Hebrews 9.....greater than Aaron part 4
Jesus is operating in a superior sanctuary...greater in His office, greater in His person, the mediator of a better covenant, and now, the minister of a better sanctuary. No stone is being left unturned to persuade them of His superior greatness. This chapter goes to the heart of who God is. For centuries man has wanted to “domesticate” God, that is confine Him to the limitations of their own creations, but He cannot be confined. The wise king Solomon declared at the setting up of the magnificent temple, just how feeble were the attempts of men to confine God “but will God indeed dwell with men on the earth, behold heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee, how much less this house that I have built?” (2nd Chronicles 6 v18). This is a repetition of chapter 2 v6 “...who is able to build Him an house seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Him?”. The martyr Stephen in his sermon to the religious hierarchy in Jerusalem, records “But Solomon built Him an house, howbeit the Almighty dwelleth not in temples made with hands, as saith the prophet “Heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool; what house will ye build me saith the Lord, ?or what is the place of my rest ? Hath not my hand made all these things? (Isaiah 66 vv1-2). The point of this chapter is to shew that the earthly sanctuary of the only religion God instituted on earth, (that is Judaism), was only a temporary pattern of the real temple in heaven. All other religions are but figments of human imagination. Concerning the Christian sector of spiritual worship today, no R.C. church, nor Protestant church, nor Evangelical Independent church, including Baptists, Brethren, and Pentecostal groups can claim exclusive rights to the presence of God, since God dwells nowhere on earth or in temples/buildings made with human hands.
The chapter is easily divided into two parts;
Verses 1-10 The inferiority of the earthly sanctuary
Verses 11-28 The superiority of the heavenly sanctuary
Verses 1-10.....the earthly sanctuary; The readers are reminded that the tabernacle of old was a Divine institution, designed by God, constructed by men, using earthly materials, for temporary worship in this world only, and had limitations, since God is perfect, they imperfect, God is eternal they only temporal. Yet it served a purpose to reveal God to them as visual object lessons on a daily/weekly/monthly/annual basis. There are a number of limitations of this institution listed here which opens the way to a better sanctuary required if the awesome God of unlimited wonder is to be truly worshipped. It was a Heavenly design, but a worldly sanctuary, and this is the first limitation.
It was a worldly sanctuary.......... verse 1. It was constructed of materials that were perishable, even gold, the most durable of all metals is said to be “gold that perishes”. It could only be in one location at a time, and had to be regularly moved. It served only for the nation of Israel and a few strangers in their midst, God’s worship cannot be limited to one nation or one place. Because of failure the ark of God (symbolising the presence of God) departed from it and it became a godless empty shell (1st Samuel 4 v22). Later in the time of the exile in the days of Ezekiel, the glory of God which accompanied the original tabernacle, finally departed from the nation and their worship was futile for God was not with them (see Ezekiel 8 v4; 9 v3; 10 v4; 10 v18). The tabernacle had to be replaced by the temple and all the materials and all the vessels changed except for the ark (see 1st Kings chapters 6-8).
The design and construction and contents were symbolic of something greater......verses 3-5. All through the chapter they are referred to as symbolic; verse 9 “..a figure (parable) for the time then present”; verse 23 “the patterns (similitudes, copies) of things in the heavens”; verse 24 “holy places made with hands which are the (corresponding) figures of the true”. These vessels situated as they were became object lessons of spiritual truth and although not the reality, they contain valuable lessons about the character of God and should be studied as such. The tabernacle is God’s great picture book. The writer here declines to elaborate on the details of the tabernacle, and we must do the same, save to say that David penned in Psalm 29 v9 (Newberry margin) “In His temple every whit of it uttereth His glory”. No temple existing during David’s lifetime he must have been referring to the tabernacle, so we are to be encouraged to consider every vessel, every fabric, every colour, every utensil, every pin, every board, every bar, every metal, the spices, the oil and the precious stones as portraying the excellent glories of our Saviour. There is a corresponding new testament truth to confirm all these things as symbolic of His glory.
There was limited access verses 6-8 The functioning priests could only access what he called “the first tabernacle”, more commonly known as the “holy place”, and only once in the year the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies the dwelling place of God. Even the High Priest must discard the garments of beauty and glory, and don the linen garment (Leviticus 16 v4). He dare not enter without blood from a slain animal, for he must also offer for his own sins. So there were a number of restrictions which do not apply to the priesthood of Christ. None of the people were permitted to enter the tabernacle precincts in contrast to the heavenly tabernacle ( chapter 10 vv19-25). This limited access to God signified that the way to God was not yet opened. “Not yet” is the important word, as the call to all believing worshippers to boldly enter in is sounded in chapter 10. The old tabernacle and temple worship maintained these restrictions until Calvary when the veil was rent and the way was open. By this Divine act (from top to bottom), God signalled that the old was now abolished, and all restrictions removed.
The effect of the old system was more external than internal verses 9-10 The sacrifices offered and the ritual engaged could only instruct the mind, it could not change the heart, it was more external. Note the language “could not make them perfect as to the conscience”. This did not mean they had no knowledge of the demands of Divine holiness, but it did not change them, the service lacked power because of their inability to maintain the standard. The first system of worship was entirely based on ritual, with such things as the food laws, and instructions for cleansing, and carnal ordinances imposed upon them, able only to change the outer man and not the inward.
Verses 11-28......the heavenly sanctuary. “But Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle...” The coming of Christ has changed everything. The title “Christ” is repeated four times in this chapter (v11, v14, v24, v28), the anointed one, in this context, the anointed priest for heavenly service. This section is all about the superiority of the heavenly sanctuary and service. Christian worship is vastly superior to all that’s gone before. The notion that Christian worship, today, involves The Lord visiting every church when they gather is just plain wrong. The sanctuary is in heaven, and, in spirit, we rise to heaven where He now is and functions as our Priest. This is made clear in chapter 10. The writer develops the comparisons with the old system along two lines of thought as stated in verse 1 of the chapter.......”Divine service and a worldly sanctuary”, that is the place of worship and the ritual attached to it. In these verses he majors on the aspect of service as we shall see. He now functions in “a greater and more perfect tabernacle”, that is greater in it’s sphere and greater in it’s service as follows:
• Verse 11a He operates in a different time cycle The previous verses have been concerned with the timing of things; verse 9 “a parable for the time then present”; then again in verse 10, the ritual of food restrictions and washings and carnal commandments (all things to do with external purity) was imposed on them “until the time of reformation (or rectification)”. That time has now come and “the good things to come” of verse 11, are now here in Christ. We are now in the time of reformation and in possession of the good things.
• Verse 11b The sanctuary is not in this world “...a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is to say not of this building (this creation)”. This world and the hands of man played no part in the sanctuary above, where God is worshipped, and to which His people now draw near. Verse 24 elaborates “Christ is not entered into the holy place made with hands....but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us”. There could be no human hand involved in a perfect worship.
• Verse 12 He entered the heavenly sanctuary with His own blood “..neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, He entered in once (for all) into the Holy Place having obtained eternal redemption”. This is the first mention of blood (the blood of sacrifice) in Hebrews and ,having introduced it here, it recurs another 19 times. This is most important as the blood is always the requirement of God, it is the Godward aspect of the sacrifice. In the old testament all the blood of the slain animals was for God. He demanded blood of sacrifice as payment for sin. The blood of unwilling animals could never achieve the demand except to cover the sins in prospect of the real offering of Christ. Of old there were repetitive sacrifices, but Christ offered Himself only once. The best outcome of the blood shed and applied of old was a “passing over” of sins; in Christ the redemption price was fully paid and eternal redemption is procured.
• Verses 13-14 The blood of Christ avails for all true believers He satisfied the demands of God, now He meets the need of man. If the sacrifices of old served to purify the flesh (that is the bodily cleansing), much more the blood of Christ, infinitely more valuable, shall “purge the conscience from dead works to serve the living God”. Not now external cleansing, but internal cleansing of the conscience to remove the guilt of sin entirely, and enable true worship by the whole person. The sacrifices of animals were mindless, they did not willingly offer themselves. Christ offered Himself consciously and willingly (it was through an eternal spirit- that is His spirit was aware of eternal counsels He was now effecting). The Priest must first offer for his own sins, Christ offered Himself without spot to God, He was a spotless sacrifice. The Priest offered sacrifices for the next year, the sacrifice of Christ has eternal effects!
• Verses 15-16 This brings the new covenant into force Since He shed His blood, this means He died, and so the covenant is “live”. The writer refers to the fact that a will and testament has no useful value unless the testator has died. The word “diatheke” can mean both covenant, in the sense of an agreement, and testament in the sense of a will left to a beneficiary. In His death, Christ triggered the terms of the new covenant and made them legally binding, with the result that the beneficiaries can now receive the endowment. This involved “..the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant”, the removal of sins of the past (this is similar to Romans 3 v25 “...the remission of sins that are past...”). As a consequence those called by God come into the good of the eternal inheritance. Note the link between the portions....eternal redemption...eternal inheritance.
• Verses 18-22 The old sanctuary was dedicated by the sprinkling of blood Not only must the blood be shed but it must be sprinkled. In Exodus chapter 12 the blood was shed then sprinkled on the doorposts and lintels of the Israelites’ homes. In Exodus 24 vv3-6 Moses sprinkled the book and the altar and all the people. On the day of atonement the blood was shed then sprinkled on all the vessels of the tabernacle (Leviticus 16). The shedding of blood is symbolic of Christ’s sacrifice for us; the sprinkling of blood is the application of the value of that blood to the individual and the corporate worship. Without it we have nothing, there is no remission of sin. Peter in his 1st letter refers to the , sprinkling of blood “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, though sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” At the end of the same chapter he refers to the corporate aspect of Christian worship “...redeemed.......with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.....seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit....” 1st Peter 1 vv19-22. The blood must be shed and sprinkled (applied) for our worship to be acceptable. Moses sprinkled the book and all the people and all the vessels of the tabernacle. In modern language the scriptures of truth, all the believers, and all aspects of service must be purged with blood.
• Verse 23 The heavenly sanctuary is purified by the blood of Christ of infinite value Another sanctuary in a realm outside of time in the eternal precincts of the living God, yet the heavens have been tarnished with sin; sin raised it’s head first in this hallowed sanctuary and so purification must be made even here. Only the blood of Christ could purify the heavenly sanctuary into which believers must come for worship before a thrice holy God. “It was necessary for the patterns of things in the heavens to be purified with these” (the blood of animals). We dare not approach God without purification as was evident from the symbolism of the tabernacle worship. But now , the “heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these”, nothing less than the infinite value of the blood of Christ. By that, and that alone we approach God, whether in prayer or worship or thanksgiving. This whole section is an exposition of chapter 1 v3 “...when He had by Himself purged our sins...”(R.V, “made purification for sins...”). In the worship of God, all things must be purified, the heavenly sanctuary, the heavenly people, and all the services of priestly worship.
• Verses 24-28 His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary is perfect and eternal We are to put our trust in nothing “made with hands”. Our Father is in heaven, our Saviour is in heaven, our sanctuary is in heaven, our hope is in heaven, our citizenship is in heaven, and our treasure should be in heaven. Christ has “entered into heaven itself”. Indeed the whole letter to Hebrews is a weaning away from earth to heaven! There is a reference in these verses to the old day of Atonement, in which the High Priest offered sacrifices for himself and his household, and for all the people of Israel, and for the tabernacle of worship. The writer visualises this ritual in the new light of Christ and summarises it in the terms of three appearings. The High Priest appeared at the altar of sacrifice, he appeared in the inner sanctuary, and then he would appear to the people which indicated God’s acceptance of them for another year. He summarises this by the three appearings of Christ, the thought in each case is similar but there is a different word used to emphasise the shades of meaning. In these Christ has finalised the work to God’s satisfaction.
1) Verse 24 He appears now (in the present time) in the presence of God for us. The thought here is not so much of priestly intercession but the presenting of the merits of His blood before God. This is true of our initial conversion, and is true throughout our entire lives (“..the blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanseth us from all sin” 1st John 1 v7). The word appearing here carries the idea of incense, the smell of sweet savour, for the pleasure and satisfaction of God.
2) Verse 25-26 He appeared in the past at Calvary (fulfilment of the brazen altar) to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Of old no sin could be “put away”, only covered over, now He has by one sacrifice put it away. It is significant that He “appeared once in the “completion of the ages”. His coming signalled the end period of time as we know it, we have entered the last days of time on earth and there will be no more sacrifice, because His one sacrifice was enough! The force of this is made clear at the outset “God hath ...in these last days spoken unto us by His Son”. God has spoken for the last time, He has nothing more to say apart from His Son who appeared once for all. He did not suffer many times from the foundation of the world, but He will bring time to it’s conclusion by His perfect sacrifice, there is nothing more to be done. The word for appearing here conveys the idea of things being done very publicly. “This thing were not done in a corner” said Paul (Acts 26 v26). The crucifixion of Christ is the most public of all world events and can be missed by no one. One of the most common words to describe His appearance here is “manifested”, revealed publicly, fully made known.
3) Verses 27-28 He will appear in the future “...unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation”. There’s a day of judgment awaiting all. There is an inescapable appointment with death and after death the judgment. For this reason Christ came to bear the sins of many. His sacrifice was equal to the needs of sinful man. The limitation is only with the individual, there is no limitation in the provision made. Those who receive Him, who live in expectation of His return will live with Him in unsinning bliss. The word for appearing here is the word meaning shining brightness, His coming will be seen by all and enjoyed by many. He came the first time to put away sin, He will come the second time “without sin”...apart from sin, sin fully expunged.
In brief summary, He came down to put away sin; He ascended and went to heaven to present His redeeming work; He’s coming back to gather His people. Hallelujah what a Saviour!
Jesus is operating in a superior sanctuary...greater in His office, greater in His person, the mediator of a better covenant, and now, the minister of a better sanctuary. No stone is being left unturned to persuade them of His superior greatness. This chapter goes to the heart of who God is. For centuries man has wanted to “domesticate” God, that is confine Him to the limitations of their own creations, but He cannot be confined. The wise king Solomon declared at the setting up of the magnificent temple, just how feeble were the attempts of men to confine God “but will God indeed dwell with men on the earth, behold heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee, how much less this house that I have built?” (2nd Chronicles 6 v18). This is a repetition of chapter 2 v6 “...who is able to build Him an house seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Him?”. The martyr Stephen in his sermon to the religious hierarchy in Jerusalem, records “But Solomon built Him an house, howbeit the Almighty dwelleth not in temples made with hands, as saith the prophet “Heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool; what house will ye build me saith the Lord, ?or what is the place of my rest ? Hath not my hand made all these things? (Isaiah 66 vv1-2). The point of this chapter is to shew that the earthly sanctuary of the only religion God instituted on earth, (that is Judaism), was only a temporary pattern of the real temple in heaven. All other religions are but figments of human imagination. Concerning the Christian sector of spiritual worship today, no R.C. church, nor Protestant church, nor Evangelical Independent church, including Baptists, Brethren, and Pentecostal groups can claim exclusive rights to the presence of God, since God dwells nowhere on earth or in temples/buildings made with human hands.
The chapter is easily divided into two parts;
Verses 1-10 The inferiority of the earthly sanctuary
Verses 11-28 The superiority of the heavenly sanctuary
Verses 1-10.....the earthly sanctuary; The readers are reminded that the tabernacle of old was a Divine institution, designed by God, constructed by men, using earthly materials, for temporary worship in this world only, and had limitations, since God is perfect, they imperfect, God is eternal they only temporal. Yet it served a purpose to reveal God to them as visual object lessons on a daily/weekly/monthly/annual basis. There are a number of limitations of this institution listed here which opens the way to a better sanctuary required if the awesome God of unlimited wonder is to be truly worshipped. It was a Heavenly design, but a worldly sanctuary, and this is the first limitation.
It was a worldly sanctuary.......... verse 1. It was constructed of materials that were perishable, even gold, the most durable of all metals is said to be “gold that perishes”. It could only be in one location at a time, and had to be regularly moved. It served only for the nation of Israel and a few strangers in their midst, God’s worship cannot be limited to one nation or one place. Because of failure the ark of God (symbolising the presence of God) departed from it and it became a godless empty shell (1st Samuel 4 v22). Later in the time of the exile in the days of Ezekiel, the glory of God which accompanied the original tabernacle, finally departed from the nation and their worship was futile for God was not with them (see Ezekiel 8 v4; 9 v3; 10 v4; 10 v18). The tabernacle had to be replaced by the temple and all the materials and all the vessels changed except for the ark (see 1st Kings chapters 6-8).
The design and construction and contents were symbolic of something greater......verses 3-5. All through the chapter they are referred to as symbolic; verse 9 “..a figure (parable) for the time then present”; verse 23 “the patterns (similitudes, copies) of things in the heavens”; verse 24 “holy places made with hands which are the (corresponding) figures of the true”. These vessels situated as they were became object lessons of spiritual truth and although not the reality, they contain valuable lessons about the character of God and should be studied as such. The tabernacle is God’s great picture book. The writer here declines to elaborate on the details of the tabernacle, and we must do the same, save to say that David penned in Psalm 29 v9 (Newberry margin) “In His temple every whit of it uttereth His glory”. No temple existing during David’s lifetime he must have been referring to the tabernacle, so we are to be encouraged to consider every vessel, every fabric, every colour, every utensil, every pin, every board, every bar, every metal, the spices, the oil and the precious stones as portraying the excellent glories of our Saviour. There is a corresponding new testament truth to confirm all these things as symbolic of His glory.
There was limited access verses 6-8 The functioning priests could only access what he called “the first tabernacle”, more commonly known as the “holy place”, and only once in the year the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies the dwelling place of God. Even the High Priest must discard the garments of beauty and glory, and don the linen garment (Leviticus 16 v4). He dare not enter without blood from a slain animal, for he must also offer for his own sins. So there were a number of restrictions which do not apply to the priesthood of Christ. None of the people were permitted to enter the tabernacle precincts in contrast to the heavenly tabernacle ( chapter 10 vv19-25). This limited access to God signified that the way to God was not yet opened. “Not yet” is the important word, as the call to all believing worshippers to boldly enter in is sounded in chapter 10. The old tabernacle and temple worship maintained these restrictions until Calvary when the veil was rent and the way was open. By this Divine act (from top to bottom), God signalled that the old was now abolished, and all restrictions removed.
The effect of the old system was more external than internal verses 9-10 The sacrifices offered and the ritual engaged could only instruct the mind, it could not change the heart, it was more external. Note the language “could not make them perfect as to the conscience”. This did not mean they had no knowledge of the demands of Divine holiness, but it did not change them, the service lacked power because of their inability to maintain the standard. The first system of worship was entirely based on ritual, with such things as the food laws, and instructions for cleansing, and carnal ordinances imposed upon them, able only to change the outer man and not the inward.
Verses 11-28......the heavenly sanctuary. “But Christ being come an High Priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle...” The coming of Christ has changed everything. The title “Christ” is repeated four times in this chapter (v11, v14, v24, v28), the anointed one, in this context, the anointed priest for heavenly service. This section is all about the superiority of the heavenly sanctuary and service. Christian worship is vastly superior to all that’s gone before. The notion that Christian worship, today, involves The Lord visiting every church when they gather is just plain wrong. The sanctuary is in heaven, and, in spirit, we rise to heaven where He now is and functions as our Priest. This is made clear in chapter 10. The writer develops the comparisons with the old system along two lines of thought as stated in verse 1 of the chapter.......”Divine service and a worldly sanctuary”, that is the place of worship and the ritual attached to it. In these verses he majors on the aspect of service as we shall see. He now functions in “a greater and more perfect tabernacle”, that is greater in it’s sphere and greater in it’s service as follows:
• Verse 11a He operates in a different time cycle The previous verses have been concerned with the timing of things; verse 9 “a parable for the time then present”; then again in verse 10, the ritual of food restrictions and washings and carnal commandments (all things to do with external purity) was imposed on them “until the time of reformation (or rectification)”. That time has now come and “the good things to come” of verse 11, are now here in Christ. We are now in the time of reformation and in possession of the good things.
• Verse 11b The sanctuary is not in this world “...a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is to say not of this building (this creation)”. This world and the hands of man played no part in the sanctuary above, where God is worshipped, and to which His people now draw near. Verse 24 elaborates “Christ is not entered into the holy place made with hands....but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us”. There could be no human hand involved in a perfect worship.
• Verse 12 He entered the heavenly sanctuary with His own blood “..neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, He entered in once (for all) into the Holy Place having obtained eternal redemption”. This is the first mention of blood (the blood of sacrifice) in Hebrews and ,having introduced it here, it recurs another 19 times. This is most important as the blood is always the requirement of God, it is the Godward aspect of the sacrifice. In the old testament all the blood of the slain animals was for God. He demanded blood of sacrifice as payment for sin. The blood of unwilling animals could never achieve the demand except to cover the sins in prospect of the real offering of Christ. Of old there were repetitive sacrifices, but Christ offered Himself only once. The best outcome of the blood shed and applied of old was a “passing over” of sins; in Christ the redemption price was fully paid and eternal redemption is procured.
• Verses 13-14 The blood of Christ avails for all true believers He satisfied the demands of God, now He meets the need of man. If the sacrifices of old served to purify the flesh (that is the bodily cleansing), much more the blood of Christ, infinitely more valuable, shall “purge the conscience from dead works to serve the living God”. Not now external cleansing, but internal cleansing of the conscience to remove the guilt of sin entirely, and enable true worship by the whole person. The sacrifices of animals were mindless, they did not willingly offer themselves. Christ offered Himself consciously and willingly (it was through an eternal spirit- that is His spirit was aware of eternal counsels He was now effecting). The Priest must first offer for his own sins, Christ offered Himself without spot to God, He was a spotless sacrifice. The Priest offered sacrifices for the next year, the sacrifice of Christ has eternal effects!
• Verses 15-16 This brings the new covenant into force Since He shed His blood, this means He died, and so the covenant is “live”. The writer refers to the fact that a will and testament has no useful value unless the testator has died. The word “diatheke” can mean both covenant, in the sense of an agreement, and testament in the sense of a will left to a beneficiary. In His death, Christ triggered the terms of the new covenant and made them legally binding, with the result that the beneficiaries can now receive the endowment. This involved “..the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant”, the removal of sins of the past (this is similar to Romans 3 v25 “...the remission of sins that are past...”). As a consequence those called by God come into the good of the eternal inheritance. Note the link between the portions....eternal redemption...eternal inheritance.
• Verses 18-22 The old sanctuary was dedicated by the sprinkling of blood Not only must the blood be shed but it must be sprinkled. In Exodus chapter 12 the blood was shed then sprinkled on the doorposts and lintels of the Israelites’ homes. In Exodus 24 vv3-6 Moses sprinkled the book and the altar and all the people. On the day of atonement the blood was shed then sprinkled on all the vessels of the tabernacle (Leviticus 16). The shedding of blood is symbolic of Christ’s sacrifice for us; the sprinkling of blood is the application of the value of that blood to the individual and the corporate worship. Without it we have nothing, there is no remission of sin. Peter in his 1st letter refers to the , sprinkling of blood “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, though sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.” At the end of the same chapter he refers to the corporate aspect of Christian worship “...redeemed.......with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.....seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit....” 1st Peter 1 vv19-22. The blood must be shed and sprinkled (applied) for our worship to be acceptable. Moses sprinkled the book and all the people and all the vessels of the tabernacle. In modern language the scriptures of truth, all the believers, and all aspects of service must be purged with blood.
• Verse 23 The heavenly sanctuary is purified by the blood of Christ of infinite value Another sanctuary in a realm outside of time in the eternal precincts of the living God, yet the heavens have been tarnished with sin; sin raised it’s head first in this hallowed sanctuary and so purification must be made even here. Only the blood of Christ could purify the heavenly sanctuary into which believers must come for worship before a thrice holy God. “It was necessary for the patterns of things in the heavens to be purified with these” (the blood of animals). We dare not approach God without purification as was evident from the symbolism of the tabernacle worship. But now , the “heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these”, nothing less than the infinite value of the blood of Christ. By that, and that alone we approach God, whether in prayer or worship or thanksgiving. This whole section is an exposition of chapter 1 v3 “...when He had by Himself purged our sins...”(R.V, “made purification for sins...”). In the worship of God, all things must be purified, the heavenly sanctuary, the heavenly people, and all the services of priestly worship.
• Verses 24-28 His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary is perfect and eternal We are to put our trust in nothing “made with hands”. Our Father is in heaven, our Saviour is in heaven, our sanctuary is in heaven, our hope is in heaven, our citizenship is in heaven, and our treasure should be in heaven. Christ has “entered into heaven itself”. Indeed the whole letter to Hebrews is a weaning away from earth to heaven! There is a reference in these verses to the old day of Atonement, in which the High Priest offered sacrifices for himself and his household, and for all the people of Israel, and for the tabernacle of worship. The writer visualises this ritual in the new light of Christ and summarises it in the terms of three appearings. The High Priest appeared at the altar of sacrifice, he appeared in the inner sanctuary, and then he would appear to the people which indicated God’s acceptance of them for another year. He summarises this by the three appearings of Christ, the thought in each case is similar but there is a different word used to emphasise the shades of meaning. In these Christ has finalised the work to God’s satisfaction.
1) Verse 24 He appears now (in the present time) in the presence of God for us. The thought here is not so much of priestly intercession but the presenting of the merits of His blood before God. This is true of our initial conversion, and is true throughout our entire lives (“..the blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanseth us from all sin” 1st John 1 v7). The word appearing here carries the idea of incense, the smell of sweet savour, for the pleasure and satisfaction of God.
2) Verse 25-26 He appeared in the past at Calvary (fulfilment of the brazen altar) to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Of old no sin could be “put away”, only covered over, now He has by one sacrifice put it away. It is significant that He “appeared once in the “completion of the ages”. His coming signalled the end period of time as we know it, we have entered the last days of time on earth and there will be no more sacrifice, because His one sacrifice was enough! The force of this is made clear at the outset “God hath ...in these last days spoken unto us by His Son”. God has spoken for the last time, He has nothing more to say apart from His Son who appeared once for all. He did not suffer many times from the foundation of the world, but He will bring time to it’s conclusion by His perfect sacrifice, there is nothing more to be done. The word for appearing here conveys the idea of things being done very publicly. “This thing were not done in a corner” said Paul (Acts 26 v26). The crucifixion of Christ is the most public of all world events and can be missed by no one. One of the most common words to describe His appearance here is “manifested”, revealed publicly, fully made known.
3) Verses 27-28 He will appear in the future “...unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation”. There’s a day of judgment awaiting all. There is an inescapable appointment with death and after death the judgment. For this reason Christ came to bear the sins of many. His sacrifice was equal to the needs of sinful man. The limitation is only with the individual, there is no limitation in the provision made. Those who receive Him, who live in expectation of His return will live with Him in unsinning bliss. The word for appearing here is the word meaning shining brightness, His coming will be seen by all and enjoyed by many. He came the first time to put away sin, He will come the second time “without sin”...apart from sin, sin fully expunged.
In brief summary, He came down to put away sin; He ascended and went to heaven to present His redeeming work; He’s coming back to gather His people. Hallelujah what a Saviour!
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