Christ was offered by God as a sacrifice for the sins of the world according to His “determinate counsel and foreknowledge” (Acts 2.23). This plan was formulated by God before the world began (Titus 1.2) as a contingency for the reconciliation of mankind. In addition, God had kept this a secret since the world began (Colossians 1.26-27), revealing His purpose in it’s totality only through Christ (Matthew 5.17-18). The purpose of the Law was to prepare the way for Christ (Galatians 3.24) and a record of that preparation was left as a foundation to support Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God (Romans 15.4).
A link has been established between Christ as the sacrifice of God and the sacrifices offered under the law. In this chapter we will look at the mechanisms employed by God to further establish that link and demonstrate that Christ’s sacrifice was essential, not only for the faithful of the present, but also for the past and future. The sacrifice of Christ is a representation of the struggle between the spiritual and the worldly, between life and death. Representations in the Old Testament can thus be seen as a “shadow” of the things to come (Hebrews 10.1). The excellency of Christ emerges through a comparison and discussion of how this was accomplished by the wisdom of God.
God reserved blood as a representation of the sanctity of life and pronounced a sanction against the shedding of blood (Genesis 9.4-6). In this, the dual aspects of life and death are paired. God’s word and the importance He placed on blood stood as a barrier against the meaningless taking of another’s life. God stated that the blood is the life (Genesis 9.4) and thus consecrated life, and the blood representing that life, as precious, since mankind was created in the image of God (Genesis 1.26, 9.6). This duality in the representation of blood as signifying life continues throughout the scriptures.
As blood represented life, it also came to represent the spiritual salvation of God’s people. Blood was the agent by which the Hebrews were spared the death of their firstborn and detailed instructions for the Passover were specific in this respect (Exodus 12.1-28). Another element is introduced in the keeping of the Passover and that was the offering of the lamb whose blood it was that would provide the coverage and protection against the plague. The implication here is not mystical. There was no innate property of blood that could bring this preservation about. God’s command, and the mind of God, would protect those from death covered by the blood of the lamb representing the power of God to save. In this respect the blood represented the adherence of the Hebrews to God’s command and rendered blood, as prescribed by Him, the agent of salvation.
The utilization of blood as a means of sanctification can also be seen in the scriptures. The Hebrews were sanctified, or set apart, by the blood which formed a spiritual boundary between those faithful to God and those outside His saving presence. As the Biblical narrative progresses this representation is expanded to include the consecration of God’s people and specifically the priests who would minister before Him. The gradual unfolding of the narrative shows how God used physical means to represent more definite spiritual characteristics. The preparation of the priests and people demonstrate this.
God stated the purpose for the nation of Israel. “Now, therefore if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then shall ye be a peculiar treasure unto me above all the people; for all the earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” (Exodus 19.5-6). Notice that God indicates a purpose for the nation, but only if they faithfully observe the commands He issues. This also points to the future as Moses states, “But the Lord hath taken you and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto Him a people of inheritance.” (Deuteronomy 4.20). The ultimate inheritance would be in answer to the promise made to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through his offspring (Genesis 12.3).
God appointed the priests and Levites to be his representatives before the people and as such they were consecrated for this special role. God specified the manner in which the priests were to be sanctified for their office. In the consecration we find the combined elements of the sacrifices and their blood used to sanctify them (Exodus 29). Within the nation the priests and Levites were to remain faithful and guide the people toward continuation of faithful service to God. God directed the sprinkling of blood upon the priests (Exodus 29.19-46) as part of their sanctification thus making them “hallowed” or holy (Exodus 29.21).
The blood used in this manner would have had no significance had it not been for the command of God. In short it was in the mind of God to utilize blood to represent the purifying of the priests as preparation for their duties. The writer of Hebrews states that the book of the Law, as well as all the people, were sprinkled with blood (Hebrews 9.19) which was for their purification (Hebrews 9.13). The actual purification again rested in the mind of God who commanded this to be done.
Another aspect, having a prophetic element to it, can be seen in the act of sprinkling. The blood thus used was only a partial covering although all the people, as noted above, were sprinkled as well as the book of the Law, the Tabernacle and it’s implements. A contrast can be made between this partial covering and the later sacrifice of Christ. The sacrifices under the Law could not bring about the remission of sins or justification in God’s sight (Romans 3.20). The keeping of the Law however was the means by which God would later complete their righteousness for faithful service. The writer of Hebrews states that these former things were a figure, or representation, for that time, of things to come (Hebrews 9.9). The observance of those commands then would later bring their final salvation.
Sin had been initially introduced by a spiritual being, Satan, who corrupted the creation of God. The animals used for the sacrifices were earthly objects which were to have certain characteristics. The phrase “without blemish” is used throughout the scriptures dealing with the condition of the sacrifices (Exodus 12, Leviticus 1-7). God required a more perfect sacrifice to redeem, or buy back, the spirit of man through cleansing from sin. It was necessary that the offering of the final sacrifice for sin have the power to destroy or undo the works of Satan. Animal sacrifices, while commanded by God, were unable to do this completely.
The line that blood traces through the scriptures is paired with the aspect of sacrifice, faithfulness, obedience, remembrance of God and respect for the limitations He set for His people. As we saw with the Passover, keeping the sacrifices in the manner in which God commanded, formed a boundary around God’s people that united them with Him in a unique spiritual relationship. As the Hebrews fell away from God the sacrifices were not kept as they should have been and the priests corrupted themselves (Zephaniah 3.4). The sacrifices were to represent purity, sanctification and faithfulness to God. The offering of unacceptable sacrifices however became a trend that continued even after the return from exile in Babylon (Malachi 1.6-8).
The nation of Israel was not chosen for their outstanding righteousness. God selected them for the performance of His will according to His purpose. Moses stated that it was not for the righteousness of the Hebrews that they were chosen but because of the love that God had for them (Deuteronomy 7.6-8) and His use of the nation as an instrument against the sinful people of Canaan (Deuteronomy 9.4-5). God had stated to Abraham that his offspring would be the means of punishment against the nations of Canaan, particularly the Amorites (Genesis 15.16). The Hebrews and their nation were part of the fulfillment of that promise and pointed to the time when all nations would be blessed through his descendants (Genesis 12.3, 18.18).
The sacrifices represented a remembrance of sin (Hebrews 10.1-4, Romans 3.20). It was in God’s heart to reconcile mankind to Him by the forgiveness of sins. The complete removal of the remembering of past transgressions pointed to Christ as the savior. Certain characteristics of the sacrifices then represent Christ who became the sacrifice for sin (Romans 3.24-25).
The sacrificial animals were to be without blemish and were to be reserved or set apart to be offered to God. Christ was brought into the world by God’s power. His body was created for the purpose of being put to death for sin (Hebrews 10.5). He was ordained by God to be the acceptable sacrifice offered by the creator out of love for mankind (John 3.16, Galatians 3.14, Colossians 1.21-22, Ephesians 2.13). While the blood of the sacrifices under the law could not take away sin, the blood of Christ could. The power of sin, which is death, brought about through the work of Satan was thus destroyed by Christ (Hebrews 2.14-15).
The offering and death of Christ contains a further representation as found in the way in which the sacrifice of Christ was perpetrated. The sacrifices were offered up by the priests on behalf of the people. In the same manner Christ was offered up by the priests of His time who conspired against Him (Matthew 16.21, 20.18, 26.3-4). These priests, while being opposed to God through their own sinful actions (Matthew 23.1-35), performed God’s will in spite of themselves. The plot to murder Christ was intended to rid them of His troublesome presence with no awareness of the plan of God (1 Corinthians 2.8).
The timing of the death of Christ on the cross brought all of the prophetic elements of the sacrifices together through the shedding of His blood. The fullness of time (Galatians 4.4) completely fulfilled the will of God. Christ had come to Jerusalem at the time of the feast of the Passover which will be discussed in the next chapter. The Passover was drawing near which Christ desired greatly (Luke 22.15) since this meant that the completion of God’s work was also approaching (John 4.34).
Christ kept the Passover with His disciples (Matthew 26.17- 21, Mark 14.12-18, Luke 22.1-14) thus observing the commands of God through His final hours on earth. Following His arrest and presentation to the priests, Christ was eventually led to the Romans. Only the governor, Pilate, had the authority to enact the death penalty since this had been denied to the Jews. John brings out a subtle aspect to the sacrifice of Christ in this action. The Passover was taking on the aspects of both death and life as it had been instituted by God.
Christ had eaten the Passover with His disciples prior to His arrest. Christ was blameless before God in all that He did so it is logical to conclude that He had done so at the appropriate time. A contrast emerges between Christ and His accusers in the record of John. “Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled: but that they might eat the Passover.” (John 18.28). The judgment hall spoken of here was that of Pilate who was a Gentile. The Jews, and earlier the Hebrews were not to defile themselves by coming into a Gentiles dwelling (Acts 10.28, 11.1-3) or defiling themselves in any manner in order to partake of the Passover. The event here involving Christ, the priests and the Gentiles has deeper spiritual implications.
The priests were violating God’s commands by delaying eating the Passover. Christ on the other hand, being sinless (Hebrews 9.14), had kept the Passover in accordance with God’s Law. The significance in this event recorded by John has to do with the aspect of defilement. If it was unlawful for the priests to enter the Gentiles judgment hall then Christ would have been defiled being brought before the Romans. Two significant results can be seen from this action.
First is that Christ was thrust outside the realm of God on the eve of the most holy day. By being in the presence of the Gentiles he was defiled and thus made unclean (Galatians 3.13). This was not His action and so was not sin on Christ’s part. The spiritual neglect of the priests however is compounded as they took Christ’s judgment away (Isaiah 53.8) thus making him unclean in God’s sight. In this respect Christ came to represent sin itself, embodied in the form of a sacrifice.
The second representation lies in the role that the Gentiles played in the conspiracy. As Christ was brought before Pilate, and later crucified by the governor’s order, the Gentiles became part of the sin of His death. The actions of the priests represented the inclusion of the Jews in the death of Christ and the Romans represented the Gentile world. Only two classes of people are represented spiritually in the scriptures, those who had a covenant relationship with God and those outside that covenant. In the event recorded by John both of these spiritual elements were brought together making the sum of mankind, in a symbolic sense, guilty of the blood of Christ.
This was God’s plan, to convict the world of sin, through the death of Christ. The world in a representative fashion was thus assembled together against the Lord’s anointed. Isaiah stated, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53.46).
Christ in a physical sense literally came to represent the sins of the world, represented by the Jews and Gentiles. Christ stated that Pilate would not have been able to hold any power over Him if God had not allowed it to be so (John 19.11). On the cross Christ asked, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27.46). This question may be seen by some as a desperate moment in Christ’s life but consider the spiritual representations at work. Christ, representing sin on the cross, was forsaken by God, who had turned His face from the sin of the world. The death of sin through Christ was the will of God. Through the sacrifice of Christ sin was rendered powerless over those who seek God and are faithful to Him.
Further clarification of the point made above may be needed which can be accomplished by drawing some comparisons and a contrast between Christ and the sacrifices. The sacrifices were offered by the people in accordance with the will of God. This offering was to be done in a specified place as can be seen in the passages cited from Exodus and Leviticus. Christ was also offered up as a sacrifice in a predetermined place.
It was from Zion, or Jerusalem, that God would unite all nations under a spiritual kingdom (Isaiah 2.1-3, Micah 4.1-4). It was from Zion that deliverance would come forth (Joel 2.32) which was realized through the establishment of the church on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2.16-36). It was in Zion that the sacrifice for the sins of the world would be offered (Isaiah 28.16, 1 Peter 2.6-8). This was accomplished through the actions of the priests who delivered Christ to the Gentiles and the Romans who executed the death penalty against Him.
The animal sacrifices represented the putting away of sin by their death. Once disposed of these animals were replaced by other offerings thus bringing to mind the sins of the people as cited above. In contrast to this Christ died for the sins of the world, but through sinless obedience to God, He was raised again. Paul states, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” (1 Corinthians 15.20). To the Colossians Paul writes, “And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.” (Colossians 1.18). It was through the sacrifice of the body of Christ that reconciliation to God was accomplished (Colossians 1.20, Hebrews 10.10) and by means of the resurrection he became the surety of a better covenant (Hebrews 7.21-24, 8.6). Christ was the fulfillment of the work of God to reconcile man to Himself spiritually (John 4.34).
A comparison can also be made to the Passover and the death of Christ. The Passover meant both death, to the firstborn of Egypt, and life, to the firstborn of Israel. It was through the Jewish lineage that Christ would be descended and as the firstborn of God he both tasted of death and was raised to life again to seal the promise of God forever. The blood trail, which began as recorded in the Old Testament, led to Christ, through whose blood the sins of the world are taken away when one submits to God’s conditions (Romans 6.1-4). As Christ was raised in a newness of life, so the Christian is raised in that likeness through obedience to God (Romans 6.5-8) and can enjoy freedom from sin through faithful service to God (Colossians 2.12, Rev 2.10).
Finally, Christ’s death completed the righteousness of the faithful who had passed before. Speaking of the future, and the completion of God’s plan, the writer of Hebrews states, “And these all having received a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11.39-40). The blood of Christ united all of God’s people. From the sacrifices of Abel, to the burnt offerings of the Hebrews, Christ was the finality and result of God’s own faithfulness and love for man.
The writer of Hebrews again brings this out in speaking of the sacrifice of Christ when it is stated, “And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” (Hebrews 9.15).
The Law was instituted to prepare the way for Christ’s entry into the world (Galatians 3.24) and within the Law was the remembrance of sins the people had committed (Romans 3.20, Hebrews 10.1). Christ’s death was needed therefore to complete the redemption of those who had lived under the Law (Hebrews 9.15) and since the death of Christ brought about the redemption or reconciliation of mankind to God, it thus included all of the faithful of all time prior to the institution of the Law.
Paul clarifies this further in speaking of the death of Christ. To the Gentiles of Ephesus who were Christians, Paul describes the way in which they were brought into God’s spiritual family. “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby...” (Ephesians 2.15-16). The death of Christ put an end to the remembrance of sin since these could now be forgiven and completely taken out of God’s own memory. God had also brought an end to the separation between Gentile and Jew through Christ.
Paul also wrote to the Colossians, “And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in Heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable in his sight: if ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister...” (Colossians 1.20-23).
Continuing his discussion, Paul addresses the point made above concerning the nature of the Law. “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross...” (Colossians 2.13-14). The remembrance of sin under the Law was thus put away being nailed to the cross of Christ. In this manner Christ represented the death of sin in His sacrifice for the world by which God would put away the transgressions that created the spiritual barrier between Himself and mankind.
In summary, we have seen how Christ was ordained by God to be offered for the sins of the world. Through Christ, God would unite all nations as one spiritual people to Himself as individuals obey the gospel. On the cross, Christ, having been offered by the priests and defiled by them, represented sin, which in turn God forsook, or turned away from. The Gentiles, representing the people that were “far off” (Ephesians 2.11-12) or outside the realm of God, were included in the conspiracy against the Lord and thus partakers of the guilt for His death. By means of the resurrection God demonstrated His faithfulness and love for mankind by opening the door of reconciliation to Him for all people of every nation.
In the next chapter we will look closer at the change brought about by this sacrifice as Christ fully assumes the role ordained for Him by God. Christ’s offering of Himself as a sacrifice, His consecration as a new high priest and the institution of a new law will be examined further through these representations.