Bible Study Seattle

“Each day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement, and you shall purify the altar when you make atonement for it, and you shall anoint it to consecrate it.”  Exodus 29:36

“He shall also bring his guilt offering to the Lord for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat as a sin offering.”  Leviticus 5:6

“But if he cannot afford a lamb, then he shall bring to the Lord his guilt offering for that in which he has sinned, two turtledoves or two young pigeons, one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering.”  Leviticus 5:7

Here we see that bulls, goats, lambs, turtledoves and pigeons were used for various sin offerings.

“For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh.”  Romans 8:3

Paul is saying Jesus was a sin offering.  “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?  But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.  For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.  Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says,

After saying above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the Law), then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second.  By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”  Hebrews 10:1-10

Some assume that Paul is saying that the whole sacrificial system has been satisfied in Jesus’ sacrifice.  Yes and no.  Notice, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions.”  Colossians 1:24

The church needed to sacrifice to fill up what was lacking in Christ’s afflictions.  In other words, Jesus satisfied some sacrifices, but it is up to us to complete the lesser sacrifices.  This is why Christians are urged to offer their bodies a living sacrifice.  This whole issue of Jesus eliminating the sacrificial system is used by some to trash Christianity.  They notice,

“It shall be the prince’s part to provide the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the drink offerings, at the feasts, on the new moons and on the sabbaths, at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel; he shall provide the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering and the peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel.”  Ezekiel 45:17

Why would a future sin offering be needed if Jesus was the ultimate sin offering?  Ah yes, the devil is in the details.  Perhaps the Jews have been resurrected and are performing these sacrifices in a rebuilt temple with David as their prince.  Later on, after the man of sin desecrates the temple, Jesus comes down from heaven, stands on the Mount of Olives, and fights for Israel.