Scripture: Hebrews 9:23-28 (ESV)
“It was necessary, therefore, that the copies of the heavenly things should be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgement, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”
In Australia we call a bad car a bomb. I used to drive a bomb. It was a light blue Ford Laser, 1.6 litre engine, with a rusted front panel. Once, I drove through one of the tunnels in Melbourne, and my bomb of a car decided that that would be the perfect time to overheat. Now the tunnels in Melbourne do not have emergency lanes you can park in when bad things happen. If your car dies in the tunnel, you stuff up the traffic flow for thousands of people and on that day, I was that man. Still, I loved that car because it was my first car. It got me from A to B, mostly without dying. And it sort of worked, but it needed constant attention and a daily check to make sure I had enough coolant.
The old sacrificial system is like that. It kind of gets you from A to B, but it is really a poor imitation of true sacrifice that Jesus brings. Notice that the author of Hebrews calls it a copy of heavenly things. The earthly sacrifices were never meant to replace the things in heaven. They were meant to point us to the things of heaven. In addition the earthly sacrificial system was flawed to the point that it itself needed to be purified with blood sacrifices and religious rites.
But when Jesus came and lived the perfect life and paid the price for sin with his own blood the copy is no longer needed. The bomb of a sacrificial system can pass away because the true vehicle of salvation has arrived. This new sacrifice is not like the old, it doesn’t need maintenance. It is a once for all sacrifice that lasts eternally. It’s like a car that never needs to be serviced and never needs refuelling. Salvation through Christ is truly eternal for all who believe.
As the Modern Post song says:
It is finished! He has done it!
Let your weary heart rejoice
Our redemption is accomplished
Raise a shout with ragged voice
And go bravely into battle
Knowing he has won the war
It is finished, lift your head
And weep no more!
Prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank you for your once for all sacrifice on the cross for our sin. Thank you that we don’t need to rely on the blood of sheep and goats anymore. Thank you that you have accomplished our redemption by your blood.
Amen.
Spiritual Challenge:
Today think about the areas of your life where you still carry guilt over your past sin. Write these on a piece of paper. Bring these to Jesus in prayer, thanking him that he also paid for these sins and took your guilt away. Then throw the paper away.