Dear Grandkids,
Since one fourth of the blood running through your veins is Jewish I wanted to tell you a little about today. Today is the most solemn holy day of all the holy days on the Jewish calendar. Today is Yom Kippur, also known as the Day of Atonement. It commemorates the annual day that the Jewish High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies in the Jewish temple in order to offer sacrifices for sin on behalf of the Jewish people.
Interestingly, these sacrifices stopped being offered in 70 AD because the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the future Roman emperor Titus. So the question can legitimately be asked, “How are sins for the Jewish people now atoned for?” The Older Testament is clear that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness for sin. And yet blood is no longer shed.
Nowadays, the Jewish people believe that forgiveness of sin is obtained through repentance, prayer, and good deeds. But the fact remains that blood must be shed – not only for the Jewish people but also for everyone else in order to have our sin forgiven. So is forgiveness even possible?
Here is the very good news…
Jesus came as THE High Priest to offer Himself as a blameless and pure and undefiled sacrifice to secure redemption by the shedding of His own blood on the cross. Forgiveness of sin is available for all who look to Him and trust in the sufficiency of His sacrifice. God accepts the sacrifice of His only begotten Son as satisfactory to secure our eternal salvation and to bring about reconciliation in our relationship with the Father that sin had destroyed.
There is no longer a need for an annual Day of Atonement because atonement was made once for all when Jesus died on the cross. There is no longer a need for sacrifices to made in the Holy of Holies of the Temple. There is no longer a need for blood to be shed because blood has been shed. So how are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, Messiah of the world to regard Yom Kippur?
Today is an awesome day (as is every day) to thank God for sending His Son to be the Savior of the world and for rescuing us from the kingdom of darkness and bringing us into the light of the Son. Today is an awesome day to remember the gospel. Today is an awesome day to pray for our Jewish kin that they will recognize Jesus as the Messiah they have been looking for. Today is an awesome day to celebrate and rejoice in our salvation.
Never forget what Jesus did for you!
And never forget that you are very very loved!
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