SUMMARY
JesusJesus is the Messiah whose life, death, and resurrection are God's saving act for humanity More crucified fulfills once and for all God’s instructions to Israel concerning an atoning sacrificeSacrifice is commonly understood as the practice of offering or giving up something as a sign of worship, commitment, or obedience. In the Old Testament grain, wine, or animals are used as sacrifice. In some New Testament writings Jesus' death on the cross as the... More for sin.
ANALYSIS
In the Old Testament, God prescribes various laws concerning sacrifice. Among them are laws for the Day of AtonementA Day of Atonement is a ritual occasion of prayer and confession during which a community recalls its disobedience and wrongdoing. Among Christians such an occasion is known as a Day of Penitence. Among Jews Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement; its origins in... More. MosesProphet who led Israel out of Egypt to the Promised Land and received the law at Sinai More is instructed to build a “mercyMercy is a term used to describe leniency or compassion. God's mercy is frequently referred to or invoked in both the Old and New Testaments. More seat” as a covering over the ark of the covenantThe ark of the covenant was a box or chest that God commanded the Israelites to make from wood richly adorned with gold. The ark was built to contain the tablets of the covenant (the Ten Commandments). The ark served as a mobile shrine to... More containing the Ten Commandments (Exodus 25:17-22). On the Day of Atonement the high priestThe high priest was the most powerful priest in the temple in Jerusalem. The high priest Caiaphas held the office during the trial of Jesus. Later, in the New Testament book of Hebrews, the role of merciful high priest is ascribed to the resurrected Jesus. More is to make atonement for the people of Israel, using a prescribed sacrificial rite within the holy of holiesThe holy of holies was, in the Old Testament, the tabernacle's inner sanctuary that housed the ark of the covenant and its mercy seat. The space was separated from the rest of the holy place by a veil and was visited only once a year... More of the tabernacleThe tabernacle, a word meaning "tent," was a portable worship place for the Hebrew people after they left Egypt. It was said to contain the ark of the covenant. The plans for the tabernacle are dictated by God in Exodus 26. More or (later) the templeThe Jerusalem temple, unlike the tabernacle, was a permanent structure, although (like the tabernacle) it was a place of worship and religious activity. On one occasion Jesus felt such activity was unacceptable and, as reported in all four Gospels, drove from the temple those engaged... More (Leviticus 16:11-17). In Greek, the term for the “mercy seat” is hilastērion, and that is precisely the term that PaulA Christian missionary who once persecuted the church More uses at Romans 3:25 (translated in the NRSV as “a sacrifice of atonement”) concerning the crucified Christ. Consequently, the crucifixion of Jesus is portrayed as fulfilling the commandments concerning the Day of Atonement. By means of the crucifixion of Jesus, God has provided the “mercy seat” once and for all, and open to all. One can trust (have faith) that atonement has been made.
