Bible Reading
Hebrews 9:1-10:18 “Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now. When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order. But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. He said, 'This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.' In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: 'Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, my God.’' First he said, 'Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them'—though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then he said, 'Here I am, I have come to do your will.' He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 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. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: 'This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.' Then he adds: 'Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.' And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.”
Observation questions
- What details in Hebrews 9 show the difference between the priests’ regular service in the first room and the high priest’s yearly entrance into the Most Holy Place?
- According to Hebrews 9, what could the old sacrifices and washings accomplish, and what could they not accomplish for a person’s conscience? [01:21:24]
- What repeated words or ideas in Hebrews 9–10 emphasize that Christ’s sacrifice is final rather than needing to be offered again and again? [01:37:09]
- What does Hebrews 10 say Jesus did after offering Himself for sins, and what does His sitting down communicate about His work? [01:39:06]
Interpretation questions
- Why does Hebrews describe the tabernacle, priesthood, sacrifices, and law as shadows or copies rather than as the final reality? How does this help believers read the Old Testament with Christ at the center? [01:42:54]
- Hebrews says that Christ cleanses the conscience from dead works to serve the living God. What might “dead works” look like when a person is trying to earn God’s approval rather than receiving grace?
- How does Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice answer both the real guilt of sin and the continuing accusations that arise in a believer’s heart? [01:22:58]
- Hebrews connects being sanctified with Christ’s finished sacrifice and with God writing His law on the heart. How is a yielded life different from merely trying harder to follow religious rules? [01:49:34]
Application questions
- Where is there a temptation to measure God’s favor by spiritual performance, such as prayer, Bible reading, church attendance, serving, or avoiding certain sins? What would it look like to receive God’s favor in Christ instead of trying to earn it? [01:45:34]
- When a past failure or present weakness brings condemnation, what specific truth about Christ’s blood and finished sacrifice needs to be brought to mind? [01:23:03]
- Is there a “dead work” that has become a way of trying to prove worthiness before God or others? What would change if that effort flowed from gratitude and love instead of fear and debt?
- Jesus came to do the Father’s will and yielded Himself fully in Gethsemane. What area of life currently calls for a prayer of honest surrender: “Not my will, but Yours be done”? [01:46:24]
- Sanctification means being put to God’s proper and intended use. In what setting this week—home, work, school, neighborhood, or church—could a believer more clearly become the fragrance of Christ? [01:50:33]
- God promises to remember the sins and lawless deeds of His people no more. How might trusting that promise change the way a person responds after sinning: both in coming honestly to God and in taking the next faithful step of obedience? [01:41:01]
