sf949 - The Necessity Of The Cross (Hebrews 9 15-28)
Hebrews 9:15-28
Introduction
The questions
Was it necessary for Jesus to die?
If so, was his death on the cross necessary?
The context
And for this reason refers back to what has just been said—namely that Christ, because of His sacrificial death had become the mediator of a new and better covenant. By God’s standard of righteousness and justice, the soul that sins must die (Ezek. 18:4). The only way a person could come to God was to have the penalty of his sin paid. This payment Jesus has provided for everyone who trusts in Him. In so doing He became the bridge, the mediator—the only mediator—between God and men.
Hebrews gives us three reasons it was necessary for the Messiah to die.
Ø A testament demands death
Ø Forgiveness demands blood
Ø Judgment demands a substitute
1A. A Testament Demands Death (9:16-17)
Covenant, or testament, is from the Greek diatheke the basic meaning of which corresponds closely to that of our present-day will.
God gave a legacy, an eternal inheritance, to Israel in the form of a covenant, a will. As with any will, it was only a type of promissory note until the provider of the will died.
At this point, no mention is made of who the testator is or of how Christ fills that role in life and death.
2A. Forgiveness Demands Blood (9:18-26)
1B. What the blood symbolized (9:18-22)
Blood is a symbol of death
Ø Follows the idea of the testator having to die in order for the will to become effective.
Ø Seen in the Old Testament with Moses. (Exodus 24:6-8)
Ø Jesus ratified the New Covenant at the Last Supper.
Matthew 26:28 "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
Ø It was not Jesus’ physical blood that saves us, but His dying on our behalf, which is symbolized by the shedding of His physical blood.
Ø Since the penalty for sin is death, nothing but death, symbolized by shedding of blood, can atone for sin.
The blood reminds us of the cost of our forgiveness
Ø God does not forgive sin by looking down and saying, “It’s all right. Since I love you so much, I’ll overlook your sin.”
Ø God’s righteousness and holiness will not allow Him to overlook sin.
Ø Sin demands payment by death. And the only death great enough to pay for all of mankind’s sins is the death of His Son.
Ø God’s great love for us will not lead Him to overlook our sin, but it has led Him to provide the payment for our sin, as John 3:16 so beautifully reminds us.
2B. What the blood of Christ accomplished (9:23-26)
It satisfied God’s just demands
Ø All the blood of the Old Covenant was just a copy, a faint picture, of the shed blood of Jesus.
Ø Jesus satisfied God completely! (1 Peter 1:17-19)
Ø God is not satisfied with us.
The idea that God accepts us as we are is utterly unbiblical.
We come to Jesus just as we are, since there is nothing worthwhile we can bring.
When Jesus presents us to His Father, He presents us in Himself, as He is.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
It completely fulfilled God’s just demands. (9:24-26)
Ø Because Christ entered the real Holy of Holies in God’s presence in heaven.
Ø Because Christ offering was offered once for all time.
Ø The Catholic Doctrine of perpetual offering is heresy!
It maintains that, inasmuch as the priesthood of Christ is perpetual and sacrifice is an essential part of priesthood, therefore the sacrificial offering of Christ must also be perpetual.
In other words, God’s satisfaction regarding sin depends upon the weekly mass. That is why attending mass is so important to Catholics.
Ø In the Lord’s Supper, we remember Christ’s sacrificial death, but He is not resacrificed. The Lord commanded His disciples to remember His death, not to try to redo it.
3A. Judgment Demands a Substitute (9:27-28)
1B. Death and judgment are certain for all men (9:27)
2B. The second coming of Christ will confirm God’s acceptance of His sacrifice. (9:28)
The people always waited expectantly on the Day of Atonement for the high priest to come out from the Holy of Holies. When the high priest walked out of the old sanctuary, the people knew that his sacrifice had been accepted. He had done everything right.
Jesus Christ’s reappearing will be one more confirmation that He did everything right, that His Father is satisfied with Him.
Application
At the end of that eventful Passover week when Jesus was finishing His ministry, the Romans had prepared three crosses for three criminals.
On two of the crosses, thieves were to hang. The third cross was for an insurrectionist named Barabbas, who had been found guilty of treason against the empire.
But Barabbas never made it to the cross. He was guilty and condemned, but he was not executed—because someone took his place.
On the middle cross that day hung not a violent, profane rebel, but the sinless Son of God.
Barabbas went free not because he was innocent, but because Jesus took his place.
In the same way I am free today. Not because I am innocent, but because Jesus took my place!