This is Spoken Gospel.

We’re dedicated to seeing
Jesus in all of scripture.

In each episode, we see what’s
happening in a Biblical text

and how it sheds light
on Jesus and his gospel.

Let’s jump in.

Leviticus picks up right
where Exodus left off.

At the end of Exodus, after the tabernacle
is completed, God fills the tent with his glory.

But his presence is too holy, so
not even Moses is able to enter.

So, the question Exodus leaves us with
is, “How can we live in God’s presence?”

The answer Leviticus
gives is atonement.

Atonement has a range of meaning but can basically
mean either wiping clean or paying a ransom price.

In order for sinful people
to come in God’s presence,

they need to be cleaned up
and their sin needs to be paid for.

But how?

The answer is offerings.

But the offerings God prescribes
in Leviticus must not be seen

as humanity’s attempt to
appease God or earn his favor.

Instead, the offerings in Leviticus
are God’s gracious gift to humanity

that allow them to be forgiven
and live near God’s presence.

The first three offerings in Leviticus are the burnt
offering, the grain offering, and the peace offering.

In a burnt offering the worshipper takes
a whole animal and burns it on the altar.

This was the costliest sacrifice because
no part of the animal was kept for food.

Now, in a grain offering, the worshipper
brings bread or whole grain to the priests.

A portion is burned on the altar,
the rest is given to the priests for food.

But in a peace offering, the
worshipper brings an animal.

But unlike the burnt offering, most
of it is given back to the worshipper

to eat with their
family in God’s presence.

This final meal is
the beauty of Leviticus.

Humans sitting down to a meal with God.

This is our story, too.

In order for us to be in God’s
presence and be his people,

Jesus fulfilled every aspect of
this system of sacrifice, you see.

Jesus is the true whole
offering who gave himself

completely for us on the
cross to earn our atonement.

Jesus is the final grain
offering who provided

the final sacrifice of his own body,
which he called the “bread of life.”

And as the grain offering
provided food for the priests,

Jesus’ sacrifice is what sustains all
believers as his new priests to the world.

Finally, Jesus is also the
fulfillment of the peace offering.

We get to sit down to a communal meal with
God and other believers now, in the Lord’s Supper.

But when Jesus returns, we will
sit down to a final meal with him

physically present at the table at
the marriage supper of the lamb.

Jesus is the whole offering that makes
atonement, the grain offering that sustains us,

and the peace offering by
which we commune with God.

I pray that the Holy Spirit
would give you eyes to see

the God who longs to live with us
and provides us a way to live with him.

And that you would see Jesus as the
ultimate whole, grain, and peace offerings,

who freely gave himself to bring
us into his glorious presence.