Leviticus 17:10–16
The Bible4Jesus.com Podcast
About this episode
Our culture wants a clean, tidy, and above all, bloodless religion. It wants a god who is a celestial guidance counselor, a Jesus who is a gentle moral teacher, and a cross that is a pretty piece of jewelry. It is, from beginning to end, a bloody religion. The central symbol of our faith is an instrument of brutal, bloody execution. And this is not some unfortunate historical accident; it is the very center of God's redemptive plan. The book of Leviticus, more than any other, forces us to confront this reality. Blood on the altar, blood on the priests, blood on the doorposts. But to do this is to commit theological malpractice. It is like trying to understand a novel by tearing out the first half of the book. The entire sacrificial system, with its intricate and bloody logic, is the necessary grammar for understanding the cross of Jesus Christ.