Sabbath School Summary

By Elder Dr Masimba Mavaza

Understanding Sacrifice

Lesson 6

Memory Text:
And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation’ ” (Revelation 5:9, NKJV).

Introduction
When Jesus came toward him, John the Baptist declared: “ ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!’ ” (John 1:29, NKJV). This was an unmistakable reference to the idea of animal sacrifice, all of which pointed to Christ’s substitutionary death in behalf of all humanity. In the Bible, we cannot escape the theme of animal sacrifice; it runs like a scarlet thread throughout its pages and plays a central role in the grand scene in Revelation, where John is escorted into God’s throne room (Revelation 4 and 5). The fact that Jesus appears in this pivotal scene, looking like a slain lamb (Rev. 5:6), is an important key to understanding the entire prophetic episode.
This week we will look at some of the themes of sacrifice that inform our understanding of Jesus, the slain Lamb, the clear protagonist of the throne room scene. He is accepted as worthy, where no one else is, and His unique worthiness speaks volumes about what the Lord was doing through the sacrificial system. It reveals Him as a God of infinite love who made the ultimate sacrifice, an act that we, and the other intelligences in the universe, will marvel at for eternity.

SABBATH:
The beautiful presentation of Jesus as “The Lamb of God” & the “slain Lamb” is a symbol of the tender & self-sacrificing love of Christ (John 1:29; Rev. 5:6). The symbols depict an idea of animal sacrifice which runs across the pages of the Bible. Christ (God) was despised, abused, & killed for our sakes. As the slain Lamb who died for us, He’s the only one who’s worthy to open the plan for judgement & redemption. We’ll study sacrificial themes about Christ.

Futile Sacrifices?

SUNDAY:
In the OT, sacrifices were a representation of Christ. The offender offered a sacrifice (lamb) to God that he might not be put to death. This pointed to the substitutionary death of Christ. Sacrifices had to portray the salvation Christ offers. Those that was anchored in self like that of Cain & at times Israel were rejected (Isa. 1:2-15, 56:6, 7, Ps. 51:17). Abel’s sacrifice was accepted because he accepted he had sinned & needed the atoning blood of Christ (Gen. 4:3-7, 3:15, Heb. 11:4, PP, p. 72).

The Blood of Bulls and Goats

MONDAY:
When Jesus Christ was put in our place to die, our sin was His burden. The Just died for the unjust. His death was cruel, harsh, & unfair. Some have criticized the concept of sacrifice citing that it’s cruel. But that’s the exact point. “Christ was treated as we deserve that we may be treated as He deserves.” The lambs & other sacrifices (types) were mere symbols pointing to His sacrificial death (antitype). Christ’s death ended all animal sacrifice (Heb. 10:3-10, Mark 15:38).

The Passover Lamb

TUESDAY:
Christ was the true Passover Lamb. In the NT, the crucifixion, on the day the Passover was eaten, He was to be sacrificed. This is connected to the deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt where they were to sprinkle the blood of a one-year-old lamb on their doorposts to prefigure the atoning blood of Christ (Exodus 12:1-11, Gen. 4:4). Jesus as “the Lamb” occurs nearly 30 times in Revelation (Isa. 53:7, 8; 1 Cor. 5:7, Rev. 5:6, 1 Pet. 1:18, 19). Jesus the last Adam passed the test we failed (1 Cor. 15:45).

Jesus at the Temple

WEDNESDAY:
Sin separated man from God. The desire of God is to restore the communion we once had with Him. But the light of His presence would destroy the sinner. How can the holy God dwell with man? (Ps. 5:4, 7). At the dedication of Solomon’s temple, the Shekinah glory of God filled it & the priests couldn’t work (1 Kings 8:10). Haggai prophesied the second temple would be glorious than the first (Haggai 2:7-9). This was fulfilled when Jesus came to dwell with us in flesh & die for us (Matt. 8:3, 1:23).

For You Created All Things!

THURSDAY:
When we come close to the presence of God, we see how holy He is & how unholy we are. There’s only one way to enter God’s presence; through the blood of Christ (Lev. 16:2, 14). A few prophets have been brought close to God in vision; Isaiah saw the temple of God in vision & cried that he’s a man of unclean lips (Isa. 6:1). John saw it & wept for he counted himself unworthy (Rev. 4, 5). Ezekiel saw it above a firmament & fell facedown (Ezek. 1:26). Christ let us see who God truly is (John 14:9).

Further Thought

FRIDAY:
Christ alone is worthy of securing our salvation, having lived a sinless life and perfectly satisfying God’s glory. He took upon Himself our guilt, facing the judgment due to sin, illustrating the gravity of our fallen state. The law demanded the sinner’s life, and only Christ, equal with God, could atone for transgressions. His sacrifice was necessary to reconcile humanity with Heaven, demonstrating God’s profound love and commitment to rescue us.

—Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 63.

Keywords

PP- Patriarchs and Prophets

OT- Old Testament

NT- New Testament

Types and Antitype- A “type” refers to an Old Testament event, person, or object that foreshadows a greater reality in the New Testament. The “antitype” is the fulfillment or reality that the type points to, often connected to Jesus Christ.

The death of Jesus- It pointed to the fulfilment of the sacrificial system, as type meets antitype, and a new phase of salvation history begins.

Animal sacrifices (types) pointing to Christ (antitype)- The sacrificial animals played an important role, but once the sacrifice was made, they became meaningless. The rituals of sacrifice resemble purchasing a ticket for a journey, where the ticket symbolizes a promise of the experience to come. Once the journey begins, the ticket becomes irrelevant, having served its purpose. Once Jesus fulfilled His promise at the cross and rose victorious over death, the types (sacrificial animals) became unnecessary.

Jesus, the Passover Lamb- Jesus was crucified on Passover, symbolizing Him as the antitypical Lamb, paralleling the Passover lamb in Exodus, which was selected and displayed before sacrifice. When questioned by the high priest, Jesus emphasized that His life, works, and teachings were openly revealed for all to see, just like the lamb was to be kept on display.

Discussion Questions

📌 John sees the Lamb enter the throne room looking as though He had been “slain.” Revelation 13:8 informs us that Jesus has been “slain” since the foundation of the world. What can we learn about God through the fact that the plan of salvation was already in place before we needed it?

📌 Many atheists believe that we are alone in a cold, uncaring universe. In contrast, the Bible talks not only about God but about how He loved the world so much that He came down to it and even died for it. How differently should we view the world and our place in it, in contrast to those who don’t believe in God at all? In other words, how should the reality of the Cross impact all that we do?

📌 Why was the life, death, and resurrection of Christ the only means by which the human race could be saved? Again, what does such a cost tell us about how bad sin must really be?