The Sufficient Sacrifice Hebrews 9:11-28

-Jesus is the only way for us to be restored to God’s presence

A story is told of a man who loved old books. He met an acquaintance who had just thrown away a Bible that had been stored in the attic of his ancestral home for generations. "I couldn't read it," the friend explained. "Somebody named Guten-something had printed it." "Not Gutenberg!" the book lover exclaimed in horror. "That Bible was one of the first books ever printed. Why, a copy just sold for over two million dollars!" His friend was unimpressed. "Mine wouldn't have brought a dollar. Some fellow named Martin Luther had scribbled all over it in German." 

I. Jesus is Our Sacrifice vv. 11-14

In our passage tonight, we are continuing to look at reasons why we ought to trust Jesus: He is the only way for us to have a restored relationship with God

First, we see that He is both our priest and our sacrifice

A priest is someone who stands between God and man

Jesus is a high priest, but of a different order than the Levitical priests

He is a high priest of the “good things to come” of a new covenant

He did not enter an earthly tabernacle, but in a heavenly sense, He entered the presence of God for us

He is also a sacrifice:

We saw in the previous passage that the only way for a priest to enter God’s presence was through a sacrifice

Every priest is a sinner, making an offering for sins, both his own and the people’s

Jesus, however, is no sinner at all. However, He makes the sacrifice before God for us

Here is where this becomes increasingly important:

The blood of Jesus does a greater work!

The blood of animal sacrifices made a purification for the flesh, to allow participation in the worship at the earthly tabernacle

Now, the blood of Jesus does not only purify the flesh, but it purifies the conscience so that we can serve God completely

Specifically, He cleanses us from “dead works”

We are no longer justified according to what we can do, nor are we scrambling to do enough to please God

The work is done completely, in Christ

You need to trust Jesus, because the work that He did for you, only He could do!

The United States recorded its one millionth organ transplant in September of 2022, a historic milestone for the medical procedure that has saved thousands of lives. It's unclear which organ was the record one millionth and details about the patient are unknown at this time.

The very first successful organ transplant occurred in 1954 at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. That was when doctors transplanted a kidney from 23-year-old Ronald Herrick into his identical twin brother, Richard, who was suffering from chronic kidney failure. The lead surgeon, Dr. Joseph Murray, received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his role in the procedure.

Some years back, I had a young lady who was a member of my church who received a heart transplant. The only way that a person can receive a heart transplant is for someone else to die. That’s what we have received from Christ!

II. Jesus is the Sacrifice for Our Sin vv. 15-22

Next, the author goes on to discuss the need for a sacrifice

He compares it to a will:

You cannot redeem an inheritance until a death occurs

In the same way, you cannot receive the righteousness of the sacrifice unless it gives its life!

This is a pattern that we see throughout the Old Testament, over and over again

Something has to die so that someone’s sins can be forgiven

The entire Old covenant was sealed with a blood sacrifice to demonstrate the sanctity of the thing

v. 20 is a very powerful picture for those of us who know the rest of the story

The old testament covenant was sealed with blood, as Moses took the blood of a sacrifice and sprinkled it on to the people gathered there

Now, as we see in the words of Christ that the new covenant is sealed by His blood, poured out on us:

Matthew 26:27–28

[27] And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, [28] for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (ESV)

5. This is the only way!

There is no other way for sin to be forgiven; purification in a spiritual sense comes through blood

Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins!

In a sermon delivered by the late, great Haddon Robinson, he spoke about the stain of sin and its remedy. While the exact text is not currently available, the following is inspired by various accounts of Robinson’s sermon entitled The Stain of Sin::

Consumer Reports magazine once published a booklet with an intriguing title: How to Clean Practically Anything. The book offered advice on which solvents work best for removing all kinds of stains. Since my clothes often get stained, I really appreciated that book.

Did you know that glycerin can remove ballpoint ink stains? Boiling water can take out berry stains. Parents with young children should keep a gallon of vinegar handy for crayon marks. Bleach works well on mildew. Lemon juice is effective for rust.

I haven’t tried all of these remedies myself, but I figure the experts tested them first.

What you won’t find in that book, however, is how to deal with the worst stains of all—the stains in your life caused by sin. These are the deep, ugly marks left by hostile words and shameful actions. Tears cannot wash them away. Determination cannot erase them. Sometimes we convince ourselves that as life goes on, our sins will simply fade away. Yet unexpectedly, those stains seep back into our lives.

III. Jesus Offers a Sufficient Sacrifice vv. 23-28

Finally, we see that Jesus’s sacrifice for sin is a sufficient sacrifice

The earthly tabernacle could be purified with earthly blood

The heavenly tabernacle must be purified by something heavenly

Jesus has entered into the heavenly Holy Place

Jesus has gone on our behalf into God’s presence

He has presented His blood as the sacrifice for our sins

However, there is one very important distinction:

His sacrifice was sufficient

One sacrifice was good enough for all time

The sacrifice of Jesus was one final offering for the sins of man

It does not have to take place repeatedly

He will never have to die again.

What does Jesus do from here?

This is self-evident: Just as much as it is true that death comes, then judgment.

Jesus will appear again

He will not appear again to deal with sin

He will come again to save His people

He will come again and we will find our ultimate rescue then

This past Friday afternoon, a bizarre accident occurred in Louisville, Kentucky, that seemed straight out of an action movie. A three-vehicle crash unfolded on the Second Street Bridge, which spans the Ohio River from Louisville to New Albany, Indiana. The chaotic collision resulted in a semi-truck wildly careening over the three-foot guardrail, seemingly destined to plunge into the icy water seventy feet below.

Yet miraculously, the truck’s trailer became wedged between two beams of the bridge, bringing the vehicle to a grinding halt at the last second. Somehow the cab remained attached and dangled precariously over the Ohio River, with the driver trapped inside. The thirteen-year veteran driver, a woman, was not seriously injured and was held fast by her seatbelt while staring directly into the murky Ohio River.

She was powerless to save herself. Any attempt to climb to safety might have sent the cab plummeting into the river. She was absolutely helpless on her own. All she could do was hold on and hope for a rescuer.

Louisville firefighters rushed to the scene and arrived within minutes. Although they had never faced this exact challenge, they had trained for such scenarios and took swift action. Bryce Carden, a six-year firefighter, rappelled down by a cable to the helpless woman inside the cab, finding her “super calm and collected.” Methodically, he secured a harness around her waist and gently pulled her to safety. She had a terrifying brush with death and endured 45 minutes of absolute terror, yet survived.

1 Thessalonians 4:15–18

[15] For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. [16] For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. [17] Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. [18] Therefore encourage one another with these words. (ESV)