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Scripture Introduction:

I’ve got here a bar of soap and a Christmas gift. While, I’m sure they have more than one thing in common there is something pretty big that they have in common. We’ll find our answer to that question in . Now, I’d planned on moving out of Hebrews for a couple weeks but as I just couldn’t get around this particular passage and how it really is a great place to talk about the beauty of advent. It’s a great Christmas passage.

I want to show you a 2 minute video. It’s a bit dry but I’m sharing it with you to give you a visual picture for when we do read the Scripture. SHOW VIDEO

Now that’ll help you picture what the author of Hebrews is saying.

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Sermon Introduction:

So what in the world does all this talk about blood and bulls and temples and tabernacles have to do with celebrating the birth of Christ? What does this have to do with Christmas? Why in the world did I pick this text for the Sunday before Christmas? It has to do with that bar of soap and the Christmas gift.

Now if I had a child come up here for this Christmas gift what would they want to do? They would immediately start ripping it open, wouldn’t they? Why? Because they realize that a wrapped Christmas gift doesn’t really do much good unless you tear into that thing. Unless it’s opened it isn’t yours. It just sits under the Christmas tree and creates longing and mystery.

So how is that similar to a bar of soap? Well, it too doesn’t do you much good unless you open it up. It’s not going to do the job with the wrapper on. It might smell good…and maybe you could get a bit of transfer odor if you kept it in your pocket or something…but it’s not going to get any filth off while it’s still in the package.

And that’s precisely what the author of Hebrews is showing us in this passage. He’s saying that the entire Old Covenant was like that neatly packaged soap or that unopened Christmas present. Access was limited. Cleansing was partial. You can see that picture in the very structure of the temple. Everything cried out that they didn’t have full access and their consciences confirmed that their cleansing was only partial. But the main point the author is making is that in Christ the fountain is opened. Christmas means full access. Christmas means full cleansing. So this morning we will explore those two things.

Only Christ gives full access, so draw near through Him

I want you to imagine with me the last time you did something that you felt bad about. You know when you felt your conscience kick in and that conviction sets in and you feel bad and think, “I really shouldn’t have done that.” Or maybe those feelings are pretty intense and you’re dealing with some serious guilt and shame and all kinds of stuff. Maybe even crippling. Here’s what I want you to do with that. Think back to that time and ask yourself the question…what did I do with that?

If you were a Jewish person living in the Old Covenant…and I’m oversimplifying this a little...what you’d do is go to the tabernacle and give your offering to a priest. Then the priest would go into this Holy Place and he’d do his daily rituals. He’d light the candles, partake of the bread, give sacrifices, all those things he was called to do in the Old Testament. And once a year he would actually go behind this curtain into the Most Holy Place—the holy of holies where the ark of the covenant was—where the presence of God was. And here he’d make an offering both for himself and for the people, spread blood over the horns of the altar, and this would be an act of faith that would cover their sin.

But place yourself there for a moment. If you’re a common person—not a priest. What do you notice? You don’t see any of this. You take your goat or your grain or whatever you are offering you hand it to the priest he goes into a room, comes out and says, “it’s all good.” Again, I’m oversimplifying massively here. But I want us to notice something that is sticking out like a sore thumb. It’s these curtains. You made the sacrifice but the curtain stays there.

So lets make this relational. You said something really mean, or did something awful, to your friend or spouse. You feel terrible. Your conscience is activated—conviction sets in—you want to make things right. And so you go to this person and say, “man, I’ve really blown it. I did this thing and it hurt you and I’m really sorry, will you forgive me.” And that person says, “sure, I forgive you.” But you run into them at the store a couple days later and say, “hey, what’s up.” And they give you the cold shoulder. The relationship isn’t really reconciled. You don’t have the same friend access. So here is my question—what happens with your conscience at that moment. Do you feel clean? Do you feel like everything is okay?

Imagine that you’re the priest. You do all these religious rituals every day. And you know what remains. The curtain. You’ve got access that the people don’t have but you still don’t have the unfettered access. One day a year. One guy. That’s it. That’s what verse 8 means. Their access was real. It was better than anyone else. Better than any false religion who was just making stuff up. God graciously dwelled amongst them. His presence was there…and in some ways in a very real sense even outside that holy of holies. But it was only partial access. There is a mercy seat. And that in and of itself is a ton of grace. But it’s only a shadow pointing to something else.

And you know what remains. The curtain. You’ve got access that the people don’t have but you still don’t have the unfettered access. One day a year. One guy. That’s it. That’s what verse 8 means. Their access was real. It was better than anyone else. Better than any false religion who was just making stuff up. God graciously dwelled amongst them. His presence was there…and in some ways in a very real sense even outside that holy of holies. But it was only partial access.

It’s the Christmas present that is still wrapped up. You can guess. You can shake it. You can look at the contours of it and think, “it’s not a pony”. INTERACT WITH KIDS. But you don’t have complete access to the thing and so it’s going to leave you a little empty—or at best and this was the intention even—it’s going to create within you a longing.

The lampstand—the menorah—would symbolize God’s light. It would remind them of the Garden of Eden and the tree of Life. They had to keep the candle burning to symbolize that God is the source of light and life.

The table and the bread of the Presence. Twelve loaves. Only the priests were supposed to eat them. But it was to symbolize God’s presence and God’s provision.

But again…these are shadows to point to the reality. They are to create longing. Lord, let us open the presence. Open that fountain, Lord. Tear down that curtain. Rescue us. Redeem us. Give us that access again. That’s what it was meant to do. But you and I know what happens, don’t we.

We get tired of the longing and we turn to religiosity. We forget that the present can be opened and we build shrines to the present as it is and rather than it creating longing we start dancing with the shadow of the thing. And when somebody starts taking hand to paper and trying to unwrap it we scream out because the wrapping is just so blessedly beautiful. I’ve oft been convicted by these words of Dave Rohrer:

It’s amazing how this happens, but the vehicle that is meant to lead us into a transforming covenantal relationship with God can easily become the very thing that makes us deaf to the voice of God. It is easy for us as pastors to think our jobs are primarily about stewarding a religious institution, and it’s easy for members of our congregations to believe that church offers a list of spiritual commodities that are theirs by virtue of their status as members. The means to an end becomes an end in itself. Pastors spend their days polishing the religious vessels that adorn the temple and neglect the truth that these vessels are designed to point to something greater than themselves. Parishioners walk into church assuming they will receive the spiritual adrenaline shot they’ve come to expect. A quick survey of religious history makes plausible the argument that humanity seems to have a default programming that automatically rests to the place of resting in our religious process and pedigree rather than actively pursuing relationship with God.

Think about it. You’ve got this letter to the Hebrews written, what 30 years?, after the resurrection of Christ. And you’ve already got a group of people thinking that perhaps it’s better to go back to the old way of doing things. Religiosity dies hard. What happens when the presence of God is no longer the driving force behind what you do? Sadly, churches and institutions keep going. People keep going. We keep going through the motions and may not ever realize that the presence of God isn’t even there. And what it morphs into is a dead orthodoxy. What does that mean? It means that you’ve got a group of people who believe all the right things and say all the right things but the presence of God is gone…and lack of access doesn’t matter all that much anymore.

So this is one of those things that might be historical legend. I’ve found some conflicting historical records on this. But there is part of this story that is without question. In 63 BC the Roman general Pompey entered the Jerusalem temple and he actually entered the holy of Holies. That is on pretty good historical record. But what he saw and did in the most holy place is up for debate. Some say that he still had respect for religion and so didn’t touch anything and that all the holy vessels were in there. Josephus, a Jewish historian, mentioned the lampstand and bread and stuff but we know that this was all in the Holy Place not the Most Holy Place. But record has him actually entering the holy of holies. And this is the part that’s harder to verify. Some sources say that when he went in there he said, "It is empty; there is nothing in there but darkness!"

I’d be inclined to actually believe that theologically. That seems to be what was going on in the temple when Jesus was there. It had just become this outward religion and the inner heart of the thing was gone. I wouldn’t be surprised that the presence of God had left but the people just kept going. They had the culture still but not the heart of it. It’s a bit like what Flannery O’Connor calls the Christ Haunted South. It’s why you can hear “joy to the world” in the mall and all it’s precious lyrics and folks not even miss a beat. But you couldn’t play In Christ Alone in March.

I was absolutely blown away by a quote a few weeks ago that mentioned Christmas trees in the gas-houses of Nazi Germany. It just stuck with me. How in the world is that possible. Cultural Christianity, that’s how. Beliefs with the presence of God gutted. Comfortable with the beautiful wrapping paper of Christianity but not so desperate that you start ripping at the paper to get onto the inside.

But the good news of Christmas is that Christ has opened up the fountain. Christ has ripped that curtain. Listen to 11-12. He entered into not the earthly tabernacle but the heavenly one…the one that is the reality and not the shadow. And here he offered himself and his own blood for our sins. And thus he “secured an eternal redemption.” Want to know something interesting. That particular word for redemption is only found two other places in the NT. The Christmas story. When it said that this child was the hope for the redemption of Israel. He’s the promised one. The one who will open the fountain.

Christ-haunted south. We have cultural Bing Crosby joy to the world.

Only Christ gives full access, so draw near through Him

The promise of that there would be a fountain opened and there would be peace made. That is Jesus Christ.

You have access. We don’t have to settle for dead religion and empty works. We need to look now at the bar of soap.

Here is the picture in the first five verses. You have all of these beautiful things in the tabernacle. Notice the word “regulations for worship”. That means that this is how God had designed it. They are being obedient to the Lord. This tabernacle construct isn’t something that you’ve made up.

Only Christ gives full cleansing, so draw near through Him

We’ve already hinted at this but I want you to notice again what it says in verse 9. Not only did they not have access but they also couldn’t get their conscience cleansed. And here is a principle I want you to take home. An awakened conscience cannot stay neutral. It’ll either be cleansed or calcified. If God speaks to you today and you experience conviction and that conscience is activated and if you don’t go to Christ for cleansing but try to fix it on your own it’s going to become calcified.

You might try self-atonement. Fixing stuff on your own. You might try to silence it—distracted by drugs or politics or video games. Or you might just sear it. Tell it to be quiet and just keep doing what you want to do. You can get your conscience to stop working. You can run away from conviction. And you can get all those bad feelings of guilt and conviction to mostly go away. Now you need to know that it’s a bit like trying to keep a beach ball under water. You can try to suppress the truth but that thing is going to keep popping up somewhere else. It’s like if you try to plug one hole with your finger and all the pressure builds up and starts pouring out of another one. It’s going to manifest itself in something else. Sin will eat up your bones. If sin is the problem repentance is the only cure. But you can get your conscience to be seared. It’ll wreck your life in a million other ways and ultimately rob you of your humanity. But it can be done.

But why do that when full cleansing can be had? Notice verse 14. Christ really and truly can cleanse. All that guilt and all that shame and all the conviction can be washed away.

I want to illustrate this by telling you a story from the gospel of Mark. It’s about a woman who has had an issue of bleeding for 12 years. It says that she emptied out her bank account on doctors and remedies but never got better she only got worse. I preached on that text quite awhile back at a different church and I found it interesting some of the things they’d do for remedies.

We will be in this morning. In just a moment I

Restricted access

Partial cleansing

Limited pardon

It procures our redemption

It purifies our conscience

It sanctifies our service

You know, the Talmud, which is an extensive Jewish commentary on the law and the prophets, lists eleven cures for this problem. One says that you’re to take gum—not chewing gum now, but resin and a crocus—and bruise them together and put it in some wine and give it to the woman. And if that doesn’t work, take some onions and boil them in wine and give it to the woman and say, “Arise from thy flux.” And if that doesn’t work, you’re to go to a place where two ways meet and with a cup of wine in your right hand let someone come behind her when she doesn’t know and frighten or scare her to death and say, “Arise from thy flux.” Maybe she had tried all of those quacky things.

“But I wonder if most people who look good all the time are really out of touch with themselves, unaware of how they impact others, and covering up deep pain with the pleasures of activity and achievements. Perhaps much of what passes for spiritual maturity is maintained by a rigid denial of all that is happening beneath the surface of their lives. Maybe in this life it’s impossible to be as together as some people look.

You know, the Talmud, which is an extensive Jewish commentary on the law and the prophets, lists eleven cures for this problem. One says that you’re to take gum—not chewing gum now, but resin and a crocus—and bruise them together and put it in some wine and give it to the woman. And if that doesn’t work, take some onions and boil them in wine and give it to the woman and say, “Arise from thy flux.” And if that doesn’t work, you’re to go to a place where two ways meet and with a cup of wine in your right hand let someone come behind her when she doesn’t know and frighten or scare her to death and say, “Arise from thy flux.” Maybe she had tried all of those quacky things.

Another remedy was that you had to carry the ashes of an ostrich egg in a linen bag in the summer and transfer them to a cotton bag in the winter…

Another remedy even called for the woman to carry an ear of corn taken from the dung of a white donkey. It is hard for us to imagine the kinds of indignities those doctors put her through.

She kept trying anything. And maybe for her Jesus was just another thing that she’d try. But she did. She reached out and grabbed hold of Jesus, the only Person—that could actually give her healing. That which potions, doctors, magical chants, and ostrich eggs could not fix Jesus was powerful enough to heal by her touching his robe.

And that’s what I believe the author of Hebrews wants his audience and the Holy Spirit wants us to understand. The lesson of the bleeding woman is the lesson for us from Hebrews. Only Jesus can cleanse. But we are often like that woman. We’d often rather follow around a donkey and wait for barley corn because at least we can say that we’re dedicated and discovering our own cure. At least this way we can say we are independent and not relying on something or someone else.

But what we do know is that she grabbed hold of the only thing—the only Person—that could actually give her healing. That which potions, doctors, magical chants, and ostrich eggs could not fix Jesus was powerful enough to heal by her touching his robe.

The problem with the old covenant was that it didn’t inwardly purify. It didn’t touch the heart. It didn’t address the real issues. It was an unopened bar of soap. The fountain wasn’t opened up yet. That was to await a later day. Listen to verses 13-14. Then how much more!

Now lest we misunderstand. This isn’t a message saying, “you need to go out there and open up that gift that God has given you. You need to do something to open up the way!” No, it’s already been opened by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. That’s the point the author of Hebrews is making. He has opened the present. He has opened the cleansing fountain.

Yes, you need to get under that fountain. Just because the shower is turned on it doesn’t mean you’re clean. You need to get under the fountain.

And so part of the application here is to say, “I don’t need to go anywhere else for my conscience to be cleansed. I don’t need to try to get access to God or please God by some other means. It’s only through the finished work of Christ.”

But one last thing for us to see form this passage. Notice how it says, “free from dead works to serve the living God.” The power that you have for serving Christ comes from this. We don’t do stuff to make God happy with us. God is happy with us, through Christ and so we live and serve in response to this.

Let us preach the gospel to ourselves and remember this. When you open presents this Christmas remember that. Remember that the way has been opened for you in Christ and rejoice in that.

opening the present

Jesus really does cleanse conscience

continually preach gospel to ourselves

present has been opened.

Today I want to be humble enough to take my burdens to Jesus. I want to start, progress, and end with trusting Jesus to make me “Arise from thy flux”. (Though I’m not certain if dudes can have a “flux” or not). I want to find all of my feeble solutions to healing and discard them on the way to following Jesus. Only Jesus. Only Jesus.

But there is something else I want us to catch here.