The Offering

Based on Leviticus 3-5

We've talked about the significance of sacrifice, and how the Old Testament sacrifices all pointed to Jesus as our final Sacrificial Lamb of God in the New Testament. However, in the Old Testament, there were different types of offerings made which included these sacrifices. We will see that Jesus giving Himself for us is a reflection of the different types of offerings that were made. There always needed to be someone to willingly offer the sacrifice!

Sometimes we do something wrong and don't realize it until later (and we have that sinking feeling like we want to go back in time and erase it!). What do we do then? Well in the Old Testament, there would be a sin offering, specifically one of ignorance:

"And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty; When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation." Leviticus 4:13‭-‬14.

Jumping forward to the New Testament, most of the people present at the crucifixion of Jesus had no idea what they were doing, or how sinful their lives really were. They (as well as us) were truly a people in need of not only a sacrifice, but a Savior! Unknowingly, these people brought a sacrificial sin offering of ignorance through Jesus! Christ knew what He was doing even though the people did not:

"Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots." Luke 23:34.

Remember, someone always needs to be the offerer in a situation of sacrifice. Remember way back in the times of Abraham & Isaac?

"And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together." Genesis 22:8.

God provided Himself, because Jesus is God! He changes not, and this was always the plan! How great is our God!

So today, when we ask Jesus for forgiveness & repent, we are doing so much more than speaking words. We are making an offering of our sinful lives at the altar and trading it for a better life in Christ. Just as the priests washed at the brasen laver, we too must wash in baptism & receive the Holy Ghost to completely go through the modern-day tabernacle plan.

So there were sin offerings, of ignorance and not of ignorance. There were also trespass offerings:

"Or if a soul swear, pronouncing with his lips to do evil, or to do good, whatsoever it be that a man shall pronounce with an oath, and it be hid from him; when he knoweth of it, then he shall be guilty in one of these. And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing:" Leviticus 5:4‭-‬5.

So there were times of mis-speaking, saying something that shouldn't have been said or saying something the wrong way. These times are so hard to get over sometimes! We long to go back & change how we talked to someone. We want to change the outcome of our altercation with someone. Just take a look at how the centurion at Jesus' cricifixion felt after realizing who Jesus really was:

"Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God." Matthew 27:54.

Whether all the people there realized it or not, Jesus offered His life for them:

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8.

Let's watch what we do & pay attention to how we live our lives. Let's be intentional. Looking more & more in-depth into the past sacrifices in perspective of Jesus' ultimate sacrifice, how can we not be eternally grateful to God?