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Jesus In Leviticus
Jesus in Leviticus
Students of God’s word realize that God uses the historical accounts throughout the Bible to instruct people to do on His nature and how he expects men to live. The book of Genesis showed us how incapable man is. It shows the great need for judgment in the Garden, the flood, and in Sodom and Gomorrah. In Exodus we saw the redemption and salvation that was offered to all who would hear. Moses was lifted up as a type of the Redeemer who would lead us from the captivity of the world. Leviticus follows with God’s estimation of sin. It also contrasts that with the holiness of God and the futility and even danger of trying to approach Him by any other means than atonement.
Over and over, this book reminds us of sin and the payment for it through sacrifice. Our culture today is revolted by all the animal sacrifice, but that is because they do not understand the horror of sin. Anything less would lighten the meaning of rebellion against our Creator. As a person truly draws near to God, two things stand out: the utter sinfulness of man, and the absolute holiness of God. If sin was not so completely evil, then the punishment might be something less severe. Sacrifice shows us how God views sin, even in the the ultimate sacrifice of the Cross.
“Sin is the most expensive thing in the universe, pardoned or unforgiven,” C. Finney. It is difficult for mankind to get a true sense of the horror of sin because we are sinners. Christ alone understood it, being sinless, and the horror of the cross was his evaluation of it. The book of Leviticus teaches us about sacrifice. As we think about the frequent animal blood sacrifices, let us be reminded of Christ on the cross, the holy Lamb of God.
The Offerings:
There are five types of offerings outlined in Leviticus. In each type there are three things in common with the role of Christ. The offering itself – Christ is the one slain (Hebrews 10:10), the priest – Christ is the one who offered the sacrifice to God (Hebrews 4:14), and the offerer – Christ is the one giving up an offering (Titus 2:14).
The easiest correlation is between the sacrifice of Christ and the Sin Offering, which was solely for the atonement of sin. Jesus was the final and perfect sin offering, as shown in Hebrews 9:26, 2 Corinthians 5:21, and Isaiah 53:10.
The High Priest:
Aaron was a type of the Great High Priest to come, Christ Jesus. He was the man of God’s choosing. His tribe, the Levites, were also priests to minister to the Lord. Christians today are the reality of that shadow as priests unto God, the brothers of the High Priest, Christ Jesus. The sin of Nadab and Abihu should be a stern a warning to us that we must depend on what God has done for us and not try to do things our own way. We cannot substitute our efforts or zeal for that which the Lord has prescribed without dire consequences.
The Leper:
Leviticus describes in detail the dealing with those who had leprosy. First there had to be a recognition of the need and the call for the priest. The priest went to examine him outside the camp. In the same way Jesus left his home of heaven and came here to meet us in our infected condition. But He came to pronounce us clean, cured, so we could return with Him to his heavenly home. The priest would take two sparrows, and killing one, he would dip the living bird, scarlet thread, hyssop, and cedar wood in its blood. He would sprinkle the cleansed man and let the living bird fly free. Jesus was “delivered (to death) for our offenses and raised again for our justification”. Then the leper washed himself in water and brought all the offerings of the law. His head and hand and foot were to be sprinkled with blood. The blood not only justifies us, but sanctifies as well.
The Day of Atonement:
Leviticus seems to revolve around the Day of Atonement in chapter 16. It came only once a year. It was a time when the community awareness of sin was heightened and humility was the attitude of the day. Just as it took two sparrows to represent death and resurrection, it took two goats to complete the type here on this special day. One was slain on the altar and the other had the sins of the people placed upon it and was driven into the wilderness – separated from them. Of course this ritual only looked forward to the real Day of Atonement on Calvary, because, “It is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin” (Hebrews 10:4). The flesh of the sin offering was burned outside the camp, and Hebrews 13:12-13 teaches us that Jesus went outside the city gates to bear our sins, and we must meet him there. The same cross that gained us access to God has taken us out of the camp of the world, separated unto God.
The Blood:
The whole book gives great emphasis on blood sacrifice and the importance of blood. The life of the flesh is in the blood. Let us take a look at the meaning of the blood of Christ to us: (Taken from Christ in All the Scriptures)
The meaning of the blood - Leviticus 17:11,14
Redemption through the blood – 1Peter 1:18,19
Forgiveness through the blood – Ephesians 1:7
Justification through the blood – Romans 5:9
Peace through the blood – Colossians 1:20
Cleansing through the blood – 1 John 1:7
Loosing from sin through the blood - Revelation 1:5
Enter the Holy Place by the blood - Hebrews 10:19
Victory through the blood - Revelation 12:11
Glory everlasting through the blood – Revelation 7:14,15
Does the precious blood of Christ mean all this to you? Pouring out his blood was pouring out his life so that all these things could be in you. That was the joy set before Him. Let the shedding of his blood for you produce in you all the fruits for which He poured it out.
