“Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, O God’” ( Hebrews 10:5-7 )

The plan from the foundation of the world was for God to provide redemption for His people. The Bible tells us that Jesus was the lamb slain before the foundation of the world ( I Peter 1:20, Revelation 13:8 ). The redemption of mankind was never “plan B”, it was intentional and thought out long before the world even existed.

As described in the previous verses, the sacrificial system was merely a type and shadow looking forward to the time when Christ would present His body as a perfect and holy offering. He came in the flesh with a human body that was prepared for this very purpose.

Looking back at the account of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22 gives us incredible insight into this. God told Abraham to take Isaac and sacrifice him on the mountain. So they set off, arrived and prepared for the sacrifice. When Isaac asked Abraham about the offering, Abraham’s reply was that God would provide the lamb. Then he bound Isaac and placed him on the altar.

Hebrews 11 gives us insight into Abraham’s faith in God’s provision, “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death” ( Hebrews 11:17-19 ). God had promised Abraham that Isaac was the promise, so many times, that he was fully convinced that God would raise him from the dead to fulfill the promise that his offspring would be as numerous as the stars in the sky and his Seed would bless every nation ( Genesis 12:2-3, 13:6, 22:18, 26:4, 28:14; Acts 3:25-26, Galatians 3:16 ). God saw his faith while testing him, knowing he would do what God instructed even at the cost of his one and only son, the promise. So God intervened and provided a lamb.

This is an amazing story, but it gets so much better, because it really wasn’t about Abraham and Isaac, it was about Jesus. The example of Abraham and Isaac is another example of type and shadow; just as Abraham was faithful to God and willing to sacrifice his one and only son, God himself was faithful to his promise and actually did sacrifice His one and only Son, Jesus. “The Angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time And said, I have sworn by Myself, says the Lord, that since you have done this and have not withheld [from Me] or begrudged [giving Me] your son, your only son, In blessing I will bless you and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants like the stars of the heavens and like the sand on the seashore. And your Seed (Heir) will possess the gate of His enemies, And in your Seed [Christ] shall all the nations of the earth be blessed and [by Him] bless themselves, because you have heard and obeyed My voice” ( Genesis 22:15-18 Amp ). God tested Abraham to see if he would withhold his son and because he didn’t all nations are blessed because the Messiah was given through Abraham’s seed.

In the place where Abraham received back Isaac and was provided a lamb in his place, he named the spot Jehovah-jireh, the ‘Lord will Provide’. And so the Lord has provided, He prepared a body for His one and only Son as a sacrifice for all mankind for all times. Jesus was the lamb chosen before the foundation of the world and it was God’s will that He provide redemption through the sacrifice of His body.

God provided the sacrifice; He equipped our Savior with a body that was necessary to make atonement. Like Abraham He did not withhold His one and only Son but freely gave Him so that we could be made whole and brought into fellowship with God.

“But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” ( Hebrews 10:3-4 )

One thing about the law was that it was great about building anticipation to the time of Christ. I imagine that every time a bull or goat was brought as a sacrifice, the people would stop and think about the promised Messiah, longing for Him to come; knowing that when He came there would no longer be the need for these endless sacrifices.

The previous verses state the entire sacrificial system was a foreshadowing to the good things that were coming ( Hebrews 10:1-2 ). They couldn’t clear the conscience of the worshipper but rather served as a reminder of sin. This is why these sacrifices were brought time and time again. The blood of these animals only served as a covering for the body and could never cleanse the entire person. In other words, the blood of bulls and goats were powerless to take away sin.

The Messiah on the other hand would be able to cleanse the entirety of mankind by the sacrifice of Himself. This is why the endless sacrifices served to bring a fresh remembrance of sin. It would prepare the people for Christ. In contrast to the blood of bulls and goats, His blood would take away sin.

When Jesus appeared, He did away with sin by the sacrifice of himself ( Hebrews 9:26 ). His blood was more than enough to cleanse the worshipper and bring each one into perfect fellowship with God the Father ( Hebrews 10:19-22 ). This was what the sacrificial system under the law portrayed and looked forward to in Christ. Now that it is here, there is no longer a need for any other type of atonement. Jesus’ blood worked to cleanse us of sin, the first and only time it was given.

Just as the Israelites looked forward to Christ in anticipation, we can look to Christ, trusting in the perfect redemption He provided. We can rest assured that we are forgiven and accepted through Him alone and that His blood was more than enough to justify us in God’s eyes. Just as the blood of bulls and goats was an annual reminder of sin, the blood of Jesus reminds us that we are forgiven and free through faith in Him. What an amazing truth!