Chapter 9
THE SIN OFFERING
Before we begin our study, let us pray.
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come before You in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Father we ask that You would please bless this time for our study of Your Word. Please Father reveal to us the teaching that comes from the sin offering. Please open our ears, eyes and hearts so we can more fully comprehend the Grace and Mercy You have extended to us through Your Son Jesus Christ.
Thank You, Father for hearing our prayer.
When God gave Moses the Moral Law, that is the Ten Commandments, He also instituted a whole sacrificial system, which was part of the Ceremonial Law. Within this sacrificial system God commanded, that for specific purposes and reasons, five specific sacrifices or offerings were to be presented to Him.
Since the subject of this chapter is the sin offering we will,
1. Review the Old Testament sin offering that was to be presented to God for the forgiveness of sins.
2. Discover that the Old Testament sin offering was also a foreshadowing that pointed to the time of a New Covenant.
3. Review the reasons why Jesus was/is the fulfillment of this foreshadowing.
THE OLD TESTAMENT SIN OFFERING
In reading the various laws concerning the sin offering one finds that various types of animals were prescribed. The type of animal to be offered depended upon who committed the sin. As one reflects upon these various laws two observations come to light. The first is that no matter what animal was to be offered, the method or ceremony was basically the same.
To see this and better understand what the sin offering was all about, let us read what was to occur when an Israelite realized he committed a sin. To do this let us read from,
Leviticus 4:27-31
""'[27] If a member of the community sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord's commands, he is guilty. [28] When he is made aware of the sin he committed, he must bring as his offering for the sin he committed a female goat without defect. [29] He is to lay his hand on the head of the sin offering and slaughter it at the place of the burnt offering. [30] Then the priest is to take some of the blood with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and pour out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar. [31] He shall remove all the fat, just as the fat is removed from the fellowship offering, and the priest shall burn it on the altar as an aroma pleasing to the LORD. In this way the priest will make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven."
Let us notice the following verses,
27-28 … These actions were to be taken whenever he was found guilty or recognized that he sinned. Stop and consider for a moment about how often this could be, the cost and the difficulty involved. Not only did the individual have to go to his flock and select a perfect female goat but also had to journey on foot to where ever the Temple was.
29(a) … He was to lay his hand on the head of the animal, which is to symbolically transfer his sin to the animal. This act was the person’s acknowledgement and/or confession of the sin he had committed. As we will discover at the end of this study, this activity was also a foreshadowing to point to the necessity for us, when we discover an unintentional sin, to confess and/or bring it to our sin offering, Jesus Christ.
29(b) … The person who sinned was to slaughter the animal. Thus, he knew exactly why the animal was to die…namely for the sin he committed.
30 … It was the priest who took the blood from the animal and presented it to God. He did this by placing some of the blood on the Bronze Altar and then poured out the rest of the blood at the bottom or base of the altar.
31(a) … The fat of the animal, which was considered the best part, was also to be offered to God. This was accomplished by burning it on the altar.
31(b) … Once the sacrifice was completed atonement was made.
The rest of the animal, which is the hide, flesh, and offal were to be given to the priest for his food and use. However, if, by the high priest, the blood was brought into the Most Holy place then the following command applied.
Leviticus 16:27
"[27] The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp; their hides, flesh and offal are to be burned up."
This now leaves us with the following questions of: "Why was the blood to be offered to God? What was/is so special about the blood?"
As we read the Scripture what we find is that,
THE LIFE OF THE CREATURE IS IN ITS BLOOD
To see this, let us read what God has to say about the blood in,
Leviticus 17:11
"[11] For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life."
And again in,
Leviticus 17:14
"[14] because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, "You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off.""
In other words, the life of every creature is in the blood. Consequently, the value of the life is represented by the blood. Thus, by offering the blood of the animal one was really offering its life as a substitute for their own life.
This brings us to the second observation about the laws of the sin offering. Namely, the value of the animal to be offered was correlated to the position of the individual who committed the sin. For example; if the sin was committed by an anointed priest, who was the representative of the people before God, the offering was to be a young bull without defect. To see this let us read from,
Leviticus 4:3
[3] if the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, then let him offer to the Lord for his sin which he has sinned a young bull without blemish as a sin offering.
However, if the sin was committed by a leader of the community, his offering was to be a male goat without defect. To see this let us read from,
Leviticus 4:22-23
[22] ‘When a ruler has sinned, and done something unintentionally against any of the commandments of the Lord his God in anything which should not be done, and is guilty, [23] or if his sin which he has committed comes to his knowledge, he shall bring as his offering a kid of the goats, a male without blemish.
And as we saw above, if a person who is not in a position of authority committed the sin, then the offering was to be a female goat without defect.
Old Testament Summary
Given the above Old Testament survey one needs to ask, “What is it all about? What was God teaching the people then and us now with all these sacrifices?” Basically, there are at least two truths being revealed to us.
The first truth is that the penalty for sin is death. In addition to all the above illustrations, we also find this truth very clearly stated in,
Romans 6:23(a)
"[23] For the wages of sin is death, ..."
The second truth is that atonement or reconciliation for us with God can only be accomplished through a substitute death. Perhaps another way to see this is to note that we can not make atonement for ourselves, it must be accomplished through the life of another. To see this let us prayerfully reread,
Leviticus 17:11
"[11] For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life."
With the above truths in mind, we now come to the second portion of our study, which is
THE FORESHADOWING
Specifically, the Old Testament sin offering was also a foreshadowing to teach us about New Covenant. In other words it was pointing to the arrival of Jesus Christ. To see this let us read what the Holy Spirit said in,
Hebrews 10:1-10
"[1] The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. [2] If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. [3] But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, [4] because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. [5] Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; [6] with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. [7] Then I said, 'Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll-- I have come to do your will, O God.'" [8] First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). [9] Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. [10] And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."
Let us reflect upon the following verses,
1(a) … These Old Testament sacrifices were only shadows of what was coming. In other words they were instituted to teach us about what was to come. They were not the reality in themselves.
1(b) … These animal sacrifices could never make a person perfect.
2 … Note that if these sacrifices were able to make one perfect then they would not have to be constantly performed. In other words, if an animal sacrifice could make the person offering it perfect; then, once a sacrifice was performed there would be no need to do it again.
3-4 … It is impossible for the blood of animals to take away sins. Therefore, these sacrifices were a constant reminder of their sins.
5-7 … We are now reading what our Lord Jesus Christ is said to God the Father. Namely, You Father have given Me, Jesus, a body to be offered unto You, the Father
9 … Jesus came to set aside the first covenant, which was the Law, and bring in the New Covenant, which is God’s Grace, Truth and Mercy. To see this let us read from,
John 1:17
[17] For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Let us return to Chapter 10 of Hebrews and notice the following verse,
10(a) … We have been made holy, that is sanctified or set apart, through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ! Just stop for a moment or two and reflect upon what we have just read. Namely, we have been made holy and set apart for Him!!!!
10(b) … Once and for all! In other words, there is no longer a reason for any other sacrifice. Jesus did it all. Thus,
JESUS CHRIST WAS/IS THE FULILLMENT OF ALL WHAT THE SIN OFFERING WAS POINTING TO
To discover that Jesus Christ was and is the fulfillment, of all what the Old Testament sin offering was pointing to, we will find that:
1. As the Old Testament sin offering was to be without defect so was Jesus. In other words, Jesus was a man who was without sin.
2. As the sins of the people were symbolically placed upon the sin offering, our sins were actually placed upon Jesus.
3. Since Jesus Christ is the Son of God, His Blood provides the perfect atonement for you and me.
4. As the Old Testament priest offered the blood of the sin offering to God, Jesus Christ, on our behalf, entered into Heaven Itself by offering His own Blood.
With the above in mind let us begin by noting that
Jesus Christ became a man without sin
To see this we begin with His virgin birth. The Bible teaches us that the Messiah would be born of a woman and the Messiah will be a man. We read this prophecy in Isaiah 49:4. However, we also find that it will be a miraculous birth, for the woman was to be a virgin. This was foretold, in approximately 734BC, through the prophet Isaiah in,
Isaiah 7:14
"[14] Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."
Each year at Christmas when we celebrate the time when Jesus Christ was born into this world, we celebrate the fulfillment of this prophecy. To remind ourselves of this, let us read about His birth from,
Matthew 1:18-25
"[18] This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. [19] Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. [20] But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. [21] She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." [22] All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: [23] "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" --which means, "God with us." [24] When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. [25] But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus."
Let us notice the following verses,
18 … Mary was with child before she and Joseph came together, that is consummated their marriage.
20 … An angel told Joseph that what is conceived in Mary is from God the Holy Spirit.
21 … Note that Jesus’ purpose was/is to save His people from their sins.
22-23 … The birth of Jesus Christ fulfilled the above prophecy recorded in Isaiah 7:14. Also notice in this instance, Jesus’ name, Immanuel, means God with us. Thus, Jesus was the fulfillment of God’s prophecy given through His prophet Ezekiel to come and be our shepherd, see Ezekiel 34:11-16.
25 … Joseph and Mary had no union till after she gave birth to Jesus. Consequently, there can be no legitimate argument that Jesus’ birth was not a miraculous conception by God the Holy Spirit.
In addition to being miraculous, the significance of the virgin birth is that Jesus did not inherit the sin nature of Adam. In other words, His birth came outside of the natural course of things. More specifically, the Bible teaches us that Jesus was begotten of God not man! Thus, He was born sinless.
Secondly, being sinless, as we read earlier, He came to take away sin. To amplify upon this let us consider the following passage from,
1 John 3:5
"[5] But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin."
In addition, we find that as a man Jesus Christ faced all the temptations we do. However, He faced them without sinning. This is clearly stated for us in,
Hebrews 4:15
"[15] 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."
As seen above, the Bible teaches us that Jesus Christ is now our High Priest. Consequently, He has the authority to offer the blood of the sin offering to God the Father on our behalf.
In our study of the Day of Atonement we saw that when the Old Testament High priest was to go into the Most Holy Place to atone or make amends for the nation of Israel he wore two onyx stones on his shoulders and a breastplate on his chest. To illustrate that he was representing the nation of Israel, on the onyx stones and the stones on the breastplate were engraved the names of each tribe Israel.
As we read the New Testament we find that when Jesus Christ went to the cross to offer Himself to God the Father as a sin offering for our sins,
He as our representative and sin offering He took our sins upon Himself
To see this, let us read from,
1 Peter 2:21-24
"[21] To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. [22] "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." [23] When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. [24] 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."
Let us notice the following verses,
21 … Jesus Christ suffered for you and me.
22 … He committed no sin.
24(a) … He bore our sins in His own body.
24(b) … Because in Jesus Christ we have been forgiven and have been delivered from the dominion of sin (Romans 6:14), we are healed. Yes, we are healed from the disease of sin.
Later in this study we will find that to atone for our sins, Jesus, by His own Blood, entered into the Heavenly Temple. However, as the Old Testament sin offering had to be consumed outside the camp, so it had to be with our sin offering, Jesus Christ. This is recorded in,
Hebrews 13:11-12
"[11] The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. [12] And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood."
This now brings us to the fact that,
Jesus' Blood provided the perfect atonement for you and me
To see how through the offering of His earthly life our Lord Jesus Christ provided for us the perfect atonement, the perfect reconciliation, let us first examine the lineage of our Lord Jesus Christ. To do this let us refresh our memories concerning how He physically entered into this world. To do this, let us recall and reread about His miraculous birth. However, this time let us read from,
Luke 1:26-35
"In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, [27] to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. [28] The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." [29] Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. [30] But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. [31] You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. [32] He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, [33] and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." [34] "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" [35] The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God."
Since Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that is God come in human flesh and since we previously learned that the value of the life is in it’s blood, “What do you think the Blood of Jesus is worth? What is it’s value?” Right, it’s value is God Himself!
Earlier we read that the value of the animal to be sacrificed was correlated to the position or value of the person in the Israelite community. Given this and what we just read about Jesus, can you now begin to understand how much value God places on you and how much He loves you to do what He did?
Let us not stop our study here, but let us move on and move back into time and read about that epoch event when Jesus Christ shed His Blood for the forgiveness of our sins. Before we do we must remember that no one took Jesus’ earthly life from Him. He freely gave it up for our sake. To see this, let us prayerfully consider what Jesus told His disciples in,
John 10:11-18
""[11] I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. [12] The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. [13] The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. [14] "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-- [15] just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep. [16] I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. [17] The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life--only to take it up again. [18] No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.""
Let us notice the following verses,
11 … Jesus who is the good shepherd gave up His own physical life for the sheep.
18 … No one took His life from Him, but He laid it down of His own accord.
So as to further grasp the reality of this fact, let us now consider what He told His disciples in the garden of Gethsemane. This conversation takes place when Jesus’ disciples tried to stop the multitude from arresting Him.
Matthew 26:52-54
""[52] Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. [53] Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? [54] But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?""
Let us notice the following verses,
53 … Jesus could have called it off at any time.
54 … If He did call it off; the Scriptures would not be fulfilled.
With all this background, let us now proceed and read about the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on our behalf,
John 19:17-35
"[17] Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). [18] Here they crucified him, and with him two others--one on each side and Jesus in the middle. [19] Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. [20] Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. [21] The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews." [22] Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."
Let us now continue our reading from,
John 19:18-35
[28] Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." [29] A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. [30] When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. [31] Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. [32] The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. [33] But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. [34] Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. [35] The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe."
Let us notice the following verses,
30a … Jesus said: “It is finished.” In other words, His mission upon this earth was completed and atonement was made.
30b … Jesus gave up His spirit.
34 … The Old Testament reveals to us that after the sin sacrifices were slaughtered, their blood had to be sprinkled around and upon the altar. Thus, for this to occur for our sin offering Jesus’ side was pierced with a spear and His blood flowed out.
In reading the New Testament further we discover that it was with this blood, the blood of Jesus Christ that,
Jesus entered into Heaven itself on our behalf
To see this let us read from,
Hebrews 9:11-12
"[11] When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. [12] He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption."
Let us notice the following verses,
11 … Jesus did not go into the tabernacle built by man. Jesus entered into the Tabernacle in Heaven.
12 … It was not with the blood of goats and bulls but with His own Blood that Jesus obtained eternal redemption, that is the forgiveness of sin and freedom of its power, for you and I. In other words, through faith in Jesus Christ and what He did we are saved from our sins, filled with the Holy Spirit and have received eternal life with Him.
The truth of all this is made certain by,
The resurrection of Jesus Christ
To see this let us remember what Jesus said to those who asked Him to give a sign so that they could believe that He was in fact the Son of God. To refresh our memories of what He said let us read from,
Matthew 12:39-40
"[39] He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. [40] For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
Let us notice the following verses,
39 … The sign that Jesus will give to prove that He is the Son of God and is able to save you and I from our sins will be the sign of Jonah.
40 … In other words, as Jonah was three days and nights in the belly of the great fish and came forth alive, He (Jesus) will spend three days and nights in the depths of the earth and come forth alive.
With the above in mind let us now read about the fulfillment of Jesus' promise. To read about His resurrection from the dead and the tomb, we go to,
Matthew 28:1-8
"[1] After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. [2] There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. [3] His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. [4] The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. [5] The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. [6] He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. [7] Then go quickly and tell his disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you." [8] So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples."
Now that we see that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all that the Old Testament sin offering was pointing to, one might ask: "What shall I do?" (Or) "What must I do to be forgiven and saved from my sins?" The answer to these questions is found in,
1 John 5-9
[5] This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. [6] If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. [7] But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. [8] If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
CLOSING
Let us now close our study by prayerfully reading,
Psalm 32:1-11
"[1] Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. [2] Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. [3] When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. [4] For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah [5] Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah [6] Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you while you may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. [7] You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah [8] I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. [9] Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. [10] Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him. [11] Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!"
Blessed be the Lord forever!
AMEN and AMEN