New Testament Christianity stands in the tradition of Israelite sacrificial worship in viewing Jesus Christ as the ultimate and final sacrifice.
The Sacrifice of Christ
The earliest Christians of Jerusalem frequented the temple for prayer and considered themselves Jews, although they were aware that the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary had put an end to the requirements of Moses’ law. Luke records that Paul made a vow that involved a sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem in order to appease the Jews (Acts 21:20–26). However, the writer of Hebrews is adamant in his argument that Jewish sacrificial ritual and all that pertained to the old covenant were made obsolete when Christ’s death initiated the new covenant (Heb. 8:1–13; 10:1–18).
The Concept of Atonement
The concept of atonement, so prominent in the sacrificial theology of the worship of Israel, is also important in the New Testament. Jesus Christ is called the hilastērion (Rom. 3:25), literally “instrument of propitiation,” the word used in the Greek Old Testament for the kapporet of the ark (Rom. 3:25). The word, also translated “expiation,” identifies Christ as the one who stands between the Lord and the covenant people as their covering, or atonement. John pictures this mediating role of Christ in his description of the victorious Lamb who is between the throne and the twenty-four elders who represent the redeemed of all ages (Rev. 5:6).
In both Old and New Testaments, it is the Lord who initiates atonement, and not the people. Because God chooses to overlook sin and maintain the covenant relationship, he provides a covering: the blood of the sacrifice applied to the ark in the Old Testament and the blood of his Son applied to the heavenly ark in the New Testament (Heb. 9:11). It is also the Lord who provides a substitute by instituting the sacrificial system under the Mosaic law and by giving his own Son as a sacrifice in the new covenant (Heb. 9:12–14). The offering of Isaac by his father, Abraham, with the ram provided as a substitute sacrifice, is a poignant picture of the substitutionary death of Christ in behalf of his people (Gen. 22:1–14).
Some Bible expositors teach that the temple will eventually be rebuilt in Jerusalem and the sacrificial system reinstated. Whether this actually occurs is irrelevant, since the death of Christ has made all such offerings unnecessary and inappropriate. Jesus Christ stands between Yahweh and the covenant people as their atonement covering, having become the sacrifice for their sins. Sacrifices acceptable to God under the new covenant include praise and worship (Rom. 12:1–2; Heb. 13:15; 1 Pet. 2:5, 9), good works and sharing (Heb. 13:16), and material or financial gifts (Phil. 4:18).