“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! 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. In 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. This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. When Moses had proclaimed every command 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.” In 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. It 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 sanctuary made with human hands 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. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:14-28 NIV).
April is such a wonderful time of the year; the days start to get longer, the sun starts to shine brighter, as it warms up, the flowers start blooming and the birds start singing. It is such a great month to remember the beauty and majesty of God’s creation. And, it’s also the month that we remember the greatest gift that we have ever been given; the gift which we celebrate every year during the Easter season: Jesus’ death and resurrection.
You all have heard me say many times that Jesus bore the weight of God’s wrath when He was on the cross; I’ve also stated many times that Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for our sins. This is what’s known as “penal substitution.” Basically, it means that the penalty that is due to us for our sins was paid by a substitute, namely, Jesus Christ. When Jesus was crucified, our sin was transferred to Him and He endured the punishment that we deserved in our place. So, with this being Easter month, I thought that it would be a good opportunity for us to reflect upon just what Jesus did for us.
The passage above, though being a bit longer than most passages in my articles, is so important because it really explains just what Jesus did for us. What we learn from the passage in Hebrews is that the sacrificial system that was instituted by God in the book of Leviticus was based upon blood sacrifices; the covenant God made with His people was also confirmed and put into effect with the sprinkling of blood, as the writer of Hebrews tells us in verses 18-20 above. Then, the writer very graciously explains to us why that is the case when he writes, “the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” in verse 22. It is here we learn why Jesus’ blood had to be shed; it is because God requires a blood sacrifice to atone for sins.
Now that we have established that, the question becomes: How was Jesus’ sacrifice a once-for-all replacement for the blood sacrifices of the Old Testament? If animal sacrifices were continuously required under the sacrificial system, why are continuous sacrifices not still required? And the answer to these questions are given in verses 23-28 of Hebrews 9. The tabernacle, or temple, in the Old Testament was designed and decorated to be an earthly representation of heaven; so when the priests entered them and made sacrifices; they were entering into, and cleansing with sacrifices, only “copies” of the real thing. When Christ gave Himself as a sacrifice, He entered into the real thing, He entered into God’s presence in heaven itself on our behalf. Further, the High Priest in the Old Testament had to enter the Holy Place every year to make a sacrifice with blood that was not his own; Jesus sacrificed Himself and gave His own blood to take away the sins of the world. Just as the temple was merely a copy of the perfect reality of heaven, so was the blood of animals merely a copy, or substitution, for the perfect blood of Jesus Christ. Because Jesus is the perfect Son of God, His blood became the perfect sacrifice to pay the penalty for our sins.
But even further than that, is the amazing work that was accomplished in Christ’s resurrection. When Christ rose from the dead on that first Easter Sunday morning, He accomplished two great things. First, He defeated death and, thus, bought eternal life for all who would believe in Him; He showed that death was not all-powerful and all-consuming; that God is sovereign even over death. Second, in His resurrection, Jesus took the role of High Priest in heaven as He sits at the right hand of God and makes intercession on our behalf. I like to think of it like this: When I sin, and I pray to God to repent and ask for forgiveness, Jesus is right there next to God saying, “Forgive him, Father, he’s one of Mine and is covered in My perfect blood.” Now, I’m not saying that is exactly what happens in heaven when we pray, but it does give us an idea of what it means for Christ to be our mediator and intercessor.
These are the things that Christ accomplished during His death and resurrection: He was the perfect blood sacrifice to atone for our sins, He paid the penalty for our sins on our behalf, He defeated death and bought us eternal life, and He took His place at the right hand of God as High Priest who intercedes on our behalf. So, this Easter season, make time to remember this perfect work that Jesus accomplished for YOU; remember that, if you have accepted Him as your Lord and Savior, you can rest in the assurance that there is nothing you can do to make Him turn His back on you because you are covered in His blood. Therefore, take heart!
Let us all remember, and praise the Triune God, for the fact that Jesus bore the weight of God’s wrath, so that we could experience the depth of God’s love. There is no greater gift than that!
May the blessings of the Father and the peace of the Son be with you,
Pastor Keith
