The Better Sacrifice

Big Idea

Tension: Why is the sacrifice the OT priests offered inferior to that of Christ?

Resolution: Because Christ’s sacrifice is once for all, effective, of his own body, leads to his ascension, perfects those who are being sanctified, and provides true forgiveness.

Exegetical Idea: The sacrifice of the OT priests is inferior to that of Christ because Christ’s sacrifice is once for all, actually removes sin, it sacrifices his own body, perfects those who are being sanctified, and provides true forgiveness.

Theological Idea: The single sacrifice of Christ’s body is uniquely sufficient for all the needs of sinners.

Homiletical Idea: The single sacrifice of the body of Christ is the only hope I have for salvation.

Outline

Introduction: Is there a Sacrifice big enough?

For the stubborn hearted person

For the person overwhelmed with guilt

For the Christian who has stumbled again and again

The Insufficiency of the Old Sacrifices

They are just a shadow (vs. 1)

The law is just a shadow of the good things to come

Just like the temple, priesthood, and purification rites

It is not itself the essence

Therefore, if the law is just a shadow, so are the sacrifices it mandates

They will never ever be able to "perfect” the person who draws near to God

They don’t relieve the conscience, they burden it (vs. 2)

If they actually helped, then the sacrifices would cease

They would cleanse the conscience of the person

But as it is, these sacrifices only remind sinners of their sin (vs. 3)

They happen continually

They are offered every year (10:1)

Every year (10:3)

Every priest stands daily at his service (10:11)

They don’t actually remove sins

“It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin” (vs. 4

these same sacrifices “can never take away sins” (11)

If someone is forgiven of their sins, they don’t need a sacrifice (v 18)

God doesn’t desire it

vs. 5-6 “you have not desired/taken pleasure in”

Why not? Why doesn’t God desire these sacrifices?

Because these sacrifices cannot themselves obey “to do your will”. A lamb cannot obey the will of the Father. That’s what God really wants in vs. 7, he wants someone to do his will. Vs. 8-9

And notice here how the author is quoting the Old Testament itself, the OT is saying, “look, these sacrifices don’t actually please God.” God doesn’t want them.

Here is his idea, in and of itself, the sacrifice of the old covenant gives no hope to the person who draws near to God.

Transition: So why then would God institute the sacrifices, if they were only going to be cut off? Because just as a shadow points to a reality, just as a figment points to the substance, just as the temple points to the throne room, just as the first Adam points to the Second, so the Old sacrifices which are many, which are offered again and again, point to the single, all-sufficient sacrifice of Christ.

The All Sufficiency of the Single Sacrifice of Christ

Christ provides his obedience

Look in vs. 7, it says, “behold I have come to do your will” this Psalm predicts a Messiah who would come who is perfectly obedient, as we see in vs. 9

And we, of course, have already seen this perfect sinlessness of Christ in vs. 4:15 and 5:8

His obedience leads to the cursing of his body

Now, we have a problem. If you go back and read Psalm 40:6-8, you will see that it does not say “a body you have prepared for me” but something like “ears you have dug out for me.” What in the world is he talking about? Well, some people think that author made a mistake in his reading of the OT. I don’t find that convincing, because all of his reading of the OT is very careful. It seems unlikely he would make a mistake at such a pivotal point. So, some people think that “body” is essentially a good paraphrase of the idea of “ears dug out”. So really, he’s talking about the same thing. And while I respect that view, I also don’t find that convincing totally, because later in vs. 10, he draws attention to Christ’s body as the sacrifice for sins. So why does he have this sentence here?

Well, the word “prepared” in the Greek is katartizo, which is really similar to the word katarteomai, which means “curse”. And there is only one place in the Old Testament where you see the words “curse” and “body” together. That is in Deut 21:22-23, which says… I do not think it is a coincidence then, that the author uses “body” with a word that sounds a lot like “curse”

He is saying that these two must be understood together. In other words, that Christ’s obedience meant that he would give himself up to be cursed on our behalf. This is exactly what he means in vs. 10.... And of course we have already seen this in a number of different passages in Hebrews...

2:9

2:14-17

7:27

9:11-12

9:13-14

9:25-28

And as we see in Galatians 3:13-14

2 Corinthians 5:21

Christ cuts off the first covenant to establish the second

This is why he says in vs. 9, that he does away with the first so he can establish the second. He has cut it off by being cut off. He has established a new covenant by the sacrifice of himself.

Christ has finished it, once for all (10:10, 12)

This covenant never needs to be remade. It is once for all. This is what he has continually been saying that his sacrifice is once for all (Heb 7:27, 9:12, 26)

It is finished

All my sins past present and future

My sins, oh the bliss of htis glorious thought! My sins not in part but in whole! Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, praise hte Lord, praise the Lord, oh my soul!

He has “sat down” waiting until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet

Therefore, he has “sat down” implying that his priestly work is all sufficient, and finished (7:25)

And one day, his enemies will be put down as a footstool for him

He has given us a perfect position in him, though we continue to grow in our sanctification

Does this mean that I don’t need to work on holiness?

No, the author recognizes that we are going to have a continual life of progressive sanctification. We will never reach perfection this side of heaven. (vs. 14)

But what it does mean, si that we progress in our holiness, we have an actual position of righteousness. We are not yet what we will be, but in Christ, we are already. We still struggle and wrestle wtih sin now. But we have a sijngle, all suffficient sacrifices of sins.

Which means, that no matter how many times you stumble and falter and fall, no matter how discouraged you may be because you feel like such a failure as a Christian, look up and see him standing there who made an end to all your sin.

This is the superiority of the new covenant

Which is why he reminds us of hte new covenant. Because it is the only covenant we need, established by the single sacrifice for sins.

And its climax is true forgiveness of sins

he will remember their sins and their lawless deds no more.

And wehre there is forgiveness, we no longer need a sacrifice. Because we have a sacrifice purchased for us once for all, we can cling to the hope of the gospel and never ever let go.

Big Idea: The single sacrifice of Christ is the only hope I can have for salvation, both now, and later.

Application:

Don’t be his enemy. See here, it says in vs. 13, Jesus is ministering as a priest until the time that his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. Those who reject the salvation that God gives in his Son say, “I don’t want that priest” so they make him an enemy. So here’s the deal, if you come to church and you think, “I don’t really need that, all that blood and guts and stuff, I like the nice, law stuff about Christianity, give me some stuff to do that will help me feel better about myself than other people, I don’t need that savior,” then you don’t get him as a savior, you get him as an enemy. You can either have Jesus as King and Lord, as Priest and Propitiator, as Savior and Salvation, as Sacrifice and atonement, or you can have him as enemy and adversary, as hostile and hated, as foe and antagonist. You can either bend your knee or shake your fist. But you can’t do the middle. You can’t say, “I like Jesus, but I don’t really want him to be everything.” He is everything or he is nothing. He’s either friend or foe. Stop fence sitting, stop lallygagalling in the middle, and pick a side. Friend or foe?

He is enough for you. If he’s your salvation, then there is no sin which is too big, no shame too hidden, no guilt too great, that his sacrifice cannot atone. You see, I think the reason that we often are so afraid of our sins, that we hide them in the back of our minds, that we cover ourselves with fig leaves, is because we think that this, this is really the thing that Jesus will say, “Get out of my house.” If I really show God my sin, then he won’t love me. But listen, he already knows yoru sin. IN fact, if you see your sin, it’s not because you show it to God, but because he shows it to you. He knows your sin, and that’s why he sent his Son.

Salvation is now, but not yet. Listen, those who are in Christ, according to vs. 14, are perfected “for all time.” They are perfected once for all. Past present future sins are washed away by the blood of christ. We have been atoned for, saved, justified, reconciled, redeemed, only by the precious blood of Christ. Yet, here is the deal, if you are in Christ, once for all justified, reconciled to God, you will seek to follow him. Those who are “reconciled once for all” will repent of their sins and follow Jesus. in other words, you cannot have Jesus as savior and not have him as Lord. WHich means, if you’re not growing, if you’r enot seeking Christ, if you’re not repenting of sins, then you don’t have an atonement. You don’t have a sacrifice.

Christ’s sacrifice covers the failures in our Christian walk. I think most of us know that we live in a Romans 7 world. We feel this, “I do what I don’t want to do and what I do I want to do.” You feel torn. You blow up and you don’t know why. Your mouth looses its profanity. Your mind thinks things you think, “I shouldn’t think this way any more.” I”m a Christian, how can I do such things? Christian, you are “still being sanctified.” You’re being made holy. You’re still growing. Of course you fall down. You fall down and scrape your knees. But here’s the good news, you have been made perfect, “for all time.” The sacrifice of Christ is enough for you.