Jesus Christ, the Fulfillment of the Old Testament Sacrificial System

Bible Outline • The Sacrificial System

The shadow pointed forward, the Lamb fulfilled it, and eternal life is found in the Son of God.

I. The Old Testament Sacrifices Pointed Forward to Christ

Throughout the Old Testament, God used promises, sacrifices, priesthood, blood, and ceremonial shadows to prepare His people for the coming Messiah. These institutions were never the final reality. They pointed beyond themselves to Jesus Christ. Hebrews 10:1 says the law had “a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things,” and Jesus Himself said of the Scriptures, “they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39).

The sacrificial system was especially important. God ordained that animals be slain and their blood presented before Him for atonement. Leviticus 17:11 explains the reason: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls.” Leviticus 4 and Leviticus 16 repeatedly describe animals being killed and their blood presented before God. Yet these sacrifices were temporary and anticipatory. Hebrews 10:4 makes the limitation explicit: “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”

Water certainly appeared in Old Testament ceremonial washings, including priestly purification (Leviticus 16:4, 24, 26, 28). But water was never presented as the substance that gave sacrificial blood its atoning value. The sacrificial pattern centered upon the death of the substitute and the presentation of its blood before God. Hebrews 9:22 summarizes that principle: “without shedding of blood is no remission.”

II. Jesus Is the Reality to Which the Sacrifices Pointed

The fulfillment becomes unmistakable when John the Baptist sees Jesus and makes that declaration. Jesus is not merely another symbol within the sacrificial system. He is the true and final sacrificial Lamb to whom the earlier sacrifices pointed.

This is why Hebrews describes Christ as both the perfect High Priest and the perfect sacrifice. He did not enter with the blood of goats and calves, “but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Hebrews 9:11 through 14; see verse 12). He offered His body once for all (Hebrews 10:10). “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14).

First John 2:2 reinforces this truth by identifying Jesus Christ as “the propitiation for our sins.” The sacrifice that the Old Testament system could only anticipate was accomplished in Christ Himself. God did not ultimately provide another animal. He provided His Son.

III. Jesus Himself Identified His Blood With Forgiveness

At the Last Supper, Jesus explicitly interpreted His approaching death in sacrificial terms. In Matthew 26:26 through 28 He identified the bread with His body, and then took the cup and said, “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

That statement fits perfectly within the entire biblical pattern. Leviticus pointed to sacrificial blood. Isaiah 53 pointed to the suffering Servant bearing the sins of others, for “the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). John 1:29 identifies Jesus as God’s Lamb. Matthew 26:28 identifies His shed blood with the remission of sins. Hebrews explains that His sacrifice occurred once for all.

The redemptive movement is therefore consistent from beginning to end. Animal sacrifice pointed forward. Christ fulfilled what it anticipated. His shed blood accomplished what animal blood never could accomplish permanently.

IV. The Saving Benefit of Christ’s Sacrifice Is Received Through Faith in Jesus Christ

The New Testament is equally clear about how the sinner receives eternal life. Jesus repeatedly directs sinners to believe on Him.

John 3:16 says that “whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:36 sets the same line in both directions: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” John 6:40 says it is the will of the Father “that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life,” and Jesus promises to raise that person up at the last day. John 6:47 states the matter with extraordinary simplicity: “He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.”

These passages are especially important because they show that the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ is complete, while its saving benefits are received through faith in Him. The New Testament does not redirect the sinner from the finished sacrifice of Jesus Christ to baptismal water as another means of obtaining cleansing.

V. The Spirit Applies the Life Christ Secured

John 7:37 through 39 adds another essential part of the New Covenant fulfillment. Jesus called the thirsty to come unto Him and drink, and John explains the meaning: “But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive.”

This does not replace the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ. It shows how the blessings of the New Covenant are applied to believers. Christ accomplishes redemption through His death and resurrection, and the Holy Spirit gives life and indwells those who belong to Him.

This agrees with John 3, John 6, and the larger New Testament witness. Eternal life is found in the Son and received through faith in Jesus Christ. The Spirit gives life to those who believe.

VI. God’s Own Testimony Is That Eternal Life Is in His Son

First John 5:10 through 13 brings the matter to a decisive conclusion. The record God gave is that He has given eternal life, and that this life is in His Son. John then states why he wrote it: “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).

Notice where Scripture places assurance. It is not in sacramental water. It is in the Son of God.

• John 1:29. He is the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.
• Matthew 26:28. His shed blood is joined to the remission of sins.
• John 3:16 and 3:36. Everlasting life belongs to the one who believes on Him.
• John 5:39. The Scriptures testify of Him.
• John 6:40 and 6:47. Everlasting life is promised to the believer.
• John 7:37 through 39. The Spirit is promised to those who come to Christ.
• 1 John 2:2. He is the propitiation for our sins.
• 1 John 5:10 through 13. Eternal life is in God’s Son.

The entire biblical testimony converges on Jesus Christ.

VII. The Redemptive Conclusion

The Old Testament sacrificial system was never God’s final solution to sin. It was a God ordained shadow pointing forward to the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Bulls and goats were slain, blood was presented, priests ministered, and sacrifices were repeated because the final sacrifice had not yet come.

Then Jesus came.

He is the Lamb of God (John 1:29). He is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2). His blood was shed for the remission of sins (Matthew 26:28). His sacrifice was offered once for all (Hebrews 10:10). His one offering has perfected for ever them that are sanctified (Hebrews 10:14). Eternal life is found in Him and received through faith in Him (John 3:16; John 3:36; John 6:40; John 6:47; 1 John 5:10 through 13).

Water had ceremonial functions under the Old Covenant, but Scripture never makes ceremonial water the fulfillment of the sacrificial blood system. The fulfillment is Jesus Christ Himself, His once for all sacrifice, and His shed blood.

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