time upholding His righteousness, since the price of sin is paid in full.