In Matthew 1:21 Joseph is instructed by the angel of the Lord to give Mary’s baby the name Jesus because He shall save his people from their sins. In just this one statement, we are given the central purpose for the birth of Jesus Christ. In Luke 1:32-33, we have these additional words about Jesus given by the Angel Gabriel to Mary: “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, and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever; his kingdom will never end.” But before Jesus would be acknowledged as Lord of Israel as well as the rest of the universe(see Phil. 2:9-11), he had a mission to accomplish which would change both the nature and destiny of all mankind. All of us were under a curse brought upon the human race by the sin of Adam and Eve. We all have inherited the sinful nature of our original parents (see Romans 5:12-21) Because of this tragic Fall, the Lord made provision for sin and rebellion but in a way that anticipated the coming of his Son. Sin was surely addressed in a system of repeated animal sacrifice but only until Jesus would come to atone (i.e make amends) for sin once and for all.
In Leviticus 1-7, we see the Old Testament provision of God for atonement (remember this was GOD’S provision and He does not consult us regarding its propriety) available until the coming of Jesus. Again, it was based on animal sacrifice and had a variety of applications. Essentially there was the whole burnt offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering, the peace offering and the fellowship offering. These all made it possible to restore fellowship with God and make atonement for unintentional sins, or mistakes, as well as intentional sin which was the most grievious of sins. The guilt sacrifice or offering covered both kinds of sin and is very representative of the other sacrifices. A lamb must be sacrificed that is without defect and of proper value(see Leviticus 5:14-6:7); the sinner must lay his hand on the animal being sacrificed and confess his sin(s), the animal is slain and its blood sprinkled on the altar of sacrifice. It was messy and it was bloody for sure. But sins were forgiven and “at one ment” with God was provided.
When Jesus is introduced by John the Baptist as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29), he is referencing the sacrificial approach to atonement briefly summarized above. Jesus, therefore, became the ultimate blood sacrifice for our sins and we should never distance ourselves from this bloody and even nauseating means of atonement. Many love to refer to Jesus as “the man for others,” our great example, the great liberator of the poor and disenfranchised, and therefore the great King, but let us never forget that Christ’s work of atonement for our sins is grounded in the Old Testament economy, but with a profound difference: the animal sacrifices needed to be offered over and over again (certainly a reminder of the horror of sin), but Christ came to put an end to the necessity of repeated sacrices, by offering up himself once and for all, the perfect sacrifice for our sins. When we partake of the lord’s supper this morning we are remembering what he did for us. Have you received Christ as your Savior? Do you thank him for giving his life for you? Are you looking to the Lamb of God? If not then pray with me:”Lord Jesus, I thank you for paying the penalty for my sins and please grant me grace and forgiveness and make me a child of God. Amen.”
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