There’s Power in the Blood

Prayer

Hebrews 9:1–10

New Living Translation Chapter 9

That first covenant between God and Israel had regulations for worship and a place of worship here on earth. 2 There were two rooms in that Tabernacle. In the first room were a lampstand, a table, and sacred loaves of bread on the table. This room was called the Holy Place. 3 Then there was a curtain, and behind the curtain was the second room called the Most Holy Place. 4 In that room were a gold incense altar and a wooden chest called the Ark of the Covenant, which was covered with gold on all sides. Inside the Ark were a gold jar containing manna, Aaron’s staff that sprouted leaves, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5 Above the Ark were the cherubim of divine glory, whose wings stretched out over the Ark’s cover, the place of atonement. But we cannot explain these things in detail now.

6 When these things were all in place, the priests regularly entered the first room as they performed their religious duties. 7 But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. 8 By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle and the system it represented were still in use.

9 This is an illustration pointing to the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them. 10 For that old system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies—physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established.

Remember last week…these things, this old system was just a shadow of the things to come. Christ has mediated a better, a new covenant with God.

But it seems that our world is allured with the old. Especially the ark of the covenant.

Introduction – "Why the Obsession with the Ark?"

You don’t have to be a Bible scholar to have heard of the Ark of the Covenant.

Ever since Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Ark has captured the popular imagination. In that movie, the Ark is portrayed as a weapon of terrifying, divine power—something people will lie, kill, and even die to possess. But the fascination isn’t just Hollywood fiction. Just recently, some declassified CIA documents surfaced with references to religious artifacts, including—you guessed it—the Ark of the Covenant. Why would modern intelligence agencies care about an ancient golden box?

Because the Ark has always stirred a deep curiosity.

But the real question is—why? Why are people so obsessed with it?

Well, let’s rewind the clock back to the Old Testament. This wasn’t just a mysterious artifact. The Ark of the Covenant was the central object of God’s presence with His people. Crafted at God’s command, covered in gold, with two cherubim on top—it sat in the Most Holy Place. But it wasn't just decorative. The Ark represented the very throne of God on earth. It was where God met with Moses. It was where the blood of atonement was sprinkled. It led the people through the wilderness. It went before them into battle. When the priests carried the Ark into the Jordan River, the waters parted. When it led the way around Jericho, the walls came tumbling down.

In a very real way, wherever the Ark went, the people of Israel saw God's power, God's leadership, and God's presence.

And maybe that’s part of the cultural obsession. Deep down, people are still longing for that—real power, real presence, real direction. In a world of uncertainty and chaos, the idea that there could be a physical object that guarantees victory, guidance, and access to the divine—it’s no wonder people are fascinated.

But here’s the twist. That longing people feel—the hunger for something holy and powerful and real—isn’t meant to end with the Ark.

The Ark was just a shadow, a pointer, a signpost. It wasn’t the destination. It was never meant to be the ultimate thing.

Hebrews 9 opens the curtain and shows us what the Ark—and the whole tabernacle system—was truly about. It leads us to someone greater. Jesus. The One who doesn't just go behind a curtain—but tears the curtain open. The One who doesn’t sprinkle blood on a golden box—but enters the heavenly sanctuary with His own blood to secure eternal redemption.

So today, we’re not chasing relics or decoding conspiracy theories. We’re doing something far better—we’re stepping into the heart of the gospel. And we’re going to see how the ultimate presence, power, and guidance of God aren’t found in a box—but in a Savior.

The Cleansing Blood of Christ (Hebrews 9:11–14)

A. A Better High Priest (v. 11)

Christ didn’t enter an earthly tent—He entered heaven itself.

He is both the priest and the sacrifice.

B. A Better Sacrifice (vv. 12–14)

Not the blood of animals, but His own blood.

Why blood?

From the beginning, God has required atonement for sin…

God’s Covering for Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21)

“21 And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.”

Sin exposed their shame—fig leaves couldn’t cover it.

God provided garments of skin—a life had to be taken.

First act of atonement in Scripture.

The Law and the Blood (Leviticus 17:11)

“11 for the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with the Lord. It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible.”

“...it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.”

Blood represents life given for life.

Animal sacrifices taught that sin costs life—but could never fully remove guilt.

In fact if you jump down to verse 22 of Hebrews 9 we read “In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.”

The old ways were shadows. Christ is the substance.

Secures eternal redemption.

Cleanses our conscience, not just external behavior.

Key Truth: Animal blood covered sin temporarily. Christ’s blood cleanses sin permanently.

Think about this for a moment…what happened the day that Jesus offered himself up as the pure and spotless sacrificial lamb of God?

Matthew 27

Think about it: for centuries, the Ark of the Covenant sat behind a thick curtain—a veil—in the Most Holy Place. Only the high priest could enter, and only once a year, and only with blood.

The message was loud and clear: God is holy. You are not. Keep your distance.

But then came Jesus. The true High Priest. The one Hebrews 9 tells us entered not an earthly sanctuary, but the heavenly one—not with the blood of animals, but with His own blood, once and for all.

And when He gave up His life on the cross—Matthew tells us something happened in that very moment that shook the whole religious system to its core:

"At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom." (Matthew 27:51)

Not from bottom to top—as if a person reached up to rip it. But from top to bottom—as if God Himself was saying: “The barrier is gone. The way is open. Come in.”

That veil separated humanity from the presence of God. And Jesus tore it down with His own body.

So if the Ark of the Covenant once symbolized restricted access—then the cross of Christ now proclaims open access. The presence of God is no longer locked behind a veil or confined to a golden box. It’s available to all who come by faith in Jesus.

And maybe—just maybe—that’s what all the cultural obsession with the Ark is really about.

People are longing for access. For connection. For the presence of God.

But the good news of Hebrews 9 is this: you don’t have to search for a lost Ark to find it.

You just have to come to Jesus.

At this point some of you may be wondering…but wasn’t the ark of the covenant missing from the Holy of Holies during Jesus’ earthly ministry… If you did…good catch. Yes, by the time of Jesus’ death, the Ark of the Covenant was no longer in the Holy of Holies. It had likely been missing since the Babylonian exile (6th century BC). So when the veil tore in the temple in Matthew 27, there was no Ark behind it.

But rather than negating the point, that historical reality actually deepens it—here’s how:

by the time Jesus died, the Holy of Holies was empty. The Ark—the symbol of God’s presence—was gone.

Can you imagine the irony? A curtain still hung there, keeping people out… from an empty room.

That’s religion without Christ—a barrier without the presence, form without substance.

But when Jesus died, that curtain was torn from top to bottom. And in doing so, God wasn’t just removing a physical veil—He was removing the entire system of restricted access. He was declaring:

“The real presence has returned. Not in a box of gold, but in the person of my Son.”

So in a way, the torn curtain without the Ark behind it makes the message even clearer:

The Ark was gone because the shadow had passed.

Jesus, the true presence, had come to replace the symbol with substance.

And now, access to God is no longer found in a hidden room or a missing artifact—it's found in a crucified and risen Savior.

Once for All: The Final Atonement (Hebrews 9:15–28)

A. No Forgiveness Without Blood (v. 22)

“Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” —Hebrews 9:22

From the earliest pages of Scripture, blood has always been central to forgiveness. When Adam and Eve sinned, God clothed them with animal skins—implying the first death, the first sacrifice. In Exodus, it was the blood of the lamb that saved Israelite homes from death during the Passover. And under the Law of Moses, blood was required daily, weekly, and annually to atone for sin.

Why? Because sin is not a surface-level mistake—it is cosmic rebellion. God’s justice demands that the debt of sin be paid.

Romans 6:23 “23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

reminds us that the wages of sin is death—not spiritual time-out or moral improvement. Death. That’s the cost of our rebellion. Romans 3:23 “23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”

underscores the universality of sin—we’ve all fallen short. Romans 5:8 “8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

then declares God’s love: Jesus paid the debt with His blood while we were still sinners.

“Imagine if every sin you’ve ever committed were tallied up like debt on a ledger. And instead of money, the only accepted payment was life. Blood. We couldn’t pay it—we were bankrupt. But Jesus steps in, looks at our ledger, and says: ‘Paid in full.’ With His blood.”

B. Christ’s Once-for-All Offering (vv. 25–26)

“Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again… But He has appeared once for all… to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”

In the Old Testament system, the high priest would enter the Most Holy Place every year—with blood that wasn’t his own. It was a never-ending cycle, and it never fully removed sin. It only covered it for a time.

But Christ did something radically different: once, at the end of the ages, He stepped into the heavenly sanctuary, not with the blood of bulls or goats, but with His own blood.

And what did it accomplish? He didn’t just cover sin—He put it away. He erased it. He removed its power, its penalty, and one day, even its presence.

📖 Cross-reference:

Hebrews 10:10 – “We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

1 Peter 3:18 – “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.”

🔥 Illustration Idea: Use the courtroom metaphor. “Imagine standing before a judge, guilty of thousands of crimes. The evidence is undeniable. Then someone walks in and says, ‘I’ll take the punishment. Not for one crime—not for some—but all of them. Once. Forever.’ That’s what Jesus did.”

C. Awaiting His Return (vv. 27–28)

“Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and He will appear a second time… to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.”

The writer of Hebrews now zooms out and reminds us of two unshakable truths:

Death is certain. Everyone dies.

Judgment follows. We will all stand before God.

But here’s the gospel: for those who belong to Jesus, judgment is not something to dread—it’s the moment when salvation is brought to completion.

Because Christ has already dealt with our sin, He will return—not to bear sin again—but to bring His people home.

This changes how we live. We are not just forgiven people—we are waiting people. Watching. Longing. Ready.

Cross-reference:

1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 – “For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven… and so we will be with the Lord forever.”

Titus 2:13 – “…while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

🕊️ Illustration Idea: Paint a picture of a soldier coming home from war, or a parent returning from deployment. The family waits at the airport, scanning every face, hearts pounding. That’s the kind of eager longing believers should have—because when Jesus returns, it’s not to bring judgment on us, but to bring us into eternal joy.

Application:

Are you trying to cover your sin with your own efforts (fig leaves)?

Do you believe your conscience can be truly cleansed?

Have you trusted in Christ’s blood, the only source of forgiveness?

Conclusion: The Ark is long gone. The curtain is torn. The sacrifices are over. But the story isn’t finished.

Jesus has done what no priest ever could. He offered Himself—once, for all time—and He’s coming again.

So the question is not, “Where is the Ark?” The real question is: Are you waiting for Jesus?