TEXT: Jesus Our perfect Sacrifice and High Priest
Text: Leviticus 1:1-8; 8-9, 21
THEME: communion
P.S. The sacrificial system, was given to point man to the way to God is through Blood of a perfect substitute. This substitute is Jesus.
Introduction:
There are all kinds of warnings in life.
Most products we purchase have labels warning about improper use. I found a great list of these kinds of warnings. Believe it or not, these are all real.
- a label on a snow sled which says: "Beware: sled may develop high speed under certain snow conditions."
- a fishing lure, with a warning that reads: harmful if swallowed.
- A warning on an electric router made for carpenters cautions: ““This product not intended for use as a dental drill.””
- A warning label found on a baby stroller cautions the user to ““Remove child before folding””
- A container of underarm deodorant says, ““Caution: Do not spray in eyes””
- A cartridge for a laser printer warns, ““Do not eat toner””
- A cardboard car sun shield that keeps sun off the dashboard warns, ““Do not drive with sun shield in place””
We can laugh about these, and think, who would be foolish enough to need such warnings?
Yet this is the exact attitude many people have towards the Bible, and especially the Old Testament. And can you blame them?
The title OT, suggests something antiquated and out of date.
Some suggest that the OT is irrelevant since Jesus fulfilled all the requirements of the law.
And what about all that blood and sacrifice. Surely, God does not intend for us to revert to that form of ritual?
But I would suggest to you that the OT is more than an ancient book of history. It has relevance beyond quaint SS stories for kids.
The Old Testament is powerful and effective. As Paul wrote to timothy, All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
The Word Paul was referring too, was the Law of Moses or what we today call the OT>
So what does the book of Leviticus have to tell us. It is a book of sacrifice and blood.
P.S. The sacrificial system, was given to point man to the way to God is through Blood of a perfect substitute. This substitute is Jesus.
Well, to begin, it is part of the Pentateuch, or the first five books of the Law, along with Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy and Numbers.
It was written by Moses, during the period that the nation of Israel was in the wilderness.
This book derives its name from the tribe of Levi. The Levites were the priests, who were responsible for the administration of the tabernacle and the ministration of the sacrifices.
The key thought of Leviticus is Holiness. Crucial to the understanding of the Book of Leviticus is that holiness is not some abstract theological concept, but an actual foundation for the power of God’s presence at work in the life of an individual or nation. The word “holy” appears more than eighty times in the book.
The call of God in the Book of Leviticus is for the people of God to be holy and pure before God. (Hayford)
It is divided into two main sections. In chapters 1-10, we find the Way to the Holy One. In chapters 11-27, we find the Way of Holiness. In the first part we find a God who says, ¡¡§§I am holy¡¡ ̈. In the second half, we find a God who says, ¡¡§§therefore, you shall be holy¡¡ ̈.
But what is the way to the Holy One. We find the first answer to the question in chapters 1-7. We find in chapters 1-7 that the Way to the Holy One is through sacrifice. The second answer to the question is found in chapters 8-10. The Way to the Holy One is through the Priesthood.
Running concurrent throughout this book you will find Jesus,
1. The Way t o the Holy One is through SACRIFICE: (1-10, specifically 1:1-9)
Leviticus 1:1-9
““He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him””
(Leviticus 1:4).
Why all the blood in the O.T. system of worship? (NIV Study Bible) It is understood that the O.T. sacrifices were specifically prescribed by God and received their meaning from the Lords covenant relationship with Israel. Each offering is a gift expressing love between the worshiper and Jehovah.
As well as being considered a ‘gift’, each offering was an act of dedication, communion, atonement and restitution.
Two things are in view with the sacrifices, Atonement (Being reconciled to God) and substitution (the worshiper gave the best he had in place of his sin and families sin)
But what do the sacrifices mean to me?
1.The sacrificial system was pointing to God’’s plan to save his people: The people of the Old Testament lived because another living thing died in their place. Wee see this throughout the Old Testament.
The most dramatic story in the Old Testament is the story of Abraham. Abraham has been told by God to offer up his son Isaac as a sacrifice. But just as he is about to take the life of his son, God shouts for him to stop, and Abraham sees a ram caught in a thicket. Abraham called the place ““The Lord Will Provide,”” because God provided a substitute to die in the place of his son.
This was God’’s plan from the beginning.
2.The sacrificial system was pointing to the seriousness of our sin. To many in our culture this all seems so unnecessary. We don’’t understand the seriousness of sin and we expect God to excuse it.
The Bible helps us to understand that people are not so much sick as they are sinful. They do these things not because they have an psychological illness, but because they are evil. Their actions are the result of sin which lives in their hearts. The Bible says, ““If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us”” (1 John 1:8). Our problem is not that we have been damaged psychologically, our problem is that we have lived our lives away from God and sinned against him.
Isaiah the prophet wrote: But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear”” (Isaiah 59:2). Sin is serious because it separates us from God both now and in eternity. Sin ruins our relationship with God and destroys our lives. No amount of excuses will make it go away.
3.The sacrificial system was pointing to God’’s desire to forgive. God has made a way out for us. His moral laws never change, and their consequences cannot be ignored. But he has provided a way that we might be forgiven. The whole point of the sacrificial system was that God wants to forgive us and has made it possible for us to live. The Bible says, ““Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him”” (Romans 4:7-8). When Moses asked the Lord to show himself to him, the Lord and passed by him saying, ““The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin”” (Exodus 34:6-7). When we confess our sins, we confess them to a God who cares for us and is more than willing to forgive.
4. The sacrificial system was pointing to God’’s perfect sacrifice. As we read in the Scripture today, the person presenting the sacrifice would confess their sins and place their hands on the head of the animal which would die in their place. Their sins would be transferred to their substitute. Then they would watch as the animal’’s life was taken. The seriousness of their sin was shown to them vividly. The lamb would then be placed on the altar and offered to God as a sacrifice. Life for life. The blood of the animal for their blood. The blood of the animal, far from being gory, was sacred because the life of the animal was in the blood. The life in that blood was passed to the one whose sins were being atoned for. The animal was then taken off the altar, and the one who had offered the sacrifice would take the roasted lamb home and eat it, along with his family, as a sacrificial meal.
But there was a problem. Because people kept on sinning, there was no end to the sacrificing of these animals. It was not a perfect system. What could be done? God knew there was only one thing that could be done, and he had planned it from the beginning. There needed to be one sacrifice for all people and all time. This perfect sacrifice is hinted at as the New Testament opens and we hear John the Baptist saying, as he points to Jesus, ““Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”” (John 1:29). The Bible teaches that Jesus was not just another good man or moral teacher. He was not just a prophet or religious leader. Jesus Christ was God who came in the flesh as one of us. As the perfect man he came to undo the sin of Adam. He died to identify with the sins of the entire human race. As God he came to take our place and atone for our sin. The entire sacrificial system was temporary and pointed to the future. It was meant to give Israel a living picture of what it would mean for the Messiah, the Savior, to come and die in their place. Isaiah had prophesied about him: ““Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all”” (Isaiah 53:4-6).
The apostle Peter would write: ““He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed”” (1 Peter 2:24). At the Last Supper, Jesus said to his disciples: ““This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins”” (Matthew 26:28).
Illustration: "Planting flowers on a recent grave in a little cemetery in the far West, a young man seemed overcome with emotion. A stranger passing, thought to comfort him by speaking a kind word, and as he drew near he observed a small cross at the top of the grave on which the words, "He died for me" were inscribed. The story briefly told was, that during the Veit Nam war, this young man, who was an only son was called to the front. His parents were well-nigh frantic with grief. A cousin, who was an orphan, volunteered to take his place, and in the first battle was slain. That young man lived because his substitute died, and he loved to own and confess it". (John Ritchie. 500 Gospel Sermon Illustrations. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1987, pp. 15-16).
Jesus Christ was the perfect lamb of God who died in our place that we might live. He was our substitute, the perfect sacrifice. He said, ““I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”” (John 10:10). As with Abraham and Isaac, God has provided Christ as our substitute who suffered and died in our place.
II. The Way to the Holy One is through the Priest (8-10):
Only the priests in Israel were qualified to make the sacrifices required from those who approached God.
Priesthood. Only men from Aaron’’s family were permitted to serve as priests. Their function was to present sacrifices to God, to seek God’’s guidance for the nation or individuals, to instruct the people in God’’s Law, to serve as judges in certain cases, and to serve as guardians of the covenant and of Israel’’s sanctuary and sacred treasures.
The priests thus were mediators between God and the nation Israel. They represented the people to God by offering sacrifices and incense, by leading worship, and by praying for divine guidance. They also represented God to the people, for the priests instructed Israel in God’’s Law, were channels through which God communicated His will, and served as living reminders that God forgives sinning people.
The high priest. The Old Testament high priest had one duty that set him apart from other members of the priesthood. He and he alone entered the holy of holies on the annual Day of Atonement, carrying sacrificial blood which God promised would cover all the sins of His people (cf. Lev. 16).
The New Testament presents Jesus as the true High Priest, who entered heaven itself with His own blood. As our High Priest, Jesus made the one sacrifice of Himself which won all who believe an eternal salvation (Heb. 10:10––14).
The Bible tells us that Jesus has fully completed the requirements to be our high Priest.
A. He was human and Divine: Hebrews 2:17For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, in order that He might become a faithful High Priest.
B. He is sympathetic: Hebrews 4:14,15- Therefore, since we have a great High Priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith that we profess. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin.
C. He was Divinely Appointed: Heb.5:5- So Christ also did not take upon Himself the glory of becoming a High Priest. But God said to Him, You are my Son; Today I have become your Father.
D. Sinless: Heb.7:26 Such a high Priest meets our need...one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart, from sinners, exalted above the heavens.
E. Eternal: Hebrews 6:20 Where Jesus went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a High Priest forever...
F. Exalted: Hebrews 8:1 The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a High Priest who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty on high.
Christ is the perfect sinless sacrifice, the Lamb slain from the foundations of the world, and He is our perfect high Priest who stand before the Throne of God ever making intercession on our behalf,
If you’’ve ever seen the movie ““Schindlers List,”” you might remember a clandestine wedding that takes place one night in the barracks. The marriage is between 24-year old Joseph Bau, prisoner number 69082, and Rebecca Tannenbaum, the manicurist of Amon Goeth, the ruthless Nazi who ruled over the camp in which they were held, Plaschow Prison Camp.
Later, the Nazis decided to close Plaschow, and move everyone to Auschwitz. Oscar Schindler had gotten permission to open a munitions plant in Czechoslovakia, and was determined to take his workers with him. Late in the game, because of a favor owed her by some prominent local Jews, Rebecca got to add a single name to the list of people who would be going to the munitions plant. She got to save someone——and she chose Joseph.
What is even more amazing about this story is that they both survived the war, were reunited, and lived to be married 54 years largely in part because Rebecca was willing to sacrifice herself, so her husband might live.
Jesus did the same thing——he sacrificed Himself to add a name to the list of those who will inherit eternal life. Put the beauty of Jesus’’ story is that he adds more than one name to that list. He adds the name of whoever would believe on Him.
That is what we remember at communion, Jesus dying on the cross, so our names could be written in the book of life. John 20:31 says ““……you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.
If you are not excited about this prospect, the only reason might be that you are not in a right relationship with the Father. O, you may be doing all the noble things a Christian should be doing. But Do you really know Him as your personal Lord and Saviour? Can you say with confidence that God is your Heavenly Father? Can you say that your sins are forgiven and your name is written in Heaven in Gods book of life,
If you are unsure, but desire to have the confidence of knowing Jesus as your personal Saviour and God as your Father and your sins forgiven, I invite you to pray this prayer...
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and need your forgiveness. I believe that you died for my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I now invite you into my heart and life. I want to trust you as Savior and follow you as Lord,
Resources:
The NIV Study Bible
Vines NKJV Study Bible
The Nelson Electronic Bible reference Library
Sermon by Rodney Buchanan, Sermon Central
