The Perfect Sacrifice

Hebrews: The Supremacy of Christ  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented
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Hebrews 10:1-10

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. Otherwise, wouldn’t they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, purified once and for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Therefore, as he was coming into the world, he said:

This is the Word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God.
It has been a couple of weeks since we have been in Hebrews. So, I want to take a second to review the main theme that we have seen throughout our study of Hebrews. The title of our sermons series through Hebrews is titled The Supremacy of Christ. Throughout this entire book, the author makes the case that Jesus is superior to so many different people and things. He is superior to the angels, to Moses, to Aaron, to Joshua, and Melchizedek. Jesus is superior to the high priests, the tabernacle, and the articles of worship.
This week we will see how Jesus is also superior to the Old Testament sacrifices. The offerings of the Mosaic Law were insufficient to cleanse consciences of sin. However, the sacrifice of Jesus was the all-sufficient, once for all time sacrifice that ended the need for any other sacrifices. Since no other sacrifices are needed, we can find assurance in Christ, that he has completed the work necessary for our salvation. This assurance gives us the freedom to serve the Lord whole-heartedly.
Big Idea: Jesus’ perfect sacrifice gives us confidence to live for him.
Hebrews 10:1-4

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. Otherwise, wouldn’t they have stopped being offered, since the worshipers, purified once and for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

The author of Hebrews moves away from Christ as the high priest to Christ as the perfect sacrifice. He restates that the law was only a shadow of the good things to come in Christ—not the reality. A person’s shadow is not the actual person.
(Image from Full of Eyes)
A shadow is only a representation of the actual person or object. It brings to mind the story of Peter Pan, where Peter has snuck into the nursery of the Darling household in order to find his shadow because it has gotten away from him. The shadow is not Peter. The story actually took it to the extreme in giving the shadow a different personality from Peter Pan himself.
In his letter to the Colossians, the Apostle Paul tells his readers that it is okay if they don't celebrate all of the Old Testament festivals or follow all of the Old Testament dietary restrictions. And in verse 2:17, he tells his readers why:
Colossians 2:17

These are a shadow of what was to come; the substance is Christ.

The shadows point to Christ, who is the substance. Shadows have no substance because they are only representations.
A few weeks back, I posted an invitation to our Easter Sunday morning service in the Carnation Community Facebook group. And in a multi-comment back and forth with someone who responded to the Post, this person said that the resurrection is not a holy day because scripture never calls it holy. And he is right. Scripture does not call the resurrection of Jesus a holy day. However, this commenter was using that fact to downplay the celebration of Easter, saying that God had instituted specific holy days and that we should still continue to celebrate those and focus on them instead. And by not celebrating those feasts and holy days (the various Jewish festivals), we are disobeying the law of God.
But this is exactly the opposite of what Paul is telling the Colossians. Because we now have the reality of Christ, his work, his death, his resurrection, and the blessings that come from him, we are no longer required to keep those festivals and dietary restrictions found in the Mosaic law. The author of Hebrews is telling us the same thing. Throughout this entire book, we have seen that different people, different festivals, and the various laws around sacrifices were not meant to be permanent. They were not the substance. They were not the reality.
This is why the law could not provide perfection for the worshippers through the sacrifices they offered every year.
In verse 2, we see a rhetorical question being asked referring to the law’s sacrifices. In essence: “If the law’s sacrifices could actually take away sins, why would the people continue to offer the sacrifices?” If they could take away sins, the hearts and consciences of the worshippers would be “purified.” The sacrifices of the Old Testament could only cover the sins previously committed. Once that sacrifice was done, the people had to start preparing for the next year's sacrifice. The sacrifices only covered the infractions the people committed against the law. They could not do anything about the root cause of sin.
Think of it like gardening. When you send your kids out into the garden to do some weeding, they probably have a tendency to only pull up the top half of the plant, leaving much of the roots still in the ground. We all know that those weeds are going to come back because the roots were never dealt with. If you don't want weeds to return, you need to pull every bit of the root out of the ground so there is nothing left of that plant to grow back.
If the sacrifices could have dealt with the root cause of sin, they would have no longer been necessary. But again, the law and the sacrifices were only a shadow and not the reality.
This inability to perfect the worshiper meant the Old Testament sacrifices were a reminder of the people’s sinfulness. The continual sacrifices showed the people that their sins were always with them. They needed a new covenant, one that would take away the root cause of sin, where God would no longer remember their sins. They needed the New Covenant in Christ that the author of Hebrews quoted in Chapter 8 out of the prophet Jeremiah:
Hebrews 8:12

For I will forgive their wrongdoing,

and I will never again remember their sins

In verse 4, the author concludes the argument about the old sacrifices being insufficient when he says that it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
The word “Impossible” means:
Impossible - something that cannot happen, be done, or be achieved.
There is a secondary definition, based on the context in which the word is used, that impossible can mean very difficult or not likely to happen. That definition applies to missions for Ethan Hunt, not to the word of God. When Scripture says that something is impossible, it means that it cannot happen, cannot be achieved. This is not the only time that the author of Hebrews has used the word impossible. In the book of Hebrews, the author uses the word impossible to describe four different things. One of them is in our passage today, where it talks about the blood of bulls and goats being unable to take away the sins of men.
Hebrews 6:4-6

For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, who shared in the Holy Spirit, who tasted God’s good word and the powers of the coming age, and who have fallen away. This is because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding him up to contempt.

Hebrews 6:18

...it is impossible for God to lie...

Hebrews 11:6

Now without faith it is impossible to please God, since the one who draws near to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

The context of all four of these passages means that the topic the author is speaking of is not possible. It is not possible for God to lie. We have talked about how God is righteous and just. God cannot be just and establish justice reliably if he has the ability to lie. If God cannot be trusted to tell the truth, he cannot be trusted at all. It is not possible to please God if you do not have faith in him, because only those who believe in his existence, desiring to follow after Him, will do what pleases him. The sacrifices of bulls and goats could not take away sin because they were never meant to. They were always a shadow of what Christ would do for us through his life, death, and Resurrection.
Because of the insufficiency of bulls’ and goats’ blood to remove sin, the old sacrifices were always meant to remind the people of their sins and thus of the need for a new and different sacrifice.
Douglas Mangum
Church, what regularly reminds you of your sins? Is it a guilty conscience you try to drown out with busyness, or a habit you joke about but never bring to God? The old sacrifices could not reach the root of sin—but are you content to keep trimming the weeds in your life while the roots go untouched? Bring those roots into the light of Christ’s once‑for‑all sacrifice today, even as we sit here. Do not wait.
Hebrews 10:5-7

Therefore, as he was coming into the world, he said:

The author now quotes from Psalm 40:6-8. This psalm is a prophetic look at what Christ would do through his sacrifice for us. It points to the sacrifices of the law that the people offered and how God did not delight in those offerings, sacrifices that were required in the law He gave the people.
I have had people respond to my sermons about the Old Testament sacrifices, saying that God hated the sacrifices of the Mosaic law. Yes, scripture does say in a few different places that God hated the sacrifices of Israel and Judah. But why did God hate those sacrifices?
Isaiah 1:2-5

Listen, heavens, and pay attention, earth,

for the LORD has spoken:

“I have raised children and brought them up,

but they have rebelled against me.

The ox knows its owner,

and the donkey its master’s feeding trough,

but Israel does not know;

my people do not understand.”

Oh sinful nation,

people weighed down with iniquity,

brood of evildoers,

depraved children!

They have abandoned the LORD;

they have despised the Holy One of Israel;

they have turned their backs on him.

After this, the Lord compares the people of Judah to Sodom and Gomorrah. Not a flattering comparison by any stretch. Then, let’s skip down to verse 11:
Isaiah 1:11-15

What are all your sacrifices to me?”

asks the LORD.

“I have had enough of burnt offerings and rams

and the fat of well-fed cattle;

I have no desire for the blood of bulls,

lambs, or male goats.

When you come to appear before me,

who requires this from you—

this trampling of my courts?

Stop bringing useless offerings.

Your incense is detestable to me.

New Moons and Sabbaths,

and the calling of solemn assemblies—

I cannot stand iniquity with a festival.

I hate your New Moons and prescribed festivals.

They have become a burden to me;

I am tired of putting up with them.

When you spread out your hands in prayer,

I will refuse to look at you;

even if you offer countless prayers,

I will not listen.

Your hands are covered with blood.

Again, the sacrifices that Judah brought to God were likely the ones prescribed by the Mosaic law. However, God equates Judah’s sacrifices with trampling his courts. He calls their sacrifices and offerings useless because they were only offered out of obligation. There was no affection toward God, no respect for his holiness and power. The people were living lives of complete disobedience to God. The Lord even says that their hands were covered with blood.
There is a difference between obeying the law so that you stay out of trouble, and obeying the law because you have a respect for the rules and governing authorities, wanting to honor them and not just stay out of trouble. The same is true of our relationship with God. Trying to obey the law and do the things God commanded, just to avoid hell, is simply trying to avoid punishment. That's moralism, not Christianity. That is trying to be justified by your own works, which, as we have seen throughout this study of Hebrews, cannot give us salvation.
There are some people who give to the church out of the same motivation. They do it because they don’t want to hear another sermon about tithing. Or, they give to the church thinking that God will give them something back for it.
2 Corinthians 9:7

Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver.

Some of you are faithfully in this room every Sunday. You sing, you give, you serve. But if the Lord were to speak to you this morning, would He say, “I cannot stand iniquity with church attendance”? Are you offering Him your calendar while keeping your heart? Ask the Spirit right now, “Lord, is there any way in which my worship is trampling your courts?”
But Jesus embodies the perfect submission we are called to emulate, illustrating how His sacrifice was not out of obligation, but out of willing love. Jesus obeyed the Father out of his love and affection for the Father. That is how we are to respond to God as well. This willing sacrifice invites us to respond with gratitude and commitment, deepening our understanding of obedience as a heartfelt, voluntary act rather than mere duty.
In the book of Mark, Jesus is being challenged by the religious leaders. And one of the scribes asked Jesus what the greatest command was. And Jesus responded by quoting Deuteronomy 6 where it says, “Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” And then he goes on quoting to Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. This is how the scribe responds to Jesus:
Mark 12:32-33

Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, teacher. You have correctly said that he is one, and there is no one else except him. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

Even the scribe in this text admits that love, devotion, and affection for God are more important than offering sacrifices. Being a person who was charged with accurately writing down and copying the scriptures, the scribe would have known the passages in Isaiah 1, Amos 5, and Malachi where God says that he detests the sacrifices of the people because they do not love him.
Isaiah chapter 1 went so far as to say oxen and donkeys follow their master better than Judah followed God. That should tell you something when the caricature of a donkey is one of the most stubborn animals alive.
The reason Israel and Judah did not follow the commands of God was that they did not love him.
John 14:15

If you love me, you will keep my commands.

If you love God, you will obey him. If you do not love God, you won’t want to obey him. And if you do not know God, it makes it hard to love him.
How do you know whether you love God or merely fear hell? One sign is this: When you think about prayer, Scripture, worship, does your heart say, ‘I must’ but never, ‘I get to’?
Another sign: you obey only where obedience keeps you respectable, but you refuse Him when obedience will cost you friends, comfort, or reputation. Church, that is not yet love; that is self‑preservation dressed in religious clothes.
If you want to know, God, you need to read the Bible. This is God‘s written word to us, his guidebook to understanding who he is, how he works, and how he loves us. There have been many times when I have given a next step in my sermon to read the Bible more. But it is hard to read the Bible more when we don’t have the desire, or the affection for God, that leads us to wanting to know him more.
Next Step: Ask God for a desire to know Him more.
This is an everyday need. I do not always want to pray this prayer. But if we are going to see this city, valley, county, state, or nation, we need the desire to know God more. The people of God need to be like the Psalmist who said, “As the deer pants (longs) for the waters of flowing streams, so my soul thirsts for you, O God.”
Can you say your soul is so thirsty for God that you pant like an animal that has been fleeing from a predator, dehydrated, exhausted, and desperately seeking for nourishment?
Some of us have no idea how thirsty for the Lord we actually are. We have all the signs of spiritual dehydration but can’t figure out the solution. Or we look for solutions in all the wrong places. I cannot tell you how many times my kids have come to my wife and I at the end of the day saying how tired they are, that they have a headache, they are being irritable to anyone who looks at them wrong.
We will ask them, “How much water have you drank today?” And we get these blank stares. “Where is your water?”
“It’s next to my bed.”
“So you haven’t been drinking any water today?”
“No.”
Some of you hear about thirsting for God and you think, ‘I don’t even feel thirsty.’ That itself is a sign of deep dehydration. When you can go days without prayer, weeks without Scripture, and feel almost nothing, it is not because you are healthy but because you are numb. Ask the Lord this week, not only, ‘Give me a desire to know You,’ but, ‘Wake me up. Show me how spiritually dry I really am, and then draw me to the fountain of living water in Christ.’
If we are to follow the example of Jesus, submitting to the will of the Father, we need to love the Father, which means we need to know Him, which means we need to desire to know him. Ask God to give you that affection for His Word.
That affection won’t just lead you to reading the Bible more, or wanting to know God more. It will lead you to evangelizing more. It will lead you to telling everyone you come in contact with about the grace and mercy you have received from God, and how they too can have the same peace and joy in life that you have found.
Hebrews 10:8-10

After he says above,

The author now explains his use of Psalm 40 in his argument. The character speaking in the psalm reflects CHrist and his submission to the Father’s will. It is according to this will that we have been sanctified.
Sanctification (Lexham Survey of Theology)
Sanctification is the ongoing supernatural work of God to rescue justified sinners from the disease of sin and to conform them to the image of his Son: holy, Christlike, and empowered to do good works.
One way to look at sanctification is the process of things like the fruit of the Spirit being worked into our hearts and minds. We are taught to love by God sending unlovable people into our lives, while telling us to love them. He leads us through difficult circumstances and tells us to have joy in Him, even through the suffering. He leads us through turmoil and chaos, telling us to have peace, trusting that he will guide us through the storm, working out all things for our good. It is the same with patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
This process of sanctification is made possible through the offering of Christ’s body —the body we see was prepared for Christ in Psalm 40 —That we can be made right with God.
In contrast to the repeated sacrifices of the law, Christ gave himself once for all time.
ONCE. For ALL TIME! That is why Jesus said on the cross, “It is finished!” It is done! It is that finality of Christ’s sacrifice that gives us assurance of his work in our hearts. Assurance is a confidence that Jesus is who he said he is, and that he will keep the promises he makes in Scripture.
We can have faith in the one who took our sins away, that he will work in our lives to transform us into his image, through the process of sanctification. We can know our standing before the Lord, whether we are in his kingdom or not. But this assurance, or confidence, does not lie in ourselves or our own works.
Assurance does not lie in what we are, be we great or small. It lies in what God has done in his plan of salvation to secure us to himself.
Sinclair Buchanan Ferguson
With Jesus’ sacrifice, believers can rest in the full assurance of their salvation, knowing it is Jesus' finished work that sanctifies them. This point should instill confidence in their faith journey, reminding them of God's eternal promise of redemption, which remains effective and complete through Christ's obedient work on the cross.
Faith rests on the naked Word of God; that Word believed gives full assurance.
H. A. Ironside
Faith in God, confidence in who he is, assurance of his work in our hearts and minds comes through reading his word and believing what it says.
Do you know why you can have confidence that when God has given you a new heart with his law written upon it, your status can never go from IN God’s kingdom to OUT OF God’s kingdom?
Romans 8:38-39

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of Godf that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If no created thing can separate us from the Love of God, that means my sin cannot separate me from Gods love. When God became the Lord of my life, I was sealed into his kingdom with a seal that cannot be broken by anything. I can know that I am in God’s kingdom, not because of my works (Paul in Phil 3:4-6), but because of the work of Christ and what Scripture says about that work.
… [I]f you want to have assurance of salvation, the place to start is not with your feelings, but with your understanding; then the feelings will follow. The way to get assurance is not to try to feel something, but it is to grasp this objective truth. Assurance, 274
David Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Welsh Preacher and Writer)
Our world bases so many of its conclusions about life on feelings. But feelings are not permanent. Feelings change! I don’t get to say one week, “I just don’t feel like preaching a theologically rich sermon today. I am just going to preach a fluff sermon that makes everyone feel good.” I am objectively charged by the Word of God to preach the WHOLE truth of Scripture, whether it makes everyone feel good or not!
We must base our lives, our thoughts, and our actions on truth. Christ’s death was the greatest sacrifice that could have ever been presented to God. Only his sacrifice could free us from slavery to sin and give us eternity with the Father.
If you are tired of striving to be “good enough,” understand that the staircase of good works you are trying to climb is made of sand. Taste the sweetness of joy and peace that can be found in the everlasting arms of God.
To those who we would call “unbelievers,” those who have not submitted their life to the Lord: If you are still hoping that your goodness, your charity, your parenting, your religious routine will finally make you feel clean, hear this: ‘It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins’—and it is just as impossible for your own works to do it. Today, abandon that staircase of sand. Confess to Christ, even now, ‘Lord, I have tried to save myself; save me by your once‑for‑all sacrifice.’
Turn from that collapsing staircase today. Admit to God, ‘I cannot climb my way to You.’ Trust instead in Jesus’ once‑for‑all sacrifice, offered in your place. Confess your sins to Him, ask Him to wash you clean, and stake your hope—not on your performance this week—but on His finished work on the cross and His empty tomb.
To believers: Does your conscience still accuse you? Do you replay old sins and think, ‘Surely this one is too much’? Your Savior does not climb back on the cross when you sin. He sat down, because it is finished. Your tears do not complete what His blood left unfinished; His one offering is enough. Preach that truth to your trembling heart when the accusations return.
To those who feel complacent in their faith: Perhaps you would check the ‘Christian’ box on every survey, but your heart is cold, your Bible is shut, and sin has crept back into the corners of your week. Brother, sister, this once‑for‑all sacrifice is not a license to drift—it is the very reason to return. Do not presume upon grace. Come back to the Christ who bought you, and ask Him to restore to you the joy of His salvation.
Let us pray.
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