When is Yom Kippur next year? It is always on the seventh day of the tenth month of the Hebrew calendar. Like Easter for Christians, it is a moving target on our Gregorian Calendar. So this year it will be October 4-5. We remember it as a sacred day in Judaism. Historically, it marked the day Moses received the second set of the ten commandments. In Leviticus 16, we learn how the high priest and Israel were to celebrate this day. Christian friends of mine keep up with this day every year.
Here is the background of the celebration. Aaron was not to come lightly to the mercy seat in the Holy of Holies. Instead, he was to prepare himself by denying himself, by cleansing himself, and by bringing offerings to the Lord. A bull was sacrificed and the blood sprinkled to make atonement for sins. On that day a scapegoat was given the sins of the people and released into the wilderness. The day of atonement was a day when the people of God found forgiveness for their sins. In the Jewish calendar it remains a sacred day. Certainly, the early Christians who came out of Judaism kept this day as sacred remembering God’s mighty acts. But the Gentile believers did not share that history, so as Christianity spread, fewer and fewer Christians identified with the Jewish festivals. Paul even prohibited the early believers from making such days mandatory in his letters to the Colossians (2:16-17) and Galatians (4:9-11). He was concerned that their return to the Hebrew festival days effectively nullified their trust in Christ’s once and for all sacrifice.
What about us today? Are we bound to keep Yom Kippur as a sacred festival? Going back to these practices would not make us more spiritual. Remember, Jesus said he did not come to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfill them or fill them full (Matthew 5:17). How did Jesus fulfill Yom Kippur? Jesus, himself, became the sacrifice for sins. We still need atonement with God. Thankfully, Jesus made that atonement for us, once and for all. Romans 3:25 says “God presented Christ as the sacrifice of atonement.” Hebrews 9:12 says, “Christ our high priest did not enter by means of the blood of goats and claves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood thus obtaining eternal redemption.” Again, in Hebrews 10:14, “For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” I John 2:2 says Christ “is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” He is our high priest who entered the Holy of Holies once and for all. Right now, Jesus lives to make intercession for us.
Good news. We no longer need a goat or a bull. Christ took our sins upon himself. So, the symbolism of the day of atonement was literally fulfilled by Christ’s death on the cross. For this reason, we do not need to keep the Day of Atonement in a literal sense. It is a good day to remember Christ’s once and for all sacrifice. It is also a good way to connect with Jewish friends because we understand the symbolism in hopes that they, too, may come to know Christ the Messiah. The writer of Hebrews makes clear that the days of offering sacrifices of animals to symbolize forgiveness of sins are over. Christ did it once and for all. I love the words of the hymn, “Once and for all, oh sinner receive it; once and for all, oh brother believe it. Free from the law and free from the fall. Christ has redeemed us once and for all.” When is Yom Kippur? Today is our Yom Kippur. Every day is our Yom Kippur. We should definitely celebrate!
