Three Pictures in Atonement

So the Apostle John wrote in his gospel, For God so loved the world that he

gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life.

That same Apostle wrote in Revelations 13, verse 8, that Christ,

Revelation 13:8

the Lamb of God, was slain from the creation of the world.

Now, this doesn't make sense to us because we know that in time,

it was in the fullness of time that Christ was born, and then even more so in

the fullness of God's timing that he was slain.

And yet the scriptures say that he was slain from the creation of the world.

Before God ever created the world, before he set the stars in place,

before he breathed the breath of life into the nostrils of man,

God already knew that the very mankind that he would create in his own image

with love and in love would fall.

He knew that we were going to walk away from the love he had given us and how he had created us.

He knew that mankind would sin and rebel against him.

I can't imagine having complete knowledge of everything that was going to happen.

Creating man in your own image to be like yourself, but knowing that that child

is going to walk away and betray and deny you. Can you imagine that as a parent?

Knowing that your child, whom you gave birth to in love, would reject you.

And knowing this, according to Ephesians 1, verse 5,

Ephesians 1:5

God predestined a plan, the plan, to be put in place that would be the means

for which mankind would be redeemed to himself through the death and atoning

sacrifice of the Lamb, his Son, Jesus Christ.

God had to go through all kinds of plan to get this to this point where Christ

would be the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.

And that plan would dramatically unfold throughout the years of human history,

and at just the right time, at just the right moment in human history,

God came and dwelt with man, living among man,

redeeming man by making atonement for sin.

And I can't quote it exactly, but the message, the paraphrase,

the message talks about this in John 1, where God became man in person of Jesus

and came to live on our streets, it says.

God living with us. The world in Palestine over 2,000 years ago was ripe.

It was ready, and it was prepared for the coming of the Lamb of God like at

no other time ever before or ever since.

And today we're going to study the Day of Atonement, which is described in detail

for us in the 16th chapter of Leviticus.

In this chapter, God, the master painter, takes out his canvas,

his paint, and his brush of the word.

And as he skillfully blends the colors together to make up this masterpiece,

the words of the 16th chapter of Leviticus come to life in front of our eyes

on the canvas as he dips his brush for that last and final stroke of red,

the color of Christ's blood,

the heart of God is heavy and a tear rolls down the cheek of the Almighty God.

If you've ever watched The Passion of the Christ, it's during this time that

Jesus is hanging on the cross, and he looks up into heaven and he says,

my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

And you see this image looking down as if a camera is looking down through the eye of God.

And as you watch this, this watery substance fills over this lens,

and all of a sudden you see this drop come down from the eye of God and fall

down to the earth and take away his son's life.

The colors, the shadows of historical consequence, the image that God paints

on the canvas of mankind's eternity, tear at his own heart,

bringing to his mind the great suffering that his own son would one day have

to endure for us, for the mankind that he created in love who rejected him.

I want us to read from Leviticus chapter 16. We're not going to read the entire

Leviticus 16 · chapter mention

passage, but here's what we're going to read.

We're going to read some of the verses from chapter 16.

Verses 16, verses 1 through 10, the Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the

two sons of Aaron, who died when they approached the Lord.

The Lord said to Moses, tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever

he chooses into the most holy place behind the curtain in front of the atonement

cover on the ark, or else he will die.

For I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.

This is how Aaron is to enter the most holy place.

He must first bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

He is to put on the sacred linen tunic with linen undergarments next to his

body, then is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban.

These are sacred garments, so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on.

From the Israelite community, he is to take two male goats for a sin offering

and a ram for a burnt offering.

Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household.

Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

He is to cast lots for the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat.

Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering.

But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before

the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.

That's where the word scapegoat came from, okay?

You're putting blame on something else. Then verses 15 through 17,

he shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering of the people and take

its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he did with the bull's blood,

which is sprinkled all over the atonement cover.

He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it.

In this way, he will make atonement for the most holy place because of the uncleanness

and rebellion of the Israelites.

Whatever their sins have been, he is to do the same for the tent of meeting,

which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness.

No one is to be in the tent of meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement

in the most holy place until he comes out, having made atonement for himself,

his household, and the whole community of Israel.

Verses 20-22 when Aaron has finished making atonement for the most holy place,

the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat.

He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it the

wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites, of all the people,

of all their sin, and put them on the goat's head.

He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task.

The goat will carry on itself all the sins to a remote place,

and the man shall release it into the wilderness.

Today, as we study, look at Leviticus chapter 16, I want us to look at three

Leviticus 16 · chapter mention

great works of art that bring to life the power and purpose of the Day of Atonement.

The first one is this, the first picture that we're going to come across is

entitled The Great Priest, and it's a portrait of Christ as our mediator.

As with all the pictures that we will see today, we will first look at the picture

in the shadow of the Old Testament, and after that,

we will pull the picture off the Old Testament wall and move it and enjoy its

beauty and glory, and then move it over to the light of the New Testament teaching as well.

So let's first look at this picture called the Great Priest.

The crowd slowly gathered.

They were quiet. They were reverent and a little afraid. as they gathered around the tent of meeting.

Up until this giving of the law, God had only given instructions through his

servants Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and now Moses.

But God, in his great wisdom, was now giving Israel written instructions on

tablets of stone and laws to govern how they would live with him in their midst.

They would have the written words of God in the Ten Commandments and in these

laws and sacrifices and commandments.

This had to be an awesome and horribly scary time to be an Israelite.

Moses had gone up onto the mountain.

The Israelites were told, do not even approach this mountain.

In fact, the leaders could go so far, but the rest of the people couldn't.

But they could not touch the foot of the mountain, because if they touched the

foot of the mountain, they would die, because that's where God was when he gave the Ten Commandments.

Well, it's awesome to realize that the God who created everything,

including them, was residing in the Ark of the Covenant in the most holy place

in the tabernacle they had built in the middle of their encampment.

It must have been horribly frightening to think that inside this tent of meeting was this box—.

Where God lived among them.

This God revealed himself as a cloud of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night.

His presence never left them alone. We seek the presence of God and we're looking

for a Holy Spirit bomb to bring revival among us.

And yet, when you think about the fact that God is in their presence at all

time, and he is in our presence at all time through the power of the Holy Spirit,

how much more should we be fearful of the power of God,

but also amazed?

And now this was the great day of atonement. As we talked about before,

the atonement is kind of like at-one-ment.

Through atonement, through the forgiving of sins, through redemption,

through the power of the blood of the sacrifice, our sins are wiped away and

we are now at one with God.

This was the day when Aaron their high priest would be their mediator.

When Aaron their high priest would stand between God and the people,

this was the day that Aaron would stand there between God and the people and say,

okay, I am going to make this sacrifice for all these people because if I don't

do this and if I don't do it right, their sins are not going to be forgiven.

Even though this was without a doubt a high and honorable position,

I can't imagine how Aaron must have felt.

Aaron was allowed to go into the most holy place only once a year on this Day of Atonement.

The most holy place was located behind a thick veil of the tabernacle,

and it was in this room that the Ark of the Covenant was kept.

On top of the Ark of the Covenant, made of gold, was the atonement cover.

On top of the atonement cover were two angels with their wings folded down and

bowing toward the center of the temple, which was considered the seat where God resided.

And above the center of the Ark of the Covenant was a cloud in which the presence of God dwelt.

Only Aaron, the high priest, could enter here, and he could only do it once a year.

Can you imagine how Aaron must have felt as he slowly walked through the holy place,

past the table of showbread, past the golden lampstand, and finally past the

altar of incense, through the veil.

And with his head bowed low, he walked behind that veil in the Holy of Holy Place,

standing personally in front of the God of the universe who created everything.

And as Bill Cosby once said to his kids, or at least he said this on a video,

I brought you into this world and I could take you out of it.

All Aaron saw was the glory of God's presence because no one can look at God and live.

But can you imagine how he must have helped? His job that day was to provide

the proper sacrifice in the proper way at the proper time with the proper attitude

for the leaders and the people of Israel.

One slip up, one mistake could mean that God would not accept a sacrifice for

atonement, and their sins would not be forgiven.

And worse yet, one slip-up would mean that Aaron would be carried out in a gurney.

I don't know about you, but I might have turned to my sons and said, it's your turn.

What an awesome and horribly scary thing that must have been.

Jewish tradition tells us that they sewed bells onto the bottom hem of the high

priest's robe, and they also tied a rope around his ankle.

They did this so whenever the high priest walked around into the most holy place

behind the veil, they would hear the bells tinkling.

If the bells were ringing, it meant that all was well and the high priest was

doing the job exactly right.

But if the bell stopped ringing, for whom the bell tolls, when the bell stopped

ringing, it would mean that something had gone dreadfully wrong for the high priest.

No one else was allowed to go in and enter the Most Holy of Holies.

Only one high priest could be in there at a time in the presence of God to see

what was happening, what had happened to him, to the high priest,

because it would mean certain death for them as well.

So the rope was used to pull the high priest out from the most holy of holies

under the veil when the bells stopped ringing.

I don't know if I would have wanted that job either. You know,

the God of Israel, our God is a holy God and no man, even if he's the high priest,

could simply crawl out of bed,

walk out of his temple, and walk right into the presence of God.

I wonder how callously we walk into the presence of God, and how much we take that for granted.

There were certain things that the high priest was required to do before he

was allowed access to the Holy of Holies.

If he came in without meeting the standards set by God, he would be met with

the same fate as his sons Nadab and Abihu, who had offered unauthorized fire and died.

Aaron had to bathe himself, put on sacred garments.

The high priest had to be spotless in dress.

And because Aaron was not without sin, he first had to make atonement for his

own sins and for the sin of his household by sacrificing a bull.

There's no way he could go and make sacrifice for the rest of the people unless

he was purified and atoned for himself.

Only when Aaron, the high priest, had made himself ready could he take the blood

of the sacrificed animal into the presence of God to make atonement for the people.

Every year, the high priest bore the heavy burden of being the mediator between

God and God's people, the Israelites.

Every year, he would offer the same sacrifices, and every year,

the responsibility was all him.

He had to do it alone. He had to do it exactly right.

No one was allowed to be in there with him to help him as he carried out this vital task.

Thank goodness we don't have any record of him developing dementia or Alzheimer's,

because I can't imagine forgetting one step.

What a tremendous weight that must have been for the high priest.

And at the completion of all of the sacrifices of each day of atonement, he knew that in 365 days,

he'd have to do it all over again, because the sins of the people were not forgiven

once and for all by the sacrifice of the goats.

So painstakingly and so trying was his work,

that after it was over, the Jews would gather around him with sympathy for the

pain and suffering of the work that he had done, but also with congratulations

that he had come out alive and made it through safely.

As Pastor Wes Bennett used to say about flying his airplane,

a good landing is anyone you can walk away from.

So now let's walk over and take the Old Testament off of the wall,

or the painting off the Old Testament wall, and move it over into the light of the New Testament.

Aaron was a good high priest, and over the next 1,400 years,

I'm sure there were many good and honorable high priests.

They did the best they could, but they were only men.

Friends, today we have a high priest, but our high priest is much greater and

far better than any of Aaronic priests.

Of course, we know that our priest has a name of Jesus Christ,

and he's our Lord, and he's called the great high priest.

In the light of God's revealed word, it shines from the Old Testament into the

New Testament, and we will see that this painting is a portrait of Christ,

who is our mediator, the one who stands between God and all people.

And in the final judgment, Jesus will stand up and say, this one is mine, I know him or her.

So let's read some scriptures from the book of Hebrews. These passages will

clearly demonstrate that Christ is a far better high priest.

Hebrews chapter 7, verse 21, unlike the other high priests, he does not need

Hebrews 7:21

to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins and then for the sins of people.

He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.

But when he was nine but when christ

came as high priest of the good things that

are now already here he went through the greater and

more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human

hands that is to say it is not a part of this creation he did not enter by means

of the blood of goats and calves but he entered the most holy place once for

all by his own blood thus obtaining eternal redemption.

The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who

are ceremonially unclean, sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.

How much more then will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit

offered himself unblendished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that

lead to death so that we may serve the living God?

For this reason, Christ is the mediator of a new covenant—.

That those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance now that

he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

Then Hebrews 10, day after day, every priest stands and performs his religious duty.

Again and again, he offers the same sacrifice, which can never take away sins.

But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sin,

and he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his

enemies to be made his footstool.

For by one sacrifice, he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

In Christ, the glory, splendor, and power of the high priest comes to full life.

Early we mentioned how Aaron bore this heavy burden of responsibility all alone.

However, it was only a small reflection of the much more crushing load,

which would be thrust upon the shoulders of our great high priest.

All through his life, all through Jesus's life, this heavy weight was upon him,

pressing with ever-increasing force upon his soul.

And in the garden, we see this burden reach its most crushing power.

Jesus was prostrate on his face, praying.

He was tired.

No, he was retired.

He was afraid, and yet he was determined to do his Father's will.

He saw in the distance the flickering lights of torches, and he heard the familiar

sound of soldiers in army as they marched up the hill, and he prayed out,

Father, if it is your will, take this cup from me.

I can't handle it.

But then he said, not my will, but yours be done. I'll do whatever you tell me to do.

So he knew the time was coming, was at hand. He would stand before Jewish and Roman leaders.

His back was destined to be whipped with a Roman scourge across his flesh 39 times.

One time less than the amount that would be used to kill somebody.

Beatings, mockings, insults, pains, nails, and a cruel cross of wood was his destiny.

As he stood up from this place of prayer, he watched as his disciples ran away in fear.

He watched as his disciples deserted him, left him standing all by himself among

these people who were planning to kill him.

Song says he could have called 10,000 angels But he didn't He chose to die for you and me,

No one could help him or be with him As he performed his high priestly duties

Even his father would have to turn his back And not look at him,

Jesus is our high priest And he's far better than any other Aaron wore spotless clothes.

But Christ was spotless in character. He knew no sin.

Aaron entered the earthly tabernacle, but Christ entered the heavenly tabernacle.

Aaron entered the most high place behind the veil, but Christ ripped it wide

open and gave us access to the Father.

Aaron offered sacrifice for his own sins, but Christ offered sacrifice for all

of us when he offered himself as a sacrifice for sins. Aaron entered once a year.

Christ did it once forever.

Aaron offered for the whole nation. Christ offered for the whole world.

Aaron offered blood of animals.

Christ gave his own blood.

Aaron offered many sacrifices. Christ only needed to give one himself,

the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.

Second, as we continue down the hall of the art gallery of the Word of God,

we see another painting.

This one's titled The Great Pardon, and it is a portrait of Christ as our Redeemer.

The atonement for the people involved two goats. These goats were Syrian goats,

a graceful, dignified, and clean animal.

They were often used as symbols of leadership and loyalty.

They were highly appreciated and highly valued by the Jews and were one of the

most valuable domestic animals and possessions.

Aaron brought the two goats to the entrance of the tent of meeting,

and there the fate of each goat was determined.

It was not determined by what either goat had done or not done or how they had behaved.

It was not determined by an evaluation of their condition, which one was the

most blameless or most spotless, it was determined by casting lots.

So the determination of what would happen to each goat was a chance.

One goat was to be sacrificed, and the other goat was to be sent into the wilderness as a scapegoat.

Israel's sin demanded an offering, and one of the goats was to be sacrificed before the Lord.

The high priest would lay his hand on that goat, and as he did,

they would slit the throat of that goat from ear to ear, and the blood would

be poured out and used as a sacrifice for the people's sins.

Even though that goat had not sinned, Israel's sins required a payment of a

price, and the sacrificial blade came across that innocent goat's throat.

And it became our sacrifice. It wasn't enough, however, for the goat simply

to be sacrificed. It wasn't enough merely for its blood to flow.

The blood had to accomplish its purpose and had to be sprinkled on the altar for us.

The first goat symbolized the payment of the price. The second goat symbolized

to the people that the results of that atonement, their sins would be taken away from them.

Then Aaron would place both hands on the head of the second goat,

the one they called the scapegoat, and begin to confess the wickedness of the

people, the sin and rebellion of the people into the body of that goat,

as he held his hands on the goat's head, he would shout aloud, Adultery!

Sleeping with another man's wife. Touching an unclean animal or person in their uncleanness.

And he would go on and on naming these sins as he had his hands on the goat's

head. Today he might shout out, Adultery!

Lust after an image seen on television. deceit

misrepresentation on your taxes

lying misleading your

boss about the work you have not done anger and

hatred murder in your heart or

rage worshiping other things ahead of god gossip speaking evil of another person

malcontent and bitterness profanity vain and unholy use of the Lord's name or

any variation of a need I go on.

At each recitation of sin, the people would bow their heads,

knowing that their sin, which they deserved to die for, was being placed on

the head of an innocent creature.

Then the goat was sent away out into the wilderness, carrying with him the sins of the people.

As we take a closer look at the painting, The Great Pardon, we see that it is

a portrait of Christ, our Redeemer.

So we move it over to the New Testament side. For over 1,400 years,

God had watched from heaven the endless sacrifices of lambs and goats and rams and bulls.

These were a mere rehearsal for that true and final atonement.

And now as they led Jesus out of the garden, the moment of truth was at hand.

Now was the moment when the true Lamb of God would be led, tied,

bound, and slaughtered for all mankind. with vindictive, cruel hatred.

They beat, whipped, mocked the Lamb of God, God himself.

God who had created these people, us in love, turned around and beat him in his face.

How do you think God felt as he looked down from heaven?

How do you think God felt as he saw the suffering of his son?

How do you think God felt when he had to turn his eyes away from his own son

because of the evil that was taken upon his body?

How do you think Jesus felt when he looked up into his father's eyes and he

said, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why have you turned your face from me?

When he took upon himself the sin of the whole world and became the scapegoat

for us and the sacrifice.

Yet Jesus rose from the dead, and he carried his blood atonement into the throne

room of the Heavenly Father, removing our sin as far as the east is from the west.

And we have looked at two pictures, priest and pardon, but there's still one

more picture that we are to look at. It's called the Great Possibility.

Let me read to you from Leviticus chapter 16, three verses.

Leviticus 16 · chapter mention

This is to be a lasting ordinance for you. On the 10th day of the 7th month,

you must deny yourself and not do any work, whether native-born or foreign or

residing among you, because on this day,

atonement will be made for you to cleanse you.

Then before the Lord, you will be clean from all of your sins.

It is a day of Sabbath rest, and you must deny yourselves. It is a lasting ordinance.

It is this picture we see that is a portrait of the great possibility.

The simple fact that the atonement sacrifice was made didn't guarantee that

any individual Israelite would benefit.

They were not to come to the day of atonement half-heartedly.

They were to deny themselves and come humbly before the Lord,

recognizing and acknowledging their sins and their need of redemption.

As we take this painting off the wall of the Old Testament and move it over

to get a better look in light of the New Testament, we see that it is different from all the others.

This portrait is not a painting at all. It's a mirror.

It is a portrait of the great possibility of who we are in Christ Jesus.

Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection has made atonement a great possibility for all of us.

His sacrifice has made forgiveness of sin and eternal life a great possibility

for us. What is that possibility?

That possibility is that when we look into that mirror.

Might see the face of Jesus. Jesus said, Behold, I stand at the door and knock,

and will enter and eat with anyone who opened their friends.

You know, we take for granted a lot of times this portrait of Jesus as the mediator, the great priest.

We take for granted the portrait of Jesus as our Redeemer in the great pardon,

but don't ever take for granted the portrait of Jesus as our great possibility.

As I've said before, we are the only Jesus some people might see.

What kind of reflection are you?

Let's pray. Fathers, this day of celebrate the Holy Spirit's coming and the

filling of the Holy Spirit in the Pentecost Sunday, we know that that filling comes every day.

But Father, we must acknowledge that the reason the Holy Spirit came is because of what your Son did.

Father, may we be a pure, righteous, holy reflection of Jesus. Amen.