But when Christ came as high priest. (Heb. 9:11)
Like most households, we have a plastic tub full of manuals for all the appliances, gadgets, and tools that make our daily life run smoothly. When something malfunctions, we drag the tub from the shelf, find the right manual, and thumb through its pages to look for the solution to our problem. We know, even as we slide the tub back on the shelf, we’re likely to pull it back out again at some point to revisit the solution, because this probably won’t be the last time we encounter the problem.
Leviticus feels like the instruction manual for sin solutions in the days before Christ. If you read through its pages, you find the prescriptions for atonement for each kind of sin. Each paragraph unfolds what to do for committing this sin or that. Certain animals. Specific presentation. So many steps. (Lev. 4, 5)
“But when Christ came”—four beautiful words that changed everything about that sin manual. He didn’t walk into the tabernacle. He was the Tabernacle. He didn’t bring a lamb. He was the Lamb. And because Christ came, we no longer have to consult a lengthy manual to determine which animal’s blood can atone for our sin. Christ’s own blood sacrifice atoned for all sin for all time. Our repentance for sin comes through our words of confession to the heart of God, not through animal sacrifice.
Remember that Jesus Christ didn’t bring a sacrifice; he became the sacrifice.
Bekah Shaffer lives in Kokomo, Indiana, and enjoys endless coffee, scrapbooking, speaking, and planning adventures with her husband, Ryan.
© 2019 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.
Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.