Fifth Sunday in Lent (2025)

Heb 9:11-15

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Grace Mercy and Peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Epistle lesson for today comes from the letter of Hebrews, which is a beautiful book written that we gentiles might understand and see with clarity how the Old Testament is fulfilled in Christ who is your high priest.

Why the Blood?

Atonement required blood.

If you read through the book of Leviticus you find that it was used all throughout their rituals. From our view this seems very strange and very different than anything we have known. If the pastor up front started sprinkling blood on you and on everything in the church, there would be some questions. But the reason that atonement, that is forgiveness, covering over sins required blood is because

The life is in the blood.

In order to enter into the presence of God, there was a cost in terms of life. If you tried to enter God’s presence required the taking of a life. God’s presence is dangerous to sinners and to the unclean, and so a life had to be lost. That’s why blood

It would sanctify the tent of meeting.

The priest would have a sacrifice offered for himself that he might enter safely, but that he was might enter into the holy of holies once a year to offer atonement for all the people of Israel that God’s holiness might be bring to the people blessings.

The Holiness of God

Holiness isn’t just an idea.

It’s who God is, and it is what God is. He is holy, there has been a lot of discussion about this over the years, and it is a unique attribute of God’s being, but God desires that His people be Holy as He is holy. The trouble is we are unholy.

Unholy is what’s common.

What’s ordinary, we think of it as being opposed to what God and His Word, but what is sin? It is the rejection and the absence of God. We’re sinners like the whole world, it’s ordinary, its common, to be holy is to be set apart as God, who is the source of righteousness, goodness, and holiness. If we remain unholy, what happens?

What happens when light meets dark?

We found this out just this last week. Electricity went out, and we were all looking for sources of light. Because what does light do? It banishes darkness. For wherever there is light the darkness cannot persist and not overcome it. I want to be clear

It’s not dualism.

People confuse them as being opposites, light and dark aren’t equally strong forces, darkness is the absence of light for darkness doesn’t overcome light. You can see the trouble if we are unholy, if we are darkness and we come into the presence of the holy and righteous God what happens?

Coram Deo (Before God)

How can sinners approach God?

This has been the dilemma, for every since the fall of Adam, sin has corrupted mankind and risk death by entering into the presence of our Creator, but we need that holiness, that righteousness, and that life that God gives that we might be united with our Creator. So

The High Priest made yearly atonement.

for the people of Israel on Yom Kippur and would enter into the holy of holies that the blessings of God, that forgiveness for their sins might be secured but it was never enough, he had to go back again and again.

The Blood of Jesus secured eternal redemption.

Well how on earth could that happen? Well what’s in the blood of the creature? The Life, and who is Jesus? The Son of God in the flesh, who is one in substance with the father, and has eternal life. So Jesus’ blood is far more precious than the blood of any goat, lamb, or bull for there is the one through whom all things were made and He has come as your

Your High Priest

Jesus intercedes for you.

For that is what a High Priest would do, He would go before God once a year on that day of atonement and plead on behalf of the people for them to have forgiveness. Because who are we to stand before the throne of God? We’re sinners and if we who are darkness were to stand in the light of God’s presence, we would be destroyed, and so

Jesus stands before God.

Jesus stands there for you. He pleads for you, and since Jesus is light of light, very god of very god, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father, He can stand not just in a replica of the throne room of God, but He enters heaven itself at His Ascension and remains there pleading for you always that you might be forgiven. That’s why Jesus’ ascension is so important. We are now able to stand in God’s presence for

Jesus’ blood purifies us.

The blood of goats and sheep was not enough as a sacrifice and that is why they had to be offered up not just on that special day yom kippur but all throughout the year. That is not all that Christ has given to us for our salvation.

Christ’s Sacrifice for Sinners

We receive that sacrifice.

In the Old Testament, the people would receive a portion of that which had been brought into the presence of the Lord to receive a share of that meal that they might by proxy receive the blessings of God’s holiness. Well what was offered up in Sacrifice for us? Jesus gave up Himself in sacrifice. So

Jesus gives His body and blood.

That we might receive the blessings of forgiveness, eternal life, and salvation that we might partake of God’s holiness and receive these blessings. It is a tremendous thing and a wonderful blessing. However,

The Holiness of God can be dangerous.

That is why I always read our communion statement before Communion. Close(d) Communion isn’t done out of hate, but concern. Because even in the Old Testament there were concerns about partaking of those sacrifices wrongly. So that’s why there is a process for it, but its not once confirmed always able to commune. We must still examine ourselves lest we take it our own harm.

So my Brothers and Sisters in Christ, it si the blood of Jesus that has secured for us an eternal redemption and a place in God’s Kingdom. It sounds strange to our ears today, but that is because what Jesus did on Calvary brought an end to the Sacrificial system that the Sacrifices were no longer needed. For when the Son of God shed His blood and entered into heaven, no more sacrifices were needed for He surpassed what ever other high priest had done, and he has given us a gift in the Lord’s Supper, provided we can receive it safely, and so let us treat it with reverence and respect. For Christ has given so much that we might receive the blessings of God for that we ought to rejoice. In Jesus name. Amen.