Why does God demand a Sacrifice?
By Francis Fawkes, Th.D.
In the Old Testament, God demanded the sacrifices of animals to atone for the sins of the High Priests and the people. The blood was supposed to cover the sins of the Israelites. But when Jesus came, all animal sacrifices ceased - for He was the sacrificial Lamb for once and for all. The blood of Jesus does not just cover up the sins of the people, but removes them.
Under the Old Covenant, there was atonement through the blood of sacrificial animals. This prefigured the blood of Christ, who would bring the ultimate sacrifice for sin. "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins" - (Hebrews 10:4).
"Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" (Hebrews 9:12-14).
Christ was qualified to pay the penalty for our sin, because He was without sin. Since He was not under the same condemnation, He could voluntarily take our place: "who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness" - (1 Peter 2:24).
