Sunday, June 22, 2008

Hebrews 10

Christ’s Sacrifice Once for All


   Along with Hebrews 6, Hebrews 10 is a favorite of the conditional security folks, even though within the chapter itself the writer clearly asserts that by His one sacrifice, the Lord has made us perfect forever. Man's way is to write conditional clauses into contracts that give him an "out" if things go wrong. Among themselves, people who deal with legal documents call these "weasel clauses" based on the idea that it's OK to "weasel" out of a deal that goes bad or that you change your mind about. So it's natural that man should look for God's weasel clauses, even taking verses out of context here and there in his attempt to prove that he's found them. We all remember being warned that a deal that looks too good to be true probably is, and let's face it, being saved by grace just for believing that Jesus died for our sins looks too good to be true. We forget that the Lord already knows how His contract with us will go, so He doesn't need any weasel clauses. And He didn't put a performance condition on us anyway, asking only that we accept by faith that He's done this for us. And since He can't lie, if His word says that we're saved unconditionally even once then that's the way it is, and anything that seems to us to contradict or modify it has to be a misunderstanding on our part. This bears repeating. If we find a verse that seems to contradict or modify God's promise that we're saved unconditionally, it means that we've misunderstood that verse. It doesn't mean that God changed His mind about it, or clarified it, or explained it in greater detail. It means that we've misunderstood. Period. Otherwise His word can't be trusted, and we'd have to go through it verse by verse, looking for weasel clauses on all His other promises, too. - Kelley, Jack, Gracethrufaith Incorporated. "The Epistle To
The Hebrews Part 7" [Online] Available www.gracethrufaith.com/selah/spiritual-life/the-epistle-to-the-hebrews-part-7


Galatians 3:10-13: But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.” But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”


(1) The old system under the *law of Moses was only a **shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship.


Hebrews 8:5: They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.”

 Colossians 2:13-17: You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths.

For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.


*law: The law, as used here, indicates that it is not merely certain types of offering and sacrifices, or selected regulations concerning priests, nor some limited portion of the old covenant that was abrogated by Christ, but the entire system.


**shadow: A shadow, not the very image
brings into sharp contrast the old and new covenants, the old being likened to a shadow, and the new to the very image of the heavenly things. Just as a man's shadow would reveal far less information about him than a three-dimensional color photograph; just so, the shadow of the heavenly things as revealed in the law is far inferior to the knowledge of God and his divine fellowship available in the new covenant.


(2) If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared.


(3) But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year.


   Whenever the Hebrew in real penitence and contrition of heart brought any sacrifice to make atonement for his sins in order that he might be acceptable to God, he was conscious within his very soul that the sacrifice and the blood thereof could never adequately atone for his sins; for his conscience was not cleansed. The same sacrifices therefore had to be repeated yearly. In view of these facts, declared the apostle, it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin.


(4) For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away *sins.


*sins: 1 John 1:9: But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness (unrighteousness).


(5) That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But *you have given me a body to offer.


1 Samuel 15:22-23: But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”

Psalm 40:6-8: You take no delight in sacrifices or offerings. Now that you have made me listen, I finally understand— you don’t require burnt offerings or sin offerings. Then I said, “Look, I have come. As is written about me in the Scriptures: I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.”

Isaiah 66:2-4: My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine. I, the Lord, have spoken! “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word. But those who choose their own ways— delighting in their detestable sins— will not have their offerings accepted. When such people sacrifice a bull, it is no more acceptable than a human sacrifice. When they sacrifice a lamb, it’s as though they had sacrificed a dog! When they bring an offering of grain, they might as well offer the blood of a pig. When they burn frankincense, it’s as if they had blessed an idol. I will send them great trouble— all the things they feared. For when I called, they did not answer. When I spoke, they did not listen. They deliberately sinned before my very eyes and chose to do what they know I despise. - So, when the high priest who tried Jesus was conducting his ceremonies, it was meaningless!

Jeremiah 7:21-23: This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Take your burnt offerings and your other sacrifices and eat them yourselves! When I led your ancestors out of Egypt, it was not burnt offerings and sacrifices I wanted from them. This is what I told them: ‘Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!’

Hosea 6:6: I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.

Amos 5:21-24: “I hate all your show and pretense— the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies. I will not accept your burnt offerings and grain offerings. I won’t even notice all your choice peace offerings. Away with your noisy hymns of praise! I will not listen to the music of your harps. Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living.

Micah 6:6-8: What can we bring to the Lord? What kind of offerings should we give him? Should we bow before God with offerings of yearling calves? Should we offer him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins? No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

Matthew 9:13: Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”


*you have given me a body to offer: In the original Hebrew the Messiah said, " My ears hath thou opened" The marginal reading is, "ears hast thou digged (or pierced) for me." This language, an echo of the circumstances set forth in Exodus 22:1-6, assumes that Messiah has a human body and speaks of His complete surrender to do the will of God in terms of a Hebrew slave who willingly entered into a voluntary state of bondage.


(6) You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin.


(7) Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God— as is written about me *in the Scriptures.’”


Psalm 40:6-8 (Greek version).


*in the Scriptures: Greek: "in the roll of the book." Anciently, books were written on skins and rolled up. Among the Romans these were called volumina, from volvo, I roll; and the Torah, in the Jewish synagogues, is still written in this way. There are two wooden rollers; on one they roll on, on the other they roll off, as they proceed in reading. The book mentioned here must be the Torah, or five books of Moses; for in David's time no other part of Divine revelation had been committed to writing. This whole book speaks about Christ, and his accomplishing the will of God; not only in, The seed of the woman shall bruise the head of the serpent, and, In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, but in all the sacrifices and sacrificial rites mentioned in the law.


(8) First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses).


(9) Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect.


(10) For God’s will was for us to be *made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.


*made holy: sanctified


1 Peter 2:24: He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. ("healed" and "saved" are the same words in the Greek.)


(11) Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins.


(12) But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.


   If the Jewish readers of Hebrews were to return to the old Jewish system, they would be implying that Christ's sacrifice wasn't enough to forgive their sins. Adding anything to his sacrifice or taking anything from it denies its validity. Any system to gain salvation through good deeds is essentially rejecting the significance of Christ's death and spurning the Holy Spirit's work. Beware of anyone who tells you that Christ's sacrifice still leaves you incomplete or that something else is needed to make you acceptable to God. When we believe in Christ, he makes us completely right with God. Our loving relationship leads us to follow him in willing obedience and service. He is pleased with our service, but we cannot be saved by our good deeds.

Ephesians 2:8-10: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Colossians 2:10: So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.


   The old priests STOOD, as servants; Jesus SITS, enthroned. They repeated over and over the same rites; Jesus made one perfect offering for ever. They served; Christ reigns. They could not procure forgiveness; Christ removes our sins even from the memory of God! They offered enough blood during the long centuries of Judaism to have washed away a city; but the blood of Christ is more efficacious than an ocean of such blood.


Hebrews 1:3: The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven.

 Hebrews 8:1: Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven.


(13) There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet.


(14) For by that one offering he forever *made perfect those who are being made holy.


*made perfect: The theme of Hebrews is the perfecting of those who are already sanctified.


(15) And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says,


(16) “This is the new covenant I will make with my people *on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”


*on that day: Greek after those days. So, when does this take place? Has it already taken place? Can anyone claim to have the law in their heart and written on their minds? Are gentiles included in this, or is this just for Israel?


Jeremiah 31:33: “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.


Hebrews 8:8,10: But when God found fault with the people, he said: “The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. ... But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.


(17) Then he says, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.”


Jeremiah 31:34: And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”


(18) And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.



THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS


   The importance of understanding the final and complete nature of the heavenly offering of the blood of Christ for human sins is so great, and any denial of such a sublime truth, even though unintentional, is of such terrible consequence to mankind that we are led to inquire here as to the validity of the commonly held view that Christ's blood is DAILY sacrificed in such a thing as the mass. One cannot help viewing with alarm the inattention to such a thing as this by so many able and learned commentators on the New Testament, especially in this century. The writers sought in vain among modern scholars for a firm word on this subject; and not until Robertson's mild question, "One wonders how priests who claim that `the mass' is the sacrifice of Christ's body repeated explain this verse!" The older commentators were more diligent to set forth the truth; and, in order to emulate their worthy example, we here register the words of the inimitable James Macknight on this subject as they were quoted in the words of Adam Clarke's great commentary.


   If (says Dr. Macknight) after remission is granted to the sinner, there is no need of any more sacrifice for sins; and if Christ, by offering himself once has perfected forever the sanctified (Hebrews 10:14), the sacrifice of the mass, as it is called, about which the Roman clergy employ themselves so incessantly; and to which the papists trust for the pardon of their sins, has no foundation in Scripture. Nay, it is evident impiety, as it proceeds upon the supposition that the offering of the body of Christ "once" is not sufficient to procure the pardon of sin, but must be frequently repeated. If they reply that their mass is only the representation and commemoration of the sacrifice of Christ, they give up the cause and renounce an article of their faith, established by the Council of Trent, which in session xxii, canons 1, 3, declared "the sacrifice of the mass to be true and propitiatory sacrifice for sin." I say, give up the cause; for the representation and commemoration of a sacrifice is not a sacrifice. Further, it cannot be affirmed that the body of Christ is offered in the mass, unless it can be said that, as often as it is offered, "Christ has suffered death"; for the apostle says expressly (Hebrews 9:25,26) that if Christ offered himself often, "He must have suffered since the foundation of the world." - A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures of the New Testament (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1932), page 409.



A Call to Persevere


(19) And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.


(20) *By his death, Jesus opened a new and *life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.


Matthew 27:51: At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart,

Hebrews 6:19-20: This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.


*By his death: Greek Through his flesh.


*life-giving way: John 14:6: Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. - Could be translated I am the true and living way.


(21) And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house,


(22) let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.



   Isn’t it interesting what we are commanded to do here? It is what Israel, as a people, was explicitly commanded not to do. You remember Mt. Sinai? What was the command? “Do not draw near the mountain or I will strike you down.” “If man or beast touches this mountain, I will strike you down.” Now what is the New Covenant command? “Go right in.”


   By the way, he does give four conditions. Look back at the verse again. Four things: Draw near with a true heart. What is he saying? Come with sincerity. Come with genuineness.


   Secondly: Draw near in full assurance of faith. Have a godly faith confidence as you come to the Lord. A confidence that is based upon your apprehension of the significance of what Jesus has done for you on the cross. You come with a confidence based on what Jesus has done.


   Thirdly, you come with a clean heart. That is, you come with a conscience which is realizes that you have been declared not guilty by God because of what Jesus has done on the cross. Come with a conscience that understands what justification by grace through faith means. Come with a conscience that knows what it means that God has pronounced over you and over all your sins: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation.”


   And then he says fourthly, “You come with washed bodies.” He is not just talking about baptism there. He is talking about the purification of life that is accomplished by the regenerating and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit that is symbolized in the washing of baptism. So he says to these Christians, ‘You come in this way. You come with a sincere heart. And you come with a full assurance. And you come with hearts that have been cleansed because of the justifying work of the Lord Jesus. And you come with lives that have been transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit. That is how you come to God.’ But the main thrust of verse 22 is that we draw near with holy boldness, with full assurance.


   What is the author of Hebrews saying here? He is saying that he knows that it is sadly possible for Christians not to realize the blessings that are theirs in Christ. And he is saying, “Don’t do that. Don’t walk through this life as a believer and not realize the significance of what Jesus has done for you. Don’t waste this time. Don’t go for years and then realize what you have been given in the Lord Jesus Christ.” He is saying, “Draw near with a full assurance into the presence of God.”


- Duncan, J. Ligon, Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church of Jackson, Mississippi. "Let Us Draw Near to God" [Online] Available www.fpcjackson.org/resources/sermons/hebrews/Vol%202and3.htm/15aheb.htm



(23) Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.


(24) Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.


   One of the great regrets of life is when we have had the opportunity to encourage someone and we realized too late that we didn't and we can’t do anything about it. The author of Hebrews is saying, “Christian, encourage one another, because there is going to come a time when it will be too late to do that.” And that time is coming. It is the end when Christ comes again and it can come in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the Last Trumpet. When it comes, you be found hanging on, drawing near, loving one another.


(25) And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.


   The Greek word that is used here and translated as “meeting together” (and taken to mean church service) is “Episunagoge.” Episunagoge means: “a complete collection.” If a complete collection means a collection of ALL the believers or ALL the brethren or ALL the saints, when has there ever been a church service that contained ALL the believers? The only assembly of ALL the believers was on the day of Pentecost, in the upper room. When has there been one since? When will there ever be a collecting or gathering of the WHOLE CHURCH? “Epi” indicates and upward or lifting motion. So episunagoge could be translated as an upward collecting of all the believers. What does that sound like to you? Next, I would like to look at the one other location in the entire bible, where the word “episunagoge” was used. “Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us.” 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 is clearly speaking of what we refer to as “the rapture.” The time of the gathering of ALL the believers. this is clearly speaking of the rapture. I think that there were many Christians who believed that Jesus was going to be coming right back to get them all. That as time progressed, they became frustrated and were giving up hope that Jesus was ever coming again. They were starting to lose faith in that promise of His coming! I think that what was being said here was simply this, “Don’t give up! Don’t stop believing that our Lord is going to gather us up some day like some people have! Encourage one another, encourage one another even more as you see the time coming!”


(26) Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins.


Willful, Determined Renunciation: Verse 26 speaks of trampling underfoot the precious Son of God. This
warning, along with Hebrews 6:1-8, has caused untold agony to many sensitive
Christians. It’s as if Satan uses Hebrews 6:4 and 10:26 to create hopelessness
and despair. But what do these passages teach? F. F. Bruce points out that they
refer to people who have deliberately abandoned reliance on the perfect sacrifice
of Christ. Raymond Brown said that theirs is not a single act of falling away,
but a state of willful, determined renunciation of all dependence on Christ’s
atoning work. God has no other plan for saving those who regard Christ’s
sacrifice as useless.


   Once again, we come to a passage with very stern warnings. And this is one of those passages that has been an occasion of a great deal of controversy over the course of years in the Christian church. In the early church, for instance, this passage which was used to justify what the Roman Catholic Church called a “penitential system.” As strange as it may be, because what is one of the themes of the Book of Hebrews been? That there is one sacrifice for sin, once for all. This passage was used from early days in the writings of the Shepherd of Hermas in the city of Rome, all the way through the gradual development of the Catholic penitential system, to justify the idea that after one had been baptized, if one should accidentally commit a sin, then one had to go through the system of penance in order to be forgiven of that sin, in order to retain one’s salvation. And even though the whole thrust of Hebrews is what? There is one sacrifice for sin and that sacrifice is never repeated and it is unrepeatable, and yet the misunderstandings of this passage have led to some really strange theology.


   The author of Hebrews is saying here that if a person willfully and knowingly rejects the one real sacrifice for ins, then, of course, there is no other sacrifice for sin that person can turn to. If you have rejected the only sacrifice that there is for sin, where then do you go in order to get forgiveness for sin? And the author of Hebrews’ point is there is nowhere you can go. So if you have rejected the one sacrifice for sin, there is no hope for you. He is saying very straightforwardly to the congregation that rejecting the truth of Christ has eternal consequences. That is his point. So it is very important as you approach this passage that you understand that he is not speaking of any kind of sin. He is talking about the rejection of Christ, the rejection of His work, of His person, of His Lordship.



   How this passage ever gained traction as applying to our salvation is beyond me. Has there ever been a Christian who stopped sinning after being saved? Even if they hadn't read the rest of the letter, a rational person would have to conclude that there are only two options in interpreting it. Either we're all hopelessly lost or the passage refers to something other than salvation. Try if you can to imagine someone who after being saved never had an angry, or lustful or envious thought, who never fudged on the truth or said something unkind about another person. And I don't mean just once, although that would have been enough, but more often than they even know. Remember, in Psalm 19:12-13 King David asked the Lord to forgive him for sins he wasn't even aware of committing, not just for those he knew about. And just because we don't remember sinning doesn't mean it wasn't deliberate. Sinning is as natural to us as breathing, and while we don't think about breathing, and don't remember doing it, we still do it deliberately.


   Since it's clear that the writer is addressing believers, that leaves only two possibilities concerning the judgment and fire reference. One is to take the view that the passage is meant to be understood hypothetically, as some scholars do. They say it means that even though it won't happen, those believers who keep on sinning will spend their lives in fear of being destroyed (the fearful expectation) as if they were enemies of God, and won't enjoy any peace in their lives.


   The other position, the one I've taken, is that it pertains to the only fire believers will face, the one in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 where each believer's work will be judged according to the hidden motives of his heart.


   There is justification for equating the religious work we do to either, gain earthly recognition or reward, or to earn or keep our salvation, with the work of the enemies of God. The first is intended to magnify ourselves and the second relegates the Lord's death to the same status as those of barnyard animals. These works will be burned up in the fire, and the one who does them lives his live out of fellowship with God, is deprived of His power, and has no more Kingdom impact on those around him than someone who doesn't know God at all.


   The sinning that's been referred to all through the letter is relying on the Old Covenant sacrifices to maintain that which has been freely given under the New. No sacrifice will end the interruption in our relationship with God that our ongoing sin causes. Only confession and forgiveness can do that. Why? Because we confess when we expect to be forgiven. It's an act of faith and what the Lord wants more than anything is for us to live by faith. That's why He made it the only condition attached to our salvation.


- Kelley, Jack, Gracethrufaith Incorporated. "The Epistle To
The Hebrews Part 7" [Online] Available www.gracethrufaith.com/selah/spiritual-life/the-epistle-to-the-hebrews-part-7



(27) There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies.


(28) For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.


   The fact stated here is exemplified by many instances in the history of Israel. There was the case of the man stoned for picking up sticks on the sabbath (Numbers 15:36), to name only one. Annas the high priest was deposed by the Romans for putting a man to death as a lawbreaker; and it was precisely their readiness to execute such penalties that caused Rome to forbid their right to put people to death. It was that which forced them to seek the permission of Pilate to put Jesus to death.


(29) Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have *trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were **common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us.


*trampled here translates a Greek word used by Matthew for heartless and totally indifferent action. The verb is used by Jesus of the useless salt cast out and trodden under foot (Matthew 5:13) and of the pearls being trampled down by swine (Matthew 7:6). Here it denotes that the sinner rejects the Son of God completely and brutally.


**common refers to a lack of appreciation of the blood of Christ. How does one make the blood of Jesus common? By his indifference to it, by responding to it not at all, or half-heartedly, by neglecting to enter by means of the access provided through it, or, in short, either by non-Christian or anti-Christian conduct.


(30) For we know the one who said, “I will take revenge. I will pay them back.” He also said, “The Lord will judge his own people.”


Deuteronomy 32:35-36: I will take revenge; I will pay them back. In due time their feet will slip. Their day of disaster will arrive, and their destiny will overtake them.’ “Indeed, the Lord will give justice to his people, and he will change his mind about his servants, when he sees their strength is gone and no one is left, slave or free.


(31) It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.


(32) Think back on those early days *when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering.


*when you first learned about Christ: Greek when you were first enlightened. (Greek photizo, from which we get the word "photo").


(33) Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things.


(34) You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever.


(35) So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!


(36) Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.


(37) “For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay.


(38) And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.”


Or my righteous ones will live by their faithfulness;

Greek reads my righteous one will live by faith.



Habakkuk 2:3-4: This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed. “Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.

Galatians 3:11: So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”

Romans 1:17: This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”


(39) But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.



Bibliography/Works Cited:


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Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Hebrews 9

A BETTER system, a BETTER covenant, a BETTER tabernacle, a BETTER priest, a BETTER Holy of Holies and a BETTER sacrifice.


(1) That first covenant between God and Israel *had regulations for worship and a place of worship here on earth.


*had: Notice that had is in the PAST tense - because the new covenant has replaced the first covenant!


(2) There were two rooms in that Tabernacle. In the first room were a *lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the table. This room was called the Holy Place.


Exodus 40:22,24,26: Next Moses placed the table in the Tabernacle, along the north side of the Holy Place, just outside the inner curtain...He set the lampstand in the Tabernacle across from the table on the south side of the Holy Place...He also placed the gold incense altar in the Tabernacle, in the Holy Place in front of the inner curtain.


*lampstand: The menorah. There was 1 in the tabernacle, 10 in Solomon's temple and 1 in Herod's temple.

1 Kings 7:49: the lampstands of solid gold, five on the south and five on the north, in front of the Most Holy Place; the flower decorations, lamps, and tongs—all of gold;


   The Lampstand symbolizes Christ, the Light of World. Exodus 23:31-36 describes the piece. It was essentially one central shaft, with three branches on either side turned out and upward. The stem and the branches were ornamented every so often with gold that was formed into the shape of the calyx and corolla of the almond flower. On top of the central shaft and the six branches were the lamps. Aaron would light the lamps in the evening and extinguish them in the morning. It symbolizes the perfection (7 lamps) with which God's Old Testament people must shine forth before Him as enabled by the oil of the Holy Spirit causing its light to shine in the darkness of this world.



   On the north side of the holy place, the table of showbread balanced the golden candlestick on the south side, and itself was typical of momentous truth in the new covenant. Twelve loaves of bread were kept fresh on the table and were arranged in two rows



(3) Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second room called the *Most Holy Place.


*Most Holy Place: The "Holy of Holies". A perfect cube. This is where the Shekinah cloud rested upon the mercy seat.


Exodus 26:31-33: “For the inside of the Tabernacle, make a special curtain of finely woven linen. Decorate it with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and with skillfully embroidered cherubim. Hang this curtain on gold hooks attached to four posts of acacia wood. Overlay the posts with gold, and set them in four silver bases. Hang the inner curtain from clasps, and put the Ark of the Covenant in the room behind it. This curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.


Matthew 27:51: At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart,


   The three colors of the curtain or veil (Exodus 26:31ff), blue above, scarlet beneath, and purple between, formed by the perfect blending of the other colors, suggest the doctrine of the Trinity, and particularly the person of Christ whose heavenly nature (the blue) was perfectly blended with his earthly nature (the scarlet) to form the perfect co-mingling of the two (the purple) in his person as the unique God-man. The spiritual and heavenly nature of the things typified by the veil is typified by the embroidered cherubim upon it.


2 Corinthians 3:14-16: But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away..


   The curtain or veil was a symbol of the chief function of the law of Moses which was actually one of concealment, specifically, the concealment of the ministrations of the high priest on the day of atonement, and is therefore typical of the office of the Jewish high priest, and in its being rent, a symbol of the removal of that office. No earthly high priest is now needed; there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5-6). The veil was symbolical of the separation between God and man, to keep men away from God and to emphasize the unbridgeable gulf that separated them.


(4) In that room were a *gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant.


*gold incense altar: Leviticus 16:12-13 he will fill an incense burner with burning coals from the altar that stands before the Lord. Then he will take two handfuls of fragrant powdered incense and will carry the burner and the incense behind the inner curtain. There in the Lord’s presence he will put the incense on the burning coals so that a cloud of incense will rise over the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—that rests on the Ark of the Covenant. If he follows these instructions, he will not die.


   Each day, the priest would burn the incense on the golden altar that stood in the Holy Place near the curtain. But, on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), the ritual was different. Once a year, on this day, the high priest would take the golden censer and fill it with live coals from the great brazen altar of sacrifice that stood in the outer court. Then, he would carry the censer with its glowing coals into the Holy Place. As he passed the barrier of the veil and went into the Holy of Holies, the high priest would throw incense onto the burning coals in the golden censer in his hand. Clouds of incense would rise, filling the Holy of Holies, symbolic of the prayers of Christ Himself and the prayers of the Hebrews. The incense is a picture in the Book of Revelation of the prayers of God’s people going up.


(5) Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the *Ark’s cover, the place of atonement. But we cannot explain these things in detail now.


*Ark’s cover: Exodus 25:17: “Then make the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—from pure gold. It must be 45 inches long and 27 inches wide.


   Long before New Testament times, the Chaldeans had sacked Jerusalem and carried away the ark of the covenant which they never returned; and Josephus related that there was nothing whatever behind the curtain within the Holy of Holies. Thus there was sound logic in appealing to the tabernacle, rather than to the current temple, to bear the weight of analogy so important to the theme of the book of Hebrews. There, in the location of that mercy-seat, was revealed the key fact of all God's dealings with man - that by God's eternal will, his mercy stands enthroned even above his law.



  • Leviticus 16:2: The Lord said to Moses, “Warn your brother, Aaron, not to enter the Most Holy Place behind the inner curtain whenever he chooses; if he does, he will die. For the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—is there, and I myself am present in the cloud above the atonement cover.

  • Numbers 7:89: Whenever Moses went into the Tabernacle to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—that rests on the Ark of the Covenant. The Lord spoke to him from there.

  • 2 Kings 19:15: And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the Lord: “O Lord, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth.


(6) When these things were all in place, the priests regularly entered the first room as they performed their religious duties.


   The use of the present tense in this verse shows that the services being performed by the priests were still going on which would mean that Herod's temple was still standing and certainly dating Hebrews prior to 70 A.D. Here is a partial list of services performed by the priests in the holy place:



  1. They lighted the lamps each evening and trimmed them every morning. (Exodus 27:21; 30:8).

  2. Each sabbath day they renewed the loaves on the table of showbread (Leviticus 24:5).

  3. They burned twice daily the incense on the golden altar, this coinciding with the morning and evening sacrifices, and with the trimming and lighting of the lamps (30:7,8; Luke 1:10).


Leviticus 16:1-34: The Lord spoke to Moses after the death of Aaron’s two sons, who died after they entered the Lord’s presence and burned the wrong kind of fire before him. The Lord said to Moses, “Warn your brother, Aaron, not to enter the Most Holy Place behind the inner curtain whenever he chooses; if he does, he will die. For the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—is there, and I myself am present in the cloud above the atonement cover. “When Aaron enters the sanctuary area, he must follow these instructions fully. He must bring a young bull for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. He must put on his linen tunic and the linen undergarments worn next to his body. He must tie the linen sash around his waist and put the linen turban on his head. These are sacred garments, so he must bathe himself in water before he puts them on. Aaron must take from the community of Israel two male goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering. “Aaron will present his own bull as a sin offering to purify himself and his family, making them right with the Lord. Then he must take the two male goats and present them to the Lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle. He is to cast sacred lots to determine which goat will be reserved as an offering to the Lord and which will carry the sins of the people to the wilderness of Azazel. Aaron will then present as a sin offering the goat chosen by lot for the Lord. The other goat, the scapegoat chosen by lot to be sent away, will be kept alive, standing before the Lord. When it is sent away to Azazel in the wilderness, the people will be purified and made right with the Lord. “Aaron will present his own bull as a sin offering to purify himself and his family, making them right with the Lord. After he has slaughtered the bull as a sin offering, he will fill an incense burner with burning coals from the altar that stands before the Lord. Then he will take two handfuls of fragrant powdered incense and will carry the burner and the incense behind the inner curtain. There in the Lord’s presence he will put the incense on the burning coals so that a cloud of incense will rise over the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—that rests on the Ark of the Covenant. If he follows these instructions, he will not die. Then he must take some of the blood of the bull, dip his finger in it, and sprinkle it on the east side of the atonement cover. He must sprinkle blood seven times with his finger in front of the atonement cover. “Then Aaron must slaughter the first goat as a sin offering for the people and carry its blood behind the inner curtain. There he will sprinkle the goat’s blood over the atonement cover and in front of it, just as he did with the bull’s blood. Through this process, he will purify[ the Most Holy Place, and he will do the same for the entire Tabernacle, because of the defiling sin and rebellion of the Israelites. No one else is allowed inside the Tabernacle when Aaron enters it for the purification ceremony in the Most Holy Place. No one may enter until he comes out again after purifying himself, his family, and all the congregation of Israel, making them right with the Lord. “Then Aaron will come out to purify the altar that stands before the Lord. He will do this by taking some of the blood from the bull and the goat and putting it on each of the horns of the altar. Then he must sprinkle the blood with his finger seven times over the altar. In this way, he will cleanse it from Israel’s defilement and make it holy. “When Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place and the Tabernacle and the altar, he must present the live goat. He will lay both of his hands on the goat’s head and confess over it all the wickedness, rebellion, and sins of the people of Israel. In this way, he will transfer the people’s sins to the head of the goat. Then a man specially chosen for the task will drive the goat into the wilderness. As the goat goes into the wilderness, it will carry all the people’s sins upon itself into a desolate land. “When Aaron goes back into the Tabernacle, he must take off the linen garments he was wearing when he entered the Most Holy Place, and he must leave the garments there. Then he must bathe himself with water in a sacred place, put on his regular garments, and go out to sacrifice a burnt offering for himself and a burnt offering for the people. Through this process, he will purify himself and the people, making them right with the Lord. He must then burn all the fat of the sin offering on the altar. “The man chosen to drive the scapegoat into the wilderness of Azazel must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water. Then he may return to the camp. “The bull and the goat presented as sin offerings, whose blood Aaron takes into the Most Holy Place for the purification ceremony, will be carried outside the camp. The animals’ hides, internal organs, and dung are all to be burned. The man who burns them must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water before returning to the camp. “On the tenth day of the appointed month in early autumn, you must deny yourselves. Neither native-born Israelites nor foreigners living among you may do any kind of work. This is a permanent law for you. On that day offerings of purification will be made for you, and you will be purified in the Lord’s presence from all your sins. It will be a Sabbath day of complete rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. This is a permanent law for you. In future generations, the purification ceremony will be performed by the priest who has been anointed and ordained to serve as high priest in place of his ancestor Aaron. He will put on the holy linen garments and purify the Most Holy Place, the Tabernacle, the altar, the priests, and the entire congregation. This is a permanent law for you, to purify the people of Israel from their sins, making them right with the Lord once each year.” Moses followed all these instructions exactly as the Lord had commanded him.


(7) But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered *blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.


(8) By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle and the system it represented were still in use.


Hebrews 10:19-20: And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.

Ephesians 3:12: Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence.


   The great significance of all that elaborate ceremony and its supporting services is simply this: the way into the Holy Place had not been revealed as long as the tabernacle services continued. The use of "tabernacle" here does not exclude the temple, as observed above, although it was still standing when Hebrews was written.


   The purpose of these instructions was to show dramatically the darkness of the Jewish institution. The people, even though they were God's chosen people, could not enter even the sanctuary, to say nothing of the most holy place where God's presence was symbolized. Only a relatively few priests could enter, and even they were excluded from entering within the veil, where only one of them, the high priest alone, might enter under the most limited circumstances, and upon only one day in the year. And even when the high priest entered, the mercy seat was first covered with smoke of incense, showing that, even after all the ritual, God would not really look upon the high priest, except as through the smoke that screened his unworthiness from the Lord. Let it be remembered that the Holy of Holies was a type of heaven, eternal redemption, and fellowship with God, and it will appear how far short of redemption were those types and shadows of it in the old institution. This cannot mean that the ancient worthy patriarchs were not saved; it is freely conceded that they were saved; but the HOW of such a salvation could not be known as long as the old system stood. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. (Hebrews 10:20).


(9) This is an illustration pointing to *the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them.


*the present time: Shows that the temple and its sacrificial system still stood, making Hebrews written well before 70 AD.


(10) For that old system deals only with *food and drink and various **cleansing ceremonies—physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established.


*food and drink: Colossians 2:20-22; You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them.


**cleansing ceremonies: Greek baptismos.


   People who are still trying to bring the old covenant into practice today have not taken into consideration the end of verse 10. The old covenant was not to be put into practice forever. It was only to be used 'until' God brought in 'a better system.' When did God open the curtain? The instant our Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. At that point in time, the old covenant became obsolete.


Why Jesus is a better high priest


(11) So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that *have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world.


*have come: Some manuscripts read that are about to come.


   The Jewish high priest first offered the bullock OUTSIDE the sanctuary; the Lord also offered himself outside the city, or camp of Israel. The Jewish high priest then passed through the sanctuary and offered the blood within the veil. Christ also conformed to this pattern, with the additional fact that he was both the victim and the one offering the victim. Christ then passed through the sanctuary and into heaven itself (corresponding to that which is within the veil) and there offered his own blood.


(12) With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.


   Refers to the Day of Atonement rituals described in Leviticus 16. Two points of superiority in the high priesthood of Christ are stressed here, these being: (1) that by a more perfect medium, his own blood contrasted with blood of animals, and (2) that in a more exalted place of the offering, in heaven itself, Christ offered his own blood, not repeatedly, but once for all. The first of these superiorities the author elaborates in the next two verses, and the second beginning at Hebrews 9:25.


(13) Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a *young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity.


*young cow: The Red Heifer in Numbers 19.

October, 2002 - The Temple Institute: Unfortunately, the Red Heifer born in Israel during April of this year has become disqualified. Without the ashes of a perfect red heifer, Jewish people could not be purified, and enabled to rebuild their Temple. If this heifer turns out to be an acceptable sacrifice it will awaken the desire of many Israelis and Jews worldwide to rebuild the Temple and prepare the way for the Messiah. "A heifer is a young female bovine (cow) prior to the time that she has produced her first calf. God has specified a 'red heifer' for the purification of the Israelites whenever they were 'unclean'. The ashes of the red heifer are required by the Torah to cleanse the Levitical priesthood for Temple work. As of May, 2006, Irvin Baxter Jr. of End Times Ministries reports that the Jews have a red heifer, born 3½ years ago in Jerusalem (among the cattle born in and imported from Mississippi). If it does not get disqualified like the previous red heifer candidates reported over the past years (such as "Melody"), it could mean that one more obstacle to the construction of the Third Temple is gone. Interestingly, Numbers 19 does require a clean man who has never been unclean himself. To prepare for this they have raised young people sequestered from any possible contact that would make them ritually impure. This includes keeping them on rock floored dwellings to make sure no one is buried below. The red heifer provided a means for the congregation of Israel to purify themselves for presentation to God. It is this strong connection which drives the Ultra Orthodox Jews of today to prepare and purify themselves for the coming priesthood and temple services. Just as the red heifer was sacrificed "outside the camp," in contrast to all other sacrifices that took place in the Tabernacle or Temple, Jesus was sacrificed outside the city of Jerusalem.


A. The red heifer (Numbers 19:2):



  • Must be without blemish.


  • Must be without defect.

  • Must never have worn a yoke.


B. The sacrifice (Numbers 19:3-7):



  • Must be performed outside the camp

  • The blood must be sprinkled seven times in front of the tabernacle.

  • The ENTIRE heifer must be burned before the priest.

  • Cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet are added to the fire.

  • The priest washes his clothes and bathes.


C. The Water of Purification (Numbers 19:9):



  • Prepared by a man who is clean.


  • He gathers the ashes.

  • (Implied) He adds water to the ashes (19:17).

  • He stores it outside the camp in a clean place.

  • The water is for the congregation of Israel.

  • He washes his clothes and bathes.


(14) Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from *sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.


*sinful deeds: Greek dead works.


   Some Christians like to say, 'See, we are not saved by our works, and anyone who says works have to do with salvation is legalistic.' It is true that we are not saved by our works, but what is to happen when we are truly saved? Are we supposed to just sit around waiting for the Lord to return? No! The writer says the reason that Christ died for our sins, and gave us salvation is so we may 'worship (serve) the living God.' If you claim to have believed in the person and work of Jesus Christ but are not and worshiping and serving Him, you are either not a believer, or you are living in rebellion to His purpose in your life. Ephesians 2:8-10: God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.



(15) That is why he is the one who *mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.


*mediates:

Galatians 3:19-20: Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham.

Hebrews 12:24: You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.

1 Timothy 2:5: For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus.


(16) Now when someone leaves a will, it is necessary to prove that the person who made it is dead.


   The Greek words for will and covenant are the same in this passage and underscore the legal nature of the relationship. And as we know, the most recent version of such a document is given precedence over prior ones in determining the intentions of its author. The new one makes the old one obsolete.


Or Now when someone makes a covenant, it is necessary to ratify it with the death of a sacrifice.


(17) The will goes into effect only after the person’s death. While the person who made it is still alive, the will cannot be put into effect.


(18) That is why even the first covenant was put into effect with the blood of an animal.


(19) For after Moses had read each of God’s commandments to all the people, he took the blood of calves and *goats, along with water, and sprinkled both the book of God’s law and all the people, using hyssop branches and scarlet wool.


*goats omitted by some manuscripts.


(20) Then he said, “This blood *confirms the covenant God has made with you.”


*confirms: We confirm or ratify our agreements with our signature. God confirms His agreements with blood!


Exodus 24:8: Then Moses took the blood from the basins and splattered it over the people, declaring, “Look, this blood confirms the covenant the Lord has made with you in giving you these instructions.”


   First, the law was read, then it was received by acclamation by the people, and then it was ratified by the sprinkling of the blood. The people promised to do their part; God promised to do His. The covenant went into force, and Moses declared to the people that the blood was an essential part of the covenant.


(21) And in the same way, he sprinkled blood on the Tabernacle and on everything used for worship.


(22) In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.


   The offerings had to be made with the right spirit and motive for them to count! After the high Priest played his part in murdering Jesus, did his sacrifices for himself mean anything? No, because he was righteous in his own sight and was guilty of rebelling against God. A religious ceremony alone does not cleanse anyone of sin. See what David says of his own deliberate sin in Psalm 51:

Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. But you desire honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there. Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back my joy again; you have broken me— now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. Then I will teach your ways to rebels, and they will return to you. Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness. Unseal my lips, O Lord, that my mouth may praise you. You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. Look with favor on Zion and help her; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit— with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.


(23) That is why the Tabernacle and everything in it, which were copies of things in heaven, had to be purified by the blood of animals. But the real things in heaven had to be purified with far better sacrifices than the blood of animals.


Romans 3:25: For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past,


Ephesians 1:7: He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.


Leviticus 17:11: for the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible.


(24) For Christ did not enter into a holy place made with human hands, which was only a copy of the true one in heaven. He entered into heaven itself to appear now before God on our behalf.


(25) And he did not enter heaven to offer himself again and again, like the high priest here on earth who enters the Most Holy Place year after year with the blood of an animal.


(26) If that had been necessary, Christ would have had to die again and again, ever since the world began. But now, *once for all time, he has appeared at the **end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice.


*once: Leviticus 16:34: This is a permanent law for you, to purify the people of Israel from their sins, making them right with the Lord once each year.” ...


**end of the age: Greek: *end of the ages


   The Roman church says its eucharist is a sacrifice given daily around the world. But, God says the one and only sacrifice has been made ONCE. The glory of Christ's sacrifice as set forth here consists of the complete, final, and irrevocable nature of the offering. It was not a repeated thing as were the offerings and sacrifices under Judaism but was a "once for all" accomplishment. As pointed out earlier, this eliminates any notion that the church should have something to offer or sacrifice, in such a thing as the mass, for example; for the one and only efficacious sacrifice has already been offered in heaven, where alone it could do any good and by the only one capable of doing it, Jesus the Lord.


(27) And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment,


(28) so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will *come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.


*come again: This is the second coming just like the High Priest coming out of the sanctuary to bless the people.


   Once again, we come to a man-invented break in the scripture. We'll study Hebrews 10 next, but here it is the first part of it:


Hebrews 10:1-22:

The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer. You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin. Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God— as is written about me in the Scriptures.’” First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy. And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says, “This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he says, I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.” And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices. And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water


   Having suffered and died and having been raised from the dead, Christ took His own blood and went into the most holy place in heaven. This thing He did in fulfillment of that part of the ritual of the Day of Atonement, which was performed by the high priest who having made the sacrifice took the blood into the sanctuary in order to make atonement for the nation. The worshippers stood without, anxiously looking forward to his reappearance. There was joy indeed among them when they saw him, for they knew that the atonement was acceptable. Having this ritual in mind Paul said that Christ had gone into the most holy place to make atonement for Israel. But He has not reappeared yet and will not until the remnant of Israel reaches the point that it is willing to accept Him and call for Him to return from heaven. When Israel is thus evangelized and is convicted of her need of the atonement of King Messiah, she will plead for Him to return; and when she does, He will appear a second time "apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation." The ritualism of the Day of Atonement so far as Israel is concerned has never been completely fulfilled.


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Blood Transfusion


   In his book Written in Blood, Robert Coleman tells the story of a little boy
whose sister needed a blood transfusion. The doctor explained that she had the
same disease the boy had recovered from two years earlier. Her only chance for
recovery was a transfusion from someone who had previously conquered the disease.
Since the two children had the same rare blood type, the boy was the ideal donor.


   “Would you give your blood to Mary?” the doctor asked.


   Johnny hesitated. His lower lip started to tremble. Then he smiled and said,
“Sure, for my sister.”


   Soon the two children were wheeled into the hospital room—Mary, pale
and thin; Johnny, robust and healthy. Neither spoke, but when their eyes met,
Johnny grinned.


   As the nurse inserted the needle into his arm, Johnny’s smile faded.
He watched the blood flow through the tube.


   With the ordeal almost over, his voice, slightly shaky, broke the silence.
“Doctor, when do I die?’


   Only then did the doctor realize why Johnny had hesitated, why his lip had
trembled when he’d agreed to donate his blood. He’s thought giving
his blood to his sister meant giving up his life. In that brief moment, he’d
made his great decision.


   Johnny, fortunately, didn’t have to die to save his sister. Each of us,
however, has a condition more serious than Mary’s, and it required Jesus
to give not just His blood but His life.


Thomas Lindberg


Written in Blood, by Robert Coleman


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