We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

— Hebrews 10:10

The book of Hebrews looks at Jesus’ life from the perspective of the Old Testament system of sacrifices. Today we will reflect on Jesus as the one and only sacrifice for sin.

In ancient Israel, God commanded that sacrifices be made to cover the sins of the people. These sacrifices were symbolic, representing the sinner. By making a sacrifice, the sinner was saying, “I have done wrong and deserve punishment, but please accept this offering in my place.” The Israelites were required to make sacrifices for many things. If they touched a dead animal—make a sacrifice. If they harmed their neighbor—make a sacrifice. If they accidentally hurt someone—make a sacrifice. Making sacrifices was a part of everyday life. Why were there so many sacrifices? Because there were so many sins, and each sacrifice only (symbolically) covered one sin.When Jesus came, however, he gave up his life as a sacrifice. Though he was pure and perfect, he gave up his body in place of all our bodies. And his sacrifice did not symbolize just one man dying for his sin; Jesus, the perfect Son of God, offered himself as a sacrifice for all human sin. And because he committed no sin, Jesus’ sacrifice covered all the sins of all people, including you and me.

Thank you, Jesus, for putting an end to the Old Testament system of sacrifices. We could never offer an acceptable sacrifice. But your perfect sacrifice makes us acceptable to God forever. Amen.