Read: Hebrews 10:1-18
Key Text: But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. (Hebrews 10:12)
Reflection: The writer of Hebrews is steeped in the sacrificial worship practices of Israel. He points out the limitations of Israel’s atonement practices. Sacrifices are made year after year and yet people keep on sinning, trapped in sin-stained lives (v.2). The Day of Atonement is Groundhog Day, a grinding reminder to the people of their enslavement to sin (vv.3-4). Through the lens of Israel’s atonement theology and practice, the writer of Hebrews interprets the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and what it means for a sinful humanity.
- First, his body is the sacrifice made for the people’s sins, not just of a particular year, but for all time (vv.10,12)
- Second, Jesus substituted his blood for ours, his life for ours. His death means that we receive life. (Hebrews 9:14)
- Third, Jesus is our great High Priest, the mediator between us and the Father, the one who makes a perfect sacrifice on our behalf (Hebrews 8:1-2)
- Fourth, Jesus our High Priest, having offered his very self as an atoning sacrifice for our sins now sits down at the right hand of God having completed the work the Father sent him to do. (vv.12-13)
He sits with his enemies under his feet, and will come again to judge the living and the dead. (Revelation 20:1-15)
No longer does the blood of innocent animals need to be sacrificed for our sins, because the once and for all time sacrifice of Jesus’ blood has atoned for the sins of the world. Accepting what Jesus has done for us means that God will forget our sins and remember them no more (v.17). In Jesus offering his life for ours, we can move beyond ritual sacrifice to the greater sacrifice of obedience, as by the power of the Holy Spirit, God writes his law on our hearts (vv.15-16).
Question: Where do you struggle to obey God? Ask God for Holy Spirit power to do what God requires.
Read: Ephesians 1:3-14
Comments