3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.

4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

5 Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me.

— Hebrews 10:3-5

We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.

— Isaiah 53:6

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!

— 2 Corinthians 5:17

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

— Galatians 2:20

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and love from Christ to you.

God gave Israel a tangible way to understand the gravity of their sin and His plan to deal with sin’s penalty on their behalf. By God’s design, a system of animal sacrifices was set up to teach His people sin is costly, even to the point of death. The slain animals did not save them but symbolically represented what God would do in the future. Ultimately, the sacrifices that the Israelites practiced anticipated the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, God’s own Son. He died as a substitute for all who place their faith in His atoning sacrifice.

Jesus Christ, the sinless Lamb of God, stood in the place of sinners, bearing the full force of God’s wrath against humanity’s sin. With Jesus as their substitute, believers stand before God not covered in sin but fully clothed in Christ’s righteousness. Everyone who looks to Christ for salvation receives forgiveness of sin and the power to live a redeemed, transformed life.