Without Blemish

"You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep in which is a blemish, any defect whatever, for that is an abomination to the LORD your God" (Deut. 17:1, ESV).

The sacrifices of the old covenant foreshadowed the sacrifice of Christ.  They pointed to a greater sacrifice that would come and have the power to cleanse sin once for all.  Therefore, it was an abomination to offer an animal that had a blemish or defect, because there physical perfection pointed to the moral perfection of the coming sacrifice.

John the Baptist proclaimed of Jesus, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29, ESV).  The title, Lamb of God, and the reality that Jesus "takes away" sin, tell us something about the quality of Jesus.  John's statement tells us that Jesus was without blemish, he had no defects, morally speaking.

Addressing his enemies, Jesus said, "Which one of you convicts me of sin?" (John 8:46, ESV).  Yet, no one is able to produce any evidence to demonstrate his guilt.  Even at Jesus' "trial," they were not able to produce two witnesses that could agree.  They could only get him for violating their man-made traditions, because he never broke God's law.

Even his friends, who were with him night and day for years, found no sin in Jesus.  Peter says, "He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth" (1 Pet. 2:22, ESV).  John states, "My little children, I am writing to you these things so that you may not sin.  But if any one does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1, ESV).

If Christ had any moral blemish or defect, then his death would have been an abomination.  However, there was no moral blemish in Christ.  He is our high priest and our holy sacrifice.  As the author of Hebrews states, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15, ESV).  He continues, "he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing eternal redemption. . . . how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purifying our consciences from dead works to serve the living God" (Heb. 9:12-14, ESV).  Therefore, we can rest in the reality that Christ is our unblemished sacrifice, wholly accepted by the Father.