Take a look at Leviticus 4.You're coming at it from a Penal perspective too. Where does it say there was a price to be paid to God? If the sin was taken away by the sacrifice, then why did the sinner die? God said, 'the soul that sins shall die'. If the animal sacrifice took away the sin, then the sinner should not have died.
Here is the biggest issue I see. We like to assign the highest punishment for the smallest crime. Ohh, you coveted your neighbors ox, well, that’s deserving of death. You didn’t give to the needy when you had the chance.... death. Why do these debates always swing to the extreme? Not all sin leads to death according to James.
Leviticus 4 talks mostly about sins we commit in ignorance. In other words, we did, or failed to do something not knowing we should not have done it, or we should have stepped up and done something.
Leviticus 4 is about forgiveness, and it’s also about celebration. It’s about celebration because relationships are mended and in most cases, only the fat is burned while the rest is enjoyed in a communal meal.
Jesus talks about binding and loosining. If you sin against me, I have the authority to forgive you just as much as you have the authority to forgive me and by doing so, we should celebrate, and God honors this. If we can’t work it out, then one day we’ll have to hash it out and God will be our judge. Either way, the matter will get settled.