Leviticus - The Fulfillment of the Law

This entry is in the series of Thirty-Nine Reasons Jesus Came to Die, concerning the Book of Leviticus.

The book of Leviticus is exceedingly detailed in giving the laws of God; this is especially important for us because it shows us how holy and righteous God is, that he is intimately concerned with matters of morality and ceremony. He is not a God who can be worshipped in any way, and he is not a God whom can be in fellowship with sin.

For this reason the book of Leviticus is one of the most crushing books of the Bible, it shows mankind how unrighteous they are, and how righteous God is; mankind's sin has made a separation between him and God. This book, while containing viable and useful means for understanding man's role in the Mosaic Covenant, is much more relevant in pointing us to Jesus Christ.

The New Testament tells us that we "have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth" and that Jesus Christ is the "end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." (Romans 2:20, 10:4) He himself declared, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (Matthew 5:17)

The Bible tells us that sin is transgression against the law (1 John 3:4), this law is almost exclusively contained in the book of Leviticus, Jesus Christ was impeccable in keeping the law, as the Bible says that Jesus is, "one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15) He was baptized for the reason that, "it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." (Matthew 3:15)

In the book of Leviticus we see our Saviour as the perfect fulfillment of the law, fulfilling the conditional parts of the Covenant so that we are found righteous in him, justified in our faith, for as it is written, "the righteous shall live by faith." (Romans 1:17)