(Hebrews 10:19-31)

by Pastor Jerry Marshall, New Community Church

Since the seventh chapter of this book, the writer has been addressing the issue of the superior sacrifice offered by Jesus Christ who is our superior high priest and who presented His once for all time sacrifice in a superior place which is heaven, the abode of God. The purpose for presenting this important information was to strengthen the faith of the Jewish believers so that they might remain steadfast in their loyalty and devotion to Jesus as their Messiah and Savior as they faced persecution (cf. 10:32-39).

In addition, the writer of Hebrews sought to convince those Jews who had been enlightened to the truth of the true identity of Jesus and His saving work, but had not yet committed to placing their total trust in Him for the salvation of their soul. These Jews, who had associated with the church but yet were not part of the church, were in dire danger of committing apostasy.

As the writer brings his discussion of the superiority of the sacrifice of Christ to a close, he issues both an invitation and a strong word of exhortation as a practical response to what he has written about since the seventh chapter.

I. The Invitation (10:19-25)

(v.19) The word "confidence" comes from the Greek word, parrësía which speaks of an outspoken conviction of the truthfulness of something, or a sort of open and courageous attitude of certainty. In this passage, it is the confidence that we can come boldly into the presence of God by way of the superior sacrifice of Christ presented in our behalf. This certitude is linked with what the writer addressed previously in this chapter as well as chapters 7-9.

To the Jew who took the Old Covenant seriously, this invitation would be awesome, terrifying and yet wonderful. Only one Jew, the high priest could enter into the holy of holies but once a year. He did this with a sense of profound reverence and with a genuine fear. But now, because of the sacrifice of our great high priest and because we possess His righteousness, all true believers can enter into the holy place with a sense of confidence that is not rooted in their accomplishments or merits, but in Christ and His provision of salvation. A true believer can enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus.

(v. 20) We enter by a new and living way which is descriptive of the sacrificial death and victorious resurrection of our Lord that has provided the exclusive way by which mankind can be saved (cf. John 14:6, Acts 4:12). It is interesting to note that the early disciples of Jesus were called "followers of The Way".

This way was opened through the veil, that is, His flesh. This clearly teaches that the veil between the two compartments of the tabernacle was a type of the body of our Lord. In order for us to have access into God's presence, the veil had to be rent, that is, His body had to be broken in death. This reminds us that we cannot draw near by Christ's sinless life, but only by His vicarious death. Only through the mortal wounds of the Lamb can we go in. Every time we enter God's presence in prayer or worship, let us remember that the privilege was bought for us at tremendous cost.¹

(vv. 21-25) The writer of Hebrews uses the triad of Christian virtues; faith, hope and love to make his point (vv. 22-24). The reality of having Jesus as our great high priest prompts the writer of Hebrews to invite his readers to draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith. To draw near to a holy God is a blood-bought privilege.

There is a fourfold description of how we should be spiritually groomed in entering the throne room.

1. With a sincere heart. The people of Israel drew near to God with their mouth, and honored Him with their lips, but their heart was often far from Him (Matthew 15:8). Our approach should be with utter sincerity.

2. In full assurance of faith. We draw near with utter confidence in the promises of God and with the firm conviction that we shall have a gracious reception into His presence.

3. Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. This can be brought about only by the new birth. When we trust Christ, we appropriate the value of HIs blood. Figuratively speaking, we sprinkle our hearts with it, just as the Israelites sprinkled their doors with the blood of the Passover lamb.

4. And our bodies washed with pure water. Again this is symbolic language. Our bodies represent our lives. The pure water might refer to the word (Ephesians 5:25-26), to the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39), or to the Holy Spirit using the word in cleansing our lives form daily defilement.

We are cleansed once for all from the guilt of sin by the death of Christ, but cleansed repeatedly from the defilement of sin by the Spirit through the word (see John 13:10). Thus we might summarize the four requisites for entering God's presence as sincerity, assurance, salvation, and sanctification.²

(v. 23) The exhortation in this verse (23) reminds us of Hebrews 4:14. This is a strong appeal to remain steadfast in terms of our faith in Christ as the Messiah and the Savior and not be tossed around in our expectant confidence of all that has been promised to us in Christ. The foundation of our hope is the very nature of God who has a proven track record of being faithful. Faithfulness is a part of the very fiber of His nature.

When God makes a promise, that promise will infallibly be kept. He has taken the initiative in making the promise, and He will fulfill His purposes in making it.³

A true believer will be around in the end. He may become discouraged or frustrated, and occasionally fall into a sinful habit. But he will hold fast the confession of his hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. A true believer's faith and hope are never in vain, because they are in God who is faithful to His promises. "Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass" (1 Thessalonians 5:24). God will do His part and the true believer will also do his.⁴

(v. 24) This is one of about 50 "one another" commands or exhortations in the New Testament. Jesus said that the mutual exchange of Christ-like love is a testimony to the world that we are truly His disciples (John 13:34-35).

(v. 25) The Jewish readers were having a hard time breaking with the Old Covenant, with the Temple and the sacrifices. They were still holding on to the legalism and ritual ceremony, the outward things of Judaism. So the writer is telling them that one of the best ways to hold fast to the things of God—the real things of God that are found only in the New Covenant of Jesus Christ—is to be in the fellowship of His people, where they could love and be loved, serve and be served. There is no better place to come all the way to faith in Christ, or to hope continually in Him, than the church, His Body.⁵

The word "forsaking" is a translation of the Greek word enkataliepo which refers to a willful deserting or abandoning. In this context, it is a willful abandoning. In this context, it is a willful abandoning of the church assembled for worship, instruction and fellowship. This had become the habit of some probably due to the persecution inflicted upon the Jewish believers by their fellow Jews who rejected Jesus as the Messiah and Savior (cf. 10:32-39).

Instead of forsaking the assembly, they needed to run to the assembly in order to be fully engaged in mutual encouragement. And this is to be the response of those who are members of the body of Christ especially as the day of Christ's Second Coming draws near. For then the saints will suffer greatly and will be in need of the comfort and encouragement of the body of Christ.

II. The Exhortation (10:26-31)

A. Don't reject the sufficient sacrifice (vv. 26-31)

This is the fourth of the five parenthetical warnings issued by the writer of this book. It is addressed to those Jews who have been enlightened to the truth about Jesus and His work of redemption but have not yet trusted in Him to liberate them from sins' curse and condemnation.

(vv. 26-27) Here is possibly the clearest and most concise scriptural definition of apostasy-receiving knowledge of the truth, that is, the gospel, but willfully remaining in sin. An apostate has seen and heard the truth—he knows it well—but he willfully rejects it.⁶ The proof of the apostate's rejection is that the knowledge of the truth has not made any difference in interrupting his ongoing pattern of sin as a lifestyle. Having rejected the sufficient sacrifice of Christ for salvation, the apostate has left himself without any sacrifice for sins. The Old Testament sacrifices cannot cleanse his conscience and take his sins away.

Every apostate is an unbeliever, but not every unbeliever is an apostate. Many people have never had the opportunity to hear the Gospel, even in part. They are sinful and, of course, do not believe in Christ, because they have never heard of Him or of His claims. An apostate, however, is well acquainted with the gospel. He knows more than enough to be saved.

The apostate rejects the saving work of Jesus Christ at the point of full and complete revelation. What he can expect for his rejection is a day of certain judgment (v. 27).

It is impossible to renew the apostate to repentance (Hebrews 6:4-6). He has knowingly and willfully cut himself off from God's grace in Christ. His fate is a fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.

(v. 28) The doom of the lawbreaker in the Old Testament is now introduced to form a backdrop against which to contrast the greater doom of the apostate. A man who broke Moses' law by becoming an idolater died without mercy when his guilt was proven by the testimony of two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:2-6).

(v. 29) The apostate will be counted worthy of much worse punishment because his privilege has been much greater. The enormity of his sin is seen in the three charges that are leveled against him:

1. He has trampled the Son of God underfoot. After professing to be a follower of Jesus, he now brazenly asserts that he wants nothing more to do with Him. He denies any need for Christ as Savior and positively rejects Him as Lord.

2. He has counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing. He counts as useless and unholy the blood of Christ which ratified the New Covenant. He had been set apart by this blood in a place of external privilege. Through his association with Christian people, he had been sanctified, just as an unbelieving husband is sanctified by his believing wife (1 Corinthians 7:14). But that does not mean he was saved.

To have trampled under foot means to have scorned, to have counted as worthless. A person who sees a coin on the sidewalk may think it is a slug and walk by it or perhaps kicks it into a gutter. He doesn't bother to pick it up and examine it. Some people walk by Christ and think He is nothing. They see Him clearly, and have gotten close enough to example Him carefully had they chosen to. But they count Him as worthless, and go on their way. It is a fearful and damning thing to count as worthless the One whom the Father has declared to be of infinite worth.⁷

3. He has insulted the Spirit of grace. The Spirit of God had illuminated him concerning the good news, convicted him of sin, and pointed him to Christ as the only Refuge of the soul. But he had insulted the gracious Spirit by utterly despising Him and the salvation He offered.

(v. 30) Willful repudiation of God's beloved Son is a sin of immense magnitude. God will sin in judgment on all who are guilty of it. He has said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay" (see Deuteronomy 32:35). Vengeance in this sense means full justice. When used of God it has no thought of vindictiveness or of "getting even". It is simply the meting out of what a person actually deserves. Knowing the character of God, we can be sure that He will do as He has said by repaying the apostate in just measure.

And again, "The Lord will judge His people". God will avenge and vindicate those who truly belong to Him, but here in verse 30, the obvious reference is to judgment of evil people.

If it causes difficulty to think of apostates being spoken of as His people, we should remember that they are His by creation and also for a while by profession. He is their Creator though not their Redeemer and they once professed to be His people, even though they never knew Him personally.

(v. 31) The abiding lesson for all is this: do not be among those who fall into God's hands for judgment because it is a fearful thing. Nothing in this passage of Scripture was ever intended to disturb and unsettle the minds of those who truly belong to Christ. The passage was purposely written in its sharp, searching, challenging style so that all who profess the name of Christ might be warned about the terrible consequences of turning away from Him.⁸

¹ MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997). Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments (Heb 10:20). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
² MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997). Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments (Heb 10:22). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
³ Morris, L. (1981). Hebrews. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Volume 12: Hebrews Through Revelation (F. E. Gaebelein, Ed.) (104). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.
⁴ MacArthur, J. (1996). Hebrews (267). Chicago: Moody Press.
⁵ MacArthur, J. (1996). Hebrews (268). Chicago: Moody Press.
⁶ MacArthur, J. (1996). Hebrews (272). Chicago: Moody Press.
⁷ MacArthur, J. (1996). Hebrews (279). Chicago: Moody Press.
⁸ MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997). Believer's Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments (Heb 10:28-31). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

(Hebrews 10:1-18)

by Pastor Jerry Marshall, New Community Church

The central theme of the book of Hebrews is the superiority of Jesus Christ. The book begins by highlighting the fact that Jesus is superior revelation than that of the visions, dreams and the words of the OT. (1:1-2) He is superior to the angels because He is the Son of God, the one who created the angels. (1:3-11) And superior to Moses in that He served as a Son over God's house. (3:1-6)

He is a superior high priest than the Aaronic priesthood of the OT I. the priesthood of our Lord preceded the priesthood of Aaron lasts forever. (7:1-8:6) (The Aaronic priesthood has a starting and ending point) The superior priesthood of Jesus is also the fact that He presented a superior sacrifice.

That brings us to this tenth chapter where the writer of Hebrews presents a contrast between the inability of the OT sacrificial system intake away sin and to secure salvation, and the all sufficient Christ which achieved all of God's objectives for the souls of those who would trust in Christ alone to rescue them from sins penalty and power, and ultimately from the future presence of sin.

This is most important because the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ .the cross and His victorious resurrection is God's solitary solution for man's greatest problem.

It eliminates any other formula for approaching a holy God for the forgiveness of sins and the salvation of your soul.

The interesting thing that we find in this text is that the inadequacies of the OT sacrificial system are also the same inadequacies of any sort of works righteous formula of salvation.

"The shortcomings of the OT sacrifices are the same shortcoming of those who attempt to approach God for forgiveness or salvation with their good works, religious devotion or their "Christian" rituals, sacraments or humanitarian benevolence.

They too fall short of accomplishing the objective of deliverance from guilt and condemnation.

The writer of Hebrews addresses the inadequacies of the Levitical sacrifices in several places in this chapter.

I. The Inadequacies of the OT Sacrificial System (Hebrews 10:1-5,11)

Why were the Old Covenant sacrifices inadequate? After all, they were ordained by the Lord; and they were in force for hundreds of years.

A. They were mandated to be repeated proving they could not achieve permanent forgiveness (vv.1-2,11).

Repetition conflicts with finality.

(10:1) The very nature of their repetitiveness proved their inability to meet the claims of a holy God; otherwise they would not have to be offered time and time again. The sacrificial system of the OT was a type or picture of the work our Lord would accomplish on the cross. This meant that the system was temporary. It had a temporary purpose. That purpose ended when our Messiah presented the ultimate sacrifice of Himself in order to take away sin.

(10:1b) When the writer speaks of these sacrifices being offered continually year by year he has the Day of Atonement in mind.

The annual repetition of the ceremony was evidence that the previous year's sacrifices had not done the job. True, the nation's sins were covered; but they were not cleansed. Nor did the people have God's inward witness of forgiveness and acceptance.¹

OT sacrificial system pictured the severity of sins penalty: a life would have to be taken in order to satisfy the righteous demands of a Holy God.

They illustrate the truth that without the shedding of blood, there would be no forgiveness of sins. The earthly lambs sacrificed to atone for sins of the worshipper were a picture of the heavenly Lamb of God who would take away sin forever.

"Under the Old Covenant, the priests were busy all day long, from dawn to sunset, slaughtering and sacrificing animals, It is estimated that at Passover as many as three hundred thousand lambs would be slain within a week. The slaughter would be so massive that blood would run out of the Temple ground through specially prepared channels into the Brook Kidron, which seemed to be running with blood." ²

Under the first covenant (the old testament), animals were sacrificed for man's sins. The animal had to be pure and flawless, having no impurity or flaw whatsoever. When It was sacrificed, it symbolized…

• that a sinless life was bearing the sins of men.
• that man's sins were being laid upon a sinless life who was bearing the guilt and condemnation of sin for the man.
• that a perfect and flawless life was being sacrificed as a substitute for sinful man.

However, note a critical point: animals are not perfect. They are as much a part of this physical and material earth as men are. They age and die just as men do. Therefore, the sacrifice of animals was an imperfect sacrifice. They were bound to be only symbolizing and pointing to the perfect sacrifice that was yet to come. Note another fact as well. An animal is not a man; therefore, it could never be an acceptable sacrifice or substitute for man. The only sacrifice that could become a sacrificial substitute for man would be another man, and that man would have to be the perfect and ideal man. Why? Because only the ideal righteousness could cover other men. A sinful righteousness is no better than the righteousness man already has. What man needs is the perfect, ideal righteousness that can stand for and cover him–that can present him to God and make him acceptable as righteous and sinless.

This brings us to the second covenant of God. God established the covenant or testament with man. This is the point of this passage: to show that Jesus Christ is the Minister or Mediator of the new covenant with man. In fact, Jesus Christ Himself is the perfect sacrifice for the sins of men.³

So OT sacrifices were to serve as a picture but could not make perfect those who drew near to God and offered them.

The word "Perfect" is a translation of the Greek word Teleio which bringing something to completion, or to bring something to its intended result.

What the OT sacrifices could not do is to bring the worshipper to a point of complete salvation and the cleansing of the conscious from the guilt of sin.

(10:2) If the OT sacrifices would have accomplished this end, the worshipper would have ceased to offer them repeatedly.

The conscious refers to man's innate awareness of sin in his life and of his sense of guilt because of it.

They would have experienced inward witness of full and final forgiveness. But that's not what happened-that leads to another reason why they were inadequate.

B. They were designed for the remembrance of sin and not the remission of sin (vv.3-4).

Remission of sin refers to being released from the guilt and penalty of sin.

(10:3) The annual sacrifice on the Day of the Atonement was a visible reminder of the people's sins.

The message that was being communicated by those repeated sacrifices is that the people offering them are sinners who need savior to provide a sufficient unrepeatable sacrifice that would achieve eternal redemption.

(10:4) The animal sacrifices of the OT have no power to remove the condemnation of sin or the mastery of sin from those who present them. They could only remind them of the truth that they are sinners who desperately needed a sufficient savior.

II. The Superiority of the Sacrifice of Christ

This is what sets the sacrifice of Jesus Christ far and above the OT sacrificial system.

A. It was reflective of God's eternal will in redemption (10:5-7).

(10:5) The word sacrifice refers to any of the animal sacrifices. Offering covers the meal offerings and the drink offerings.

In eternity past, God the Father had decreed that His Son would provide the once for all time sacrifice that would rescue those whom the Father had given to the Son saving them from sin and it's eternal condemnation. (John 6:38-39).

The will of the father in redemption was the supreme passion of Jesus' earthly ministry.

John 4:34 (NASB)

34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work."

Peter spoke of God's eternal plan of salvation in his powerful sermon on the day of Pentecost, 50 days after the death and resurrection of the Lord.

Acts 2:22-23 (NASB)

22 "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know-

23 the Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death."

Acts 4:27-28 (NIV)

27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. 

28 They did what your power and will had decided before should happen.

The OT sacrificial system had a purpose which was stated for us in verse 3. They were a reminder of sin but could not take away sin.

When we celebrate communion, we don't remember sin, we remember that one who saved us from sin because He accomplished the will of God in redemption.

The Old Testament sacrifices-were a public notice, before God and humanity, that the people were still sinners (Numbers 5:15).

In the new covenant, God will ''remember'' their sins ''no more" (8:12; 10:17).

B. It replaced the OT sacrificial system (10:8-9).

(10:8) The terms used in this verse are a summary of the whole sacrificial system of the OT.

(10:9) Our Lord removed the OT sacrificial system and replaced it with the ultimate NT sacrifice. And that is the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross.

The shadow had to give way to the substance. OT sacrifices were never meant to be permanent or truly effective in taking away sin.

The were symbolic of the kind of sacrifice that had to be made and why it had to be made.

C. It sanctifies the genuine believer (10:10).

We who are believers in Jesus Christ are the recipients of our Lord's will in redemption. We are not the initiators of our salvation or the means of appropriating this redemption through our personal merit or choice.

This will of God in redemption was accomplished for us by the once for all time sacrifice of God's only begotten Son.

It was the will of God in redemption that we would be sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

To be sanctified is to be set apart by God for God, thus the word "saint". In this passage, it is synonymous with being saved, rescued from sins eternal condemnation and bondage so that you might serve the true and living God.

The word speaks of both a positional and practical sanctification.

D. It takes away sin (10:11-13).

The Levitical sacrifices, with all their Priests and their repetition could never take away sin. But Christ offered himself as our substitute sacrifice resulting in our sins being taken away once and for all.

And Jesus did what no High Priest ever did on the Day of Atonement, He went into the very sanctuary of God and sat down at the right hand of the Father indicating that the work of redemption was finished once and for all and fully accepted and the sufficient payment for our sins once and for all.

MacArthur states in his commentary:

"These two verses are a series of contrasts-the many priests with the one Priest, the continual standing of the old priests with the sitting down of the new, the repeated offerings with the once-for-all offering, and the ineffective sacrifices that only covered sin with the effective sacrifice that completely removes sin."⁴

John the Baptist said of Jesus…

Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29).

The OT sacrifices reminded the Jews of their sins and the NT sacrifice of Christ, takes them away!

(10:13) And now Jesus waits for the day when all of his enemies will bow their knees and confess openly that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of His heavenly Father.

Christ has already conquered Satan, sin, death, demons and this fallen world.

E. It gives the genuine believer eternal perfection (10:14).

Those who are sanctified refer to all true believers. The word "perfected" which is a translation of the word teleioo, refers to being eternally purified from your sins.

It speaks of the attainment of our salvation and open access to God because of the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This is why the writer of Hebrews concludes as he does in verse 18.

F. It fulfills the promise of the New Covenant (10:15-18).

God had promised that in the New Covenant He would internalize His laws on the hearts and minds of those who belong to Him.

His law would go from external tables of stone into an internal dynamic impacting the intellect, emotions, and will of those who have been made perfect by the once of all time sacrifice of Christ.

Furthermore, their sins and lawless deeds would not be remembered by God unto condemnation. It's not that God omniscience would be short circuited-but rather that God would not remember their sins for the purpose of condemnation.

And the only way that the promises of the New Covenant could become a reality is if a sufficient and satisfying sacrifice was made that covered the debt of sin for those who would be redeemed.

Since that sacrifice was made and accepted by God the Father, and since the father has forgiven the sins of those who have trusted in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for their salvation, there is no longer an offering for sin. The deal has been done.

It is finished! The price has been paid and accepted!

¹ Wiersbe, w.W. (1996, c1989). The Bible Exposition Commentary. "An exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"-Jkt. (Heb 10:1). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.
² MacArthur, J. (1996, c1983). Hebrews. Includes index. (246).Chicago: Moody Press.
³ Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible – Commentary 
⁴ MacArthur, J. (1996, c1983). Hebrews. Includes index. (255). Chicago: Moody Press.

(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