There was one day each year when the high priest of Israel could enter the Temple and go where no one else could go. On Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement—he passed beyond the veil and entered the Most Holy Place, carrying sacrificial blood into the presence of God. Outside, the people waited. Inside, one man stood before the holy presence of God on behalf of the entire nation.
And this happened year after year.
The sacrifices were offered, atonement was made for the sins of the people, and the high priest came out again. But another year would come, and the same thing would have to happen again. This tells us something very important: Yom Kippur was never meant to be the end of the story. God was already pointing His people toward something greater.
Today, as Yom Kippur approaches in Israel, you can almost feel the country beginning to change. Streets that are normally filled with cars become quiet. Businesses close. Families gather. Many people fast and pray, ask forgiveness from one another, and examine their hearts before God. It is still the most solemn day on the Jewish calendar.
But dear friends,
when we look at Yom Kippur through the eyes of someone who knows Yeshua, we begin to see something extraordinary. What Israel’s high priest had to do once every year, our Messiah accomplished once for all.
Hebrews tells us that under the old covenant, the high priest entered the Most Holy Place “once a year, not without blood” (Hebrews 9:7). He could not simply walk into God’s presence. A sacrifice was necessary. And because the sacrifice could never deal with sin once and for all, the high priest had to return the following year, and then the year after that.
Then came Yeshua. This is where everything changes.
Hebrews tells us that Messiah entered “the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands” and entered the Most Holy Place “once for all… with His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:11–12).
Think about what this means for you and me. Yeshua did not enter carrying the blood of another sacrifice. He Himself became the sacrifice. The high priest entered the earthly sanctuary once a year, but Yeshua entered the true heavenly sanctuary once for all. He did not have to return the next year and do it again. What He accomplished was complete.
And dear friends, this changes the way we come before God.
Sometimes we spend so much of our lives trying to make ourselves acceptable to Him. We look at our failures and think, I need to do better. I need to change more. I need to somehow make this right. But our confidence before God does not rest upon how well we can repair ourselves. It rests upon what Yeshua has already done for us. The sacrifice has been made. The price has been paid. Eternal redemption has been obtained.
Does this mean we no longer need to examine our hearts? No. I believe it means exactly the opposite. Because we know that we are forgiven, we can come honestly before God and allow Him to show us what needs to change.
Is there someone you need to forgive? Is there someone from whom you need to ask forgiveness? Is there something you have been carrying in your heart that you know should not remain there? Perhaps you have become distant from the Lord without even realizing how far you have drifted.
We do not ask these questions because we are trying to earn our atonement. We ask them because we have already received it.
And perhaps this is where Yom Kippur can become very personal for you today. You may be thousands of miles from Israel. You may never have experienced what it is like when an entire country becomes quiet for this appointed day. But the message of Yom Kippur is just as personal for you as it is for us.
God is inviting us to turn our eyes again to Yeshua.
When we do, the Holy Spirit begins to work in those places we sometimes prefer not to look at. He brings conviction where we have wandered, healing where we have been wounded, and restoration where something has grown cold. Not because we are trying to earn God’s love, but because His love has already made a way for us to come near.
And as Israel enters this solemn day, I want to ask you to pray for our people. While so many across Israel are fasting, praying, and searching their hearts, pray that God will awaken a deeper hunger for Him. Pray that the Scriptures will come alive, that hearts will be opened, and that many will recognize the One to whom Yom Kippur has always been pointing. Pray that Israel will see Yeshua.
But as you pray for Israel, allow the Lord to speak to your heart too.
Take some time before Him. Forgive where forgiveness is needed. Ask forgiveness where you have caused hurt. Allow the Holy Spirit to search your heart and draw you closer to God. But above everything else, dear friends, look again to Yeshua.
The high priest entered once a year. Yeshua entered once for all. And because He did, you and I have something we could never earn for ourselves: eternal redemption.
Shabbat Shalom,
Pastor Israel