Sacrifice

Sacrifice in Biblical Perspective

The book of Leviticus describes sacrifice in the particular case of an offering called sacrifice of sharings (Lev. 3:1), where participation in a meal is basic. The notion that a sacrifice might involve worshippers in a feast is commonplace in ethnographic studies, and it is specifically attested to in patriarchal and Mosaic narratives. Jacob formalizes his treaty with Laban on that basis (Gen. 31:51–54), and Jethro celebrates both the Lord's greatness and the presence of Aaron and the elders thereby (Exod. 18:9–12). [Page 393]In 1 Samuel 1:3–5, it is recounted as a matter of course that Elkanah should distribute sacrificial portions in his own household. At the time of the sacrifice to solemnize the covenant, Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the 70 elders are said to have beheld God eat and drink. That festive communion is an example of a sacrifice of sharings (Exod. 24:4–11). The association is persistent in royal provision for feasts together with sacrifices, whether the king involved be David (2 Sam. 6:17–19), Solomon (1 Kings 3:15; 8:62–65), or Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 30:22).

In Leviticus 3, the animals offered are the focus: they must be unblemished cattle, sheep, or goats, male or female (vv. 1, 6, 12). The offerer lays his hand on the animal and kills it in front of the tent of meeting (vv. 2, 8, 13). The priests take up their duties of throwing the blood and receiving the fat of the entrails, the kidneys with their fat, and the remainder of the liver which comes off with them (vv. 3, 4, 9, 10, 14, 15). Following the logic that the fat belongs to God as well as blood, the lamb is also taken (v. 9). The priests offer these fatty portions for “an odor of pleasantness to the Lord” (v. 5, cf. vv. 3, 16), or God's “food” (vv. 11, 16).

God's desire is to consume a part of what is pure with his people and sacrifice was and is a way to offer life in the way that God pleases so that life can be intensified. Hence, the Temple occupied a dominant place in Judaism as the single place where sacrifice could be offered. The Temple in Jerusalem was conceived of as the intersection between heaven and earth for prophets and teachers in Israel until its destruction by the Romans in 70 C.E.

Like many of the prophets before him and many other rabbis in his own time, Jesus keenly interested himself in how sacrifice was offered in the Temple (Matt. 21:12–13, Mark 11:15–17, Luke 19:45–46, John 2:13–17). He objected to the presence of merchants who had been given permission to sell sacrificial animals in the vast, outer court of the Temple. His objection was based on his own, peasant's view of purity: he felt that Israelites should offer what they produced themselves, not things they had just bought from priests. He believed so vehemently what he taught that he and his followers drove the animals and the sellers out of the great court, no doubt with the use of force.

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