Why Did My Savior Come to Earth?

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life” (Lev. 17:11).

In the history of God’s people, from the sacrifice of Abel, through the commanded sacrifices of the Law of Moses, up to the death of Christ, have you ever wondered the amount of blood that was shed from animal sacrifices for sin? Just how many gallons were poured out for atonement? It is incalculable. The Hebrew writer tells us, “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Heb. 9:22). Yet, he would also go on to say, “For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Heb. 10:4). All of that blood shed, and in and of itself, it could not offer forgiveness.

All that blood shed was looking forward to the ultimate sacrifice that would be made by Christ, when He died on the cross. If Christ had not lived a sinless life, and if He had not shed His blood as He did on the cross, we would still be in our sins, and not only us, but all those who preceded us and all who would follow. This was the plan of God before anything was made, before we were created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27; Eph. 1:4). All that animal blood foreshadowed what Christ would be and do for us. “Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Pet. 1:18-19).

Animal sacrifices were to be the best, with no imperfections, as they were pointing to the Son of God, to emphasize the ultimate sacrifice necessary for sins to be forgiven. This is why God was upset with what those Israelites who returned from captivity were doing, offering the blind, lame, and that which was sick (Mal. 1:8). As is pointed out, if even the governor would not be happy with such being given to him, then what about the Lord God, and how that reflected on their attitude toward Him? The sacrificial system pointed to His only Son, Jesus Christ, who become flesh and blood, and pour out that blood for all people of all time. He came in the fulness of time (Gal. 4:4-5), the one time in human history when Christ would provide our redemption through His death, burial, and resurrection (1 Cor. 15:3-4). He is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29).

For people to say, or imply, that sin is no big deal, is to impugn God, who conceived and carried out this plan, the only plan, for our cleansing. It impugns all those who came before us who offered those animal sacrifices in faith of what Christ would do. It impugns the Son of God, who became human in submission to the will of God, which meant dying as a sacrifice for us, that we could be free from the consequences of sin (Phil. 2:8-11).

Were all those animals that were slaughtered, and their blood poured out at the altar in the patriarchal and Mosaic dispensations, really necessary? Absolutely! Why? Because they all dealt with sin, and for sin to be forgiven they had to be sacrificed; they were necessary because of the problem of sin that has plagued humanity since the garden of Eden. They were a constant part of one’s relationship with God, because sin was a constant part of existence. They were sinless, but animals were incapable of sinning, having no consciousness of sin. They pointed to the greater sacrifice, the perfect sacrifice, that would enable them to allow God’s forgiveness for those who offered them. Only Christ was tempted to sin, but chose not to sin. What a great sacrifice His was, and how great should He be to us. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21).

μαράνα θᾶ

Robert