Though the sacrificial rite as found in the Old Testament was a type for the atoning sacrifice of Christ, the plain statement of the nature of his death was lost to Israel of that day. Even the great type in the wilderness wherein Moses raised the brazen serpent on a pole was little understood (see John 3:14). The prophecy of the nature of his death was indeed most remarkable, crucifixion not being a form of capital punishment practiced by the Israelites. For the prophecy to be fulfilled, events would have to so conspire that Christ would be rejected and condemned by his own nation and executed by another.