The Way Opened...

by Phil Haines

Leviticus is not the easiest of the books of the Bible to read. I have been told by members of my congregation that when they reach Leviticus in their yearly reading of the Bible, they take a deep breath before diving in. In trying to help them, I’ve suggested that they go into it with this question in their minds:

How can a sinful man stand in the presence of a Holy God?

In his excellent book, Who shall ascend the mountain of the Lord?, Michael Morales writes that “the primary theme and theology of Leviticus (and of the Pentateuch as a whole) is YHWH’s opening a way for humanity to dwell in the divine Presence.” When we approach Leviticus in this way, then what we reads is astonishing. We cannot escape the awesome holiness of God, on the one hand, and his wonderful grace, on the other hand, as He provides a way for humanity to come into His presence. We read about the burnt offerings, the sin offerings, the peace offerings, the guilt offerings, the thank offerings, the cereal offerings, the drink offerings, the purification rites, etc.

Why start an Easter post in Leviticus? Read Leviticus, and then read Hebrews 7-10. The glorious message is that the one sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross at Calvary has rendered the Old Covenant sacrificial system obsolete. If we look just at Hebrews 9, there are many comparisons and contrasts to be seen - the priesthood of Aaron and the greater Priesthood of Christ, the earthly sanctuary in which Aaron and his sons offered sacrifices, and the heavenly sanctuary where Christ offered his precious blood.

The opening verses of Hebrews 9 begin with the writer considering Old Covenant worship. He does so in some detail, reminding his readers, and us, of the rituals that took place in those days. He takes us back to pre-Temple days, we are taken into the wilderness with Moses, Aaron, and the people. We are taken back to the Tabernacle and to the time when the Covenant was made with Moses and the people of Israel. When we’re transported back to that time the writer reminds us of the way in which sin was dealt with in those days, the multitude of sacrifices that had to be made, day in and day out, week in and week out, year in and year out.

The author also reminds us that it was only the priests, and specifically the high-priestly family that were able to make such sacrifices. Only they were allowed into the Tabernacle and almost all of them were only allowed to go into the outer courts. Only one man was allowed to go into the most Holy Place, into the Holy of Holies, into the presence of God. And he was only allowed to go in once a year! On the high day of the year, the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16)!

What a sombre day that was, a frightening day, in many respects. The various paraphernalia that adorned the High Priest’s robes all had differing significance, but there were also small bells on the robes so that the people could hear him moving about in the Holy of Holies (Exodus 28:33-35). Why? you may ask. Well the High Priest was going into the presence of God, bearing the sacrifice to purify the altar, the mercy seat, the vessels in the Holy of Holies. The people were waiting for him to come out, for when he came out they knew that God had accepted the sacrifices. Through the shedding of blood, their sins were forgiven. These regulations were demanded by God, but only a select few could partake in the ceremonies; the way was not opened to the people of God.

The other important point is that the sacrifices were all made on earth. Only the earthly altar, mercy seat, ark, and so on were purified. As such, these sacrifices could never truly take away sin, it is why they had to be repeated. The rhythm of daily, weekly, and yearly worship was bathed in blood, through the daily sin offerings, the sabbath offerings and, of course, the Day of Atonement, repeated year after year. Jesus Christ, on the other hand, went into the Heavenly Places. He went into the very presence of God, and he did it just once-for-all time It was gloriously and completely efficacious. The Scriptures describe the sheer wonder of this moment, for when the Lord Jesus Christ died, the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Now the way was open for every believer to come to God. There was no earthly mediator required because a heavenly one had been provided. Jesus Christ had gone into that place and offered himself once-for-all!

The believers in those days would have understood the significance of all that took place. This was a glorious and triumphant day for those who had eyes to see. The blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin render a man clean before God. How could the blood of an animal balance the scales of man’s sin against God? It was impossible. We can surely understand why the New Testament speaks of Old Testament believers looking for the day of the Messiah - looking for and waiting for the Christ to come and finally deal with their sin. The Lord Jesus Christ on the altar at Calvary with his perfect precious blood offered himself up to the Father through the eternal Spirit. The punishment for the sin of all his people has been laid on his shoulders and his blood has covered them all. He needed to do it just once and atonement was finally made!

As we come to Good Friday, to the day when our minds are brought to focus particularly on the death and burial of our Lord Jesus Christ, the significance of what took place on that hill outside Jerusalem, on Calvary’s tree, is awe inspiring, indeed. All the old sacrifices have been removed, the Old Covenant practices rendered obsolete, the sacrificial laws done away with, the veil of the Temple, that separated the people from their God, rent in two. And the sins of Christ’s people have been dealt with and their guilt removed.  The great significance of Jesus’ completed work is recorded in Hebrews 10:11-12. “And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ[a] had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.”

If we believe in him we are forgiven those sins which separated us from God. We have been forgiven those iniquities which condemned us in His sight. Through faith in him we have been washed clean, clothed in His righteousness, reconciled to God, so that we are able to call Him Father and call the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour and elder brother. And, because of his finished work, we have now been granted the inheritance which became ours on account of His death, even eternal life, and an everlasting kingdom of peace and joy. That is what Christ has bequeathed to us, that is what His victory upon the cross has won.