The sacrificial system began with Moses in Egypt and the
tenth and final plague that struck the Egyptians. If the Israelites followed these steps, they
were saved from death. The details of that sacrifice
were:
- The animals must be males
- The animals must be without defect
- The animal was killed
- The blood was shed and covered the doorframe
- The animal was consumed
- Those that performed this act were saved from death
During the time of the tabernacle and temple, if the people
sacrificed an animal for their sins, that action would protect them because
they trusted God by faith and put themselves in a relationship with him. Their
sins were forgiven.
The system was not perfect throughout the Old Testament.
Since the sacrifices could only occur at the temple, the destruction of temple
by the Greeks and Babylonians brought interruptions to the system.
Also, the system became corrupt with imperfect people
running the show.
So Jesus arrived as the ultimate, perfect, eternal
fulfillment of that sacrificial system.
- Jesus was a man
- Jesus was sinless, without defect
- Jesus was killed on the cross, the common execution of the Roman empire
- His blood was shed and covered our sins
- We apply the blood and body of Christ fully into our lives (communion points to this)
- We are spared a death apart from God and promised eternal life with God
The Israelites needed to believe/trust that this blood
system would keep them alive. We also must believe/trust that Jesus’ death on
the cross and the application of his blood on our lives will pay for our sins
and wash our slate clean.