An Atoning Sacrifice

We can turn back to our reading in Leviticus chapter 16.

Leviticus 16 · chapter mention

We're going to look at this passage, maybe especially looking at the verses, verse 6 to verse 10.

! Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself, and shall make atonement for himself and for his house.

Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the Lord and the other lot for Azazel.

And Aaron shall present the coat on which the lot fell for the Lord and use it as a sin offering.

But the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented a lie before the Lord to make atonement over it,

that it may be sent away into the wilderness of Azazel.

Last night we were looking at Leviticus chapter 2, and I mentioned there as we were beginning that all Scripture is God-breathed.

Leviticus 2 · chapter mention

All Scripture is given by God.

But the book of Leviticus is where we see God speaking most in the sense of speaking directly to the people.

And here in chapter 16, the chapter again begins with that kind of emphasis as it begins in verse 1.

The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron.

Again we see God is speaking here.

And he's speaking to them about the wonder of this day, this special day that the people of Israel had.

A special day in their calendar, a significant day.

The day of atonement.

A day when a special sacrifice was offered up.

It happened once a year, and it was brought by the high priest into the very center of the tabernacle,

the place that no one could go.

And only once a year on this special day could the high priest go in.

Any other time or any other person who went in, they faced the consequences of death.

But here the high priest is able to go in and to go in with this sacrifice, making atonement.

Making the people right with God that they might know the forgiveness of their sin.

I mentioned last night as well, just to put this into context,

that the first seven chapters in Leviticus showed to us the kind of offerings that the people had to give to God,

which was a ritual throughout the year.

There was five main offerings.

You had the burnt, the grain, the peace, the sin, and the guilt offering.

And all of these were about the people's relationship with God.

These were the laws, the commands that they were to keep on a regular basis.

As I mentioned earlier on, the grain offering was that sense of coming before God with a sense of worship.

But we know that sin had to be dealt with.

Sin had to be dealt with.

And we still know that that is the case.

And how is sin dealt with?

Well, the Bible says that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin.

And so this day of atonement, this day when a special sacrifice is offered up for the high priest,

the priesthood as a whole, and all the people of Israel,

was a significant day when they saw what the cost of their sins was to give that sacrifice,

that sprinkling of blood in the Holy of Holies before God,

that they might be made right with him.

So sin had to be dealt with.

And that is what we come to remember today as we come to our sacrament before us, the Lord's Supper.

We come to remember the Lord's death, that he came to deal with our sin,

that he came to offer himself up as a sacrifice.

Have you ever imagined what it might have been like to be part of the people of God in the days of Moses

or indeed throughout the Old Testament?

What it would have been like coming into this tabernacle,

into this place where they gathered to see their sins forgiven,

bringing an animal with them, bringing a sin offering, a burnt offering,

a grain offering, a peace offering, a guilt offering all the time.

And then once a year coming to see this day of atonement,

this offering up of a bull, a ram, and two goats.

Imagine what it was like.

Imagine if that is what we had to do today in order for our sins to be forgiven.

What kind of place would this be today?

It wouldn't be silence.

There would be so much noise.

Everyone bringing an animal, an offering before God.

How would we know which one to bring?

How would we know an animal without blemish?

Where would we find one that would satisfy this offering?

How long would it take us to get through that sacrificial ritual,

offering up these sacrifices?

How messy it would be.

How noisy.

How smelly.

All of these things.

What it would be like for us if that's what we had to do today.

And yet, in a sense, we do the same as we were doing in those days.

But we are doing it because of what Jesus has done for us.

And that is what makes all the difference.

We don't come today to offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice.

We come through the one who has sacrificed himself once and for all.

You see, Leviticus is telling us that this will be fulfilled in what we see in the New Testament,

in what we see in the Lord Jesus Christ.

For example, if you were to look at the book of Hebrews,

which someone has described as a commentary on Leviticus,

you see just how it is fulfilled.

Especially in maybe chapters 9 and 10 of Hebrews,

there you see in chapter 9 that redemption is through the blood of Christ,

that forgiveness is found through the blood of Christ.

And then in chapter 10, that Christ sacrifices himself once and for all.

You see the fulfillment of it.

And as we look at Leviticus 16 today,

and especially as we look at these two goats that were offered,

we see how what the people had to do long ago in order to approach God

and know forgiveness for their sins points us towards what we are doing here.

Worshiping God, giving thanks to him for the forgiveness of our sins

in remembrance of him,

in remembrance of what Christ has done for us.

And so I want us to see three things from this day of atonement,

this passage before us today.

We see, first of all, the purpose of the sacrifice.

Secondly, we're going to look at the people of the sacrifice.

And then thirdly, the prophecy of the sacrifice.

But first of all, we're going to see the purpose of the sacrifice.

It's a long chapter.

And as we've read through it, you see,

it goes into a lot of detail, chapter 16.

And we can't take everything away from here today.

There's so much in it, so much in all the different details

that you could tease out with time.

But we want to see, overall,

the passage is speaking about a special purpose

in this day of atonement.

What is it about?

It is about the people knowing their sins are forgiven.

Knowing their sins are forgiven.

It's interesting how you look at the chapters

that come immediately before,

from chapter 7 or 8 through to chapter 10,

and then chapter 17 onwards.

When you look at what's around this day of atonement

in terms of the chapters,

what you see is that there is law.

In chapter 8 to 10, there's the law of different things.

And then in chapter 17,

it goes back into talking about

the laws against eating blood.

And there's lots of different things about law.

What they are to do.

And as you see with law,

it's so often a burden.

Because there is no one who can keep the law fully.

And so the law becomes a burden.

But in the midst of that,

you have chapter 16.

And what chapter 16,

this day of atonement,

shows the people their hope.

It shows the grace of God.

It shows that it's not by keeping the law

completely and perfectly

that we are forgiven,

but through sacrifice.

Through sacrifice offered to God.

And when we look at these two goats in particular,

Aaron had a bull offering for his sin,

but then for all the people,

two goats were to be offered.

And as we look at these goats,

we see that here we find

the way that forgiveness was found.

One goat was to be a blood sacrifice.

And the other was what is called a scapegoat,

or a goat of riddance.

You'll have heard the phrase good riddance.

It means putting something away.

Something that was maybe evil.

Something that was not right.

Good riddance to that.

It's good to get it away.

And that's what the riddance goat is.

It's that sense of putting away.

And what this goat was doing

was putting sin away.

So there was the two goats.

One was the blood offering,

the sacrifice.

And one was the scapegoat,

the riddance goat,

that their sin was removed

into the wilderness.

And this is what was needed

for sin to be forgiven.

And for that assurance of sin forgiven.

One day in the year,

this day of atonement

was significant for the people.

Because throughout the year,

they broke the law.

Throughout the year,

they could not keep the law.

They sinned.

And therefore, this day was needed.

And we know ourselves

that by the law alone,

we cannot keep everything perfect.

We know that we sin against God

in thought, word, and deed

on a daily basis.

And we know that God

will not just allow sin

to go unpunished.

That we too need

the forgiveness of our sin.

And what we see in this passage,

we see looking forward then

to Jesus Christ.

The first goat is the blood offering.

That there is no forgiveness of sin

without the shedding of blood.

And you see the detail

it goes into in this passage.

It shows that Aaron,

as the high priest,

was to sprinkle the blood.

All the bits were to be burnt,

taken away.

Every bit of this goat was burnt.

So there was nothing left.

It was fully sacrificed

to God.

And Jesus has done that for us.

His blood was shed.

His body was broken

that we might have forgiveness

of sin.

Now the sacrifice,

the blood offering,

we can see right through

the Old Testament.

But the scapegoat,

it was once a year,

along with this other goat

that was sacrificed as well.

This once a year day

of atonement.

And the scapegoat

just reminds us that

as well as the shedding of blood,

that our sins

are removed.

That they are cast

away.

Leviticus 16,

Leviticus 16:21

verse 21,

it says there,

And Aaron shall lay

both his hands

on the head

of the live goat

and confess over it

all the iniquities

of the people of Israel

and all their transgressions,

all their sins.

So this scapegoat

had all the sins

of the people

laid upon it.

And you see,

the language is quite familiar

to what Isaiah says

in Isaiah chapter 53,

Isaiah 53 · chapter mention

looking at the Lord Jesus Christ.

The scapegoat is described

as on whose head

is laid the sins of Israel.

What does in Isaiah 53

say about the Lord Jesus?

The Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

All the sin

of his people

laid on him.

The Lord has laid on him

the iniquity

of us all.

Sin is dealt with

by God.

And so what is

the scapegoat

about?

Well, there are

two things

that we could take

from the scapegoat

to help us understand

just how God deals

with our sin.

One is that removal

of sin.

The sin

being carried away

out into the wilderness.

Azazel is most likely

a place in the wilderness,

a place that

the goat was sent to

out into the wilderness,

out of their sight.

We sang in Psalm 103,

the Lord removing

our sin from us.

What does it say?

As far as east

is distant

from the west,

so far as he removed

our sin.

Out

into the wilderness,

away

from his people,

our sin

is removed.

And isn't there

a wonderful assurance

in that

for us today?

For you as you come,

for me as I come,

that as we confess

our sin

and as we look

to the Lord Jesus Christ,

he has dealt

with our sin.

Through the shedding

of his blood,

he has dealt

with our sin.

But also in the removing

of our sin,

in it being taken

away from us.

The wilderness

here is a reminder

to us of what

our sin

deserves.

Our sin

deserves that

being cut off

from God,

sent out

into the wilderness,

as it were,

away from God.

That is what

our sin

deserves,

your sin

and mine.

But as we looked

at last evening

and as we see

in this passage

as well,

the assurance

of the people

of God

was found

in their coming

to God

in this way

and offering

up a sacrifice.

And so

this day

of atonement

is the ultimate

way for them

to know

their forgiveness

of sin.

Sin forgotten.

Do you realize

that your sin

is forgotten

in Christ?

Because sin

is often

a burden.

Sin weighs

heavy

upon us.

The sin

in our hearts,

our individual

sins,

our collective

sins,

they all

weigh heavy

upon us.

But as we

come

confessing

our sin,

he is faithful

and just

to forgive,

to cast

them away.

Micah chapter 7

Micah 7 · chapter mention

has another

beautiful illustration

of what this is

as well,

where it says

in verse 19,

he will again

have compassion

on us,

he will tread

our iniquities

under foot.

And then he says,

you will cast

all our sins

into the depths

of the sea.

Our sin

is put away.

Why

and how?

Because

the Lord

laid on him

the iniquities

of us all.

Paul says

in 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5,

he made him

who knew

no sin

to be sin

that we might

become the

righteousness

of God

in him.

There is Paul

speaking about

that same

kind of language,

laying on him

the iniquities

of us all.

And what did

Jesus do

for us?

Well,

when you think

of the scapegoat

as forsaken,

as put away

into the wilderness,

what was

Jesus' cry

on the cross?

My God,

my God,

why

have you

forsaken

me?

It's the language

of the scapegoat

taken into

the wilderness.

Forsaken,

put away,

cast off.

Jesus

took it.

My God,

my God,

why

have you

forsaken me?

That is what

we deserved.

that is what

your sin

deserved,

what my sin

deserved.

And he

took it.

He took

our sin.

He removed

our sin

as far as

east

is from

the west.

And doesn't

that remind us

that if we are

looking anywhere

else for

forgiveness of

sin,

if we are

thinking that

by the law

or by any

other way

we can

satisfy God

and that we

can please

him enough

that our

sins will

be forgiven,

we cannot.

Only at

the cross,

only in

Jesus Christ

can we

know the

forgiveness

of sin.

The purpose

of this

day was

for the

forgiveness

of their

sin.

Our purpose

today is to

remember how

our sins

are forgiven,

are cast

away through

his blood

and through

his

forsakenness.

Then that

leads us

secondly to

ask,

well,

what about

the people

involved?

As you

look at this

passage,

you see that

there are

people involved

in this

day of

atonement.

The priest,

the high

priest,

Aaron is

clearly

involved and

other priests

are involved,

but not

exclusively.

because you

see the

focus is

on all

the people.

In

verse 5,

he shall

take from

the congregation

of the

people of

Israel two

male goats

for a sin

offering and

one ram for

a burnt

offering.

From the

congregation

of the

people.

There was a

sense in

that this

was something

that was

done together.

There was

significance in

this and it

was because

sin was the

common factor

in them all.

There was

no one who

was immune

from sin.

And the

same is true

for ourselves

today.

We are all

here because

of that

common problem

that we are

all sinners

before a

holy God.

None of us

can come and

say, but I

have no sin.

None of us

can say we

are perfect.

We all

fall short.

And you

see the

collective

nature in

this in

that it

was for

all the

people as

you look

in verse

16 as

well.

Thus he

shall make

atonement for

the holy

place because

of the

uncleanness of

the people

of Israel

and because

of their

transgressions,

all their

sins.

It was a

sense of the

nature and

the problem

of sin was

among the

people all

together.

And that

this day of

atonement was

for all the

people together

as well.

The high

priest, the

priesthood, the

sin of all the

people was to

be dealt

with because

this sin

affected the

whole camp,

if you like.

The sanctuary

was impure.

The place

where God

met with

his people

was impure.

sin had

to be

dealt

with.

And when

you think

of how

we see

that

sanctuary

element

fulfilled

in the

New Testament,

where do

you see

it?

Where does

God

tabernacle

with his

people?

It is in

the people

themselves.

Because

when you

look at

what Jesus

says,

he says,

where two

or three

are gathered

in my

name, I

am in

your

midst.

And so

the congregation

were looking

at their

relationship

with God

collectively.

And what

the people

wanted was

the presence

of God

in their

midst, the

Lord to

bless them

as a

people.

And in

order for

that to

happen,

the people

collectively

had to

confess their

sin.

From the

congregation

of the

people,

these goats

were brought.

And so

today,

as we

come, we

don't just

come

individually.

You don't

just sit

at the

Lord's

table.

You don't

just look

on, separate

from everybody

else.

We are

all here

together.

We all

come, not

individually,

but collectively.

We confess

our individual

sins before

God, but we

can do it

collectively as

well.

and say

before God,

Father,

before you

we have

sinned.

We have

sinned as

a people.

So we

come

collectively

in that

way.

But on the

other hand,

as you look

at that,

there is also

the theme

that we

come together

to remember

the Lord's

death.

The people

here collectively

knew the

forgiveness of

their sins.

And today,

as we take

the bread

and the

wine,

yes, we

do it

individually,

but we

do it

together.

This we

do in

remembrance

of him,

as brothers

and sisters

in the

Lord,

as the

people of

God,

seeking his

blessing,

seeking his

presence with

us together,

asking for

his forgiveness

upon us,

asking for

his peace

over us,

asking for

his guidance

on us

going forward.

We come

together as

the congregation

of his

people.

In our

study on

Wednesday night,

we were

looking at

Romans chapter

five.

And again,

as we

think of

that book,

it's a

book that's

so clearly

tied into

the likes

of Leviticus

as well,

where we

see God's

work among

his people.

And the

book of

Romans,

as we've

been looking

at in

this study,

it's all

about that

idea of

we cannot

keep the

law.

How are we

justified

before God?

We cannot

keep the

law.

We are

justified

by faith.

And in

Romans

five,

chapter two,

it says,

through him

we have

also obtained

access by

faith into

this grace

in which

we stand.

And when

you think

of the

access that

the high

priest was

giving to

the people

and to

the holy

of holy

here,

once a

year and

once a

year only

could he

go into

that place

and have

access to

God for

the forgiveness

of sin.

What do

we have

in Jesus

Christ?

We have

obtained

access by

faith into

this grace

in which

we stand.

Access

there means

to be

introduced.

And the

thought is

that the

only way

to get

close to

a powerful

dignity

is to

have someone

who will

introduce

you.

And when

we think

of it in

this sense,

Jesus

is the

one who

brings us

before God.

We have

obtained

access into

this grace

in which we

stand.

We can

only come

before him

through Jesus

Christ.

Because it

is Jesus

Christ who

brings us

before God

the Father.

Here is my

brother.

Here is my

sister.

Here is the

one who I

died for.

And only

through him

can we

stand.

Only

through the

high priest

did the

people have

that assurance

in the

days of

Leviticus.

But through

Jesus Christ

we have

that assurance

today.

Are you

standing

by his

grace?

Are you

standing

assured?

the question

that often

comes as

we think

of sin

is can

my sin

be forgiven?

Will my

sin not

come back

and haunt

me?

You can

imagine the

people in

the days of

Leviticus

wondering about

the scapegoat

on which the

sins had been

placed on and

cast away into

the wilderness.

They would

have been

like, what

if it comes

back?

Would that

have been

you?

That element

of doubt.

What if it

comes back?

What if my

sin finds

me out

again?

Well the

man who

was appointed

to take

the goat

out into

the wilderness

said he

had to

take it

12 miles

into the

wilderness

and then

cast it

away and

he had to

remain until

that scapegoat

was completely

out of

sight and

only then

could he

come back.

As you see

as you read

through when

he returned

he had to

wash himself

cleanse himself

from all of

that sin but

the sin was

gone.

Never to

return.

Are you

coming today

with that

sense of

doubt?

what if

what if

my sin

comes back?

What if

my sin

will come

between me

and God?

Can he

really

forgive

my sin?

Well as

you come

in faith

as you

come

trusting

in him

you can

remember

that as

far as

east is

from the

west

so far

as he

removed

he has

cast them

into the

depths

of the

sea

he has

borne

our

sin

the

iniquities

of us

all

was laid

on him

he

was

forsaken

that you

might have

peace

with him

and be

able to

stand

in that

grace

peace

we

come

by

faith

the

final

thing

we see

here

before

we

come

to

take

part

in

the

Lord's

supper

is

the

prophecy

it

foretold

the

day of

atonement

as we've

been

alluding

to

throughout

here

points

us

towards

that

great

sacrifice

that

once

and

for

all

sacrifice

why

is it

today

that

instead

of

offering

up

a

goat

or

sending

another

goat

out

into

the

wilderness

why

are we

here

gathered

around

the

word

of

God

as

we

do

why

are we

not

lined

up

with

an

animal

to

bring

before

God

to

sacrifice

to

him

because

no

sacrifice

could

satisfy

no

sacrifice

could

suffice

for

our

sin

but

instead

we

have

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

the

one

who

gave

his

life

as

a

ransom

for

many

when

you

look

at

Leviticus

Leviticus 6 · chapter mention

chapter

6

we

remind

it

of

the

ongoing

nature

of

the

sacrificial

system

it

says

in

verse

13

the

fire

must

be

kept

burning

on

the

altar

continually

it

must

not

go

out

it

was

ongoing

the

day

of

atonement

was

once

a

year

but

throughout

the

year

there

were

sacrifices

being

made

continually

is

that

true

for

us

today

not

in

the

same

way

because

at

the

cross

Jesus

said

it

is

finished

it

is

done

and

so

as

we

come

to

the

Lord's

table

as

we

come

to

the

Lord's

supper

it's

trusting

in

the

finished

work

of

Christ

and

that

is

where

we

are

to

look

that

is

what

we

have

before

us

the

broken

body

and

the

shed

blood

poured

out

for you

that you

might

know

forgiveness

of sin

so God

doesn't

require

this

kind

of

sacrifice

anymore

because

Jesus

is

our

high

priest

he

offered

himself

to

satisfy

divine

justice

to

reconcile

us

to

God

that

we

will

be

right

with

him

and

so

as

we

come

to

the

Lord's

table

are

you

looking

to

yourself

are

you

looking

to

your

sin

and

saying

but

how

can

he

forgive

me

or

are

you

looking

to

him

the

hymn

writer

says

when

Satan

tempts

me

to

despair

and

tells

me

of

the

guilt

within

upward

I

look

and

see

him

there

who

made

an

end

of

all

my

sin

because

the

sinless

saviour

died

my

sinful

soul

is

counted

free

for

God

the

just

is

satisfied

to

look

on

him

and

pardon

me

to

look

on

him

and

pardon

me

you

in

some

ways

we

could

say

there's

no

mess

here

today

in

the

sense

of

the

whole

sacrificial

system

and the

mess

and the

noise

and the

sights

of

that

but

in

another

sense

we can

say

there is

a

mess

here

because

we are

all

a mess

we are

all a

mess

before

God

because

of

our

sin

when

you

look

in

your

heart

what

do

you

see

you

see

a

distance

from

God

you

see

a

sin

that

keeps

that

distance

but

don't

just

look

at

yourself

because

God

looked

on

him

on

Jesus

to

pardon

you

and

so

yes

we

look

to

our

sin

in one

sense

because

we

need

to

confess

our

sin

but

we

look

to

Christ

we

thank

him

for

what

he

has

done

for

us

our

scapegoat

our

sacrificial

goat

his

blood

shed

his

forsaken

on the

cross

all

that

our

sin

might

be

forgiven

the

people

in the

days

of

Moses

they

came

to

this

day

looking

for

forgiveness

forgiveness

we

come

in the

same way

confessing

our

sin

but not

just

looking

for

forgiveness

but

remembering

our

sin

is

forgiven

in

him

he

was

crushed

for

our

iniquities

all

the

sin

was

laid

on

him

and

so

we

come

thankful

we

come

to

do

this

in

remembrance

of

him

let

us

pray

Lord

our

gracious

God

we

thank

you

that

there

is

nothing

that

we

could

possibly

ever

bring

to

you

that

would

satisfy

you

for

our

sin

and

yet

oh

Lord

you

have

opened

up

that

way

for

us

not

that

we

would

come

with

a

bull

or

goat

or

ram

but

that

we

would

come

by

faith

in

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

the

one

who

paid

the

price

the

one

who

was

forsaken

the

one

who

was

condemned

the

one

upon

whom

all

our

sin

was

laid

and

we

pray

today

Lord

that

we

would

remember

the

wonder

of

that

forgiveness

that

as

far

as

east

is

from

the

west

so

far

as

he

removed

our

sin

from

us

cast

into

the

depths

of

the

sea

never

again

to

condemn

us

Lord

we

thank you

that as

we

come

in

faith

that we

might

know

that in

him

we

stand

in

that grace

presented

before

you

by a

saviour

by a

precious

saviour

so

Lord

continue

with us

bless

us

and keep

us

as we

ask all

things

for the

forgiveness

of our

sin

in his

name

amen

as

we

come

to

partake

in

the

Lord's

supper

we

ask

as

well

the

question

of

who

the

Lord's

supper

is

for

and

this

is

what

we

call

the

fencing

of

the

table

a

part

where

it's

made

clear

just

who

should

come

to

the

Lord's

supper

who

should

sit

at

the

Lord's

table

as