Christ's Superiority To The Levitical Sacrificial System

Christ’s Superiority To The Levitical Sacrificial System

Christ is superior to the Old Testament Sacrificial system because of one basic reason: the sacrifices of the Old Testament system were symbolic in nature. The offerings were symbolic of Christ as the one true offering for sin. They never had a part in the forgiveness of sins. If they did then Christ would not have needed to die for the sins of man (Hebrews 10:1-2). Once again, looking at the superiority of Christ to the Levitical sacrificial system; the great contrast between law and grace can be seen. There were 5 different types of offerings: the burnt offering (Levitations chapter 1), the meat offering (Levitations chapter 2), the peace offering (Levitations chapter 3), the sin offering (Levitations chapter 4) and the trespass offering (Levitations chapter 5). The brutality of these offerings shows the price of sin and also symbolized the grace that is found in Christ Jesus. There were many laws in the Old Testament system. One of the primary purposes of them was symbolic, to show the difference between the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man; for example the laws concerning food in Levitations Chapter 11 and leprosy in Levitations Chapter 13-14. Understanding the difference between one’s own sinfulness and God’s holiness is important if one is to turn to Christ for salvation. The Old Testament sacrificial system was symbolic, temporary, and based upon the law. It is just like Hebrews 10:1 and 3 says; the sacrifices were never meant to cleanse of sin but to be symbolic of what Christ would do in the future. This is the important lesson God was trying to teach the Jews through the many repetitious and yearly sacrifices: justification could not come by the law but by faith. Christ was the true lamb without blemish (Levitations 1:3) that became the one time offering for sin which gives freely forgiveness and cleansing for all those who repent and trust in Him. This is why the ceremonial and symbolic laws of the Old Testament were done away with and why Christ is superior to the Old Testament sacrificial system.

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