Sermon about the sacrifices of the Old Testament figures of the Sacrifice of the Cross

Introduction

St Paul in the Epistle of the Mass compares the sacrifices of animals done by the Jews under Moses’ law in the Old Testament with the sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus. Indeed, the Old Testament in the Bible was a preparation for the coming of the Saviour and the New Testament. Jesus said: “All things must needs be fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the psalms concerning Me” (Lc 24;44). To consider the Old testament helps to understand the spiritual realities of the New Testament.

Since we are now in Passiontide, in order to help our understanding of the Mystery of Redemption, let us consider how the sacrifices of the Jews in the Old testament were announcing the Sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus on the Cross.

1.      Laws of the Old Testament

The laws given by God to Moses were of three kinds: moral, ceremonial and judicial.

-The moral laws determined what is right and wrong to do. The notion of right and wrong is founded on the order and rules on which God has created the world: our actions are good when they are in accordance with that order, they are bad when they contradict that order. The 10 Commandments are the summary of these moral laws.

-The ceremonial laws were for regulating the religious ceremonies, the worship of God. Indeed, God does not want to be worshipped in any manner. He is Wisdom and Truth, so He wants to be worshipped in a way which is ordered, meaningful and in accordance with what He is and what He does and what He wants. It is completely false to say that any type of worship is agreeable to God.

-The judicial laws were for regulating the social life of the Jews.

The 10 Commandments were given by God for all human beings. But the ceremonial and judicial laws given to Moses were only for the Jews, to prepare them to welcome the Saviour, Our Lord Jesus.

2.      Sacrifices of the Old Testament in general

Among the ceremonial laws regulating the cult to God, the most important were those about the sacrifices of animals to God. But we can wonder: could really such sacrifices of animals please God? Is He not the Master of the universe? Did He not say Himself in the Psalm 49,13: “Shall I eat the flesh of bullocks? Or shall I drink the blood of goats?” Of course, these sacrifices were not pleasing God by themselves but only by reason of their meaning.

When the Jews were sacrificing an animal, they used to extend their hands over its head in order to signify that they were substituting this animal to themselves, and therefore by offering this animal, they were offering themselves to God. Then the animal was killed and all its blood was shed on the altar or at its foot. It was strictly forbidden to anybody to keep the blood for any use. Blood was indeed considered as life itself and therefore was considered as belonging to God only. Then the animal was cut into pieces and the fat of its belly was burnt on the altar. Why the fat? Because it signified the abundance of goods or wealth, and so by burning it, the Jews meant the offering of their goods or wealth to God. In reference to Our Lord Jesus Christ, all these sacrifices of animals were the figures of the sacrifice of the Cross. On the Cross, Jesus substituted Himself to us, shed his Blood and died so that we could have eternal life.

3.      Sacrifices of the Old Testament in particular

But in addition to this common way of sacrificing animals and its general meaning, the Jews had three specific ways of sacrificing animals, each one conveying a specific meaning and a specific reference to the Sacrifice of Jesus.

a)      There was the sacrifice called “holocaust”. The animal had to be a male, to be spotless, and was completely burnt on the altar. The specific meaning was to profess the sovereign dominion of God over life and everything. The holocaust was therefore a sacrifice of adoration.

It was also a figure of the sacrifice of the Cross, as being precisely an act of perfect adoration. Our Lord Jesus was a male; He was spotless physically, his body being absolutely perfect; and spotless spiritually, his soul having never been stained by any sin. And His self- offering was total: spiritually Our Lord Jesus offered Himself completely to His Father: “Father, if Thou wilt remove this chalice from me: but yet not my will, but thine be done” (Lc 22;42) and physically He endured all possible types of sufferings in such a way that His whole being was hurt, as it were totally burnt, He shed His Blood up to the last drop. Jesus alluded to His sacrifice as a holocaust when, just before dying on the cross He said: “All is consummated” (Jn 19;30).

b)     Then for the Jews, there was the sacrifice called “Sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin”. People extended their hands over the head of the animal in order to load symbolically their sins upon it, then the animal was killed and its blood was sprinkled in the temple. Once a year, on the Great Day of expiation, the blood was sprinkled once over the Ark of Covenant, and 7 times on the floor. Then the flesh of the animal was burnt outside Jerusalem in order to mean that sin was forgiven, and holiness recovered.

This type of “sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin” was figuring the Sacrifice of Our Lord Jesus on the cross as being the Sacrifice by which all our sins can be forgiven. Jesus was mystically loaded with all the sins of mankind when the high priest Caiphas told the Sanhedrin: “It is expedient for you that one man should die for the people and that the whole nation perish not” (Jn 11;49). Jesus’ blood was physically sprinkled in the house of Caiphas when He was imprisoned there after his arrestation; it was sprinkled in the temple when He was scourged by the soldiers; it was mystically sprinkled over the whole mankind when the Jews said: “His blood be upon us and upon our children” (Mt 27;25).

We said also that on the great Day of expiation, the blood of the victim was sprinkled once over the Ark of Covenant and 7 times on the floor. What was the meaning of it? The Ark of Covenant was the symbol of the alliance between God and the Jews; it was a figure of Jesus Christ who unites in His Person the Divine nature and the human nature. As the Ark of covenant was sprinkled once with blood, so Jesus shed His Blood and died once on the Cross. As the blood of the animal was sprinkled on the ground 7 times, so the Blood of Christ and its salutary benefits are applied to us through the 7 Sacraments.

We said also that the flesh of the animal was burnt outside Jerusalem, so Jesus was crucified and died outside Jerusalem, on Mount Calvary.

The sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross has been the sacrifice of perfect expiation for the sins of mankind. Our Lord Jesus is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”

c)      At last for the Jews, there was the sacrifice called “Peace offering”. The animal was offered to God and killed; then a part of it was burnt on the altar, a share of the meat was eaten by the priests and the remaining was eaten by the people in the temple. So, this kind of sacrifice was a kind of meal and signified the friendship with God.

This of course reminds us of the Last Supper, of the Mass and Holy Communion. The Mass is the renewal of the Sacrifice of the Cross by which Our Lord Jesus has reconciled us to God, has satisfied for our sins and restored our friendship with God. At Mass, under the appearances of bread and wine, Jesus gives us His Flesh and Blood to eat and to drink, as a pledge of His love and of eternal life. As we say in the Litany of the Sacred Heart, Our Lord Jesus is our peace and reconciliation.

Conclusion:

The Sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and renewed in the Mass was a perfect holocaust, a perfect sacrifice for the forgiveness of sin, a perfect sacrifice of peace offering.

Passiontide has started today. Let us join Our Lord Jesus in His perfect sacrifice. Let us join the holocaust of Our Lord by offering completely our own self, our own will, and whatever we have to God. Let us join Our Lord Jesus’ sacrifice for the expiation of sins by doing a good Confession with the firm resolution to amend our life. Let us join Our Lord Jesus’ sacrifice of Peace Offering by receiving Holy Communion with a fervent desire for God’s glory and friendship. And so we will fulfil well our Easter Duties.

The Sacrifice of the Cross, renewed in the Mass, is the unique bridge to God and eternal life. So, imitating Our Lady of Compassion, let us stay united in spirit to this Sacrifice, especially during the 2 coming weeks.