J20-4: How To Answer The Claim…’The Torah Does Not Allow A Man To Atone For Another Man’s Sins’

Many anti-missionary groups will point to Yeshua’s crucifixion and say because the Torah prohibits human sacrifice, his death on the cross couldn’t have atoned for anybody.

However, I would argue that when we look at the laws concerning the 6 cities of refuge, quite a different picture is painted.

If a person kills someone by accident, which in this case would be an unintentional sin, he can escape to a place where he will be protected from destruction for his accidental crime.

When the man fleeing arrives at the gate of the sanctuary city, he will face a judge who will determine if the killing was really accidental or not.

If it is found out that his killing was deliberate, the fleeing man is judged as a murderer and is NOT allowed to enter the city of refuge.

However, if the verdict rendered is that the fleeing man’s killing was indeed accidental, then he is allowed to enter into the sanctuary city and receive protection.

He is forgiven but he must remain captive inside the sanctuary city. 

Keep in mind, the reason he is fleeing in the first place is to escape the clutches of the so-called Blood Avenger.

This Blood Avenger, also known as the Kinsman Redeemer, had every legal right to avenge the death of his kin whose life had been erased (even if it was an accidental killing).

A Levitical city of refuge was the only place in Israel (or the whole planet for that matter) where a man who had committed an accidental killing could be safe.

If he ever ventured outside of the safe confines of the sanctuary city and was caught by the Kinsman Redeemer, he was dead meat.

But, and this is a HUUUUUUUGE “but”, the Torah contains a mysterious and unexplained provision that will enable the man who accidentally killed someone to leave the city of refuge minus having to worry about having his life being taken by the Kinsmen Blood Avenger.

What was this strange provision?

The provision was the death of the High Priest.

When the High Priest passed away, the one being held captive inside the Sanctuary City was free to leave and did not have to worry about the Blood Avenger.

In fact, if the Blood Avenger did avenge the death of his kin under this particular circumstance, it would be him who would now be accused of murder which before the advent of Yeshua was an intentional and thus unforgivable sin.

However, we still have to answer that $64,000 question:

“Why in the heck did the High Priest’s death give a man who had accidentally killed someone the freedom to leave his City of Refuge without consequence?”

Or another way to put it…

…how come a man who had committed an accidental murder was suddenly in the clear because of the death of the High Priest?

As to be expected, this issue has been hotly debated to no end among the Jewish sages.

Yet, even though no clear conclusion has ever been reached, the majority of the ancient Rabbis have come to an agreement on one point even though it is never really explicitly articulated.

What point of agreement might I be talking about?

It is this:

The Hebrew Sages concluded that the death of the High Priest served as an ATONEMENT for those captives being held in the cities of refuge.

Let me say that again.

The death of the High Priest ATONED for all those men being held captive inside the sanctuary cities.

Therefore, when all these anti-missionaries affirm there is nowhere in the Torah where it says a man can atone for another man’s sins, I would love to point them to the part of the Torah dealing with the 6 Cities of Refuge.

But not only that, I also love to share this quote straight from the heart of Judaism.  

I call this the one quote the anti-missionaries do NOT want you to see.

It’s taken from a book titled “The Way of God” written by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato (otherwise known as RAMCHAL).

Here it is.

“As a result of this principle, suffering and pain may be imposed on a tzaddik (righteous person) as an atonement for his entire generation. This tzaddik must then accept the suffering with love for the benefit of his generation, just as he accepts the suffering imposed upon him for his own sake. In doing so, he benefits his generation by atoning for it, and at the same time is himself elevated to a very great degree. For a tzaddik such as this is made into one of the leaders in the Community of the Future World, as discussed earlier.”

The quote then goes on to say…

“The world and everything in it are in a degraded evil state, and require that God’s unfathomable wisdom bring about the numerous chains of events to achieve their rectification. Among the more important elements of this sequence is the requirement that man must be punished for his wickedness until the Attribute of Justice is satisfied. God arranged matters, however, so that select perfect individuals could rectify things for others, as discussed earlier. The Attribute of Justice therefore relates to them rather than to the rest of the world in general.”

Hmm…I don’t know about you but it kind of sounds like something Yeshua accomplished (thick sarcasm intended).

Of course, we New Testament believers don’t have any problem accepting this because we see a direct parallel to the High Priest’s death and Abraham’s Bosom and Yeshua’s sacrifice.

If a man commits a forgivable sin, his soul is rushed to the safety of the sanctuary city known as Abraham’s bosom.

Keep in mind, he is like a prisoner, being held captive there until he is freed.

Yet, although a prisoner, he is still in complete safety and in a place where the Blood Avenger can’t get at him.

The idea of Abraham’s bosom didn’t come about right away but eventually later in the Biblical era it took hold.

Of course, the big question in the air was…

…what in the world was the release mechanism for all those souls being held captive inside of Abraham’s Bosom?

Well, we now know the answer is Yeshua.

Once Yeshua, our High Priest died, his death atoned for all of the captives in Abraham’s bosom enabling them to leave their intermediate holding place and go directly to heaven without fear of being stopped or attacked by any Kinsmen Redeemer or Blood Avenger.

CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT

“This is why it says,
“After he went up into the heights,
he led captivity captive
and he gave gifts to mankind.”
Now this phrase, “he went up,”
what can it mean if not that
he first went down into the lower parts,
that is, the earth?
The one who went down is himself
the one who also went up,
far above all of heaven,
in order to fill all things.”
-Ephesians 4:8-10