Heb 9:11-14 New Covenant

11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Last week I was telling you about my fear of heights and how crazy it was for me to fly for the first time in a tiny glider. I also told you of my memory of being on a tall extension ladder, where I can only remember my white knuckles and the relief of being on the ground. I also told you about my wife's dream to skydive, which I am not doing, and that it would be better for me to skydive with no parachute. As we studied the previous verses and the description of the old covenant here in Hebrews we were reminded of God’s holiness, and that we should have a reverent fear of God. Entering God’s presence with an unclean conscience is like skydiving without a parachute. If we face the Most Holy God with our sins. What is absolutely certain is that we will receive eternal judgment in hell, which is what all human beings deserve. For there is none who does good, “none is righteous, no one understands, all have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” Apart from Christ that is all we get. If you don’t love Jesus and want to live for Him. You are heading for hell. Eternal and conscious torment, “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” It is like jumping from an airplane without a parachute all the while saying and believing that the thrill of the free fall is what makes life worth living. Satan desires to make you ignore or forget the fact that the solid ground is fast approaching and is inevitable. Another lie that Satan uses is to say that following God is just a bunch of rules and regulations and you will never have any fun if you live for God. Many people today think that following God is like following the Old Covenant rules and regulations, where the main concern is on the external practices of going to church, partaking in the Lord’s supper, getting baptized, and so forth. All the while they are missing the heart of the New Covenant, which is celebrated on Easter. Today, on Easter morning, we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Of all the Christian holidays, in my opinion, Easter is the most crucial one. The most fundamental aspect of the Christian faith is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Why? Besides the obvious answer that with Jesus’ death, He took our sins. Why is Easter so crucial for the Christian faith in terms of the Covenant? Because it established the New Covenant. Jesus’ death and Resurrection established the New Covenant. But the New Covenant is NOT limited to Jesus’ death and Resurrection. The New Covenant is a whole new way of how one can approach God, and see the greatness of the New Covenant when it is compared to the Old Covenant. That is what the author of Hebrews is doing here in Chapter 9. First, the author described the old covenant in the first 10 verses of this chapter. Where the author gave a concise summary of the Tabernacle and the regulations of worship. Now in the next few verses the author of Hebrews goes on to point out how much greater the New Covenant is. Let’s read again verses 11-14

Hebrews 9:11–14 ESV

In these verses, it seems the author is pointing out at least 4 richer and deeper amazing truths about the New Covenant. First, Jesus is our High Priest. Second, the New Covenant has better promises. Third, Jesus entered once in the perfect tent. Fourth, Jesus’ blood is powerful, so powerful it provides eternal redemption and purifies our conscience. First, Jesus as our High Priest, v 11 starts saying: 11a But when Christ appeared as a high priest

When it says “but when Christ” it is signaling the contrast between the time of the old covenant and the time of reformation, the new covenant. The author of Hebrews is contrasting the ineffectiveness of the Old Covenant with the finished work of Jesus as our perfect High Priest. We have studied Jesus being our High Priest several times in our study of Hebrews. Let’s remember what a high priest is. We could say that the high priest is the person who was the intermediary between God and man. If we were in the OT times and you wanted to approach God, you would go to the priest who would offer a sacrifice in your place. Today we don’t have priests because we have Jesus the great high priest. Jesus is our intermediary. If we want to approach God we have to approach through Jesus. For Jesus to be a High priest, he is responsible for interceding for the people to God, offering a sacrifice for the people, and being the one that we go to when we want to approach God. Throughout the centuries the Israelites had experienced dependency on human fallible high priests. We have examples in Scripture of priests that failed in their position, like Eli in the time of Samuel, who failed miserably to discipline his sons while they despised God and the offerings of the people to God. And even when there was a good priest, he would be replaced by someone else at his death. All of these years of many different high priests created a huge longing for a stable, faithful, trustworthy high priest. Jesus is not only a High Priest, but He is a great high priest, meaning Jesus is far greater than any high priest that ever existed or ever will exist. He is the only high priest anyone will ever need. Jesus is the perfect high priest, His love and zeal for The Father are perfect, and everything that Jesus did and does is perfect. When Jesus intercedes for you, He does it perfectly, when He offered himself as a sacrifice, it was the perfect sacrifice. In the New Covenant, we have a perfect High Priest to run to. I know we are so familiar with this truth, but for a moment imagine if we didn’t have Jesus as our High Priest. There would be no access to God, no effective way to communicate with God, no prayer, and no atonement for sins. Not having Jesus as our High Priest is really eternal condemnation, it is falling from the sky without a parachute and knowing the ground is coming but having no way to avoid impact, you are not ignoring rather you are living in constant fear. But when Christ appeared as High Priest, no more fear, we can enjoy the fall, the view while resting on the truth that Jesus’ blood is covering us like a parachute. We are fully dependent on the parachute but free to glide and change direction. WOW, what comfort and hope there is because Christ is our High Priest. That is an amazing promise of the New Covenant. However, there is more, back to v11 11b But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come

The second promise of the New Covenant is the good things that have come. We might need to stop and ask what are these good things that the author is referring to here. God had just told us what the better things are in chapter 8, the better promises of the new covenant. God implanting His word in our hearts; Be known by God and know God, and the forgiveness of sin. These better promises lead to better things for eternity. If you have put your faith in Jesus, these are better promises that apply to you, the forgiveness of sin, knowing God, and having God’s Word implanted in your heart. Just think with me for a second. Because of Christ and the new covenant we are granted the privilege, by grace alone through faith, to be in heaven for eternity, to stand in the presence of the Most Holy God, because we are covered by Jesus’ blood. Furthermore, we are given life even now while we wait for eternity, we are given a new heart, our sins are forgiven and we can have a relationship with God. Maybe you have been a believer for many years, you know this to the point where you are so familiar with this truth that it doesn’t create awe and worship of Jesus. If this truth doesn’t create awe and worship in your heart, repent and ask for forgiveness for belittling God’s amazing grace. Ask God to renew your first love for Jesus, and ask God to put a fire on your heart for the Lord. When you do ask, ask in faith knowing that you are asking for something that God wants to give you. “Which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matt 7:11) Jesus said in John 14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” Until Christ returns He is preparing a place for us. I don’t know exactly what is going to be like, but I know the most important thing, we are going to be where Jesus is, we are going to be with Him for eternity. When we eventually land on solid ground. It will be just that solid ground of faith and truth. We will land in eternity experiencing far greater things than the glide through the air as we enjoy life and Christ's presence in this life. We will land in the New Heavens and New Earth where sin is completely removed from us and from all of creation. Furthermore, even now while we await, we have better things, we have Jesus as our High Priest, our advocate, our intermediary, He is pleading to the Father for you for me so that each of us will grow in our sanctification, that we become more and more like Him. We have Jesus as our High Priest so we can approach the Most Holy God with confidence and boldness knowing that we are covered in the blood of the new covenant. Do you see how much there is in the New Covenant? Yet there is more! the author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus entered the perfect tent. 11b then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12a he entered once for all into the holy places,

Besides these amazing blessings of the New Covenant that we studied already, Jesus our High Priest ministers not in an earthly temple, but in the heavenly one. Here God is reminding us again that Jesus entered the heavenly temple and not its earthly replica. In the old covenant, the priests entered the earthly temple. Last week we talked in more detail about the Tabernacle that God instructed Moses to build. Just a point of clarification and a reminder that the Tabernacle, which was built during Moses' lifetime, was later replaced by the First Temple built by Solomon, which was destroyed by the Babylon Empire in the year 586 BC. Then the Second Temple built by Zerubbabel was built in 516 BC and utterly destroyed by the Roman Empire in 70 A.D just before this letter to the Hebrews was written. After the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. the whole old covenant system of priests and sacrifices was utterly destroyed until this day. God in His sovereignty and providence was making clear that the old covenant vanish away and that now there is only the New Covenant. In the New Covenant, Jesus the only eternal and perfect High Priest entered once for all into the holy places in Heaven. Where no one is going to be able to destroy and it is established forever and ever. We have the privilege through Christ to enter into God’s presence. This truth is just not of this world, and we are so used to it, that we often are not amazed, and we take it for granted. Consider for a second whom we have as our High Priest. We have an intermediary who is in the very presence of God, who is seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high. If you truly understand this, you will be quick to say, you can have all this world, but give me Jesus. The greatness of the New Covenant is lastly described in terms of the power of Jesus’ blood, that it provides eternal redemption and purifies our conscience. Let’s read v12-14.

Hebrews 9:12–13 ESV

12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh,

Jesus entered the heavenly Tabernacle once for all as our High Priest offering His own blood. Jesus' sacrifice was perfect and complete. That means Jesus didn’t have to repeatedly offer a sacrifice, His sacrifice was perfect and complete, so He didn’t have to repeat it. These verses describe how powerful Jesus’ blood is because it is through His blood that He secured eternal redemption. That means that Jesus’ sacrifice was so perfect and complete that once we put our trust and faith in Jesus, our salvation depends solely on Him and His perfect sacrifice. Furthermore, it is through Jesus’ blood that we can have our conscience purified from dead works to serve the living God. The blood of goats and bulls was necessary for the old covenant to purify only the flesh to serve in the earthly replica of the heavenly reality. But the blood of Jesus is the only way for us to have our sins forgiven completely and be reconciled to God for eternity. Note that in all of this, it doesn’t say that now we have to follow certain rules and regulations to clear our conscience or to secure our salvation. We have to pay attention that our confidence in our salvation is not in what we do, but in who we are in Christ. It is so easy for Christians today to live in a way that is similar to trying to follow the rules and regulations of the Old Covenant, the focus will be on doing, coming to church, getting baptized, taking communion, giving, helping others or doing other good works as an obligation. While in the New Covenant all the doing is just a reflection of being, of receiving all the blessings of the New Covenant, because you have a new heart, and you know God, your sins were forgiven, we have a perfect High Priest who entered the perfect tent, through His blood He has granted us eternal redemption and a clear conscience. Because of all of that, we can serve the living God, not out of obligation, but out of the love that was implanted in our hearts. We also see it as a privilege to serve God. If we were in the old covenant there were several restrictions as to whom could serve in the Tabernacle, and then only a very few could actually enter the earthly replica. Now through the new covenant, all of us are consecrated and purified. We are new creatures, we were made new so we, all of us, can enter the Heavenly presence of God through the blood of our High Priest. We can serve God in whatever ways God has called us to serve. Last week after I shared about skydiving someone, I think Fred was telling me something that I was unaware of about skydiving. That when you go skydiving you are not allowed to skydive alone, you have to go with someone else. As you jump out of the airplane you are literally putting your faith and your trust in this other person and his or her’s ability to keep you alive. You can be like me and choose not to go skydiving, however, we all are going to have to face our creator. It is inevitable, it is inescapable. If you are falling from the sky you will hit the ground. There is only one way to escape the judgment that we all deserve, and that is to be attached, putting our faith, and our trust in Jesus who can truly save us, and keep us from receiving what we deserve. It is because He lives that we are forgiven and given new life, eternal life, and reconciliation with God. We are transformed from being enemies and justly destined to receive God’s wrath and eternal punishment in hell, to become forgiven, adopted sons and daughters of God. All of this is only possible because someone else took the penalty that we deserve. After all, the payment was completely finished. Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, proving that He is God, and making it clear that salvation can be found in no one else, but only through Jesus. “No one comes to the Father except through me,” Jesus said. If you have never put your faith, and your trust completely in Jesus, this is the day to do it. It doesn’t matter if you have been attending church your whole life or if this is the first time you are stepping into a church. It doesn’t matter what others think of you, or what you think of yourself. What matters is what God knows of you. If you have not, I plead with you to do it today right now to believe in Jesus and ask God to open your eyes and heart to Him, so you can see how great your sinfulness is and how amazing a Savior Jesus is, to see Him and love Him and have the desire to obey and follow Jesus. We can have great confidence that Jesus can save us, the whole reason for today’s celebration of Easter is the celebration that He is Alive! No one else ever in the history of mankind conquered death. Jesus did and He is alive after taking our punishment. The New Covenant is so great that the last act Jesus did on earth with His disciples was to shift their understanding of the Old Covenant to the New Covenant by celebrating the Passover, where yes He is the perfect lamb, their longing for the Messiah and Savior; but He shifted their celebration and tradition from the Passover meal to the Lord’s Supper. Elders, please come forward. Today instead of closing the service with a song we will do something different; we are going to celebrate communion. Remembering our Lord's death for us, celebrating our union with Jesus. Celebrating the New Covenant. Celebrating the freedom that we have in Christ and all the greatness of the New Covenant.

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Heb 9:11-14 New Covenant

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