Return to Answers to Missionary Proofs

Jesus cleansed the leper, thus proving himself to be a priest.

Prophecy:
Leviticus 14:11: And the kohen who is performing the cleansing shall place the person being cleansed [together] with these [things], before the Lord, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

Proof:
Luke 5:12-14: (12) And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on [his] face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." (13) Then He put out [His] hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately the leprosy left him. (14) And He charged him to tell no one, "But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded."

The condition spoken on in Leviticus is not leprosy.

The condition being discussed is tzara'ath (צָרָעַת) which is not leprosy. This is easily seen from verse 34:
When you come to the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as a possession, and I place a lesion of tzara'ath upon a house in the land of your possession…

Leprosy does not afflict houses.

We see in Luke that Jesus healed a man of lepra (λέπρα) – leprosy. This is not the disease that is spoken about in the verse from Leviticus.

The cleansing takes place after the healing of tzara'ath.

The cleansing is done after the tzara’ath has already healed.
Leviticus 14:3: The kohen shall go outside the camp, and the kohen shall look, and behold, the lesion of tzara'ath has healed in the afflicted person.

We see in Luke that Jesus healed the man. This is not part of what the kohen is charged with doing according to the law in Leviticus.

The initial cleansing does not include sacrifices.

On the seventh day, if the person is healed of the tzara’ath, the kohen performs the cleansing ritual which involves two birds, a cedar stick, a strip of crimson wool, and a hyssop.

One of the birds is slaughtered over spring water in a bowl while the other bird and objects are dipped in the slaughtered bird’s blood. After which the person is sprinkled seven times with the bird and objects.

The live bird is set free and the person must immerse his garments and himself in water and shave off all his hair. The person is now cleansed.

We see in Luke that Jesus commands the man to take sacrifices to the priest as commanded. Sacrifices are not initially taken to the kohen – only the birds and other objects I have mentioned.

In addition, the sacrifices are brought only after the kohen determines if the person is healed and has been cleansed. The person does not bring the sacrifices as a “testimony” to the kohen that he is healed. So, we see that Jesus’ command in Luke is wrong.

It is on the eighth day that the person will bring a sin offering, burnt offering, and meal offering to the kohen thus effecting atonement for the person who was just cleansed. After the sacrifices, the person is considered completely cleansed.

Jesus was the once-for-all sin offering.

Prophecy:
Leviticus 16:15-17: (15) He shall then slaughter the he goat of the people's sin offering and bring its blood within the dividing curtain, and he shall do with its blood as he had done with the bull's blood, and he shall sprinkle it upon the ark cover and before the ark cover. (16) And he shall effect atonement upon the Holy from the defilements of the children of Israel and from their rebellions and all their unintentional sins. He shall do likewise to the Tent of Meeting, which dwells with them amidst their defilements. (17) And no man shall be in the Tent of Meeting when he comes to effect atonement in the Holy, until he comes out. And he shall effect atonement for himself, for his household, and for all the congregation of Israel.

Proof:
Hebrews 9:7-14: (7) But into the second part the high priest [went] alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and [for] the people's sins [committed] in ignorance; (8) the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. (9) It [was] symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience – (10) [concerned] only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation. (11) But Christ came [as] High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. (12) Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. (13) For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, (14) how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Jesus did not fulfill any of the actual laws for the Yom Kippur sacrifice.

A he goat will be used as the sin offering for the Children of Israel. This is the offering that was brought on Yom Kippur from the time of the Mishkan.
Leviticus 16:5: And from the community of the children of Israel, he shall take two he goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering.

The other sin offering is for Aaron and his household only. This is the offering that was brought on Yom Kippur by the Kohen Gadol from the time of the Mishkan. Leviticus 16:6: And Aaron shall bring his sin offering bull, and initiate atonement for himself and for his household.

The blood of the sin offering of the bull – that is the sin offering for Aaron and his family – was sprinkled on and around the Ark.
Leviticus 16:14: And he shall take some of the bull's blood and sprinkle [it] with his index finger on top of the ark cover on the eastern side; and before the ark cover, he shall sprinkle seven times from the blood, with his index finger.

Jesus was never a “sacrifice” for Aaron and his household. Jesus’ blood was not sprinkled on and around the Ark.

The blood of the sin offering of the he goat – that is the sin offering for the Children of Israel – was sprinkled on and around the Ark.
Leviticus 16:15: He shall then slaughter the he goat of the people's sin offering and bring its blood within the dividing curtain, and he shall do with its blood as he had done with the bull's blood, and he shall sprinkle it upon the ark cover and before the ark cover.

Jesus was never a “sacrifice” for the Children of Israel. Jesus’ blood was not sprinkled on and around the Ark.

Leviticus 16:16: And he shall effect atonement upon the Holy from the defilements of the children of Israel and from their rebellions and all their unintentional sins. He shall do likewise to the Tent of Meeting, which dwells with them amidst their defilements.

We see in Leviticus 16:16 that Aaron was to make atonement for those who
1. Defiled the sanctuary accidently by entering the sanctuary without knowing they were unclean
2. Defiled the sanctuary willfully by entering the sanctuary knowing they were unclean
3. Those who committed unintentional sins

None of these apply to the supposed sacrificial purpose of Jesus.

It was not the blood that cleansed the people.

It was the teshuva, in other words – repentance. Those who bring sin sacrifice must also repent of their sins. Since this is true, the blood of Jesus has no effect upon people since he did not call for repentance.

Sacrifices were never the only way to repent and return to Hashem. Blood is not a requirement for forgiveness.
Psalm 40:7: You desired neither sacrifice nor meal offering; You dug ears for me; a burnt offering or a sin offering You did not request.

II Samuel 12:13: And David said to Nathan: "I have sinned against the Lord." And Nathan said to David, "Also the Lord has removed your sin; you shall not die.

Micah 6:6-8: (6) With what shall I come before the Lord, bow before the Most High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? (7) Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriad streams of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? (8) He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord demands of you; but to do justice, to love loving-kindness, and to walk discreetly with your God.

Hosea 14:2-3: (2) Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled in your iniquity. (3) Take words with yourselves and return to the Lord. Say, "You shall forgive all iniquity and teach us [the] good [way], and let us render [for] bulls [the offering of] our lips.

Jeremiah even warned against overreliance on the sacrificial system.
(Jeremiah 7:3-7, 21-23: (3) So said the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel; Improve your ways and your deeds, I will allow you to dwell in this place. (4) Do not rely on false words, saying: The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord are they. (5) For if you improve your ways and your deeds, if you perform judgment between one man and his fellowman, (6) [if] you do not oppress a stranger, an orphan, or a widow, and you do not shed innocent blood in this place, and you do not follow other gods for your detriment, (7) I will allow you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave your forefathers from days of yore to eternity. … (21) So says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel; Add your burnt offerings upon your sacrifices and eat flesh. (22) For neither did I speak with your forefathers nor did I command them on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning a burnt offering or a sacrifice. (23) But this thing did I command them, saying: Obey Me so that I am your God and you are My people, and you walk in all the ways that I command you, so that it may be well with you.

If Jesus was the last sin sacrifice, why will the sacrifices be reinstituted when the third Temple will be built?
Isaiah 56:7: I will bring them to My holy mount, and I will cause them to rejoice in My house of prayer, their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be acceptable upon My altar, for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.

Jeremiah 33:17-18: (17) For so said the Lord: There shall not be cut off from David a man sitting on the throne of the house of Israel. (18) And of the Levitic priests, there shall not be cut off from before Me a man offering up a burnt offering, or burning a meal-offering or performing a sacrifice for all time.

Zechariah 14:21: Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of Hosts, and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and cook in them; and there will no longer be a trafficker in the House of the Lord of Hosts on that day.

Zechariah 43:22-25:(22) And on the second day you shall offer a he-goat without blemish for a sin offering, and they shall purify the altar as they purified it with the bull. (23) When you have completed the purification, you shall bring near a young bull without a blemish and a ram without blemish from the flock. (24) And you shall offer them before the Lord, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and offer them up to God as a burnt offering. (25) For seven days shall you make a he-goat for a sin-offering every day, and a young bull and a ram from the flock without blemish shall they make.

If the sin offering was done away with why did Paul and four other men bring sacrifices as prescribed for the Nazirite vow?
Acts 21:17-26: (17) And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. (18) On the following [day] Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. (19) When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. (20) And when they heard [it], they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, "You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law; (21) but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise [their] children nor to walk according to the customs. (22) What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. (23) Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow. (24) Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave [their] heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but [that] you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law. (25) But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written [and] decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from [things] offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality." (26) Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them.

This includes a sin offering.
Numbers 6:13-15: (13) This is the law of the nazirite: On the day his period of naziriteship is completed, he shall present himself at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. (14) He shall bring his offering to the Lord: one unblemished lamb in its first year as a burnt offering, one unblemished ewe lamb in its first year as a sin offering, and one unblemished ram as a peace offering, (15) and a basket of unleavened cakes; loaves of fine flour mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, with their meal offerings and their libations.

Jesus was the once-for-all sin offering that was burnt outside the camp.

Prophecy:
Leviticus 16:27: And the sin offering bull and he goat of the sin offering, [both of] whose blood was brought to effect atonement in the Holy, he shall take outside the camp, and they shall burn in fire their hides, their flesh, and their waste.

Proof:
Matthew 27:33: And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull…

Hebrews 13:11-12: (11) For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. (12) Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

Jesus did not fulfill any of the actual laws for the Yom Kippur sacrifice.

A he goat will be used as the sin offering for the Children of Israel. This is the offering that was brought on Yom Kippur from the time of the Mishkan.
Leviticus 16:5: And from the community of the children of Israel, he shall take two he goats as a sin offering, and one ram as a burnt offering.

The other sin offering is for Aaron and his household only. This is the offering that was brought on Yom Kippur by the Kohen Gadol from the time of the Mishkan. Leviticus 16:6: And Aaron shall bring his sin offering bull, and initiate atonement for himself and for his household.

The blood of the sin offering of the bull – that is the sin offering for Aaron and his family – was sprinkled on and around the Ark.
Leviticus 16:14: And he shall take some of the bull's blood and sprinkle [it] with his index finger on top of the ark cover on the eastern side; and before the ark cover, he shall sprinkle seven times from the blood, with his index finger.

Jesus was never a “sacrifice” for Aaron and his household. Jesus’ blood was not sprinkled on and around the Ark.

The blood of the sin offering of the he goat – that is the sin offering for the Children of Israel – was sprinkled on and around the Ark.
Leviticus 16:15: He shall then slaughter the he goat of the people's sin offering and bring its blood within the dividing curtain, and he shall do with its blood as he had done with the bull's blood, and he shall sprinkle it upon the ark cover and before the ark cover.

Jesus was never a “sacrifice” for the Children of Israel. Jesus’ blood was not sprinkled on and around the Ark.

Leviticus 16:25: And he shall cause the fat of the sin offering to go up in smoke upon the altar.

Here we see that the fat was to be burnt on the altar within the Mishkan. Jesus was never burnt as a sacrifice (even only part of him).

There were multiple sacrifices that were slaughtered inside the camp.

The multiple sacrifices (one for Aaron and his family and one for the Children of Israel) were slaughtered inside the camp.
Leviticus 16:3: With this shall Aaron enter the Holy: with a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.

Jesus was not slaughtered inside the city.

Parts of the offerings were used in ceremonies.

Parts of the sin offerings (the blood and fat) were used in ceremonies within the camp.
Leviticus 16:14-15, 25: (14) And he shall take some of the bull's blood and sprinkle [it] with his index finger on top of the ark cover on the eastern side; and before the ark cover, he shall sprinkle seven times from the blood, with his index finger (15) He shall then slaughter the he goat of the people's sin offering and bring its blood within the dividing curtain, and he shall do with its blood as he had done with the bull's blood, and he shall sprinkle it upon the ark cover and before the ark cover. ... (25) And he shall cause the fat of the sin offering to go up in smoke upon the altar.

The blood and fat of Jesus were never used in ceremonies within the city.

Jesus was the once-for-all sin offering whose blood made atonement for sin.

Prophecy:
Leviticus 17:11: For the soul of the flesh is in the blood, and I have therefore given it to you [to be placed] upon the altar, to atone for your souls. For it is the blood that atones for the soul.

Proof:
Matthew 26:28: For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

Mark 10:45: For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.

I John 3:14-18: (14) We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love [his] brother abides in death. (15) Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. (16) By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down [our] lives for the brethren. (17) But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? (18) My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

This verse refers to blood as the life source.

If we look at this verse in context we see that it is really referring to the idea that blood is the life source and this is why we are forbidden to offer sacrifices anywhere other than the Tabernacle (and later the Temples) and why we are forbidden to eat blood.
Leviticus 17:3-4, 8-14: (3) Any man of the House of Israel, who slaughters an ox, a lamb, or a goat inside the camp, or who slaughters outside the camp, (4) but does not bring it to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting to offer up as a sacrifice to the Lord before the Mishkan of the Lord, this [act] shall be counted for that man as blood he has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from among his people… (8) And you should say to them: Any man of the House of Israel or of the strangers who will sojourn among them, who offers up a burnt offering or [any other] sacrifice, (9) but does not bring it to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting to make it [a sacrifice] to the Lord, that man shall be cut off from his people. (10) And any man of the House of Israel or of the strangers that sojourn among them, who eats any blood, I will set My attention upon the soul who eats the blood, and I will cut him off from among his people. (11) For the soul of the flesh is in the blood, and I have therefore given it to you [to be placed] upon the altar, to atone for your souls. For it is the blood that atones for the soul. (12) Therefore, I said to the children of Israel: None of you shall eat blood, and the stranger who sojourns among you shall not eat blood. (13) And any man of the children of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who traps a quarry of a wild animal or bird that may be eaten, and sheds its blood, he shall cover it [the blood] with dust. (14) For [regarding] the soul of all flesh its blood is in its soul, and I said to the children of Israel: You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the soul of any flesh is its blood all who eat it shall be cut off.

We see that this verse in context is not only referring to sin sacrifices. It is really only offering an explanation and command that the sacrifices must be offered in a specific way and only offered to Hashem.

Sin sacrifices are for unintentional sins.

Sin sacrifices are to be brought by someone who unintentionally sins and the sins are made known to him.
Leviticus 4:27-28: (27) If one person of the people of the land commits a sin unintentionally, by his committing one of the commandments of the Lord which may not be committed, incurring guilt; (28) if his sin that he committed is made known to him, he shall bring his sacrifice: an unblemished female goat, for his sin that he committed.

Blood is not the only atonement for sin.

Nowhere in the Tanach does it say that blood is the only accepted form of atonement for sins. It was not the blood that cleansed the people. It was the teshuva – repentance. Those who bring sin sacrifices must also repent of their sins.

Repentance also atones for sins.
II Samuel 12:13: And David said to Nathan: "I have sinned against the Lord." And Nathan said to David, "Also the Lord has removed your sin; you shall not die.”

Devotion to Hashem also atones for sins.
Micah 6:6-8: (6) With what shall I come before the Lord, bow before the Most High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? (7) Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with myriad streams of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? (8) He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord demands of you; but to do justice, to love loving-kindness, and to walk discreetly with your God.

Prayer to Hashem also atones for sins.
I Kings 8:46-50: (46) If they sin against You, for (there is) no man who does not sin, and You will be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, and their captors will carry them away captive to the land of the enemy, far or near. (47) And they shall bethink themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of their captors, saying, 'We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness.' (48) And they shall return to You with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, who led them away captive, and pray to You toward their land, which You gave to their fathers, the city that You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your Name. (49) And you shall hear their prayer and their supplication in heaven, Your dwelling place, and maintain their cause. (50) And forgive Your people what they have sinned against You, and all their transgressions that they have transgressed against You, and give mercy before their captors, that they may have mercy on them.

Charity also atones for sins.
Daniel 4:24: Indeed, O king, may my counsel please you, and with charity you will remove your sin and your iniquity by showing mercy to the poor; perhaps your tranquility will last."

During the Messianic Age, sacrifices will be reinstituted.
Jeremiah 33:17-18: (17) For so said the Lord: There shall not be cut off from David a man sitting on the throne of the house of Israel. (18) And of the Levitic priests, there shall not be cut off from before Me a man offering up a burnt offering, or burning a meal-offering or performing a sacrifice for all time.

Zechariah 14:21: Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of Hosts, and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and cook in them; and there will no longer be a trafficker in the House of the Lord of Hosts on that day.

*Jewish Scripture from The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary
**Christian Scripture from the New King James Version