The Passover Lamb

The Bible is filled with blood; blood and sacrifice. From beginning to end, the Bible commands, portrays, assumes, and teaches sacrifice. Innocent animals are killed, so that humans may have their sins forgiven and enjoy God’s presence in their midst. I was, therefore, interested when I recently saw on the blog Between Two Worlds a link to a video of an actual Passover sacrifice that took place in Jerusalem this year. The video is moving, and disturbing. I post a link to it below for the following reasons. First, as most of us no longer live in a culture where this sort of thing is practiced, we can hardly visualize the sacrifices that so much of the Bible portrays. Even if we choose to simply imagine the sacrifices, we lose the intended, emotional impact of them by not witnessing them with our own eyes as the original readers of Scripture did. Second, all the sacrifices portrayed in the Old Testament were meant to provide the proper categories and paradigms for our understanding of Jesus’ own death on behalf of sinners. Therefore, the better we can fully feel and understand what those animal sacrifices were like the better we will be able to comprehend the gospel. The following video is very graphic. Watch it with that knowledge. It may make you queasy. But also watch it with the knowledge that sacrifices like this were commanded by God and occurred many times, every day, for the sins of his people. And remember what Scripture says: “Indeed, under the Law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22). “But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sin every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (10:3-4). “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (10:12-13).

http://www.sourceflix.com/vid_sacrifice.htm