How Leviticus Points to Easter

As Easter approaches, I’ve been thinking about the necessity of understanding the pre-gospel message of the Old Testament in a post-gospel world. Because as the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus weighs heavy on our minds, the importance of understanding the part of scripture that seems disconnected or irrelevant becomes even more imperative. 

One of the major gifts of the Old Testament is that it doesn’t just tell us who God is, it shows us. It’s one thing for God to say, “I’m faithful,” but it’s a whole other to show what that looks like day by day, year by year, century by century. As God’s people, this is vital, since we know that He “is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). The character of God does not change, even if the expression of it does, and since we read the Bible to know God, we can and must wrestle with the difficulty of understanding the OT. The best way to do this is to read texts that don’t directly apply to us, as non-ancient Israelite readers, by seeking to grasp the principles behind them. 

So how do we do that with Leviticus? It’s a book that has been misquoted, misunderstood, and ignored since its arrival. Nowadays, we avoid reading it because a quick read renders it inapplicable to our lives. Since we don’t offer animal sacrifices, celebrate Israelite feasts and celebrations, or live under Israelite ceremonial laws - what’s the point? 

There are many points to be made with this book, but I’ll just give three. Three points that greatly amplify God’s character and the message of the gospel. Points that are worth dwelling on 365 days of the year and not just in the Easter season.

God is holy. 

The overarching theme of the book of Leviticus is, “Be holy, because I, the Lord your God, am holy” (Lev 19:1). Of all the attributes of God where our understanding may be lacking  if we don’t seek to understand the Old Testament, holiness has to be at the top of the list. I mean, what does holiness even mean? 

First, think about this: What’s the part of the gospel we most like to skip and an action of God that we most hate? What is the thing that we wrestle with when it comes to unbelievers or injustice on earth? The wrath of God. It’s something we don’t like to think about or deal with for a very simple reason - the wrath is against us. That’s terrifying, and it should be. 

But let’s zoom out for a second. What causes God’s wrath? Sin (Rom 1:18, Isaiah 26:21). And why is sin a big deal? It is an offense to God’s holiness. So what is holiness? It is God’s name (Lk 1:49). It is what angelic creatures cry out (Isaiah 6:3) day and night, never stopping (Rev 4:8), not just once but three times - making it the only attribute of God to be repeated as such. It is perfection, and it is given to anyone or anything that belongs to God - including us. And even as I try to define it, I can’t. It remains a mystery of God’s character. To be so set apart, transcendent, distinct - in a way we cannot fathom. That’s the grandeur of God, and the starting place for all things right, true, and good - things we can find described and laid out in the book of Leviticus, as God restates who He is and what He cares about. 

Our sin always has a cost. 

Understanding the role of sacrifice in the ancient world means we gain a clearer understanding of the cost of our sin. The sacrifices the Israelites had to make cost them time, money, resources. Sin had a tangible price that they were confronted with daily. They couldn’t avoid it, or they would be met by God’s justified wrath. They couldn’t escape the effects it had on their personal lives, and the lives of those around them. 

In Leviticus 10, the sons of the High Priest (Aaron) die. Nadab and Abihu disregard the law, and fire from God consumes them. In chapter 20, the punishment for various sexual sins is death. In chapter 25, a blasphemer is taken outside the camp and stoned to death. While we look at these things and recoil in horror, we often are horrified by the wrong thing. It isn’t the sin that makes us angry, it’s God’s response. But the Bible doesn’t leave room for defining what God hates as anything less than worthy of that hatred. Our sin is the problem, and the cost is high. 

Which leads to the third point, because the cost of sin is still paid for by sacrifice. We are called to sacrifice our bodies (Rom 12:1), and sacrifice praise (Hebrews 13:15). 1 Peter 2:4-5 uses the language of the Old Testament to describe the life of the believer: “As you come to Him, the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God, through Jesus Christ.” We may not come to a physical altar to make atonement for our sins, but someone did.

Jesus is our great High Priest. 

The Day of Atonement in chapter 16 was a huge day for the ancient Israelites. It was the day that the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies in the temple (the place where God dwelt) and made atonement for their sins. Lev 16:34 says, “This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: Atonement is to be made once a year for all the sins of the Israelites.” For only one day a year, and only when following exactly the rigorous and specific instructions, could the high priest enter the presence of God. That is how dangerous it was. 

Easter is our Day of Atonement. Instead of one day a year, Jesus did it once and for all. 

“Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because He always lives to intercede for them. Such a High Priest meets our needs - One who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted about the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once and for all when He offered himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.” (Hebrews 7:23-28)

The way we approach God looks different now. When Christ died, the curtain in the temple, the one separating the high priest from God, tore in half (Matt 27:51). Instead, the perfect High Priest (Hebrews 4:14) became the way for every person to approach the presence of God.

The good news is good because of the bad news that comes before it. We are lawless, sinful people in the hands of a holy, perfect God. Leviticus doesn’t offer us the hope of the gospel on its own. In fact, it brought death (Romans 7:10). The law revealed the sin that was already there in us (7:13). We need to understand the law to have a right view of God’s holiness, a right view of sin, and a right view of God’s wrath - a view that brings us to the cross in fear and awe of who God is and what He’s done to save us. 

Only then can the truth of God’s mercy and grace, His steadfast love and abounding kindness, truly sink in - that the God who is justified in His wrath also became the justifier of sinners by paying the price of our sins Himself (Rom 3:26) with His own perfect life, so that the wrath of God is no longer on us if we are in Him. There is no better news than this.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom 5:8)

If you’re looking for a Boston church to call home, we’d love to see you visit King’s Hill.