Leviticus 16:23–28
The Bible4Jesus.com Podcast
About this episode
We live in an age that is allergic to ritual, and consequently, an age that is profoundly ignorant of what sin is and what it does. We think of sin as a simple mistake, a poor choice, a psychological hiccup to be managed with therapy or positive thinking. But the Bible presents sin as something far more potent. It is a filth that stains everything it touches, and it cannot be removed with a simple apology. It requires blood, and it requires fire, and it requires a meticulous, divinely-prescribed cleansing. The Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, was the high point of Israel's liturgical year. The great work of atonement has been accomplished, the blood has been sprinkled, the scapegoat has been sent away. And it is in these seemingly mundane, concluding details that we see the profound logic of the gospel.