(Hebrews 9:1-14)
by Pastor Jerry Marshall, New Community Church
We have seen that Christ's priesthood is better than Aaron's because it belongs to a better order, that of Melchizedek (Hebrews chapter 7) and because it is administered under a better covenant, namely the New Covenant (Hebrews chapter 8). Here in Hebrews chapter 9 we will see that Christ's priesthood is superior because it is administered from a better sanctuary.
I. The Earthly Sanctuary (Hebrews 9:1-10)
1. The Information (9:1-7)
a. The objects in the Tabernacle (9:1-15)
These verses simply describe the furniture of the tabernacle. The tabernacle courtyard contained an alter for animal sacrifice, a laver for ceremonial washings, and the tent itself (the word tabernacle literally means "tent").
The tabernacle was divided into two rooms by a veil. The first part was the sanctuary or holy place, housing the lampstand, the table for the showbread, and the altar of incense. The second room was the Most Holy Place (verse 3) containing the Ark of the Covenant, in which were stored symbols of the Mosaic covenant. The pot of manna reminded the people of God's miraculous provision for them in the wilderness. Aaron's rod was a sign of the authority of the priesthood. God had ordained Aaron and his sons to be representatives of the people before Him. The tables were the Ten Commandments given to the nation at Mount Sinai. On top of the ark was the mercy seat, the place were God made His presence known. Golden censer: in this passage, it sounds as if the censer was placed in the Most Holy Place, when in fact it was just outside the veil that separated the Most Holy Place from the holy place. Because of its function, the censer was commonly associated with the Most Holy Place (see Exodus 30:6; 40:6).1
b. The overseers of the Tabernacle (9:6-7)
In verses 6 and 7 the duties of both priests and the high priest are listed.
The focus now shifts from the contents of the tabernacle to the services that took place there. The first covenant required that the people approach God through their representatives, the priests.
These men regularly entered the outer room or first tent to carry on their ministry. This included the daily trimming of the lamps (Exodus 27:21), the weekly replacement of the breads (Leviticus 24:5) and the daily sacrifices (Exodus 29:38-46). The unique role of the high priest was to enter the inner room, and that only once a year, on the Day of Atonement. Entrance into the Most Holy Place was never without blood, which the high priest offered for himself and for the sins of the people had committed in ignorance (cf. Leviticus 16). This ritual made it perfectly clear that God could only be approached on his own terms.2
2. The Illustration (9:8-10)
The Holy Spirit used the many regulations surrounding the use of the Tabernacle to illustrate the fatal weakness of the earthly Tabernacle – namely, its sacrifices could not cleanse the hearts of the people.
The fact that the outer court ("first tabernacle", Hebrews 9:6) was standing was proof that God's work of salvation for man had not yet been completed. The outer court stood between the people and the holy of holies! As long as the priests were ministering in the holy place, the way had not yet been opened into the presence of God. But when Jesus died on the cross, the veil of the temple was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:50-51) and the way was opened into the holy of holies. There was no longer any need for either the holy place or the holy of holies, for now believing sinners could come into the presence of God.
The sacrifices offered and the blood applied to the mercy seat could never change the heart or the conscience of a worshiper. All of the ceremonies associated with the tabernacle had to do with ceremonial purity, not moral purity. There were "carnal ordinances" that pertained to the outer man but that could not change the inner man.3
II. The Heavenly Sanctuary (Hebrews 9:11-15)
This sanctuary is superior to the earthly one in four areas.
1. The person offering the sacrifice (9:11)
The person offering the sacrifice is Jesus Christ Himself.
Unlike the fallen and flawed high priest of Israel, Jesus, the sinless Son of God, entered the perfect tabernacle in heaven (Hebrews 9:24), in order to present the perfect saving sacrifice.
The text can be translated in two ways. Some translations read, "Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here". Other translations have the reading "of the good things to come". The one translation relates to the present; the other, to the future.
How do we resolve the difficulty? That is, which of the two translations is to be preferred? The reading good things to come is similar to the wording of Hebrews 10:1. Possibly a scribe copying 9:11 may have been influenced by the reading of 10:1. The more difficult reading is the one that lacks an immediate parallel and therefore is preferred – in this case "the good things that are already here".
What are these good things that Christ has provided? The author of Hebrews does not say. But we assume that he intimates the close fellowship that God has with his people, the knowledge of God and his law in the hearts and minds of his people, and the remission of sin that God has given his people (Hebrews 8:10-12). The blessings Christ has brought since his coming are innumerable; for this reason the author speaks in general terms and writes "the good things that are already here".4
2. The preciousness of the sacrifice (9:12b)
Jesus offered His own blood.
This verse highlights the superiority of the sacrifice presented by our Lord; it is superior in nature. Unlike the sacrifices of the Old Covenant which required the blood of goats and calves to presented to the Lord, Jesus presented His own blood as the currency for our redemption (cf. 1 Peter 1:18-19).
3. The permanence of the sacrifice (9:12a)
Jesus' sacrifice was done only once and will last for all time.
Unlike the Old Testament sacrifices which had to be repeated because they never resulted in salvation, the sacrifice of Jesus was unrepeatable because the goal of salvation was fully realized by His once for all time sacrifice.
"Once for all" (ephapax) is an emphatic expression underlining the decisive character of Christ's saving work. There can be no repetition. "Redemption" (lytrösis) is the process of setting free by the payment of a ransom price, in this case the death of Jesus5
4. The power of the sacrifice (9:12c-14)
The power of the sacrifice of Jesus brings about eternal redemption.6
(9:12c) Although the sacrifices of the Old Covenant provided a temporary covering for the sins of the people of Israel from the sight of a Holy God, the sacrifice of Jesus provided eternal redemption for all who trust in it for the salvation of their soul.
(9:13) "The ashes of a heifer" point to the ceremony for purification described in Numbers 19:1-10. A red heifer was killed, the carcass was burned (together with "cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool"), and the ashes used "in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin". When anyone was ceremonially unclean because of contact with a dead body or even by entering a tent where a dead body lay (Numbers 19:14), he was made clean by the use of these ashes. The verb "sanctify" is often used of the moral and spiritual process of "sanctification". Here, however, a ritual matter is plainly in mind. The Levitical system is not dismissed as useless. It had its values and was effective within its limits. But those limits were concerned with what is outward.7
(9:14) If the ashes of a heifer had such power to cleanse from one of the most serious forms of outward defilement how much more powerful is the blood of Christ to cleanse from inward sins of the deepest dye!
His offering was through the eternal Spirit. There is some difference of opinion as to the meaning of this expression. Some interpret it to mean, "through an eternal spirit", meaning the willing spirit in which He made His sacrifice in contrast to the involuntary character of animal offerings. Others understand it to mean, "through His eternal spirit". We rather believe that the Holy Spirit is in view; He made His sacrifice in the power of the Holy Spirit.
It was an offering made to God. He was the spotless, sinless Lamb of God whose moral perfection qualified Him to be our Sin-bearer. The animal sacrifices had to be physically spotless; He was without blemish morally.
His blood cleanses the conscience from dead works to serve the living God. It is not merely a physical purging or a ceremonial cleansing but a moral renewal that purifies the conscience. It cleanses from those dead works which unbelievers produce in an effort to earn their own cleansing. It frees men from these lifeless works to serve the living God.8
2Carson, D.A. (1994). New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition (4th ed.)(Heb 9:1-10). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, Ill., USA: Inter-Varsity Press.
3Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible Exposition Commentary (Heb 9:1). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
4Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953-2001). Vol. 15: New Testament Commentary: Exposition of Hebrews. New Testament Commentary (248). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
5Gaebelein, F. E. Morris, L., Burdick, D. W., Blum, E.A., Barker, G. W., & Johnson, A. F. (1981). The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume 12: Hebrews Through Revelation (86). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
6Willmington, H. L. (1999). The Outline Bible (Hebrews 9:1-15). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
7Gaebelien, F. E., Morris, L., Burdick, D. W., Blum, E. A., Barker, G. W., & Johnson, A. F. (1981). The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume 12: Hebrews Through Revelation (86). Grad Rapids MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
8MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1987). Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments (Heb 9:14). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
