Hebrews 9:11-17

As I’ve Said the Past Few Weeks…

We are in the Heart of the Book of Hebrews

Hebrews 8:1–2 (NASB95)

Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.

The Main Point/Argument of the Book of Hebrews is the High Priesthood of Jesus

Last Time We Studied Hebrews 9:6-10

Hebrews 9:6–10 (NLT)

When these things were all in place, the priests regularly entered the first room as they performed their religious duties. But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle and the system it represented were still in use.

This is an illustration pointing to the present time. For the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them. For that old system deals only with food and drink and various cleansing ceremonies—physical regulations that were in effect only until a better system could be established.

There is No Entrance to the Holy Presence of God…

Under the Old System (Old Law, Priesthood, and Covenant)

The Old Regulations and Ceremonies Were Crucial to Having a Relationship with God Under the Old Covenant

But They Could Never Cleanse the Conscience of the People

Sin was Remembered and had to Be Atoned for Every Single Year

It was Never Forgiven and Forgotten

All of this Information is Given for the Purpose of the Entire Book

To Encourage Hebrew Christians to Stay Faithful to Jesus and Not Return to the Old Covenant System

What Jesus Offers is Far Superior

Now Our Author is Finally Going to Start Explaining Jesus’ Superior High Priesthood

Hebrews 9:11–14 (NLT)

So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.

Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.

Hebrews 9:11 (NASB95)

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation;

“But the Christ/Messiah Arrived”

In a Conversation Based On the Inadequacies of the Old Covenant…

There are No Better Words Than “But the Christ Arrived”

He is the High Priest of the “Good Things to Come”

2 Early Manuscripts Say, “Good Things that Have Come”

What the Old Covenant Could Not Accomplish, Jesus the High Priest Can

He Inaugurated the New Covenant in His Birth, Life, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension

And He Has Brought and is Bringing the Better Promises of the Better Covenant

He has Entered the Great and Perfect Tabernacle

Not a Tent of This Creation, But the Heavenly Sanctuary

Hebrews 9:12 (NASB95)

and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

He Entered the Greater, Perfect Tabernacle Through His Own Blood…

Instead of With the Blood of an Animal

This Implies the Sacrifice of Himself

He Sacrificed Himself and Entered the Greater, Perfect Tabernacle…

“Once and for All”

He Did it Once and He’ll Never have to Do it Again

By Doing So, He “Obtained Eternal Redemption”

Redemption is Being Bought Back or Liberated From Oppressive Slavery

Through Jesus’ Sacrifice and Enthronement in the Most Holy Place…

We are Eternally Liberated From the Slavery of Sin, Guilt, and Death

Hebrews 9:13–14 (NASB95)

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

The Sacrificial Blood of Animals or the Cleansing Ashes of a Heifer…

Are Effective in Cleansing the Outside of a Person

But They are Not Capable of Cleansing/Perfecting the Inside/the Conscience

But Jesus’ Sacrificial Blood Is

By the Power of the Holy Spirit Working in Him…

He Offered Himself as a Perfect Lamb to God

Sacrifices Always Had to Be Without Physical Blemishes

But Jesus Had No Spiritual/Moral Blemishes

This Made Him the Perfect Sacrifice

His Sacrifice Cleanses Our Consciences From Works that Lead to Death…

And Enables Us to Serve God with a Clean Conscience

When a Person’s Conscience No Longer Condemns Them…

They are Empowered to Turn From Sin and Live Faithfully to God

Because of All the Better Promises Jesus has Offered Us in His Better Covenant…

Not the Least of Which is the Cleansing of Our Consciences…

We, Out of Grateful Hearts, Serve Him with All Faith, Hope, and Love

Should Christians Have a Clean/Clear Conscience?

Where Does a Condemning Conscience Come From?

Living in Sin

Too Much Placing Faith in Self and Not Enough Placing Faith in Jesus’ Mediating High Priesthood

Hebrews 9:15–17 (NLT)

That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.

Now when someone leaves a will, it is necessary to prove that the person who made it is dead. The will goes into effect only after the person’s death. While the person who made it is still alive, the will cannot be put into effect.

Hebrews 9:15 (NASB95)

For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

Because of Jesus’ Sacrificial Death, He Became the Mediator of a New Covenant

This New Covenant Spoken of By Jeremiah…

in Which God Will Be Merciful to the Iniquities of His People…

And Will Remember Their Sins No More

What Does it Mean for Jesus to Be the Mediator of this New Covenant?

The Goal of the Gospel of Jesus is to Reconcile Humanity and God

For Us to Live in Perfect Harmony with Him Like Before the Fall

Jesus Represents Both Parties and Works Toward Our Reconciliation

He Represents Us By Being Human and He Represents God By Being God

He is the Perfect Representative of Both Parties at the Same Time

The Thing that Stands Between Us and Perfect Harmony with God is Sin

Jesus is the Mediator Whose Job it is to Get Rid of What Stands Between Us and God

And this New Covenant He is Mediating was Prophesied to Bring About the Reality of Sin Being Forever Forgotten

Jesus, Through His Sacrificial Death is Fulfilling that Promise

Hebrews 9:15 (NASB95)

For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

What Does it Mean that Jesus’ Death was for the Redemption of the Transgressions that Were Under the First Covenant?

Jesus’ Sacrificial Death Wasn’t Only for the Purpose of Redeeming Those of the Present and Future

His Sacrificial Death Redeemed Those Who Transgressed/Sinned Under the Old Covenant Too

Hebrews 9:15 (NASB95)

For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

Jesus’ Sacrificial Death Made it Possible for Those Who are Called (Past, Present, and Future)…

To Receive the Promise of the Eternal Inheritance

Who are the Called?

Under the New Covenant:

Those Who Have Given Their Allegiance to Jesus After Receiving the Message of the Gospel

Under the Old Covenant:

Those Who Lived By Faith Under the Law of Moses

What is the Eternal Inheritance?

Salvation and Life in the Holy Presence of God in the Age to Come

Hebrews 9:16–17 (NASB95)

For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives.

There is a Lot of Theological Debate on this Passage

The Debate Primarily Depends On How One Interprets diathēkē

diathēkē is the Word for “Covenant” in the NASB

Some Interpret it to Mean “A Last Will and Testament”

Some Interpret it to Mean “Covenant”

Whichever Interpretation You Choose to Hold, Both Seem to Be True

I’ll Try to Quickly and Simply Explain Both Interpretations

The “Will/Testament” Interpretation Goes Like This:

A Will Doesn’t Go into Effect Until the Person Who Made the Will Dies

God’s New Covenant that He was Establishing Through Jesus…

Couldn’t Go into Effect Until Jesus Died

Therefore Jesus’ Death was Necessary to Establish the Better New Covenant…

Where Total Forgiveness of Sins and Reconciliation to God can Be Found

The “Covenant” Interpretation Goes Something Like This:

A Covenant is Between 2 Parties and Can Be Established Without the Death of Either Party

But, According to the Scriptures, Covenants Did Require Death

To Make a Covenant in the OT was Literally “Cut a Covenant”

We See Why in Genesis 15

God Wanted to Cut a Covenant with Abraham

So He Told Abraham to Cut Several Different Animals in Half

Then God Appeared to Him in Between the Pieces and Made His Covenant with Him

In Establishing the Covenant with Israel, Moses Sprinkled the Blood of a Sacrifice…

On Several Different Things, Including the People

In Fact, this is Exactly What the Author of Hebrews Immediately Mentions

Hebrews 9:18–21 (NASB95)

Therefore even the first covenant was not inaugurated without blood. For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you.” And in the same way he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood.

With the “Covenant” Interpretation…

It Isn’t an Animal that is Sacrificed to Establish the Covenant Between God and Humanity…

It is Jesus

The Person Who is Both God and Human Sacrifices Himself to Establish the Covenant Between God and Humanity

So Whether You Take the “Will/Testament” or “Covenant” Interpretation of Verses 16-17…

Both are True

In Order for the New Covenant to Be Established and Reconciliation to Be Available…

Jesus had to Die

And So We See in Verses 18-21 that a Covenant Can Only Be Established with Blood

Blood May Simply Represent Death…

But it Seems Like it May More Specifically Refer to a Violent Sacrificial Death

A Death in Which a Lot of Blood Would Be Involved

When 2 Parties Cut a Covenant Together…

They are Swearing to Keep Their End of the Deal

And if They Fail to Do So, Then May Violent Bloodshed Come Upon the Guilty Party

After Moses Read the Book of the Covenant to the People of Israel…

They Swore to Do Everything that was Written in it

Then the Blood was Sprinkled On Them

This Blood Represented the Covenant They Had Just Entered into with God

And if They Were to Break that Covenant, Then Nothing But a Violent End Awaits Them

The Same is True for Us

Every Sunday We are Reminded of the Blood of the Covenant that We Have Entered into with God

We Eat His Body and Drink His Blood

If We Break that Covenant with Him, Nothing But a Violent End Awaits Us

Hebrews 9:22 (NASB95)

And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

The Hebrew Author Lays Down 2 Things for Us

Almost All Things are Purified with Blood

And There is No Forgiveness Without the Shedding of Blood

Do You Ever Wonder Why that is?

Why Must There Be Bloodshed for Sins to Be Forgiven?

Leviticus 17:11 (NASB95)

‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’

From the Very Beginning We See the Principle that Paul Tells Us in Romans 6:23:

“The Wages/Pay/Earnings of Sin is Death”

The Only Way to Pay for Our Sin is Death

We Can Only Pay with Our Lives

And the Life of the Flesh is in the Blood

But God has Allowed Us to Have Sacrifices for Our Sins

Instead of Us Dying, We Can Pass the Punishment for Our Sin On to an Animal…

And Let Them Take the Death that We Deserve

But Animal Blood was Never Good Enough to Fully Cleanse Us of Our Guilt

So God Then Gave Jesus to Die the Death We Deserve

And His Blood Sacrifice is Enough to Pay for Our Sins for All Time

Invitation

Summary of What We’ve Learned From James Up to this Point:

Be Joyful During Trials Because When Your Faith is Tempted, You Grow Stronger

If We Will Simply Ask for God’s Help and Wisdom During Sufferings, He’ll Provide it

But Only if We Have Faith that He Will Answer Our Prayers

Whatever State You Find Yourself in, Whether Poor or Rich, Glorify God

Let the Poor Glorify God Because He Exalts the Humble

Let the Rich Glorify God Because He Humbles the Exalted

God Does Not Tempt Us with Sin

It is Our Own Desires that Tempt Us

God is the Giver of All Good and Perfect Gifts

Especially the Gift of the Gospel of Jesus that Causes Us to Be Born Again as the First of New Creation

James 1:19–20 (NASB95)

This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.

“Know, My Beloved Brethren”

Know What?

Everyone Must Be Quick to Hear, Slow to Speak, and Slow to Anger

This is Some of the Straightforward Common Sense Teaching We Find in James

It is Very Similar to the Teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount

It is Also Very Similar to Proverbs

It is Always Wise to Listen Before Speaking

Proverbs 10:19 (NASB95)

When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who restrains his lips is wise.

Proverbs 17:27–28 (NASB95)

He who restrains his words has knowledge, And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; When he closes his lips, he is considered prudent.

It is Always Wise to Listen Before Speaking, Especially When Angry

Because Anger Rarely Ever Produces the Righteousness of God

Anger is Not a Sin…

But How Many of Us Have Achieved the Righteousness of God When Speaking in Anger?

When Angry, It’s Best to Keep the Mouth Shut

It is Our Goal to Work Toward the Righteousness of God

That Means Listening More Than We Speak

That Means Being Slow to Anger

When Trials, Temptations, Suffering, Persecution, or Whatever Else Negative Comes Our Way…

Be Slow to Get Angry

Work on Having the Self-Control to Have a Cool Spirit

Don’t Let the Anger and Hatred of the World Get Inside You

Let the Spirit Produce the Fruit of Joy, Peace, Kindness, Gentleness, and Self-Control in You

That is How We Work Toward the Righteousness of God