Jesus Embodied Himself
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This morning we are going to observe the Lord’s supper. The Lord’s supper is a time for us to remember what Jesus has gracious done for us in providing our salvation. When observe the elements of communion, when we eat the bread and drink the cup, we do it, in remembrance of Jesus Christ.
Each element has a significance, it should cause us to remember something about the sacrifice Jesus made for our salvation.
The cup represents the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. It pictures his shed blood on the cross as He paid the penalty for our sins. For me this is easier to grasp, understand, and therefore rightly worship Jesus in the Lord’s Supper.
What does the bread represent? “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” The bread pictures the body of our Lord Jesus Christ. What is the significance of remembering the body of Christ? That for me has also been less clear than the picture of His blood.
Certainly, I remember the sinlessness of the body of Christ. I remember the righteous life He lived. But, is there something more we should remember concerning Jesus’ body when we worship Him in the Lord’s supper?
I think Hebrews 10 helps us understand to an even greater detail the significance of the body of our Savior, and why it mattered so very much for our salvation.
1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.
Notice the word “For.” Everything the author of Hebrews is about to say is dependent upon his previous point.
26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Here is the point He is arguing for, Jesus appeared once for all to put away sin (not just cover it) by the sacrifice of himself.
1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.
The OT law sacrifices could never make perfect those who draw near. Here a comparison is being made. The author of Hebrews is comparing the OT sacrifices with the sacrifice of Jesus Himself. And as is the patter in Hebrews, it will be shown that Jesus Christ is far better.
2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?
OT sacrifices were inferior since they had to offered repeatedly, year after year, and since the worshipers still had a consciousness of their sins.
3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year.
Every year they were reminded that sacrifices could only cover their sins, not remove them. And that they would need to come back next year and offer the same Day of Atonement sacrifices for their sins.
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
The reasons they had to offer yearly sacrifices was that mere animal blood was not sufficient to take away sins only cover them. These things were only shadows pointing to the greater reality that was to come.
5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;
Because animal sacrifices were insufficient, Christ had to come into the world to truly save us from our sins. Here the author quotes Psalm 40:6-8.
6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”
There are two difficulties in interpretation in this quotation.
1). The textual difference in Hebrews 10:5.
5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;
Psalm 40:6 (ESV)
6 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.
Heb. 10:5- Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;
Ps. 40:6- In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear.
Why is there a textual difference?
The Letter to the Hebrews b. Sacrifice versus Obedience, 10:5–10
The Greek rendering of Psalm 40:7 (LXX 39) is ‘you fashioned a body for me’, although the Hebrew reading (MT) has ‘ears you dug for me’. The former is probably ‘an interpretive paraphrase’ of the Hebrew text. The Greek translator may have understood the original as an instance of a part standing for the whole: ‘ “digging” or hollowing out of the ears is part of the total work of fashioning a human body’. Hebrews clearly relies on a LXX text that read ‘body’.
2). According to Heb. 10:5 who is the one speaking?
5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;
But, who spoke or wrote the words of Psalm 40:6-8? David wrote those words. So how can the author of Hebrews say that Christ spoke these words, when clearly David was the one who originally spoke them?
First, we know from the Apostle Peter that David was a prophet.
29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne,
31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
So David functioned as a prophet. He was inspired by the Holy Spirit with the knowledge and understanding that one day the Messiah would come and fulfill all of God’s promises and covenants.
Notice Psalm 40 7
7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
“In the scroll of the book it is written of me.” David could have had in mind Gen. 3:15
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
17 I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.
15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—
So David could have been functioning in a prophetic role when he wrote Ps 40:6-8 knowing full well that it would be the Messiah Himself that would one day speak and fulfill them. Thus, the author of Hebrews would be on sound hermeneutical and exegetical principles in applying this Psalm to Christ.
More than that however, there is a divine correspondence between David and Jesus. In fact the entire book of Psalms is Messianic in nature. Psalm 1 and 2 serve as an introduction on overview of the entire book. Psalm 1 shows the importance of delighting in God’s law and this theme is carried out in the rest of the book. Psalm 2 shows that God will one day establish His King, who is also His Son, upon the throne of the whole earth. And this Messianic theme is also carried out through the whole book of the Psalms.
So whether directly or indirectly, Psalm 40 is Messianic by nature. David had at least some idea that what was true of him would be true of the coming Messiah.
Here is where it gets really wonderful.
8 I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”
Did David delight to do God’s will? Yes, to a point. But, did David fail in this regard? Yes, ultimately David failed. He was a sinner like you and me. He did not perfectly do the will of God. But, since David had a messianic expectation that a greater David, a greater King would come in the Messiah, where David failed, Jesus succeeded.
5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;
6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’ ”
The author of Hebrews rightly uses Psalm 40:6-8 to show that the superiority of the Son’s sacrifice lies in his perfect obedience to the will of God.
That means that the act of the eternal Son of God in the incarnation, the means whereby Jesus took upon Himself the body that God the Father had prepared for him, was our ultimate example of Jesus’ obedience.
Why was Jesus taking a human body the ultimate example of his obedience?
Why did Jesus need a body?
6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.
Because God did not take any pleasure in the offering of animals. We needed a better offering. We needed a better sacrifice.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’ ”
So, Jesus says, I will be that better sacrifice. I will delight to do the will of the Father. Even if that will means doing the hardest thing imaginable for the Son. Even if it means taking the body prepared for Him by the Father, even if it means taking on Himself a body so that he could become our perfect sacrifice. God the Son perfectly, and joyfully obeyed the will of the Father- in a way the first David never could.
And what was the result of that obedience?
8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law),
Notice four different words are used for the OT sacrifices: sacrifices, offerings, burnt offerings, and sin offerings. Why four words? God is making it perfectly clear that Jesus is doing away with all of the OT sacrifices. His sacrifice is so perfect and sufficient that we don’t need any other sacrifices!
9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second.
What is the will of the Father that Jesus came to this earth to accomplish? To take upon Himself a body, and to offer that body back to the Father as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. When Jesus sacrificed Himself His sacrifice made all other sacrifices unnecessary. “He does away with the first in order to establish the second.”
10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
What could animal sacrifices never accomplish?
Hebrews 10:1 (ESV)
1 it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
By what did the will of God accomplish? What was the will of God in this context? Jesus stated that he came to do the will of God! What was it? To assume a human body in the incarnation and offer Himself as a perfect sacrifice for sins! What did the the will of the Father that was perfectly obeyed by the Son accomplish for us?
“We have been sanctified” Made HOLY! How? through the offering of the BODY of Jesus Christ once and for all.
When you partake of the Lord’s supper and you remember the body of the Lord, remember his perfect obedience to the will of the Father. Remember how difficult is was to be obedient. Remember because Jesus took upon Himself a body he was able to offer Himself to God as our perfect sacrifice. And remember because of that will perfectly obeyed by the Son, we have been sanctified once and forever through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ!
Oh how much Jesus Christ deserves our worship, our adoration, and our praise.
He has done everything on our behalf in securing our salvation. Including being in-fleshed, embodied so that He might become our perfect sacrifice. Truly the Christmas season, as we remember this glorious truth of our Savior, is a time to shout, “glory to God in the highest and on earth peace good will toward men.”
Worship the Father whose will was from the beginning to provide a way for our salvation.
Worship the Son who was delighted to do the will of the Father even though it cost Him everything.
Wonder over the beauty of your salvation, let you hearts glow with the grace of God. Love Him all the more. He is worthy of all our praise!