The Day of Atonement

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The Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur, is the most Holy Day on the Jewish calendar by far.

Yet, many Christians seem to know very little about how the Day of Atonement points to Jesus Messiah and Him crucified for the sins of the world.

In fact, it’s hard to fully understand the book of Hebrews, unless we have a clear understanding of the Day of Atonement from Torah. This is because Hebrews uses Yom Kippur as its framework to understand how Jesus is our Great High Priest, and how He and only He, could fulfill the Torah commands from Leviticus 16.

Described in Leviticus 16, this holy day was established by God as an annual day where Jews had to rest from work and had to fast, as the day was the most solemn day of the entire year.

The Jews were to seek God’s forgiveness and were desperate for the high priest to cleanse them from their sins. The main problem, however, was wrapped within its name, “Yom Kippur.” The name literally means “Day of Covering.” Sadly, to live according to the Old Covenant is a huge and constant reminder that sins could never be taken away; the peoples’ sins were only covered.

On this most holy day, the people are commanded to have the high priest enter the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle to make atonement for himself, and the entire nation of Israel.

Leviticus 16 outlines the detailed instructions God gave Moses for observing this most holy day. The high priest would first offer a bull to atone for his own sins. Then, two goats were chosen: one was sacrificed to atone for the sins of all of the people, and the other goat, was known as the “scapegoat.” The scapegoat was allowed to escape into the wilderness, as a symbol to show the people a visible example of their sins being carried away from them. This rituals surrounding the Day of Atonement highlight the seriousness of our sin and the desperate need for God’s forgiveness.

The Day of Atonement pointed to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who once and for all atoned for the sins of humanity. Jesus is our Great High Priest, yet also our sin sacrifice!

Unlike the repeated and perpetual sacrifices under the Old Covenant, Christ’s sacrifice on the cross provides the only complete and only eternal forgiveness. This powerful truth reminds Christians today of God’s mercy, grace, love and the hope we have through faith in Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

To understand the Day of Atonement will help you to fall more in love with the God who loves you, and who gave His Only Begotten Son, Jesus, as your sacrificial Lamb. You will be more in awe of the awesomeness of our Savior and Great High Priest, Jesus Christ.

As we reflect on this sacred day, may we be reminded of the grace of God that takes away all of our sins, and removes them as far as the East is from the West!