“And he presented the burnt offering and offered it according to the rule.” Lev. 9:16
Apple has popularized the saying, “There’s an app for that.” Whatever you want to do, you can do on the iphone because there is an application designed to accomplish that task.
Well, for Aaron, the first high priest of Israel, there was a rule for everything. Life was governed by rules. His life and the lives of the people of Israel were simple: Follow the rules and all will be well.
Did it work? No. Why? He could not follow rules. He could in part, but not perfectly. Neither could his sons. He lost two sons immediately after they became priest because they did not follow the rules. Neither could the people of Israel. Their history is a history of rule breaking.
So is ours. We cannot follow rules, especially the rules of God. We are by nature rule breakers.
Paul writes, “The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me.” (Rom. 7:10) Why? Because I am sinful in my very being. The law exposes that. Life by the rules of God is a life of failure and defeat for me. The ability is not in me.
So, here is the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. What we could not do, keep God’s rules, Christ did. He came and lived according to the rules. Then, He died under the penalty of the rules for my rule breaking. Now that He has been raised from the dead and lives at the right hand of God the Father, He has gained our freedom from God’s judgement and He gives all His followers the ability to live above the rules through the power of His Spirit!
Did He do away with the rules? No! He lived the rules to the full degree. He fulfilled all the rules. What the rules were pointing to we enjoy through our relationship with Jesus Christ.
