He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
Hebrews 9:26
I’m sure there is no way to begin to estimate with any measure of accuracy how many sacrifices were offered by the Jews before Christ died on the cross. One thing is for sure, however: it must’ve been in the millions. Hebrews 10:4 clearly states, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.” All of those millions of sacrifices didn’t erase even one sin. That didn’t make them pointless, however. The fact that the sacrifices had to be offered over and over only emphasizes (a) man’s sinfulness; and (b) that the sacrifices couldn’t get rid of sin. Every one of them pointed to a Savior who would come.
Enter Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). His sacrifice on the cross, offered once, was the all-sufficient, once–for–all, never–to–be–repeated sacrifice that put the sin problem between God and His elect (the people Jesus came to save) to rest forever.
When Jesus died on the cross, the sacrificial system of the Old Testament was rendered obsolete. Because the gatekeepers of the Jewish religion did not recognize Jesus, the sacrifices continued for 40 years. During that period they were worthless because the Christ they were ordained by God to point to had already offered the final sacrifice. In 70 A.D. when the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the armies of Rome, the Old Testament sacrificial system came to an abrupt and final end.
Sadly, others, even in the name of Christianity, continue to offer sacrifices at every one of their services, praying to God that He would “accept our sacrifice.” All sacrifices since Jesus died on the cross and rose again—whether in the Jewish Temple for 40 years before it was destroyed, or since in hundreds of thousands of “masses” said daily around the globe—are not only worthless, they are a blasphemous declarations that Jesus Christ was not enough.
Praise God, atonement for our sins is complete in Christ. Now let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God (Hebrews 13:15) for Jesus Christ and for what He has accomplished for those He came to save.