阅读经文 

前面我们谈到了祭司在进入会幕中的圣所之前，必须用水清洗自己，象征着洗去他们的罪。因为罪的工价乃是死，所以祭司要代替有罪的人献上象征罪被洗净的祭牲。然后，祭司将祭牲的血洒在人们身上，表示他们的罪已被赎清。然而，祭司用水清洗和洒血并不能真正除去人们的罪。（参来 10:11）

藉着神的灵，以赛亚预言了一位牺牲受苦的仆人，尽管祂是无罪的，却来代表神的子民，承担了他们的罪。（参赛 49-50, 52:13-53:12）这位仆人就是耶稣，祂成为了至圣的、无罪的大祭司，为赦免我们所有的罪甘心献上了自己，并用自己的血为祭，在灵里遮盖了我们的罪。（参来 8-10）

旧约的祭司们期待着未来神以某种方式除去罪的那一天，而今天我们可以回顾瞻望基督耶稣的十字架。当人在洗礼的水中被洗净、被遮盖时，这一切仪式都成了基督救赎的象征物。如果下次有人问你：“你是什么时候得救的？”请你一定要回答：“大约两千年前”。

Earlier we talked about priests who had to wash with water, symbolically washing their sins away before they came into God's holy presence in the tabernacle (Oct. 8). Because the seriousness of sin resulted in death, the symbolically purified priest would sacrifice an animal in the place of the sinful people. The priest would then sprinkle the sacrificial blood on the people to show that their sins were atoned for. Yet the priest's washing with water and the sprinkling of blood did not actually take away the people's sin (Hebrews 10:11).

 By the Spirit of God, Isaiah prophesied about a dedicated, suffering Servant who came to represent God's people and take their sins on himself, even though he was innocent of sin (Isaiah 49-50; 52:13-53:12). This Servant was Jesus, and he became the great, sinless High Priest who offered himself for the forgiveness of all of our sins, and spiritually covered us with his blood (Hebrews 8-10).

 Old Testament priests looked forward to the day when God would somehow deal with sin, and today we can look back to the cross of Christ Jesus. And all of this is symbolized when someone is washed, covered in the waters of baptism. The next time someone asks you, "When were you saved?" be sure to answer, "About two thousand years ago."