"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29
"For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name." Hebrews 13:11-15
In Leviticus, the law of sin offerings was explained in great detail. Too much for me to remember. They had to take their best lamb, the one they probably watched grow from its birth... and slaughter it. It must have been difficult for some - it was a sacrifice. Just because they lived in Bible times, it doesn't mean that it was easy for them. Most likely they got the strength to kill their lambs because they knew Who they were offering them to. It was all for the Lord God Almighty. They had to make many sacrifices throughout their lives. The shed blood of the lambs never took away their sins. Their sins were only temporarily covered. On the Day of Atonement, the chief priest would take two goats and cast lots, one goat for the Lord and the other as a scapegoat (Leviticus 16). The one goat would be for a sin offering before the Lord. The other would be a scapegoat to set free in the wilderness. The priest would lay his hands on the head of the scapegoat and confess the sins of the people, thus symbolizing that the goat is now carrying their sins. This goat would be let loose in the wilderness, never to be seen again. This was a picture of God taking their sins away. Today, we don't need sin offerings and scapegoats. God has sent the Savior to this world to be the Ultimate Sacrifice. Jesus died once and for all! No more bloody sacrifices were needed after that of Jesus. Just as the lambs in the Old Testament were to be without blemish, so Jesus is the perfect, spotless Lamb of God. Now all those innocent lambs don't have to be slaughtered to merely cover our sins because the Innocent One has taken the sins of the world upon Himself - He took our sins away for good. He has forgiven those who have called upon Him and now live in Him. He will never un-forgive us! Isn't that wonderful?! Christ died to take away our sins but He also rose again from the dead, defeating death. None of those lambs from the Old Testament sacrifices rose from the dead - when they died, they died. Jesus is the Perfect Sacrifice!! He did so much more than all the lambs in the world could have done. He is the Lamb of God!! Those in the Old Testament were assured that a Savior would come. May we say with Job, "For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth" (Job 19:25). Jesus lives!!!