Some have criticized the entire concept of sacrifice, claiming that it is cruel, harsh, and, in a sense, unfair. Yet, that’s precisely the point. Christ’s death was cruel, harsh, and unfair—the innocent dying for the guilty. That’s what it took to solve the sin problem. And Christ’s death was what all these harsh, cruel, and unfair sacrifices pointed to.
Hebrews 10:3-10. .. 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “sacrifice and offering you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; 6 in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have taken no pleasure. 7 “then I said, ‘behold, I have come (in the scroll of the book it is written of me) to do your will, o God.’” 8 After saying above, “sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have not desired, nor have you taken pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the Law), 9 then He said, “behold, I have come to do your will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second. 10 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “sacrifice and offering you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; 6 in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have taken no pleasure. 7 “then I said, ‘behold, I have come (in the scroll of the book it is written of me) to do your will, o God.’” 8 After saying above, “sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you have not desired, nor have you taken pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the Law), 9 then He said, “behold, I have come to do your will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second. 10 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
The rituals associated with sacrifice were a little like paying for a trip. When you purchase a train, bus, or airplane ticket, you do not immediately receive the journey you paid for. Instead, you are given a ticket or boarding pass, a symbol or promise of the journey to come. You can sit on that piece of paper all you want, but it will not convey you to any destination. Once you have boarded and the journey begins, however, you have received what you paid for, and the paper ticket becomes unnecessary.
So it was with the sacrificial animals. They had an important role to play, but once the real sacrifice was made, they became meaningless—a reality depicted when the veil between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place in the earthly sanctuary was rent asunder at the death of Jesus. “Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Mark 15:38, NKJV). The whole sacrificial system, temple and all, pointed forward to the death of Jesus on the cross. Once Jesus fulfilled His promise at the cross and rose victorious over death, the types became unnecessary.
Boonstra, Sabbath School Quarterly, Monday, May 5, 2025
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