The Leper and the Lamb - The Substitute (The Sin Offering)

As you will remember from the August 3, 2010 post "The Leper and The Lamb - Righteousness" the leper brought to the ceremony 2 male lambs and 1 ewe lamb. In that post you see that the first male lamb was offered as a wave offering. Today we pick up our discussion at the sacrifice of the second lamb, which is like the sin offering.

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Jesus walked the dusty trails in Israel talking with his friends and he usually referred to himself as "the Son of man". What a wonderful life he was living as a man, beginning with his virgin birth which was the witness of "the water". Somewhere beyond our understanding, the Savior had always lived in the spirit world and He must have felt strange to find himself in a human body living a short life here on earth. Everyone he met was part of his creation but as a man he could be a real part of their lives. The sad note was that he knew about the bloody end of his life on earth.

When talking to his friends one time he said, For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45) His death is the witness of "the blood" and the shed blood of Jesus is the only chance we have for our sin debt to be paid in full. He will become our "substitute" If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and not be moved away from the hope of the gospel, (Col 1:23) If we continue in our faith we will be part of the "witness of the Spirit". These three witnesses testify of the reality of our Savior as written in 1 John 5:8 And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. You could say that we see these three witnesses at Christmas, Easter and whenever we see a life being lived in the Spirit of Christ.

The reality of the death of our Savior is revealed to us in the offering of the second lamb which represented Jesus and the giving of His life for our justification. The blood of Christ removed the great divide between mankind and God. The Savior is the central figure in our redemption just as this little female lamb is the middle sacrifice of the three lambs which is like the sin offering described here. And if he bring a lamb for a sin offering, he shall bring it a female without blemish. And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay it for a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering. And the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finer, and put it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar. (Lev 4:32-34)

Many people do not understand the seeming waste of the blood poured out at the foot of the altar but God required the total sacrifice. The sinner was transferring his sin onto the animal as a substitute when he placed his hand on the head of the lamb. Every sacrificed lamb was killed in the same place but they all represented Jesus in some way. When Jesus shed his blood it was to pay the price God required for our salvation.

Instead of laying our hands on the head of Jesus we did something cruel and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, and began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him. (Mark 15:17) When our sins were placed on His head, they hurt more than the thorns. The reed was intended to show the weakness of Jesus (the broken reed) but it also points out the weakness of mankind without God.

It is difficult to grasp the idea that God's son was born on earth for the purpose of being killed. He is our sacrifice and his purpose is to remove the sins of the world. The amazing love of God was shown when the soldiers came for Jesus and He told them that he was freely giving himself up to them. When we become his friend and realize the pain He suffered for us, His greatness can be overwhelming. The Scripture tells us that all of creation cries out his importance. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. (Rev 5:13)

Jesus is called the Lamb many places in the Scriptures. The symbolism of the lamb is very powerful when we remember that Jesus became our sacrifice. Many people today only worship Him in an insincere or selfish way. But somehow we must show them the reality of knowing Him personally.