Part 2

In the Bible, first comes the natural, then the spiritual. (1Corinthians 15:46)

Jesus fulfilled many things from the Old Testament.

"And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures," - Luke 24:44-45 KJV

One of the things Christ fulfilled was the sacrifices.

Today has been the celebration of the Day of Atonement. It began last night several minutes before sunset on Tuesday, Sept 18, until after nightfall on Wednesday, September 19. It is called in Hebrew, “Yom Kippur.”

It is interesting that the Hebrew word for “atonement” (Strong’s H3722) is the same Hebrew word that is translated as “pitch” which was used on Noah’s ark, which was a type and shadow of baptism. (1Peter 3:20-21). The word “atonement” means “to cover, to cover over,” “to cover sins, i.e. to pardon.” (Gesenius’ Lexicon). "Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch[H3722] it within and without with pitch." - Genesis 6:14 KJV

On the Day of Atonement, a blood sacrifice of a goat was offered by the High Priest to push ahead the sins of the Jewish people for another year.

"And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation." - Leviticus 16:33 KJV

On the Day of Atonement a lot was cast on two goats.

"And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the LORD at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD'S lot fell, and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat, on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented alive before the LORD, to make an atonement with him, and to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness." - Leviticus 16:7-10 KJV

It is interesting that Pilate put Jesus and Barabbas before the people to choose which would be crucified and which would be set free. The name “Barabbas” is a Hebrew name which means “son of the father.” So the choice to the crowd was Jesus the Son of the Father, or Barabbas the son of the father. The crowd chose Barabbas to be set free, and Jesus to die. This was a similar scenario as the two goats on the Day of Atonement; one was set free, and the other was to die.

Interestingly, the story of the prophet Jonah is customarily read on Yom Kippur.

Jesus made mention of Jonah when He spoke of His death.

"For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." - Matthew 12:40 KJV

To be continued…