Weight

I have been reading through the Book of Leviticus lately which is found in the Old Testament of the Bible. It's a collection of laws and commandments that the priests and people of ancient Israel had to follow to achieve righteousness and reconciliation with God. I've historically avoided this book and others like it because I never thought it was important to read them. After all, Jesus paid the price for our sins - why do I need to know all about these laws? Plus, it's a pretty dry read compared to the Gospels. Well, over time I learned that there are actually many reasons we should read Leviticus and the rest of the Old Testament. But for now, I feel the LORD impressing upon me to talk about one particular takeaway I have so far...

The weight. The weight of it all. A combination of all the different sacrifices and their purposes, the do's and don'ts, the foods that need to be avoided, the clothing that needs to be worn, the rituals, and on top of all of that - if you don't do some of it right, you could die.

Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. (Leviticus 10:1-2)

It must have been a heavy burden to carry for both the priests and people of Israel to keep these laws and commandments, knowing they couldn't and would keep falling short. I dare you to read the first few chapters today and see for yourself. I'm not saying these laws aren't holy, because they are - they are ordained by the LORD. It is the Law. The point I'm making is that it is VERY difficult to achieve righteousness. In fact, without specific help, it's impossible. But for argument's sake, let's say you can keep these laws perfectly and you do achieve righteousness on your own. That would make you equivalent to God because righteousness equates to righteousness so that would put you on God's level now. But can anyone say they are God and back it up?

One can. JESUS.

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20)

In His infamous sermon on the mount, Jesus tells the crowd that He has come to fulfill the Law. He also says that nobody will enter heaven unless their righteousness exceeds the level of their greatest teachers and priests (Pharisees). I'm sorry, but if I read that correctly that means even the greatest scholars of the Law fall short? WOW! Talk about weight. There's so much to carry if we want to reach God, but are we strong enough? The answer is no. We need help and we need God.

That is why Jesus is the answer. He is the only way for us to achieve total righteousness. That is the point He is making in His sermon. Only God can keep the Law because it is His Law and only He is God. So if a person is going to keep the Law, it's going to need to be someone who is both man and God. The entire Law rolls up into one Name and because of Him we have a clear picture of what righteousness looks like in human form.

Does that mean we have to be Jesus? No, but we do need Jesus. You see, here's another reason we study the Old Testament. I've been reading in Leviticus all about the sacrifices that people would bring before God to make atonement (payment) for their sins. They would bring goats, bulls, doves, and other animals to the altar and spill their blood. This was a constant, never-ending process because the blood of animals could never make full payment for the sin of a person. But what if a human sacrifice was brought before the LORD and this sacrifice met the requirements of the Law, which equated to perfection and righteousness? Well, then yes that would be acceptable to make payment for the sin of all mankind. Do you see where I'm going with this? Jesus, the fulfillment of the Law, presented Himself as atonement. Meditate on this verse...

For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace (Ephesians 2:14-15)

You may have heard before that Jesus died for our sins. But now you know that the crucifixion of Christ made atonement for us by removing the weight of having to fulfill the Law ourselves. Thereby, we have freedom in Christ if we choose to follow Him. When we follow Him, we fulfill the Law (by doing what He does and obeying what He tells us to do - reference John 14:15). And now, being followers of Him, the only weight we need to carry is the same weight He carried...

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. (Matthew 16:24)