The "Last and Final Sacrifice" Takes the "Ten-Count"

 

 

I.            Introduction

 

Christian apologists and missionaries claim that those who do not accept Jesus as their lord and savior, which includes the Jewish people, are doomed to hell because they cannot ever have their sins forgiven by G-d.  This claim is rationalized by alleging that, in Biblical times with the portable Sanctuary in the wilderness and, later, when a Temple was standing in Jerusalem, the only way to bring about the expiation of sins was via the blood of an animal.  This animal had to be brought to the priest to be slaughtered at the altar as a sacrificial offering.  However, since there has been no Temple standing in Jerusalem from the year 70 C.E. and onward, valid sacrificial offerings cannot be made at the altar.  Therefore, according to the claim, the only way to have sins forgiven is through the "sacrificial" death of Jesus on the cross.  In other words, the claim is that the blood of Jesus, who was allegedly sacrificed by his "Father" (G-d) as a demonstration of G-d's great love for humanity (Jn 3:16), has once and for all times removed sin from those who accept the "Son" (Jesus), and this act made Jesus the "last and final sacrifice" for ever.

 

II.            New Testament Perspective versus Hebrew Bible Perspective

 

There are two aspects to the claim that Jesus was "the last and final sacrifice".  First, and the subject of this essay, is the suitability of Jesus and the way he died as a sacrificial offering for the remission of sins.  Second is the issue concerning the need for blood in the atonement of sins, which is the subject of another essay[1].  In this essay, the validity of the former is tested.

 

The process of testing this claim starts by recognizing that the following two conditions prevailed during the life of Jesus, and even at the time of his death:

 

¤     The Second Temple was still standing in Jerusalem

¤     The Hebrew Bible was the Scripture in force

 

Next, the issue to be analyzed is formulated as a question:

 

Question:  According to the requirements set forth in the Hebrew Bible, was Jesus a valid sacrificial offering, and was his death by crucifixion an acceptable process, for the atonement of sins?

 

The analytical phase of the testing process identifies the elements that lead to the answer by contrasting that which is written in the New Testament against what the Hebrew Bible specifies.

 

One - 1

 

U      New Testament Perspective:  According to the accounts in the New Testament, Jesus was crucified by Roman soldiers:

 

John 19:18,23(KJV) – (18) Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.

(23) Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also his coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. [See also Mt 27:35; Mk 15:24; Lk 23:33.]

 

Y      Hebrew Bible Perspective:  The Levitical Law of Sacrifice specifies that the animal brought as a sin sacrifice must be slaughtered by the person who is offering it:

 

Leviticus 4:27-29 - (27) And if any one person from among the common people sins unwittingly, by performing one of the commandments of the L-rd which may not be done, and incurs guilt;  (28) Or if his sin, which he has committed, is made known to him, then he shall bring his sacrifice, an unblemished female goat, for his sin which he has sinned. (29) And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and he shall slaughter the sin offering in the place of the burnt offering.

 

Two - 2

 

Y      Hebrew Bible Perspective:  The Levitical Law of Sacrifice specifies that some of the blood of the (sin) sacrifice had to be rubbed by the priest with his finger on the horns of the altar in the Temple, and the rest had to be poured out at the foot of the sacrificial altar.  The fat had to be removed and burned:

 

Leviticus 4:30-31 - (30) And the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and put [it] upon the horns of the altar [used] for the burnt offering; and [then] he shall pour out all of [the rest of] its blood at the base of the altar. (31) And he shall remove all of its fat , as was removed the fat from the sacrificial peace offerings; and the priest shall burn it upon the altar for a pleasant fragrance to the L-rd; and [thus] shall the priest make an atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven.

 

U      New Testament Perspective:  The authors of the New Testament, in their accounts of the crucifixion, are silent on what was done with the blood of Jesus.  As far as what was done with the fat of his body, one Gospel account provides a clue:

 

John 19:33-34(KJV) - (33) But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:  (34) But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. 

 

Clearly, the fat was not removed prior to his crucifixion and burned.

 

Three - 3

 

U      New Testament Perspective:  According to the accounts in the New Testament, Jesus was beaten, whipped, and dragged on the ground before being crucified:

 

Matthew 26:67(KJV) - Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, [See also Mk 14:65; Lk 22:63; Jn 18:22.]

 

Matthew 27:26,30-31(KJV) – (26)Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. (30) And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. (31) And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. [See also Mk 15:15-20; Jn 19:1-3.]

 

Y      Hebrew Bible Perspective:  The Torah specifies that a sacrificial animal has to be without any physical defects or blemishes:

 

Deuteronomy 17:1 - You shall not sacrifice to the L-rd your G-d an ox or a sheep that has in it a blemish or any bad thing, for that is an abomination to the L-rd, your G-d.

 

Sidebar Note:  As a born Jew, Jesus had to be circumcised on the eighth day following his birth, a ritual that leaves a scar [Gen 17:10-13; the “sign of the covenant”].  In the New Testament, which is silent about this event, circumcision is equated to mutilation [Ga 5;11-12; Php 3:2].

 

Four - 4

 

U      New Testament Perspective:  According to the New Testament, Jesus was "the Lamb of G-d" whose bones may not be broken [a reference to the Paschal Lamb of Exodus 12:46 and Numbers 9:12]:

 

John 1:29(KJV) – The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.  [See also Jn 1:36.]

 

John 19:36(KJV) - For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.

 

Y      Hebrew Bible Perspective:  The Hebrew Bible specifies that the Paschal Lamb be not offered for the removal of sins.  Rather, it was to be a festive, or commemorative offering.  A more appropriate time for a sin offering would have been on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement):

 

Numbers 29:11 - One young male goat for a sin offering, beside the sin offering of atonement, and the continual burnt offering, and its meal offering, and their drink offerings.  [Yom Kippur - Individual sin offering]

 

Leviticus 16:15 - He shall then slaughter the he goat of the people's sin offering and bring its blood inside the dividing curtain, and he shall do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull and sprinkle it upon the cover of the ark, and before the cover of the ark.  [Yom Kippur - Communal sin offering]

 

Five - 5

 

Y      Hebrew Bible Perspective:  The Hebrew Bible requires the Paschal Lamb to be slaughtered and its blood used for placing markings on the side-posts and lintel of the entrances to the house.  Moreover, the meat had to be roasted and eaten, and that which was not consumed by the time the Israelites were to leave their homes, had to be burnt:

 

Exodus 12:6-10 - (6) And you shall keep it under watch until the fourteenth day of this month; and the entire congregation of the community of Israel shall slaughter it at dusk. (7) And they shall take [some] of its blood, and place it on the two doorposts and on the lintel, on the houses in which they will eat it. (8) And they shall eat the meat in that night, roasted over fire, and [with] unleavened bread; with bitter herbs they shall eat it. (9) You shall not eat from it raw, nor boiled in water; but roasted over fire, its head with its legs, and with its inner parts.  (10) And you shall not leave any of it until morning; and that which left over until the morning you shall burn in the fire.

 

U      New Testament Perspective:  The authors of the New Testament are silent on whether this was done with Jesus.

 

Six - 6

 

U      New Testament Perspective:  According to the New Testament, the death of Jesus was a sacrificial offering that expiated the sins of mankind:

 

Hebrews 10:10,18(KJV) – (10) By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

(18) Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. [See also Ro 6;10; He 9;12.]

 

Y      Hebrew Bible Perspective:  The Hebrew Bible requires the Passover (sin) sacrifice, a male-goat, to be offered on an individual (per household) basis, not as a communal offering:

 

Numbers 28:22 - And one young male goat for a sin offering, to make atonement for you.

 

Seven - 7

 

U      New Testament Perspective:  According to the New Testament, the death of Jesus took care of all sins:

 

Hebrews 9:22(KJV) – And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

 

Y      Hebrew Bible Perspective:  The Levitical Law of Sacrifice states that the sacrificial sin offering could bring atonement only for unintentional sins, except as noted in Leviticus 5:1-6, 20-26[Leviticus 6:1-7 in Christian Bibles]:

 

Numbers 15:27-31 - (27) And if a person sins inadvertently, then he shall offer a female goat in its first year as a sin offering. (28) And the priest shall atone for the erring person who sinned inadvertently before the L-rd in order to make atonement on his behalf; and it shall be forgiven him. (29) For the native born of the children of Israel and the stranger who resides among them, one law shall apply to him who sins inadvertently. (30) And the person who does anything presumptuously, whether he is a native born or a stranger, that person blasphemes the L-rd; and that person shall be cut off from among his people. (31) Because he has scorned the word of the L-rd, and has violated his commandment; that person shall surely be cut off, for his iniquity is upon him.

 

Eight - 8

 

U      New Testament Perspective:  According to the New Testament, the death of Jesus enabled the remission for sins yet uncommitted, and for sins of those to be born in future times:

 

Hebrews 10:18(KJV) – Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

 

Y      Hebrew Bible Perspective:  The Hebrew Bible specifies that sacrifices can bring atonement only for sins committed prior to the offering of the sacrifice.  No sacrifice is listed that can bring atonement for sins committed after the sacrifice was offered and, thus, no sacrifice can bring atonement for sins of people born after the sacrifice was offered.  This includes the sin offering, [ (hataat)], described in Leviticus 4:1-5:13, and the guilt offering, [ (asham)], described in Leviticus 5:14-26.  If there were, among the listed sacrifices, even one kind of sin or guilt offering that could bring atonement for future sins, the one who would have brought that offering would not have had to do so again for the rest of his life.  Furthermore, Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), which is ordained by the Torah as an annual Holy Day (Lev 16:29-34), would have had to be celebrated by the Israelites only the very first time if they were to have used one of those "super" sacrificial offerings that could atone for sins yet uncommitted.

 

Consequently, even if it were true that Jesus was some kind of "super-sacrifice" that atoned for all sins of mankind, then his death could have brought the remission of sins committed before, not after, his crucifixion.

 

The claim by the author of Hebrews, that there are no more sin offerings required following the death of Jesus, is false because:

 

¤     The Second Temple stood in Jerusalem for nearly 40 years following the death of Jesus, a period of time in which literally thousands of animals were offered as sacrifices of all sorts, including sin and guilt offerings, as prescribed by the Torah.

 

¤     The Hebrew Bible contains prophecies about the building of the Third Temple in the messianic era, and of the resumption of the sacrificial cult at that time.  All the types of sacrificial offerings will be made on the sacrificial altar [ (mizbe'ah)] in the Temple, including the sin offering [ (hataat)] and the guilt offering [ (asham)]:

 

Ezekiel 43:21-22 - And you shall take the bull of the sin offering, and he [the priest] shall burn it at the edge of the Temple, outside the Sanctuary. (22) And on the second day you shall offer an unblemished he-goat for a sin offering, and they [the priests] shall purify the altar as they purified it with the bull. [See also: Is 56:7; Jer 33:17-18; Ezek 40:39,46-47, 41:42, 42:13, 43:13,15,18-19,22,25-27, 44:27,29, 45:17,19,22-23,25, 46:20, 47:1; Zech 14:21.]

 

In other words, the sacrificial system, which has been in a state of suspension since the year 70 C.E., when the Romans destroyed the Second Temple, will be completely restored in the messianic era.

 

Nine - 9

 

U      New Testament Perspective:  According to the New Testament, G-d's "only begotten son" died on the cross for the sins of mankind, and all who accept this belief are "saved" (i.e., get salvation) and will go to heaven:

 

Romans 5:8-11(KJV) – (8) But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (9) Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (10) For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.(11) And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. [See also Ac 10:43; 1 Co 15:3; 1 Pe 3:18.]

 

Y      Hebrew Bible Perspective:  The Hebrew Bible strictly forbids (human) vicarious (i.e., substitution) atonement, and specifies that everyone is responsible for his or her own sins:

 

Deuteronomy 24:16 - Fathers shall not be put to death because of children, nor shall children be put to death for fathers; each person shall be put to death for his own sin. [See also Exod 32:31-33; Num 35:33.]

 

2 Kings 14:6 - And the sons of the assassins he did not execute, as it is written in the book of the Torah of Moses, which the L-rd commanded saying: "Fathers shall not be put to death for sons, nor shall sons be put to death for fathers, but each man shall be put to death for his own sin." [See also Jer 31:29{30 in Christian Bibles}; Ezek 18:4,20; Ps 49:7-8.]

 

In other words, the concept of human vicarious atonement goes against G-d's words in the Torah, and contradicts the words of those inspired by G-d throughout the rest of the Hebrew Bible.

 

Ten - 10

 

U      New Testament Perspective:  According to the New Testament, Jesus was "G-d manifest in the flesh":

 

Romans 8:3(KJV) - For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: [See also 1 Tm 3:16; 1 Jo 4:2.]

 

Consequently, characterizing the death of Jesus on the cross as any kind of sacrifice would render it to be a human sacrifice.

 

Y      Hebrew Bible Perspective:  The Hebrew Bible strictly prohibits human sacrifices:

 

Leviticus 18:21 – And you shall not give any of your offspring to pass through the fire for Molech, and shall not profane the name of your G-d; I am the L-rd. [See also Deut 18:10, Jer 7:31, 19:32; Ezek 23:37-39.]

 

The concept of human sacrifices to a deity is entirely outside the realm of Judaism.  Human sacrifice is a pagan rite.

 

This completes the "Ten-Count".  The results of the above analysis are summarized in Table IV-1.

 

Table V-1 – The "Last and Final Sacrifice":  The New Testament vs. the Hebrew Bible

 

 

The New Testament is inconsistent with the Hebrew Bible on all ten counts.

 

V.            Summary

 

In this essay, the validity of an important doctrine of Christianity was tested by addressing the following question:

 

Question:  According to the requirements set forth in the Hebrew Bible, was Jesus a valid sacrificial offering, and was his death by crucifixion an acceptable process, for the atonement of sins?

 

The analysis demonstrated that, according to the specifications described in the Torah, Jesus could not have served as a valid sacrificial offering of any kind.

 

Answer:  No.  According to the requirements set forth in the Hebrew Bible, the Scripture in force during his life and at the time of his death, Jesus was not a valid sacrificial offering, and his death by crucifixion was not an acceptable process of the atonement of sins.

 

It is important to realize that a sacrifice is rendered invalid for the purpose of atonement of sins by any single one of the ten "counts" cited in the analysis.

 

Those who choose to accept the belief that Jesus died for their sins, must be made to understand that such a belief cannot be validated from within the Hebrew Bible.  The notion that one person can take on and die for the sins of another was introduced into Christianity via the New Testament and has, therefore, no place in Judaism.