Leviticus 16

The Day of Atonement

16 The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the Lord. 2 The Lord said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die. For I will appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.

3 “This is how Aaron is to enter the Most Holy Place: He must first bring a young bull for a sin offering[a] and a ram for a burnt offering. 4 He is to put on the sacred linen tunic, with linen undergarments next to his body; he is to tie the linen sash around him and put on the linen turban. These are sacred garments; so he must bathe himself with water before he puts them on. 5 From the Israelite community he is to take two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

6 “Aaron is to offer the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household. 7 Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 8 He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat.[b] 9 Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. 10 But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.

11 “Aaron shall bring the bull for his own sin offering to make atonement for himself and his household, and he is to slaughter the bull for his own sin offering. 12 He is to take a censer full of burning coals from the altar before the Lord and two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense and take them behind the curtain. 13 He is to put the incense on the fire before the Lord, and the smoke of the incense will conceal the atonement cover above the tablets of the covenant law, so that he will not die. 14 He is to take some of the bull’s blood and with his finger sprinkle it on the front of the atonement cover; then he shall sprinkle some of it with his finger seven times before the atonement cover.

15 “He shall then slaughter the goat for the sin offering for the people and take its blood behind the curtain and do with it as he did with the bull’s blood: He shall sprinkle it on the atonement cover and in front of it. 16 In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the tent of meeting, which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness. 17 No one is to be in the tent of meeting from the time Aaron goes in to make atonement in the Most Holy Place until he comes out, having made atonement for himself, his household and the whole community of Israel.

18 “Then he shall come out to the altar that is before the Lord and make atonement for it. He shall take some of the bull’s blood and some of the goat’s blood and put it on all the horns of the altar. 19 He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it with his finger seven times to cleanse it and to consecrate it from the uncleanness of the Israelites.

20 “When Aaron has finished making atonement for the Most Holy Place, the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall bring forward the live goat. 21 He is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. 22 The goat will carry on itself all their sins to a remote place; and the man shall release it in the wilderness.

23 “Then Aaron is to go into the tent of meeting and take off the linen garments he put on before he entered the Most Holy Place, and he is to leave them there. 24 He shall bathe himself with water in the sanctuary area and put on his regular garments. Then he shall come out and sacrifice the burnt offering for himself and the burnt offering for the people, to make atonement for himself and for the people. 25 He shall also burn the fat of the sin offering on the altar.

26 “The man who releases the goat as a scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp. 27 The bull and the goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the camp; their hides, flesh and intestines are to be burned up. 28 The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water; afterward he may come into the camp.

29 “This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves[c] and not do any work—whether native-born or a foreigner residing among you— 30 because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean from all your sins. 31 It is a day of sabbath rest, and you must deny yourselves; it is a lasting ordinance. 32 The priest who is anointed and ordained to succeed his father as high priest is to make atonement. He is to put on the sacred linen garments 33 and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the tent of meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the members of the community.

34 “This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites.”

And it was done, as the Lord commanded Moses.

Jesus in Jerusalem for the Passover

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Jesus in Jerusalem for the Passover John 2:13 to John 3:21

Jesus upsets the tables of the money-changers and drives them from the temple. THE TIME HAD come again for the yearly Passover Feast in Jerusalem, and from every part of the land groups of people came flocking to attend this great religious meeting. In one of these groups were Jesus and his friends, Andrew, Simon, Philip, and Nathaniel. These men were also called his disciples, or learners; for they often went with him from one place to another to learn more about his wonderful teachings. You remember that only the priests were allowed to enter the rooms of the temple, and that the people who went there to worship stood in the courts outside the rooms and prayed while the priests offered sacrifices upon the altars. When Jesus came with his disciples and friends to attend the Feast of the Passover, he found much disorder in the court where the people were supposed to worship God. This beautiful court looked more like a market-place than like a house of prayer, for men had brought oxen and sheep and doves in there to sell as sacrifices to those who came from distant country places to worship God. And other men, who were called money-changers, were sitting by small tables exchanging pieces of silver money, called half-shekels, for the coins people brought from distant lands. Every Jew, we are told, who was twenty years old or older, gave one of these half-shekels to the priests each year to buy sacrifices and to supply other needs in the temple worship. No other coins except half-shekels could be received by the priests, so the Jews who came from other lands had to exchange their coins for half-shekels before they could pay their dues to the priests. Jesus was grieved to see the disorder in the temple court. He knew that worshipers could not enjoy praying in such a noisy place, where buying and selling and money-exchanging were going on around them. So he made a whip by tying small cords together, and then he drove out the oxen and sheep and the men who kept them. He even upset the tables of the money-changers, and he told them that his Father's house was a place of prayer and should not be used for a market-place. No doubt other people had been grieved to see the disorder in the temple court at the time of the Passover feast. But none of them had ever dared to do as Jesus did at this time. None of them had courage enough to try to correct this great evil. But not all of the Jews were pleased to see Jesus drive the money-lovers and the owners of the oxen and sheep and doves into the streets outside the temple. Some of them came to Jesus and asked him for a sign to prove that he was some great man, with authority to do such things. But Jesus knew they would not accept him even when they should see a sign, so he answered, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it." He spoke about himself, meaning his body, which he knew the Jews would cause to be crucified, and which he would raise up from the dead after three days. But the Jews did not understand, and they thought he meant the temple on Mount Moriah, which Herod, the king, had rebuilt for them. They said, "Many years were spent in building this temple, and you say you could rebuild it in three days!" Then they shook their heads doubtfully and walked away, for they did not believe his words. At this Feast, Jesus began to teach the people and to do miracles among them. And many believed in him when they heard his words and saw the great works which no other man could do. One of those who believed in Jesus was a ruler among the Jews, a Pharisee. His name was Nicodemus, and he was a very rich man. There were many Pharisees among the Jewish rulers, and these men were proud and unwilling to accept either John the Baptist or Jesus as being teachers sent from God. They themselves wished to be the religious leaders of the Jews and they despised humble men like John and Jesus. But Nicodemus was not like his proud friends. He heard Jesus teach the people who had come to worship at the Feast, and he believed that surely Jesus was some great man. While the other Pharisees were finding fault with Jesus, Nicodemus longed to hear more of his teachings. So one night he came to the place where Jesus stayed while he was in Jerusalem, and asked to have a talk with this man from Galilee. Jesus received Nicodemus gladly, and talked to him about the kingdom of God. He told this ruler that no man could enter God's kingdom unless he should be born again. Nicodemus wondered how this could be possible, so Jesus explained to him the secret of the new birth, which we call a change of heart. Never before had this wise ruler of the Jews heard such strange words, and he listened wonderingly while Jesus told about the great love of God. "This love," said Jesus, "caused God to give his only Son that whoever believes in him may not die because of sin, but have life forevermore." Then Jesus reminded Nicodemus of the story of Moses in the wilderness when the people had sinned and God had sent fiery snakes into their camp. Nicodemus remembered the story, and Jesus said, "Just as those people who were about to die from the snake-bites found relief from their pain by looking at the brass snake that Moses put up on a pole in their camp, so the people who have sin in their hearts may find relief from sin by looking at the Son of man, who shall be raised up among them." Nicodemus did not understand that Jesus was speaking about the cruel way in which he should some time be put to death to save the people from their sins. But Nicodemus did believe more strongly than ever that Jesus was a great teacher who had come down from heaven to dwell among men. Faith in Jesus as the Redeemer of the world gives everlasting life. Tomorrow: Jesus and the Samaritan Woman at the Well