The actual subject is the sacrifice for sin. Other sacrifices show us the perfection of Christ in His sacrifice and in His death, as well as the communion of the saints with God and with Christ therein. But God also made Christ sin for us, and this is what the sacrifice for sin represents.
The sin-offering must be perfect (ver. 3); but sin was laid upon it (ver. 4), and it could not be treated as of sweet savor. On the cross Christ was treated on God's part as if He Himself had been a sinner. In the application of the sacrifices and of their efficacy for an individual, the sacrifice for sin is the first, and an absolute necessity before any other. To present the blood of Christ to God, there is what gives us boldness in the presence of God, who sees us according to the efficacy of that blood; as it is His estimate of the blood of Christ which is the ground of my confidence. He values it as it ought to be valued, and has received it acceptably in expiation of my sins.
But when the Holy Ghost acts in us, He brings to our remembrance all our sins, and shows them to us; when He brings back thus all our pollutions, He makes us feel what we are before God; the soul is distressed and tormented; but that does not satisfy conscience, we must clearly understand that Christ has borne all our sins.
There are souls who trust in the blood of Christ without having understood all the efficacy of that blood. That is what is particularly shown us in the sacrifices for sin. Unconverted people pass lightly over sin, and say that God will pardon our faults; but nothing will escape Him, neither wrongs toward others, nor sins committed in ignorance (ver. 18), unknown to us. (Lev. 5:17-1917And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the Lord; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity. 18And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance wherein he erred and wist it not, and it shall be forgiven him. 19It is a trespass offering: he hath certainly trespassed against the Lord. (Leviticus 5:17‑19).) It is impossible to be in ignorance without sin. If I sin in ignorance, it is because I am a sinner, and ignorance is one of its consequences. If I do not love as Christ loves, it is a sin. An error in judgment arises from the estrangement of our souls from God. Our affections govern our judgment; if thine eye be single, thy whole body is full of light. Thus, in the parable of those who are invited to a feast and excuse themselves on account of their oxen, in which they have put their affections, God shows us what He sees in us, and the more the light enters into our hearts, the more it makes us discover what we are.
It is our privilege to partake of the holiness of God; all that is in us which is not in the holiness of God is sin. A bad conscience shows that we have lost the light which we had gained: when we sin in ignorance, it is because the light is not still in our heart, and doubtless by our fault. The more I grow in the knowledge of God, the more I learn to know my sin. Let us get our ideas of sin from God Himself. All that hinders our growth in the holiness and in the love of God, is sin. We cannot touch that which is unclean without being polluted. God judges according to His thoughts, and not according to ours. The more we raise the measure of our privileges, the more we raise also the measure of our holiness. God brings us all into His presence; the blood of Christ intercedes for us, but the judgment of God on us is not changed. We are admitted into the career of holiness, whilst we are set free from the very beginning of that career.
In the sacrifice for the high priest and for all the people the blood was carried into the sanctuary, and the body burned outside the camp as a thing of shame. (Ver. 12.) Christ suffered without the gate. (Hebrews 13.)
The high priest laid his hand on the victim and confessed the sins of the people. So Christ confessed the sins of His own. Expiation is already made. He bore in His own body all the sins He confessed, which often trouble the children of God. If there were a single sin of mine unconfessed and not borne away, it would be manifested in the judgment; but God has seen it to the uttermost, and therefore was Christ's blood shed. (Lev. 6:2626The priest that offereth it for sin shall eat it: in the holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tabernacle of the congregation. (Leviticus 6:26).) The priest ate the victim offered for sin, and ate it in the holy place. Christ charged Himself with our sins in detail; and it is in seeing this weight on Jesus that we feel better the effect of sin. He could do nothing for us without bearing this weight, the judgment of sin in our stead; not merely our sicknesses and diseases in His life of ministry, but our iniquities and transgressions in His death. God would not be just toward Christ (a thing impossible toward any one) if He did not pardon the sins of all who believe. He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. It is God's righteousness, due to Christ and to His work on the cross, that He pardons all who turn to Him in Christ's name. It is sovereign grace toward us; for what do we not deserve? But it is grace reigning through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.