If a person’s offering is a burnt offering from the herd, the offering must be a male without blemish. The individual shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting to find favor with the Lord, 4 and shall lay a hand on the head of the burnt offering, so that it may be acceptable to make atonement for the one who offers it.
Leviticus 1:3-4 describes the burnt offering, a voluntary sacrifice offered to express total devotion to God and seek divine favor. The offering, a male without blemish, signified its perfection and acceptability before God. The offerer laid hands on the animal, signifying identification with the sacrifice and the offering of oneself to God. The burnt offering was entirely consumed by fire, representing complete surrender to God’s will. It symbolized the transfer of the offerer’s intention and, in some cases, had an atoning effect (Heb. kippēr), securing divine favor and communion with God. This foreshadowed Christ’s perfect sacrifice, in which He completely offered Himself to the Father for our redemption.
This passage prefigures Christ’s sacrificial offering in the New Testament. Hebrews 10:10-14 presents Jesus as the perfect and final sacrifice, fulfilling what the Old Testament sacrifices could only foreshadow. Unlike the repeated burnt offerings, Christ’s self-offering was once for all, achieving eternal redemption (Heb 9:12). Ephesians 5:2 explicitly connects Christ’s sacrifice to the pleasing aroma of the Old Testament offerings, demonstrating His death as an act of divine love.
Leviticus 1:3-4 also aligns with Isaiah 53:10-12, which describes the Suffering Servant’s atoning death, and John 1:29, where Christ is proclaimed as the Lamb of God who takes away the world’s sins. This sacrifice ultimately fulfills God’s plan of salvation, prefigured in the Old Covenant and accomplished in Christ (Luke 24:44-46; 1 Pet. 1:18-19). Through faith in Christ’s sacrifice, believers are reconciled to God (Rom. 5:9-11) and called to offer themselves as living sacrifices (Rom. 12:1).
Almighty God, You call us to offer ourselves completely to You, just as the burnt offering was wholly consumed in devotion. We thank You for the perfect sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who by His one offering, has sanctified us forever. Teach us to walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering pleasing to You. This we ask through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Sources
- McSorley, Joseph. An Outline History of the Church by Centuries (From St. Peter to Pius XII). 2nd ed., B. Herder Book Co., 1944.
- Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: The Pentateuch. Four Courts Press, 2017
- Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, 1990.
- Charpentier, Etienne. How to Read the Old Testament. Translated by John Bowden, 1981.
- Komonchak, Joseph, et al., editors. The New Dictionary of Theology.
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