Does it feel like time to celebrate New Year’s yet? You may have noticed that our Jewish friends are in the midst of just such a celebration. Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) began at sunset last Wednesday, and comprises “Ten Days of Awe” that conclude with Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement)—sunset next Friday through sunset next Saturday. Together, these observances are called the “High Holidays” and are rooted in the words of Leviticus 23:27-32.

In ancient days, on one day of the year, the Jewish High Priest entered the Holy of Holies to put the blood of the sacrificed animal on the altar as a sin offering. Today, Jews observe Yom Kippur as a day of fasting and reflecting upon one’s sin.

We’ve got good news, don’t we? Consider what God has done for us in Jesus, the Messiah:

For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him (Hebrews 9:24-28, NIV).

There is hope for a new day, a new year, a new life, and a new creation—and it is available “in Christ.” Let’s pray for all who bring their sack of sins to an altar, examine them, and then stuff them back into the sack to be carried about for another year. Let’s ask the Spirit of the Living God to reveal the “once for all” sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin. Let’s ask the Spirit to allow us to be the ones who share the message of hope and life! Let’s gather next Sunday to celebrate those who respond to Christ and “pass from death unto life” in Him.