Rabbi Schneider - Do You Need Mercy?
We are quickly approaching the holiest day of the year on God's sacred calendar. In Hebrew, it's called Yom (meaning day) and Kippur (meaning covering). So it's called Yom Kippur, the day of covering also referred to as the Day of Atonement. We first read about it in the 23rd chapter of the book of Leviticus, where the Lord tells us that on the seventh month, the tenth day of the seventh month, the high priest of the Jewish people was to take into the holiest space on the planet, first in the tabernacle, then later in the temple in Jerusalem, a special room referred to as the Holy of Holies. The high priest was to take blood into this room and he was to pour the blood on the covering over the... It was over the Ark of the Covenant, oftentimes referred to as the mercy seat.
Inside the Ark of the Covenant are the ten commandments, or were the ten commandments. And the ten commandments were housed in something that's referred to as the Ark of the Covenant. So the high priests would take in the blood of a bull and the blood of a goat, and He would pour the blood of the bull and the goat on top of the Ark of the Covenant. And again, this is referred to in the Brit Chadashah or the New Testament as the mercy seat. And the Scripture tells us in the Hebrew Bible that the life of the flesh is in the blood, saith the Lord, and I've given it to you on the altar to make an atonement for your soul. That's from Leviticus 17:11.
The author of the book of Hebrews in the New Testament tells us that the reason for this holy day is because only the blood by reason of its life can make atonement. And the key of importance here is the fact that Jesus' blood atonement is the fulfillment of this ancient holy day once and for all. That's why when I run into people that call themselves Christians that don't understand that Jesus is the only way, I say to myself, "You really don't get it at all".
You see, the thing that makes Jesus different than any other religion, any other figure, any other pathway to God is because Yeshua alone is the one that shed His blood to make atonement. The Scripture says without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin. The Scriptures teach us all the way back to the very beginning that the only way God can forgive mankind sin is when an innocent one sheds his blood on behalf of the guilty one. Jesus is the center of Yom Kippur. He fulfilled it once and for all when He died on the cross, they put the spirit aside and the blood came out.
I want you to know, beloved, Jesus gave His life for you and me. He wants you and I now to fully give our life back to Him. In fact, this is the only way a true relationship with God could be formed. I want to encourage you today, as we approach Yom Kippur war, to recognize who Jesus really is. He's not one among several. Jesus said, "I am the way, I am the truth, and I am the life. No man cometh to the Father but by Me". And as you consider this with me, beloved, I want you also as I also look to the Lord just like you and say, "I need to give my entire being to you, God. Even as you gave your life completely to me through your son, I need now to respond to that by fully giving myself back to you for the glory and honor of Messiah Jesus".