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 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. ² Otherwise, 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. ³ But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. ⁴ It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Verse 4 underlines the imperfection of the Old Testament sacrificial system. Here is the author of Hebrews’ verdict on it:

”It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins”

Those sacrifices were required. They had to be offered. They were prescribed. But they were ”only a shadow of the good things that are coming…” Jesus is the substance however. As we are going to see as we work through this chapter, Jesus can and does bring in perfection for those who put their trust in Him.

 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. ²⁴ 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. ²⁵ 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. ²⁶ 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. ²⁷ Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, ²⁸ 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.

This paragraph, at the culmination of chapter 9, speaks of two appearings of Christ:

• He appeared the first time to make salvation possible;
• He will appear a second time to complete it.

With regard to the former, Hebrews has been repeating and reinforcing the message that the Old Covenant sacrificial system was only a temporary measure, preparing for the coming of Christ who has now offered Himself as the final, perfect sacrifice. He came the first time to bring in the era of salvation. He will come a second time to put the finishing touches to it. However much we may be enjoying salvation today, we can be sure there’s much more ahead:

 ‘…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.‘ (Philippians 1:6).

Francis Schaeffer spelled out something of what the finished work of Christ means in practical terms:

“When my conscience under the Holy Spirit makes me aware of a specific sin I should at once call that sin sin and bring it consciously under the blood of Christ. Now it is covered and it is not honoring to the finished work of Jesus Christ to worry about it, as far as my relationship to God is concerned. Indeed, to worry about it is to do spite to the infinite value of the death of the Son of God. My fellowship with God is restored.” Francis Schaeffer.

¹⁶ In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, ¹⁷ because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. ¹⁸ This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. ¹⁹ 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. ²⁰ He said, ‘This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.’²¹ In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. ²² In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

The last ten words in the above paragraph (highlighted in bold print) articulate a central Biblical principle: “Atonement by the blood of Jesus is not an arm of Christian truth; it is the heart of it.” Charles Spurgeon

Some people respond to this truth with revulsion; others are horrified at the thought of this ‘religion of blood’. A famous preacher once said that Old Testament religion resembled an abattoir as much as anything. But the truth is that those imperfect animal sacrifices were preparing the way for the final unblemished sacrifice of Jesus. The need for ”the shedding of blood” points to ‘the exceeding sinfulness of sin’, and this is not something people like to think about today- generally speaking.

“The heart of salvation is the Cross of Christ. The reason salvation is so easy to obtain is that it cost God so much. The Cross was the place where God and sinful man merged with a tremendous collision and where the way to life was opened. But all the cost and pain of the collision was absorbed by the heart of God.” Oswald Chambers.

This is such a holy mystery that I almost feel reticent to say anything for fear of saying too much, But I recognise that it is because of the blood of Jesus that we may approach (with boldness) the Holy of holies, and make our dwelling there.

“On the back of Satan’s neck is a nail scarred footprint.” C. S. Lewis

In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, ¹⁷ because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. 

When my mum’s Aunt died some years ago now, she left her a small amount of money in her will. My mum looked forward to buying a new sofa with the money, because she and my dad, while never living in poverty, didn’t have very much, comparatively speaking. Money was habitually tight. But on the cold January day mum travelled to the Scottish borders for her Auntie’s funeral, she was already unwell, and was soon to be diagnosed with terminal cancer. When she received that news, she said it put everything else into perspective. Material possessions meant nothing in comparison with having health.

But believers are the beneficiaries of a will that brings riches both in life and beyond death. It is because Christ died to bring it into effect – then rose from the dead, and now appears for us in God’s presence.

What it is to be ‘mentioned’ in this will! It is no small inheritance we come into. As an old song says, ‘I’m richer than a millionaire…’

 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.

Apparently, Tim Keller, the well known preacher and author who died recently, would repeatedly remind his team that it is the gospel that truly changes everything.

‘My sin, O the bliss of this glorious thought;

My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to His Cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, o my soul.

It is well with my soul…’

…and it is all because of Jesus.

Note that verse 15 begins with the words: ‘For this reason…’ It causes us to look back. In the previous verses (11-14) the writer has described the perfection of Christ’s offering of Himself – of His own blood; He has spoken about its superiority to all that came before in the Jewish system. His sacrifice can bring cleansing to the inside of a person, and not just the outside. This is good news for all who come to Jesus for eternal redemption (v.12).

This gospel really does change everything.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

During the next week, my wife and I expect to move house, after a two and a half year process (often traumatic!) of trying to sell our current home. This has been Jilly’s beloved home for close to eighteen years, and mine for more than twelve. It has been a privilege to live here for so long. We thank God that our dwelling has also been a blessing to many others.

But it’s not our real home. Neither will the place we move to be, much as we love it.

All we ever do is live in temporary ‘shelters’ here on earth. Some (perhaps all of them) may absorb many happy memories within their walls – and no doubt hold a share of sad ones too.

But here we have no permanent home. If we have experienced the conversion-resurrection miracle, our true address is ”with Christ in God.”

It is as well to remember this.

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!

We are not saved by our service, but we are saved for service.

There is an illustration of this in the beautiful, economical story of Jesus’ healing of Simon’s mother-in-law in Mark 9:29-31. We read: ”So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them” (31, emphasis mine).

There it is: saved to serve.

 Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God.

 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!

Salvation is a Trinitarian experience. Note how each member of the Godhead is mentioned in this verse. We see God, Christ and the Spirit working in co-operation to make our cleansing possible.

If we ever wonder how Jesus could have gone through all the physical, mental and spiritual anguish of the Cross, the answer is that it was ”through the eternal Spirit”.

This same Spirit lives in every believer and will strengthen us to face each lesser trial. We will never have to go through anything that comes close to what Jesus suffered, but we do walk the way of the Cross. How good to know we are not alone.

 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you (John 14:18).

 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. ¹² 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, thus obtaining eternal redemption. ¹³ 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. ¹⁴ 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!

As we have seen before, sin is an ‘inside job’. The problem with the Old Testament sacrifices was that they couldn’t touch the inner life. They could clean up the outside, but not the inside (13,14).

‘What can wash away my stain? Nothing but the blood of Jesus; What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.’ The blood of Jesus is the most powerful cleansing agent in the universe.

Consider how Eugene Peterson renders this wonderful paragraph in ‘The Message’:

But when the Messiah arrived, high priest of the superior things of this new covenant, he bypassed the old tent and its trappings in this created world and went straight into heaven’s “tent”—the true Holy Place—once and for all. He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all. If that animal blood and the other rituals of purification were effective in cleaning up certain matters of our religion and behaviour, think how much more the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out. Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God.