Leviticus 1:3

3 "'If the offering is a whole burnt offering from the herd, it must be a male that has nothing wrong with it. The person must take the animal to the entrance of the Meeting Tent so that the Lord will accept the offering.

Leviticus 1:3 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 1:3

If his offering [be] a burnt sacrifice of the herd
So called, because consumed by fire, see ( Leviticus 6:9 ) even all of it except the skin, and therefore its name with the Greeks is "a whole burnt offering", as in ( Mark 12:33 ) its name in Hebrew is (hlwe) , which comes from a word which signifies to "ascend" or "go up", because not only it was carried up to the altar by the priest, which was common to other sacrifices, but being burnt upon it, it ascended upwards in smoke and vapour; it was typical of Christ's dolorous sufferings and death, who therein sustained the fire of divine wrath, and his strength was dried up like a potsherd with it. Jarchi on ( Leviticus 1:1 ) says, there were in the burnt offerings mysteries of future things:

let him offer a male;
and not a female, pointing at the Messiah's sex, and his strength and excellency, the child that was to be born, and the Son to be given, whose name should be Immanuel:

without blemish;
or [perfect], having no part wanting, nor any part superfluous, nor any spot upon it, see ( Leviticus 22:19-24 ) denoting the perfection of Christ as man, being in all things made like unto his brethren, and his having not the least stain or blemish of sin upon him, either original or actual, and so could, as he did, offer up himself without spot to God, ( Hebrews 2:17 ) ( 9:14 ) ( 1 Peter 1:19 ) :

and he shall offer it of his own voluntary will;
not forced or compelled to it, or with any reluctancy, but as a pure freewill offering; so our Lord Jesus Christ laid down his life of himself, and freely gave himself an offering and a sacrifice, and became cheerfully and readily obedient unto death:

at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the Lord;
it was to be done openly and publicly, and in the presence of the Lord, to whom it was offered up; showing, that Christ's sacrifice would be offered up to God, against whom we have sinned, by which his law would be fulfilled, his justice satisfied, and wrath appeased, and that his death would be public and notorious; see ( Luke 24:18-20 ) .

Leviticus 1:3 In-Context

1 The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the Meeting Tent, saying,
2 "Tell the people of Israel: 'When you bring an offering to the Lord, bring as your offering an animal from the herd or flock.
3 "'If the offering is a whole burnt offering from the herd, it must be a male that has nothing wrong with it. The person must take the animal to the entrance of the Meeting Tent so that the Lord will accept the offering.
4 He must put his hand on the animal's head, and the Lord will accept it to remove the person's sin so he will belong to God.
5 He must kill the young bull before the Lord, and Aaron's sons, the priests, must bring its blood and sprinkle it on all sides of the altar at the entrance to the Meeting Tent.
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.