Note: the following is the manuscript for the message and will not match exactly the recorded message above.
Have you ever had to take a detour because of road construction? It can be painful throughout the construction process, especially if it happens along a route you take regularly.
A notable project that comes to mind is the intersection of Highway 22 and 1A in Cochrane. The project began in the spring of 2023 and is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2025. That’s two and a half years of disruption.
But, if you have ever gone through that intersection during rush hour before the construction, you will know first-hand how badly it needed to be redesigned.
While the construction is happening, people still need to get through that intersection. We drove through there, I think once since they began the construction. They have set up a temporary route, which is slow and messy. Not ideal by any stretch.
But, because it is temporary, it is considered an acceptable route so people can make their way through Cochrane.
Now, imagine that the construction crews left the detour open for people to use once that intersection is complete. Instead of using the new, fast, and well-designed on-and-off ramps, people continued to use the detour.
That is a good way to think about this section we are coming to in Hebrews. I’ll read the first ten verses of chapter 9 and then talk about how the new way to access God’s presence is better than the old, temporary way.
The Tabernacle (9:1-10)
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.
God has always had a master plan to set everything right. Despite our tendency to think that God could snap his fingers and make it happen, the restoration of all things cannot be done at once.
God’s power has always worked through human agency. This means that his plan to restore creation includes the activity of people.
Through Abraham and his descendants, God established a way for people to know and be close to him, which is found in Tabernacle worship.
The Tabernacle was the dwelling place of God on earth until a more permanent solution was completed.
In 9:9, it says that the Tabernacle was an illustration, or a parable, that pointed to what the final restoration would be like. It was an illustration that featured a double tent. An outer part, or as it is referred to in this passage, the first tabernacle, was where the priests would come and go. Beyond the first tabernacle was the inner sanctuary, which was the dwelling place of God’s presence.
The first tabernacle featured a lampstand with continuously burning lamps shining light on twelve loaves of bread, symbolizing the twelve tribes of Israel. This was meant to show how God’s face was turned toward the people, that he was present with them.
The entire Tabernacle worship system was designed to allow the presence of God to be with the people. But, this was not the final plan for how creation and Creator were to be united.
Just as a detour is required in order to keep the flow of traffic moving during a major construction project, God established the Tabernacle worship system as a way for people to access God until the final project was complete.
This is part of the author of Hebrews’ attempt at warning people not to go back to the former Jewish ways. Jesus is the permanent and better way to God. Why would you use the old detour route when the direct route is available?
The Sacrifice of Christ (9:11-14)
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!
The question is, how does this new direct route work? It is similar to the old way, but instead of impure priests offering continuous animal sacrifices, a pure and holy priest has offered himself as the final sacrifice.
Going back to our series in the Pentateuch, I talked about how the very presence of the Israelites polluted the Tabernacle because of their impurities and sin.
If impurity is not dealt with, God’s presence among them will be a curse rather than a blessing. The way the impurities were dealt with was through daily sacrifices.
But these offerings only cleared the air temporarily. The sins and impurities of the people went on continually.
This is where the sacrifice of Jesus is better. It is because his sacrifice is not only to clear the air of pollution but to be rid of the source of pollution entirely.
His sacrifice cleanses the very core of who we are. The author of Hebrews refers to this as clearing the conscience. The problem with the old sacrificial system was that it did not bring transformation to the desires of a person.
The sacrifice of Christ purifies us so that we can freely be close to God, but it also cleanses our consciences so that we know when we are going the wrong way.
This brings us to the next section, in which we will see why blood is necessary in the purification process.
The Purpose of the Blood (9:15-22)
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.
If the reference to blood does not confuse you or make you feel uneasy, it’s probably because you’ve become quite familiar with the idea that blood is a part of the covenant between God and people.
But because we only refer to it symbolically when we take communion, perhaps it has lost its significance. I want to awaken within you the significance of the blood today.
The significance is found in knowing that it points to the self-giving love of God.
Many of you know that I’m working on a book titled Humble Church. At the core of that book is the theological idea of kenosis, which means self-emptying. In common language, it could be thought of as an expression of humility.
The reason I’m writing this book is because I think the church will be more effective in our mission if we take on a humble posture toward one another and those outside the church.
This is because the nature of God is humble. Jesus said in Matthew 11, Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart.
In Philippians 2, Paul urged the church to be humble as Christ is humble. When I read through the Bible with this understanding of God, things become increasingly clear.
The nature of God is to be self-giving. So, how does this relate to the topic of blood in Hebrews chapter 9?
In the Bible, blood represents life. When blood is poured out of an animal, the idea is that it gave up its life.
In the section of Hebrews 9 I just read, the author refers to the legal process of someone leaving an inheritance.
Perhaps some of you have written a will. In that will, you provide instructions for what should happen to your possessions after you die.
These instructions can only be carried out upon the presentation of a death certificate. In other words, only once your life has left your body can the instructions of the will be carried out.
The author of Hebrews is using this as a way to describe why blood needed to be poured out. You see, God made a covenant with humanity. The essence of the covenant was that humans would be saved from judgment for their sins.
The word covenant is operating in this passage the same way as the word will. In order for God’s covenant to take effect, blood needed to be poured out. 9:22 says that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
And because God values human life, he did not ask for humans to sacrifice themselves. He did not ask for human blood.
In the place of humans, he instructed them to offer animals. The animals were a gift from God to his people, with their death (symbolized by the poured-out lifeblood) as a sign of God’s own self-sacrificial love.1
That is, until God came to the earth in the form of a human man named Jesus of Nazareth. This is where the idea of God’s self-giving nature hits its climax. This is why Paul wrote in Philippians 2,
[Jesus], being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Jesus poured out his lifeblood so that the full effect of God’s covenant, the inheritance of eternal life promised to humanity, could be enacted.
Let’s continue to the final section of the passage so learn how the story ends.
The Heavenly Sanctuary (9:23-28)
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.
I read from Philippians 2 just a moment ago. But what I read is not the end of the story. The covenant that God made with humanity to restore us to our original design, does not mean anything of Jesus stayed dead.
This is how the story ends:
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
And in Philippians 3:20-21, Paul outlines the essence of our inheritance because of the death and resurrection of Christ.
Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
The author of Hebrews emphasizes that the sacrificial work is complete. Christ is now living with God in heaven, awaiting the day on which he along with the full manifestation of God’s presence will return to the earth he created.
And when he does, salvation will be fully realized. The full effect of God’s covenant will be experienced. We will be renewed along with all of creation because of what God promised and because of his self-giving love for us.
As I said last week, the sacrifice which brings salvation is not just a ticket we get from Jesus and when we die, we hand it to Peter at the pearly gates so we can get into heaven.
The sacrifice of Christ brings salvation which transforms us all throughout our earthly lives so that we look increasingly like someone who already belongs to God’s kingdom.
How do we respond to this? Let me leave you with three things you can do.
First, and I know I sound like a broken record by now, if you agree with what I have said today and believe that it is true, and you have not been baptized, you need to be baptized. If you are wondering why, let’s talk about it.
Second, consider what parts of your life do not have the resemblance of someone who belongs to God’s kingdom. You can know this by reading about the life and teaching of Jesus in the Gospels. Ask God to transform those parts of your life.
Third, don’t give up on participating with other believers in communal worship. Next week, we will be celebrating two baptisms and participating in communion together. Make every effort to be there. It is only within communinity that we will be able to experience and live out the new life God has given us through Christ.
1 Tom Wright, Hebrews for Everyone (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004), 100.
Hebrews Series Bibliography
Allen, David L. Hebrews. The New American Commentary. Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 2010.
Bruce, F. F. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Rev. ed. The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1990.
Guthrie, George. Hebrews. The NIV Application Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998.
Lane, William L. Hebrews 1-8, vol. 47A, Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word, Inc., 1991.
New International Version Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016.
Wright, Tom. Hebrews for Everyone. London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 2004.