Troublesome Topic: JESUS TERMINATED ALL THE OLD TESTAMENT SACRIFICES

In Matthew chapter 24 Jesus made a clear and compelling case for how the destruction of the temple and the elimination of its sacrificial system would be one of the two powerful confirmations that He was indeed the Messiah. The confirming sign became a reality in AD 70 when the Romans destroyed the temple in Jerusalem. See my study lesson called THE END OF WHICH AGE? for more about how this topic fits with the rest of Matthew 24. A discussion of why the confirmation did not come till 40 years after Jesus left the earth is found in my lesson dealing with the other powerful confirmation; it is called EVANGELIZATION MARKED THE COMPLETION OF AN AGE – BUT WHICH AGE?.

Why did the confirmation take 40 years?

A gap of 40 years probably made more sense to the people of that time than it does to us. 40 years was considered a symbol of completeness because it pointed to the passing of a full generation. Here is something else to consider – in the decades prior to Jesus there had been many people who claimed to be the Messiah, and there were many more that came after Him who made the same claim. However, their impact, their legacy and their accomplishments did not live on after them. This was one proof that they were frauds. In Acts chapter five we read how the great Jewish leader Gamaliel expressed this same opinion when he advised his fellow Sanhedrin members to wait and see what the legacy of Jesus would be. He mentioned two upstarts whose efforts had ended in nothing. Then he said, “if this plan or this work is of man, it will end in ruin” (Acts 5:38).

In their minds waiting to see if the impact still carried on after 40 years had passed made perfect sense. By placing the confirmation of His work 40 years away, and by making it something as climactic as the destruction of the temple with its system of sacrifices, the confirmation was undeniable. Also, what He accomplished and what that meant for the souls of mankind was confirmed as people from every known race, living in every part of the known world, embraced it and followed it, often at risk of their lives.

Look at what Jesus did regarding the covenantal relationship between God and man. He established a new covenant with His own blood, He supplied the only efficacious sacrifice, and He eliminated the sacrifices that were still going on according to the previous covenant, leaving the sacrifice of His life as the only one available and the only one that is needed. With Jesus’ death, resurrection, ascension, and the confirmation that came 40 years later, His redemptive work was complete; nothing was missing. What God does, He does well.

The next lesson in the Full Series on Covenants is: JESUS FULFILLED THE OLD TESTAMENT EMPHASIS ON WATER AND BLOOD

The next lesson in the Midsize and Short series on Covenants is: A New Perspective on the Curse of Death