HeBrews: A Better Blend
As we journey on through the book of Hebrews, we find in chapter 10 a lot of discussion about sacrifices. Consider verses 11-14 from The Message:
11 Every priest goes to work at the altar each day, offers the same old sacrifices year in, year out, and never makes a dent in the sin problem. 12 As a priest, Christ made a single sacrifice for sins, and that was it! Then he sat down right beside God 13 and waited for his enemies to cave in. 14 It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people. By that single offering, he did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process.
Isn’t that stunning? Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice that would once and for all take away the sin of all mankind. Never again would one more lamb or goat or ram have to be slaughtered to cover sin temporarily. Never again would the priest have to limit himself to approaching God only once a year to offer a blood sacrifice for himself and the people. Never again would the Holy of Holies, the very throne room of God, be off limits to common man. Never! Jesus was the Better Priest who offered the Better Sacrifice, His very life, to atone for or cover my sin and yours. His death on the cross opened the way for us to visit with God any time we desire and for our hearts to be made clean.
The sacrifice of Christ did something that the Old Testament sacrifices could never do. The Old Testament sacrifices symbolized the cleansing of sin, but could never cleanse the heart of the person. Jesus’ sacrifice accomplished the internal cleansing of the heart and made it possible for all who would accept Him to become new creations.
Paul echoed these verses in 2 Corinthians 5: 17 when he said, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” I don’t know about you, but that is good news to me. I needed to be able to become new. I needed the cleansing work in my heart that only Jesus could do.
There is so much in verses 11-14 that simply takes my breath away. When the book of Hebrews was written (approx. A.D 67-69) the Temple was still standing and the priests were still offering sacrifices. Why? Because the Jewish people did not understand that the ultimate Sacrifice had been made by Jesus Christ. I can almost imagine Jesus, seated beside the Father in heaven, the Better Tabernacle, shaking His head and saying, “If only they understood. It is finished.”
MEDITATION MOMENT: It is finished, my friend. There is no need for sacrifices or works to make you right with God. Jesus did the work. Consider whether you are still relying on any kind of good works or deeds to make you acceptable to God. Jesus has already done everything that is needed. Will you lay down those works and deeds at His feet and allow His sacrifice to cover your sin? Even if you already know Jesus as Lord and Savior, you may still be trying to work your way into God’s favor. You don’t have to. The work was done on the cross by Jesus. It is finished.
