Sermon #12[1] Leviticus Notes
Title: "He shall lay his hand
upon the head of the sin
offering"
Or
How can I obtain a Saving interest
in the Lord Jesus Christ?
Text: Leviticus 4:33
Reading: Matthew 11:28-30 and Luke 7:36-50
Subject: The
Typical Meaning of Laying Hands upon the Sacrifice
Date: Sunday Morning -- March 4, 2001
Tape # W-28a
Introduction:
How can I obtain a saving interest in Christ? No
question ever raised can be of greater importance to your soul. I have been
trying to show you from the Word of God what Christ has done for sinners. He
has by the sacrifice of himself put away sin. His has by the shedding of his
blood made an end of sin, brought in everlasting righteousness, and obtained
eternal redemption for sinners. But all that is utterly meaningless to you
unless you can somehow, by some means obtain an interest in it and get the
benefit and blessedness of it for yourself.
·
Theoretical
atonement is a mockery to the guilty soul.
·
Theoretical
redemption is a cruel insult to a condemned felon.
·
Theoretical
forgiveness is a torment to a screaming conscience.
·
Theoretical
pardon is a horrid, cruel mockery of eternity bound sinners.
If there is pardon, if there
is forgiveness, if there is redemption, atonement for sin, don’t just tell me
about its beauty and glory. – Tell me how I can get it! May God the Holy Spirit
enable me now to tell you how you can get in on this great, glorious thing
called “redemption.”
[Leviticus 1:4-5] "And he
shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be
accepted for him to make atonement for him. [5] And he shall kill the
bullock before the LORD: and the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the
blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon the altar that is by the
door of the tabernacle of the congregation."
[Leviticus 3:2] "And he
shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it at the
door of the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons the priests shall
sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about."
[Leviticus 3:8] "And he
shall lay his hand upon the head of his offering, and kill it before the
tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron's sons shall sprinkle the blood
thereof round about upon the altar."
[Leviticus 3:13] "And he
shall lay his hand upon the head of it, and kill it before the tabernacle
of the congregation: and the sons of Aaron shall sprinkle the blood thereof
upon the altar round about."
[Leviticus 4:4] "And he
shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation
before the LORD; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock's head, and kill
the bullock before the LORD."
[Leviticus 4:24] "And he
shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat, and kill it in the place
where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD: it is a sin
offering."
[Leviticus 4:29] "And he
shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay the sin offering
in the place of the burnt offering."
[Leviticus 4:32-35] "And
if he bring a lamb for a sin offering, he shall bring it a female without
blemish. [33] And he shall
lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering, and slay it for
a sin offering in the place where they kill the burnt offering. [34] And
the priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering with his finger, and put
it upon the horns of the altar of burnt offering, and shall pour out all
the blood thereof at the bottom of the altar: [35] And he shall take
away all the fat thereof, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the
sacrifice of the peace offerings; and the priest shall burn them upon the
altar, according to the offerings made by fire unto the LORD: and the priest
shall make an atonement for his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be
forgiven him."
Eight
times we are told that the worshipper bringing his sacrifice to the Lord must
personally lay his hands upon the head of his sacrifice and kill it before the
Lord.
The picture we have before
us is that of a guilty Israelite during the days of the Levitical priesthood.
The man was a sinner before God. An atonement must be made for his sins,
in the way that God had appointed.
·
The
sinner goes out to his fields and selects a lamb, or a young calf, to be his
sacrifice of atonement.
·
He
brings his sacrifice to the priest, and the priest inspects it, to be sure that
it is a perfect sacrifice, suitable for atonement.
·
The
guilty man then lays his hands upon the animal’s head.
·
Then
the sacrificial animal is slain. The priest takes his blood and sprinkles it
upon the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle.
What did this all mean? What
is the significance of this solemn ceremony? Why was it done? There are many
lessons to be gathered from the various sacrifices of the Old Testament. The
burnt offering, the meat offering, the peace offering, and the sin offering all
have a distinct reference to some aspect of the atoning work of Christ. If in
the minds of the priest and the worshipper they did not signify that one great
Sacrifice who was to come, the Lord Jesus Christ, then they were mere empty rituals.
Indeed, this is what they became during the days of Isaiah (Isaiah 66:3). All
those elaborate ceremonies and sacrifices of the Old Testament were designed by
God to point men to Christ, the true atonement and propitiation of sin.
But this morning, I want to take one part of this ritual
and show you its typical meaning. I hope to be simple, clear, and forceful as I
preach to you today about faith in Christ. I am reminded of the prayer
of a little boy I read about. One Saturday night before he went to bed, he said
in his prayer, “Lord, help the preacher, that he may say something tomorrow
that I can understand.” May God indeed help me that I may be as plain as a
child’s first grade reader, in setting forth the way of atonement by the death
of our Lord Jesus Christ. I tremble at the thought that someone might fail to
see Christ, because of the preacher’s colorful, eloquent, and high-sounding
speech! May God give his servant great plainness of speech.
There are some things, which are essential and vital, and some
things, which are not. There are some things, which may, or may not be true;
and yet no great evil will come either way. But there are other things, which
are vital. They must be, or everything is wrong. Some things are important for
the well being of Christians. But other things are absolutely necessary for the
being of Christians. I will leave it to others to strive about those things
that are non-essential. Those things that are urgent, essential, and necessary
weigh heavily upon me. Those vital things concerning life, salvation, and
eternity, those urgent necessities, are the things that I want to press upon
you. There is no time to waste upon trifles. I must drive right to the heart of
the matter.
Here are the two things, which are of utmost importance.
I want to bring them constantly before your hearts. Without these two things
you will perish: The precious blood of Christ and faith in that blood.
These were the two essential elements in the sacrifices of the ceremonial law.
You have them both in our text - “He
shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin offering.” Here is the sinner
expressing faith in the atoning blood of God’s appointed sacrifice. “He shall slay it for a sin offering in the
place where they kill the burnt offering.” There is the picture of the
death of Christ, God’s sacrifice for sin.
God will never receive or accept any man, except through a
Sacrifice. God Almighty requires blood, either yours or that of a
substitutionary sacrifice. Now, here is the marvel of God’s wonderful grace.
God has provided himself a Sacrifice for human sin! Behold, the Lamb of God!
Jesus Christ, God’s own well-beloved Son is the Sacrifice, the only Sacrifice
that God will accept.
·
Christ
is the Sacrifice God appointed and set apart.
·
The
Lamb of God was inspected by the high priests of Israel, and found to be
without spot or blemish.
·
This
Lamb was slain, (Slain by men, the very men for whom he died, under the wrath
of God!) and accepted by God himself as a sweet-smelling savor.
The Sacrifice was provided.
He was slain under the penalty of the law. And God has accepted him. Yet, there
is one essential thing remaining, without which you will die. You must lay your
hands upon the head of God’s sacrifice. This is an act of faith.
On
that dear head of Thine,
While
like a penitent I stand,
And
there confess my sin.
My
soul looks back to see
The
burdens Thou didst bear,
When
hanging on the cursed tree,
And
hopes her guilt was there.
Believing,
we rejoice
To
see the curse remove;
We
bless the Lamb with cheerful voice,
And
sing His bleeding love.
Proposition: Faith in Christ was symbolized in the Old
Testament by a man laying his hands on the head of the sacrificial lamb. This
is the one thing you must do. You must lay your hands of faith upon the head of
Christ, God’s sacrifice for sin.
Divisions: When a man came and laid his
hands upon the head of the sacrifice, it meant four things to him.
1.
Confession
2.
Repentance
3.
Transference
4.
Identification
Confession
I.
Picture the man now. He is standing beside the sacrifice, at the door
of the tabernacle, before God’s priest, and he lays both of his hands upon the
head of that innocent animal. What does it mean? It meant, first, that he
was making a solemn, sincere, and public confession.
This is what we do when we come to God, leaning upon Christ. We
are making a confession to him.
A.
Laying my hands upon the head of God’s Sacrifice, I am confessing my
sins (1
John 1:9).
[1 John 1:9] "If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
This was the foremost thing in the mind of the ancient Jew when he brought a sacrifice of any kind before the Lord. He was acknowledging his sin. The only reason I need a sacrifice is because I am a sinner (Lev. 16:21).
[Leviticus 16:21] "And
Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over
him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions
in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him
away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness:"
This is what I am saying. You must come to God confessing your sin. Those who lay their hands upon Christ must acknowledge their utter sinfulness.
1.
Sin must be confessed fully.
·
I
am a sinner by birth.
·
I
am a sinner by choice.
·
I
am a sinner by practice.
All that I am and all that I do are marred by sin. Like the leper, everything I touch I defile. All is stained by sin.
2.
And
we must confess our sin sincerely.
Sin with us is more than a theory. We have tasted its bitter poison. We have known and felt the evil of sin.
3.
God’s Lamb is given as a Sacrifice for sinners.
The righteous, the innocent, and the good have no need of him, and they cannot have him. The Savior is provided for none but sinners.
Here is our true place. We lean heavily upon the Savior’s head, because we are sinners. We plead guilty to the dreadful indictment of God’s holy law; and we are therefore glad to lay our hands upon the Sacrifice for sin.
B. This act is also a
confession of impotence.
Not only am I a sinner, I’m a helpless sinner. There is nothing I can do to help myself.
1.We must have Christ as a sacrifice for our sin.
· I cannot keep God’s law for myself.
· I cannot make atonement for my past sins.
· I cannot hope to gain acceptance with God by my future obedience.
Christ is precious to us because we cannot do without him. If I am not accepted before God upon the merits of Christ’s righteousness and shed blood, I am a damned man, utterly without hope!
2.And we must have the
blood of Christ as an atonement and covering for our sin.
Something must cover us to keep the eye of God from seeing our sin. The blood of Christ so thoroughly covers us that God beholds no blemish in us!
I stand before God laying my hands upon the head of Christ,
leaning my entire soul upon him, because I am an impotent man.
C. Laying my hands upon the
head of God’s sacrifice, I confess that I deserve to die.
When a man brought his calf, or goat, or lamb and put his hands upon its head, he knew that the poor creature must die. And by this act, he confessed that he deserved to die. The innocent lamb fell in the dust in pain, struggling, bleeding, dying. And the man confessed, “This is what I deserve from the hand of God. Death is my due.”
If ever you come to see this, you will lean hard upon Christ, and acknowledge that the death he died you deserved to die (Ps. 51:1-4).
[Psalms 51:1-4] "Have
mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the
multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. [2] Wash me
thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. [3] For I
acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. [4] Against
thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that
thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou
judgest."
If God had been pleased to
send me to hell, it would be no more than I deserve. He would have been both
righteous and just in doing it. But, instead, he poured out my hell upon his
Son! “The chastisement of our peace was
upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.”
Come, lay your hands upon Christ’s head in humble, sincere confession, saying, I am a guilty sinner, unable to do anything to help myself, and worthy of eternal damnation. But I trust Christ to save me.
Repentance
II. Secondly, when a man laid his hands
upon the head of the sacrifice, he was saying, I accept and bow to God’s remedy
for sin, I repent.
When a man comes to trust Christ, he simply confesses and acknowledges
his acceptance of God’s salvation. That is the essence of true repentance.
Repentance is, in its essence, taking sides with God.
A.
Laying
my hands of faith upon Christ, I testify to God and to all men that I believe God and bow to his plan and
purpose of salvation by a Substitute (Rom. 5:19-21).
[Romans 5:19-21] "For as
by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one
shall many be made righteous. [20] Moreover the law entered, that the
offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
[21] That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through
righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord."
B.
But
there is more. Having accepted the gospel of substitution, I accept, bow to and receive the Substitute himself.
Beloved, salvation is not in a plan. It is in a Person. Salvation is not in the doctrine of substitution. It is in the Divine Substitute. We rest our souls, not upon a doctrine, but upon the Lord Jesus Christ himself. We cast ourselves entirely upon him. Thus, we receive him.
Only
those who receive Christ are saved by Christ. It is true, our salvation is God
accepting and receiving us in Christ. Yet, we must receive the Lord Jesus
Christ. We must bow to, embrace, and receive him by faith.
[John 1:11-13] "He came
unto his own, and his own received him not. [12] But as many as received
him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that
believe on his name: [13] Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will
of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
Transference
III.
Thirdly, when the sinner laid his
hands upon the head of the sacrifice, he was expressing his faith in a
marvelous transference (Lev.
16:21).
[Leviticus 16:21] "And Aaron
shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him
all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in
all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away
by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness."
In a typical sense, that
man’s guilt was transferred from him to the innocent lamb, and that lamb’s
innocence was transferred to him. The whole thing was done in anticipation of
our Lord’s death at Calvary.
When a sinner comes to
Christ by faith, accepting him as Savior, he is saying, “I agree with the
mighty and mysterious transaction that took place long ago upon Calvary’s
brow.” This mighty transaction took place and was completed when the Son of God
stood in our place at Calvary!
[2 Corinthians 5:21] "For
he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him."
A.
God Almighty made his Son to be sin for us.
B.
He has made us to be the very righteousness of God in his Son.
By faith we simply accept the finished work, adding nothing to it. Laying my hands upon the head of my Redeemer, I rest my soul upon this mighty transaction, trusting the complete efficacy of God’s Sacrifice.
Identification
IV.
In the last place, laying my hands of faith upon the head of
Christ, there is identification between the sinner and the Substitute.
I think that if the man’s heart was right, and he was not a mere ritualist, as he watched that lamb struggle, and bleed, and die, his eyes must have swelled with tears. He must have said in his heart, “That death is mine.” Now, brethren, come lay your hands upon the head of our Substitute, and identify yourselves with him. His death is our death, and now we cannot die again (2 Cor. 5:14).
[2 Corinthians 5:14] "For
the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for
all, then were all dead:"
[Galatians 2:20] "I am
crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of
God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
Illustration: The Substitute Soldier
Children of God, can you grasp this?
A. When Christ died you died.
“I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live.” “Ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God.” In the Person of your Substitute you paid your debt to God’s law.
B. When Christ arose, being accepted of
God, you arose in Him.
C. As Christ is now a sweet-smelling savor
to God, you are a sweet-smelling savor, “Accepted
in the Beloved.”
Blessed be God, there is a real identification between believers and their Substitute. It is real, and it is eternal.
Application: I have but one thing now to do, I urge you who are sinners to come and lay your hands upon the head of Christ, God’s Sacrifice for sin. Lean the weight of your soul upon him.
· In Confession -- Confessing Your Sin.
· In Repentance -- Accepting the Substitute.
· In Faith -- Acknowledging the Transference.
· In Joy -- Rejoicing in the Identification.
When Christmas Evans was
about to die, several ministers were standing round his bed. He said to them,
“Preach Christ to the people, brethren. Look at me: in myself I am nothing but
ruin. But look at me in Christ; I am heaven and salvation."
Now, be sure you do not miss this. – Any sinner who lays his hand of faith upon the crucified Son of God has atonement and his sins are all forgiven. It is not the strength of our faith, but the strength of Christ blood that assures us of forgiveness. Our faith in Christ is the evidence of forgiveness; but forgiveness and the assurance of it is in Christ’s sacrifice. Hear these words and rejoice. They are repeated nine times in chapters four and five (4:20, 26, 31, 35; 5:10, 13, 16, 18; 6:1). – “The priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him!”
It is not the quantity of you faith that shall save you. A drop of water is as truly water as the whole ocean. So little faith is as truly faith as great faith. A child eight days old is as really a man as one sixty years old. A spark of fire is as truly fire as a great flame. A sickly man is as truly alive as a healthy man. So it is not the measure of you faith that saves you. — It is the blood that it grips to that saves you. As the weak hand of a child, that leads the spoon to the mouth, will feed it as well as the strong arm of a man; for it is not the hand that feeds you — although, it puts the food in your mouth, but it is the food carried into you stomach that feeds you. So if you can but lay hold of Christ ever so weakly, you have God’s salvation — The weakest hand takes a gift as well as the strongest. Now, Christ is this gift, and weak faith takes him as well as strong faith, and Christ is as truly yours when you have weak faith, as when you have come to those triumphant joys through the strength of faith.
But
is not leaning a work? Not at all! Leaning is a cessation of all work.
It takes no power or effort to lean. Leaning is a cessation from our own
strength. Leaning is utter weakness depending entirely upon another. Let no one
say, "I cannot lean." Leaning is not a matter of what you can do, but
a confession of what you cannot do, and a leaving of the whole matter with
Christ. No one can sat, “I cannot fall.” Or, “I cannot die.” These things are
not matters of ability, but of inability. Fall upon Christ. Lean on him for
all, confessing that you are nothing at all, and he shall be your all in all!
Amen.