Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

April 13– Evening

by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and edited by W. C. Neff

“A man shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted as his atonement.” 

—Leviticus 1:4

Our Lord Jesus was made to be sin for us, and this Old Testament passage tells us of this very significant transfer of sin from the man to the animal which was sacrificed by the elders of the people. The laying on of the hand was not a mere touch of contact, for in some other Scriptures the original word has the meaning of “leaning heavily,” as in the expression from Psalm 88:7, “Your wrath (O Lord) lies heavily upon me.” Surely this is the very essence and nature of faith, which does not only bring us into contact with the Great Substitute, but teaches us to lean upon him with all the burden of our guilt. Jehovah placed upon the head of Jesus all the offences of his covenant people. But each one of the chosen is brought personally to ratify this solemn covenant act when, by grace, he is enabled by faith to lay his hand upon the head of “the Lamb who was slain from before the foundation of the world.”

Believer, do you remember that rapturous day when you first realized pardon was granted to you through Jesus, your sin-bearer? Someone expressed it this way,

My soul recalls her day of deliverance with delight. Burdened with guilt and full of fears, I saw my Savior as my Substitute, and I laid my hand upon him; oh! how timidly at first, but courage grew and confidence was confirmed until I leaned my soul entirely upon him; and now it is my unceasing joy to know that my sins are no longer imputed to me but laid on him.

Although I had debts like the wounded traveler, Jesus, the good Samaritan, says of all my sins—past, present, and future— “Put that on my account.'” As the hymnwriter says,

 “My numerous sins, transferred to him, will never more be found;
Lost in his blood’s atoning stream, where every crime is drowned!” [M&E]