Christ in the Sin Offering

Introduction

Over the recent weeks as as we have discussed the various articles of clothing for the high-priest and the ordinary priest we have talked much about how the priests being clothed in these garments is pointing us forward in redemptive history to the imputed righteousness of Christ. We have seen in the Word how after the instructions were given to fabricate the clothing of the priests, God began to instruct Moses regarding how to set these men apart and ordain them to minister to God in the tabernacle. In many ways, as the priesthood is ultimately instituted they would begin to represent the people before God, but most importantly, they would represent God before the people. This is why we see great care taken in all of the clothing, but an even greater emphasis on the clothing of the high priest. Again, ultimately these things point forward to Christ as our Great High Priest and the work that He is doing even now as He continues to intercede on our behalf in the throne room of God.

Last week we began looking at the ceremony that Moses was to perform to do the work of consecrating and ordaining the priesthood. Those two words, although they are used together carry with them different meanings. To be consecrated was to be set apart for the work of ministering to God completely, meaning that after this ceremony had been performed their entire life was given over to God, serving Him in the tabernacle became their first priority. To ordain is the process of installing the individual with the responsibilities that go along with the priesthood, ordain literally means to fill their hands. Through this process we also saw the ritual cleansing that took place as they were presented and before they were clothed in the vestments of the priesthood. This symbolically removed the taint of being unclean as the garments were put onto the priests.

As we proceed forward in the text this morning we will see that although they have been ritually cleansed, clothed in their priestly garments, the high priests anointed and the others ordained, they are not yet prepared to serve God. Before we proceed, it is necessary in our day that we pause here and take in the enormity of this statement. The priests have been dressed in the finest garments, fully cleansed by the water so that the outward appearance is one of cleanliness, the high priest has been ordained to identify him as one specifically chosen and set apart by God, they have all been ordained with the tasks that are to be set before them, they appear to be ready for service, the certainly look the part, but their reality is something completely different.

Many years later, Jesus would issue scathing remarks to the Pharisees in His day, in Matthew’s gospel we read these words:

Matthew 23:25–33 LSB

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. “In this way, you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ “So you bear witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. “Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

Now, understand that Aaron and his sons were not presenting themselves in this way, but by outward appearances to the people, they would have seemed ready to serve. Today we stand some 2000 years later and we look at the people who are supposed to be leading the people of God according to the word of God. Many of them look the part, they smell the part, they have been ordained into the roles, but there is something that they lack, while the outside speaks of a righteousness, the inside is filled with filth. We are told in Hebrews 9:22 “And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” other translations render forgiveness as remission of sins, either way, without the blood, the outer clothing, the cleansing, the anointing and the ordaining was all in vain. Which brings us to our text for this morning where we will see that it was necessary for blood to be shed, not only for Aaron and his sons, but for all who are to be God’s people.

Turn in your text to Leviticus 8 and like last week keep your finger there and turn to Exodus 29. Our text for this morning will be Exodus 29:10-14 and Leviticus 8:14-17:

Text

Please stand for the reading of God’s Holy, Inerrant, Infallible, Authoritative, Sufficient and Complete Word:

Exodus 29:10–14 LSB

“Then you shall bring the bull near before the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull. “You shall slaughter the bull before Yahweh at the doorway of the tent of meeting. “You shall take some of the blood of the bull and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger; and you shall pour out all the blood at the base of the altar. “You shall take all the fat that covers the entrails and the lobe of the liver and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them, and you shall offer them up in smoke on the altar. “But the flesh of the bull and its hide and its refuse, you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.

Leviticus 8:14–17 LSB

Then he brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering. Next Moses slaughtered it and took the blood and with his finger put some of it around on the horns of the altar and purified the altar. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and set it apart as holy, to make atonement for it. He also took all the fat that was on the entrails, and the lobe of the liver, and the two kidneys and their fat; and Moses offered it up in smoke on the altar. But the bull and its hide and its flesh and its refuse he burned in the fire outside the camp, just as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

Almighty God, to You and You alone do we give all glory, honor and praise, You alone are holy, holy, holy. We stand in your presence this morning asking that our hearts are made opened and prepared for Your truth. Lord we ask that as we approach Your word we do so with humility, with eagerness, with a desire to hear your truth. I pray that as we are confronted with Your word this morning that Your Spirit would be about His work, illuminating the sin in our lives. Lord that we would respond in repentance and faith, knowing that even as there is sin remaining in our flesh, that Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary’s cross paid our debt in full and that by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone are we eternally saved. Father we are thankful to You for sending Christ, we are thankful that the Lord Jesus willfully took upon Himself the full measurement of the God’s wrath for us and we are thankful to the Holy Spirit for His regenerating work whereby we are enabled to have faith unto salvation. We ask now that the Spirit continue His work and guide us into all truth. We ask this in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Need

To fully understand the ramifications of the necessity of this portion of the sacrifice it is necessary to recall to mind the circumstances surrounding the nature of humanity. In Genesis 2 God commanded Adam Genesis 2:15-17

Genesis 2:15–17 LSB

Then Yahweh God took the man and set him in the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. And Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may surely eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it; for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

Notice, that from the very beginning the words of the first clause in Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death...” are proclaimed. God was very specific in His pronouncement and the fact that they did not die a physical death is nothing short of the grace of God being poured out as He mercifully withheld the fullness of His wrath. However, the need for justice to be satisfied still remained and after God pronounced His punishment on Adam, Eve, and the serpent we read these words in Genesis 3:21 “Then Yahweh God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them.” God provided for Adam and Eve righteousness obtained by a substitutionary atonement, meaning that something, in this case the animal that gave up its skin for their clothing, paid with its life the debt that was owed by Adam and Eve as a result of their sin.

You will also notice that in His pronouncement of judgement on Adam and Eve both, God introduced the truth that we see throughout the pages of scripture regarding the effects of that first sin on all of humanity. Romans 1:18-21

Romans 1:18–21 LSB

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, both His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Romans 3:23 compacts this by reading Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

I was asked a question the other day, “And why is the rest of the world bad?”. I believe that this question strikes at the heart of the issue that we face in our world today. We define our actions in terms of good and bad as it relates to our human perception, which is corrupt to begin with, and we justify our actions with moral relativism. We have a fundamental lack of understanding when it comes to what constitutes sin. This should not be a surprise when it comes to the world, however, I am speaking not of the world, but of those who would call themselves Christians.

So, let us be clear from the outset, what is the definition of sin, not according to the world, but according to God. Sin is defined as ANY lack of conformity to or transgression of the law of God, in the inward state and habit of the soul, as well as in the outward conduct of life, whether by omission or commission. Now, to our 20th century ears this sounds extremely harsh, it sounds as if I am promoting legalism, but understanding the definition of sin is the first step to recognizing that it is impossible for us to live our lives without sin. We are not capable of maintaining this by our power or strength. Let me repeat the definition, it is any lack of conformity to, or obedience to, or transgression of, or violation of, the law of God, that is the moral law given to mankind at creation, in the inward state, who we are at our core, and habit of the soul, as well as in the outward conduct of life, whether by omission, not doing what is commanded, or commission, a deliberate violation… If we are truthful with ourselves, this is who we are, we are sinful creatures by nature, if we honestly assess ourselves, we will quickly lose count of the sins which we commit daily, again, understanding the definition of sin, helps us to understand the cost of sin, and the truth that it is not a price that we are able to pay.

The Sin Offering

Which brings us back to the ceremony that God is leading us through here in Exodus. As I have said before I will say again, these commands are not commands for us to obey, the situation is different, but as God’s word it is still 2 Timothy 3:16–17 “...profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Moses is commanded now, having completed the ceremonial washing, clothing, anointing of Aaron and the ordination of the priests to bring near the bull to the doorway of the tent of meeting. Notice, that although the have been ceremonially washed, anointed and ordained, they are still not able to enter into the actual tent and the presence of God that is represented within. The command to bring near is the command to present this bull before God.

As the bull is brought near, Aaron and his sons are to come forward and lay their hands on the bull. There is nothing magical in the action of laying on of hands but there is much that is symbolic.

First it is there to symbolize personal identification. As they placed their hands on the bull they would have been confronted with the fact that this animal was fixing to be sacrificed in their place. While it may seem that this would have not made a big impression on them because the slaughter of animals for food is common place in our culture and would have been in theirs, this would have been the prized bull, remember from verse 1 that this bull was to be without blemish, an outstanding specimen and as we discussed then, would have been costly.

Secondly it symbolized the substitutionary nature of the death of this animal. That it was not anything that the animal had done, after all it had acted only in the way of an animal, that the animal was being put to death, but because of what they had done. One can only imagine the range of emotions that each of these men may have felt, but for a moment think on just Aaron. By the time that this is put into place Aaron has fabricated the golden calf for the people to worship, we read in Exodus 32:1-6

Exodus 32:1–6 LSB

Then the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain. So the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Arise, make us gods who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” And Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he took this from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” And Aaron looked and built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to Yahweh.” So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink and rose up to play.

And now, Aaron stands before God at the doorway of the tent of meeting, being confronted with his sins, not the least of which was the golden calf episode, places his hands on this animal knowing that it shall die because of his transgressions...

Scripture tells us that the next thing to happen was that Moses was to slaughter the bull, it is not stated in the scripture whether this was done while the men had their hands on the animal or not, but either way, after acknowledging their sin and symbolically transferring them to the creature, they were forced to watch as it paid the ultimate price and died for their sins.

How can one read this, study this, and not understand that this is a foreshadow of the vicarious substitutionary death of Christ on calvary’s cross for the sins of His people?

Moses is then commanded by God to take some of the blood and put it on the horns of the altar. You may recall from our study of the altar that they horns were symbolic of not only God’s strength and power, but also that of taking refuge in Him. This action was to purify the altar, the remainder of the blood was to be poured out at the base of the altar. These actions combined symbolized that the altar was set apart as holy (Leviticus 8:15 “Next Moses slaughtered it and took the blood and with his finger put some of it around on the horns of the altar and purified the altar. Then he poured out the rest of the blood at the base of the altar and set it apart as holy, to make atonement for it.” ) but also that the sacrifice that was to be made would be acceptable to God as payment for the sins of the people.

In order to complete the ceremony, Moses is commanded to place the choicest pieces on the altar that they be burned as an offering to God and the rest of the bull was to be taken outside of the camp and burned. This is symbolic of removing and destroying anything that is unclean amongst the people of God. In fact, this is the first time that this action is mentioned, Currid writes:

A Study Commentary on Exodus: Volume 2: Exodus 19–40 Sacrifice of the Bull (Exodus 29:10–14)

it becomes an idiomatic way of referring to the place of the defiled and the unclean. For example, the leper must reside ‘outside the camp all the days he has the infection; he is unclean’ (

Penal Substitutionary Atonement

As I mentioned a few moments ago, it should be difficult for anyone who claims to be a believer to see that this points us forward into redemptive history towards the Lord Jesus Christ’s death on the cross in our place, but so that we are crystal clear, let us press into this reality in the remainder of our time together this morning because this is the heart of the gospel.

It begins by referring back to what we spoke about a moment ago and understanding what sin truly is, any lack of conformity to or transgression of the law of God, in the inward state and habit of the soul, as well as in the outward conduct of life, whether by omission or commission. This applies, again, to the moral law of God. Just as the people of Jesus’ day were guilty in misunderstanding the law, so are we. They believed that strict rigidity to the law, merely physically being obedient was enough, which is why Jesus spent so much time during the sermon on the mount helping them to see that the physical actions are merely a symptom of a larger problem, namely that we are sinful to the core of our being.

If we take any of the ten commandments and we begin to study that commandment in depth and we compare what we learn to our lives, how quickly should we come to recognize that we have failed to keep even one and of course, if we are guilty of one, we are guilty of all. The reality is that we can see this guilt manifesting itself in people all around us, even if they will not admit that it is true or real, or that they feel it.

The second thing that we have to recognize is that there is a penalty for this sin. A price that has to be paid, it was true in the garden when Adam and Eve sinned, it was true of Job’s friends when they sinned, it was true of the men that God had set apart as His priesthood and it is true today. This is not some idea that only began once the law was imparted to Moses, it began in Eden, the first command to man literally spells out the wages of sin and just as that sin demanded a payment in blood, so does ours. For the Israelites this was done by the sacrifices that were repeated, notice in Hebrews 7:27 it was a daily things that happened “... daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people....”.

Here, here is where the truth of the gospel is beautiful, if we continue in Hebrews 7 looking at the verses that surround 27 we read: Hebrews 7:26-28

Hebrews 7:26–28 LSB

For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, who has been made perfect forever.

“He did once for all when He offered up Himself.” Once for all here applies to all of the sins of all of God’s people. Christ’s death, the only acceptable sacrifice, when we consider the words of God in Hebrews 10:14 “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” By His sacrifice, our sin debt is paid, God’s wrath against His people is fully, totally and completely satisfied. We have spoken at length regarding the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, whereby His righteousness is imputed, or counted to us as ours, but what we cannot miss is that there is another imputation that has happened. This is the imputation that is foreshadowed by the laying on of hands by Aaron and his sons on the bull and that is the imputation of our sins onto Christ… Our sins counted to Him, whom scripture describes as 2 Corinthians 5:21 “to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

To each individual who hears and understands the truths that we confess here this morning regarding Christ’s death on the cross, one of two things will happen;

The Holy Spirit has moved upon your heart to regenerate you allowing you to hear the truth, convicting you of your need for repentance, and guiding you into faith in Christ which leads unto salvation.

There is no inward movement of the Spirit, your heart is that of stone, your ears are deaf and you are still in your sins.

For those of us who fall into the first category, the hearing of this great truth has two impacts on us, first, it causes us to break forth in true praise and worship, our hearts are bursting with the reality of Christ’s work. Secondly, we cannot help but to tell others this truth. It will be difficult, it will be challenging but you will share the gospel.

Conclusion

This morning we have witnessed the graphic and glorious reality of substitution—how the blood of another was required before the priests, though washed, clothed, and ordained, could ever serve before the holy presence of God. Every detail of the sacrificial system points us forward to the greater and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the spotless Lamb who bore our sin and satisfied the wrath of God. Without the shedding of His blood, all our outward religion is in vain—our worship hollow, our service empty, our appearance deceiving.

The truth is plain: no amount of cleansing, no robe of reputation, no religious office or outward righteousness can substitute for the blood. Only Christ's atoning death can cleanse us from the inside out and make us fit to serve the living God.

So here is the pressing question: Have you truly laid your hands upon the head of the Substitute? Have you confessed your sin, truly repented of your sins, cast yourself upon His mercy, and trusted wholly in His finished work? Or are you content to simply look the part while continuing to be a white-washed tomb, dead and unclean within?

There is only one sacrifice that God accepts. Come, by faith, to Christ alone—and be truly, eternally clean.

Closing Prayer

Gracious and Merciful Heavenly Father,

We come before You acknowledging our deep need. Help us to see our sin—not as the world defines it, but as You have revealed it in Your holy Word. Open our eyes to the hidden faults within, and grant us hearts that are tender and broken over our transgressions. Teach us to submit ourselves wholly to Your Word, not leaning on our own understanding and efforts, but trusting in Your wisdom and righteousness. Cause us to lay down every effort of self-justification and place our full faith in Christ alone—the perfect Substitute and our Great High Priest. Thank you that His blood is accepted on our behalf and His righteousness clothes us completely. Strengthen us by Your Spirit to walk in humble obedience, with lives that reflect the glory of Your grace. We ask all of this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.