Leviticus Explained: The Laying on of Hands, Jesus’ Baptism, and the Cross
Leviticus Explained: The Laying on of Hands, Jesus’ Baptism, and the Cross
Discover how the laying on of hands and sacrificial offerings in Leviticus 1:4 reveal the transfer of sins and the truth of eternal atonement accomplished by Jesus Christ.
In Leviticus, sin was passed on to the offering by the laying on of hands before it died — and through Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist and His Cross, that law was fulfilled once for all.
Learning about the washing away of sins and the way to true salvation through Rev. Paul C. Jong’s exposition, “Leviticus seen from the perspective of the gospel of the water and the Spirit (I)–(IV)”
A Book of Laws That Holds God’s Plan of Salvation
For many Christians who read the Bible, Leviticus feels like a difficult and unfamiliar book. It is filled with regulations for various offerings — the burnt offering, the grain offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering. Then come instructions about the garments the priests had to wear and the rules they had to keep, the distinction between clean and unclean, and laws concerning the feasts, the Sabbath year, and the Year of Jubilee. Because these regulations seem to have little to do with life today, quite a few people start reading Leviticus and stop halfway through.
Yet if we look at Leviticus closely, we find that it holds God’s amazing plan of salvation.
In it, God taught in concrete terms how a sinner can come before the holy God, how that sinner’s sins can be taken away, and how a person whose sins have been blotted out can live together with God.
Leviticus is not merely an ancient record of laws and sacrifices that the people of Israel had to observe.
It is a book in which God’s will to save sinners is revealed through the sacrifices and offerings, the office of the priesthood, and the many ordinances of the Tabernacle. At its center stands the saving work of Jesus Christ, who was to come into this world and take away all the sins of mankind.
Rev. Paul C. Jong’s exposition of Leviticus examines the whole book from exactly this perspective. As the author explains the meaning of the regulations recorded in each chapter, he shows how they connect to the salvation Jesus accomplished through the baptism He received from John the Baptist, His blood on the Cross, and His resurrection.
The laying on of hands at the Tabernacle, Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan, and the Cross — one law of atonement fulfilled in Christ.
The Question at the Heart of This Book
The most important question this book puts to its readers is clear:
“How does God take away a sinner’s sins and make that person righteous?”
This question does not apply only to the people of Israel in the days of Leviticus. It is just as important for everyone today who believes in Jesus and lives a life of faith.
Many people believe in God and yet still suffer because of their sins. They attend church, pray, and study the Word, but when they sin again in their daily lives, they begin to doubt whether their salvation is truly complete before God. They repent of their wrongdoing and resolve never to sin again, only to find themselves sinning once more as time goes by.
Then how long must we keep striving to wash away our own sins?
If we pray harder and do more good works, will the sin in our hearts disappear?
Must we become perfect people who never sin before we can come boldly before God?
Leviticus answers these questions by showing us not a method people have devised for themselves, but the way of atonement that God Himself established.
The Laying on of Hands in Leviticus 1:4
What we must pay special attention to here is the laying on of hands on the head of the sacrificial offering.
The interpretive key that runs through all four volumes is Leviticus 1:4. “Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.” The person who brought the offering placed his hand on the animal’s head — this is the laying on of hands. The laying on of hands means “to pass over” or “to be transferred.” When a sinner laid his hand on the head of the sacrificial offering, his sins passed over to that offering, and the offering was put to death in the sinner’s place. This is how atonement was made.
That is why the order matters: the laying on of hands comes first, and atonement follows.
If an animal was slaughtered without the laying on of hands, that person’s sins would remain just as they were, even if its blood flowed like a river. Death alone was not enough; the sins had to be transferred first, before the death.
John the Baptist, the Representative of Mankind
The most distinctive part of this book emerges when it asks how this law was fulfilled in the New Testament. All of humanity cannot personally lay their hands on the head of Jesus, the true sacrifice. So, the author explains, God prepared in advance a representative of mankind. That person was John the Baptist. His father, Zacharias, was a priest of the division of Abijah, and his mother, Elizabeth, was “of the daughters of Aaron” (Luke 1:5). John the Baptist came from the very priestly family that, in the Old Testament, laid hands on the offerings and carried out the sacrifices. At the Jordan River, when John hesitated to baptize Him, Jesus said, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). The author urges us not to miss the single word “for thus.” Just as in the law of Leviticus 1:4, where hands were placed on the head of the offering, John the Baptist — a man of the priestly family and the representative of mankind — placed his hands on the head of the Lamb of God. As proof, the book points to what John cried out the very next day: “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
The Cross and the One Sacrifice Offered Once for All
Here we come to this series’ clear emphasis on the Cross. The Cross was not the place where sins were passed on to Jesus; it was the place where He bore the judgment for the sins of the world that He had already taken upon Himself at the Jordan River. It was just like the offering that received the laying on of hands, shed its blood, and was burned on the altar of burnt offering. That is why the baptism and the Cross cannot be separated in the salvation of mankind. Without Jesus’ baptism, we could not know whose sins He died for on the Cross; and without the Cross, the wages of the sins He took on through His baptism would not have been paid. The author draws his conclusion from the declarations of Hebrews: “We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10), and “there is no longer an offering for sin” (Hebrews 10:18). All the sacrificial regulations of Leviticus, he explains, are pictures that point ahead to this “one sacrifice offered once for all.”
Volume I walks through Leviticus chapters 1 to 10 — free to read online or download.
God’s Love Revealed in Leviticus
As we follow the Word of God recorded in Leviticus, we come to behold God’s love that seeks to save sinners, and Jesus Christ, who completed that salvation.
Those who know and believe in that love no longer need to live in fear, trying to get rid of their sins on their own. They can believe in the grace of the salvation Jesus Christ has already accomplished and live in the true rest and life that God has given them.
Even today, Leviticus testifies to this truth of salvation.
And this book invites its readers to grasp that truth clearly, to have their sins blotted out through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and to live together with God.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the core theme of this book series?
Why was the laying on of hands so important in the sacrifices of Leviticus?
Where can I read the full Leviticus series for free?
Read the Full Bible Study — Leviticus (I)–(IV)
Begin with Volume I: Leviticus chapters 1 to 10, from the burnt offering to the consecration of the priests and the incident of Nadab and Abihu, expounded from the perspective of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, with sermons and questions and answers by Rev. Paul C. Jong. 777 pages, completely free — and the series continues through Volume IV.
Free PDF, EPUB & Audiobook →Discover the Truth of the Gospel — Completely Free
The New Life Mission shares the gospel of the water and the Spirit through free Christian books, eBooks, and audiobooks in many languages, so that anyone in the world can read the truth without cost.
Visit us today at: www.bjnewlife.org
※ However, sharing via links for personal use is allowed.
Comments
Post a Comment