The burnt offering in Leviticus is not some relic of a bygone religious system; it is the very foundation of how God receives you today. If you imagine Jesus in heaven pleading with a reluctant Father to forgive you, you have missed the heart of the gospel and undermined the very basis of your assurance, sonship, and inheritance.
The Burnt Offering: God’s Standard of Acceptance
The burnt offering was the most significant sacrifice in the Law—not because of its ritual, but because of what it represented: the absolute, spotless devotion of Christ to God. The animal was flayed, its inward parts exposed, its blood sprinkled seven times on the altar, and its fat burned as a pleasing aroma. This was not for man’s consumption, but wholly for God. The fragrance that rose from the altar was a declaration: here is something that fully satisfies God’s heart.
This is not about your devotion, your inward parts, or your ability to present yourself as acceptable. The altar was made “most holy” by the blood of the burnt offering. Every other offering—every other approach to God—was only accepted on this basis. The continual rising of that aroma was God’s invitation to draw near, not because of the worshiper’s merit, but because of the sacrifice’s perfection.
Christ: The Fragrance That Makes You Acceptable
Christ is the true burnt offering. His entire life, every thought, every motive, was open before the Father and found perfect. His blood, His obedience, His absolute surrender—this is the aroma that pleases God. And if you are in Christ, you are a “sweet-smelling savor” to God (2 Corinthians 2:15). You do not come before God with your own scent, but clothed in the fragrance of His beloved Son.
This is not a sentimental metaphor. It is the very reason you are accepted. Christ’s devotion is the only ground for your approach to God. His righteousness is the aroma that draws God near to you. Understanding this is the source of all true comfort, strength, peace, and joy. It is the only thing that can set you free from fear.
Jesus Is Not Begging—He Is the Manifestation of God’s Will
The popular image of Jesus in heaven, desperately pleading with the Father to forgive you, is not only unbiblical—it is blasphemous to the finished work. Jesus is your Advocate, but He is not a beggar. The Father and the Son are one in will and purpose (John 10:30). It was the Father who sent the Son to be the propitiation for your sins. Christ’s advocacy is not an attempt to change God’s mind; it is the manifestation of God’s own righteousness and love.
When you sin, your Advocate stands—not to plead for leniency—but to present His own blood, His own obedience, as the unassailable basis for your justification (1 John 2:1-2). The law’s demands are fully met. The accusations of the enemy are silenced, not because God overlooks sin, but because Christ has answered every charge by His sacrifice.
The Consequence of Getting This Wrong
If you believe Jesus is merely pleading for mercy from a reluctant God, you have shifted the ground of your assurance from Christ’s finished work to the instability of your own performance or feelings. You have collapsed justification into a negotiation, inheritance into uncertainty, and sonship into anxiety. You have made the gospel about God’s tolerance rather than His delight in His Son—and in you, as you are found in Him. This is not a secondary issue. To lose this is to lose the gospel itself.
The Triumph of Christ: Your Freedom and Position
Christ’s sacrifice did not merely cover sin; it disarmed every principality and power (Colossians 2:15). Through His death and resurrection, He destroyed the one who held the power of death and liberated you from the bondage of fear (Hebrews 2:14-15). The “circumcision of Christ” has terminated your old self. You are no longer subject to accusation or condemnation (Romans 8:1).
You are not waiting for some future vindication. You are already seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6). His ascension and exaltation are your guarantee of authority and inheritance. The church’s position is not in the shadows, but in the very presence of God, because you share in the Son’s own standing.
The Danger of Allegorizing and Denying the Distinction
To allegorize the promises of God, conflating Israel and the church, is to undermine the integrity of God’s covenant and to open the door to anti-Semitic and anti-Christ interpretations. The distinction is not academic; it is covenantal. God’s faithfulness to His promises is the bedrock of your assurance. To deny this is to deny the very truth of the gospel.
The Only Basis: Faith in Christ’s Finished Work
Salvation, forgiveness, and justification are not the result of your striving, but of faith in Jesus and confession of His name (1 John 1:9). You are justified, forgiven, and made a co-heir with Christ—not because you have convinced God to be merciful, but because Christ has satisfied every demand of righteousness and now stands as your eternal Advocate.
God does not merely tolerate you—He delights in you for the sake of His Son. To trust in anything less than the finished work of Christ is to forfeit comfort, peace, joy, and freedom from fear. Stand boldly, not on your own record, but in the sweet-smelling righteousness of Jesus Christ. This is your only ground, your only assurance, your only hope. Do not surrender it for anything.
