Christ in the Trespass Offering
Leviticus 5:14-15
Introduction.
One of the interesting passages in Mark where Jesus talks with the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17-22).
Jesus relates a few of the Ten Commandments (10:19).
Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, and honor your father and mother.
But there’s another one that’s mentioned that is quite peculiar: do not defraud.
That isn’t even in oblique text in the NKJV, showing that this is not a quotation from the OT, so where did this come from?
The common word I found in my studies as to the purpose of the trespass offering was to make up for fraud.
The Hebrew word translated as “commit a trespass” can also be translated “to defraud.”
This sacrifice was for defrauding the Lord and defrauding others.
We are on the last of the five sacrifices.
Burnt offering brings ones closer to God – atonement.
Grain offering is an offering of dedication to God – dedication.
Peace offering is one of praise and acknowledgment – thanksgiving.
Sin offering is one for purification from uncleanness – purification.
Trespass offering is today’s topic – reparation.
It is a sacrifice that shows proof of repentance.
John the Baptist mentioned something like this (Luke 3:8) – “bear fruits worthy of repentance.”
Lev 5:14-19 talks about defrauding God and what to do about it.
Lev 6:1-7 talks about defrauding people and what to do about it.
Lev. 7:1-10 talks of the priestly responsibility during the trespass offering.
Body.
When was it used?
Unintentional sins in regard to the holy things of the Lord (5:14-19).
This would be accidentally treating something as common when it was holy.
This defrauds God of the reverence due Him.
“Holy things” is used in a broad sense.
The articles used in the tabernacle were considered holy.
Later, we see Nadab and Abihu doing things, but since they were severely punished by God, it is likely their sin was not unintentional—brazen rebellion.
Consider also the violation of King Uzziah who offered incense unlawfully and was made a leper until his death (2 Chron. 26:16-21).
This shows the severity of these kinds of sins.
Ritual cleansing of a leper (14:11-14).
This sacrifice was given because the leper could not offer sacrifices while a leper.
This meant that God was defrauded of those things at that time.
This was true whether the leper could help it or not.
This means that if we forsake the assembly, we are defrauding God of our worship and praise!
Violation of Nazirite vow (Num 6:9-12).
You are invoking the name of God when you take this vow.
If you violate it, you have taken the Lord’s name in vain.
Since it was unintentional (accidentally touching a dead body), you can be forgiven of it with this sacrifice.
He also had to sacrifice two birds, one as a burnt offering, and another as a sin offering.
The sin offering absolved his sin, the burnt offering brought atonement, and the trespass offering showed the necessary repentance.
Lying, theft, exortion of a neighbor (6:1-7).
So his neighbor asked him to watch his things while he was away, and he takes something, or it gets damaged, or he says he’ll give it back if he does something for him or gives something to him (vs. 2).
He might have found something lost and neglects to mention it or outright lies about it (vs. 3).
This was done in a pledge, an oath was made, he swore falsely.
Another violation of the command not to take His name in vain.
It was bad enough to lie, steal, or extort, but to drag the Lord’s name through the mud by swearing falsely—that was an even greater sin.
Either your conscience will convince you to repent and make this sacrifice, or the Lord will judge you.
Seducing an betrothed concubine (19:20-22).
Seducing a betrothed free woman resulted in the death of the man and the woman (Deut. 22:23-24).
This was not the case for the concubine because she was not free.
They were to be scourged, however, but they would live.
Punishment must be enacted, but this was an act of compassion because she had little choice in the matter.
This was seen as defrauding the one to whom she was betrothed.
Characteristics and Christ’s Fulfillment.
Restitution had to be made before the sacrifice was accepted (5:16).
Repentance, as the trespass offering represents, must come prior to sacrifice.
Our repentance must come before we gain access to the blood of Christ in baptism.
If we have fallen away, we must repent before we can be restored.
The animal that was sacrificed.
Lev. 5; 6; 19 refer to an unblemished ram.
Lev. 14:11-14 and Num 6 refer to a lamb.
The leper did have to offer other sacrifices.
Jesus was the male Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world.
This was the only sacrifice in which money was a part of it.
On top of the animal sacrifice, a monetary sacrifice had to be given.
How much was the decision of the priest if committed against God: “your valuation” plus one-fifth.
If committed against neighbor, they were to return the stolen items plus one-fifth.
If I stole $100, I had to return $120.
This was a deterrent to such sin.
Zacchaeus went above and beyond by returning it fourfold (Luke 19:8-9).
Jesus also insisted that such wrongs be made right if possible even before worship (Matt. 5:23-24).
On top of this, confessing the sin had to be done publicly.
Since the sin was of a public nature, the confession had to be public, too.
This let everyone know that they could now be in fellowship with him.
We, too, have to do the same with sins of a public nature.
This was bearing fruit worthy of repentance (Luke 3:8).
For us, we must do everything we can to make things right with others we have wronged.
Many sins we commit we cannot make right with others—you can’t unring that bell.
But many things we can make right.
For example: if you are driving a stolen car, return it (an easy example).
If you are married to someone you have no right to be married to, divorce them (Ezra 10:19).
You are in an adulterous marriage, and the path to repentance is to put your spouse away—he or she belongs to someone else or you do!
Christ’s sacrifice cleanses all sins repented of!
We can’t make all sins right with people, but Christ can in His sacrifice.
In Isaiah 53:10, He was made an “offering for sin,” where offering is the same word used for the trespass offering.
We have to repent, but it is Christ who takes care of it as the trespass offering.
“What Jesus paid on the cross was more than the penalty for sin; His death was sufficient to make reparation for all that had been defrauded by the human race” (Ross 153).
Conclusion.
In our look at this various sacrifices, we see that Christ fulfills them all.
Even so, we have our responsibilities in each case.
We must surrender all as with the burnt offering.
We must give back to the Lord that which we have been blessed.
We must give the sacrifice of praise, that is the fruit of our lips.
We must be baptized to have access to the blood of Christ for our sins to be washed away.
We must repent of our sins and make restitution where needed.
We must confess sins of a public nature.
These things accompany the animal sacrifices that we have been discussing.
So they must also accompany the sacrifice of Christ which benefits we enjoy.
He is the much better sacrifice than we could possibly imagine while considering these five sacrifices.
Today we learned that He has made reparation for us in His death.
But we must also resolve to change our ways and do what’s right.
Let us not defraud God by forsaking the assembly or treating our worship as lacking the reverence it is due.
Let us not defraud one another, particularly by invoking God’s name.
“Let him who stole, steal no longer” (Eph. 4:28).
Will you repent today so that your sins can be forgiven?