Jesus is our Sacrifice

The first offerings recorded in the Bible were made by Cain and Abel. In the book of Leviticus, Israel is given a structure for their sacrifices. God gave them instructions on the how, when, and where of sacrifices.

The offerings were not made to the Lord because He had needs. They were acts of thanksgiving and repentance, acknowledging the people’s dependence of God and recognizing Him as their Creator, their Judge, and their Lord.

There were five major offerings. They each represent an element of who Jesus is and what He did.

The burnt offering required the slaughter of an unblemished animal as an atonement. The blood and death of the animal were offered as substitutionary payment for the person who had sinned.

1 John 4:25-26

God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of His blood – He did it to demonstrate His righteousness because in His forbearance He had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – He did it to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Jesus is our atoning sacrifice, our burnt offering.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is receiving Jesus as our atoning sacrifice.  

The grain offering accompanied all burnt offerings. It shown gratitude to God for the fruitfulness of the land.

In John 15:5 we are told that apart for Jesus we can do nothing, but connected to Jesus we will produce much fruit.

In John 15:8 we are told that it is to God’s glory that we produce much fruit.

It is to God’s glory that we produce fruit and it is through Jesus that we produce the fruit. Jesus is our grain offering.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is staying connected to Jesus and producing fruit.

The fellowship offerings were given out of gratitude, expressing the fellowship between the worshiper and God. The fellowship offering was offered in response to blessings given by God.

John 17:23

I in them and You in Me – so that they may be one as We are one – so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that You sent Me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

It is through Jesus that we are one with the Father and are in complete unity with Him and each other. Jesus is our fellowship offering.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living in unity with God.  

The sin offering involved the occasion of sin committed intentionally, but no

restitution was possible since the violation was against God.

Romans 8:3

For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. So He condemned sin in the flesh.

Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for our sin. He shed His blood and gave His life for our sin. Jesus    

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is depending on Jesus for the forgiveness and removal of our sin.

The guilt offering atoned for sins committed unintentionally, where restitution could be made to the offended. The guilt offering would be made when there was either a mistreatment of the Lord’s holy things or an offense against a neighbor.

In Luke 19:8 Zacchaeus says, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

In Luke 19:9 Jesus says, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.”

When Zacchaeus comes into the presence of Jesus, he is convicted of the sinfulness of his lifestyle and offers to give half his wealth away and give back to anyone he has cheated four times what he took. Jesus says that salvation had come to Zacchaeus. He was not saved because he was making restitution; he was making restitution because he had been saved.

It was through this new relationship that Zacchaeus had with Jesus that freed him to give his wealth away. Jesus is our guilt offering.

All the offerings of the Old Testament as prescribed by the Law have been fulfilled in Jesus. We don’t have to make these offerings because, in our acceptance of Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we accept His fulfillment of  them forever. 

With Jesus as My Eternal Offering, Raising the Roof

and Removing the Walls,

                                                          Joe