Essentials #11. The Blood of Jesus

Essentials #11. December 4, 2006.

[Note: Essentials #10 was on Jesus as the bread of life. I was recovering from surgery and did not attend church that week. Therefore, I have no notes.]

I am posting my notes on Pastor Mike’s teaching from Sunday, December 4th. These are MY notes. Not a transcript. Not his notes. Any misquotes, mistakes, or mystifications are my fault (or something like that). All verses are from NASB 1995 unless noted.

Essentials #11: Atonement

Atonement is a word that is rarely used in English outside of the Church.

There are numerous passages in Leviticus chapters 4&5 that refer to atonement and atoning.

Leviticus 4:20. ‘He shall also do with the bull just as he did with the bull of the sin offering; thus he shall do with it. So the priest shall make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven.’

Leviticus 4:26. ‘All its fat he shall offer up in smoke on the altar as in the case of the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him in regard to his sin, and he will be forgiven.’

Leviticus 4:31. ‘Then he shall remove all its fat, just as the fat was removed from the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar for a soothing aroma to the Lord. Thus the priest shall make atonement for him, and he will be forgiven.’

There were a variety of people, circumstances, sins and offering for sins mentioned in these passage. There are some common threads. A person comes with a sin and a sin offering. The priest kills and carves up the animal. The priest makes atonement. The person (or people) are forgiven. A life was given for every sin.

See also Leviticus 5:6,10,13, 16, 18; Leviticus 13 and Leviticus 16.

Leviticus 16 is about the atonement of the high priest and of his household. There is a bull sacrificed for the high priest. A goat is sacrificed for the people of Israel (and a “scapegoat” that is released live, to carry away the sins of the people of Israel). Some of the blood of the sacrifices is poured out onto the ground. Some of it is sprinkled on the altar. Some of it is taken into the holy of holies where it is sprinkled on the mercy seat, above the ark of the covenant.

Why is this important?
1) The nation of Israel understood the idea of the need for sacrifice for sins. They had a vivid picture of this. Sin, and atonement for it, was costly. Every sin required an animal from their own flock (or to purchase one). It cost something.

2) Blood was important. “The life was in its blood” and it had to be sprinkled on the mercy seat.

Hebrews 9 is a “Leviticus” type chapter in the New Testament.

Why is the blood of Christ important? God has established the requirements for atonement for sin: sacrifice and blood.

Hebrews 9:5-9
5 and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; but of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
6 Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle performing the divine worship,
7 but into the second, only the high priest enters once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance.
8 The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing,
9 which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience...

There is a division between God and His people that is symbolized by the veil, by the division into an outer and an inner tabernacle. The tabernacle was a symbol on earth that God dwells in a holy place in heaven. He made it clear to them that there was a division.

Jesus came from the real tabernacle, in heaven, the real Holy of Holies, from the perfect, to us.

He did not come down to offer goats or bulls, but came to offer the perfect sacrifice, His own blood. His blood was uniquely His own to offer. The cross was His altar, His place of sacrifice. He poured out all of His blood onto the earth. None of it went into the Holy of Holies, to the mercy seat. In doing this, He satisfied all of the requirements of the law.

When all of His blood was poured out, then the veil was torn, the division was ended, and there was no longer a holy of holies on the earth.

What was the purpose of sacrifice? To appease an angry God? No, to get through to me. I am the one with the problem. If God wanted to deal with fallen mankind in anger, He could have wiped us out in the Garden and started over again. He needed to dramatize to me that sin kills.

We should be excited to the point of jumping up and down on our beds when we get up in the morning. We are forgiven!

Hebrews 10:19-25
19 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus,
20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh,
21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God,
22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,
25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

We can have confidence to enter the holy place. New! Living!

We can have joy every day. We can go through the veil, into the holy of holies. I do not need to worry about or try to fix the problem between me and God. I do not have to try to appease Him; I do not need to live in bondage.

We can live free, forgiving, and humble.

When I am not trying to get someone to forgive me, it makes it a lot easier to love, encourage and strengthen (Hebrews 10:24,25).

The blood of Jesus is not a stop gap measure, it is complete.

When we sin, we feel guilt and condemnation and shame. But this passage tells me that I am washed and cleansed because I am forgiven.

Rejoice in the blood that cleanses.

Benediction:

Hebrews 13:20-21
20 Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord,
21 equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

This is for you, for your family, for your neighbors and for the world.