The Sacrifice of Jesus

“And almost all things are by the law purged with blood, and without shedding of blood is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:22)

This is the penalty for sin, death. In the Old Testament a person’s sins could be covered by the blood of a dead animal. The animal taking the place of the sinner. For the cleansing of a leper, it would take two birds. “He shall take the living bird, and the cedar wood and the scarlet and the hyssop and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the slain bird, over the running water. And he shall sprinkle on him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field.” (Leviticus 14:6-7) Then on the eighth day another cleansing takes place involving two lambs. “And on the eighth day he shall take two male lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three-tenth parts of fine flour for a food offering, mixed with oil, and one log of oil. And the priest who is cleansing, and the man who is to be cleansed, shall stand with them before Jehovah at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And the priest shall take one male lamb and offer him for a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before Jehovah. And he shall kill the lamb in the place where he shall kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the holy place. For as the sin offering is the priest's, so is the trespass offering. It is most holy. And the priest shall take of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it on the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.” (Leviticus 14:10-14) If a priest sins, then a bull is sacrificed. (Leviticus 4:3-12) A bull is also sacrificed for sin of the whole congregation. (Leviticus 4:13-21) A Goat or female lamb are sacrificed if a ruler sins. (Leviticus 4:22-35) And once a year, the high priest, beginning with Aaron, would make the sacrifice for atonement. “And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offerings of atonement. He shall make atonement on it once in the year throughout your generations. It is most holy to Jehovah.” (Exodus 30:10)

The sacrifices of the Old Testament had to be made each time one sinned. “And indeed every priest stands daily ministering and offering often the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:11) With the sacrifice of Jesus there is no more need for the sacrifice of animals. “For the Law which has a shadow of good things to come, not the very image of the things, appearing year by year with the same sacrifices, which they offer continually, they are never able to perfect those drawing near. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? Because the worshipers, when they had been once for all purged, would have had no more conscience of sin. But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:1-4)

 All these sacrifices signified that sin is death and that only the blood could purge one of sin. This was a foreshadowing of the Redeemer Who would come and take away sin forever. Jesus took the penalty of sin of the whole earth once. He shed His blood so that we could be forgiven. But the sacrifice of Jesus was made only once and that was sufficient for all sin, past, present and future. No other sacrifice is needed as in the Old Testament sacrifices. The one sacrifice of Jesus is sufficient forever. “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right of God,” (Hebrews 10:12).

It's a complete deliverance of the soul (mind, will, emotions). “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has regenerated us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and unfading, reserved in Heaven for you by the power of God, having been kept through faith to a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time; in which you greatly rejoice, yet a little while, if need be, grieving in manifold temptations; so that the trial of your faith (being much more precious than that of gold that perishes, but being proven through fire) might be found to praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, you love; in whom not yet seeing, but believing in Him you exult with unspeakable joy, and having been glorified, obtaining the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1Peter 1:3-9)

How does this work? A simplistic way of explaining it is that when we are born again, we are born of God receiving a new spirit that is in union with and has the nature of God. The old human spirit, that had the nature of the devil died at the cross. “For if we have been joined together in the likeness of His death, we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection; knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be destroyed, that from now on we should not serve sin.” (Romans 6:5-6) The soul (mind, will, emotions) is influenced and transformed by the Word of God with the help of the Holy Spirit to obey God. “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, in order to prove by you what is that good and pleasing and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2) And by the process of sanctification we are changed after each victory over sin of the flesh (which wasn’t redeemed) into the image of Christ. “But we all, with our face having been unveiled, having beheld the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are being changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Lord Spirit.” (2Corinthians 3:18)

So briefly, the old sacrifices of animals were done away by the sacrifice of Christ. It was a better sacrifice that was only made once for eternity removing the sin of the world, past, present and future of all mankind. It was sufficient so that those who believe in Jesus and receive God’s merciful gift of forgiveness are saved by the blood of the Lamb.