by Avram Yehoshua
www.SeedofAbraham.net
The question has been asked by some Jewish people, "How can Yeshua be a sacrifice for sin when God comes against human sacrifice in the Law of Moses?" This is usually supported by references to Scripture passages like these:
"And you must not let any of your sons pass through the fire to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God: I am Yahveh!" (Leviticus 18:21)
"Then Yahveh spoke to Moses, saying, 'Again, you shall say to the Sons of Israel: 'Whoever of the Sons of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who gives any of his sons to Molech, he must surely be put to death! The people of the land shall stone him with stones. I will set My face against that man and will cut him off from his people because he has given some of his sons to Molech, to defile My Sanctuary and profane My holy name. If the people of the land should in any way hide their eyes from the man when he gives some of his sons to Molech and they do not kill him, then I will set My face against that man and against his family and I will cut him off from his people, and all who prostitute themselves with him to commit harlotry with Molech.''" (Leviticus 20:1-5)
Putting one's son 'through the fire' to Molech is a euphemism for sacrificing a son to the fire god Molech (one of many names for Satan in paganism that required the sacrifice of infants). It's very clear that God doesn't want us sacrificing our sons to Molech, so how can God sacrifice His Son for us? Wouldn't He be sinning by going against His very word on the subject?
When Yeshua was accosted by the Sadducees, who questioned Him about 'whose wife will she be in Heaven' if she had seven husbands and no children by any of them, Yeshua pointedly told them that they didn't know the Word of God nor the power of God because in the new Heavens there will be no marrying like here on Earth (Mt. 22:23-33). Yeshua definitively came against their belief that there was no resurrection by speaking of the Burning Bush (Ex. 3:1-6f.). He said that God was the God of the living, not the dead, meaning that all that seem dead to us are alive unto God.
When Yeshua was hypocritically questioned by the Pharisees about, 'if a man could divorce his wife for any' infraction (of uncleanness; Dt. 24:1-4), Yeshua asked them what it said in Torah (the Law of Moses). They replied that Moses had given them the ability, but Yeshua said it was only given because of their hard hearts. Divorce wasn't 'in the Beginning' when God made Adam and Eve (Mt. 19:3-9). Herein lies the reality that all of Torah, not just what we think are the laws and statutes, etc., can be, and are, used by God the Son to show us something that we, just like the Pharisees and Sadducees before us, wouldn't have seen without Messiah Yeshua pointing it out to us! This concept applies to God being able to sacrifice His Son Yeshua.
When God tested Father Abraham, by asking him to sacrifice his uniquely(1)begotten son Isaac, the sacrifice of Isaac was halted by Yeshua (the so-called Angel of the Lord)(2) and a substitute was made for Isaac with a ram-lamb, a lamb!(3) This is a perfect picture of God the Father sacrificing Yeshua His Son, the Lamb of God,for us.(4) This understanding might not convince a Jewish person who hates Yeshua, but hopefully it’ll persuade believers as to how God could sacrifice His Son for us, in spite of what is written in Leviticus 20 because in this case, Genesis 22, which is also Torah, overrides Leviticus 20, just as the prohibition against work on the Sabbath (Ex. 20:8-11; 31:12-17) is overridden when a Jewish baby boy, 8 days old, needs to be circumcised, which is work, on the Sabbath day (John 7:21-24). The sacrifice of God’s Son was God’s divine idea from the Beginning, of how the Father could reveal His love for His other Son—Israel (Ex. 4:22; Ps. 118:19-24; Jer. 31:31-34; Rom. 16:25; 1st Cor. 2:7; Gal. 6:16; Eph. 1:4; 2:12; 3:9; 1st Pet. 1:20; Rev. 13:18; 17:8).
Also, ‘inherent’ in the Passover sacrifice of the lamb(s) in Egypt, because it was a covenantal sacrifice, are all the Mosaic sacrifices, therefore, the two types of sin sacrifice found in Mosaic Law are there as well as the other three types of sacrifice.(5) Inherent in the New Covenant(6) sacrifice of Yeshua as the Lamb of God(7) are all the concepts of sacrifice that we find in the Mosaic sacrifices, two being, of course, the sacrifices for both intentional and unintentional sins. So, yes, the Sacrifice of Yeshua does take away our sins, cleanses us so that the Godhead can dwell within us (John 14:23), just like the ancient Tabernacle of Moses, and is in process of transforming us into the very Image of Yeshua, the Lamb of God.
NOTES:
1. The English word usually here is only, but as everyone knows, Abraham also had another son, Ishmael. The Hebrew word for only also carries the meaning of a uniqueand should be found in Gen. 22:2, 12, 16 for Isaac and also for Yeshua (John 1:14, 18; 3:16, 18; Heb. 11:17; 1st Jn. 4:9). What makes Isaac unique is the fact that Sarah was far too old to conceive, a miracle that pictured the virgin conception of Yeshua in the womb of Miryam (Mary; for more on other unique births and how the Mothers of Israel pictured the birth of Messiah Yeshua see Recognize this Man? at http://seedofabraham.net/nltr23.html. What makes Yeshua unique, and not just another son or daughter of God like us, is that He was God the Son from eternity past (see Yeshua: God the Son at http://seedofabraham.net/yeshua.html.
2. See We Jews don't believe that a Man can be God! at http://seedofabraham.net/nltr7.html.
3. Lambs that have horns are known as ram-lambs. Yeshua can also be called the Ram-Lamb of God as we see in Rev. 5:6.
4. See The Ultimate Test: For God! at http://seedofabraham.net/nltr19.html.
5. See The Mosaic Sacrifices and the Blood of Yeshua at http://seedofabraham.net/mosessac.html for what each sacrifice symbolizes.
6. Jeremiah 31:31-34.
7. John 1:29; 36.
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