Ezekiel 45:22

22 On the first day of the festival the ruling prince must offer a bull as a sacrifice for his sins and for those of all the people.

Ezekiel 45:22 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 45:22

And upon that day
The fourteenth day of the month Nisan; the first day of the passover, as Kimchi observes: shall the prince prepare for himself, and for all the people of the
land, a bullock for a sin offering;
here everything again is new, as the above Jewish writer observes; no one circumstance according to the law of Moses; which shows that this respects Gospel times; when the law would be null and void, the types and shadows gone, and the antitype take place, Christ the sum of all; under the law, every family was to prepare a lamb for themselves; but here the prince is to prepare for himself, and all the people of the land; by that it was to be a lamb, here a bullock, and that for a sin offering; whereas not a bullock, but a goat, was used for a sin offering. Christ himself is this Prince, and who has prepared himself a sacrifice, even for himself, his church, which is mystically himself; and to make atonement for all those sins which he took upon himself by imputation, and made his own; even for all his chosen people, and for all their sins: of his preparing this sacrifice, both to be offered up, and to be held forth in the ministry of the word, (See Gill on Ezekiel 45:17), and who is very fitly represented by a bullock for his labouriousness and strength, in bearing the sins of his people, when he became an offering for them.

Ezekiel 45:22 In-Context

20 On the seventh day of the month you are to do the same thing on behalf of anyone who sins unintentionally or through ignorance. In this way you will keep the Temple holy.
21 "On the fourteenth day of the first month you will begin the celebration of the Passover Festival. For seven days everyone will eat bread made without yeast.
22 On the first day of the festival the ruling prince must offer a bull as a sacrifice for his sins and for those of all the people.
23 On each of the seven days of the festival he is to sacrifice to the Lord seven bulls and seven rams without any defects and burn them whole. He is also to sacrifice a male goat each day as a sin offering.
24 For each bull and each ram that is sacrificed, there is to be an offering of half a bushel of grain and three quarts of olive oil.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.