Solus Christus (Heb 9:11-28)

Introduction

If you have your Bible, please open it to Hebrews 9:11-28.

In our last series as a church together, we’ve been looking at what has historically been called the five solas of the Reformation—part of the reasoning for this series had to do with the time of the year (October 31 is the date used to celebrate the Reformation) and part of the reasoning for this series is that I thought it would be a good way for us to highlight certain needs that ought to be considered as you go and look for a new church soon.

So, we started this series at the end of September with an introduction that highlighted how big of a deal the Reformation really was—that the Gospel had been hidden under a pile of works and indulgences—and the Reformers sought to remedy the solution because peoples’ souls were at stake.

So far, we’ve talked about sola fide, sola Scriptura, and sola gratia—that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone and that ultimately the Word of God as recorded in Scripture has authority over churches, people, and tradition. We talked at length about how salvation really can’t be earned and that Christianity is really the only religion that preaches a salvation that’s completely unearned—by faith and through grace. We talked about how important it is to really understand that concept because anything less than this or more than this isn’t really the Gospel and thus, isn’t really Christianity.

Next week, we’ll handle soli Deo Gloria, which will conclude our series and really our time together as a church focusing our attention on God’s glory—what it is, what it means for us, and how we ought to live because of and for God’s glory.

This week, we’re dealing with solus Christus, which includes the idea that Jesus alone is our mediator—the one who goes between us and God to reconcile us to God through the blood that He shed on the cross for our sins.

This very concept is contrary to what was being taught by the church during the Reformation and is still taught in certain groups—for instance, during the Reformation, the church taught that both human priests and saints who were already dead interceded on your behalf:

The idea of confession comes from this false teaching—that you must confess your sin to a human priest so that he can assign acts of penance to you for the forgiveness of your sins.

The idea of intercessio sanctorum or the intercession of the saints is a false teaching that saints in heaven can pray to God on your behalf—and thus, you should petition or ask these dead saints to intercede for you. Of course, that idea builds into what will eventually include the veneration of Mary.

And, I do want to clarify, it isn’t just the Catholic Churches that do these things (though, all the Catholic churches do—including the Roman Catholic, Polish Catholic, and Ukrainian Catholic churches near us), but also the Eastern Orthodox Church practices both, and some Anglican churches (particularly those that fall into what’s called Anglo-catholicism) do both confession to a human priest and prayers to saints. You’ll notice most of the churches that do these sorts of things have long-running connections with Catholicism as a whole.

Solus Christus is the belief that you don’t need to confess to a human priest, you can go directly to Jesus; and you don’t need to pray to a saint, you can go directly to Jesus because He is the true priest that is our mediator.

Keep this in mind as we jump into Hebrews 9:11-28.

Hebrews 9:11–28 ESV

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. 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. 16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. 18 Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. 19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” 21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. 22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. 23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 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. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 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.

As we study this passage together, we’ll divide this sermon into two parts: (1) Solus Christus and Hebrews 9:11-28 and (2) Solus Christus, the Reformation, and Today. The first section of the sermon will exegete the passage of Hebrews 9:11-28. This passage will very clearly spell out how Jesus acts as our priest, as our intermediary, as the one who intercedes on our behalf. The second section of the sermon will then tie solus Christus into church history—why the Reformed recovered this truth and why it still matters today.

The goal for today is for you to see that any attempt to place someone or something in an intermediary role between you and God besides Jesus Himself is pointless. Instead, because Jesus is your mediator—(1) go to Him, trust Him, and rest in Him.

Prayer for Illumination

Solus Christus and Hebrews 9:11-28

Background of Hebrews—the book of Hebrews is a favorite of mine—there are a few details worth noting before we dig in.

Unknown Author—many different ideas as to who the author could’ve been:

Paul—kinda sounds like him in many of the mannerisms, it’s logical like many of his other letters; however, the author of Hebrews doesn’t name himself, which Paul does in all his letters.

Ephesians 1:1–2 “1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are at Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Galatians 1:1–2 “1 Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through human agency, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), 2 and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:”

Romans 1:1–4 “1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, 4 who was declared the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,”

Why would he suddenly not do that for Hebrews?

Dr. Dan Olinger suggests Priscilla (Acts 18)—educated, biblically-minded, Christ-focused.

Apollos (Acts 18, but elsewhere)—educated, well-spoken, after Priscilla and Aquila taught him, he became a great co-laborer to Paul (1 Corinthians 3:6 “6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth,” 1 Corinthians 16:12 “12 Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly encouraged him to come to you with the brothers; and it was not at all his desire to come now, but he will come when he has the opportunity.”)

The fact that he’s well-spoken ties into Hebrews—as it’s written like a rather eloquent sermon.

The fact that he’s a close associate to Paul would explain why occasionally, he has Pauline mannerisms.

Probably the one pushback would be that Apollos was Greek; whereas, the author of Hebrews relies heavily on the Jewish writings—though, that could just be because he was writing to Jewish people.

Purpose was to show Jesus as the Christ, who is better than everything that they had ever had before—that’s the whole point from the beginning of the book to the end.

Hebrews 1 introduces us to God, who had previously spoken to His people through the fathers and the prophets, but most recently had spoken to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, who is far better than anything before.

Hebrews 2 builds on that idea, that Jesus is far better—particularly concerning how Jesus is better than the angels even though He was briefly humbled in the incarnation—when He came to be born of a virgin.

Hebrews 3 then starts comparing Jesus to Moses—stating that Jesus is better than Moses, which is an offensive thing to say to Jewish people, who revere Moses—so, the author needs to be absolutely certain that Jesus is genuinely better than Moses.

Hebrews 4 then tells us that Jesus is better than the Sabbath because He is our eternal Sabbath that we experience when we’re united to Him.

Hebrews 5 tells us that Jesus is the better High Priest, in fact, He’s better than Melchizedek who was a high priest for Yahweh before the Law was even given to the Jewish people.

Hebrews 6-8 builds on that idea by amplifying what exactly it means that Jesus is a better High Priest.

Hebrews 9 then reminds us of the tabernacle, the temple—really, it reminds us of the purpose of everything written in Scripture, that we, as God’s people would dwell with Him. That’s where we come in in vv. 11-14, which deals with redemption in Jesus Christ.

Christ’s atoning work (11-14)—the author of Hebrews ties who Jesus is and what Jesus does to what the sacrificial system in the OT foreshadowed.

Jesus is the “high priest of the good things that have come.” (11)

Remember that a large portion of what the author of Hebrews is doing in this book is connecting Jesus to all the things that were previously foreshadowed to show that He is the fulfillment of those types.

Jesus is the high priest and because He is the high priest, he really ushers in all the good things that were foreshadowed by the previous types that symbolized Him.

The good things referred to in v. 11 really deal with the things that were represented by those types in the OT. So, think with me about what the purposes of the sacrifices were. The OT sacrifices foreshadowed genuine

They foreshadowed genuine atonement and forgiveness of sins.

They pointed to the ability to dwell with God, since sins had been atoned for.

They anticipated the fulfillment of God’s promised covenants.

But unlike the Old Testament sacrifices, which could never truly save, Jesus can—and does—accomplish all of these.

Even in the terminology used by the author to describe the difference between what was previously typified and what is now fulfilled in Jesus, the author showcases just how much better Jesus’ atoning work really is.

That Jesus who is the high priest, came “through the greater and more perfect tent.”

Tent σκηνε can be translated as tabernacle and is actually translated as tabernacle in just about every translation besides the ESV.

That idea reflects on what Jesus’ purpose really was in the incarnation, death, burial, and resurrection —to reconcile HIs people to God and to bring them into fellowship with Him.

Jesus came through “the greater and more perfect tent [and] 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. (12-13)

Consider how different this is in contrast with blood of goats and bulls, which were imperfect sacrifices—Jesus’ once for all sacrifice secures an eternal redemption.

How much better is Jesus’ blood, who is the one and only perfect sacrifice than the blood of bulls and goats, which can’t save? Infinitely better; almost meaningless to really try to compare.

Through HIs perfect, substitutionary sacrifice for us on the cross, Jesus provides the only atonement for sin that’s effective for His people (14)

And he purifies “our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.”

Remember last week’s emphasis on being dead in sin prior to regeneration by the Spirit—similar concept.

We were dead, but Jesus makes us alive to serve the living God.

Christ’s mediatory work (15-26a)—since Jesus is the only true and perfect substitutionary sacrifice for us and since He is still alive due to His resurrection, He then becomes “the mediator of a new covenant, so that [we] who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.”

Notice that this is predicated on Jesus’ atoning sacrifice for us (15-17)

It’s not due to our own work

It’s not because of someone else who claims to intercede for us—whether that’s a human priest or saint.

It is Jesus who acts as a mediator because His sacrifice is the only sacrifice that works—an eternal God who was and is fully God and fully man needed to atone for the sins of mankind—and Jesus does just that.

This is all built on the fact that He sacrificed Himself for us.

Note also, the emphasis on the Necessity of blood (18-22)—to atone for sin, there has always been a requirement for blood.

Even in Eden—after Adam and Eve sinned, God slaughtered an animal to cover them—most of us just focus on the physical covering, but think Christologically through it, what does the physical covering of Adam and Eve foreshadow? It’s the need to cover their spiritual deadness in sin.

Throughout the OT, the sacrificial system is built on the foreshadowing of the concept of the shedding of blood for the remission of sin itself.

And, of course, just look at v. 22, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.”

Then consider again, this concept of the OT being shadows of what was to come (23-26a)

The author of Hebrews talks about these “copies of the heavenly things.”

Heavenly things refers to the heavenly counterparts of the earthly sanctuary and its furniture—the earthly sanctuary is equated with heaven itself.

Better sacrifices refers to Jesus’ sacrificial atonement on the cross for us.

And the author explains what exactly makes Jesus’ sacrifice better—that Jesus has entered into heaven itself to appear before God Himself on our behalf—once for all, not repeatedly like the OT priests, but a single time “to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”

Of course, there’s more to this because there’s always an eschatological (futuristic) point to be made when considering Jesus’ atoning work on the cross for us. The reality is that there’s more at hand and vv. 26b-28 emphasize that. Christ’s coming work (26b-28).

Jesus has already offered Himself as the once for all sacrifice “to put away sin” (26b). Note again, some key ideas:

He offered Himself—He wasn’t forced, He didn’t do it because He was compelled by us to do it, He did it for us, but not because we deserved it or earned it.

His sacrifice was once rather than repeated, which has implications for our understanding of the Lord’s Supper and it has some implications for our understanding of the perseverance of the saints, but those are discussions for another day.

Jesus had already offered Himself and yet, there’s more.

It’s really found in the last verse, “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.”

If you’ve been around Christian circles for any amount of time, you know that one aspect of Christianity is awaiting the day for Jesus’ return—that’s what the author of Hebrews is referring to here.

Jesus will return, but not to deal with sin again, He’s already dealt with sin—in terms of offering Himself as a sacrifice to save those who are HIs.

His return in the future, is to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him—what exactly is He saving them from? What exactly is He saving His people from?

It’s actually back in v. 27, “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.”

That’s what the salvation mentioned in v. 28 is from—it’s a salvation for His people from judgment against sin—sin, that for HIs people, He already paid for in His substitutionary atonement on the cross for our sins.

Transition: Or, in other words, what makes Jesus better as a mediator for His people is the fact that He doesn’t just mediate—He is the sacrifice that was needed to fulfill what had been foreshadowed throughout the OT, He is the only perfect and right sacrifice for sins, and even though He died, He still lives; and so, He stands in a position in which He can directly intercede on before of His people eternally as the one who forgives the sins of His people through His sacrifice on the cross.

One of the beautiful truths of our relationship with Jesus—as people who have been united to Him through by faith through grace is that we don’t need someone or something to stand between us and Him—we don’t need another mediator, we just need Jesus.

Solus Christus, the Reformation, and Today

We’ve already talked a bit about what the typical view of Jesus’ mediatory work was during the Reformation—we even tied that to how certain denominations still act in a similar way even today.

We always have to be careful when it comes to blatant rejections of Jesus’ mediatory work.

You don’t need to go to a third party to confess sins—go to Jesus.

You don’t need to petition dead saints for help—go to Jesus.

You just need to keep going to Jesus.

Of course, that starts with, but it really concerns every day life.

Our God is not the god of deism, which teaches that God creates all things like watchmaker created a watch, turned the dial, and let it go without any sort of intervention.

Jesus’ incarnation is evidence of this—if God was truly deistic, He wouldn’t have sent His Son to be a propitiation for our sins.

And yet, many of us today, live deistically—assuming that God doesn’t really interact with His creation while intellectually knowing that He does.

Jesus mediates even today—if you are His, He is interceding on your behalf.

That’s something to be thankful for.

It also ought to be rather convicting if you’re still turning to other people, dead saints, or third parties to be your mediator when Jesus has already said that He alone is your mediator.

What it reveals is that you don’t actually trust Jesus’ self-identification as your mediator and so, you’re looking elsewhere when you should be looking towards Him.

Transition: Now, in the remaining few minutes, let’s discuss our application, which is built on this fact—that if you are His, Jesus is your mediator; and there’s really three points that are built on that fact. Jesus is your mediator—so go to Him, trust Him, and rest in Him. Let’s discuss those three ideas:

Application

Jesus is your mediator—He is the only mediator, He is the only one who can come between you and the Father to reconcile you to the Father.

So, first off, Jesus is your mediator—you need to go to Him.

I mean this, first and foremost, from a salvation standpoint. The reality is that if Jesus isn’t your mediator, you aren’t saved.

Thus, there’s a very real reality that if you’ve never actually repented of your sins, called out to Jesus; if you’ve never believed, then you really need to start here.

Now, thankfully, salvation really is as simple as that—repent of your sins, call out to Jesus, and believe.

Through this act of initial repentance and the regeneration that precedes it, Jesus becomes your mediator.

I also mean from a Christian’s daily living perspective. The reality is that many Christians don’t regularly go to Jesus despite saying that they believe and despite saying that they think that Jesus is sufficient to meet all their needs. This type of neglect shows up in several different ways, but I think you’d recognize a handful of them:

It really shows up in a lack of effort or desire to participate in the ordinary means of grace:

The Word—not reading Scripture, not listening to Scripture, not going to where Scripture is accurately preached and taught, you’re neglecting the Word that Jesus has given to you—to equip you for every good work.

Participation in the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper—of course, baptism only happens once in your life, but if you’re not witnessing other baptisms and you’re not regularly participating in the Lord’s Supper, you’re really neglecting the regular reminders that God has given for you to grow.

And prayer—both corporate and individual. By neglecting prayer, you’re really neglecting one of the means through which Jesus conforms your thoughts to His own.

In addition, neglect of going to Jesus shows up in a lack of desire to be with the body of Christ, which exists to point you towards Jesus—any healthy church does just this.

If you find yourself neglecting the call to go into God’s presence and to dwell with Him—now is the time to repent and get back to Him.

Second, because Jesus is your mediator, Trust Him

I mentioned last week that the meaning of faith is really simply trust.

It’s trust that Jesus can do what He says He will do.

It’s trust that Jesus will do what He says He will do.

It’s trust that every promise given to God’s people will be fulfilled by Jesus in some way or another in His own time and in His own way.

In the case of this week’s passage, it’s that Jesus said He is your mediator, so you trust Him to mediate for you.

The reality is that many of us talk about how we trust Jesus to mediate on our behalf, but then we don’t actually live like we do. In fact, we turn to people, objects, and things that essentially act as functional mediators instead of just trusting in Jesus. For example:

Pastors, priests, spiritual leaders, leaders of movements—seeking their approval or counsel more than leaning on Jesus’ finished work.

Church tradition—assuming your standing with God is right just because you participate in church tradition.

Moral or religious performance—instead of trusting in Christ, you’re trusting in your own work, your own Bible reading, you’re own prayer life, etc.

And there are a lot of other false mediators that we can throw in here—therapeutic self-help, success or productivity, community affirmation, etc.

Friends, Jesus is your mediator—stop running to everything and everyone else, go to Him and trust Him.

Finally, Rest in Him, which ties into the previous point.

Stop seeking mediators elsewhere—just rest in His ability to mediate.

Of course, that brings up the question, “how does this actually work.” How do I actually rest?

Resting in Jesus’ ability to mediate on us includes four ideas:

Stopping yourself from relying on yourself

Having confidence in Jesus’ work

Finding the peace and security that comes from Him alone

And daily depending on Him

All of which are ideas that we’ve already talked through even in today’s sermon, but especially over the past few weeks in this series.

Friends, because Jesus alone mediates, we need no other priest, no other saint, and no other sacrifice—we need just Jesus, who is our eternal High Priest—go to Him, trust Him, and rest in Him.

Pastoral Prayer