Yom Kippur Service 2019

Automated transcript, lightly edited for readability. Scripture appears as spoken; the video is the authoritative teaching.

Do you ever find yourself searching for something bigger than you? For a community to be a part of? A place founded on truth and love? A place to worship the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, and the Son of God? Welcome to Founded in Truth, where we're more than just a fellowship. We're a family. So welcome home. Shalom, and welcome to a very special message today to commemorate a day that is considered by many as the most holy, most set-apart day of the year: Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, also known as the Day of Purgation, the Day of Purging. We've chosen to livestream this year due to the obvious circumstances, but also because we didn't want to exclude anybody from participating, especially in this event.

Tonight will be a bit different, as we're going to incorporate a type of service that hopefully you'll be edified by, as well as a teaching message about the depth of the day itself. But more importantly, we're going to talk about why this day is important for believers in Jesus, or believers in Yeshua. So please join me as we begin in prayer. Avinu Malkinu, our Father, our King. Father, we thank you for this opportunity to come together around your holy day, to be reminded once again of the greatness of your mercy and of your love in regards to your forgiveness and atoning sacrifice through your Son, Yeshua.

We ask that tonight you would prick our hearts and that we would be reminded of areas that we need to address and we need to change, and that you would give us the strength to acknowledge those areas and do just that. We thank you. In the name of Yeshua, we pray. Amen.

What Yom Kippur Really Does

Yom Kippur is kind of a big pinnacle as far as the religious calendar in ancient Israel. Details surrounding it are found in the middle of Leviticus, in chapter 16. And it was a central day where the sins, the transgressions, and the iniquities of Israel were purged from God's sight and purged from the inner sanctuary. Many assume this day was simply about forgiving sins of the people, and it was very much so. But practically, the function behind Yom Kippur was not necessarily to simply forgive the people, but to actually cleanse the tabernacle of the sort of metaphysical residue that was believed to be left behind as a result of the people's transgressions against God. That's exactly what Leviticus says the function of the day is: "In this way we will make atonement for the most holy place because of the uncleanliness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been." So the purpose of the day was to cleanse and make atonement for the holy place, not necessarily the people.

Three Shrines, Three Altars

See, in the tabernacle there were three areas of graded holiness, as well as three shrines, or you could call them three altars, where blood offerings or blood was applied. The first was, of course, in the outer court outside. It was the brazen altar, and the majority of the offerings were burnt here. But whenever an Israelite accidentally sinned, they would bring a goat and its blood would be applied to the corners of the altar, just as Leviticus chapter 4 says. The next sacred area as you move into the temple or the tabernacle was the holy place. This is where the candelabra, the memnor was found, the table of showbread, the altar of incense.

This is where the second altar is found. In the Torah, in Leviticus 4, it says whenever a king or a priest or a community leader accidentally sinned, it had a greater impact because of their status. And so they would bring a sin offering. They wouldn't bring a goat. They would actually bring a bull, a bigger sin offering. And its blood would be applied to that altar. You see, in Leviticus, blood tends to represent a type of detergent, a type of conduit, if you will. It's symbolic of a conduit that removed the blemish or the stain of sin. The idea is that because of the close proximity and relationship between Israel and the tabernacle, Israel's sin would actually tarnish the house of God. So the blood was brought to remove it, to cleanse it, purge it.

And what's interesting is there was one more holy place that included a shrine, and you could call it an altar as well, and that place was inside the holiest of holies. It was behind this veil. Of course, in the later temple, it was behind two veils. And this is the place where the Ark of the Covenant sat. No one was ever allowed to go beyond this veil, except on this one day of the year.

The Elaborate Service

The high priest would remove his priestly garments and wear all white to humble himself, and this elaborate service would commence. It would include several animals, but mainly a bull and two goats, one which would be selected randomly to be slaughtered, and the other one would be involved in this very strange ceremony where it's actually let free, and we'll talk about that in a minute. The high priest would go beyond the veil. He would take with him some coals from the altar outside and a very specific portion of incense, and he would light it and fill this holy place with a cloud of incense smoke, if you will. Then he would take the blood of the bull and sprinkle it on the ark for the intentional sins and transgressions of the priesthood.

Then he would go in again with the blood of the goat that was selected to be slaughtered, and he'd sprinkle its blood on the Ark of the Covenant to purge the intentional transgressions, the sins of God's people from his throne room, if you will. He would then leave the holiest of holies, going backwards into the holy place and sprinkle the blood on the altar of incense, moving outward into the courtyard where the blood mixture was sprinkled on the brazen altar. The blood is purging from the inside out and moving out. It's kind of like when you mop your house, you always start in the inner side and move your way out to cleanse. This is why this was done this way.

The Scapegoat and Confession

What's interesting is what takes place right after this. He would then go over to this other goat that was chosen, that was left alive, and he would take both of his hands and lay it on the goat's head. And as if somehow the blood made the high priest the vehicle for all of the sins and transgressions of Israel taken from the holy place, the high priest confesses them over the living goat. It's an extremely fascinating cultic response to the problem of sin and its relationship with God's house, God's throne, the temple or tabernacle.

The Torah then has a command. It says that the goat or the scapegoat be led away from the city and ran off into the wilderness never to be seen again. On this day in ancient Israel, all of Israel reflected on the past year—the areas of struggle that they dealt with, whether or not they had actually forgiven people that had caused offense.

Afflicting Our Souls

On this day, the ancient Israelites fasted the entire day to afflict their soul based on Leviticus . This was the day that God provided a way for sin and transgression not to get in the way of his love and devotion for his people. That's what the heart of the day is about, and it's beautiful. The high priest was allowed to intimately cleanse the intersection of heaven and earth, which is the Ark of the Covenant, which is the holiest of holies. That's why we fast. The command for how the ancient Israelites kept this day that we also celebrate or partake in is in Leviticus 23, starting in verse 26: "Those who do not deny themselves on that day must be cut off from their people.

They're intentionally not stepping into the day and participating. I will destroy from among their people anyone who does any work on that day. You shall do no work at all. This shall be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come wherever you live." So here the Torah instructs the covenant believers to afflict their souls, or deny themselves. It's another way of saying to fast. Refrain from eating or drinking anything. We see Yom Kippur actually mentioned in regards to this attribute in the New Testament in Acts 27:9, where it's just called the fast. It's what they were referring to. It's a day to reflect, pray, and humble yourself.

It is a Sabbath, but it's not simply a Sabbath. It's called a Sabbath of Sabbaths in the Hebrew text here. A Sabbath when we experience a peace of the divine eternal rest of God. And in Leviticus 23, this day is called Shabbat Shabbaton. It's a Sabbath of Sabbaths. It's a day of mercy. And it's a day where we're given the opportunity to stand before a God of grace, a God of mercy, and say, "Purge my sin from your sight, my King. Forgive me and have mercy."

A Day of Both Awe and Joy

But this day was not simply a day of solemn attitude and piety. Many times we look at this and we just picture the entire day being just silence and focusing and the high priest going in and out and the slaughter that happened and the blood that's being sprinkled and the scapegoat that's being run off. But this day was also a day of joy, and it was celebrated. And I know some people, when they hear me say that, are like, "Joy? No. How can we have joy when we don't eat? I mean, that's just not a day of joy. It was solemn. We pray with devotion. We pray liturgy. We fast." Well, the thing is, in the Mishnah, a second century Jewish text about the operations of the temple itself, it makes mention of this day being one of the most joyous days in Israel.

And if you've ever celebrated Yom Kippur, like I said, that may shock you. No, this is the day where we show reverence of our fear of God. But it's also a day to celebrate the goodness of our God's reign. And here's what it says in this Jewish discussion, the Jewish Mishnah. In Ta'anit section 4, it says: "Rabbi Shimon ben Gamaliel said, There are no days of joy in Israel greater than the 15th of Av and Yom Kippur." On these days, the daughters of Jerusalem would go out in borrowed white garments in order not to shame anyone who didn't have any. All of these garments required immersion. The daughters of Jerusalem would come out and they danced in the vineyards on this day.

Then he has a little note here: they would dance to draw the attention of a husband. You're sitting here trying to fast and pray and be serious on this day, right? In ancient Israel. And here comes these pretty girls dancing all over the vineyards. And I find that humorous because it's like, wait, it's time to get married. Let's find a wife.

The Day of Joy

It was a day of joy because forgiveness engulfed a people so much so that it sparked dancing and marriage. Let me put it this way. In ancient Jewish thought, marriage was the result of the forgiveness of sins, right? It was a day when the character and essence of our God's heart is memorialized and it's being revealed. It's the day when our God says, remember, I love you and I will always make a way for you to return to me. No matter what you've done, no matter where you've been, no matter, my arms are always open. If you remember, about a year ago, we did a message about Jesus and the Sabbath and we spoke about the Sabbath ethic first, and how it's more than just a day of not working.

It's a lifestyle that celebrates the sovereignty of our God. We spoke of how the weekly Sabbath celebrated is actually a type of mini Passover. That's what Deuteronomy says. It's a day where we relive the Passover, the story where we're set free from slavery and we rest in his reign. It reminds us that we're no longer slaves and we're not to enslave anyone else. Of course, the annual Sabbath— every seven years—reminds us of God's mercy as it falls upon creation. Then, of course, there is the Jubilee year. Every seven sabbatical years, every 50 years, all slaves are redeemed. Land returns to its tribal owners. The entire economy is reset.

Yom Kippur and Jubilee

Yom Kippur carries with it such a weight and meaning that it was on this day that the Jubilee was declared every 50 years. Some would argue that it's on this day, according to Torah, that the year of Jubilee begins on Yom Kippur. It's pretty neat. Imagine being there and watching the high priest fulfill the workflow of Yom Kippur in and out, in and out, in and out, a total of three times in the temple. Then finally you see him walk forth from the holiest of holies, and he walks over to the living goat whose counterpart was slaughtered and whose blood was sprinkled in the holy place. And he places his hands on this goat, pronouncing and purging the transgressions and sins of Israel from the side of God and laying them on this goat.

And now imagine what it would have been like to see the goat being led out into the wilderness, never to be seen again. You stand there and you watch your sins be cast away from God's presence. Then you hear it. A shofar blast, a shofar blast, getting louder and louder and louder. Then the jubilee is ushered in as the conclusion of the purging of the sins before God. The climax of freedom and redemption is announced after the blood purges your sin. I think that's beautiful, especially as a believer in Yeshua. It's a reminder of what God has done through Yeshua. In my opinion, Yeshua gives Yom Kippur meaning.

When Yeshua is mentioned throughout the New Testament and the Gospel accounts, he's typically equated to an event in the Torah. Usually it's Passover, right? We hear, especially in John's account, and even Paul, it's the lamb that takes away the sin of the world. Or Paul, he is our Passover, our Pesach. And the reason why Yeshua is so often symbolically linked to the Pesach, or Passover, is because Passover is a festival of freedom. It was the Lamb's death that broke the shackles, that defeated Pharaoh and Egypt once and for all. Through the Lamb, we are no longer slaves, but we are made sons and daughters of the King.

Yeshua as Propitiation

But in Romans chapter 3, Paul actually makes mention of Yeshua, and instead of equating him to the Pesach or Passover event, he uses the language of Yom Kippur. In Romans chapter 3, starting in verse 23, he says, "...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in His divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. And it was to show his righteousness at the present time so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith and allegiance in Yeshua, in Jesus." And so we see that word, propitiation, and in Greek it's the word hilasterion.

It's translated as propitiation because it's easier than translating it and then having to explain what the word literally means. Literally, that word means the mercy seat. It's the concrete definition of hilasterium. The word Paul uses here is the Ark of the Covenant. Paul is saying that God put forth Yeshua as the very place where heaven intersected earth in the tabernacle. That's pretty neat. That's really neat. The mercy seat itself. The seat where mercy flows from. This is all Yom Kippur language that Paul is using here. And here Paul makes this bold claim. He says that God put forth Yeshua as the ark, as the place of atonement.

God put forth Yeshua as the place where mercy flows out from, the place where heaven meets earth, the place where God's mercy engulfs our sins and transgressions and iniquities. It is the place where we encounter God. And that's so bold. Remember when Moses went into the holy place, or the high priest went into the holy place, it says that God's glory spoke from above the mercy seat. And here Paul says, yeah, that's Yeshua. That's that. That place is only found in Yeshua.

The Eternal Atonement

The author of the book of Hebrews also uses Yom Kippur imagery to help us understand the power of what God has done through the person of Yeshua. In Hebrews, starting in chapter 9, verse 6, he says, "...when everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry out their ministry. But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that was only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins of the people who had committed in ignorance. But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, it is not part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves or bulls and goats, but he entered the most holy place once and for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption."

What the author of Hebrews is saying is that as Christians, when Yom Kippur arrives, it is appropriate for us to engage and remember not simply what the blood of the bull and the goat represented and functioned as in the temple, but rather, it's appropriate as Christians to engage in this day to remember and allow ourselves to be overwhelmed with what took place on the cross, on a hill, when the intersection of heaven and earth was interrupted by the grace and mercy and forgiveness of God. So for the next day, starting tonight, we fast, we pray, we reflect, and we decide, is there something that needs to change? And will I commit to changing it? Do not enter into this day thinking, holding on to the sins that have become so familiar with you. Accept mercy.

Accept what the blood does. Now is the time to do that, entering into this day. Psalm 32 3 has an almost condemning tone to it. It says, "...when I kept silent about my sin, when I pushed it down..." And I had become so familiar with it that I never even wanted it to come to the surface because I just wanted to keep it hidden and tight. And you know what? It's easier to live with than to deal with. It says, when I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. What a more appropriate time than now to leave it here and not take it into this day, not take it into the future. Acknowledge it, pull it forward, pull it out, and say, God, can you purge this too?

Letting Go

Maybe you're struggling with forgiveness. Maybe someone hurt you. Maybe someone offended you. Maybe someone did something. You don't have to carry that any longer. That's not only the message of Yom Kippur, that's the message of the cross that we have allegiance for. That's what tonight is about, through the lens of the cross, through the lens of Yeshua. Don't carry that into this day. How can we reflect and embrace and celebrate the joy of our sins being purged and mercy flowing out into all of creation when we hold that same sin, that same burden, that same hurt, that same pain, that same memory closer than we do Yeshua?

Yeshua says that you can only grab onto the forgiveness of God if you let go of unforgiveness. You can't hold both at the same time. So we have to come to a place when we encounter these things that we try to hold onto, which will it be? Philippians 1, 9-11 says, "It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, so be pure, be blameless for the day of Christ, the day of the King, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Yeshua the King, the Messiah, to the glory and praise of God." Guys, now's the time where we decide how we're going to walk out this day, how we're going to enter into this day.

Yeshua has brought full meaning to what Yom Kippur is. And it is a day where we have the opportunity to be reminded that we don't have to hold on to things anymore. We can let go of things. And this is also supposed to be a day of joy.

Letting Go and Finding Joy

In order to grab onto joy, sometimes you have to let go of other things. If you would like to find out more information about Yom Kippur, our friend Tyler Rosenquist has written a practical article on how to celebrate this day. The link to that article is in the description below of this video. And guys, we hope that this day would be a day of peace, a day of reflection, a day of meditation. We hope that you would be reminded of the act of God done through Yeshua today that changed creation, and that we too would find ourselves dancing in the joy of the Lord as we reflect on his mercy and grace that he has cleansed our sin from before his sight.

A Prayer of Gratitude

Avinu Malkinu, our Father, our King, we thank you for this opportunity to be reminded of this day of purging, to be reminded as believers of your Son what took place on the cross, to be reminded of the mercy seat and the power of what happens when mercy flows. We ask that the spirit that you have given to us would do its job, would prick our hearts, convict us of the things that we don't want to acknowledge in our lives so that we can move on, so that we can grow in your joy and be the true ambassadors and image bearers of your kingdom. In Yeshua's name we pray. Amen. Shalom. I'm Matthew Vanderels and I hope you enjoyed this message.

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