Why animal sacrifice?
Illustration★★★★Why animal sacrifice? God used animal sacrifices in the Old Testament to foreshadow the perfect sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, who died for the sins of the world. Sin leads to death (Romans 6:23) and, in order to redeem people from the curse of sin, Jesus stepped into human history. It is a horrible consequence of sin, and animal sacrifice should have imprinted the tragedy of sin into the hearts of God’s people. The Bible says that “without shedding of blood there is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). Jesus paid this price with His own life so we no longer offer animal sacrifices today. He was “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29).
The point
Old Testament animal sacrifices foreshadowed Christ's perfect sacrifice and were meant to impress upon people the seriousness of sin's cost.