Read Hebrews 9:22-28. What does this passage say about the work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary?

The idea that the heavenly sanctuary needs cleansing makes sense in the context of the Old Testament sanctuary. The sanctuary is a symbol of God’s government (1 Samuel 4:4, 2 Samuel 6:2), and the way God deals with the sin of His people affects the public perception of the righteousness of His government (Psalm 97:2). As ruler, God is the Judge of His people, and He is expected to be fair, vindicating the innocent and condemning the guilty.

Image © Krieg Barrie at Goodsalt.com

Thus, when God forgives the sinner, He carries judicial responsibility. The sanctuary, which represents God’s character and administration, is contaminated. This explains why God bears our sins when He forgives (Exodus 34:7, Numbers 14:17-19, the original Hebrew for “forgiving” [nose?] in these verses means “carrying, bearing”).

The system of sacrifices in the Israelite sanctuary illustrated this point. When a person sought forgiveness, he brought an animal as a sacrifice in his behalf, confessed his sins over it, and slaughtered it. The blood of the animal was daubed upon the horns of the altar or sprinkled before the veil in the temple in the first apartment. Thus, the sin was symbolically transferred into the sanctuary. God took the sins of the people and bore them Himself.

In the Israelite system, cleansing from or atonement for sins occurred in two phases. During the year, repentant sinners brought sacrifices to the sanctuary, which cleansed them from their sin but transferred the sin to the sanctuary, to God Himself. At the end of the year, on the Day of Atonement, which was the day of judgment, God would cleanse the sanctuary, clearing His judicial responsibility by transferring the sins from the sanctuary to the scapegoat, Azazel, who represented Satan (Leviticus 16:15-22).

This two-phase system, represented by the two apartments in the earthly sanctuary, which were a pattern of the heavenly sanctuary (Exodus 25:9, Hebrews 8:5), permitted God to show mercy and justice at the same time. Those who confessed their sins during the year showed loyalty to God by observing a solemn rest and afflicting themselves on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29-31). Those who did not show loyalty would be “cut off” (Leviticus 23:27-32).

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

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Read Hebrews 7:27 and Hebrews 10:10. How is Jesus’ sacrifice described in these passages?

The Levitical priests — who were “many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office” (Hebrews 7:23, ESV) — are contrasted with Jesus, who lives forever and has an eternal priesthood (Hebrews 7:24-25). Levitical priests “daily” (Hebrews 7:27) and “every year” (Hebrews 9:25) offered gifts and sacrifices “that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper” (Hebrews 9:9, ESV; Hebrews 10:1-4).

Image © David Sorensen at Goodsalt.com

Jesus, however, offered Himself “once for all” a “single sacrifice” (Hebrews 10:10, Hebrews 10:12-14, ESV) that cleanses our consciences (Hebrews 9:14, Hebrews 10:1-10) and puts away sin (Hebrews 9:26). Jesus’ sacrifice is superior to the sacrifice of animals because Jesus was the Son of God (Hebrews 7:26-28), who perfectly fulfilled God’s will (Hebrews 10:5-10).

The description of the sacrifice of Jesus as having occurred “once for all” has several important implications.

First, Jesus’ sacrifice is perfectly effective and never to be surpassed. The sacrifices of the Levitical priests were repeated because they were not effective; otherwise “would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?” (Hebrews 10:2, ESV).

Second, all the different kinds of sacrifices of the Old Testament found their fulfillment at the cross. Thus, Jesus not only cleanses us from sin (Hebrews 9:14), He also provides sanctification (Hebrews 10:10-14) by putting sin away from our lives (Hebrews 9:26). Before the priests could approach God in the sanctuary and minister in behalf of their fellow human beings, they had to be cleansed and sanctified, or consecrated (Leviticus 8:1-9:24). Jesus’ sacrifice cleanses us and consecrates us (Hebrews 10:10-14) so that we may approach God with confidence (Hebrews 10:19-23) and serve Him as “a royal priesthood” (Hebrews 9:14, 1 Peter 2:9).

Finally, Jesus’ sacrifice also provides nourishment for our spiritual life. It provides an example that we need to observe and follow. Thus, Hebrews invites us to fix our eyes upon Jesus, especially the events of the cross, and follow His lead (Hebrews 12:1-4, Hebrews 13:12-13, ).

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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