What Leviticus Can Teach You About Jesus
A Christ-Centred Reading of the 5 Sacrifices in Leviticus 1-7
What do all the offerings mean in Leviticus 1-6? And how does it help us understand what Jesus did?
Jesus Died to Turn Aside God’s Wrath
The burnt offering was entirely burnt. Why?
The word for atonement in Leviticus 1:4 can also mean "ransom". It's used in a case of adultery. The criminal was sentenced to death, but they could pay a ransom to redeem their life.
A similar thing is implied here. The animal dies in the worshipper's place. Like the “ransom” saved the adulterer from death, so too the burnt offering saves the worshipper from judgement.
It reminds us how Jesus was a "ransom for many" He took God's anger on our behalf so our eternal life could be spared.
Jesus Died to Create Grateful Servants
A grain offering was also used in the political world. A vassal nation gave an allotted amount of grain each year to show submission to a nation that owned them.
This offering is given to God to acknowledge his rule. It is the tribute to our overlord.
In the New Testament, this offering is referred to in 1 Cor 9:13-14 to say pastors should be supported (like the priests with the grain). But it also seems to point to the fact Jesus death puts us under God's rule. We owe him tribute, not now in grain but lives lived to his glory.
Jesus Died to Bring Peace
The worshipper took the peace offering away and ate it with his family. It symbolised his peace with God. Interestingly, it always came after the burnt offering. The worshipper had to have sin's forgiven before he could have peace with God.
This reminds us how Jesus' death is our peace with God. It's also hard not to see in this fellowship meal a prefiguring of the Lord's Supper. God's people gathered together to celebrate that because of a sacrifice they have peace with God.
Jesus Died to Purify Us
The focus of the sin offering seems to largely be on purification. Sometimes it's a moral sin, but frequently it is doing something ceremonially unclean. These things made Israelites dirty and unable to worship.
This metaphor of purifying from sin comes up frequently with Jesus. We have our sin washed away by his sin offering. Of course that sacrifice is not repeated. When we have sinned, rather than needing a new offering, we can remember that Jesus has already purified that sin
Jesus Died to Provide Restitution
The idea of the guilt offering was paying back a debt. When a sin was committed you paid back the person you offended. But you also paid a guilt offering to God, in acknowledgement that there was a cost associated with your sin.
Isaiah 53:10 talks of Jesus making "an offering for guilt" which is literally this offering. He is paying the price for all our sin. There is a cost associated with sin. But the price is paid. We can pay "forgive us our debts" and know we will be forgiven.
Why does all this matter?
It's helpful when reading OT (Psalms/prophets/narrative) to know what exact sacrifice is going on. This can open up the meaning
It gives us new insights into Jesus' work to meditate on these things and how they transfer to the New Testament
This is really helpful, if also made me think of Jesus as the ‘Lion of the Tribe of Judah,’ in that He showed great courage by facing his death with calm assurance. Then, especially the importance of ‘sanctification’ of being made ‘holy’! We are to recognise our need to review these meanings in terms of the completeness of His sacrifice on our behalf! Without the shedding of blood there is no redemption for sin.