October 29- November 4, 2000
MEMORY VERSE: “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour.” Ephesians 5:2.
STUDY HELP: Our High Calling, 47.
INTRODUCTION: “Christ was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. To many it has been a mystery why so many sacrificial offerings were required in the old dispensation, why so many bleeding victims were led to the altar. But the great truth that was to be kept before men, and imprinted upon mind and heart, was this, ‘Without shedding of blood is no remission.’ Hebrews 9:22. In every bleeding sacrifice was typified ‘the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ John 1:29.” Our High Calling, 47.
“The Lamb of God”
1 What quality was to distinguish the creature chosen for a burnt offering? Exodus 12:5; Leviticus 1:2, 3.
NOTE: The words “without blemish” are applied to the sacrifices 17 times in Leviticus.
“Every morning and evening a lamb of a year old was burned upon the altar, with its appropriate meat offering, thus symbolizing the daily consecration of the nation to Jehovah, and their constant dependence upon the atoning blood of Christ. God expressly directed that every offering presented for the service of the sanctuary should be ‘without blemish.’” Patriarchs and Prophets, 352.
2 How did Peter link the sacrifices of the sanctuary with Christ? 1 Peter 1:18, 19.
NOTE: “Only an offering ‘without blemish’ could be a symbol of His perfect purity who was to offer Himself as ‘a lamb without blemish and without spot.’ 1 Peter 1:19.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 352.
“In taking upon Himself man’s nature in its fallen condition, Christ did not in the least participate in its sin. He was subject to the infirmities and weaknesses by which man is encompassed, ‘that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses’ (Matthew 8:17). He was touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and was in all points tempted like as we are. And yet He knew no sin. He was the Lamb ‘without blemish and without spot’ (1 Peter 1:19). Could Satan in the least particular have tempted Christ to sin, he would have bruised the Saviour’s head. As it was, he could only touch His heel. Had the head of Christ been touched, the hope of the human race would have perished. Divine wrath would have come upon Christ as it came upon Adam. Christ and the church would have been without hope.” Selected Messages, Book 1, 256.
3 What further lesson may we draw from contemplating Christ as the sacrificial lamb? Romans 12:1.
NOTE: “God requires the body to be rendered a living sacrifice to Him, not a dead or a dying sacrifice. The offerings of the ancient Hebrews were to be without blemish, and will it be pleasing to God to accept a human offering that is filled with disease and corruption? He tells us that our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost; and He requires us to take care of this temple, that it may be a fit habitation for His Spirit. The apostle Paul gives us this admonition: ‘Ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.’ [1 Corinthians 6:19, 20.] All should be very careful to preserve the body in the best condition of health, that they may render to God perfect service, and do their duty in the family and in society. It is as truly a sin to violate the laws of our being as it is to break the Ten Commandments. To do either is to break God’s laws. Those who transgress the law of God in their physical organism, will be inclined to violate the law of God spoken from Sinai.” Christian Temperance and Bible Hygiene, 52, 53.
“The Lamb Slain from the Foundation of the World”
4 What must the sinner do with the offering he had brought for his sin? Leviticus 4:32, 33.
NOTE: “In the innocent offering slain by his own hand he beheld the fruits of sin—the death of the Son of God in his behalf. He sees the immutable character of the law he has transgressed, and confesses his sin; he relies upon the merits of the Lamb of God.” That I May Know Him, 17.
5 How did Isaiah teach this vital truth? Isaiah 53:4–7.
NOTE: “The sins of the people were transferred in figure to the officiating priest, who was a mediator for the people. The priest could not himself become an offering for sin, and make an atonement with his life, for he was also a sinner. Therefore, instead of suffering death himself, he killed a lamb without blemish; the penalty of sin was transferred to the innocent beast, which thus became his immediate substitute, and typified the perfect offering of Jesus Christ. Through the blood of this victim, man looked forward by faith to the blood of Christ which would atone for the sins of the world.” Signs of the Times, March 14, 1878.
“He Shall Confess that He Hath Sinned”
6 In addition to bringing his sacrifice, what also was essential for the sinner? Leviticus 5:5, 6.
NOTE: “The most important part of the daily ministration was the service performed in behalf of individuals. The repentant sinner brought his offering to the door of the tabernacle, and placing his hand upon the victim’s head, confessed his sins, thus in figure transferring them from himself to the innocent sacrifice. By his own hand the animal was then slain, and the blood was carried by the priest into the holy place and sprinkled before the veil, behind which was the ark containing the law that the sinner had transgressed. By this ceremony the sin was, through the blood, transferred in figure to the sanctuary. In some cases the blood was not taken into the holy place; but the flesh was then to be eaten by the priest.… Both ceremonies alike symbolized the transfer of the sin from the penitent to the sanctuary.” The Faith I Live By, 198.
7 What precious assurance is conditional upon a full and frank confession of our sins? Psalm 32:5.
NOTE: “Satan had represented the chosen and loyal people of God as being full of defilement and sin. He could depict the particular sins of which they had been guilty. Had he not set the whole confederacy of evil at work to lead them, through his seductive arts, into these very sins? But they had repented, they had accepted the righteousness of Christ. They were therefore standing before God clothed with the garments of Christ’s righteousness, and ‘He answered and spake unto those that stood before Him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him He said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with a change of raiment.’ Every sin of which they had been guilty was forgiven, and they stood before God as chosen and true, as innocent, as perfect, as though they had never sinned.” Review and Herald, August 29, 1893.
“The Lord Hath Laid on Him the Iniquity of Us All”
8 To whom is the guilt of the repentant sinner transferred? 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13.
NOTE: See The Great Controversy, 421.
9 What was done with the blood of the sin offering? Leviticus 4:30, 17.
NOTE: See The Great Controversy, 418.
10 When was the sanctuary finally cleansed from the guilt of those sins freely confessed and repented? Leviticus 16:1–19, 29–33. (Note verses 19, 30 and 33.)
NOTE: See The Great Controversy, 418, 419.
“Worthy is the Lamb That Was Slain”
11 How did John in vision see Jesus? Revelation 5:6.
NOTE: “Christ is our Mediator and officiating High Priest in the presence of the Father. He was shown to John as a Lamb that had been slain, as in the very act of pouring out His blood in the sinner’s behalf. When the law of God is set before the sinner, showing him the depth of his sins, he should then be pointed to the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world. He should be taught repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus will the labor of Christ’s representative be in harmony with His work in the heavenly sanctuary.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 395.
12 In what way did Christ desire that we should remember today His blood shed for us? 1 Corinthians 11:23–26.
NOTE: See The Desire of Ages, 652, 653.