What is Jesus doing in Leviticus?

The book of Leviticus is equivalent to the "untouchables". All sorts of rules and regulations and all these crazy sacrifices and offerings. How are we supposed to understand what this means, let alone live it out in our daily life? Everyone would agree that Leviticus is one of the toughest books in the Bible to read, to understand, and to live out, but Leviticus is in the Bible for a reason. All scripture is breathed out and profitable (2 Tim. 3:16), not just the books in the NT that tell us what to do. Why is all scripture relevant to all of life? Because Jesus, who is life himself (John 10:10), is the point of every book in the Bible. All of the old testament points forward and foreshadows Jesus coming into the world for salvation (Luke 24:27), and all of the new testament points back to Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.

I don't know if you'll be reading Leviticus anytime soon, but I hope the next time you do this helps to show that Jesus Christ is not just the focal point of the gospels, or the new testament writings, but also the entire Bible. including the  book of Leviticus.

How Leviticus points to Jesus

The theme of Leviticus is God instructing his chosen people how to live (Leviticus 20:26). Michael Williams says that in Leviticus "God lays out procedures for the Israelites to follow that would remind them of His presence with them and of their dependence on him to accomplish the purposes  for which he had set them apart." These procedures are usually shown in the form of sacrifices or offerings to the Lord by the Israelites. There are 5 main offerings that speak into our lives today, and communicates how we are to live before the Lord to experience the fullness of joy that God promises to His people.

The 5 Offerings of Leviticus

1. The Burnt Offering (Leviticus 1) - this offering had to be 100% burned, showing the total surrender and cost of following Christ (Luke 14:25-35). 
2. The Grain Offering (Leviticus 2) - the use of fine flour and costly spices in this offering showed the sweet and gracious provision of the Lord in the life of the Israelites, a people who were enslaved to the Egyptians, before the Lord led them into freedom through the Red Sea. Much like the Israelites, we as Christians were enslaved to the sins of this world, and Jesus Christ came to set us free from sin and death (Gal. 5:1). We now offer our lives, not as a sacrifice for our sins, but as grateful acknowledgement of what He has done for us in Jesus (Romans 12:1-2).
3. The Fellowship Offering (Leviticus 3) - this offering expressed and communicated peace or fellowship between the Israelites and the Lord. It was a communion meal and in Old Testament times such meals were a way of signifying a deep relationship. This offering showed that God's people desire a deep relationship with their God. Because of sin our relationship with God is eternally broken, but because of Jesus' sacrifice he has reconciled our relationship with God. Jesus is the only way we can have a true relationship with the Father (John 14:6)
4. The Sin Offering (Leviticus 4:1-5:13) - this offering acknowledged the sinfulness of the Israelites and is their way of making amends for their broken relationship with God. To have a relationship with the God, we have to be Holy, because He is holy. We can never be holy, because of our sinful nature, but Christ is our holiness and he is our spotless offering for sin (Col. 1:21-23)
5. The Guilt Offering (Leviticus 5:14-6:7) - this offering is very similiar to the sin offering and again is the acknowledgement of God's people that they are sinful. This offering is used to repair the relationship between sinners and the Lord. 

In the book, How to Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens, Michael Williams explains that "These offerings emphasize acknowledging, celebrating, deepening, and restoring their relationship with the Lord." So why don't we do them anymore? Why aren't people lined up at the church today making offerings to the Lord through a priest? "God's demand for holiness in our relationship hasn't been removed or minimized (2 Peter 3:14). Not only do we need a perfect sacrifice, we need a perfect Priest to offer it for us. Jesus, because he is both the flawless sacrifice and the sinless priest fulfills both."

"Unlike the other high priests, Christ does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once and for all when he offered himself." (Hebrews 7:27)

The message of Leviticus, like every other book of the Bible, is that we need Jesus, not just for salvation, but for life. We need him more than the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. He is not a part of our life. He is our life. We might not be making burnt or grain offerings, but we might still be trying to work for our relationship with God. We might be basing our relationship with the Lord on what we do, and not on what Christ has done and is doing. As Moses writes in Leviticus, I also say get to Christ. Let the law drive you deeper into Christ, and let Christ change your heart so you can begin to follow the law. What a savior we have that closes the altar down forever and says I will be your sacrifice, your offering, your everything. 

Do you Remember?

"It is no burden to follow God when we consider what great things He has done for us. Do you remember what it is like not to know Christ, to be without God and without hope? Do you remember what it is like to be guilty before God and unforgiven? Do you remember what it is like to have offended God and to have His anger burning toward you? Do you remember what it is like to be only a heartbeat away from hell? Now do you remember what it is like to see Jesus Christ with the eyes of faith and to understand for the first time who he really is and what He has done by His death and resurrection? Do you remember what it was like to experience forgiveness and deliverance from judgement and hell? Do you remember what it was first like to have the assurance of heaven and eternal life? When the fire of service to God grows cold, consider what great things the Lord has done for you.

He has never done anything greater for anyone, nor could He do anything greater for you, than bring you to Himself. Suppose he put ten million dollars into your bank account every morning for the rest of you life, but He didn't save you? Suppose He gave you the most beautiful body and face of anyone who ever lived, a body that never aged for a thousand years, but then at death He shut you out of Heaven and into hell for eternity? What has God ever given anyone that could compare with the salvation He has given to you as a believer? Do you see that there is nothing God could ever do for you or give to you greater than the gift of Himself? If we cannot be grateful servants of Him who is everything and in whom we have everything, what will make us grateful?" 

(Donald Whitney, "Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life")

We Get God Today

"I gave my life to the king who died on a tree
And he ain't make me richer
He ain't make me taller
He ain't give new legs to my cousins little daughter
He gave me something greater then anything I done seen
He gave himself to me"
(Lecrae, 'Inspiration', Church Clothes)

Christian, we get God today. Do we realize what that really means? When we woke up this morning, if Jesus Christ is our salvation, then we get God today. Not only today, but everyday for eternity. Jesus didn't just save us from, but he also saves us to. What does he save us to?  He saves us to enjoy and live out a restored and reconciled relationship with the Father, where we are now considered children of God (Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6-7), who live for the glory of his magnificent name. This is spectacular news and makes anything else we might be going through seem momentary and light. Whenever God enters into the picture everything changes. 

The good news of the Gospel will always be that we get God. God gives us himself in Jesus and he is more than enough. The world is passing away and eternity is closer than we think. Let us cling to Jesus: the one true treasure, the rock of our foundation, the all satisfying Savior.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:25-26)

Gospel Need & Gospel Greatness

Our hearts will always naturally gravitate toward these 2 things:
1.) what we need the most; or
2.) what we see as greatest

Every decision you make in this life is based on these 2 ideas: need and greatness. Why do you go to college? Why do you choose that job or career? Why do you marry that person? Why do you buy that product? Why do you spend time doing those things? Everything you do in this life is either based on a great need you have or what you personally perceive to be the greatest of possibilities.

Just this week I decided to go to my night class at WKU, not because it's the greatest thing to do, but rather because I needed to in order to make good grades and graduate. I also watched a UK basketball game in that same class, not because that's what I needed to do, but because, in my head, that was the greater of the two options. Every little and big choice in your life is rooted in these 2 ideas: need and greatness. Think about it. Need and greatness control and drive your life.

This is why the Gospel of Jesus Christ is such great news. The Gospel is both what we most need in our lives and the greatest news we could possibly have. It completely satisfies our hearts' desperate longing for both.

The Need (Gospel Desperation)

There is no passion & love for Jesus because we have no need for Him in the midst of our very 'important' and 'busy' lives. We all have our own agendas and our own kingdoms to rule. Lord, purge us of this idea that we are holier than we really are and that we are somehow in control of our life. Help us see how truly sinful we are and how desperately we need your glorious gospel everyday:

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind." (Ephesians 2:1-3)

The Greatness (Gospel Grandeur)

There is no passion & love for Jesus because we don't see Jesus as he really is: great beyond measure. We have replaced the awe of Jesus Christ with the awe of ourselves. Lord, purge us of this idea that there is any greatness in ourselves or in this world apart from you. You alone are great, not only in what you do, but also in who you are:

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:4-10)

Building Gospel Relationships

"So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us."

(1 Thessalonians 2:8)

Nothing makes a Christian squirm faster than the word evangelism. We love the Gospel and we love relationships, but never together. Being a christian isn't just about getting the gospel right, but also about getting the gospel out. So how do we begin to do what Paul says to the church at Thessalonica and share the gospel and ourselves? How do we practically build relationships with people that center on the Gospel of Jesus Christ? 

Bless (a way to Build Gospel Relationships)

by Pastor David Ferguson, Community Christian Church, Chicago IL

Be in prayer.  

We need God if we are going to have any success in building relationships for the sake of the Gospel. Pray for those you meet often. Ask the Lord of the Harvest to bring fruit from your faithfulness. 

Learn their story.

Get to know the people you are seeking to reach. Learn who they are and what they've been through. This communicates that you really do care.

Eat with them.

Nothing is more welcoming that eating with people, which could be the reason why we see Jesus always eating with so many people throughout the gospels. Try to find a way to eat with the people you are seeking to reach. This is another great way to show people you care. 

Serve them. 

Find out if there is anything you can do to serve them. It could be something small. Jesus came to serve. Serving others is great testimony of his love.  

Share the gospel. 

Find a way to talk to them about the gospel. Tell them the good news of what Jesus has done to save sinners. Answer their questions. Call them to rest in Jesus.  

 

 

Keep Getting Up

"The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the Lord upholds his hand." (Psalm 37:23-24)

Much like the first steps of a baby, the Christian life is a struggle and walking with the Lord can often times feel like a slow crawl if anything at all. We began to think, "Why am I still struggling with these same sins?" and doubt begins to take hold of our hearts. We start to see more of our weakness, and less of God's greatness and slowly our sins become more powerful than God's grace in our life.

What was the prophet Micah's response when Satan tempted him into this way of thinking?

 "Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light." (Micah 7:8)

Keep getting up. He will uphold you with His mighty hand and He will finish what He started (Phil. 1:6). What God purposes and promises, He always performs. Don't give up. Keep pressing in. Never stop getting up. Jesus died and he rose for you. So rise. 

This ain't no kind of religion, this is Love (Part 2)

"The Gospel is neither religion nor irreligion, but something else entirely -- a third way of relating to God through grace." This is Love. 

 Tim Keller (Table & Quote, Center Church, pg. 65)

Religion	Gospel
“I obey, therefore I’m accepted.”	“I’m accepted, therefore I obey.”
Motivation is based on fear and insecurity	Motivation is based on grateful joy.
I obey God in order to get things from God.	I obey God to get God – to delight and resemble him.
When circumstances in my life go wrong, I am angry at God or myself, since I believe, like Job’s friends, that anyone who is good deserves a comfortable life.	When circumstances in my life go wrong, I struggle, but I know that while God may allow this for my training, he will exercise his fatherly love within my trial.
When I am criticized, I am furious or devastated because it is essential for me to think of myself as a “good person.” Threats to that self-image must be destroyed at all costs.	When I am criticized, I struggle, but it is not essential for me to think of myself as a “good person.” My identity is not built on my performance but on God’s love for me in Christ.
My prayer life consists largely of petition and only heats up when I am in need. My main purpose in prayer is to control circumstances.	My prayer life consists of generous stretches of praise and adoration. My main purpose is fellowship with him.
My self-view swings between 2 poles. If and when I am living up to my standards, I feel confident, but then I am prone to be proud and unsympathetic to people who fail. If and when I am not living up to standards, I feel humble but not confident – I feel like a failure.	My self-view is not based on a view of myself as a moral achiever, in Christ I am at once sinful and lost, yet accepted. I am so bad he had to die for me, and so loved he was glad to die for me. This leads me to deeper humility as well as deeper confidence, without either sniveling or swaggering.
My identity and self-worth are based mainly on how hard I work or how moral I am, so I must look down on those I perceive as lazy or immoral. I disdain and feel superior to others.	My identity and self-worth are centered on the One who died for his enemies, including me. Only by sheer grace I am what I am, so I can’t look down on those who believe or practice something different from me. I have no inner need to win arguments.
Since I look to my pedigree or performance for my spiritual acceptability, my heart manufactures idols – talents, moral record, personal discipline, social status, etc. I absolutely have to have them, so they are my main hope, meaning, happiness, security, and significance, whatever I say I believe about God.	I have many good things in my life – family, work, etc., but none of these good things are ultimate things to me. I don’t absolutely have to have them, so there is a limit to how much anxiety, bitterness, and despair they can inflict on me when they are threatened and lost.

This ain't no kind of religion, this is Love (Part 1)

"Like rain falling over us, this ain't
no kind of religion. This is Love." (John Mark McMillan, Dancing on the Doors)

The word love is used over 500 times in the Bible, with 150 uses in the Psalms alone (David must have been a romantic at heart). It's easy to forget that our relationship with Christ is based on love, not on religion; on delight, not on duty; on joy, not obligation. Remember this is Love, because God is love. In every part of scripture, in every book, and every genre the Bilbe screams the love of a Savior. This is not an all inclusive list of the uses of love in the Bible, but you should get the picture pretty quick: God really does love us, not because of how great we are, but because of how great He is.

Old Testament Narrative/History (Genesis - Esther)

• “You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode." (Exodus 15:13)
• "It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples." (Deuteronomy 7:7)
• Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! (1 Chronicles 16:34)
• “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven or on earth, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart" (2 Chronicles 6:14)
• For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia... (Ezra 9:9)
• And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, (Nehemiah 1:5)

Hebrew Wisdom Literature & Poetry (Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, & Song of Solomon)

• You have granted me life and steadfast love, and your care has preserved my spirit.(Job 10:12)
• Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love! (Psalm 31:16)
• The earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. (Psalm 33:5)
• Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. (Psalm 63:3)
• His steadfast love endures forever (Psalm 100:5, 106:1, 107:1, 117:2, 118:1,2,3,4,29 and 20 more times in the Psalms alone)
• By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil. (Proverbs 16:6)
• You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you. (Song of Solomon 4:7)

Prophetic Literature: Major Prophets (Isaiah - Daniel)

• In love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back. (Isaiah 38:17)
• "the Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you." (Jeremiah 31:3)
• The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end. (Lamentations 3:22)

Prophetic Literature: Minor Prophets (Hosea - Malachi)

• For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. (Hosea 6:6)
• Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love. (Jonah 2:8)
• The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

The Gospels & Acts

• And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (Mark 12:33)
• As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. (John 15:9)
• “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 15:12)

The Epistles: Pauline (Romans - Philemon)

• but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
• nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:39)
• So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor. 13:13)
• But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, (Eph. 2:4)
• And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. (Colossians 3:14)
• May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. (2 Thessalonians 3:5)

The Epistles: General (Hebrews - Jude)

• See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. (1 John 3:1)
• By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. (1 John 3:16)
• Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:8)
• In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)
• We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
• Keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. (Jude 1:21)

Apocalyptic Literature (Revelation)

• But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. (Revelation 2:4)