Letter to Jewish Christians
Letter to Jewish Christians
We now come to the central topic in the letter to the Hebrews — the offering of Christ’s own life, flesh, and blood, for the sins of the world.
The body and blood of Jesus, because he was without sin, made an offering that satisfied God once and for all. By that perfect offering we are perfected and are being sanctified.
The plan for this lesson is simply to look at seven things the Hebrew writer says about Christ’s perfect sacrifice. We will take them in the order in which he first mentions them, but as we take each one we will skip ahead to other verses (if any) where he revisits the point.
These seven attributes of Christ's sacrifice are interdependent. We are studying them as we might study a steam engine, pulling it apart, examining the pieces. But of course it needs to be put together again to work. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. As we think about each attribute, we must see it as fitting into the whole.
Heb 8:12, Heb 9:15, Heb 10:3-7,17
The Hebrew writer believes that whilst people under the old covenant were certainly justified and forgiven, it was not by any sacrifice of blood offered under the old covenant, but by anticipation of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Forgiveness before the cross was provisional. The sins forgiven were not taken away and remembered no more. The Hebrew writer explains that "in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year"
When Christ made his perfect sacrifice, those other merely symbolic sacrifices could —and should— have ceased. Now there is a forgiveness of sins in which there is no more remembrance of sin.
Heb 9:12, Heb 13:12, Heb 10:5-7
The Hebrew writer emphasises that Jesus offered "his own blood". The priests of old offered the blood of animals which was a substitute that could sanctify and purify only by virtue of its symbolism of Christ’s blood. It had long been known that forgiveness required a sacrifice of blood. Most people did not realise, however, that the blood sacrifices offered were not of themselves acceptable to God
A blood sacrifice made in its own right cannot please God, and cannot do the worshipper any good. God accepted such sacrifices, if they were offered genuinely in faith, only because they foreshadowed the perfect sacrifice by God of "his own blood."
Heb 9:12-15
The Hebrew writer uses the word "eternal" six times in his letter. He speaks of eternal salvation, eternal judgment, eternal redemption, the eternal Spirit, eternal inheritance, and the eternal covenant. Three of those instances are here (Heb 9:12-15)
The old sacrifices were temporal, that is to say they were offered and were effective on a week by week, month by month, or year by year basis. They were linked to times and seasons, to new moons and sabbaths. They were tied to time. But faith looks to an "eternal inheritance" that is "a heavenly one" which exists beyond earthly time and space (cf Heb 9:15 with Heb 11:13-16)
Christ's sacrifice was made "at the end of the ages" (see Heb 9:26) also referred to as the "last days" (see Heb 1:2). The sacrifice of Christ was timely made, however its effect transcends time. Even when time itself is no more, the redemption we have through Christ’s sacrifice will remain.
Study continues next lesson