<title>Does God Require a Sacrifice</title> (for the atonement of sins)
The claim that Christians make is that without blood being shed, there is no atonement for Sin, and Jesus was that ultimate sacrifice.
| Hebrews 9:22 (KJV) | (NIV) | (RSV) |
|---|---|---|
| 22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. | 22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. | 22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. |
Hebrews 9:22 is the claim that without the shedding of blood there is no atonement. This is a big one. It certainly looks ominous – it's quite an important point he's making.
I will provide the following examples of why this is a logically inconsistent statement and how early Christian eisegises alters the Old Testament source texts of Christianity.
Short answer? No.
“To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”Proverbs 21:3 (NIV)
Longer answer? Of course not!
The verse “Without the shedding of blood, there is no atonement for sin.” is not in the Jewish Bible. It is in the New Testament and actually says, “according to the law ALMOST ALL things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission” (Hebrew 9:22). The words “almost all” imply that not all sins required blood. Furthermore, although Leviticus 17:11 says, “blood makes atonement,” it does not say blood is the ONLY way to receive forgiveness.
Missionaries conveniently ignore these points because if there are other ways to replace sacrifices, we don’t need Jesus.https://jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/weekly/the-crowd-cheered-when-i-answered-the-missionary
The cross reference for Hebrews 9:22 is Leviticus 17:10-11. Yet this passage is only a prohibition against the eating (or drinkig) of blood. It isn't about forgiveness of sins, cleansing, or anything like that (2cf. Leviticus 10:18 “18 Since its blood was not taken into the Holy Place, you should have eaten the goat in the sanctuary area, as I commanded.””). It's just a prohibition against eating blood.
Secondly, in at least ten sources [Leviticus 5:11, Numbers 5:4-9,15, Numbers 7:13,19-89, Leviticus 2:1-2,4-5,15-16 (2cf; Exodus 16:18,36)] we see that if someone was not able to bring a blood sacrifice, he could substitute a day's sustenance worth of flour.
And, this is just a technical point; Jeremiah really drives this point home: “22 For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23 But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’” –Jeremiah 7:22-23
Therefore it seems blood is not actually required, but in fact repentance; blood itself is denied as a requirement in the Torah.
Isaiah also confirms this; 66:20 “And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the Lord, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the Lord, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord.”
From these passages (above ex. Leviticus 5:5) that what God really wants is honest repentance. The blood sacrifice is a nice touch but isn't actually a requirement; only that some sacrifice is made to demonstrate the worth of the repentance and ensure it is not just “crocodile tears”; this is to prevent the nation of Israel from sinning only to repent without meaning and then return to it's sin. In fact it is in fact explicitly stated (beyond the fact that a person does not need to offer blood) that it is not even the act of his sacrifice which causes the remission of sin:
| Leviticus 5:5-6 (KJV) |
|---|
| 5 And it shall be, when he shall be guilty in one of these things, that he shall confess that he hath sinned in that thing: 6 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the Lord for his sin which he hath sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his sin. |
As we see, not only is sacrifice not required; not even a blood sacrifice; it is not even the action of bringing a sacrifice that atones for the sin, for it is the priest who must atone on behalf of the people. The “really important thing” here from an individual's standpoint is the acknowledgement of one's guilt, his repentance, and his return to the Lord!
We find this confirmed all over the bible ex. Hosea 6:6 “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” Please see below for a more complete list of passages.
Furthermore, sacrifice only atoned for accidental sin, not intentional sins (Lev 4:1-2, and Num 15:24-31). The difference is maybe something like going to a barber, falling asleep, and waking up to find the barber shaved off your beard, and you're really sorry, versus shaving it off yourself in the full knowledge you shouldn't have done that.
The Passover sacrifice equated to Jesus (1 Cor 5:7) is unrelated to sin and atonement, and not mentioned as part of any sacrificial system for sin, but rather as a symbol for freedom from Egypt
Sacrifice was not the only method to atone for sin. (Psalm 40:7 or 6 in some versions) (which was contradicted or mistranslated in Hebrews 10:5). Not only do the below verses provide examples of sin being atoned for without sacrifice, but the town of Nineveh and the story of Esther give us two concrete stories in the Old Testament where sins are forgiven, even en-masse, without an atoning sacrifice.
Proverbs contains many such statements of righteousness and repentance. Some are in this article but the following are brought to show the wealth of sources available in the bible.
There's more, but this isn't intended to be an exhaustive list, just a reasonably comprehensive one, to show the bible is clear on the matter.
13 And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.2 Samuel 12:13 (KJV)
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 My sacrifice, O God, is[a] a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. 18 May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.Psalms 51:16-19 (NIV)
6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.Hosea 6:6
Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. 2 Take words with you and return to the Lord; say to him, “Take away all guilt; accept that which is good, and we will offer the fruit of our lips.Hosea 14:1-2
Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.Psalms 40:6
22 And Samuel said,
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obedience to the voice of the Lord?
Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to heed than the fat of rams.1 Samuel 15:22
6 “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers 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 mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?Micah 6:6-8 (KJV)
21 But if the wicked turn away from all their sins that they have committed and keep all my statutes and do what is lawful and right, they shall surely live; they shall not die. 22 None of the transgressions that they have committed shall be remembered against them; for the righteousness that they have done they shall live. 23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather that they should turn from their ways and live?Ezekiel 18:21-23
The above is so important it is repeated twice in Ezekiel:
10 Now you, mortal, say to the house of Israel, Thus you have said: “Our transgressions and our sins weigh upon us, and we waste away because of them; how then can we live?” 11 Say to them, As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways… 15 if the wicked restore the pledge, give back what they have taken by robbery, and walk in the statutes of life, committing no iniquity—they shall surely live, they shall not die. 16 None of the sins that they have committed shall be remembered against them; they have done what is lawful and right, they shall surely live.Ezekiel 33:10-11, 15-16
6 By loyalty and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the Lord one avoids evil. Proverbs 16:6
5 For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, 7 then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever.Jeremiah 7:5-7
I'll give this a separate section for two important reasons. One, the examples against sacrifice being required for forgiveness are so numerous that without categorizing them they become difficult to review in one place. Secondly because to a certain extent, they are more authoritative than others. A claim can be made for example, as in fact one Christian has made to me in serious debate, that the Prophets and so forth are not as authoritative as God, so God would still need to have said his will at some point. For example many Christians believe it is impossible to keep the law now that the second Temple has been destroyed. Besides the obvious illogicality of this* consider the following standard response to the argument that “we cannot keep the law of sacrifices because the temple has been destroyed”;
*(One may ask, how did the Jews keep the law before they built the temple, what about the period between Jesus' execution and the destruction of the Temple, etc.)
When Solomon constructed the temple, he then said to the people,
46 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near;
47 Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness;
48 And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name:
49 Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause,
50 And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them: 1 Kings 8:46-53
In response to this rebuttal one Christian had the gall to ask “Is Solomon God?” and attack the credibility of the theology in 1 Kings 8. However, as bold as it is, it is somewhat valid. after all the case cam be made that since Solomon is in fact not God, he may in fact have added to or removed from the Law. So, without further ado, here are some of the Levitical laws regarding forgiveness which he may have been referring to.
This is also supported by Levitical Law in the five books of Moses:
40 “‘But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors—their unfaithfulness and their hostility toward me, 41 which made me hostile toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled and they pay for their sin, 42 I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. 43 For the land will be deserted by them and will enjoy its sabbaths while it lies desolate without them. They will pay for their sins because they rejected my laws and abhorred my decrees. 44 Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or abhor them so as to destroy them completely, breaking my covenant with them. I am the Lord their God. 45 But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the Lord.’”Leviticus 26:40-45 (NIV; emphasis mine)
In response to this one Christian stated to me that this does not explicitly state sacrifices are not required. He then claimed that sacrifice was an integral component alongside repentance. This is an interesting idea but it is wrong because it goes against the scriptures:
22 For in the day that I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to them or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23 But this command I gave them, “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk only in the way that I command you, so that it may be well with you.”Jeremiah 7:22-23
Further, God indicts anyone who claims that the Temple is required in order to keep the law:
7 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah, you that enter these gates to worship the Lord. 3 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and let me dwell with you[a] in this place. 4 Do not trust in these deceptive words: “This is[b] the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.”Jeremiah 7:1-4
Thus the idea is dismissed on multiple grounds.
3 To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice. Proverbs 21:3
27 Therefore, O king, may my counsel be acceptable to you: atone for your sins with righteousness, and your iniquities with mercy to the oppressed, so that your prosperity may be prolonged.”Daniel 4:27
God says over and over again in the old testament that a sacrifice is, in fact, not required. Furthermore, vicarious atonement is explicitly forbidden in the holy scriptures – ex. Ezekiel 18:1-4,19-32 (as well as 'more verses' above).
Unfortunately this conclusion stands in direct contradiction to Hebrews 9:22, II Cor 5:21, (and others).
My speculation on how this happened, is that Christians failed to consider how Judaism reacted in the wake of the diaspora and exilic periods between temples, and in turn created an untenable, contradictory foundation.
Let us close with an abridged reading of Psalm 51.
There are many passages here which concurr. Here is one more: When Moses prayed to God and asked for forgiveness, God relented and said, “I have forgiven them according to your words” (Numbers 14:20).
No ancillary process; do not detract from the law; but then the onus goes to eternal/salt covenant vs. requirement or not of sacrifice; sacrifice being only merely one aspect or one law; ourt problem is we were told a part of the underlying spiritual currency of it; many laws we do not understand; the secret things of the lord, only given so we can fulfill commandments. fulfilling it is the salt/eternal onus so the req. is not requirte sacrifice or not require sacrifice BUT can it be fulfilled/the need or not for it to be fulfilled (and it's never required, see lev 26, etc. )
“It's not ancillary, and it's not talmudic” – leviticus 26 – this is why they expected the messiah to save them from rome – because they wanted to return to the lord and to the land of israel (lev 26, etc)