Jesus Is Everything!
126 Jesus Is Everything!
Leviticus 16:29-34
April 5, 2026
We are taking a break from our study through Mark’s gospel,
Obviously that we might celebrate the resurrection of our Lord
And the atonement which is proven by His resurrection.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead
Is the proclaimed event of Christianity.
When you read the book of Acts
And see the apostles go out into the world preaching the gospel
The chief topic they preached was that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
It started with Peter in Acts 2
Acts 2:23-24 “this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”
In the very next chapter he preached again:
Acts 3:14-15 “But you disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, but put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.”
In the very next chapter:
Acts 4:9-11 “if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. “He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief corner stone.”
When he preached to Cornelius
Acts 10:38-40 “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. “We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. “God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible,”
And when Paul started his missionary journeys it was more of the same:
Acts 13:29-30 “When they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb. “But God raised Him from the dead;”
The resurrection of Jesus was THE message.
WHY?
FOR ONE, because the resurrection verifies the message of the cross.
· Jesus Himself declared Himself to be the Messiah, the very Son of God, the Holy and righteous One without sin.
· He proclaimed that He had come to die in the stead of sinners who believed in Him, which He did.
But if Jesus stays dead
We have no way of knowing if His atoning sacrifice worked.
Maybe He had a secret sin we didn’t know about.
Maybe He wasn’t actually pleasing to God.
But all of those doubts where laid to rest
When God testified to His sinlessness by raising Him from the dead.
The resurrection proves that Jesus was sinless
And the death that He died was not for His own sin,
But for the sin of someone else.
He was a substitute on the cross.
He was paying a debt He did not owe.
THE RESURRECTION VERIFIES THE CROSS.
BUT THE OTHER REASON the disciples went out preaching the resurrection is because the resurrection is exclusive to Christianity.
· There are lots of martyrs in the world.
· There are lots of people who make claims and die for those claims.
· There are lots of people who claim to be saviors and then die in the process.
What separates Jesus from all of them
Is that He didn’t stay dead.
If you are looking for a savior
Who can help you answer the question of death,
Perhaps you should start with the only One who actually defeated death.
Every other religion;
Every other system of belief in this world has its doctrine.
Every other religion makes its claims about
· How to live
· How to be pleasing
· How to have eternal life,
· And so on and so forth.
But none of those religions have a savior who first walked into death
And then back out the other side to prove their message was true.
A man can say anything,
But when a man actually accomplishes what he promises
It’s time to stand up and pay attention.
1 Corinthians 15:20-22 “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since by a man came death, by a man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.”
JESUS CHRIST LIVES!
· He is the One who can forgive sinners.
· He is the One who conquers death.
· He is the One who grants eternal life.
Many others can make the claim, only Jesus backed it up.
THAT IS WHY WE CELEBRATE THIS MORNING.
AND THIS MORNING,
We are going to focus on the forgiveness He purchased on the cross;
The forgiveness which was proven when He stepped out of the tomb.
We’re actually going to look at several texts this morning,
But we’re going to start in the Old Testament book of Leviticus.
The text we read to open our time together is a text that has both
A REMARKABLE PROMISE OF HOPE
A CRUSHING REMINDER OF FUTILITY.
It concludes God’s instruction regarding The Day of Atonement.
If you’re not familiar with the term,
The Day of Atonement was “THE” day in Israel.
IT WAS EVERYTHING!
ANY TIME YOU SINNED you were required by God’s Law to bring a sacrifice for your sin.
But that could obviously only apply to sins you knew about.
One thing Israel was quickly learning is that GOD IS HOLY.
· He is above us.
· He is beyond us.
· He is remarkable.
· He is perfect.
· We on the other hand are fallen.
· We are sinful.
· We don’t naturally think like He thinks.
And because of this vast difference
There are many times that we sin and don’t even realize it.
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
It may even be things that you don’t initially think of as sinful,
But they still fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Well, that is what the Day of Atonement was for.
It was instituted by God as a sacrifice
To atone for all the sins you committed in ignorance.
It was THE day of forgiveness for the nation.
You may even notice the timing of this chapter.
If you look up at verse 1 we read some important context.
(1-2) “Now 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. The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he shall not enter at any time into the holy place inside the veil, before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die; for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.”
This instruction was given “after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they had approached the presence of the LORD and died.”
· If you remember the story, they were “Nadab and Abihu”
· The Bible says they offered “strange fire” before the LORD.
That is to say that they entered God’s presence
They fell short of His required standard, and GOD KILLED THEM for it.
He is holy, they were not.
They were sinful and tried to enter God’s presence and they were killed.
It was a vivid reminder that God’s holiness is no laughing matter.
A fact Moses reminded Aaron of here.
If Aaron was to try to enter behind the veil into the holy of holies
HE WOULD ALSO DIE.
That posed a problem.
How could atonement be made before God if even the high priest couldn’t go before Him?
Well, that is what The Day of Atonement was for.
(READ 3-28)
Let me summarize it for you.
1) The high priest would bathe his body in water and then dress in linen garments as a sign of humility.
2) The priest would select a bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering for himself.
3) He would select two male goats for a sin offering and one ram for a burnt offering for the people.
4) Cast lots for a sacrificial goat and a scape goat.
5) He would offer the sin offering for himself and then take its blood inside the veil, burn incense (so that the smoke would keep him from looking directly at the glory and he would not die), and then sprinkle the blood on the east side of the mercy seat and before the mercy seat.
6) Offer the sin offering for the people and then take its blood into the veil and sprinkle it on and before the mercy seat. (to atone for the mercy seat which was defiled simply because it sat in the presence of sinners)
7) He then comes out and takes some of the blood of both sin offerings (his and theirs) and sprinkles it on the altar. (to atone for the altar)
8) Then he lays his hands on the second goat of the people, confesses all the sins of Israel on it, and that goat is led away to an uninhabited land.
9) Then the priest takes off his linen garments, washes his body in water and puts on his clothes.
10) He then offers the two burnt offerings. (One for himself, and one for the people)
11) Then he takes the fat of the sin offering and offers it up in smoke to God.
12) Then the two carcasses of the sin offering (his bull, and their goat) are taken outside the camp and are burned.
13) Both the man who burned those carcasses and the man who led away the scape goat shall bathe in water and then they can come back into the camp.
It was a strenuous and rigid ritual.
It had to be done to the detail
Or else, the priest would die and there would be no forgiveness.
It was tedious, it was technical, it was stressful, it was laborious.
But, if it was done correctly it came with
THE REMARKABLE PROMISE OF HOPE.
(29-30) “This shall be a permanent statute for you: in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall humble your souls and not do any work, whether the native, or the alien who sojourns among you; for it is on this day that atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the Lord.”
What a promise!
“to cleanse you; you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD.”
This one strenuous act would, in effect, wipe your slate clean.
· You would be at peace with the God who created you.
· You would be forgiven without judgment.
It was a tremendous offer
You can see why Israel would love this ordinance.
Have you ever longed for forgiveness?
Have you ever wished your sins could be wiped away?
Have you ever wished your black marks could be erased?
That is what God was promising through this ordinance.
It was a remarkable promise of hope.
But it also became
A CRUSHING REMINDER OF FUTILITY.
For we notice at the end of the segment:
(34) “Now you shall have this as a permanent statute, to make atonement for the sons of Israel for all their sins once every year.” And just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so he did.”
Moses used some words there that become problematic
· Moses said “permanent statute”
· Moses said “once every year”
If the statute is permanent then the forgiveness is not.
If this offering has to keep being made then obviously the effect wears off.
Had it been done one time and then never needed again,
We would say it was tremendously effective,
But the fact that you had to keep repeating it suggested a different reality.
Though this ordinance gave a promise of hope,
All it really ended up doing was reminding us of the futility of sin.
I would assume everyone in here owns a car.
If you had to replace the engine every year, would you consider that a blessing or a curse?
Probably everyone owns a refrigerator.
If you had to replace the compressor every year, would you consider that a blessing or a curse?
Are you picking up on my point?
The fact that they had to keep performing this ordinance
Gave serious doubt as to how effective it actually was.
If it works so well then why do we have to keep doing it?
And indeed,
That was what the writer of Hebrews in the New Testament pointed out.
Hebrews 10:1-4 “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
WELL THERE WE HAVE IT.
The problem is that bulls and goats
Are not an acceptable offering for sin.
They are fine as an illustration, they are terrible as actual sacrifices.
So instead of giving hope, this ordinance ends up being
A yearly reminder of how sinful and fallen we are.
· No matter how hard you tried…
· No matter how hard you worked…
· No matter how long you labored…
· No matter how tedious you were to perform the sacrifice perfectly…
You still had to come back to this ritual for forgiveness every year
IT’S EFFECTIVENESS WAS VERY SHORT-LIVED.
WELL THAT IS WHY THIS MORNING WE COME TO TALK ABOUT JESUS.
TURN TO: HEBREWS 9
Hebrews 9 is a chapter meant to explain to you
The real point of the Day of Atonement.
Let’s begin by reading those first 10 verses.
(READ 1-10)
Did you catch on to the ordinance?
· It’s the one we just read about in Leviticus 16.
By the time of the New Testament Jews were still doing it,
But they had failed to understand the point.
WHAT WAS THE POINT?
Look again at verses 8-10
“The Holy Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.”
In other words, when you watch that Day of Atonement ceremony unfold
There is one message that the Holy Spirit is trying to teach you.
YOU CANNOT GET TO GOD
Think about it.
Only that priest gets to go,
· And only if he properly atones for himself.
· One slip up and he’s dead.
You, however, never get to go.
· If you even tried to stick a finger through that veil you’d be killed.
· Sinful man was not welcome to stand before a holy God.
That truth should have been made abundantly clear
Every time you watch that scene unfold.
YOU ARE NOT WELCOME.
YOU ARE NOT HOLY.
There must be a blood sacrifice to atone for your sin.
There must be a death to pay for sin.
This remarkable promise of hope
Very quickly becomes a crushing reminder of futility.
BUT ALL OF THAT WOULD CHANGE WHEN JESUS WOULD ARRIVE.
(READ: HEBREWS 9:11-12)
What the writer of Hebrews is about to show you is that
When Jesus came He actually performed
The ceremony of the Day of Atonement for you.
But He did it differently than the priests who came before you.
His performance still brings a remarkable promise of hope.
But His performance eliminates the crushing reminder of futility.
What Jesus did was effective, not futile.
What we are learning is that the entire scene back in Leviticus 16
Was never meant to actually forgive you.
It was meant to show you the One who could.
I’M SURE YOU ALREADY KNOW THAT.
In fact, even as we read the account,
I’m confident you probably already recognized that
THOSE SACRIFICIAL ANIMALS were a picture of Jesus.
We saw Jesus all in those sacrifices.
We saw a bull for Aaron’s sin – that was a picture of Jesus.
We saw two goats for atonement – that was a picture of Jesus.
We saw 2 rams for atonement – that was a picture of Jesus.
God promised that the judgment for sin is death.
Blood had to be shed.
A death must occur to satisfy justice.
Think about that GOAT that was killed so that its blood could atone for sinners.
We read that the carcass of that goat and the bull
Were taken outside of the city and burned with fire.
Hebrews 13:11-12 “For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.”
We think of that ESCAPE GOAT that literally bore the sins of the people and carried them away:
1 Peter 2:24 “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”
THAT ESCAPE GOAT WAS ALSO A PICTURE OF JESUS.
So you see very clearly that Jesus is pictured
By every one of those atoning sacrifices.
· Every animal that was killed.
· Every animal whose blood was shed in the Old Testament…
· Was a picture of the true sacrifice which was to come.
YOU KNOW THAT.
They were the symbol, Jesus was the substance.
“through His own blood, He entered the holy place…”
BUT THAT ISN’T THE ONLY PLACE WE SEE JESUS IN THAT STORY.
JESUS ALSO SHOWS UP AS THE PRIEST
(11) “But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation;”
Christ served the role of both priest and sacrifice.
· He entered the real holy place, not the man-made tent.
· And He took His own blood, not the blood of some bull or goat.
The blood of bulls and goats can’t take away sin,
But the blood of Jesus can.
We sing it all the time in church:
“What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
What was that remarkable promise we talked about in Leviticus 16?
“you will be clean from all your sins before the LORD”
Well listen to the writer of Hebrews regarding Jesus:
(READ: HEBREWS 9:13-14)
The writer of Hebrew said,
All of those sacrifices were pretty good at cleaning the flesh.
· How many times did Aaron and those participating have to bathe?
· Those sacrifices made your outside pretty clean.
· But those sacrifices didn’t help much regarding your inside because you had to keep doing them.
No matter how many times you bathed you still had to do it again.
It reminded us of our inability to stay clean before God.
BUT WHEN JESUS COMES.
He serves in the role of both priest and sacrifice
And because His offering is so effective,
It actually cleans our conscience.
That is to say, IT REMOVES OUR GUILT.
WHY?
Because Jesus only had to do it once.
We saw that in verse 12, “once for all”.
You see it again in chapter 10 of Hebrews.
(READ: HEBREWS 10:10)
And again
(READ: HEBREWS 10:14)
What Jesus did never had to be repeated.
Because it was totally effective.
Jesus shed His own blood and then entered the actual presence of God on our behalf to pay our debt.
The priests offered that sacrifice many times without success.
Christ offered it once and it was perfect.
The priests offered an imperfect sacrifice that could not appease God.
Christ offered a perfect sacrifice in which God was pleased.
The priests entered a manmade copy and still had to leave,
Christ entered the real Holy of Holies and sat down.
The priest offered a picture…
Jesus Christ actually atoned for sin.
He was the real atoning sacrifice.
He is the real priest.
(READ: HEBREWS 7:23-25)
Jesus died and rose again.
· He lives forever.
· He will never retire from being our priest.
He took His own perfect blood and entered the real presence of God,
And He remains there to atone for our sins.
He didn’t just provide forgiveness, Jesus secures it.
As believers in Jesus, we were forgiven, we are forgiven,
And we will always be forgiven.
And that is why He never has to die again.
Hebrews 10:18 “Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.”
Unlike what that priest did in Leviticus 16,
What Jesus did on the cross was totally and eternally effective.
· He will never have to die again.
· He will never have to suffer again.
· His one act of suffering was totally sufficient to save all who believe in Him
forever.
THAT IS REMARKABLE!
SO WHEN WE LOOKED AT THAT DAY OF ATONEMENT CEREMONY
· Jesus was the sacrificial animals.
· Jesus was the priest.
AND STILL, THAT IS NOT ALL.
The writer of Hebrews tells us that
JESUS WAS ALSO THE VEIL!
Remember the veil that separated humanity from the holiness of God?
(READ: HEBREWS 10:19-20)
That veil was the barrier between man and God.
But it could not be removed.
If that veil came down men would have instantly died
In the presence of the holiness of God.
But do you remember what happened when Jesus was crucified?
Do you remember what happened when He was killed and thus took His own blood to the Father as an atoning sacrifice for our sin?
Matthew 27:50-51 “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.”
When Jesus died, and sinners were atoned for,
The barrier between man and God was removed.
It was ripped from top to bottom.
· All of a sudden access to God was made available.
· All of a sudden it appeared anyone could come.
Because the ripping of the veil happened simultaneously
With the piercing of His body we understand the writer’s point.
In order for sinners to gain access to God, the body of Jesus had to die.
If all Jesus ever did was preach and heal the sick,
He would have been a great man,
But men would still never be able to get to God.
· He had to die.
· His body had to be pierced.
· His human life had to be taken for sinners to gain access to God.
And when Jesus died, at that exact moment, God tore down the veil.
That is why the writer of Hebrews
Calls us all to enter God’s presence.
(READ: HEBREWS 10:19-22)
He said, that now we should all come!
God had warned Aaron not to come back or he would die.
Now we are told to freely come through faith in Jesus.
He made a way for us to enter.
1. He was the sacrifice God accepted.
2. He is the priest He offers it to God in our atonement.
3. He was the veil through which we have access to God.
When you read that account of the Day of Atonement
We read it and then say, “MY GOODNESS, JESUS IS EVERYTHING!”
· He is the sacrifice God accepts as a payment for all my sin.
· He is the priest who offers it to God on my behalf.
· He is door or the veil through which I can no get to God.
And we know all this is true BECAUSE Jesus rose from the dead.
BUT THERE IS STILL ONE MORE.
IF YOU WERE A JEW,
· You would have greatly anticipated that day of atonement.
· There would have been a certain nervous energy as that priest took that blood behind that veil.
But what a celebration when the priest emerged outside of the curtain
And said, “It’s done!”
(READ: HEBREWS 9:24-28)
We now wait for Christ to emerge from the tent.
This is His Second Coming.
He is coming back for those who are trusting in Him.
· He has already forgiven us.
· He is currently interceding for us and securing us.
· He will soon return and save us from this wicked fallen world.
He is our remarkable hope.
He is our sufficient hope.
He is our continuous hope.
He is our glorious hope.
JESUS IS EVERYTHING!
1. Sacrifice!
2. Priest!
3. Savior!
4. And soon returning King!
He accomplished for us what millions of goats never could.
He accomplished for us what thousands of priests never could.
HE MADE A WAY FOR US TO DRAW NEAR TO GOD.
This morning we praise Him!
This morning we lift high His name!
This morning
· We forsake our own works and efforts.
· We forsake our sin and offense to God.
· We forsake every other idol and every other false god
· We pledge our allegiance to Jesus Christ and Him alone
Jesus is the only qualified Savior of sinners.
The writer of Hebrews said that we can get to God through Him.
He said that we should “draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith”.
We are called to believe in Jesus with all our heart.
We are called to draw near to God
Believing in the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf.
AND THIS MORNING, that is what I invite you to do.
Believe in Jesus.
· Believe that He is the one acceptable sacrifice.
· Believe that He is the one effective high priest.
· Believe that He is the only doorway granting access to God.
· Believe that He will soon come and finish what He started.
Place your faith in Him and you will be saved.
Hebrews 10:11-13 “Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.”
Trust in Him.