The Supreme Sacrifice.

Text: “And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb. 10:10 NIV).

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 9:23–10:18

 Introduction

Hymn writer Robert Lowry asked a probing question and gave an assured answer when he wrote: What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus; What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.*

With these words we celebrate the fact that Jesus made the supreme sacrifice for sin.

The author of Hebrews acknowledges that Jesus has made the only true sacrifice for sin. It is the supreme sacrifice. No other offering for sin can begin to compare with Jesus’ offering of his life for the sins of the world.

The world searches for cleansing. People observe all kinds of religious rituals to be clean and obey all kinds of religious rules in an effort to be right with God. They give time, money, and other items searching for that which will make them right with God. No sacrifice other than Jesus’ atoning work can cleanse from sin and create a right standing with God.

As we open God's Word today, may our hearts be drawn once again to the Savior who is greater than every shadow, every symbol, and every system, and may we leave with a deeper confidence that Jesus Christ alone is worthy of our faith, our worship, and our lives.

 Let’s look at  Jesus’ supreme sacrifice for sin.

Point I. Jesus’ sacrifice is unrepeatable.

A. The Old Testament priests had to repeat sacrifices continually.

a. Year after year the priests made sacrifices for the people.

b. And once a year on the Day of Atonement the high priest had to offer sacrifice.

c. The very fact that the sacrifices had to be repeated furnished proof that they were not ultimate sacrifices.

d. There was a kind of priestly treadmill of sacrifice: there was no end.

B. Jesus made a sacrifice that never has to be repeated.

 “But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God” (Heb. 10:12 NIV).

a. There is no need for any other sacrifice.

b. The life and death of Jesus was one act of perfect obedience, and therefore it was the only perfect sacrifice.

c. Perfection cannot be improved.

d. Therefore, the sacrifice of Jesus cannot and need not ever be made again.

Point II. Jesus’ sacrifice is incomparable.

A. The Old Testament sacrifices reminded the people of their sins.

“Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins” (Heb. 10:11 NIV)

a. Hebrews 10:11 shows that the Old Testament could only remind people of their sins.

b. Each sacrifice the priest made was a reminder that both the priests and the people were sinners.

“But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins” (v. 3 NIV).

c. No Old Testament writer ever affirmed that the sacrifices were perfect purifications from sin.

d. They realized that the sacrifices looked toward a greater reality, the purification accomplished through Jesus Christ.

e. When Jesus came, he made the better sacrifice.

“It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb. 10:4 NIV).

B. Jesus’ sacrifice removes sins from people.

“Because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Heb. 10:14 NIV).

a. The Old Testament sacrifices cannot begin to compare with the sacrifice of Jesus.

b. He made the supreme sacrifice whereby a person may find removal of sin’s guilt, sin’s power, and ultimately sin’s presence.

c. Nothing compares to Jesus’ sacrifice.

Point III. Jesus’ sacrifice is costly.

A. The Old Testament sacrifices cost the lives of animals.

a. Countless numbers of lambs were slain in the Old Testament sacrificial system.

b. Every day in the temple a year-old male lamb had to be sacrificed as a burnt offering.

c. Along with the burnt offering there was a meat offering and a drink offering.

d. Sacrifices became a costly operation to the temple.

B. Jesus’ sacrifice was the ultimate cost.

“Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Heb. 9:26 NIV).

a. Think of all the sacrifices Jesus made to help people.

b. He had to leave heaven where he was worshiped to come to earth where he was despised.

c. He made the supreme sacrifice when he gave his life on the cross.

d. No other sacrifice has been as costly.

Point IV. Jesus’ sacrifice is successful.

A. The Old Testament sacrifice intended to make people holy.

a. God wanted his people to be holy.

b. The temple and its sacrificial system was a means of teaching and exhorting people to greater holiness.

i. But the blood of lambs could not change people.

c. Jesus came to give the sacrifice that could change the lives of people and make them holy.

B. Jesus’ sacrifice has the power to make people holy.

“Because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (Heb. 10:14 NIV).

a. The phrase “made holy” could refer to the process working in the lives of believers.

b. God is at work in the lives of his people, making them different.

c. That is to say, the one who sacrificed his life also lives within believers, allowing them to live a Christlike life.

Conclusion

As we have journeyed through the book of Hebrews, one great truth has been ringing out from every chapter: Jesus is better!

1. The writer has shown us that Jesus is better than the Old Testament sanctuary because He has opened the way into the very presence of God.

a. He is better than the old priesthood because He is our perfect, sinless, and eternal High Priest who forever lives to intercede for us.

b. He is better than the old covenant because, through His grace, God has written His law upon our hearts and brought us into a personal relationship with Himself.

c. And He is better than the old sacrifices because His blood, shed on Calvary, paid for our sins once and for all.

d. Everything in the Old Testament pointed to Jesus, and everything God promised is fulfilled in Him.

 Maybe you are asking, “What can wash away my sins? What can make me whole again?” People ask those questions because sin is a great burden. Listen to the testimony of people who have found the answer to those questions: “Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” Join the celebration: Oh! precious is the flow That makes me white as snow; No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

NOTES * Quoted in Adam Clarke, Memoirs of the Wesley Family (London: J & T Clarke, 1823),355. * Robert Lowry, “Nothing But the Blood of Jesus,” 1876.

Crabtree, T. T.. The Zondervan 2026 Pastor's Annual: An Idea and Resource Book (p. 161). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.