Jesus, Our Sacrifice

“That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer. You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin. Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God— as is written about me in the Scriptures.’” First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy. And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says, “This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he says, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.” And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10:5-18‬ ‭NLT‬‬
Jesus is the Supreme sacrifice!!!
The Old Covenant could not pay the sin debt. The sin of man could only be mercifully pushed away as the Israelites obeyed the ritual God had instructed. Mankind needed a sacrifice that would atone for sin once and for all. The Old Covenant could only allow man to come before God to be forgiven on a yearly basis. The time of year was called Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement. On that day the human high priest (Aaron, Moses older brother who was the first in the Levitical line) would enter the holy of holies to place the blood of an animal on the mercy seat (the lid on the Ark of the Covenant). The Ark of the Covenant (also referred to as the Ark of Testimony) was the place where God met man in His mercy. In fact, the lid was called the Mercy Seat. Two Cherubim (two winged beings) faced each other and spread their wings toward one another. The place between them was called the Mercy Seat. There, God met man with His mercy to forgive their transgressions for the year (see Exodus 25:10-22). Each year, the same process had to occur (see Leviticus 16 - whole chapter and Leviticus 23:26-32). Aaron would offer a bull for his own sin and a goat for the people's sin. The sin could only be pushed away but not washed away and forever forgotten. Two goats were taken from among the Israelites as part of the ritual. One goat was the sin offering, the other was a scapegoat. The scapegoat would be symbolic of the sins that would be carried away into the wilderness. Aaron would lay both hands upon the head of the scapegoat and symbolically impart the sins of the people upon it. The goat would then be taken by an appointed individual and released into the wilderness. Jesus did all of this for us. He was sinless and did not need a sin offering for Himself. He is our Eternal High Priest!!! He offered Himself as the sinless sacrifice for the sins of all mankind. Only the blood of a sinless Lamb could cleanse the sin and suffice once and for all time. That blood was the blood of Jesus!!! He is the forever Mercy Seat!!! He is our forever scapegoat!!! He has forever expunged the record!
“Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭7:27‬ ‭NLT‬‬
“With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭9:12‬ ‭NLT‬‬
“If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭9:26‬ ‭NLT‬‬
“so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭9:28‬ ‭NLT‬‬
“The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10:1-4‬ ‭NLT‬‬
Now re-read the beginning text of this devotional (Hebrews 10:5-18).
In Him we find grace and mercy!
“So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4:14-16‬ ‭NLT‬‬
Is anyone shouting yet?? Hallelujah!!!!!!!

Curtis R. Norris