“The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. “
I wear glasses to see things that are far away. Without them, objects in the distance are a blur of shapes and colors. I can see faintly, and perhaps if I really squint I can make out a few details. Seeing clearly only comes when I put my glasses on. Similarly, the systems of the Old Testament — prior to Jesus’ life on earth — were blurry shadows of God’s kingdom. There were fuzzy images of concepts like atonement for sin and a Messiah to come, but nothing was quite clear.
Year after year, God’s people continued to offer sacrifices to him as prescribed in the law. I’m sure it would have been easier if they could have just brought in a sacrifice that would have covered everything — past, present, and future sins. Maybe some people wanted to say to the priest, “Can you just apply this to next year, too?” Unfortunately, the old system didn’t work that way. No sacrifice was ever perfect enough. Instead, offering sacrifices just cemented their reality of being sinners. That much was not blurry at all.
We live on the other side of history. Jesus has come to earth and we have the privilege of living in God’s new covenant. Our sins are paid for once and for all time. We are still sinners, but we get to experience and understand grace in a whole new way. The Holy Spirit dwells in each one who follows Jesus, so that we can have full access to God. It’s an incredible time to live. Jesus brought into focus what they could not possibly see in the Old Testament. However, we still only see partially what we will fully see when Jesus returns and God’s kingdom is brought fully to earth. Get ready for an awesome “aha moment” because it’s coming!