Christian Sacrifices of Praise Far Superior to Animal Sacrifices

Depicted here, a Christian preaches to two Jews as they stand at the base of the temple mount in Jerusalem. Hebrew Christians living in Jerusalem had to be courageous in order to preach to fellow Jews about salvation through Jesus Christ, the true Messiah. Many aspects of everyday life of the people around them were based on the Mosaic Law and various Jewish traditions. At the magnificent temple in Jerusalem (depicted in the background), the Levitical priests were offering up animal sacrifices according to the Mosaic Law. The Jews may have pointed to these visible things to prove that their way of worship was superior. However, about the year 61 C.E., Paul wrote a letter to the Hebrew Christians in which he showed that the Christian way of worship is far superior to that of Judaism. He pointed out that Christians have a superior temple, a spiritual one, and a superior High Priest, “Jesus the Son of God.” They also have a superior sacrifice, which needed to be given only once for all time. Paul explained all these heavenly realities. (Heb 4:14; 7:27, 28; 9:24, 25) That spiritual outlook no doubt motivated the Hebrew Christians and gave them the courage they needed to carry out their worship of Jehovah God. An important part of that worship is the offering of sacrifices of praise, which Paul describes as “the fruit of . . . lips that make public declaration to [God’s] name.” He adds: “God is well-pleased with such sacrifices.” (Heb 13:15, 16) In contrast, after 33 C.E., the animal sacrifices offered at the temple had no value for gaining God’s approval.