Close-up of a Jewish man in traditional clothing reading from the Torah.

The Relevance of Yom Kippur to Christians

September 25, 2023 will be Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement, the most awesome day of the Jewish year. For more than 3,000 years, Jewish people have observed this annual day of solemn reflection and repentance.

The date on the Jewish calendar is Tishri 10, the culmination of a ten day period beginning with Rosh Hashanah or the Biblical Festival of Trumpets. Although universally observed in Jewish communities, this holy day has undergone so many changes that it would be unrecognizable today by those Israelites to whom it was first given.

Yom Kippur in the past

Yom Kippur is the sixth in the cycle of seven annual festivals given to Israel at Mt. Sinai. The first four festivals (Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, and Pentecost) take place in the spring. The final three (Trumpets, Yom Kippur ,and Tabernacles) take place in early autumn and are known collectively as the “Fall Festivals.”  

Leviticus 16 describes the intricate details of Yom Kippur. After the High Priest offered sacrifices for himself and the other priests, he entered the Holy of Holies with some of the blood, along with incense and coals from the altar. The smoke from the burning incense hid the Ark of the Covenant from view as he sprinkled the blood on and in front of the Mercy Seat covering the Ark. He then went outside the Tabernacle and cast lots for two goats, killed the chosen goat as a sin offering for the people and again entered the Holy of Holies to sprinkle its blood on the Mercy Seat. He then went back to the outer court and laid both hands on the second goat, thus symbolizing the transfer of Israel’s sins. The High Priest then sent the goat, later called the “scapegoat” in English, into the wilderness.

The ancient Rabbinic texts refer to this livegoat as Azazel – a transliteration of its Hebrew name. The English Standard Version expresses Leviticus 16:8 in this way: “And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel.” The ancient Hebrews viewed this name as a title for Satan. Israel’s sins, already having been expiated by the first sacrificedgoat, were then symbolically carried by the live goat to Satan in the wilderness as evidence that he had no cause to accuse Israel.

Another custom observed in the Second Temple Period was that after the priests led the live goat away, it would be pushed over a cliff to its death a few miles south of Jerusalem. This custom probably arose to avoid the perplexing problem of what to do if the live goat wandered back from the Wilderness! 

Yom Kippur in the Present

With the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, this elaborate Yom Kippur observance became impossible to observe, since there was no Temple and no Holy of Holies and no priesthood! To rescue this and other customs so clearly tied to the Temple, the rabbis instituted radical changes in their observance. Yohanan ben Zakkai, a first-century Jewish leader, declared that God no longer desired blood sacrifices but now accepted repentance, charity, and prayer. On this basis, Yom Kippur was transformed into a solemn day of introspection, prayer, and fasting.

Yom Kippur is the one day of the year when Jews observe a complete fast from sundown to sundown. The Bible actually does not clearly command this commonly accepted practice on Yom Kippur. Leviticus 16:29 says, “And it shall be a statute to you forever that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict yourselves and shall do no work, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you.” The rabbis interpreted the phrase “afflict yourselves” or literally, “afflict your souls,” as a command to fast. Even the most secular Jewish person often participates in this solemn day by not working and many follow the fast out of tradition.

The service in the synagogue begins at sundown and continues with an extensive liturgy and prayers for forgiveness. The Book of Jonah is read in the service, since the Ninevites fasted and repented as a result of his preaching (Jon. 3:5-10). With all of its solemnity and ritual, the observance of Yom Kippur does not result in any solid assurance that sins have been forgiven.

Yom Kippur for Believers

The reason why the Day of Atonement could never provide a lasting answer to the problem of sin lies in the simple fact that the ritual had to be repeated year after year. The Epistle to the Hebrews deals in detail with the practice of the Jewish sacrifices in light of the one sacrifice provided by the Messiah. The writer eloquently stated the problem of Yom Kippur in this way:

For the law, having a shadow of good things to come and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make those who come to it perfect” (Heb. 10:1).

The writer also knew that the sin question had to be solved, and he explains that the Messiah’s work of atonement solved it.

“For Christ has entered…into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb. 9:24-26).

The Messiah came to put away sins once for all. Insodoing, He opened the approach to the Father whereby all may come by faith and be acceptable to Him. “And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb. 10:10).

©2023 William Varner. Used with permission.

About The Author

Will Varner
William Varner

William Varner teaches at The Master’s University and is a pastor/teacher at Grace Baptist Church in Santa Clarita, Calif. He has written twenty books, including Passionate About the Passion Week: A Fresh Look at Jesus’ Last Days (Fontes Press, 2020).

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