Jesus' Once for All Offering (Hebrews 10:1–18)

Introduction

We are continuing our series in the book of Hebrews, in Hebrews 10:1-18. These verses will examine Jesus' once-for-all offering for us and what his offering means for our lives.

Do you ever get tired of working? Do you ever feel like everyone keeps pushing you to achieve and do more?

You go to work, and they give you a quarterly review. Your manager sits down with you and tells you something good, bad, and good.

There is one thing your manager doesn't want to do. Your manager never wants to tell you that you've done enough. They'll ask you about your goals and what you're working towards. Even if you're the best employee, what do they do? They say, "You're doing great. Keep it up!" Keeping it up means continuing to work hard.

It's no wonder why we think Christianity is the same way. We see God as our manager. We picture him saying, "You've got these things to work on. What are your goals?"

But that's not the gospel. The gospel says that Jesus has completed the work for us, so we don't have to.

Early Jewish Christians had grown up with this same concept of continually working to get to God. They would constantly bring sacrifices to the temple, and priests would continue offering sacrifices.

Where we are in Hebrews today, we'll hear how Jesus made the final once-for-all offering for all of us so that we can rest in him.

How can we learn to have a walk with Christ that is in complete confidence of his forgiveness? How can we rest in God's grace, even as he continues to shape who we are? We're going to learn that today in Hebrews 10:1-18.

Scripture Reading

Hebrews 10:1–18 CSB

1 Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the reality itself of those things, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year. 2 Otherwise, wouldn’t they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, purified once and for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Therefore, as he was coming into the world, he said: You did not desire sacrifice and offering, but you prepared a body for me. 6 You did not delight in whole burnt offerings and sin offerings. 7 Then I said, “See— it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, God.” 8 After he says above, You did not desire or delight in sacrifices and offerings, whole burnt offerings and sin offerings (which are offered according to the law), 9 he then says, See, I have come to do your will. He takes away the first to establish the second. 10 By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time. 11 Every priest stands day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time, which can never take away sins. 12 But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God. 13 He is now waiting until his enemies are made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified. 15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. For after he says: 16 This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, the Lord says, I will put my laws on their hearts and write them on their minds, 17 and I will never again remember their sins and their lawless acts. 18 Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

Pray

Hebrews 10:1-18 is the climax of the doctrinal section of this book. After this, the letter will shift to what Christians should do in response to the superiority of Jesus.

The writer of Hebrews has been arguing since the beginning of the letter that Jesus is superior to everything in Israel, including the Jewish religious system.

In the first ten chapters of Hebrews, the writer has listed six examples of the superiority of Jesus Christ over everything Israel held sacred. He has said,

Jesus is superior to the angels who mediated the Law (Hebrews 1-2)

Jesus is superior to Moses, who gave Israel the Law (Hebrews 3)

Jesus is superior to Joshua, who led Israel into the Promised Land (Hebrews 4)

Jesus is superior to Aaron and the Levitical priesthood (Hebrews 4-7)

Jesus is superior to Abraham, the father of Israel (Hebrews 7)

Jesus is superior to the Old Covenant and all of its sacrifices (Hebrews 7-10)

The message of the book of Hebrews is that Jesus is superior to everything that Israel held sacred, and he is above all. He is the ultimate hope to Israel, us, and the world.

In the doctrinal climax of the book of Hebrews, Hebrews 10:1-18, there are three points the writer makes. First,

I. The Law Reminded Us of Sin, But Couldn’t Remove It

He makes this point in Hebrews 10:1-4. Up to this point in Hebrews 8-9, the writer has made clear that the Old Covenant was not the final act of God. It was a temporary covenant that was preparing Israel for the New Covenant that was to come. Everything in the Old Testament leads us to God's New Covenant in Jesus Christ.

If you were a Jewish Christian receiving this message about the Old Covenant, it's shocking. The message of Hebrews is that we need to understand what the Old Covenant was. He will say that,

A. The law was only a shadow, not the substance.

Imagine a person walking toward you, lit from behind with a great light. The light behind the person creates a long shadow in front of him. The shadow on the ground is just the outline of the person. It is not the person itself. The shadow is there because of the person.

When the person walks toward you, you first see the shadow. But you will miss the point if you focus your eyes on the shadow. When you see the shadow, you must look up and focus on the person.

That’s the point the writer is making in Hebrews 10:1,

Hebrews 10:1 CSB

1 Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come, and not the reality itself of those things, it can never perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer year after year.

Israel was focusing on the shadow, and they missed out on why it was there. They didn't look up and see the person. They treated the shadow like it was the real thing.

In the shadow was the law. It had the rituals, the sacrifices, and the offerings. But a shadow has no power. It is only an outline of the one coming.

By focusing on the shadow, they missed the point. The law was the shadow of the good things God was bringing to Israel in the Messiah.

Now, you can judge things by the shadow or look up to see the one to whom the shadow belongs, Jesus Christ. That's the point Paul makes as well in Colossians 2:16-17, where he says,

Colossians 2:16–17 CSB

16 Therefore, don’t let anyone judge you in regard to food and drink or in the matter of a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of what was to come; the substance is Christ.

It’s the same message in both Hebrews 10 and Colossians 2. The Old Covenant law was not the destination. It was a shadow of the coming good news about Jesus Christ.

Still, today, people can focus on the shadow of something and miss the point. I was conversing this week with a woman in our community about faith. In our conversation, she said something I’ve heard many times. We talked about church, and she shared that she is not religious. I told her that our church welcomes non-religious people, and she was welcome to come any time. She likes Jesus as someone who gave good teachings. Then she told me she tries to be a good person.

The good person line is what people think going to church is all about. They believe people go to church because they have something to prove about being a good person.

I told her that Christianity is not about being a good person. If anything good results from me following Jesus, it is not because I’m trying to be a good person. Focusing on the good that comes from being a Christian is like concentrating on the shadow, not the substance. The shadow is the result of following Jesus. The substance is faith in Jesus Christ. You cannot have the result of the Christian life without the power attached to the substance of the Christian life, Jesus Christ.

Focus on the substance, Jesus Christ, and you get the results (the good works). Focus on the shadow (the good works), and you miss the power of Christ that works in you to bring about good works. You miss the point that it is the eternal life power of Christ in you that changes everything.

The problem of focusing on the Old Covenant for the Jews wasn’t just that the Law was a shadow but that the Law was also a reminder of the heavy burden of sin. For the Jews,

B. The repeated sacrifices couldn’t take away sin, but only reminded them of it.

It says this in Hebrews 10:3,

Hebrews 10:3 CSB

3 But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year.

In the Old Covenant, when Israel would bring sacrifices to the priest, instead of the sacrifices cleansing the conscience, they would only remind the conscience of the sin in their souls.

On the Day of Atonement, when the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies and offer the blood of animals for the people's sins, it never relieved them of their sins. Instead, it was a yearly reminder that sin stood between the people of Israel and God.

The fact that the blood of animals could never take away sin was evidence that the Jewish system in the Old Covenant was incomplete.

The Bible says that God is a forgiving God. Exodus 34:6–7 says, "The Lord is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, rebellion, and sin."

It also says in Psalm 86:5,

Psalm 86:5 CSB

5 For you, Lord, are kind and ready to forgive, abounding in faithful love to all who call on you.

The Old Covenant tells us two things: God is a forgiving God, and atonement comes through shedding blood (Leviticus 17:11, "it is the lifeblood that makes atonement"). You need atonement to receive God's forgiveness. However, Israel never received a lasting atonement through the animal sacrifices in the law and, therefore, could not receive a lasting forgiveness through the Old Covenant.

God is a forgiving God, and he never does anything by accident. If the animal sacrifices never brought lasting peace with God (atonement), why were they there? They must serve a different purpose.

God was using the sacrifices in the law as a message pointing Israel to his eternal and future plan of atonement. Jesus fulfilled the Old Covenant sacrifices by being the sacrifice that finally brings eternal atonement and peace with God.

That's the second point the writer makes in these verses, saying,

II. Jesus Obeyed and Offered Himself Once for All

In Hebrews 10:5-10, we go from the insufficiency of the sacrifices in the Old Covenant to the everlasting promise of Jesus’ once-for-all finished work on the cross in the New Covenant. What he will tell us in these verses is that,

A. Jesus came to do the Father’s will.

There is something incredible the writer does in Hebrews 10:5-7. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the writer places the words of Psalm 40:6-8 into the mouth of Jesus. Look carefully at Hebrews 10:5-7,

Hebrews 10:5–7 CSB

5 Therefore, as he was coming into the world, he said: You did not desire sacrifice and offering, but you prepared a body for me. 6 You did not delight in whole burnt offerings and sin offerings. 7 Then I said, “See— it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, God.”

The Bible is God's Word, and when David wrote Psalm 40, the Messiah spoke through him.

The writer of Hebrews starts with the incarnation, how the Son of God took on flesh, as it says in John 1:14, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." As the Son of God came into the world, God prepared a body for him. The body of Jesus would serve as the eternal, final atonement for humanity.

As the Messiah speaks in Psalm 40, he says that the sacrifices in the Old Covenant could not satisfy God because he does not "delight in whole burnt offerings and sin offerings." Instead, the Messiah is the focus of God's delight, and Psalm 40 says three things about the Messiah:

“It is written about me in the scroll”: God’s Word speaks about Jesus Christ.

“I have come”: The Messiah, Jesus Christ, is coming into the world.

“To do your will.” This phrase ties it all together: The mission of the Messiah is to fulfill the sacrifices of the Old Covenant through his obedience in the body prepared for him.

The writer of Hebrews tells us that,

B. Jesus came to end the Old Covenant and establish the New Covenant.

We see this in Hebrews 10:9-10,

Hebrews 10:9–10 CSB

9 he then says, See, I have come to do your will. He takes away the first to establish the second. 10 By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.

The Son of God took on flesh and came to Israel to “take away the first to establish the second.” The first and second refer to covenants. There has been a lot of covenantal language in Hebrews 9-10.

Jesus came to take away the first covenant and its sacrificial system, not because it wasn’t important, but because he fulfilled its sacrificial system. Therefore, it is no longer needed.

You see Jesus as the fulfillment of the law in Matthew 5:17, where he says,

Matthew 5:17 CSB

17 “Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

When Jesus fulfilled the sacrificial law of the first covenant, he took away that first covenant sacrificial system by fulfilling it in the second, the new covenant in his blood. He didn't come to tear down the Old Covenant. Jesus came to complete it.

When Jesus completed the Old Covenant, he fulfilled the sacrifices in the law "through the offering" of his body "once for all time." That phrase in verse 10, "once for all time," is the key. There is nothing more to add to the sacrifices. Our Lord said on the cross in John 19:30, "It is finished."

It is the "once for all time" offering of the body of Christ that the hymn writer speaks about when he says, "Jesus paid it all. All to him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow."

A Christian friend told me this recently: When Jesus paid for our sins, he didn't keep the receipt. Your sins didn't come with a return policy. Jesus doesn't say, "This one is too broken. I need to return his sins back to him." Jesus paid for all of our sins once and for all time.

What does the once-for-all offering of Jesus Christ do for us as Christians? That leads to the third point he makes,

III. Jesus’ One Offering Perfects and Sanctifies Us

In Hebrews 10:11-14, the writer shifts from what Jesus’ offering did for us to what it continues to do. Did you know that the death of Jesus Christ has a continuing work in your life?

He starts by describing a significant difference between the work of the priests in the temple and the work of Christ on the cross. First, he says that,

A. Earthly priests stood every day, but Jesus sat down because His work is finished.

When you look at the description of the items the Bible says were to be in the Tabernacle, you will not find a chair.

In biblical times, if you visited a religious temple outside of Israel, you would often see idols of deities sitting on thrones, and priests in some cultures were semi-divine figures. However, there were no thrones in the Tabernacle.

In Hebrews 10:11, he describes the priests as people who would stand “day after day ministering and offering the same sacrifices time after time.” In the duties of the priests in the Old Covenant, there was no time for sitting because the priests never finished their work.

The priests of the Old Covenant stand because they never complete their work. The high priest of the New Covenant, Jesus Christ, sits on his throne because his work is complete. It is finished.

In Hebrews 10:12,

Hebrews 10:12 CSB

12 But this man, after offering one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God.

When Jesus completed his work, "offering one sacrifice for sins forever," he didn't look for an earthly throne. Instead, the Son of God "sat down at the right hand of God," a position of honor, authority, and completion.

Jesus' completed work is not just a theological point for you to have in your head. If we focus on Jesus' work as only theological doctrine, we intellectualize what is, in reality, meant to be peace for your soul.

You don't have to worry that you haven't done enough. You do not need to carry burdens when your faith is in Jesus Christ. Jesus says in him, "You will find rest for your souls" (Matt. 11:29).

Do you know why you find rest in Jesus Christ? Because Jesus has done all the work. You don't need Jesus plus something else to come to God. Come to Jesus and find rest for your soul.

We can rest in Christ because he reigns. He is in heaven and will return in full authority and power (Heb. 10:13).

But until he returns, we know this thing about the work of Christ. He finished his "once for all" work on the cross, and Jesus still works inside us. The writer of Hebrews says,

B. His one offering perfects us even as we are still being sanctified.

Hebrews 10:14 describes the “now and not yet” of faith in Jesus Christ. It says,

Hebrews 10:14 CSB

14 For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified.

This verse has two huge, rich theological doctrines for you to understand. I want you to notice that in Christ, it says you are:

Perfected forever: That is your positional status before God.

Being sanctified: That is God's continual work in your life.

Being “perfected forever” refers to the doctrine of justification. The word translated as “perfect” in Hebrews 10:14 means complete. When your faith is in Jesus Christ, you are positionally declared before God as completely righteous because of Jesus. You can be absent from the body and present with the Lord because you are perfected forever through the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

“Being sanctified” refers to the doctrine of sanctification. Sanctified means to be made holy. God declares you righteous because of Jesus and actively works in your life to make you holy like Jesus. God is moving you to look more like Jesus every day.

Imagine you’ve never been to college a day in your life. You’ve never taken one college class, and you walk into the university for the first time. As soon as you get to the campus, the college president meets you at the door on day one and says, “Congratulations! I declare that you are a full graduate of this college. Here is your doctoral degree. Now, for the next eight years, I need you to study, attend lectures, and do the work so you learn to live and think like the graduate I’ve already declared you to be.”

That picture is similar to the now and not yet of faith. Even though you are positionally righteous before God, he is still working within you so you can live like the person he has already declared you to be.

Sanctification is what the Bible describes in Philippians 1:6 when it says,

Philippians 1:6 CSB

6 I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

God doesn’t declare you righteous and then walk away. The Lord is actively working in your life to finish the work he started within you. Romans 8:29 speaks of Christians as people “conformed to the image of his Son.” The Holy Spirit works within you to make you look more like Jesus.

Why does God want you to look more like Jesus?

Because looking like Jesus reflects who you belong to.

Because looking like Jesus draws others to the gospel.

Because looking like Jesus brings peace and purpose to your soul.

Because looking like Jesus prepares you for eternity with him.

God doesn't just want to forgive your sin. He wants to shape your life. The Holy Spirit will not stop working in your life because God wants the world to see Jesus in you.

Hebrews 10:15 says, "the Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this." The Holy Spirit doesn't just give you information. He brings the truth home to your soul.

Jesus said in John 8:32, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." But that truth is not just hearing it. It is also experiencing it and tasting it.

It's like honey. I can talk about the taste of honey all day. I can tell you that it's golden, thick, and rich. I can describe the pictures of the honeycomb and how sweet and satisfying it is. But until you've tasted honey for yourself, you won't know the sweet taste of honey.

That is the Holy Spirit experience of a Christian. Psalm 34:8 says,

Psalm 34:8 CSB

8 Taste and see that the Lord is good. How happy is the person who takes refuge in him!

The Holy Spirit will testify in your life over and over again that his grace is enough. Hebrews 10:16-18 says that the testimony of the Holy Spirit is this: There is full forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

The simple but profound message of Hebrews 10:1-18 is this: Rest in Christ’s once-for-all work and respond to his ongoing work in your life. Christianity is not about memorizing answers to pass a spiritual quiz. It’s not just an intellectual exercise.

The Lord renews your mind so he can transform your soul. The Holy Spirit invites you to experience the sweetness of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. Jesus did the work, so you don’t have to.

Have you tasted and seen that the Lord is good? God doesn’t need your sacrifice. He doesn’t need your performance or your perfection.

God doesn’t need anything from you. Instead, he chooses to love you.

So, if you are worn out and tired from striving and trying to be good enough, the Lord invites you to rest in him.

You will find rest for your soul when you experience the complete once-for-all forgiveness from God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Prayer

Last Song

Doxology

Numbers 6:24–26 CSB

24 “May the Lord bless you and protect you; 25 may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.” ’

Jude 24–25 CSB

24 Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.

You are dismissed. Have a great week in the Lord!

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Sermon Reflection Questions

What is the difference between the Old Covenant sacrifices and Jesus' once-for-all offering?

What does the author of Hebrews mean by stating that the Old Covenant was a shadow of the good things to come?

Why must Christians focus on the 'substance' rather than the 'shadow' of their faith?

What does it mean that Jesus sat down after his sacrifice?

What is the relationship between being 'perfected forever' in Christ and sanctification?