It is a high-priority for us as followers of the Messiah to truly understand Yeshua's identity. If He was only a man, even a righteous anointed man, then His death brought no atonement. For as it says in Psalm 49:8, 9 (7, 8 in Christian Bibles): "No one can ever redeem his brother or give God a ransom for Him, because the price for him is too high (leave the idea completely alone!)" (CJB). This Psalm then goes on to say in verse 16(15): "But God will redeem me from Sh'ol's (the grave's) control, for He will receive me." So we see in this Psalm the idea that God Himself is the Redeemer, and that Messiah could not have been just a man, for then the atonement would have been of no effect…no man can pay that price, only God can. If man cannot pay that price, why was it that we were able, for a time, to find atonement through animal sacrifice? If animals can atone, and a man is worth more than an animal, why could not a man atone for our sins? Why must Messiah be divine for the atonement to have had effect?
To that there are two answers. First of all, for atonement to be made, the sacrifice had to be sinless. Since an animal has no moral will, they were innocent and able to pay the price for the guilty. We owed God our lives because of sin - payment had to be made. A flawed payment counts for nothing. Thus do we find the regulations on bringing God only the best and most spotless animals in the Torah. There is no man or woman without sin, so our lives cannot atone. However, God as a man was without sin. The Divine essence in the form of a man…the radiance and glory of God in human flesh (Hebrews 1:3) alone could pay the price. He alone led a perfect, sinless life.
The second answer to why Yeshua had to be divine is this. Animals had to continually be offered on the altar. A sin offering the previous week, and the Yom Kippur offering made last year, would not have meant that no new sacrifices would be necessary. Indeed, the Tabernacle and Temple were constantly busy with many types of offerings, including the sin and guilt sacrifices. So even if a man could somehow escape sin enough to be a blameless offering (impossible), his death could not atone for all people throughout all time. Continual sacrifices would be needed. However, Yeshua, as the "very expression of God's essence" (Hebrews 1:3, CJB) - as God in a form and expression that we could see, touch, and in which He could make atonement for us - is an eternal being. His eternality means that the atoning work of His sacrifice and His role as the High Priest who makes atonement is eternal (Hebrews 7:24). He died "once for all" (Hebrews 7:27).
In the days of the Temple, we might have prayed: "God, I know that because of my sin, I owe You my life. Thank you for accepting this animal in my place." This is a difficult concept for us, especially for those of us with tender hearts towards animals. But we see in this account the mercy of God towards us, but also the pain that sin brings. Now, our prayer is different: "God, I know I deserve eternal death because of my sin. Thank you for accepting the sacrifice of Yeshua in my place that I might have eternal life." We see the awesomeness of the mercy of God, but we also see the extreme pain that sin caused Him, and it makes us love God but hate sin.
Leviticus 17:11 - For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for yourselves; for it is the blood that makes atonement because of the life.
Thank you, Adonai, for the blood atonement of our Messiah!
If you have any questions regarding this issue, or if you are unsure whether you have received the salvation of God, please contact Rabbi Josh at shalom850@yahoo.com