Tonight at sundown begins the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement. For twenty-four hours Jews will fast and pray as the high holiday season (that began with Rosh Hashanah) comes to an end. Synagogue numbers will soar as many Jews attend for the first and only time of the year (think Christmas and Easter for many Christians). Yom Kippur is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
We read about its origin in the Law of Moses in Leviticus 16:29-34 and 23:27-32. The people of Israel were to set apart a day for rest and sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. On this day, the High Priest would enter the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle to atone (cover over) the sins of the people. Today, obviously, the Jewish people don’t sacrifice an animal for their forgiveness. Instead, in order to gain atonement, they must (1) pray the ritual prayers, (2) repent of their sins, and (3) give to charity.
In all honesty and love, they have missed the point. The Day of Atonement was a foreshadowing of things to come. It temporarily put a covering over the sins of the people, but even the holiest day in Judaism could not remove the sins of the people. Hebrews 10:4 — “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” So every Yom Kippur was meant to be a constant reminder of the seriousness of sin before the eyes of God and a hopeful encouragement that one day there would be a perfect sacrifice that would end the need for this holiday.
And that perfect sacrifice was Jesus Christ. He was the “sinless, spotless lamb of God” (1 Peter 1:19), the “sacrifice of atonement” (Romans 3:25) that “was slain before the foundation of the world,” (Revelation 13:8). “With His own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—He entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever,” (Hebrews 9:12 NLT). Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection three days later made Yom Kippur and all the other days of sacrifice in the Jewish calendar irrelevant. He was what the sin offering could never be; He did what the high priest could never do; and He offers freely what the Law could only ever hint at.
We don’t need to follow rules, regulations or rituals in order to have our sins be atoned for. We need to turn our back on our sins and believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. For the next twenty-four hours, Jews will be fasting, praying, and trusting in their own actions for their salvation. Why don’t we, as believers, spend the next twenty-four hours in prayer and fasting for the Jewish people to come to saving faith in Jesus?
The Dash — Between 