“For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore, Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate” (Hebrews 13:11-12).
As is so often the case when studying the book of Hebrews, a working thorough knowledge of the Old Testament is essential to understanding and appreciating this inspired passage.
On the annual Day of Atonement–Yom Kippur–“the bull for the sin offering and the goat for the sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the Holy Place, shall be carried outside the camp. And they shall burn in the fire their skins, their flesh, and their offal” (Leviticus 16:27). This commanded practice is what verse eleven refers to; it foreshadowed the fact that when the body of the Lamb of God was offered up (1,500 years after Moses) on humanity’s universal Day of Atonement, Jesus would be crucified outside Jerusalem’s walls (John 19:20).
Because of His timelessness, the one true and living God knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10, 48:3). Therefore, only Jehovah could reveal a document with this kind of detailed foreshadowing and precise fulfillment.
