Hebrews 9.11-15
The letter to the Hebrews is not an easy book. Whoever wrote it assumes a knowledge of Judaism and an in-depth knowledge of the Old Testament. The writer is no slouch and their argument is cumulative: meaning that you can read a whole chapter before you get to the main point of what they are driving at. That said, Hebrews is packed full of imagery and theology that speaks into this Holy week, most especially as the book considers what Jesus’ death might mean or have achieved.
And so we have just a few verses this evening, extracted from the chapter in which they are set and the main thrust of the argument the writer is putting forward. How to do them justice?
Let me draw your attention to three things that are happening here and one overarching purpose.
Firstly, in this passage Jesus is presented as both a High Priest and the sacrifice that the High Priest makes before entering the Holy of Holies – the place in the tabernacle in the desert or the temple in Jerusalem that represented to Israel the place where God dwelt. There are many ways of looking at the cross of Christ: a travesty of justice, a supreme example of courage, an outpouring of love and forgiveness – but this writer sees in the cross a death that is sacrificial. And this sacrifice does not need to be repeated (as those in the temple were) – Jesus enters the Holy of Holies ‘once for all’.
Which leads us to the second thing: Jesus’ death obtains for the whole world ‘eternal redemption’. When something is redeemed it is ‘bought back’, returned to its rightful owner. The imagery of redemption implies that there is a cost involved. Christians get tied up in knots as to who this cost might be being paid and sometimes our theology suggests that a God who is angry at our sin needs ‘paying off’ through the perfect sacrifice of a perfect man. But another way of understanding this ‘cost’ is to hold to the belief that it is God, in Christ who is reconciling the world to Himself. In love, He (God) is bearing the pain of a broken world and this is costly: so much so that He dies for love of us.
Thirdly, this redemption brings about a new covenant. Jesus affects a mending of the relationship between God and humanity that opens up the possibility of receiving God’s promised ‘eternal inheritance’. What is this inheritance? Earlier chapters in Hebrews have spoken of the possibility of entering God’s ‘rest’: this the writer conceives as being like an eternal ‘Sabbath Day’ – with freedom to enjoy God, to enjoy His blessing and to be His people. To be the people we are meant to be, ‘sons and daughters of God’, reflecting His image.
So, Jesus is both priest and sacrifice, entering the presence of God. His sacrifice achieves eternal redemption: paying the cost of our break with God and bringing God’s people back into His service. A new covenant is sealed with the blood of Jesus’ death: once and for all we are welcomed into God’s presence to know and enjoy Him forever.
And for why? The whole point, the overarching purpose I mentioned is that we might be set free to worship the living God? Worship is our purpose. I don’t just mean hymn singing or praying – though who would knock those? No, worship as the whole of our lives turned towards God…lived out for Him…offered to Him…and worship which then empowers our life for God, makes all of our lives an opportunity for praise. Jesus’ death makes it possible for our lives to find their meaning and purpose. He sets us in a right relationship with God, a right relationship with one another, a right relationship with God’s creation.
The purpose of the cross is to create a new people: individuals living in a community that reveals to the world what it is to be truly human. Created, redeemed, sanctified and joyfully praising God in and through Jesus for all eternity.
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