Part 1: High Priests and the sacrificial system
Introduction:
It is important to begin by reiterating that the Old Testament and New Testament are not portions of the bible that are to be read in isolation - but in fact, should be read in light of each other. Many believers tend to focus on the New Testament and completely disregard the Old, arguing that it is obsolete and no longer requires attention and close study. But it is clear that this is not the case. The Old Testament is as important as the New. In fact, when we take time to study the stories of the Old Testament, we will understand how much of it points towards Jesus. Whether prophetically or symbolically, we see constant links between the scriptures and Jesus. In Luke 24:13-34, we read about “The Walk to Emmaus”, a passage about the resurrected Jesus and the encounter with some of His followers. As he spoke to them, Jesus saw that these people were unable to recognise who he was and were unable to see the link between the scriptures (the Old Testament) and Jesus the Messiah. In verses 25-27, Jesus condemns them for not believing the previous scriptures and what it says about the Messiah. He then goes on to take “them through the writings of Moses, and all the prophets, explaining from all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). This verse alone highlights the amount of text that points towards Jesus and everything he had to endure. Once you read the Old Testament in light of the New, and New testament in the light of the Old, the more understanding you will gain in the things regarding Christ.
The relationship between the Old & the New Testaments
2 Timothy 3:16 heavily reminds us that “All scripture is inspired by God” by the work of the Holy Spirit and therefore, the links between the Old and New Testament are not merely coincidental but a divine foreshadowing of the Messiah. Peter emphasises that the words of the prophets in the Old Testament were not merely from their own intellect or understanding but came from the Holy Spirit as they spoke from God (2 Peter 1:20-21). As the prophets spoke on behalf of God, they may not have understood the mysterious plans of God, yet they knew that God’s word would surely come to pass - and they did. This further highlights the clear intention of God’s plan from the very beginning (1 Corinthians 2:7). We see examples ranging from Abraham with the near-sacrifice of his only son to the introduction of the sacrificial system and the need for priests. The examples are countless, and in part one of this post, I am going to delve into their relationship deeper. The Old Testament stories all point towards the promised Messiah, the one who would bring salvation to the ends of the earth.
The Old Testament sacrificial system and its link to Jesus
The Oxford dictionary defines “foreshadowing” as a sign of something that will happen in the future.’ This is exactly what the Old Testament does - it points and previews God’s plan for future generations. These signs often appear as a form of symbolism. One of the main practices that foreshadow Jesus and His plan of salvation is the introduction of the sacrificial system and the need for high priests. Hebrews 10:1 reminds us “The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves.-”. This verse implies that the sacrificial system of the Old Testament was a prototype of His plan. Jesus' perfect sacrifice. The old sacrificial system covers two aspects that foreshadow Jesus.
Jesus as the new and final High Priest and
Jesus as the sacrificial lamb.
For a little background, the High Priest was involved in the sacrificial offering for the sins of the Israelites. As the High Priest, he was the only person allowed to enter the ‘Most Holy Place’ behind the veil, in the temple and stand before God. He was to offer sacrifices on the Day of Atonement every year and as the High Priest, he had to be physically whole (Leviticus 21:18-20) and holy in conduct (Leviticus 20:6). During the day of Atonement, the High Priest had to present a sin offering (of an animal) in the Most Holy place for his sins and the sins of the children of Israel by sprinkling its blood on the altar - thereby purifying the sins of Israel with the blood of the sacrifice. Essentially, the High Priest was a mediator between God and the people of Israel. Leviticus 16:1-34 carefully explains the process which had to be followed very carefully. The aim of this sacrificial system was “to purify the people of Israel from their sins, making them right with the Lord once a year” (Leviticus 16:34) and then they’d be forgiven (Leviticus 4:20). It is also important to remember that the animal presented as a sin offering on the day of atonement - usually, a bull, goat or lamb, was to be without fault or defects (Leviticus 4:3, 23 and 28).
Now how does this relate to Jesus? The first thing to cover is Jesus as the High Priest. How does Jesus match the role of the Old Testament High Priest? The bible explains it beautifully in Hebrews Chapters 8, 9 and 10 (I really encourage you guys to read it for better understanding). It simply highlights how Jesus is the mediator between man and God, offering the sacrifice for people’s sins and offering salvation to all who believe in Him. Hebrews 8:6 explains that “- now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises”. These better promises rely on the fact that the new covenant offers a perfect sacrifice that is offered once and for all unlike the yearly sacrifices made by the earthly High Priests (Hebrews 9:25) coupled up with the fact that Jesus, being a sinless man, was faultless in the eyes of the Father and did not have to offer sacrifices on His behalf like the earthly High Priests because He was holy and blameless (Hebrews 7:26). In this way, Jesus becomes the perfect High Priest - something we would not have understood the role of if the OT prototype had not been put in place. As the High Priest, Jesus sits in the place of honour at the father’s right hand (Hebrews 8:1). As Jesus is a perfect man, and as the mediator, he can represent us before the father (Hebrews 5:1) as he enters the perfect tabernacle in heaven (Hebrews 9:11).
Furthermore, Jesus acts as the perfect and faultless sacrificial lamb. As we all know, Jesus was without sin and therefore, fulfilled the requirement of the sacrificial lamb - without fault or defect. Throughout Revelation, to be specific 28 times, Jesus is constantly referred to as the “lamb”. In Revelation 5:4, it even says “I saw a Lamb that looked as if it had been slaughtered”. This refers to Jesus‘ sacrificial death and shedding of His blood through which Revelation 1:5 says “All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us”. By shedding his own blood, he was able to carry the sins of the world, purify our sins and make us right with God. This is very similar to the Old Testament sacrificial system whereby the blood of the animal sacrifice was able to purify the people of Israel (Leviticus 16:34). However, as we can see, Jesus’ sacrifice paid the price once and for all, and there was no need for Jesus to offer himself yearly as the Old Testament required the High priests to do (Hebrews 9:25) because Jesus’ blood carries more power than one of an animal. Hebrews 9:13-14 says “Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins”. The blood of Jesus can do far more than the blood of animals could do. And again, the Old Testament sacrificial system pointed forward to Jesus’ perfect and complete sacrifice. Without the knowledge of the need for a sacrificial system to purify Israel from their sins, Jesus’ sacrifice essentially would have not made sense in isolation. Jesus’ sacrifice offered a perfect cleansing for those who believe in him, something that the blood of goats, bulls and lambs could not do - hence the need for yearly sacrifices. The blood of these animals clearly could not actually remove the sins of the Israelites (Hebrews 10:4). They worked to cover the sins of the Israelites, yet never took them away. David Guzik from Enduring Word notes “The Hebrew word for atonement is “Kophar” which literally means “to cover”. These repeated sacrifices were meant to be a reminder of their sins (Hebrews 10:3). It aimed to prompt them to turn away from their sins, whilst also pointing towards a perfect sacrifice that would take away the sins of the world.
Conclusion
The Old Testament sacrificial system points towards a perfect sacrifice that didn’t just cover the sins of the Israelites, but the ones of the whole world too. Jesus says in John 17:19 “And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.” His humble sacrifice cleanses us and sets us apart from the world, giving us insight into the truth that can save us and give us eternal life. Unfortunately, in this post, I haven't covered everything in the Old Testament sacrificial system. There is so much more that points to Jesus - e.g. one being the tabernacle which is an exact representation of the one in heaven, which Jesus, the High Priest enters. But part one of this post just shows that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to the Old Testament. Everything God did in the Old Testament was intentional, and part of His mysterious plan to reveal Jesus.
Thank you for taking your time and reading this post. If you thought this topic was interesting and would like read more on how the Old Testament foreshadows Jesus, check out part two, which explains the part prophets and their prophecies play in foreshadowing Jesus.
Wow..so beautifully explained! God bless you more and more