Preparing The Way
Notes
Transcript
Back when I was in High School I was part of Young Life. Now if you know anything about Young Life you know that they are an amazing organization that seeks to share the Gospel message with every kid, everywhere. My sophomore year in High School I was able to go to a Young Life camp in California called Woodleaf. It was there that I woke up to God’s amazing love not just for the world, but for me as an individual, and accepted the invitation into a personal relationship with Him.
Woodleaf is about a day and a half drive from Seattle. My Young Life leader, Martin, grew up in Salem, and his parents still lived their and had a huge home. Every year our Young Life group would drive to Salem for a quick overnight at their home, and wake up early the next morning to finish the trip to the camp. My senior year, even though Martin had moved away, his parents had still offered their home as a stop over for our trip.
We drove up to Martin’s parents’ home it was late and after dark. All the light’s were turned out. As one of our leaders, Kent, was about to knock on the door Joanne (another leader) stopped him.
“No Kent wait.”
“What?”
“The light’s are out, they might be asleep.”
“Yeah, so?”
“You might wake them?”
“Well, how else do you think we’re going to get in?” We all laughed.
In many ways that is what the sacrificial system that we find in Leviticus was about. Opening the way to God. What we read in Hebrews 9 is all about the sacrificial system. It speaks of the first covenant and the regulations for worship. We touched on it briefly last week, about how there was a Holy Place where the priests went daily to perform the ritual duties, but the second space, the Holy of Holies they entered only once per year, and never without taking blood.
We talked about the first sacrifice being made by none other than God Himself in sacrificing animals to make clothes of animal skins for Adam and Eve. Animals that only a few verses earlier He’d pronounced good.
There were many issues with the Old Covenant. The writer of Hebrews has pointed out that the sacrifices had to be made continually, and not just for the people, the priests themselves had to make sacrifices for themselves before they could make them for the people. They eventually died and other priests would have to take their place.
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)
Hey look! It’s our favorite conjunction! “But…”
And notice we’re now talking not of the tent made with hands - this is in reference to the tabernacle that was to be made in the pattern given by God. Yet it was merely an imitation of the real heavenly tabernacle.
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.
We see the strong imagery from Leviticus where there is sacrifice upon sacrifice throughout. And then we get to verse 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, 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.
We talked last week about the people being sprinkled and this purified the flesh, but what about the conscience? We still know what we’ve done. Jesus purifies our conscience as well.
He is the mediator of a new covenant - Heb 9:15
Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
This past week, in our Bible study - before it was so rudely interrupted by the Milton Power outage on Wednesday - we were discussing blood as the symbol of purification. Blood as we know today can carry all kinds of diseases.
In ancient history they recognized that blood was life, and the absence of love was the absence of life. So we will often read of the lifeblood. In modern science, we know that the blood is what carries all the O2 to the cells, and it is what carries away all the infection, waste, CO2, from the cells. So within our own bodies it is what cleanses our bodies.
So blood has throughout history been a symbol of life and cleansing, even in today’s medical science. And so it was in the time of the writing of Hebrews.
So what is the point that is being made here?
Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
If we go back to the story with which we began today’s message. We wanted access to Martin’s parents home. For us, gaining access meant that we needed to knock. For the Israelites, they had to present themselves as pure - which they weren’t - they knew it, we know it. So sacrifices had to be made to purify themselves through the blood.
Yet, through the Old Covenant it only purified them on the outside, it still did not purify their conscience.
Jesus purifies both! He does not need to offer himself repeatedly because he was - unlike the earthly priests - sinless.
Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 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.
The Apostle Paul wrote: Rom 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
As we finish our chapter Heb 9 we read Heb 9:27-28
And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
This is central to the message of the author of Hebrews. It is Jesus who has paid the price, the One and eternal sacrifice has been made, once for all - no longer are sacrifices necessary.
Some people assume that this is written after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. That destruction took place in 70 A.D., the book of Hebrews was likely written before then. So sacrifices were still be offered. The argument that the author is making is that those sacrifices are no longer necessary, and he’s doing it to a Jewish audience of Christian disciples.
The audience for the book of Hebrews are those who know the Hebrew Bible,
who know the laws of Moses,
who know the Levitical code,
who know the prophets,
who are very familiar with the prophets,
AND who know of Jesus, his teachings, his death and resurrection.
As the old temple was a mere shadow of the lower image of the heavenly temple, so the sacrifices made at the temple are a lower sacrifice. Jesus becomes the ultimate sacrifice paying the debt once and for all, and he’s coming again.
Peter wrote: 1Pe 3:18
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
There’s no need for a second suffering. There’s no need for another sacrifice. The sacrifice has been made, and for what purpose?
1 Peter 3:18 (ESV)
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that HE MIGHT BRING US TO GOD…
This is why Jesus died. We read John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus sacrifice is an outward evident expression of God’s love for each and every person. It’s not a statement of condemnation.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Again, to save us.
So, how do you and I apply this?
Knowing Jesus is an expression of God’s love
Knowing Jesus did not come for our condemnation
Knowing Jesus came for our salvation
Knowing the sacrifice has been made for our sins
what then should be our response but to
Follow Him.
Learn from Him.
Immitate Him
Do what he says.
So for us today.
You and I can move from our past. What is done is done. You cannot change the past, but too often we hold on to past mistakes or our history and it becomes and anchor. It holds us back.
Everyone of us can share about mistakes we’ve made and times that we’ve been foolish in our decision making.
Everyone of us can think of a time when we intentionally did something that we knew at the time was not quite above board.
Everyone of us, if we’re honest, will admit our motives despite our best efforts are not always pure.
Jesus had paid for each and everyone of these. They no longer are on the record books.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Confession was part of bringing the sacrifice. By bringing the sacrifice we admitted there was a need for it - that was a confession.
Jesus paid for all of it.
If you think that you do not have access to God, you’re wrong. Jesus gives you access.
If you think there’s no way for you to get into glory? You’re wrong, Jesus gives you access.
If you think Jesus life doesn’t make a difference? You’re wrong, Jesus gives you access.
On that night when we were standing at the door waiting to see if Martin’s parents would open the door, Kent eventually did knock. We waited. And we knocked again. After a short while a light came on upstairs, then another on the other side of the door. It turned out they’d mixed up the dates and were not expecting us until the next day (which was the first day of camp). They welcomed us in with open arms, and made us all feel so welcome.
Jesus is inviting you. Jesus invites me. He made the way. That is Good News.