Many people, including Christians, feel obliged to follow Jewish traditions and celebrate these feasts. However, this comes down to a fundamental choice: do you celebrate the shadow, or do you embrace the Person? The Old Covenant law and its festivals were given to Israel to point them to their need for a Savior, not as a means of salvation. They are a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith (Galatians 3:24). You are either under the law, striving to do the works of men to achieve your own salvation, or you choose to receive the free gift of grace—Jesus Christ Himself.
The Yom Kippur Context
Yom Kippur is situated between the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) on the 1st and 2nd of Tishri and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) on the 15th through 21st of Tishri. This central position highlights its critical importance in the Jewish calendar. It is known as the Sabbath of Sabbaths, the most solemn day of the year.
The name "Yom Kippur" is derived from two Hebrew words:
Yom (יום): Meaning "day."
Kippur (כִּפֻּר): From the root word kaphar (כָּפַר), which means "to cover, to forgive, to atone." It signifies a cleansing or purging. The verb is used throughout the Old Testament to describe the actions of a priest in offering sacrifices to "cover" sin.
This day of atonement was the only time in the year when the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies to make atonement for the sins of the people. While millions today observe the traditional feast, a follower of Christ sees this as a shadow of the perfect work of Jesus. As you read on, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal how Jesus meticulously fulfilled every aspect of this feast.
The Historical Performance of Atonement
To truly appreciate Jesus's fulfillment of Yom Kippur, it's essential to understand its historical performance during the eras of the tabernacle and Jerusalem temples. As commanded in Leviticus 16, the rituals were precise and dramatic, all pointing to a greater reality.
On this day, the High Priest, or Kohen Gadol, would perform a complex series of sacrifices and purification rituals.
1. Purification and Garments
The High Priest had to first purify himself. He would immerse in a mikvah (ritual bath) to purify himself from all uncleanness and then clothe himself in special golden garments. After offering the daily morning sacrifice (Tamid), he would immerse himself again, this time changing into simple white linen garments. This was a vivid reminder that no man, not even the high priest, could approach God in his own glory or splendor, but only in humility and purity.
Christ's Fulfillment: Jesus did not need to purify Himself, for He was without sin (Hebrews 4:15). He is our spotless High Priest. He entered the heavenly Holy of Holies not in earthly garments but in the purity of His own being.
2. The Sacrificial Animals
The Kohen Gadol would present a bull as a personal sin-offering for himself and his household. After slaughtering the bull, he would receive its blood in a bowl. Next, he would cast lots over two goats—one "for the Lord" and one "for Azazel" (the scapegoat). A red band was tied to the horns of the scapegoat. The Hebrew word Azazel is a unique term, often translated as "complete removal" or "entire separation," signifying the final expulsion of sin.
Christ's Fulfillment: Jesus perfectly fulfilled both roles. He was the sacrifice for our sins, taking on our guilt and shedding His own blood for our atonement (Romans 5:9). He was also the scapegoat, upon whom all our sins were laid. As Isaiah 53:6 says, "the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." And just as the scapegoat was sent away, our sins are now "as far as the east is from the west" (Psalm 103:12), completely removed from us.
3. Entering the Holy of Holies
With the blood of the bull and goat, the Kohen Gadol would enter the Kadosh Hakadashim (Holy of Holies), the innermost chamber where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. Before entering, he would take a special shovel of embers from the altar and a vessel of incense. He would burn the incense to create a cloud that would obscure the mercy seat from his view, ensuring he would not see God directly and die.
Once inside, he would sprinkle the blood of the bull seven times before the Ark to atone for the priests, and then the blood of the goat seven times to atone for the people. This ritual, done on behalf of the entire nation, was the central act of the day.
Christ's Fulfillment: Jesus, our perfect High Priest, entered the "most holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption" (Hebrews 9:12). He did not use the blood of animals but "by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place." He didn't need to sprinkle blood on an earthly mercy seat because He is our mercy seat (Romans 3:25). The finality of His one-time sacrifice is what makes the Day of Atonement obsolete for the believer.
4. The Confession and Release
After the blood rituals, the High Priest would lay his hands on the Azazel goat and confess all the sins of Israel, symbolically transferring their transgressions onto the animal. The goat was then led into the wilderness and either released or, in later years, pushed off a cliff to prevent its return. The returning of a goat was seen as a bad omen, a sign that the atonement was not accepted. This ritual was meant to show the sins were "gone."
Christ's Fulfillment: Our sins aren't just covered; they are gone forever. Jesus "took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross" (Colossians 2:14). The efficacy of His work means our forgiveness is not a hopeful wish but a secured reality. He didn't just carry our sins away; He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us... having forgiven us all trespasses (Colossians 2:13-14).
A Better High Priest, a Perfect Atonement
The Day of Atonement was a burdensome series of rituals. The High Priest wore five sets of garments, immersed in the mikvah five times, and washed his hands and feet ten times. Multiple sacrifices were made. All this was done with the hope that the atonement was accepted. The Jewish Talmud even states, "Yom Kippur atones for those who repent and does not atone for those who do not repent," leaving a person to hope they didn't forget a sin.
We, however, have a perfect High Priest in Jesus. As Hebrews 9:11-14 beautifully explains:
“But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
All the old rituals are obsolete. The veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom at the moment of Jesus's death (Matthew 27:51), signifying that the way to God's presence is now open to everyone. We no longer need to hope that our sins are covered; we know they are forgiven. Our focus is not on a day of atonement but on the reality of our redemption and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who offered Himself once for all (Hebrews 10:10). We are already right with God, having been perfected forever by this one sacrifice (Hebrews 10:14).
What remains for a follower of Jesus is not to do, but to receive and to celebrate Jesus!
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