Aaron shall make
atonement on its horns once a year. With the blood of the sin offering of
atonement he shall make atonement for it once in the year throughout your
generations. It is most holy to the Lord.
(Shemot / Exodus 30:10; ESV)
I grew up
knowing about and to some extent observing Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement,
the holiest day of the Jewish year. But like most of my friends, I knew very
little of its background and meaning. I knew that the main aspects of this holy
day were that it was to be treated as a Sabbath, so we didn't go to school, a
complete fast, including no food or water, and hours and hours in the
synagogue. I was aware that Yom Kippur had to do with forgiveness of sins, but
beyond that I knew next to nothing about its historical or contemporary
significance.
So on that
day over thirty years ago, when I first heard about Yeshua being the Messiah, I
was a little surprised to hear that sacrifice was a key aspect of the ancient
Yom Kippur rituals. Of course many Jewish people are much more informed than I
was when I was 19 years old, but then again many are now still just as
uninformed as I was back then.
I don't
blame them, because Judaism today is a bloodless religion. Those who are in the
know are fully aware that the blood-soaked sacrificial system was foundational
to ancient Judaism. But with the destruction of the Temple in the year 70, the
sacrifices ceased. After almost two thousand years of no sacrifices, the
importance of blood in Jewish ritual slowly (excuse the pun) dried up, so that
now the place of blood is more or less forgotten. I had forgotten about it. My
parents had forgotten about it. Or at least they forgot to tell me.
Until that
day when I first heard about Yeshua, that is. I was told then that the
sacrifices done year by year didn't really accomplish anything - at least not
permanently - as they had to be repeated. The Cohen HaGadol (English: the High
Priest) made atonement through sacrifice every year. Whatever good it did, it
didn't last, as it had to be repeated every year. Every year until Yeshua
offered himself as the final and permanent sacrifice. If this concept is new to
you, please don't turn off yet. For many the reason why Yeshua's sacrifice is
difficult to comprehend is because our Judaism is bloodless. But according to
Torah a bloodless Judaism is not true Judaism.
I am also
aware that any concept that Messiah or any person would give themselves in
sacrifice may be repugnant to you. But I have come to see this has far more to
do with rabbinic anti-Christian rhetoric than it does Torah truth. Abraham and
Isaac foreshadowed Messiah's sacrifice, not to mention the prophetic writings
of Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53, where we see God's representative unjustly suffering
and dying for sins. If you don't believe me, check it out yourself.
The truth is
contemporary Judaism is bloodless. That's a problem. No blood, no atonement. No
atonement, we remain separated from God.
What I was
told that day is correct: the ancient sacrifices which are no longer offered
due to the Temple's destruction, were designed to prepare us for the Messiah's
perfect sacrifice. And so if we admit our sins and put our trust in Yeshua,
then we can be completely forgiven and have unhindered access to the God of
Israel. Blood is not my favorite topic, but we can't live without it.
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