When researching the main theme of Leviticus it seems the majority of pastors and scholars feel that it is "sanctification" and I believe they are correct. Now that the tabernacle has been constructed, there is a place where the Israelites can meet with the Lord and where they can bring the appropriate offerings and substitutionary sacrifices to the Lord. While salvation is indeed by faith, that faith must be based on belief in the ability of the Lord to forgive sins and sanctify the sinner, and on what basis does He sanctify the sinner? On the basis of a substitutionary sacrifice, for, "Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." (Hebrews 9:22)
In the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, the sins of man were symbolically transferred to the animals that were serving as stand ins for man. God didn't want to wipe human beings from the earth for their continual waywardness and idolatry, so He chose substitutes to stand in for them. God Himself will specify what constitutes an acceptable sacrifice. In the same way, in the New Testament we find the sins of man being transferred to Christ (and it would appear this transfer is both symbolic and literal; see 2 Corinthians 5:21) and this sacrifice is so wholly acceptable to God that it is sufficient forever for anyone who places their trust in Christ.
Now that the tabernacle is complete, the Lord can give the laws regarding the sacrifices and offerings that are to be brought to the tabernacle. This is where we begin today in Chapter One of Leviticus, with the Lord speaking of animal sacrifices.
"The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting. He said, 'Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'When anyone among you brings an offering to the Lord, bring as your offering an animal from either the herd or the flock. If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, you are to offer a male without defect. You must present it at the entrance to the tent of meeting so that it will be acceptable to the Lord." (Leviticus 1:1-3) A person had to bring the best to the Lord. It would have been tempting to offer an animal from the flock or herd that had something wrong with it since it would have had little value to the man who owned it. But then it would not have been a "sacrifice" and the very nature of a sacrifice is that it must cost something. God the Father, when providing for us a perfect and eternal sacrifice, chose the best He had, didn't He? He chose His own Son, a "male without defect", as the law requires in verse 3 above. The blood of His own Son was shed for us, "the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect". (1 Peter 1:19) God selected the perfect Lamb for our atonement, the Lord Jesus Christ, about whom John the Baptist testified when he saw Him coming down to the Jordan River, saying, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)
Also in verse 3 we learn that before the animal could be sacrificed it had to be presented at the entrance to the tent of meeting. This symbolizes the Lord inspecting the animal and finding it acceptable as an offering. On the Lord's behalf, the animal would be inspected by the priests to make certain it had no diseases or disabilities. If the priests found anything wrong with the animal they would reject it and the person had to take it home and bring back another in its place.
The Lord Jesus Christ was also presented to God the Father at the temple on many occasions. Whenever Jesus was in Jerusalem we find Him teaching at the temple. Whenever He is teaching we find Him being examined (questioned) by the priests and the teachers of the law. We find Him being inspected (scrutinized closely) by the priests and teachers of the law whenever He is doing or saying anything at the temple or anywhere else. The Lord Jesus was watched more closely than any celebrity or politician has ever been watched by the paparazzi or the media and yet no sin was ever observed by anyone. No expert of the law was ever able to successfully debate Him. No investigator was ever able to dig up any dirt on Him. He was never caught in a lie (because He never told a lie) and no skeletons ever fell out of His closet (because none were there) and no fault was ever found in Him---not by those who lived and worked the most closely with Him and not by those who desperately wanted to find something...anything!....wrong with Him. Not even the wicked, idolatrous, anti-Semitic Pontius Pilate found anything to object to in this Jewish man from Nazareth, making the public statement at His trial, "I find no fault in Him." (Luke 23:4, John 19:4)
Now we move on to Leviticus 1:4. "You are to lay your hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on your behalf to make atonement for you." After a man selected the best male of his flock, and after he presented this stand in at the entrance to the tent of meeting, he was to lay his hand on the head of the animal to signify that the animal was taking his place. A burnt offering was an atonement offering. It was wholly given up to the Lord. Unlike many of the other sacrifices, the bringer could not retain any part of it to consume with his family. This offering was an offering of total surrender.
Jesus Christ, when making atonement for our sins, gave Himself wholly on our behalf to God the Father. He held nothing back. He surrendered all He had. But before He gave His life for us, hands were laid on Him. During the night before the crucifixion and into the morning hours of the next day, Jesus was handled by both Jews and Gentiles. He was in the custody of both the soldiers of the high priest and the soldiers of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. He was pushed around and slapped and beaten by Israelites and by Gentile idolaters. Though none of these men knew it, they were laying hands on the perfect Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. Though none of these men knew it, they were laying hands on an atoning sacrifice and thereby symbolically transferring their sins onto Him just as the one who brought a sacrifice of atonement would lay his hand on the animal brought to the entrance of the meeting house. Because Christ was about to give Himself for all people----Jews and Gentiles alike----Jews and Gentiles alike laid their hands on Him.
When studying the sacrificial system of the Old Testament we must keep in mind that these sacrifices pointed toward the ultimate sacrifice. We must remember that these temporary and ongoing sacrifices were a foreshadowing of the perfect sacrifice which was to come.
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