Creator, Father, King #91

Our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time.

THE DAY STARTED EARLY with a meticulous bath. Next came a meticulous outfit. Everything had to be just so.

Then several choice animals had to be chosen from the herds: a bull, a ram, and two goats. Finally, the high priest would solemnly make his way to the Tabernacle.

The Day of Atonement was at hand.

God called his people to regularly offer sacrifices through the priests for the forgiveness of their sins. But the Day of Atonement was different. Besides the weekly Sabbath and annual Passover festival, the annual Day of Atonement (as described in Leviticus 16) was one of the most sacred observances on the ancient Jewish calendar. It was the day the high priest would atone for the nation’s sins and for the Tabernacle itself (verse 16), making it possible for a holy God to remain present among sinful people.

This was the only day all year when the high priest could pass beyond the veil into the Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle (and later, the Temple). There, God would appear to him uniquely in a cloud above the Ark of the Covenant’s “mercy seat” (verse 2, ESV).

The Day of Atonement also featured the “scapegoat” ceremony. The high priest would slaughter one goat as a sacrifice and keep the other alive, laying his hands on its head and releasing it into the wilderness, outside Israel’s camp. This symbolized the transfer and removal of sins from God’s people to a substitute.

What’s It Mean?

Human sin requires atonement, a term that means payment for an offense. In biblical terms, it’s when God’s righteous wrath toward sin is appeased by offering a blood sacrifice.

All of the Day of Atonement’s rituals symbolized a far greater atonement that was coming. As Hebrews 10:4 says, “It is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”

That’s why Jesus came into the world. He is our great High Priest. He perfectly represented his people before the Father.

Jesus also became our scapegoat. The Father laid all our sins on his Son, and Jesus died outside the camp, so to speak—beyond the walls of Jerusalem on a hill called Golgotha.

The Day of Atonement is no longer needed. God’s Son atoned for our sins in every way through his sinless life, death, and resurrection!

Now What?

Read Hebrews 8–10 to learn more about Jesus’ high priestly work.

Did You Know?

Today, Jews observe the Day of Atonement annually as Yom Kippur.