Jesus Christ in the Epistle to the Judean Christians (Hebrews): Part 4—The Perfect Sacrifice Brings Faith

Jesus Christ fulfilled every aspect of Old Testament Law to be a complete savior. In the early church, some Christians from a Judean background did not fully understand this. So, the Epistle to Judean Christians was written to show from many Old Testament truths how Christ is God’s better and more fully completed solution than the Law of Moses.

This is the fourth in a five-part series that will reveal truths from this Epistle to the Hebrews. Scriptures are primarily taken from The New Testament in Modern English by J. B. Phillips [some explanatory text uses the King James Version]. The series includes:

(Part 1) Background and Structure
(Part 2) Chapters 1-4: The Son Brings Rest
(Part 3) Chapters 5-8: The High Priest Brings a New Testament
(Part 4) Chapters 9-11: The Perfect Sacrifice Brings Faith
(Part 5) Chapters 12,13: The Seated Lord Brings Hope in Life

Part 4 is given the Title: “The Perfect Sacrifice Brings Faith” because it shows Christ as the only sinless offering that reconciles mankind to God by faith in him.

Structure of Hebrews Chapters 9-11

Chapters 9-11 are included in the section on God’s New Agreement through Christ.

A.) 8:6—10:18 – New Agreement:

B.) 8:6-13 – Christ is High Priest of a new agreement (8:6 – Christ mediates a kreittōn covenant established on kreittōn promises; with a diaphoros ministry)

C.) 9:1-7 – The Sanctuary with the Holy of Holies is a part of the old agreement

D.) 9:8-14 – These were only a shadow of the true Sanctuary with the Holy of Holies that is fulfilled in the new agreement

E.) 9:15-22 – The death of Christ causes the new agreement to take on force

C.) 9:23-28 – Christ entered the true heavenly Holy of Holies before God (9:23 – the heavenly sacrifice through Christ is kreittōn than any earthly sacrifice)

D.) 10:1-4 – Under the old agreement, sacrifices were only temporary

B.) 10:5-18 – Christ’s sacrifice is permanent and complete; the old is no longer in effect

E.) 10:19-25 – Hold the Profession of Hope; seeking encouragement and fellowship

D.) 10:26—11:40 – We trust in Christ’s sacrifice more than in the Law of Moses; some believers in the Old Testament had rest because of their belief and obedience; today we have the fulfilled promise in Christ (10:34 heavenly rewards are kreittōn than earthly rewards; 11:16 Old Testament believers desired a kreittōn place, one that is heavenly; 11:35 they desired a kreittōn resurrection with eternal life; there is a kreittōn promise for us)

The Sanctuary with the Holy of Holies is a Part of the Old Agreement

Hebrews 9:1-7:
Now the first agreement had certain rules for the service of God, and it had a sanctuary, a holy place in this world for the eternal God. A tent was erected [in two parts]: in the outer compartment were placed the lamp-standard, the table and the sacred loaves [these three in Exodus 25:31,23,30]. Inside, beyond the curtain, was the inner tent called the holy of holies in which were the golden censer and the gold inlaid ark of the agreement [Exodus 25:11], containing the golden jar of manna, Aaron’s budding staff and the stone tablets inscribed with the words of the actual agreement. Above these things were fixed representations of the cherubim of glory, casting their shadow over the ark’s covering, known as the mercy seat. (All this is full of meaning but we cannot enter now into a detailed explanation.) Under this arrangement the outer tent was habitually used by the priests in the regular discharge of their religious duties. But the inner tent was entered once a year only, by the High Priest, alone, bearing a sacrifice of shed blood to be offered for his own sins and those of the people.

This sets the earthly pattern of the tabernacle that God gave to Moses. The sanctuary was a temporary place for the eternal God to visit His people. Within the outer tent was the lampstand, table for offerings, and the shewbread. Inside the Holy of Holies was the censer brought in by the High Priest and the ark of the covenant. The items inside the ark foreshadowed what the Messiah would accomplish as the true High Priest: like manna, he was the true “bread of life” sent from God [John 6:32,33]; like Aaron’s staff that budded, he was the true High Priest for God’s people [Psalms 110:4]; like the stone tablets, he was the true Word made flesh that brought a new agreement with God [John 1:14; Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; I Corinthians 11:25; II Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 9:15].

The writer would like to give more detail as to the significance of the ark and the Holy of Holies, but must make the main point: the High Priest only went in once each year to offer a blood sacrifice for his sins and the sins of the people.

These Were Only a Shadow of the true Sanctuary with the Holy of Holies that Is Fulfilled in the New Agreement

Hebrews 9:8-10:
By these things the Holy Spirit means us to understand that the way to the holy of holies was not yet open, that is, so long as the first tent and all that it stands for still exist. For in this outer tent we see a picture of the present time, in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered and yet are incapable of cleansing the soul of the worshipper. The ceremonies are concerned with food and drink, various washings and rules for bodily conduct, and were only intended to be valid until the time when Christ should establish the truth.

God again calls Himself “the Holy Spirit” because He gave His Word to Moses, a holy man of God [II Peter 1:20,21]. As long as there was an outer tent, the Holy of Holies was separated within. That is similar to the earthly rituals in the Temple at Jerusalem that were still going on when this epistle was written. They were only a pattern of the true work of Christ, who entered into heaven to bring access to the Father.

Hebrews 9:11-14:
For now Christ has come among us, the High Priest of the good things which were to come, and has passed through a greater and more perfect tent which no human hand has made (for it was no part of this world of ours). It was not with goats’ or calves’ blood but with his own blood that he entered once and for all into the holy of holies, having won for us men eternal reconciliation with God. And if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a burnt heifer were, when sprinkled on the unholy, sufficient to make the body pure [see the laws for purification in Numbers 19], then how much more will the blood of Christ himself, who in his eternal spirit offered himself to God as the perfect sacrifice, purify your souls from the deeds of death, that you may serve the living God!

We have been purified by the sinless blood of Christ. Now we can serve our loving Father, the living God, by way of the spirit that dwells within us. Philippians 3:3 puts this truth beautifully: “For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”

The Death of Christ Causes the New Agreement Take on Force

Hebrews 9:15-22:
Christ is consequently the administrator of an entirely new agreement, having the power, by virtue of his death, to redeem transgressions committed under the first agreement: to enable those who obey God’s call to enjoy the promises of the eternal inheritance. For, as in the case of a will, the agreement is only valid after death. While the testator lives, a will has no legal power. And indeed we find that even the first agreement of God’s will was not put into force without the shedding of blood [death of a sacrifice]. For when Moses had told the people every command of the Law he took calves’ and goats’ blood with water and scarlet wool, and sprinkled both the book and all the people with a sprig of hyssop, saying: ‘This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you’ [Exodus 24:8]. Moses also sprinkled with blood the tent itself and all the sacred vessels [Leviticus 8:19,24,30]. And you will find that in the Law almost all cleansing is made by means of blood – as the common saying has it: “No shedding of blood, no remission of sin.”

No will or testament is put into force until the death of the testator. When God made the first agreement with Moses, sacrificial animals and their shed blood represented that death. They were only a type of the Messiah who would give his life to bring the new testament into force for us.

Christ Entered the True Heavenly Holy of Holies into the Presence of God

Hebrews 9:23-28:
It was necessary for the earthly reproductions of heavenly realities to be purified by such methods, but the actual heavenly things could only be made pure in God’s sight by higher sacrifices than these. Christ did not therefore enter into any holy places made by human hands (however truly these may represent heavenly realities), but he entered Heaven itself to make his appearance before God as High Priest on our behalf. There is no intention that he should offer himself regularly, like the High Priest entering the holy of holies every year with the blood of another creature. For that would mean that he would have to suffer death every time he entered Heaven from the beginning of the world! No, the fact is that now, at this point in time, the end of the present age, he has appeared once and for all to abolish sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as surely as it is appointed for all men to die and after that pass to their judgment, so it is certain that Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many and after that, to those who look for him, he will appear a second time, not this time to deal with sin, but to bring them to full salvation.

When Christ ascended, he presented himself as the perfect sacrifice. He saw Mary Magdalene in his resurrected body and told her of this coming event in John 20:17: “Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.”

Jesus came to the Temple at Jerusalem on many occasions, but never physically entered the Holy of Holies. At his death, that physical curtain was torn from top to bottom–signifying God’s satisfaction at the perfect sacrifice. If the Messiah needed to fulfill the earthly pattern for sin, he would have needed to be born since the time Adam and Eve first sinned. But he came at the right time to redeem mankind, according to Galatians 4:4,5: “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”

Just as every man only permanently dies once and then is judged in the future, so Jesus Christ as a man has only died once and was raised from the dead to carry out all future judgements!

God is the Lord Who rules over all. He gave that authority to His Son, Jesus Christ. Paul quotes Psalms 9:8 in Acts 17:31 of Jesus Christ: “Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” God has given the authority to judge all things to His Son (John 5:22,27). When all is judged, Jesus Christ will submit himself to his Father (I Corinthians 15:28).

Now we look forward to him appearing a second time to gather us together. He has already dealt with our sin. Then he will bring us to “full salvation” with new bodies like his glorious body and eternal rewards.

Under the Old Agreement, Sacrifices Were Only Temporary

Hebrews 10:1-4:
The Law possessed only a dim outline of the benefits Christ would bring and did not actually reproduce them. Consequently it was incapable of perfecting the souls of those who offered their regular annual sacrifices. For if it had, surely the sacrifices would have been discontinued – on the grounds that the worshippers, having been really cleansed, would have had no further consciousness of sin. In practice, however, the sacrifices amounted to an annual reminder of sins; for the blood of bulls and goats cannot really remove the guilt of sin.

Under the Law of Moses, the annual sacrifice by the High Priest only reminded the people that they were temporarily forgiven–until the Messiah should come.

Christ’s Sacrifice Is Permanent and Complete; the Old Is No Longer in Effect

Hebrews 10:5-10:
Therefore, when Christ enters the world, he says: ‘Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin you had no pleasure. Then I said, Behold, I have come – in the volume of books it is written of me – to do your will, O God’ [Psalms 40:6-8]. After saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin you did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are made according to the Law), Christ then says, “Behold, I have come to do your will, O God.” That means he is dispensing with the old order of sacrifices, and establishing a new order of obedience to the will of God, and in that will we have been made holy by the single unique offering of the body of Christ.

Jesus Christ is the subject of the “volume [scroll] of the book.” Imagine the first time that he read Psalm 40 and understood that it spoke of him! In his resurrected body, he showed two followers in detail that the scrolls declared him. Luke 24:44-46: “And he said unto them, These are the words…written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures. And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day.”

Jesus Christ is the greatest example of keeping God’s law in his heart [Psalms 119:11]. Matthew 4:4,7,10: “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve” [see also Luke 4:4,8,12].

Hebrews 10:11-16:
Every human priest stands day by day performing his religious duties and offering time after time the same sacrifices – which can never actually remove sins. But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins for ever, took his seat at God’s right hand, from that time offering no more sacrifice, but waiting until “his enemies be made his footstool”. For by virtue of that one offering he has perfected for all time every one whom he makes holy. The Holy Spirit himself endorses this truth for us, when he says, first: ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them’.

Jesus Christ will return some day in the future. He is now “waiting until” the future judgments when all enemies are literally put beneath his feet. That is why we are sanctified in Christ today. God again calls Himself “the Holy Spirit” and quotes Himself from Jeremiah 31:34. Now, like Jesus Christ, God’s law is truly within our hearts, for His spirit dwells within us.

Hebrews 10:17,18:
And then, he adds, ‘Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more’. Where God grants remission of sin there can be no question of making further atonement.

This quote from Jeremiah 31 makes it quite clear: we don’t need to try to work our way back to God. Jesus has done it all for us.

Hold the Profession of Hope, Seeking Encouragement and Fellowship

Hebrews 10:19-25:
So by virtue of the blood of Jesus, you and I, my brothers, may now have courage to enter the holy of holies by way of the one who died and is yet alive, who has made for us a holy means of entry by himself passing through the curtain, that is, his own human nature. Further, since we have a great High Priest set over the household of God, let us draw near with true hearts and fullest confidence, knowing that our inmost souls have been purified by the sprinkling of his blood just as our bodies are cleansed by the washing of clean water. In this confidence let us hold on to the hope that we profess without the slightest hesitation – for he is utterly dependable – and let us think of one another and how we can encourage each other to love and do good deeds. And let us not hold aloof from our church meetings, as some do. Let us do all we can to help one another’s faith, and this the more earnestly as we see the final day drawing ever nearer.

Since Christ has given us direct access to the Father, we should: have full confidence in our relationship with Him, hold onto our hope of Christ’s return, and encourage each other as we get together, with each new day bringing us closer to that hope.

We Trust in Christ’s Sacrifice More than in the Law of Moses

Hebrews 10:26-31:
Now if we sin deliberately after we have known and accepted the truth, there can be no further sacrifice for sin for us but only a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fire of God’s indignation, which will one day consume all that sets itself against him. The man who showed contempt for Moses’ Law died without hope of appeal on the evidence of two or three of his fellows. How much more dreadful a punishment will he be thought to deserve who has poured scorn on the Son of God, treated like dirt the blood of the agreement which had once made him holy, and insulted the very Spirit of grace? For we know the one who said: ‘Vengeance is mine: I will repay’. And again: ‘The Lord will judge his people’.  Truly it is a terrible thing for a man who has done this to fall into the hands of the living God!

These Judean Christians needed to be reminded of God’s fairness and justice. He is the living God Who richly gives all things to enjoy and will reward us for our good deeds in this life.

I Timothy 6:17-19:
Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on [fully receive their rewards in] eternal life.

He is also the living God Who will “burn up” our worthless deeds in this life, as we have seen in I Corinthians 3. We should never by our thoughts or deeds pour scorn on the Son of God, treat like dirt the blood of the agreement that sanctifies us, or ever “insult” [enubrizō, where we get the English word hubris, or setting oneself above God] God’s gracious spiritual gift to us in Christ.

Hebrews 10:32-39:
You must never forget those past days when you had received the light and went through such a great and painful struggle. It was partly because everyone’s eye was on you as you endured harsh words and hard experiences, partly because you threw in your lot with those who suffered much the same. You sympathised with those who were put in prison and you were cheerful when your own goods were confiscated, for you knew that you had a much more solid [kreittōn] and lasting treasure in Heaven. Don’t throw away your trust now – it carries with it a rich reward in the world to come. Patient endurance is what you need if, after doing God’s will, you are to receive what he has promised. ‘For yet a little while, and he who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, my soul has no pleasure in him’ [Habakkuk 2:3,4]. Surely we are not going to be men who cower back and are lost, but men who maintain their faith until the salvation of their souls is complete!

These early Christians endured physical attacks that we can only imagine. Yet, they remained faithful in this life, knowing of their future rewards. Look at the amazing context from Habakkuk of “the just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:17 says this verse finds its fulfillment in the faith of Jesus Christ. And the previous verses in Habakkuk say that the Lord told the prophet to: “Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.” Then it says that “he who is coming will come and will not tarry.” At the proper time, Jesus Christ will return for us and not tarry. We should read and believe God’s Word, and then run faithfully and patiently the race set before us, as our Lord and Savior did [Hebrews 12:1-3]. Like him, we want to be “well pleasing” to the Father.

Some Believers in the Old Testament Had Rest because of Their Belief and Obedience

Hebrews 11:1-3:
Now faith means putting our full confidence in the things we hope for, it means being certain of things we cannot see. It was this kind of faith that won their reputation for the saints of old. And it is after all only by faith that our minds accept as fact that the whole scheme of time and space was created by God’s command – that the world which we can see has come into being through principles which are invisible.

So much of what is really happening cannot be known by our five senses. It behooves each of us to have humility of mind and do our best to see things the way our Father sees them. He will help us and enlighten the eyes of our understanding [Ephesians 1:18] through the atoning work of Christ.

The Old Testament records those who believed the Messiah would come, and set their sights on a future home. Here are some highlights of their examples that we are to follow: Abel had his heart right when offering to God [verse 4]; Enoch pleased God because he trusted in Him [verses 5,6]; Noah’s faithful actions proved his righteous heart in the midst of an unbelieving and wicked world [verse 7]; Abraham left a comfortable life in Ur in order to claim a land that God promised him. Rather than enjoy life’s pleasures, he wandered as a nomad (as did his descendants, Isaac and Jacob). They kept their eyes on a future and eternal home [verses 8-10].

Hebrews 11:11-12:
It was by faith that even Sarah gained the physical vitality to become a mother despite her great age, and she gave birth to a child when far beyond the normal years of child-bearing. She could do this because she believed that the one who had given the promise was utterly trustworthy. So it happened that from one man, who as a potential father was already considered dead, there arose a race “as numerous as the stars”, as “countless as the sands of the sea-shore”.

Look at God’s miraculous power to give Abraham and Sarah a son. The same power that Mary believed to conceive Christ. It is God’s power that raised Christ from the dead and works in us today.

Hebrews 11:13-16:
All these whom we have mentioned maintained their faith but died without actually receiving God’s promises, though they had seen them in the distance, had hailed them as true and were quite convinced of their reality. They freely admitted that they lived on this earth as exiles and foreigners. Men who say that mean, of course, that their eyes are fixed upon their true home-land. If they had meant the particular country they had left behind, they had ample opportunity to return. No, the fact is that they longed for a better [kreittōn] country altogether, nothing less than a heavenly one. And because of this faith of theirs, God is not ashamed to be called their God for in sober truth he has prepared for them a city in Heaven.

Wow! God is not ashamed to be called their God. And that same Almighty Creator is not ashamed to call us His sons. We have so much to praise Him for in Christ.

Hebrews 11:17-22 tells us that Abraham was willing to kill his only son, a promised seed in the line of the Messiah, if necessary. He utterly believed that somehow God would raise the child to life or supply another sacrifice in his place. In a way, he received Isaac back from death as God intervened. It tells us that later, Isaac and Jacob gave blessings to their sons that foreshadowed the Messiah coming from their ancestral line. Even Joseph adamantly believed that God would fulfill his promises, and demanded that his bones be buried in God’s promised land.

Hebrews 11:23-29:
It was by faith that Moses was hidden by his parents for three months after his birth, for they saw that he was an exceptional child and refused to be daunted by the king’s decree that all male children should be drowned. It was also by faith that Moses himself when grown up refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He preferred sharing the burden of God’s people to enjoying the temporary advantages of alliance with a sinful nation. He considered the “reproach of Christ” more precious than all the wealth of Egypt, for he looked steadily at the ultimate, not the immediate, reward. By faith he led the exodus from Egypt; he defied the king’s anger with the strength that came from obedience to the invisible king. By faith Moses kept the first Passover and made the blood-sprinkling, so that the angel of death which killed the first-born should not touch his people.  By faith the people walked through the Red Sea as though it were dry land, and the Egyptians who tried to do the same thing were drowned.

Moses knew the Messiah would be a prophet like him. He did all he could to obey the God who rescued him from death as an infant, and worked in him to save His people. Other records include Joshua conquering Jericho with the help of Rahab, an innkeeper who saw God’s future blessings greater than living in a pagan land. She would be a part of the lineage of the Messiah [verses 30,31]. Great examples from the Books of Judges, Samuel, Kings, Daniel, and other places show their unwavering hope in the coming Messiah–despite possible torture and death. Some actually gave their lives, hoping in a better [kreittōn] resurrection in the world to come [verses 32-38].

For more details on Hebrews 11, see the blog “Believing and Hope in Hebrews 11 and 12.”

Today We Have the Fulfilled Promise in Christ

Hebrews 11:39-40:
All these won a glowing testimony to their faith, but they did not then and there receive the fulfilment of the promise. God had something better [kreittōn] planned for our day, and it was not his plan that they should reach perfection without us.

None of these faithful believers saw the literal coming of Christ. Yet their hope gave them the strength to endure. Today we have the full promises of God in Christ, and we have strength to endure in this life, knowing that God’s Son will return for us some day.