9:11 But Christ having come as a high priest of the coming good things,
through the greater and more perfect tabernacle,
not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation,
II. The New Covenant's Sacrifice
A. The Effectiveness of the Blood of Christ
9:12 nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his
own blood,
entered in once for all into the Holy Place, having obtained eternal
redemption.
9:13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a
heifer
sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify to the cleanness of
the flesh:
9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ,
who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God,
cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
9:15 For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant,
since a death has occurred for the redemption of the transgressions
that were under the first covenant,
that those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal
inheritance.
B. The Necessity of the Blood of Christ
1. Because an Inheritance Can Only be Gained with the Death of the Testator
9:16 For where a last will and testament is, there must of necessity
be the death of him who made it.
9:17 For a will is in force where there has been death, for it is never
in force while he who made it lives.
9:18 Therefore even the first covenant has not been dedicated without
blood.
9:19 For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the
people
according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats,
with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book
itself and all the people,
9:20 saying, "This is the blood of the covenant which God has
commanded you."
9:21 Moreover he sprinkled the tabernacle and all the vessels of the
ministry
in like manner with the blood.
9:22 According to the law, nearly everything is cleansed with blood,
and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.
2. Because the Sacrifice Must be Ideal to Provide Its Intended Benefits
9:23 It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the
heavens
should be cleansed with these; but the heavenly things themselves with
better sacrifices than these.
9:24 For Christ hasn't entered into holy places made with hands,
which are representations of the true, but into heaven itself,
now to appear in the presence of God for us;
C. The Finality of the Blood of Christ
9:25 nor yet that he should offer himself often,
as the high priest enters into the holy place year by year with blood
not his own,
9:26 or else he must have suffered often since the foundation of the
world.
But now once at the end of the ages,
he has been revealed to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
9:27 Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this,
judgment,
9:28 so Christ also, having been once offered to bear the sins of many,
will appear a second time, without sin,
to those who are eagerly waiting for him for salvation.
10:1 For the law, having a shadow of the good to come, not the very
image
of the things,
can never with the same sacrifices year by year, which they offer
continually,
make perfect those who draw near.
10:2 Or else wouldn't they have ceased to be offered, because the
worshippers,
having been once cleansed, would have had no more consciousness of
sins?
10:3 But in those sacrifices there is yearly reminder of sins.
10:4 For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should
take away sins.
10:5 Therefore when he comes into the world, he says,
"Sacrifice and offering you didn't desire, But a body did you
prepare for me;
10:6 In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you had
no pleasure.
10:7 Then I said, 'Behold, I have come (In the scroll of the book it is written of me) To do your
will,
God.'"
10:8 Previously saying,
"Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and
sacrifices
for sin you didn't desire, neither had pleasure in them" (those
which are offered according to the law),
10:9 then he has said,
"Behold, I have come to do your will."
He takes away the first, that he may establish the second,
10:10 by which will we have been sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
10:11 Every priest indeed stands day by day ministering and often
offering
the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sins,
10:12 but he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever,
sat down on the right hand of God;
10:13 from that time waiting until his enemies are made the
footstool
of his feet.
10:14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are being
sanctified.
10:15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,
10:16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them: 'After those days,' says the Lord, 'I will put my laws on
their
heart, I will also write them on their mind;'"
then he says,
10:17 "I will remember their sins and their iniquities no more."
10:18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for
sin.
Discussion Questions
What do you suppose was the purpose of the animal sacrifices that God
ordained
in the Old Testament?
What does it mean in vs 14 to "cleanse our consciences from acts
that
lead to death" and vs 15 "to set them free from the sins committed
under
the first covenant"? As a Christian, have you experienced these in your
life? Or are these more like things that we simply reckon by faith to
be
true, but may not have any particular experience associated with them?
Also in vs 15 what is "the promised eternal inheritance"?
According to a Will, who must die for an inheritance to be gain? vs
16,17
So who died for us to gain the eternal inheritance? vs 26
Who does that make Christ to be?
vs 19-22 What is so special about blood?
(Xref Lev 17:11"For the life of the flesh is in the blood:
and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your
souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.")
What does 9:27 say about the idea of reincarnation?
vs 25+ Is it necessary to continually resacrifice Christ (as on a
weekly
basis like the Catholics practice in their communion service) as under
the Old Covenant?
Do you feel that the blood of Christ is sufficient for you to obtain
the eternal inheritance, or do you feel you must add on to it perhaps
your
own sweat and blood to make up for its deficiency? (Compare with 10:14)
The
Blood
of
Bulls
and Goats
Heb 9:11-14When Christ came as high priest of the
good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more
perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of
this creation. He did not
enter by means of the
blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for
all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and
the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean
sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the
blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself
unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to
death, so that we may serve the living God!
The good things that are already here are such things as the
forgiveness of sins, adoption into the family of God, regeneration,
indeed eternal life itself starts now.
Let's not make too much of man-made things - even if they be
ordained by God. For example at one point in Numbers 21 when the people
sinned against God. Then the LORD
sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many
Israelites died. The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we
spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take
the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people. The LORD said
to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten
can look at it and live." Num
21:6-8 Well it turned out some time later that King Hezekiah broke in pieces the bronze
serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of
Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan.2King 18:4b
Things which are of this creation do not sanctify - be they
buildings, institutions, ceremonies with their elements. Thus Paul
writes his concern of the Galatian Christians, "now after you have known God, or
rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and
beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You
observe days and months and seasons and years." Gal 4:9,10
Under the Law of Moses the priests utilized the blood of animals. But it is impossible for the blood of
bulls and goats to take away sins. Heb 10:4 They are of this creation.
But Jesus is not of this creation. For through him all things were made;
without him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:3 Thus the value of his blood
atoned for sin.
You can't cure sin by masking its symptoms. Thus Jesus said of those
outwardly "good" people of his day, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and
Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish,
but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee!
First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also
will be clean."Mt 23:25,26
The blood of Christ cleanses from the guilt from sin. But while the
blood deals with our justification, it doesn't end there. For
those who are in Christ he will also sanctify. Through the regeneration
of being born again the inside of one's cup is undergoing
sanctification that we may serve God, not in reluctance of the flesh,
but by the power of the Spirit.
The
Mediator
of
a
New Covenant
Heb 9:15 For this reason Christ is the mediator
of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised
eternal inheritance— now that he has died as a ransom to set them free
from the sins committed under the first covenant.
It is not that sins had not been forgiven previously. But they were
forgiven in anticipation of the coming Christ. "God presented him as a sacrifice of
atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his
justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed
beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his justice at
the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who
have faith in Jesus."Rom
3:25,26
The New Covenant with its promises is exlusive to the called. Being
called involves hearing the gospel and responding to its call. So let
us all be active in calling people into the faith.
As for Christ paying for sins some may ask as to whom the payment was
made and how it was made. I believe there are a couple of aspects of
God's judicial nature which come into play here. One that we're all
familiar with is that God demands compensation for sins committed. But
another aspect is that God also compensates those who undergo
unjustified suffering. Christ suffered unjustly at the hands of wicked
men, and so was entitled to compensation. Being the very Creator in the
flesh the value of such suffering entitled him to pay for the sins of
the world. Thus the payment was made to God's judicial nature.
Having had our sins paid for, we are no longer subject to the
condemnation associated with the guilt of sin. And likewise our destiny
is to be free from the corruption associated with sin which among other
things affects our behavior. But we have been set free in order to
serve God. "You have been set free from sin
and have become slaves to righteousness."Rom 6:18"You, my brothers, were called to be
free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather,
serve one another in love."Gal
5:13
The
Reading
of
the
Will
Heb 9:16,17In the case of a will, it is necessary
to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force
only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who
made it is living.
There's a similar analogy with regards to marriage which Paul gives in
Rom 7 starting "For example, by
law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but
if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then,
if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is
called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from
that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.
So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ,
that you might belong to another," Rom 7:2-4a
Of couse as a principle of interpretation one should not read too much
into such
analogies, for all analogies break down at some point. Best to focus on
the author's intended meaning as explicitly stated. But it is
interesting that we see the New Testament letters speaking of an
inheritance or inheriting the kingdom of God. An inheritance is not
gained until the testator dies.
Heb 9:18-20This is why even the first covenant was
not put into effect without blood. When Moses had proclaimed every
commandment of the law to all the
people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool
and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. He
said, "This is the blood of the
covenant, which God has commanded you to keep."Ex 24:8
Likewise Jesus said of the New Covenant, "This cup is the new covenant in my
blood, which is poured out for you."Luke 22:20
Interesting that he mentions blood together with water. When Christ
died a soldier pierced his side and out came blood and water. No
Forgiveness
Without
Blood
Heb 9:21,22In the same way, he sprinkled with the
blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In
fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood,
and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
"For the life of a creature is in
the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves
on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life." Lev 17:11
"For you know that it was not with
perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from
the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but
with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect."1Peter 1:18,19
"if we walk in the light, as
he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood
of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."1John 1:7
"In him we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of
God’s grace."Eph 1:7
Christ's death on the cross - a fact of which is denied by Muslims and
belittled by Jews, is central to the New Covenant.
The
Vanity
of
Imitations
Heb 9:23-26It was necessary, then, for the copies
of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the
heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For
Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the
true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s
presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the
way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood
that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times
since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all
at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Christ offered himself ONCE. These verses and the ones that follow may
be set in stark contrast with Catholic theology with its heretical
practice of what they call "the sacrifice of the Mass" in which it is
alleged that the priest turns Christ into a piece of bread
(transsubstantiation) and he and the congregation recrucify him so that
their sins may be forgiven on a weekly basis. Their catholic.com
site states, "The Eucharist is a true
sacrifice, not just a commemorative
meal, as "Bible Christians" insist." They are not satisfied
with the Biblical concept that Christ's one time sacrifice was
sufficient. Their faith is not in the blood of Christ, but in their
ceremony, their sacrifice of the Mass.
This fact is verified by a number of Catholic Canons. I'll mention a
few for reference:
TWENTY-SECOND SESSION, CANONS ON THE SACRIFICE OF THE
MASS:
"If anyone says that in the mass a true and real sacrifice is not
offered
to God; or that to be offered is nothing else than that Christ is given
to us to eat, LET HIM BE ANATHEMA" (Canons on the Sacrifice of the
Mass,
Canon 1).
TWENTY-SECOND SESSION, CANONS ON THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS: "If
anyone
says that the sacrifice of the mass is one only of praise and
thanksgiving;
or that it is a mere commemoration of the sacrifice consummated on the
cross but not a propitiatory one; or that it profits him only
who
receives, and ought not to be offered for the living and the dead,
for
sins, punishments, satisfactions, and other necessities, LET HIM BE
ANATHEMA" (Canons on the Sacrifice of the Mass, Canon 3).
CHAPTER II: THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS IS PROPITIATORY BOTH FOR
THE
LIVING AND THE DEAD
And inasmuch as in this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in
the
mass is contained and immolated in an unbloody manner the same Christ
who
once offered Himself in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross, the
holy council teaches that this is truly propitiatory and has this
effect,
that if we, contrite and penitent, with sincere heart and upright
faith,
with fear and reverence, draw nigh to God, <we obtain mercy and find
grace in seasonable aid.>[10] For, appeased by this sacrifice
(the sacrifice of the mass), the Lord
grants the grace and gift of penitence and pardons even the gravest
crimes
and sins. For the victim (Jesus Christ) is one and the same, the
same now offering by
the ministry of priests who then offered Himself on the cross, the manner
alone of offering being different. The fruits of that bloody
sacrifice,
it is well understood, are received most abundantly through this
unbloody
one, so far is the latter from derogating in any way from the former.
Wherefore,
according to the tradition of the Apostles,[11] it is rightly offered
not
only for the sins, punishments, satisfactions and other necessities of
the faithful who are living, but also for those departed in Christ but not yet fully purified.
Thus they add ceremonial requirements for salvation, holding that
Christ's death was not sufficient. For if their "sacrifice of the mass"
does not take place, then apparently sins would not be forgiven.
Reminds me of another group of alleged "Christians" who viewed Christ's
death as insufficient to save, believing that one must add ceremonies
to be saved. "Some men came down
from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to
the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." This brought
Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. Acts 15:1,2 Yet today even among
non-Catholic Christians there are those who add ceremonial requirements
for salvation.
Heb 9:27-28Just as man is destined to die once,
and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take
away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to
bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
Reincarnation is incompatible with what the Bible says not only so with
regards to death, but also with regards to the resurrection of the
body. A person cannot claim to be a Christian and yet believe in
reincarnation. Christ was not reincarnated. He was resurrected.
Christ will return and save those waiting for him. To Titus Paul writes, "We wait for the blessed hope— the
glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ"
Paul writes of those testifying of the Thessalonian Christians, "They tell how you turned to God from
idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from
heaven, whom he raised from the dead— Jesus, who rescues us from the
coming wrath."1Th 1:9,10
Furthermore those who have died no longer have the opportunity to be
saved under the New Covenant. Remember the rich man of Luke 16 who died. He, being in
hell, wanted to be saved, but could not be saved. Likewise in Jesus'
parable of the 10 virgins of Matthew
25, the five who arrived too late were not allowed to enter.
With death comes the finality to one's opportunity to be saved through
faith in Christ. Many, having died and ending up in hell, will regret
how they have neglected to act upon this essential truth.
Shadows
Heb 10:1-3 The law is only a shadow of the good
things that are coming— not the realities themselves. For this reason
it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after
year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would
they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been
cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their
sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins,
Don't treat shadows as if they are real. Don't be afraid of shadows.
The cult of the circumcision tried to scare early Christians into
believing that one must be circumcised and followed the Law of Moses to
be saved. (Acts 15:1) Whether
it be Sabbath observing, tithing, ceremonial foods, the ten
commandments along with the regulations of the Law, or the sacrifices,
these are all but shadows. The realities are the principle or
principles behind them.
The law is only a reminder of sins.
"No one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law;
rather, through the law we become conscious of sin."Rom 3:20
Ineffective
Sacrifices
Heb 10:4-6because it is impossible for the blood
of bulls and goats to take away sins Therefore, when Christ came
into the world, he said: "Sacrifice
and offering you did not desire,
but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings
you were not pleased." Ps
40:6
While it should be obvious in view of God's judicial nature that the
blood of animals cannot take away sin, there are those who view God as
merely a divine vending machine in which if you push the right buttons
you get what you want. Such people obsess about ceremony and ritual
rather than embracing the nature of God in their understanding and in
the application of their faith.
Though God hand commanded animal sacrifices under the Old Covenant,
there are many examples which show that God viewed such things as
trivial in comparison to the attitude of the heart.
Is 1:11-13 "The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?" says the LORD. "I have more than enough of burnt
offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. When you come to appear
before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? Stop
bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New
Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your evil assemblies."
Yet thoughout history Christians have likewise applied scripture in a
meaningless ritualisticl fashion, treating God with contempt as one
would treat an idol.
As for the quote from Ps 40:6 it's taken from the Septuagint, as is the
case for most quotes of the Old Testament given in the New, which
explains the differences you may find when you look up such quotes in
your Bible, seeing as most translations today utilize the Masoretic
text rather than the Septuagint.
The "body" is of course the body of Christ through which sin would be
atoned for by Christ's death on the cross.
Christ
the
Effective
Sacrifice
Heb 10:7-10Then I said, ‘Here I am— it is written
about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, O God.’" First he
said, "Sacrifices and offerings,
burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you
pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made).
Then he said, "Here I am, I have
come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the
second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice
of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Speaking to Jewish Christians and those Jews yet to come to faith in
Christ, the Jewish sacrificial system, though not in practice today
among Jews, may have been a stumbing block for Jews at the time. To
come to faith in Christ a Jew must no longer pledge allegiance to such
things which had been mere shadows of that which was to come.
To obey is better than to sacrifice animals - or more generally than to
follow mere rituals and ceremonies. 1Sa
15:22 But
Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and
sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is
better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams."
It was through Christ's obedience that we are save, who "being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a
cross!" Php 2:8
"For you know that it was not with
perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from
the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but
with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." 1Peter 1:18,19
Perfected
by
One
Sacrifice
Heb 10:11-14Day after day every priest stands and
performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same
sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had
offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right
hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his
footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those
who are being made holy.
Ps 110:1The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my
right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."
This is the same Psalm which contains the verse The LORD has sworn and will not change
his mind: "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."
and which Jesus referenced in Luke
20:42,43 and Peter in Acts
2:34,35 as referring to the Messiah.
He sits because his work is done, having been accomplished on the
cross. Notice the tense in the phrase, "has made perfect forever" Those
who
are
in
Christ
have
in one sense already been made perfect, and not
only so but "forever" indicates that such a state is permanent, which
affirms the concept of Eternal Security (once saved, always saved). And
this again is in contrast to the Old Covenant which as he said in the
first verse of this chapter that such sacrifices under that covenant
cannot make perfect those who draw near to worship. There is no eternal
security under the Old Covenant.
The last phrase "being made holy"
could just as well be rendered "are
sanctified", as the grammatical construct is ambiguous, and thus
translations may differ. But in view of the verses that follow I think
the meaning is the former.
Articles
of
the
New
Covenant
Heb 10:15-18 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us
about this. First he says: "This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and
I will write them on their minds." Then he adds: "Their sins and
lawless acts I will remember no more." And where these have been
forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.
The quote is from Jeremiah 31:33,34"This
is
the
covenant
I
will
make with the house of Israel after that time,"
declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on
their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No
longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying,
‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them
to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their
wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
Three aspects of the New Covenant
1. The Christian is justified, their sins being forgiven
2. They get to know God personally
3. They are born again - affecting their hearts and minds which impacts
their attitude and behavior.
And with regards to forgiveness note that sins are not simply forgiven,
but forgotten. In other words of the many possible responses a
Christian may give on the judgement day if God asks, "Why should I let
you into my kingdom", one such reponse could be "Why not?"
Through the cross all sins have been forgiven, consequently no more
sacrifices are required (including "the sacrifice of the mass")