Why Jesus had to die: Sin and Atonement ala God's way

• Clearly, if you accept that there is a true God who is your creator and this God has laid down His rules on sin and how to atone for your sin, there is only one thing to do - follow the rule

• The Bible did specify very well-defined rules for atonement of sin; and His people did follow these rules religiously - until it was no longer possible to do (temple was destroyed in 70 A.D.)

• We will take a look at these rules; the Jewish practices according to these rules and some amazing things that happened when Jesus was sacrificed...

• God has laid down specific rules to atone for one sins in Lev. 17:11

  Lev 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood. And I have given it to you on the altar to make an atonement for your souls. For it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul.

• In short: God requires a blood sacrifice to atone for sin

• The festival of atonement is called "Yum Kippur"

• Leviticus 16 describes how the atonement sacrifice is to be performed:

  Lev 16:5 And he shall take from the congregation of the sons of Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram for a burnt offering. And Aaron shall offer his young bull of the sin offering which is for himself, and make an atonement for himself and for his house. And he shall take the two he-goats and present them before Jehovah at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots on the two he-goats; one lot for Jehovah and the other lot for a complete removal. And Aaron shall bring the goat on which Jehovah's lot fell, and offer it for a sin offering. But the goat on which the lot fell to be the complete removal shall be presented alive before Jehovah, to make an atonement with him, to let him go for a complete removal into the wilderness.

   

  In ordinary English:

  The high priest, after becoming ritually pure, first offered a bull for his sins and the sins of his household. Then two goats were set aside. Lots were cast, and one goat was chosen to be the scapegoat or "Azazel." The High Priest slaughtered the other goat to atone for the sins of Israel and brought the blood into the Holy of Holies. The scapegoat was sent away to be lost in the desert after the High Priest laid both hands on its head and confessed the sins of Israel. In this way, the sins of the nation were symbolically carried off into the desert.

  Here is a picture of the Lots the Jews have made in preparation for the THIRD Temple: ( click here - Original website: click here )

               

• More on the Yum Kippur tradition (from Hebrew Root.org click here )

  Let's take a closer look at this ceremony found in Leviticus (Vayikra) 16:7-10. In Leviticus (Vayikra) 16:8, the first lot said, "La Adonai" (To the L-rd). The second lot said, "La Azazel" (To the scapegoat). The high priest (Cohen HaGadol) took the two golden lots, one marked La Adonai and the other marked La Azazel, and placed one upon the head of each animal, sealing their fate. It was considered a good omen if the lot marked La Adonai was drawn by the priest in the right hand. In the ceremony of the two goats, the two goats were considered as one offering. A crimson sash was tied around the horns of the goat marked azazel. At the appropriate time, the goat was led to a steep cliff in the wilderness and shoved off the cliff. In connection with this ceremony, an interesting tradition arose that is mentioned in the Mishnah ( what is the Mishnah ?): A portion of the crimson sash was attached to the door of the temple (Beit HaMikdash) before the goat was sent into the wilderness. The sash would turn from red to white as the goat met its end, signaling to the people that God had accepted their sacrifices and their sins were forgiven. This was based upon Isaiah (Yeshayahu) 1:18: Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, says Jehovah; though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool.

• The Bible tells us that God is no flake, see Malachi 3:6:
  "For I, Yahweh, do not change...."

  Thus, when God makes a deal, He keeps His end of it....

• This law of atonement that God made His people in the Old Testament, is still very much in effect when Jesus arrived on the scene (the Old Testament did not report any changes in the laws concerning atonement)

• When Jesus gave up His life on the cross, God took that as a sacrifice of atonement:
  • Isa 53:11 By His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify for many; and He shall bear their iniquities.
  • 1Co 15:3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures....

• By His sacrificial act, Jesus earned the right to be the vehicle by which our sins can be forgiven according to the law that His Father has laid down

  (Remember, God does not change; it must be done His way or no way)

• That is why Jesus HAD TO DIE.....

• In the atonement offering, two goats are brought before the high priest of Israel and one goat is chosen as sacrifice and the other goat is set free (Lev 16:7)

  Jesus and Barabbas were brought before the chief priests. Jesus was chosen and Barabbas was set free !!! (they were there when Jesus was picked to die - Matt 27:20)

  Jesus clearly fulfilled the role of the "La Adonai" (to the Lord) goat in the Yum Kippur atonement ceremony (which happens around October)...

• YES ! There are a number of miraculous signs that were happening in the Temple that it was scary - like the place was HAUNTED !!!!

• According to the Jerusalem Talmud (Jacob Neusner, The Yerushalmi, p.156-157):

  "Forty years before the destruction of the Temple, the western light went out, the crimson thread remained crimson, and the lot for the Lord always came up in the left hand. They would close the gates of the Temple by night and get up in the morning and find them wide open" --- (Jacob Neusner, The Yerushalmi, p.156-157). [the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE]

• According to the Babylonian Talmud:

  "Our rabbis taught: During the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple the lot ['For the Lord'] did not come up in the right hand; nor did the crimson-colored strap become white; nor did the western most light shine; and the doors of the Hekel [Temple] would open by themselves" --- (Soncino version, Yoma 39b).

• The Jewish historian Josephus CONFIRMS that some awfully strange things were happening in the Temple: (War of the Jews, Book VI - click here):

  Thus also before the Jews' rebellion, and before those commotions which preceded the war, when the people were come in great crowds to the feast of unleavened bread, on the eighth day of the month Xanthicus, [Nisan,] and at the ninth hour of the night, so great a light shone round the altar and the holy house, that it appeared to be bright day time; which lasted for half an hour. (Note: they don't know the source of the light !) This light seemed to be a good sign to the unskillful, but was so interpreted by the sacred scribes, as to portend those events that followed immediately upon it. At the same festival also, a heifer, as she was led by the high priest to be sacrificed, brought forth a lamb in the midst of the temple. Moreover, the eastern gate of the inner [court of the] temple, which was of brass, and vastly heavy, and had been with difficulty shut by twenty men, and rested upon a basis armed with iron, and had bolts fastened very deep into the firm floor, which was there made of one entire stone, was seen to be opened of its own accord about the sixth hour of the night. Now those that kept watch in the temple came hereupon running to the captain of the temple, and told him of it; who then came up thither, and not without great difficulty was able to shut the gate again. This also appeared to the vulgar to be a very happy prodigy, as if God did thereby open them the gate of happiness. But the men of learning understood it, that the security of their holy house was dissolved of its own accord, and that the gate was opened for the advantage of their enemies.

• There are 4 strange things happening in the temple after Jesus' sacrificial death:
  1. During 40 straight years (40 times straight) in Yum Kippur, the High Priest selects the "bad" outcome (the lot "For the Lord" comes up in his left hand 40 times straight....)

     A simple Math. calculation tells us that the probability of this is 2^-40 1/1099511627776 .00000000000090949470. This odd makes winning the state lottery like a sure thing....

     To win the BIGGAME Lottery, you must select 5 distinct numbers from 1-52 and one "Mega Ball" between 1-52.

     The odds to win the BIGGAME Lottery is:

                            1                    1 x 2 x 3 x 4 x 5
        P(Win) ----------------------  -----------------------------
                   Choose(52, 5) x 52       52 x 51 x 50 x 49 x 48 x 52
     	  0.00000000739940946792
     

     The odds of winning the BIGGAME Lottery is 8135.7 times larger than drawing the lot "For the Lord" 40 times straight in the left hand !!!!

  2. The crimson strip or cloth tied to the Azazel goat that was removed from the goat and tied to the Temple door does not turn to white any more....

     The clear indication is that the whole community had lost the Lord's attention in relation to something that occurred in 30 AD.... The yearly atonement achieved through the typical Yom Kippur observance was not being realized as expected. Atonement apparently was to be gained in some other way...

  3. Jewish authorities acknowledged that the Temple doors swung open every night of their own accord. This too occurred for forty years, beginning in 30 AD. The leading Jewish authority of that time, Yohanan ben Zakkai, declared that this was a sign of impending doom, that the Temple itself would be destroyed:

     According to the Jerusalem Talmud:

     ''Said Rabban Yohanan Ben Zakkai to the Temple, 'O Temple, why do you frighten us? We know that you will end up destroyed. For it has been said, 'Open your doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour your cedars' '' (Zechariah 11:1)'

     Another reason why the doors might have opened themselves is to signify that all may now enter the Temple, even to its innermost holy sections. The evidence supported by the miracles described above suggests the Lord's presence had departed from the Temple. This was no longer just a place for High Priests alone, but the doors swung open for all to enter the Lord's house of worship.

  4. The fourth miracle was that the most important lamp of the seven candle-stick Menorah in the Temple went out, and would not shine.

     Every night for 40 years (over 12,500 nights in a row) the main lamp of the Temple lampstand (menorah) went out of its own accord � no matter what attempts and precautions the priests took to safeguard against this event!

• References:
  • Talmud Evidence for Messiah in 30 AD: Click here
  • Which year did Jesus die ? (Also describes the special events following Jesus' death) Click here
  • The Yom Kippur tradition: click here

  • If you want to dig deeper, here are 2 links to Yoma 39 of the Talmud:
    • click here
    • click here

  • This website contains English translation of all Hebrew scriptures: click here

Later, I uncovered that Jesus also represented the passover lamb in another important sign of deliverance of God

• The passover was an event in the Exodus where God used the blood of a special kind of lamb to mark the houses of the Israelites which He would "pass over"

  The households that the Lord passed over did not suffer harm. Those that He did not pass over, the first born child was killed...

  This was the 10th and last punishment to the Egyptian to force them to let the Israelites depart from Egypt: See Ex 12:29

• The passover meal was eaten the evening before this great miracle and God gave the Israelite special instructions.

• The Passover feast centered on the paschal lamb, which was a sacrificial lamb, a male without blemish and with no broken bone, even after death. (See Ex. 12:5, 46.)

  Likewise, Jesus was the "Passover," the "Lamb of God" (1 Cor. 5:7; John 1:29), a male without blemish and with no broken bone, even after death (John 19:36).

• The Passover lamb was to be chosen on 10 Nisan, the tenth day of the Jewish lunar month Nisan. It was to be killed by "the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel" on 14 Nisan (Ex. 12:6), which was usually the day of the first full moon of spring. Jewish sources state that the lamb was sacrificed between 3:00 and 5:00 P.M. on that day.

  This custom is documented by Josephus in his "War", book 6, Chapter 9 Section 3:

  So these high priests, upon the coming of that feast which is called the Passover, when they slay their sacrifices, from the ***ninth hour till the eleventh*** (= 3 PM to 5 PM),....

  Jesus, too, was "chosen" on 10 Nisan[4] at his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when he was hailed as the Messiah (see Matt. 21:1-9; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:37-40; John 12:12-16),

  John tells us that the triumphal entry occurred on the fifth day before Passover. (John 12:1, 12-13.) Reckoning inclusively from Friday (14 Nisan) as the first day, Sunday (16 Nisan) is the third day after Friday, and Monday (10 Nisan) is the fifth day before Friday. See Hoehner, p. 72.

  Jesus' manner of entrance into Jerusalem had been prophesied by Zechariah (Zech. 9:9).

  The multitude who had assembled in Jerusalem for Passover later consented to his death when they "all" cried out on 14 Nisan, "Let him be crucified." (Matt. 27:20-23.)

  And for the time to kill the lamb: Jesus died about 3:00 P.M. (Matt. 27:46) on the day of preparation for Passover (John 19:14), ***14 Nisan***, just when the paschal lambs were also being slain.

• The Jewish tradition in eating the passover meal is very elaborate and "interesting"
  Three matzahs (a special kind of unleaven bread used in Passover) are put together (representing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). The middle matzah is broken, wrapped in a white cloth, and hidden, representing the death and burial of Jesus. The matzah itself is designed to represent Jesus, since it is striped and pierced, which was prophesized by Isaiah, David, and Zechariah. Following the Seder meal, the "buried" matzah is "resurrected," which was foretold in the prophecies of David.

  Link: click here