When my son was small, I would mostly tell him Bible stories, but sometimes I would tell him history—Raja stories. Once, I remember telling him about the Mysore Raja and the great Dasara procession parade: how the king would come sitting on the Jumbo Savari elephant with a big procession of elephants, dancers, horses, faces of different kinds of long colorful dolls dancing, chariots, different palace floats, a forest with animals, and varied Karnataka history and culture. I kept describing this amazing sight. It created a big dream and desire in him to see the Mysore Dasara procession.
Inevitably, we took him once, but you know crowds. His thata (grandfather) and I tried to go near, but there were four or five rows of people standing—standing on footballs, walls, the whole street jammed. So, he could hear the dance and music, and maybe catch an occasional glimpse of the marching band or clowns, but he could not see anything clearly. He was very upset, stretching to catch at least a momentary clear view of it all. Then, I decided to stand on a small, tall stone, and I said, “See, John, Daddy cannot stand for a long time. If I fall, you also will fall. So, I will stand on this stone and make you sit, and slowly you stand on my shoulders and watch for one or two minutes, so you can see the procession.” So, for two minutes—I still remember the smile and joy on his face and his shouting—he saw the beauty and the color of the very first parade in his life. It was just for a few minutes, but it was the thrill of a lifetime at that age. Now, he does not even care!
Well, the Old Testament believers were like little John. They had heard so many things about the Messiah from their childhood: that He will come and He will do marvelous things. Like small John, they yearned to get a clear glimpse of this Messiah and His work. But there were tall rows standing many centuries between them and the coming of Christ. They only caught a fragmentary glimpse—just a few glimpses—of the coming King of Kings through the Old Covenant types and shadows.
However, in Leviticus 16, our Heavenly Father compassionately lifts the Old Testament saint upon His shoulders and shows him a clear view of the Messiah’s work in thirty-four verses. He lets them catch an almost clear sight of the coming Savior of the world on the Day of Atonement. Old Testament saints like Moses, Joshua, Samuel, and David would feel thrilled, like John for those two minutes, when they could see the glorious work of the Messiah in this chapter. We come to that chapter today. The sacred law of Moses attains its highest and supreme glory in this chapter. If Isaiah 53 is the highest Messianic prophecy in all the books of the prophets, Leviticus 16 is the highest Messianic chapter in all of Moses’ books of the law. The coming Messiah and the great need for His work are pointed out to us with clear distinctness here, like in no other place in the entire Old Testament. In fact, Leviticus 1–15 is preparation for us to come to this chapter. So, we have come to a very high, majestic, and lofty point in the book of Leviticus. This is the highest festival for the Jews: Yom Kippur, the great Day of Atonement, the high point of the year in the life of Israel.
And in this hour during our brief time together—in the limited strength of a Sunday evening—we are going to superficially gaze at the glory of this chapter, and maybe dip into this deep well of living water for another week or two to drink the wonderful truths here.
Two Headings:
- Dangerous Flashback (verses 1–2)
- The Glorious Mediator of God
Notice verse 1: “The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron when they had approached the presence of the Lord and died.”
It takes us back to the shocking flashback event in Leviticus 10. After instituting the tabernacle and anointing the priests, the people of God gathered joyfully to offer their first worship in Leviticus 10. Then, these two priests came with all eagerness and sincerity, but they came to worship God with a strange fire which He had not commanded, but which was right in their own minds. There was nothing wrong to the eyes of all the Israelite men, elders, or other men; no one stopped them. Maybe men clapped and whistled for them when they smelled the sweet fragrance. But they came with a casual, irreverent attitude toward worship; they fatally misjudged the holiness of God. What did God do? He did not break their legs or give them leprosy, but God killed them on the spot in a second—destruction by way of consumption.
On a good day, when starting a wonderful chapter, what is this unfortunate flashback doing here? I believe this is the one verse that opens the door to see the glory of this chapter. The Holy Spirit wisely makes us realize the flashback of this event along with all that God taught from chapters 11 through 15. Because if we do not stop and realize the lessons from this flashback, you will never be able to see the glory of this day.
There are two lessons God wanted us to learn in all these Leviticus chapters:
- Leviticus 1–10 teaches us: Who is God?
- Leviticus 11–15 teaches us: Who is man?
These are two amazing realities. The more we understand the depth of these two questions, the more we will be able to see the glory of the Day of Atonement.
Through all the five sacrifices, the ordaining of the priests, and the tabernacle rules, what is God teaching? Again and again, using the word “holy” almost 150 times in Leviticus, God is making them realize: “I am a holy God.” In Leviticus 10, when Aaron’s two sons died, remember how Moses interpreted that in verse 3: “And Moses said to Aaron, ‘This is what the Lord spoke, saying: “By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified.”‘ So Aaron held his peace.”
That is a sharp lesson. These men misjudged God’s holiness. Realize: who is God? “I am not a god of your imagination; I am not one of the idols your fathers taught you to worship; I am the one true, living, holy God of heaven and earth. I am the God of glory, the God eternally worshiped as Holy, Holy, Holy. I have shown My holiness historically from the beginning: I banished sinful Adam from the Garden of Eden for only one act of disobedience. When I smelled that the whole world had corrupted itself in sin, and smelled that the hearts of men were always sinful at all times, it became so unbearable that I destroyed the whole earth with a flood, and I had to restrain Myself by a covenant with the rainbow. When I heard the outcry of the sin that came up from Sodom and Gomorrah, I buried it under a heap of fire and brimstone. Now I have chosen you in infinite mercy; I have condescended and humbled Myself to come and dwell among you in the Most Holy Place. So, because I have humbled Myself and am dwelling with you daily, I have come closer to you. I know that anything with man that becomes close and frequent becomes common, leading people to take it for granted; familiarity can breed a casual contempt. But do not do that with Me. Do not fall into casual thoughts about Me and My worship; do not become irreverent. My being holy means: do not get so used to Me that you take Me and My worship casually. Remember, O Israel, the Lord God who dwells among you is holy.”
Who is God? He is a holy God. We will be amazed by the reality of God dwelling with man if we grasp, on one side, who God is, and on the other side, who man is.
Who is man? Leviticus 11–15 taught deep lessons about man. In chapters 11 and 12, man is not only born defiled and depraved, but he lives surrounded by full uncleanness in the land, water, and air. Remember the unclean animal foods that could defile a Jew anywhere he went. In chapters 13 and 14, this birth defilement can get worse: soul leprosy can break out in the soul, in outward traits, and in houses. Then, chapter 15 gives a terrible picture of continuous bodily discharge. Mark 7:21–23 says: “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” It is continuously flowing and defiling us. We are an ever-flowing stream of uncleanness in the eyes of God; this is the distressing vileness of our cursed state.
Think of these two beings: on one side, this thrice-holy God, and on the other side, this unclean man. If you understand the distance between these two, the most universally impossible thing is to bring them together. Every man’s conscience realizes this: “I am a sinner, and God is holy. How can I come to Him?” All the miseries of man are because of this distance. How so?
When you again ask, “Who is man?”—man was not created so sinful like this; he was created holy in the image of God. The bond between the Creator and His creature is the most profound, intricate, and powerful relationship conceivable. A dim sample of that is the bond between a mother and child: whatever pain or fever the child may have, if it can get into its mother’s lap, it can feel warmth and sleep so peacefully. That mother did not form the child in her womb, but God formed every nerve, artery, and bone. This bond between man and his God is woven into the very fabric of existence; it is foundational to our being and, ultimately, our purpose. God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” That bond makes every breath yearn for connection with his Creator. We do not just exist because God created us; we continue to exist because He sustains us every second. In Him we live, move, and have our being. Our life force, our very animation, comes directly from Him. The image of God creates an inherent likeness that forms an unbreakable connection, which no fallenness can fully erase. This indescribable bond was created for eternal communion, and no fall can erase this longing.
All souls listening to me—every soul breathing on earth now—all our restlessness and agitation in life exist because we are living outside this great bond. That is what accounts for the restlessness of humanity. It is the cry of the human spirit for the face of the God who created us. Like a child separated from its mother, you can show it some doll or toy and make it temporarily stop crying, but after some time, it will keep crying to see its mother’s face.
We can never be happy in life until we have a face-to-face encounter and satisfying communion with the living God. That kind of relationship alone will fill every aching void in our lives. If God makes you see deep within your heart, you will find a hunger and a cry after that very thing.
The devil, through sin, snatched us from our Father, from whose breath we came to live. Whatever we do, we can never forget the fact that we were made to walk in daily fellowship in the cool of the garden with a living God. We still long for that, and no human relationship can quite satisfy that yearning. We have all found that even the nearest and dearest to us can go only so far in meeting that desire. Then their efforts begin to fade, and a void is left unfulfilled. That void—that cry for something more than your dearest companion can give you—is the cry of your spirit for the face of God. “Our hearts are restless until they find rest in Thee” is a famous quote from Saint Augustine of Hippo.
But do you see the great problem of mankind? We cannot live without God, but we cannot enjoy face-to-face fellowship with this God, because on one side He is so holy, and on the other side we are so sinful. If this is how holy God is, and if this is how defiled I am—with all this defilement from birth, inside and outside, continuously affecting me—the shameful habits of our life and the memory of what we have done and been come back to haunt us, completely clouding and veiling us from the face of God. It does not give us any boldness or confidence. In one word, my greatest problem is that I have a defiled conscience, and I cannot come to see the one face for which I was created. Oh, this is the problem of all mankind! This is what every son and daughter of Adam is struggling with daily.
The great question is: How can I come and enjoy His relationship, which fills every aching void in my life? The answer is Yom Kippur: atonement—the Day of Atonement. Here, beautifully, God shows in Old Testament types how He deals with the delicate matter of defiled consciences.
Even as Christians, is this not a great struggle? “I know that God has forgiven me and saved me. And yet I seem to feel so guilty all the time, so haunted in my conscience, and I feel ashamed to come to God. I feel that I am unworthy.” We wrestle with these problems and are troubled by these thoughts even while we are trying to pray. Why? Because we have not grasped the glorious atonement. This is the great need God is dealing with on the great Day of Atonement. When we grasp this truth and lay hold of it with faith, we will be able to see the Father’s face clearly, enjoy His presence regularly every day, and live with all the peace, joy, and love in His presence.
How does God bridge this vast problem between Himself and man? Ages were asking this question. Old Testament saints were yearning for a full understanding, like John wanting to see the parade. We will see five scenes of the procession that show how God deals with this great problem.
Five steps: Appointment, Humiliation, Righteousness, Atonement, and Entrance of the Mediator (AHRAE).
First: Appointment of a Mediator. Since sinful man cannot come before a holy God, God in His great wisdom appointed a mediator between these two estranged parties. This mediator will stand between the two and bring a full and satisfactory reconciliation for both parties. We see that mediator as the High Priest Aaron here. Imagine a drone shot of the desert: all twelve tribes camping around the outer perimeter, then the Levites’ camps, and in the center, the tabernacle—with its Outer Court, Holy Place, and Most Holy Place. The whole nation is trembling: who can go into the presence of God for us? God says Aaron can come for the people. This mediator was not selected by the people; this was not Israel’s or man’s idea. God, in His great mercy, appointed and anointed this mediator, as we saw in chapter 8. Hebrews 5:4 says that no one takes this honor to himself. It is God who initiates and appoints a mediator.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! To accept us into His awesome presence and solve our deep problem, He provided a Redeemer. Revelation 5 shows how impossible it is: an angel announces, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?”—the scroll of God’s salvation plan for all the universe. Verse 3 says: “And no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll.” John weeps uncontrollably. But verse 5 says: “But one of the elders said to him, ‘Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals.'”
Praise God! He did not choose a prophet, an angel, or an archangel. No, our problem was so deep that it needed someone infinitely great. The living God called His only beloved Son to do this terribly agonizing task. The God-man alone was capable of this great task of bearing all our sins—He who alone can stand between the consuming fire of God’s wrath and our destructible sinnerhood. Praise God for this God-appointed mediator! 1 Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.” He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” It is 100% exclusive, because no one else can do what He did. Christ alone! People in their arrogance question: how can there be only one way? May God make us realize the depth of our problem, so that we are filled with amazement and praise God that there is even one way! He alone is that way. So, we see the appointment of a mediator.
Second: Humiliation of the Mediator. The mediator can come to God, but how should he come? Notice verse 4 says how: not wearing his royal dress. Remember, we saw Aaron’s very expensive priestly uniform in chapter 8. What a description! Beautifully colored materials, intricate embroidery, gold rings, a breastplate with precious stones, shoulder stones, an ephod, and gold jewelry that made him look like a king. On this Day of Atonement, he had to remove all those glorious outer garments and enter with inner white garments. Notice verse 4: “He shall put the holy linen tunic and the linen trousers on his body; he shall be girded with a linen sash, and with the linen turban he shall be attired. These are holy garments. Therefore he shall wash his body in water, and put them on.”
A shirt, trousers, a sash, and a turban—all made of linen. He had to remove all his high priestly uniform. This simple four-garment white linen dress actually made him look more like a servant, even plainer than the vestments of the ordinary priests, and even plainer than all the Israelites standing there. On this great Day of Atonement, the High Priest was humbled to the lowest level. In those days, and even today, when someone in official authority is made to remove all their uniform and walk in inner garments, it is a great humiliation. An Israelite might catch a glimpse of that truth at that time.
But today, what a beautiful picture of our Lord Jesus! How would this mediator redeem us? Not by coming with all His kingly royalty. No. Philippians 2 says: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Oh, what a stoop! The King of history becomes a servant. God becomes a man. As Isaiah 53 sadly talks about the depth of His humility: “He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him.” He was so lowly! What a colossal stoop took place when the Glory of Heaven became a man and was even cursed on a cross! He became poor to make us rich.
Third: Righteousness of the Mediator. Aaron’s linen garments were not only garments of lowliness; they were also garments of the purest white. If you search for the purest white clothing, it is linen. It speaks of glorious, majestic righteousness. Yes, by birth we are unclean, defiled by the uncleanness in the world around us, defiled by our actions, with leprosy from head to toe—a defilement that continuously flows like an unstoppable gutter.
But look at my Mediator! Wherever you look, there is only purity and righteousness. Look at His birth: He was born pure and holy—not like us, as we saw in Leviticus 12, defiled with the curse of original sin. Luke 1:35 says: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”
Think of the inherent, spotless purity of His nature and character—His personal, inner righteousness which only God can see: the righteousness of His thoughts, His attitudes, His reactions. His heart did not produce all kinds of evil thoughts like mine does. There was not one single thought of lust, murder, covetousness, deceit, or pride. I am an ever-flowing stream of uncleanness in the eyes of God, but He was an ever-flowing stream of righteousness. What He thought, felt, and willed was all righteousness. In all the life of the Lord upon the earth, there was not one moment when that inner righteousness was not perfect.
Not only did He refrain from negative sins—as the catechism says, sin is not only transgressing the law, but also any lack of conformity to it—so our Mediator not only avoided breaking the law, but He also positively conformed to it perfectly. Every single second, He loved God with all His mind, heart, strength, and soul all the days of His life. He never fell short of the standard; He perfectly met all the requirements of the law of God. So much so that the all-piercing eye of God opened the sky and said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” He was so spotless!
Though He lived among the same uncleanness and defilement everywhere—in the land, air, and water—and though He was tempted in every way, never once was there a yielding to the pressure to sin. He never allowed the whole world to give Him one sinful thought. There was never an impure thought, word, or act.
Hebrews 7:26 says: “For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.” We see that Aaron had to offer a bull and a ram for his own sins and his family’s sins because, though he was a type, he was still sinful. But our High Priest comes sinless from the virgin’s womb—unstained by Adam’s sin, unstained internally, and unstained externally by the world. He is pure and inherently spotless. Therefore, Christ did not need any offering of a sheep or a bull for Himself. He Himself came as the innocent, pure Lamb of God.
We see Aaron wearing such a pure white dress, and then it says he has to bathe; he was preparing himself to enter the Most Holy Place on this great day. In the same way, our High Priest girded Himself with white purity throughout His life; He prepared Himself to enter the most holy place of heaven for thirty-three years by earning a perfect righteousness—a perfect, pure life He lived without committing one sin. He prepared Himself spotless, putting on the linen of perfect obedience to the Father by His glorious active and passive obedience, so He could enter the true Holy of Holies, which is heaven; this tabernacle was just a model of that.
Fourth: Atonement of the Mediator
We see the atoning sacrifices of the mediator. Verses 5 and 6 talk about Aaron giving a sin offering and a burnt offering for himself and his house. Here is the provision made for the fact that Aaron was not, like Christ, without sin. Hebrews 7 points out that Jesus needed no sacrifice for Himself. Verse 7 talks about the highlight of the Day of Atonement with the two goats. I want to look at that in detail next week; it is a type packed with marvelous truths. Before he engaged in the two-goat ceremony, sacrificing one and sending another away into the wilderness so it could never come back, this prefigured the glorious work of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.
This work shows how perfectly the work of Christ satisfied God’s justice and holiness. We always see it from our angle—that Jesus died on our behalf, which is true—but there are glorious truths from God’s side, and the cross of Christ glorified God’s holiness like nothing else could do.
Forgiveness is not an easy thing for God. He cannot forgive as many people seem to think He can—simply looking at our evil and saying, “Oh, well, that’s all right. Forget about it. I love you anyway. Just go on.” If that were the way we were forgiven, then God would deny His character as a just God. His justice chases us away from His presence and drives us far away, never to return to see His face. We would have to be forsaken, like the scapegoat driven away, and we would have to be punished for all our sins. That is shown in the two-goat ceremony. Both aspects were fulfilled by our Mediator: He took upon Himself our sins, and He was also driven away from God’s presence, crying, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” That was the great atonement Christ fulfilled.
Now, since God’s justice is satisfied in the death of Christ, when He hung on the cross, God did not spare Him a thing! He poured out upon Him every bit of His wrath against sin. Every bit of His justice was satisfied in the death of His Son upon the cross. Thus, God is vindicated. The whole world can now look at that event and say, “Yes, God is just—and through that work of atonement, God can show grace and accept us.” The death of Jesus freed God to show His love to us and welcome us. Apart from His death, you and I would never have known that He is a God of mercy, of compassion, and of tender, forgiving grace. We would never have seen that He is willing to suffer on our behalf, or that He had that kind of heart. Thus, God Himself is magnified, and His character is glorified before us by the death of Jesus. It is the atoning work of this Mediator that freed God to shower His grace and love upon us, and to accept us as reconciled children.
Fifth: Entrance of the Mediator
All this appointing, humiliation, righteousness, and atonement were preparation for the mediator to enter the presence of God. The awesome event of the Day of Atonement is the High Priest entering the Most Holy Place. Verse 3 says Aaron is allowed to enter. In the Old Testament type, Aaron was a type of Christ—the perfect High Priest—but Aaron was himself a sinful high priest, so there were limitations. Verse 2 says he should not enter at just any time, lest he die.
Think of the scene if we see it from a drone angle over that desert. The living God is among these people, yet He is separated from them. Our drone view shows the full desert and the neatly arranged tents: the outer regions around the twelve tribes arranged neatly on the outskirts, forming concentric circles. The next circle contains the camps of the tribe of Levi as a first level of security, and then the circle of the priests as a second level of security. With these different circles surrounding it, in the very center of the concentric circles is the tabernacle. There is an additional layer of separation within the tabernacle compound: you enter the outer court with its bronze altar, and then you enter further inside, behind the first veil into the Holy Place. Then, only after you cross the Holy Place, do you reach the Most Holy Place. No Gentile could enter the outer court compound; only Jews were allowed in the outer court. Then, only priests were allowed inside the Holy Place; no ordinary Jew could enter. As for the Most Holy Place, no one could enter except the High Priest alone, once a year, on the Day of Atonement. He could not enter presumptuously. Verse 1 reminds us of the flashback of his sons’ death, and verse 2 says: “Tell Aaron your brother not to come at just any time into the Holy Place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, lest he die.” He could come only when summoned on this specific day, and in the exact way commanded—with proper garments and sacrifices.
Though there was all kinds of noise outside, verse 2 talks about what is inside the veil—that wonderful phrase: “within the veil.” It was a very thick curtain between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The presence of God was inside that veil. Inside this place was the profound presence of God—just like at the burning bush, a place of majestic and awful silence. No one could go inside the veil. There was the Ark of the Covenant, a rectangular box, and on top were two cherubim with covering wings over what was called the mercy seat. Inside the box were the Ten Commandments—an objective expression of the moral glory of God.
When they moved, the Levites would remove the veil and wrap those items; no ordinary eyes ever saw that place or the Ark of the Covenant. This was the separation and barrier between a holy God and sinful man.
Aaron alone was allowed to come inside that place once a year. It was like Aaron entering into another world—another, higher dimension. No human eyes were ever to gaze directly upon the Ark of the Covenant inside, so notice verse 13: “And he shall put the incense on the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of incense may cover the mercy seat that is on the Testimony, lest he die.” It was like another veil, another screen to prevent even the High Priest from directly seeing the holy presence, lest he die in the absence of that smoke.
So Aaron comes, and verse 14 states where the blood of the bull is to be sprinkled on the mercy seat. In verse 15, the blood of the goat is to be sprinkled on the mercy seat. This blood was sprinkled for the sins of the nation to propitiate God’s wrath. The sprinkling was on top of the mercy seat beneath which lay the Ten Commandments, indicating the satisfaction of the law’s demands through sacrifice.
The law had been broken, but the blood of sacrifice sprinkled on the mercy seat turned away and intercepted the condemning justice of God. Blood sprinkled by the mediator effected reconciliation between God and man. Remember that the High Priest entered representing all twelve tribes. The sprinkled blood satisfied justice and holiness, intercepting the wrath of the living God. Notice verse 14 says it was sprinkled seven times, signifying perfect satisfaction. There is full atonement, appeasement, and satisfaction for the vast oceans of accumulated sins of the entire nation throughout the year—all atoned for at once on this Day of Atonement.
What is all this? What a wonderful type of the true Mediator! Hebrews 9:24 says this tabernacle was a copy of the true Holy Place, which is heaven itself.
This appointed, humbled, righteous, and atoning High Priest entering this tabernacle—under the AHRAE pattern—gives a direct view of Christ’s redemptive work. Standing on these shoulders, we see a colorful picture of the work of our Lord Jesus. Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the day of atonement in Jerusalem, offered up Himself on Golgotha, rose again, and as Hebrews 9:24 says: “For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another… but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself… so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.” Leviticus 16 was a shadow and a copy, but the Lord Jesus Christ entered heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. For whom? For the elect.
He did not take away the sins of merely one year. My, what a high, broad, and wide mountain range of sins of all the people of God the Lord Jesus Christ swallowed up in the sea of His mercy by absorbing the wrath of God on our behalf! He took His blood and sprinkled it, satisfying all demands of the law which we broke, and perfected us before God eternally by one sacrifice and by entering heaven once for us. Hebrews 10:12 says, “But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.”
That is when He said, “It is finished,” and died. Matthew 27:51 tells us that the veil of the temple, inside which Aaron had entered, was torn in two from top to bottom. What does this mean? The barrier between sinful men and the Holy God has been removed by our High Priest!
All those for whom Christ died can now come to God without any hindrance; the barriers are broken down. At that time, even a Jew entering the presence inappropriately would die, but now even Gentiles can cross the Jewish camps, pass the Levites and priests, enter the outer court, the Holy Place, and even the Most Holy Place.
Men, women, boys, and children, your greatest need is to come back to the Father and see Him face to face. God has removed all those hindrances objectively in the work of His Son. The great hindrance for us coming to God today, even as believers, is a guilty conscience. Satan complicates the problem by accusing us constantly—firing the “fiery darts of the wicked one” (Ephesians 6:16). These are all those little suggestions to us that we really are not accepted or loved by God: evil thoughts even before we pray, or when we come to pray, some filthy thought, hostile reaction, anger, or welling up of impatience comes in, along with all the haunting memories of our past shame, our feelings of unworthiness, our filthy thoughts, and the flashes of fear that come upon us. What do you do with that? Your immediate temptation is to say, “Good night, what’s the use? I am not coming to God today,” and so you live far away from your greatest need of seeing His face. Now, what do we do?
Well, we simply place them right on the head of Jesus and say, just as that goat took away sins, “You have taken away all my sins; You have atoned for all these things.”
Do you know how you can come to God today and see Him face to face? Do not listen to Satan. Accept and receive the truth that the blood of Christ not only completely satisfies God regarding you, but it also completely cleanses your conscience.
Believe that God welcomes you into His presence not on the grounds of your works, your devotion, the depth of your knowledge, or your victory, but on the ground of the blood of the Lamb. The discovery of this glorious secret has enabled saints not only to overcome an accusing conscience and Satan, but also to enjoy close communion with God, enjoy free access to the throne of grace, and experience full liberty in their service. They believed that God fully accepted them.
The passage says Aaron has to come with full, sweet incense. This is the first deodorant used in Scripture! When we come to God trusting the righteousness and sacrifice of Jesus, God smells the sweetness of Christ and does not smell any of our defilement. This is the way by which the evil odor of our own failure is eliminated, and the sweetness of Jesus Christ is sprayed completely over us. This is what we are to remember whenever we come before God in prayer.
So, on the basis of this great work—the life work of this great High Priest here on earth and His continuing ministry in heaven—my greatest need is met: coming to God at any time and seeing Him face to face. I can step boldly into God’s presence with a clean conscience; our deep, dark, scarlet past sins are all covered and become white as snow. Here I am, Lord; I present myself. I want to serve with liberty and a clean conscience. That is the purpose of the great Day of Atonement.
Hebrews 10:19–22 says: “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
This is the great goal of the Day of Atonement: it teaches us that as we come before His presence, we are to come clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ on the basis of His blood. We are fully accepted and loved, and we will experience the full satisfaction of His presence through this alone.