Jesus in the Feasts of Israel

The Day of Atonement

Jesus in the Day of Atonement.

The Day of Atonement was the sixth instituted holy convocation and was celebrated in the autumn of the year. On the Jewish calendar, it is the tenth day of Tishri, the seventh Jewish month, which corresponded to our September or October. "The Day of Atonement" is the English equivalent for Yom Kippur. Kippur is from the Hebrew root kaphar, meaning: "to cover." Therefore, the word atonement denotes a covering. On Yom Kippur an atonement was made for all the year's sins. The covering consisted of the blood sacrifice of an animal.

The Old Covenant was a shadow of good things to come. The New Covenant is the substance. Under the Old Covenant, the ransom for sin was anticipated and men looked forward to the cross; under the New Covenant, it was accomplished, and men looked backward at the cross. Under the Old Covenant, the sacrifices were provisional and recurring. Under the New Covenant, the sacrifice of Jesus is eternal and sufficient. Under the Old Covenant, men's lambs could only cover sin, but under the New Covenant, the lamb of GOD, Jesus takes away sin!

Even now, year after year, the sound of the ram's horn calls Israel to repentance, but there is no atonement in Judaism today. There is no blood sacrifice, no Temple, no priesthood, and no adherence to the Levitical regulations. Christ has been offered as a sacrifice for sin. His is the only sacrifice for sin today. If rejected, men and women will suffer the penalty of sin. This penalty is death and eternal separation from GOD. But to those trusting Him, He says, "Their sin, I will remember no more!"