Jesus Christ is our ultimate burnt offering!
Leviticus
chapters 1-3 describes three offerings that the children of Israel had to offer
to God – the Burnt Offering, the Grain Offering and the Peace Offering. Of the
three, the Burnt Offering is the most relevant to our lives as they offer three
valuable insights for us:
- This offering is a shadow of Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, offering Himself without spot to God in delight to do His Father's will even in death. "If his offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it of his own free will at the door of the tabernacle of meeting before the Lord" (Lev 1:3)
- This offering of Jesus Christ is substitutionary, because He offered His own body as our substitute. "Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering…" (Lev 1:4a). See also Hebrews 9:11-14; 10:5-7; Psalms 40:6-8 and Philippians 2:8.
- This offering by Jesus Christ is atoning as He reconciled us back to God by offering Himself as a punishment for our sins. "…and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him" (Lev 1:4b)
Let us sincerely thank God today as He suffered and died in our place. Jesus Christ has become our ultimate burnt offering. "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him". (Romans 5:6-9)
