Sacrifice and Atonement In the New Testament

New Testament Christianity stands in the tradition of Israelite sacrificial worship in viewing Jesus Christ as the ultimate and final sacrifice. The Sacrifice of Christ The earliest Christians of Jerusalem frequented the temple for prayer and considered themselves Jews, although they were aware that the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary had put an end to the requirements of Moses' law. Luke records that Paul made a vow that involved a sacrifice at the temple in Jerusalem in order to appease the Jews (Acts 21:20-26). However, the writer of Hebrews is adamant in his argument that Jewish sacrificial ritual and all that pertained to the old covenant were made obsolete when Christ's death initiated the new covenant (Heb. 8:1-13; 10:1-18). The Concept of Atonement The concept of atonement, so prominent in the sacrificial theology of the worship of Israel, is also important in the New Testament. Jesus Christ is called the hilastrion (Rom. 3:25), literally "instrument of propitiation," the…