The Day of Atonement

Q: What does the Bible say about the Day of Atonement?

The Day of Atonement is a significant Old Testament ceremony that foreshadows Christ's sacrificial death for our sins. The Day of Atonement, as described in Leviticus 16, was an annual event where the high priest would make atonement for the sins of the people of Israel. This day symbolized God's provision for reconciliation and forgiveness through blood sacrifice, foreshadowing the ultimate sacrifice of Christ. Spurgeon referred to it as the great day of God's wrath against sin, where Christ died just for the unjust to bring us to God. It teaches us that atonement was necessary for forgiveness and that this day points directly to Christ's once-for-all sacrifice for all our sins.

Q: Why is atonement important for Christians?

Atonement is crucial because it signifies Christ's sacrificial death, which reconciles believers to God and removes their sins. Atonement is of utmost importance for Christians because it is through Christ's death that we are reconciled to God. The Day of Atonement involved the high priest making sacrifices for sins, emphasizing the holiness of God's presence and our unworthiness without atonement. Jesus fulfilled this ultimate atonement by dying for all our sins—past, present, and future. His blood cleanses us completely, making our relationship with God possible and restoring what was lost due to sin. Without atonement, there is no acceptance with God, highlighting its essential nature in Christian faith.

Q: How do we know that Christ's sacrifice was sufficient?

Christ's sacrifice was sufficient as it was a once-for-all act that fully satisfied God's wrath against sin. According to Hebrews 10:10, Christ's sacrifice was a once-for-all offering that perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. Unlike the repeated sacrifices of animals during the Day of Atonement, which could only temporarily cover sin, Christ's death brought about eternal redemption through His own blood. The certainty of this sufficiency lies in God’s acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice, exemplified by His resurrection and the offering of eternal life to those who believe. This affirms that no additional work or sacrifice is needed beyond what Christ achieved on the cross.

Q: What does the Bible teach about the necessity of a high priest?

The high priest is essential as the mediator between God and man, offering sacrifices for sins. In the Old Testament, the high priest served as a mediator who entered the Holy of Holies to offer sacrifices for the sins of the people, as specified in Leviticus 16. This role was crucial in maintaining holiness and access to God. Hebrews 4:14–16 emphasizes that Jesus is our great high priest who has passed through the heavens, thus granting believers access to God. His work as high priest is complete and does not require repetition; He offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice once for all, ensuring eternal redemption and interceding for us before God.

I want you to open your Bibles
again to the book of Leviticus, chapter 16, the passage which
Brother Eccles just read for us. There are many pictures, Old
Testament pictures and types which set forth and illustrate
for us the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. of so many, many,
many of the Old Testament ceremonies and pictures and types that show
forth the death of Christ as our Savior, our sacrifice, our
sin offering. But one of the chief and clearest
pictures and one of the clearest types of the death of Christ
is this Day of Atonement. You see, this day of atonement
here is such a clear picture of the day Christ died. Mr. Spurgeon called it the great
day of God's wrath against our sins. The great day when Christ
died just for the unjust to bring us to God. The great day. of acceptance. The great day
of wrath, the great day of Christ's death, and the great day of acceptance,
when God accepted all of his elect in Christ Jesus. Now, three things about this
day of atonement by way of introducing the message. First of all, in
verse 34, this day of atonement only happen once a year. It says
in verse 34, and this shall be an everlasting statute unto you
to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their
sins once a year. Now, the lambs and goats and
other sacrifices and bullocks were offered often. You know
how many many, many sacrifices there were. There were several
sacrifices every day, morning, noon, and evening sacrifices. And these show the constant need
of forgiveness. Three hundred and sixty-five
days a year, many, many goats and lambs and bullocks were slain.
But the atonement took place only once a year. only once a
year. And that sets forth the fact
that Christ would die only once. He, by one offering, hath perfected
forever them that are sanctified. By one offering. And then secondly,
the Day of Atonement, according to this scripture, was a set
and appointed time. It wasn't left up to Moses. It
wasn't left up to Aaron, but God set the day. Look at verse
29. And this shall be a statute forever
unto you, that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the
month, ye shall afflict your soul, and do no more work, and
so forth. So God set the day for this atonement,
this day of atonement, even as he predestinated the very hour
and day when our Lord Jesus Christ should suffer on the cross. Yea,
even before the foundation of the world, God declared that
on this appointed day, the appointed sacrifice, Christ Jesus, would
die the appointed death for the appointed people. And our Lord
often referred to that designated hour when he would say, mine
hour. is not yet come. Or he told Peter, for this cause
came I to this hour. Father, he said, the hour is
come. So this Christ died once, and
he died at the appointed time, designated, predestined, purposed
by the Father. And then back at verse 34 again,
this is just to give you something of what we're looking into. Verse
34, And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an
atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins. For all their sins. And I noted
again while Jim was reading it, an atonement for the tabernacle,
an atonement for the altar, an atonement for the high priest,
an atonement for the priest an atonement for the congregation.
It was for all of them. They all needed an atonement.
And when our great Redeemer died, his blood atoned for all our
sins, not in type, like this lamb whose blood was shed, but
in reality. And actually, the blood of Jesus
Christ, God's Son, cleanseth us from what sins? their sin,
from all our sins, past, present, and future, all our sins. I'm not afraid in the least to
say that. There was a man in North Carolina
who was listening to my dear brother, Tim James, preach. Tim
was expressing the sufficiency of the blood of Christ, the power
of the blood of And he said, the good news is the blood of
Christ cleanseth us from all sin, past, present, and future. And this fellow got upset. He
said, you can't say that. You give people license to sin,
to tell them that their sins are already paid for even though
they're not yet committed. The hymn writer said, My sins,
O the bliss of that glorious thought, My sins, not in part,
but the whole, are nailed to the cross, and I bear them no
more. It is well, it is well with my
soul, all my sins. All right, as I have the time
tonight, I'm going to point out several things from this that
you might remember it, let's take an outline about this atonement,
the day of atonement, the person who made it, the sacrifice whereby
it was made, the effect of it, and my response to it. Now the
person who made the atonement, on the day of atonement, now
you notice this, I don't know, I hope you did. Brother Jim was
reading it. But on the day of atonement,
nothing was done by anyone except the high priest. Did you notice
that? He would take a lamb. He would
take a live goat. He would confess the sin. that on the day of atonement
nothing was done anywhere by anyone as a part of the atonement
except by the high priest, even to the lighting of the candles. Now, other priests had their
duties at other times, but not on this day. You'll note from reading this
chapter, look at verse 17. It says here, In verse 17 of
Leviticus 16, there shall be no man even in the tabernacle
when he goeth to make an atonement. Ain't nobody supposed to even
be around that place. The high priest. The high priest
alone. The person making the atonement
is the high priest. And Christ our Lord accomplished
our atonement alone. Alone. It says in Hebrews 1,
3, when he had by himself purged our sins, he sat down on the
right hand of God. And then something else. On this
day of atonement, nothing was done by anyone but the high priest. Unaided. Totally unaided. Secondly, the high priest on
this day was a humbled priest. Look at Leviticus 16 verse 4. Now, how is the high priest usually
dressed? You've seen pictures of the high
priest. I know you have. What did he wear normally? Well,
let me just tell you. He wore a golden garment. He wore a mitre of pure gold
on his brow. He wore a breastplate adorned
with gold and precious gems. He wore the golden ephod. He
wore the tinkling bells. That's what he normally wore.
That's the garb and garment of the high priest. Isn't that right?
Not on this day. Verse 4. He shall put on the holy linen
coat, and he shall have the linen breeches upon his flesh, and
he shall be girded with a linen girdle, and with a linen miser
shall he be attired. These are holy garments." In
other words, when he made the atonement, all of the garments
of gold and glory and precious stones were put aside, and he
was clothed humbly in the most simple attire. Our Lord Jesus Christ, when he
made atonement for our sin, was not arrayed in the garments of
heaven or glory. He took on himself our flesh,
and he wore a crown of thorns, and he took a reed for a scepter.
He was clothed in nothing but sinful flesh, naked before men
and God. our humble priest bearing our
sins. And then on the day of atonement,
this priest, this high priest who made the atonement, was a
spotless priest. Now, this is type, and I've told
you so many times, types are limited. But he was a spotless
priest. This is emphasized over and over
again. He was but a man, but he kept
having to wash himself. Did you note that? Wash, wash,
wash, wash. Look at verse 4, the last line. He put on these holy linen garments
and then he washed his flesh in water and so put them on. Verse 24. And he shall wash his
flesh with water in the holy place. and put on his garments.
Someone said, I was reading today, that the high priest washed himself
no less than five times on this day, just kept washing, washing,
washing, washing. He was picturing Christ, our
Lord, who was a perfect, spotless, sinless high priest. He said,
for their sakes I sanctify myself. Our Lord Jesus knew no sin. But among all the points considered
here, the high priest did all the work unaided. The high priest
was a humble priest. The high priest must constantly
wash himself so that he might be a picture of our spotless
Lord. But the thing that's most important, of the greatest importance,
is that verse 17 that I read. And there shall be no man in
the tabernacle of the congregation when he goeth in to make an atonement
in the holy place." One solitary high priest. When our Lord died,
his disciples didn't die with him. Not a one of them. In fact, they forsook him and
fled. Now hold that place and turn
to Isaiah 63. I want you to see this scripture
here. Isaiah 63. No one can describe his loneliness. even deserted by the Father,
which I can't explain. No one can describe his solitary
work, but the atonement is the unaided work of Jesus Christ. Someone said the royal bath in
which black souls are washed white was drawn from the veins
of the Son of God, and no blood of noble martyrs or confessors
or preachers or apostles or prophets entered that stream. The banquet of mercy is served
up by one host, the Lord of Glory. He is the host, he is the server,
and he's the bread. It's all his. Now Isaiah 63,
verse 1. Who is this that cometh from
Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? This that is glorious
in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his I that speak
in righteousness mighty to save, wherefore art thou red in thine
apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine-fat? I have trodden the wine-press
alone, and of the people there was none with me." I ran across an old hymn. Listen to it. Much we talk of
Jesus' blood, but oh, how little is understood. Of his sufferings,
justice demanding, even the angels have no understanding. Sins against
the holy God, sins against his grace and love, sins against
his righteous law, sins against his name and cause. Who can rightly
comprehend sin's beginning and its end? Tis to God and God alone
that sin's weight and guilt is really known. But see, the suffering
Son of God, all alone he shed his blood, and here we rest and
comfort take, because he died for sinners' sake. That's about
all you can understand, all I can understand. All right, secondly,
the sacrifice whereby the atonement was made. Leviticus chapter 16
again. Leviticus chapter 16. One more
time. Now, look if you will at verse
7. This is the sacrifice whereby
the atonement was made. And he shall take the two goats.
two goats and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle
of the congregation. One thing we need to always understand
in reference to the atonement and to the shedding of blood,
the shedding of blood was not for pity, it was unto the Lord. It was not to impress you or
me, it was to reconcile God. So he took the goats before the
Lord. And Aaron shall cast lots upon
the two goats, one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the
scapegoat. There are going to be two goats
now. One is going to be the atonement, one is going to be the scapegoat.
And he cast lots. And Aaron shall bring the goat
upon which the Lord's lot fell. Whose lot? The lot is cast into
the lap, but the whole disposing is of the Lord. He chose Christ. He designated the Lord Jesus
Christ to be our sin offering. And Adam, verse 9, shall bring
the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell, and offer him for sin
offering. Watch that goat die. Watch the
knife plunge into his body, and he quiver as the blood spurts
forth, and is caught in the basin, and his body roasted upon the
fire. That's the way our Lord suffered.
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. We're going
to look at that in a few moments. Now watch this. And Aaron shall
bring the bulk of the sin offering, which is for himself. shall make
an atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill
the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself, and take
a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before
the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense, beaten small,
and bring it within the veil." Here he comes now, within the
veil, into the presence of God, before the mercy seat, into the
very Holy of Holies. And he has two things with him.
He has the blood of the slain lamb, and he has the incense
beaten small. Watch what he does with that
incense. And he shall put the incense upon the fire before
the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat
that is upon the testimony that he die not. We know what the
blood is, it's the blood of Christ our Lord. What's the incense? It's the intercession of Christ.
It has to be the prayers of Christ. It has to be the pleadings and
prayers of our Lord Jesus Christ for us. And that's what that
cloud, that sweet incense that he put the beaten fine, that
he beaten small, that he put upon the fire, and that cloud
covered the mercy seat. Oh, I see the Father, I pray
not for the world, I pray for them which thou hast given me.
Keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me," and
so forth. John 17, that's the prayers of
Christ that preceded the intercession of Christ, that preceded the
blood of Christ, the death of Christ. And here they both are,
the incense, the intercession of Christ. I know Jesus Christ
didn't, in verse 14, and he shall take the blood. of the bullet
within the veil, that's where we are now, sprinkle it with
his finger upon the mercy seat eastward, and before the mercy
seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger seven times. Now hold that there and turn
to Hebrews 9, Hebrews chapter 9, and read this with me. Hebrews 9.11, Hebrews 9.11, But
Christ Being calm, a high priest, that's
all one can do, offer the sacrifice. Of good things to come, by greater
and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is
to say, not of this building. Christ's sacrifice was not offered
in the tabernacle of the temple or in Jerusalem, neither by the
blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood. He entered
in once. once, not once a year, but once
into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For
if the blood of bulls and goats, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled
in the unclean, sanctified to the purifying of the flesh, my
friends, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your
conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Verse 24,
Hebrews 9, But Christ is not entered into the holy place made
with hands, which are the figures, pictures, types of the true,
but into Heaven itself now to appear in the presence of God
for us. Nor yet that he should offer
himself often as that high priest entered into the holy place every
year with the blood of others, for then must he often have suffered
since the foundation of the world. He's always been a high priest
and sacrificed. But now, once, in the end of
the world, has he appeared to do what? Put away sin by the
sacrifice of himself. Can anything be more plain? All right. Thirdly, the effects
of the atonement. Back to Leviticus 16. Now, there's
no way you can cover all this in one message, but I'm just
touching the high points. The person who made the atonement,
the high priest Christ, sacrificed him, his blood. Now the effects
of it, verse 15, Leviticus 16. Then shall he kill the goat of
the sin offering that is for the people, and bring his blood
within the veil, and do with that blood as he did with the
blood of the billet, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat and before
the mercy seat. And he shall make an atonement
for the holy place. because of the uncleanness of
the children of Israel. What does this mean? Well, the
holy place was made unholy by sinful people. You see, where
God dwells should be holy, and is holy. But when man is considered,
and when man appears, everything becomes unholy, even the holy
place. Here was the tabernacle. The
holy place and the holy of holies. And if man wasn't even considered,
was out of the picture, it would be a holy place and a holy of
holies. But when a man enters either one of them, it's no longer
a holy place. Isn't that right? It's no longer
a holy place. Even the presence of God is not
holy when a man's there. That's right. And I read Mr. Spurgeon on this, and listen
to what he said. I thought today about coming to the house of
God. Oh, his presence is holy. But then as I thought about coming
to that holy place, I thought about all of us who would be
there, who are by nature unholy. Then that gathering would be
unholy. Even if God is there, it's unholy. But no, the blood
of Christ makes it holy. He said, I thought about prayer.
Prayer is holy because it's unto the Lord and because the Holy
Spirit dictates it. But when it comes out of my mouth
and out of my heart, I make it unholy. So even prayer is unholy. But,
no, that prayer has been sprinkled with the blood of Christ. And
it's even holy to God. I thought about the music. And
the hymns and the songs, all are holy, but when I sing them,
they're not holy anymore. But thank God, his blood sanctifies
even my soul. That's what that's talking about.
You know, when we think about the atonement, we usually think
about atoning for our lies murders and adulteries and jealousies
and thievery and all these things, and our blasphemies. But thank
God His blood atones for our righteousness too. That's right. He said, and you'll
make atonement even for the holy place. That's how complete this
atonement is. It atones for the, and you know
That fellow got upset at Tim's preaching because he said past,
present and future sins. My soul, we have sins we don't
even know about. Unconscious, ignorant sins. Even our very presence is sin. And God Almighty, when Jesus
Christ made that blessed atonement, he had to make the whole place
holy. And then look at verse 20 of
Leviticus 16. Now here's that scapegoat. You
see, the first goat is a type of the atonement. When that first goat was slain,
and its blood taken into the Holy of Holies, and the blood
sprinkled eastward on the mercy seat, and seven times on the
mercy seat, and made atonement, atonement. Verse 20, And when
he hath made, and he end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle
of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live
goat, the scapegoat. Now watch it. And Aaron shall
lay both his hands on the head of the live goat. Aaron did it
now. Everything was done by the house.
And confess over him all the iniquities of the children of
Israel. all of their transgressions and all of their sins, putting
them on the head of the goat, and he'll send that goat away
by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. And that goat
shall bear upon him all their iniquities, not some of them,
not part of them, not the worst one, all of them. Where's he
going to take them? Unto a land not inhabited. And he'll let go of that goat
in the wilderness. And what that's saying is this,
the first goat pictures the atonement for our sins, the blood shed
just to satisfy, sacrifice made. The second goat tells you the
effects of the atonement. It literally puts sin away. It
literally puts it away. It's gone. Where's the goat? Nobody knows. Where's our sins? Where the goat is, nobody knows. God said, I'll separate them
from you as far as the east is from the west. You bear them
no more. That's the effects of this atonement.
All right, what's your response? What's mine? All right, let me
show you this, the last thing, our response to this blessed
good news. Let's start with verse 23. Now,
after that goat, all the sins are gone. The work's done. Abram
has gone into the Holy of Holies, made an atonement. He's confessed
his sins on the head of the scapegoat, he's gone. God is reconciled,
satisfied, in type, in Christ, reality. And Haman shall come
into the tabernacle of the congregation and put off the linen garments
of humility, which he put on when he went into the holy place,
and leave them there. and wash his flesh with water,
and put on his own garments." Our Lord Jesus Christ is not lying over in that casket
in Mexico. He's not on the cross. He's in his holy garments. He
reigns. See, when he finished all that
he came to do, it's finished! He took off all that linen garment,
put back on that golden mitre and that ephod and that breastplate
of gold and all those beautiful gems in his splendor. Oh, I tell you, Christ is not
dead, he lives. Christ is not on a cross, he
reigns. And I'm telling you, we're not
coming to a poor, frustrated, disappointed, defeated, impotent
Savior. We come to a Lord, the King. That's right. That's right. He's already finished his work.
All right, verse 29. And this shall be a statute forever
with you, unto you, that in the seventh month, on the tenth day
of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and underscore this,
and do no work at all. I tell you, when we consider
the atonement, we do no work at all. I tell you, we preach, we serve
our God, we give, we work, we labor, we witness, we do whatever
God's called us to do. But on that day of atonement,
in regard to that day, in regard to that priest, in regard to
that atonement, we do no work. Nothing. In my hands, no price
I bring. Nobody, not even the stranger,
not even the fellow passing through. But on that day, in regard to
sin and sinners and acceptance with God, there's no man in the
temple, there's no man in the tabernacle, there's no man lifting
a hand, walking a step, or doing any work at all. There's just
one working. That's that high priest. And
he did it all. He did it all. And watch this
verse here. And he shall make an atonement,
verse 33, make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, make an atonement
for the tabernacle of the congregation, for the altar, make an atonement
for the priest, make an atonement for all the people of the congregation.
You see, this atonement, there's not one part of God's kingdom
that's not perfected by the blood of Christ Jesus, not one single
part of it. In the redemption of a sinner,
Christ is all. And then last, verse 34, And
this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an
atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once
a year. This shall be carried on. And
that's what Israel did. They carried it on until Christ
came. And he is our great high priest.
And in him we have the atonement. So, we don't do this anymore. We don't even reserve the Passover,
but we do this, the Lord's table. That's why we're assembled here
tonight. As often as you eat this bread and drink this cup,
you show my death till I come. He said, this is my body broken
for you. This is my blood shed for you.
And in taking this bread and taking this wine, we're saying
to him, to ourselves, to our We do discern the Lord's body.
We do discern, Charlie, what took place here. And not only
discern it, we believe it. And not only believe it, we rest
in Him and trust in Him and do no work at all. All right, you
men, serve.

The Day of Atonement

What does the Bible say about the Day of Atonement?

Why is atonement important for Christians?

How do we know that Christ's sacrifice was sufficient?

What does the Bible teach about the necessity of a high priest?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

The Day of Atonement

What does the Bible say about the Day of Atonement?

Why is atonement important for Christians?

How do we know that Christ's sacrifice was sufficient?

What does the Bible teach about the necessity of a high priest?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

More from Henry Mahan

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Articles by Henry Mahan

Books by Henry Mahan

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book