Good Friday
Rev. Thomas Van Hemert
Good Friday
Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9
April 2, 2021
In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.
The entire Levitical sacrificial system was a foreshadowing that pointed toward Good Friday. After God redeemed the people of Israel and freed them from a life of slavery and death in Egypt, He baptized them in the crossing of the Red Sea. The children of Israel came out of the Red Sea a free people, free to worship God without fear, holy and righteous in His sight all the days of their lives.
They were His. They were redeemed. Yet, they were still sinful. First of all, they complained. They grumbled against God. They complained that they would rather be back in Egypt living as slaves, because then they would have “good food” to eat. They would rather be slaves, unable to worship God, unable to experience His presence and His love. But then at least, they would be able to fill their stomachs with earthly food. Not only this, but they also fell time and time again into the worship of false gods. We all remember the Golden Calf incident in the book of Exodus. The Israelites, though they were a redeemed and free people, were still unclean and sinful. They needed to be purified so that the most holy God could dwell amongst they who were an unclean people.
Thus, God gave them the ceremonial, Levitical Law. It was the Law that governed their worship life. Sacrifices must be made, on their behalf, to gain things. This is what the book of Leviticus describes in excruciating detail.
If you needed access to God’s favor or to gain acceptance by God, you would offer what was called a burnt offering—a young bull, male sheep or goat, or a turtledove or pigeon. You could also offer a grain offering, which included fine flower mixed with olive oil and frankincense, unleavened bread with olive oil, or roasted fresh grain with olive oil and frankincense. Grain offerings lifted up a pleasing aroma with the smoke and this was pleasing to God.
Peace offerings were offered by the congregation so that the priests and their families might be given food to eat. If you offered a peace offering, you would gain acceptance by God by offering a bull, sheep, or goat. But these animals would also be offered in order to provide holy meat for the priest’s family and the Israelite family for holy communion with God and His guests. So no, the meat that was offered rarely went to waste. Most of it was eaten. It was slaughtered on the altar, burned with fire, cooked, and then eaten in a communal meal.
Now if you had sinned, if you had sinned, that is, in an unintentional way or in an intentional manner, then you would offer what was called a sin offering. The sin offering for unintentional sins was a young bull which was offered on behalf of the entire congregation, a male goat for a leader of the congregation, and a female goat or sheep for a layperson.
If you sinned intentionally, a female sheep or goat would be offered or two turtledoves or pigeons for an impoverished person. Offering a sin offering would make clean the unclean sinner and God would grant him admission back into his presence to worship Him. Sacrifices were needed to cleanse those who are unclean in their sins. For a holy God cannot dwell with unholy creatures, lest they be destroyed.
There’s yet another offering prescribed by the Levitical Law—the guilt offering. Guilt offerings were offered on behalf of those who had desecrated holy places or holy things. The sacrifice was a ram, by which, when offered and sacrificed, God would grant His forgiveness for such an act of desecration of a holy place or for the desecration of His holy name.
In offering a sacrifice, something must die. Its life is given for something else. In the case of the Levitical sacrifices, the animal’s life was ended so that the lives of the Israelites might be preserved for a time, that they might be made holy, and brought back into the community of believers, and presence of God.
These sacrifices must have been made year after year, day after day because the sins of the Israelites were many. So also, the priests would approach the altar and offer these sacrifices. And one day a year, the high priest would enter into the Most Holy Place—the Holy of Holies and would offer a sacrifice on behalf of all the people. This would also happen each year.
But all of these sacrifices ceased when Jesus Christ, the great high priest, our high priest, entered once for all into the Holy Place not made with hands. He did not enter in to the Holy Place while carrying the blood of bulls and goats. He entered not by means of animal sacrifices. He entered to fulfill the Law. He entered into the Holy Place as the Father’s sacrifice, of which the Levitical sacrifices foreshadowed and pointed toward. He entered by means of His own blood. His sacrifice is a sacrifice greater than sacrifices of bulls and goats. He does not need to offer it year after year or day after day. He offered it once and for all. It is accomplished. It is finished. There is nothing left to do, nothing left to sacrifice.
This sacrifice, this one, final, eternal sacrifice lifts up a pleasing aroma that rises to the Father. It is accepted by Him. The blood of Christ’s sacrifice atones, that is, it covers our uncleanliness, our stench, our guilt, and our sins—both unintentional and intentional. And not only that, but just as the meat of bulls, sheep, and goats was eaten as part of the sacrificial act by the priest and the Israelite families, so also do we eat of this one, final, eternal sacrifice. The priests and Israelites shared in communion by eating the flesh of the sacrificed animals. In the same way do we now share a communal meal because the Lamb of God has been slain.
On a day like this, some 2000 years ago, God offered up His Son. The Son was willing to go through with it and He died. He died for all men. He died to make unclean sinners spotless and free, loved by God. There is nothing left to do, nothing left undone. Separation from one another has ended. The curtain that kept us out of the Holy of Holies has been torn open. We have access to God through our mediator—our great high priest, Jesus Christ. Separation from God has ended. Jesus was nailed to the cross and died instead of us. This is how much God loves us.
In +Jesus’ name.
