I'm sure you’ve heard that Yom Kippur was last weekend.
Hi, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada and that is, as you know, the Day of Atonement on the Jewish calendar. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue services. Yom Kippur completes the annual period known in Judaism as the High Holy Days. Now we usually think of the Day of Atonement as a time of sin-sacrifice. Remember it was during atonement day that the nation of Israel sought reconciliation for its sins. After sacrificing a bullock, the high priest chose a goat for a sin offering and sacrificed it. After that, a scapegoat bearing the sins of the people was sent into the wilderness… remember that -- this scapegoat symbolized the pardon for sin brought through the sacrifice. You know… that’s a lot of emphasis on confession of sin… you know getting right with God. And it makes you wonder with all this importance on forgiveness of sin and sacrifice why Jesus didn’t go to the cross on the Day of Atonement? It would seem to be a meaningful holy day to fulfill… with Jesus going to Calvary, right?
But no, God chose Passover rather than the Day of Atonement as the time His Son would be a sacrifice for our sin. You see, in Scripture, Jesus is not symbolized as a bullock or a goat, but a lamb. At the first Passover in Egypt, it was the blood of a lamb that was smeared on the sides and tops of the door frames, ensuring that the firstborn of the family would not be killed. Listen to what it says in Exodus 12. When it comes to the Passover, it says “… they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs... On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn... The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.” Okay, that describes Passover… so… what’s the difference between the Day of Atonement and the Passover?
Well, with the Passover, God provided an escape for His people from judgment. He provided deliverance. It was He who provided a way of rescue, and this is what God provided through Christ’s death and resurrection: A way of escape… a way of deliverance, all given by God. The Passover symbolizes a time that God did something for His people. But the Day of Atonement is different. It was an opportunity for the people to do something for God… they brought the sacrifice; they performed the act. But not so with the Passover, and so it is true of the cross – we have done nothing for it, but it has done everything for us. We can’t rescue ourselves; but God can. We can’t deliver ourselves from sin, but God is able to. He performed the great act of grace, of undeserved merit… a sacrifice sent straight from heaven that you and I will never be able to duplicate. And we shouldn’t! It’s why Passover is all about God taking the initiative; whereas, the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), is all about man taking the initiative.
I hope you took a few moments over Yom Kippur to be amazed at God's awesome plan… His incredible attention to every detail of His holy days… how He’s got reasons, and good reasons for choosing and deciding and ordaining what He does! Did you praise Him for His gracious favor in giving us the Passover Lamb? It’s why Jesus went to the cross when He did… and I'm so glad He did!
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