#199: Yom Kippur!!!

"Yom Kippur! Yom Kippur!! Yom Kippur!!!" shouted the children with glee as they raced towards me. I was under my fig tree after just reciting the Shema Yisrael for the evening sacrifice. "Rabbi, we have come to learn about Yom Kippur. We love hearing your stories." cried the children. "Okay children. Gather round. But first, I must get some water and a towel to wash your feet and some bread to eat while you listen to me." The children were dazzled as it was not customary for Rabbis to wash the feet of their disciples; nevertheless, if that was a condition to listen to my esteemed stories, they were ready to act along.

I began my story, "The 10th day of the Jewish month of Tishri (September or October in the Gregorian calendar) is the Day of Atonement. You know, the day everyone gets to transfer their sins onto something else (usually animals though) and they are taken away from them and they become purified. But why Atonement?

As we all know the God of Israel is the most Holy and righteous God and He despises sin. We also know that we (the children of Israel) have a track record of rebellion. Our sins were constantly defiling. He even referred to us as stiff-necked people (Ex.32:8). For the sake of our purification and redemption, this arrangement - the atonement was made.

This happened once every year and at this time, the population of the temple usually soared. Of course, we all wanted to be cleansed of every unrighteousness.

It is a 10-day period of introspection and repentance that began with Rosh Hashanah (to celebrate the beginning of the year) which culminates in a 25 hour fast into the Day of Atonement.

Tomorrow, we will celebrate Yom Kippur, the Sabbath of all Sabbaths. Every Jew knows that on this day, God decides the fate of each person and so we are taught and encouraged to make amends and ask forgiveness for the sins committed in the past year.

Come to think of it, it was going to be unbearable if everyone bore the consequences of their sins. Everyone's sin needed to be atoned for. This was a very important ceremony that needed to be carried out with precision and accuracy, according to God's instructions. Imagine if every man got what they deserved for their sins, the population of mankind would have been reduced to nothing. There was need for a substitute, hence the use of animals. The sin of the people was placed on the animal and it was driven out of the camp to signify the expulsion of their sins from their lives. This was the sin offering. Another animal would then be killed, the blood sprinkled around for cleansing and purification and the flesh offered as a sacrifice. This was the burnt offering (Lev.16). This was a covenant between God and His people.

As you are well aware, it is a few months since the Passover. This Passover was not a regular Passover. After the Passover two years ago, when the people started returning to their normal activities, feeling all renewed. That cool evening as I took my regular stroll, something felt different. I always take walks around my neighbourhood in Jerusalem to clear my head and meditate. My evening walks have birthed so many answers and solutions that cracked several cases. You know, I am a member of the Sanhedrin (the supreme court of Israel), a Pharisee, well learned, a scholar per excellence. At the age of 15, I had known and memorized the Torah inside out and could quote the prophets any time, any day. I am the pride of this generation - the great Nicodemus. At 69, I was still the most brilliant of them all. But this time, I couldn't place my hand on things. My thoughts were in absolute chaos.

As Pharisees, we observe strict adherence to the mosaic law and serve as checks and balances for the people. We know the prophecies, and laws and are prepared to identify the Messiah whenever he comes, or so we thought...

But who exactly was this man with extreme teachings and who even performed miracles. The whole town talked about Him. For decades now, we had tried to maintain our religion as Jews and also help people connect with their spirituality, resisting the influence of the Roman Empire (the Greek) on our culture. So anyone who came with strange teachings was put out so as not to confuse the people and maintain order. But this One was different.

As I continued, lost in thought, I sighted a man seated on a rooftop. The streets were supposed to be empty by this time. I hid beside a wall and tried to get a closer look to find out who He was. Ahh... That was Him. This was the man that had thrown my thoughts into a sea of chaos. This was Jesus on the rooftop. Already, my colleagues confronted Him and His disciples on why they were not observing the fast and as usual, He gave strange answers (Mark 2:18-20). Maybe I could get to discover who this person really was.

Soon I found a veil on a drying rope and used it as a disguise. I couldn't risk being identified by anyone, especially my colleagues, the Pharisees. I climbed up to the rooftop. I had never been this nervous. Wondering how to address Him, I settled for "RABBI". Jesus smiled at me as if He knew exactly what was in my heart.

All I wanted was to find out who Jesus really was but I was asked to be born again (John 3:1-21). How incomprehensible.

Soon, the conversation was over. I left Jesus' presence with my questions increasing exponentially. Deep within me, I wondered whether I believed in Jesus or not.

Now, two years on, the case between Jesus, 'THE KING OF THE JEWS' and the state still lingered in the Sanhedrin court. In fact, this was the biggest case ever. On this day, there was a mighty uproar in and around the temple and He (Jesus) was supposed to receive His verdict.

We gathered once again at the Hall of the Hewn stones in the temple of Jerusalem. Usually, I was at the forefront when verdicts are to be pronounced but this time, I hid among the people. Just like that, Jesus was sentenced to death on the cross. It felt like cold water running down my spine. Something in me believed Jesus was the Messiah we had been waiting for. I found myself in between confusion and conviction.

I watched every torture until Jesus was hung on the cross. My heart broke into a thousand pieces as I trembled. It was then I realised everything from my meeting with Jesus. Light began to shine on my intense confusion. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent, so was Jesus lifted up on the cross. It came to pass as Jesus had said it during my meeting with Him. He was led out of the city like the scapegoat for the sin offering.

Why would a man sacrifice himself like this? Every strange occurrence in Jesus' death pointed me straight to the answer I was looking for all my life. Jesus was the Messiah I had spent my life preparing so hard to identify.

This wasn't just any kind of death. It was a sacrifice. Even the animals used during Yom Kippur were not tortured this way, still, Jesus asked the Father to forgive us. Isaiah spoke about Jesus when he said;

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all (Isaiah 53:6). He took on every sin, pain and shame of mankind. He became our sin bearer. This was a new covenant.

So you see, my realisation was beyond the ordinary. It wasn't just that I failed to identify and recognise Jesus as Messiah but that I saw the weight and gravity of Jesus' sacrifice and the extent God went in giving up His only Son to redeem His people.

God's intention with the sacrificial system in lev.16 was never the ultimate answer for the sins of mankind but a temporary covering for sins till the worthy sacrifice - the One who would come and offer his life as the ultimate and final sacrifice for sin. With the animals, there was the need for constant renewal of the sacrifice but every blood that trickled down Jesus' body as He hung on the cross became a permanent solution for the sins of man and by the power of this sacrificial blood, everyone's sin is taken away.

After the death of Jesus during Passover, I have been writing out my thoughts. I plan to circulate it to all the Jews. I will call it 'the letter to the Hebrews'. In a certain section, I wrote that God was never pleased with the animal sacrifices, though it was required in the laws of Moses as a covenant between God and His people. The moment Jesus accepted to be the sacrifice, the first covenant was cancelled, to put the new one into effect (Hebrews 10:4-18).

and with that God says, 'I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds' (vs.17)

So when sins have been forgiven, it is mission accomplished! Christ became our atonement sacrifice.

There was silence everywhere. The children had barely bitten their loaf. These words were heavy on their heart. I did not know what else to say. We all sat in silence under the fig tree as we watched the sunset...

written by Hephzibah Tolu