Point of View

On October 1, Jewish people throughout Florida observed the most solemn holiday on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). At sundown, observant Jews gathered in the synagogue, fasted, donned white clothing and cloth shoes, and prayed ancient prayers from the Machzor (holiday prayer book) pleading for God to forgive their sins and inscribe them in the "Book of Life." Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) is a festive occasion observed September 23 ushering in the year 5767 on the Jewish calendar, but Yom Kippur is a far more serious day for Jewish people and is observed with introspection and repentance.

The Day of Atonement is found in Leviticus 23:23-28:

The LORD said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: 'On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the LORD by fire.'" The LORD said to Moses, "The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present an offering made to the LORD by fire. Do no work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD your God. (NIV)

On this day, atonement was made for Israel in order that their sins might be forgiven for that year. How was this done? Leviticus 16-17 tells us that the Cohen Gadol (high priest) selected two goats. He placed his hands over the horns of the first goat and confessed the sins of Israel. The goat was chased out into the wilderness, symbolically carrying the sins of Israel away thus called the Scape Goat. But the other goat was less fortunate. The Cohen Gadol sacrificed this goat and carried the goat's blood into the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant stood. The High Priest was allowed in this room only once a year and not without blood for "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sins" (Heb 9:22).

In AD 70, Titus and his Roman legions destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple where the Yom Kippur sacrifices were offered. Today, the Muslim holy site, the Dome of the Rock, sits where the Temple once stood and sacrifices are not offered in Judaism anymore. So what do Jewish people do to atone for sins in the absence of sacrifices? In AD 90 rabbis met in Yavneh (a seashore village near Tel Aviv) and held a council to discuss this very question. A teacher from the priestly line by the name of Yochanon ben Zakkai (John the son of Zakkai) proposed a solution. He declared "Three things now substitute for sacrifices: Tefilah (prayer), Teshuvah (repentance), and Tzedakkah (righteous deeds)" In that historic moment Judaism's theology deviated 90 degrees from its biblical faith. Rabbinic Judaism became a religion of merit-one in which a follower must earn merit before God through performing tzedakkah or good works in order to obtain eternal life. But how many good works are enough? And how much prayer is enough? Did God or man decide to deviate from the prescription for atonement laid out in the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament)? Moses wrote:

For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life. Lev. 17:11 (NIV)

The rabbis taught that on Rosh Hashanah God sits as judge over all the world and opens up the Book of Life. He evaluates each person's life for the following ten days and prepares His verdict: who will live, who will die, and whose fate will be suspended for another year. Then on Yom Kippur it is taught that God seals His verdict. Year after year my Jewish people gather in synagogues around the world, praying, fasting, and pleading that God would inscribe them in the book of life. The holiday prayer book is filled with the most beautiful prayers calling upon the King of Kings to grant His people mercy.

One beautiful prayer says:

Avinu Malkeinu, Chaneinu V'Aneinu Ki-ein banu Ma'asim. Aseh imanu tzedakah vachesed, v'hoshianu.

Our Father our King have mercy upon us, be gracious to us and forgive us for we have no merit. Forgive us and save us.

But how can one's sins be forgiven without a sacrifice? And what should our Jewish people do to atone on Yom Kippur? One Jewish teacher of priestly decent, Yochanon Ben Zacharias (John the Baptist) proposed a solution. As he beheld Jesus approaching John declared "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!" (John 1:29) When Jesus died on the cross He proclaimed "It is finished!" and the veil concealing the Holy of Holies was ripped from top to bottom without human hands showing that God had provided access to Himself through Jesus' sacrificial death. Forty years later the temple was destroyed and today we who have embraced the Messiah have found final atonement for our sins whether we be Jewish, Greek, or Chinese.

Sadly, most Jewish people left the synagogue this year asking: "Did I pray enough? Did I fast long enough? Is my name written in the Book of Life? How can I know?" What a wonderful opportunity we who know Jesus have to share the Messiah with our Jewish friends whether they be religious or secular, observant or only cultural Jews, take this opportunity to make friends, inquire about their beliefs, and pray for your Jewish friends.

Stan Meyer is the Fort Lauderdale director for Jews for Jesus. Stan, Holly, and their daughter Carrie-Fu are members of Parkridge Baptist Church in Coral Springs. For more information, go to www.jewsforjesus.org.