What New Testament connections can be made to the sacrificial system in Exodus 29:14? Setting the Scene • Exodus 29:14 – “But the flesh of the bull and its hide and its dung, you are to burn outside the camp. It is a sin offering.” • The bull is the inaugural sin offering for Aaron’s ordination. Its blood purifies the altar; its carcass is removed from the camp because sin is never left in God’s dwelling place. Key Themes in the Exodus Text • Sin offering: substitutes die so sinners may live. • Total removal: the defiled carcass is burned where God’s people dwell no longer. • Priestly consecration: the sacrifice inaugurates a priesthood that will mediate for Israel. New Testament Echoes 1. Jesus suffers “outside the camp” • Hebrews 13:11-13 – “For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places… are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to sanctify the people by His own blood. Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach.” • Physical parallel: Golgotha lay beyond Jerusalem’s walls (John 19:17-20). • Theological parallel: as the bull’s carcass carried sin away, Christ carried our sin outside the covenant community so the dwelling of God (His people) remains holy. 2. Christ as the ultimate sin offering • 2 Corinthians 5:21 – “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” • Romans 8:3 – “God… sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin; He condemned sin in the flesh.” • Hebrews 10:4-14 – animal sacrifices could never perfect; Jesus’ once-for-all offering does. 3. A consecrated priesthood emerges • Exodus 29’s goal is priestly ordination; the New Covenant yields a royal priesthood: – 1 Peter 2:5 – “you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” – Revelation 1:5-6 – He “has freed us from our sins by His blood, and has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father.” • Our priestly status is secured by the greater sin offering outside the camp. Why “Outside the Camp” Matters • Separation: Sin is expelled from God’s dwelling; Christ bears exile so we enjoy access. • Identification: Joining Jesus “outside the camp” means sharing His reproach yet belonging to His redeemed community. • Purity: God’s presence remains undefiled because sin and impurity have been decisively removed through the cross. Summary Connections • Exodus 29:14’s bull foreshadows Christ—both are sin offerings, both remove guilt beyond the camp. • The burning carcass anticipates the complete judgment Jesus absorbs. • The ritual that made Aaron’s sons priests prefigures the sacrifice that makes believers priests forever. |
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