“If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD” (Leviticus 1:3).

The burnt sacrifice, or whole burnt offering, speaks volumes concerning the voluntary sacrifice of Christ. It typifies Christ coming to do the will of God at all costs. Every aspect of the offering speaks of Christ.

For instance, the offering was to be “a male without blemish.” Even so Christ “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth” (I Peter 2:22). Again, the offerer presented His offering “of His own voluntary will.” This aspect is expressed by Christ in John 4:34: “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and to finish His work.”

Then again, if the offering was not accepted, then the offerer would not be accepted. It goes without saying that if Christ was not accepted by God the Father, then we could never be accepted either. The resurrection of Christ is the crowning proof that God accepted His sacrifice. “And it shall be accepted for Him to make atonement for him” (Leviticus 1:4).

After the offering was killed, it was placed on the altar in its entirety. “The priest shall burn all on the altar” (v.9). Christ, indeed, gave all that He had to procure our salvation. The offering was “made by fire, of a sweet savor unto the LORD” (v.9). God was well-pleased.

He is also well-pleased when we become a “living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is (our) reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). The whole burnt offering becomes the privilege of the believer as he offers “all on the altar.”

May our lives be a sweet-smelling savor to God because we are willing to become a living sacrifice as we serve the Lord. NPS