Passover at Rosh HaShanah

Deliverance and Atonement

As the sun set over the Golani cliffs overlooking the Gennesaret, the Passover Lamb prepared his disciples for the dawning of a new covenant. This covenant would be unlike the one forged with the forefathers. It would be a covenant with the House of Israel, and the House of Judah, though not yet united, foresees it (Jer. 31:31). It would also dawn the beginning of gentile inclusion as not understood in ages past. Indeed, it is an unfolding mystery from creation (Gen. 3:15). How would the Creator unite humanity into a chosen-ness? (I made that word up, I think. At least Grammarly didn’t hit on it:)

Dear Reader: this blog is a bit complicated because I have to jump back and forth between the two halves of your Bibles to explain the topic. Take a break when needed, get some favored hot tea, and then take up the remainder of our talk.

At Sinai, Moses consecrated the fledgling Israelite nation with the reading of the Torah, the sprinkling of blood, and an audible affirmation from the tribes:

“So Moses wrote down all the words of Adonai, then rose up early in the morning and built an altar below the mountain, along with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. He then sent out young men of Bnei-Yisrael, who sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings of oxen to Adonai. Then Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half he poured out against the altar. He took the Scroll of the Covenant and read it in the hearing of the people. Again, they said, ‘All that Adonai has spoken, we will do and obey.’ Then Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, ‘Behold the blood of the covenant, which Adonai has cut with you, in agreement with all these words’” (emphasis mine, Exod. 24:4–8 TLV, Logos).

At the Passover, Yeshua, the “Son of God,” stood with Barabbas, the “Son of a Father” (Aram. Bar Abba), under the “authority” of Pilate. The event’s imagery recalls the offering lifted before the people in much the same way Moses lifted the atonement, “cutting” a covenant between God and the Israelites.

Thesis:

At Passover and Yom Kippur, both offerings appeared above the crowds as an asham (guilt) offering to God and an offering freed to Azazel, as evidenced when Yeshua went to God and Barabbas went to the people.

Argument:

Atonement is an offering by the priest to God on behalf of the people. It is a human activity, given in the spirit of contrition (sincere repentance). When God recognizes the sincerity of repentance, the offering is accepted, and forgiveness—a divine activity—is granted (“Sacrifices, Sacred Spaces, and Priests,” Israel Bible Center).

The Law of Moses prescribes many types of offerings for various sins. The Asham offering is a guilt offering that covers unintentional and some of the listed intentional sins, but not all. Deliberate murder, for example, had no prescribed atonement under the Law of Moses—the sin remained.

Yes, Yeshua is the Passover Lamb who takes away the sins of the world (John1:29). Yet, in a strange twist, Pilate offers the crowd Yom Kippur-type offerings—the asham (Yeshua) and the offering set free to go to Azazel (Barabbas). Pilate unwittingly acts as a mediator (I can’t bring myself to call him a priest!). Nonetheless, the priest mediates the Asham offering between God and the sinner. The people make a public affirmation, as at Sinai, asking that the blood (of the asham) be upon them:

“All the people answered and said, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ Then he released to them Bar-Abba. And after he had Yeshua scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified” (Mt 27:25–26 TLV).

Did they unknowingly ask for Yeshua’s blood atonement, or was it a curse? It certainly, by the context, sounds like malicious intent. Still, was the stage set for “all Israel to be saved” (Rom. 11:26)?

Again, the Asham offering also atoned for some of the “intentional” sins for which the Law of Moses did not prescribe an offering. The Asham is an offering designed to restore fellowship with God and others by propitiating wrongdoing (Num. 15:30-31; Lev. 5:21-26; Isa. 53:10; Acts 13:38).

“But the person who sins defiantly, whether native or outsider, reviles Adonai, and that person is to be cut off from his people. Because he has despised the word of Adonai and has broken His commandment, that person will certainly be cut off—his guilt will remain on him” (Num. 15:30–31 TLV).

“Suppose anyone sins and commits a faithless act (trespass) against Adonai by dealing falsely with his neighbor in a matter of a deposit or a pledge of hands, or through robbery, or has extorted from his neighbor, or has found what was lost and lied about it, swearing falsely—so sinning in one of any of these things that a man may do. Then it will be when he has sinned and has become guilty that he must restore what he took by robbery, or what he got by extortion, or the deposit that was committed to him, or what was lost that he found, or anything about which he has sworn falsely, he is to restore it in full and add a fifth part more to it. He is to bring his trespass (guilt) offering to Adonai, a ram without blemish from the flock, according to your value, for a trespass offering to the kohen (priest). The kohen shall make atonement for him before Adonai, and he will be forgiven concerning whatever he may have done to become guilty” (emphasis mine, Lev. 5:21–26 TLV). Note: While intentional murder has no asham, false oaths using God’s Name do.

The Passover Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, becomes the Asham offering of Yom Kippur, capable of cleansing ALL sins. Yeshua is the spring feast of deliverance and the fall feast of forgiveness.

“Yet it pleased Adonai to bruise Him. He caused Him to suffer. If He makes His soul a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the will of Adonai will succeed by His hand” (Isa. 53:10 TLV).

“Therefore, let it be known to you, brothers, that through this One is proclaimed to you the removal of sins, including all those from which you could not be set right by the Torah of Moses” (emphasis added, Acts 13:38 TLV).

As we prepare for the Day of Atonement this year, the fall season of feasts (Rosh HaShanah, Days of Awe, Yom Kippur) reminds us to reflect on the year’s transgressions against one another and God, mending brokenness and meeting the Lord with pure hearts and clean hands (Ps. 24:4)—our offering laid bare in the process. Christianity typically does not celebrate the fall feasts, yet a close study of their messianic implications remains warranted. In these feasts, we understand that Yeshua is the Asham that atones for all sin—intentional and unintentional. As my thesis proposed, these fall feasts are symbolically represented in the Passover events that led to Yeshua’s death, burial, and resurrection; his resurrection is an acknowledgment of God’s approval.

Please let me know what you think in the comments section. Also, in light of this discussion, consider King David’s sin with Beth Sheba and against Uriah, her husband, and the death of their firstborn. Can we reconcile the texts about intentional sin and the Asham offering?

Blessings—