Christianity for People Who Aren't Christians, Part 2Sample

The Old Testament’s Sacrificial System 

The fourth background issue to understand is the Old Testament sacrificial system. In ancient times, God decreed that the payment for wrongdoing—for a sin—was covered through the blood of an animal. Though rebellion deserves death, God’s love allows for sin to be addressed through the sacrifice of an animal. 

That seems strange to us, but it was very intentional by God. He wanted people to see the severity of their sin. He wanted people to see that paying for the sin that comes between them and him is messy, gruesome, and costly, because sin is messy and gruesome and costly. It really was a life-or-death issue, so the symbol was a real one. The sacrifice was a substitute for the sinner; it bore the sinner’s guilt and is where we get our term scapegoat. I’m sure you’ve heard of making someone the scapegoat for something—blaming them or pinning something on them. The term comes from the Bible. 

There was an annual Day of Atonement when a priest made reparations for all the sins of the people. For the sacrifice to be effective, there had to be some kind of connection, a point of commonality between the victim and the sinner. People would lay their hands on the scapegoat, constituting a confession of guilt and a transfer of their guilt onto the innocent.

God also said the animals sacrificed were to be without any kind of blemish because sin (or imperfection) could only be addressed by perfection. Sin cannot reconcile sin. It can only be dealt with by God himself because the sin was against him and his law. The sacrificial system served as a sign of what God was going to do. It was offered to God, but it wasn’t something that would finally and ultimately bridge the gap between us and God. Which is why throughout that time, the great prophets of God said that there would be One who would come—from God—who would take away the sins of the world once and for all. The one sacrifice for all time.

At a point in history that God chose for reasons known only to him, God did just that. He provided the perfect, blameless sacrifice for the sins of all people throughout all of time and history.

And that brings us to Jesus.

Keep in mind that God’s intent for restoration is always motivated by love for the purpose of making what is broken whole again.