How does the book of Leviticus prepare us for Jesus Christ? How does it communicate the Gospel?
Leviticus was written to answer the “problem” that we were left with at the end of Exodus, namely that Moses couldn’t enter the presence of God. Human beings have been created for the presence of God, but our sinfulness prevents us from entering because of God’s holiness.
The book of Leviticus is all about this “problem” of God’s holiness. The “problem” is not with God, really, but with us & with the fact that God created us, loves us, yet we are sinful.
Another aspect of the problem is that we know we are sinful, but we really don’t know how holy God is. So, the book of Leviticus was written to help us understand His holiness & what it is going to take for us enter into His presence.
Therefore, the book of Leviticus communicates the good news of the Gospel to us by showing us that God loves us & wants us to enter into & abide within His presence.
The book of Hebrews calls Jesus our Great High Priest. How is He like the high priests described in the book of Leviticus?
The high priest was important because he represented God to the people & the people to God.
Jesus is God’s perfect representative, being God Himself.
Jesus enters into the presence of God on our behalf to offer the sacrifice of Himself as the perfect sacrificial lamb.
Jesus is of the highest moral integrity & character.
Jesus perfectly represents us before God, knowing our temptations & struggles in every way (Hebrews 4:14-16).
If God cares tremendously about how He is worshipped (as evidence by the detail of Leviticus), what steps do you take to ensure you approach Him rightly in worship?
We should take preparation in heart & in mind.
We should examine ourselves to confess our sin.
We should come honestly into fellowship with others, prepared to bring offerings of praise, repentance & monetary tithes (which are confessions of dependence upon God rather than money).
Remind yourself of our definition of holiness from this message. Are Christians called to be holy? What does this look like in your life?
God is holy, which means that He is totally unique. His transcendent character, His eternality, & His perfect majesty are all what make Him holy.
One of the characteristics of being holy is being separate from anything impure, corruptible, or dead. God is the source of life & purity, so nothing like that can dwell in His presence.
In our original state, we could dwell in God’s presence, but when we went against Him & chose our own path, His holiness was what cut us off from His presence (which is why Moses couldn’t enter at the end of Exodus).
Christians are called to be holy as God is holy (Leviticus 11:45), which means that we are called to be separate from that which is corruptible & sinful.
Positionally, Jesus has made us holy (justification). But He has also committed Himself to causing us to grow in holiness by the power of His Holy Spirit (sanctification).
We have considered the fact that God involves Himself in every aspect of our lives. He is indifferent about nothing. That means being a Christian affects everything in your life. Are there any areas of your life where you are trying to exclude God?
Prayerfully answer this on your own.