The Atonement

There are a lot of things in the four Gospels with origins in the Old Testament. The atonement Jesus provided on the cross is one of them but the crucifixion alone didn’t do it. It happened during the three hours Jesus hung on the cross.

The initial setup took place during the time of Moses when the high priest entered the tabernacle and sacrificed a goat and banished another for the sins of the people. The payment of sin was deferred with the second goat.

When Jesus came to earth in form of a man, He was referred to as the Lamb of God, a title dating back to the time of the Passover in Egypt. God the Son entered a human body, lived a sinless life, and was imbued with the filth of sin on the cross. All of human history points to the cross when the wrath of God the Father was poured out on Jesus.

It was the end of the First Covenant when God the Father reconciled mankind back to Himself through God the Son. The veil in the temple separating the holy of holies was torn, signifying that the atonement was complete. The Second Covenant was in effect and blood sacrifices would never be needed again.