God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received
by faith. – Romans 3:25a NIV
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. This year, Yom Kippur begins at sunset on Friday, October 11th. It runs until the following evening, as Jewish days are counted from sunset to sunset, not midnight to midnight. On Yom Kippur, Jews across the world will abstain from work and devote themselves to scripture reading, prayers of repentance, fasting, and worship. It’s the day they seek a fresh start with God.
In Leviticus 16, Moses is given elaborate instructions for the sacrifices to be made on Yom Kippur. These were made to cleanse the people, the priest, and the Holy Place from the accumulation of sin. Also on this day, the sins of the people were symbolically placed on the “scapegoat” and this goat was driven off into the wilderness. Thus, their sins were taken away on the back of the scapegoat.
Every year these rituals were repeated until the destruction of the temple in AD 70. With no temple, these sacrifices ceased. But actually, the need for atoning sacrifices was eliminated well before the temple was destroyed. When Jesus offered his life for us on the cross, he paid the debt of our sins once and for all. Like the scapegoat, he took all our sins upon himself. He gave his life so we could be reconciled with God.
While non-Jewish Christians don’t celebrate Yom Kippur, it might be a good idea this Friday to stop and give thanks for the forgiveness found in Jesus. His atoning sacrifice gives us all a fresh start.
Pastor Mark