But if he be not able to bring two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, then he that sinned shall bring for his offering the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a sin offering; he shall put no oil upon it, neither shall he put any frankincense thereon: for it is a sin offering.
Leviticus 5:11 (KJV)
Fine flour – And you thought blood was required for a sin offering, right? This is a great example of God’s grace and mercy found in action. A small portion of fine flour was perfectly acceptable.
In Numbers 16:46-47 we also read how Aaron burned incense to atone for Israel – no blood involved. In Numbers 31:50 they brought jewelry to make an atonement for their souls to the Lord. According to the prophets, simple repentance and a return to the Lord would afford complete forgiveness from God (Jeremiah 36:3; Isaiah 55:7; 2 Chronicles 7:14; Ezekiel 18:21-22, 27, 30; Daniel 4:27).
So how does this work? Isn’t this the basis for declaring why Yeshua had to die? I’d argue that it’s actually not quite that simple. To prove my point, let’s look at a few verses:
When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
Mark 2:5
And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
Luke 7:48
This is really just a couple examples of the many times where Yeshua forgave sins prior to His death. Did you catch that? Yeshua did not have to die to forgive these sins.
Without digging too much further, let’s start adding this up. According to Torah, forgiveness can happen without blood. According to the prophets, forgiveness can happen without blood. According to Yeshua Himself, forgiveness can happen without blood. If we choose to believe the law, the prophets, and Yeshua himself, then maybe there’s something more about His death than we might perceive. If this is the case, it requires intense study and an opening of our hearts to the Word.
Let’s take a deep breath. There’s something quite interesting here. Look at Scripture as a Hebrew might, or as Yeshua did, or as the Apostles did. They knew the law and prophets and were able to make relationships from a whole other paradigm. My argument isn’t that sin wasn’t forgiven through Him, but rather that there’s something more involved with His death than we might think.
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