Sunday Night Bible Study - Overview of The Day of Atonement

Now I want you to pay attention. It wasn't anything in Israel. It wasn't their military gods.

It wasn't the type of people who said that. Good evening and welcome to the Sunday Night Bible Study with Pastor Josiah Shipley of Witten Baptist Church.

It is good to be with you. We've been going over the Feast of Israel, the ones God instituted in Leviticus 23.

There are seven yearly feasts, plus the

Sabbath, plus the two additional ones that were instituted after Leviticus was written, being Purim and Festival of Lights, or Hanukkah, if you will.

We'll talk about those later on. For today, I want to finish up with the

Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur. I want to just real quickly read, just as a review, what we did last week with the

Passover, and then we'll move on to Yom Kippur. So, without further ado, 1

Corinthians 5, starting in verse 6. I believe we read this last week.

Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

If Christ is our Passover lamb, then when we celebrate the festival, we're not going and sacrificing our own lamb.

Christ has fulfilled that ceremonial law. But, verse 8 says this, let us celebrate the festival.

Now, how do we do that? Not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but we celebrate the festival with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

With sincerity and truth. That is how we celebrate the festival of Passover.

Jesus being our Passover lamb. I want to continue where we left off last week in Hebrews chapter 9.

If we could all turn to Hebrews chapter 9. Let's read what the

Word of God has to tell us. So, we're going to focus in on what we left off last week on Yom Kippur, the

Day of Atonement. And I'm going to quickly read through what we were reading.

But I'll tell you what, to do this passage justice, I'm going to have to read the whole section. So y 'all are going to have to bear with me.

I hope you don't mind a reading of the Word of God. I'm going to read Hebrews 9, 11 -28. It's kind of a long passage.

Get ready. Hebrews 9, 11 -28.

Here we go. But when Christ appeared as high priest of good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent, not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, he entered once for all into the holy place, not by means of blood or goats or calves, but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer sanctify for purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living

God? Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.

For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established, for will takes effect only at death, since it is not enforced as long as the one who made it is still alive.

Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. For when every commandment of the law has been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and he sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying,

This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you. And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship.

Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified by blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

For Christ has entered into holy places, not into holy places made with hands, excuse me, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy place every year with blood not of his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world.

But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

And just as it is appointed once for man to die, and after this comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who eagerly, who are eagerly waiting for his coming.

Alright, we got a lot there, but let's just take a look at it for a minute. As we said last week, in the temple there'd be the holy place, and then there'd be the inner holy of holies, or most holy place, behind the thick curtain.

Only the high priest, only the high priest was allowed in there. And only once a year, on the

Day of Atonement, one of the fall festivals, on Yom Kippur. There we said he would bring in two animals, two goats, he would sacrifice one, purifying everything with blood, he would anoint the second goat's head with the blood of the first goat, and symbolically impute the sin of Israel on that goat, and carry that goat away, into the wilderness, never to be seen again.

Because it carried the guilt away. In fact, Jewish tradition says, sometimes they'd throw the goat off a cliff, or break its legs, so it could never come back.

Point being, it would take the sin away. So one goat was sacrificed, the blood was spilled for the sins, the other goat carried the sin away.

Remember, Jesus is our Passover lamb, and he's also, behold the Lamb of God, John the

Baptist said, who takes away the sin of the world. As far as east is the west, he's removed all transgression.

Jesus is the Passover lamb and the scapegoat. He's also our high priest. But he doesn't enter year after year, sacrificing himself.

For by one offering, chapter 10 says, he is perfected forever. Those who are sanctified.

He has secured an eternal redemption, according to verse 12. Now, the first covenant, think the law, the

Old Testament, even it was established by blood. Because without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins, according to verse 22.

Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant. But just like a will, think about a will. A will is not legally binding until the person dies.

If that person is still alive, that will is not legally binding. At least not yet. It only takes effect after that person dies.

So the Old Covenant is a shadow foreshadowing a type, if you will, of Christ to come.

Looking forward to what Jesus Christ would do. It was a will, but it didn't come to fruition until that person died, being

Jesus. Now, just like the first covenant was established by blood, the second covenant, the new covenant, prophesied in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, was established by Jesus' blood.

So when the first covenant was inaugurated by Moses, he used blood. Blood of bulls and goats. When the second covenant was inaugurated, it was inaugurated by Jesus' blood.

Remember the Passover meal before he died? He told the disciples, holding the cup of red wine, right?

It's red, representing blood. This is the blood of my covenant. Of the new covenant.

Paul repeats this in 1 Corinthians. So, on Yom Kippur, that's what would happen.

The priest would take in the animals, he'd kill the one and impute the sin on the other. This is exactly what Isaiah 53 describes

Jesus doing. Jesus is the high priest. He is our mediator.

Our representative to God. He's also the Passover lamb.

He is also the scapegoat who takes away the sin of the world. He entered the most holy place.

Not the temple, which was a copy of heaven. He entered heaven itself. It is appearing in the presence of God on our behalf.

Romans 8 says he is interceding for us right now.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, what is the difference between interceded and interceding? He did intercede for us, and right now he is interceding for us on our behalf.

He doesn't have to make a sacrifice year after year. For by one offering, he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.

And right now, he is interceding for us. Right now.

And tomorrow, when you sin, he is interceding for that sin too. As we purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living

God, according to verse 14. Verse 28, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who eagerly await for him.

This is the already and the not yet. Has Yom Kippur been finally fulfilled?

Well, it was inaugurated. The new covenant was inaugurated through Yom Kippur when

Jesus was sacrificed. So that's already happened. But he hasn't finally destroyed sin forever.

He will do that upon his return. And after endearing the millennial reign, especially at the end of it, at the resurrection of the dead.

So it has been, but it hasn't finally been done until that day. There's still sin in the world right now, we know that.

He will finally destroy it at the end of all things. So it has been fulfilled in the already, and it hasn't been in the not yet.

The already and the not yet. It happens in the New Testament all the time. It's like we are saved now, but we are awaiting our final salvation.

The already and the not yet. So, that's a little bit on Yom Kippur.

Chapter 10, verse 1 says, For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never be, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near.

Let me read that again. Since the law was only a shadow of good things to come, instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.

Otherwise, they would not have ceased to be offered, since the worshippers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any conscience of sins.

But in these sacrifices, there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin.

Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me.

In burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure. Then I said, Behold, I have come to do your will,

O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.

Verse 11 of chapter 10. Every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

But when Christ had offered sins for all time, a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting for that time when his enemies would remain at his footstool for his feet.

For by a single offering is perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. The Holy Spirit bears witness to us after this, saying,

This is the covenant that I will make with him after those days, declares the Lord. I'll put my law on their hearts and right on their minds. He adds,

I will remember their sins and my law's deeds no more. Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

Why don't we still offer the blood of bulls and goats? Because those were a shadow of Jesus.

Those were a shadow of Jesus. And Jesus has fulfilled that, it says right here. And we honor that, and we celebrate that festival.

We celebrate that festival when we remember what Jesus has done. When we remember what

Jesus has done, we honor and celebrate that festival. That's what we do. They can never offer, they can never take away sins.

Verse 2 of chapter 10, They would not have ceased to be offered, which means they had. In the day that the writer of Hebrews was writing this, they had ceased.

Because they recognized Jesus was a fulfillment of the book of Jeremiah, of Ezekiel, of Genesis 3 .15,

so on and so forth. Pretty cool.

Pretty cool. One little side note, I've done this so many times. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 5 says,

When Christ came into the world, he said, And then he quotes from the book of Psalms, I believe

Psalm 40. In other words, he quotes the Psalm of David, but says Christ said it.

You know why? Because all scripture is written out by God. In verse 16, he quotes

Jeremiah 31. And says the Holy Spirit said it. Even though Jeremiah wrote it down.

Because all scripture is inspired by God. This is why I don't love the words of Jesus being in red in the

Bible. Because then the whole Bible should be in red. If the writer of Hebrews says Jesus wrote

Psalm 40, even though David did, that means Jesus wrote the whole Bible. Leviticus should be in red. Hosea should be in red.

I don't like the words of Jesus being in red. I don't hate it. I don't overstate it.

It's just, I don't want people to get the idea that those words are more important than Genesis. Or something like that.

Alright. Very good. So, I believe next week, we'll do...

We might do either Hanukkah or Firstfruits next week. I'll let you guys know.

Alright. This was Yom Kippur. Hope you enjoyed it. Love you guys very much.

Have a great day. And have a great evening. And I will hear from you guys later on.