Hebrews 9:1–14
“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!”
Guilt and our conscience
Everyone experiences guilt. It’s universal. It transcends culture and race and ethnicity. It’s been experienced by everyone since our first parents sinned in the Garden of Eden.
So, how do we deal with guilt? The bottom line is that we can’t simply erase our guilt. We can ignore it and hope it goes away. Often, we will do things to lessen the guilt or to resolve the guilt.
We resolve never to repeat our bad actions. We might make amends. We might give to a charity or volunteer our time in an attempt to even the score. But how is guilt erased? What is the source of guilt? Where does it come from? Inside of us is a conscience. It’s that inner sense of right and wrong. And when you violate that—when you do what your conscience tells you is wrong—you experience guilt.
If your conscience is working as it should be then you’ll experience guilt when you’ve sinned. Guilt comes to us in a couple if ways: You do something wrong, and you feel guilt. The other way that guilt comes to us is through a general sense. You can’t put your finger on a specific wrong action, but you can’t shake the feeling that there is something wrong with you.
What the O.T. says
The first 10 verses take us through how human guilt was dealt with under the old covenant. Reading through it reminds us of the great chasm between God and humanity that sin created.
The writer describes how people were forgiven and reconciled to God under the Old Covenant. When he says in verse 1 that the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary or tabernacle, that’s a bit of an understatement.
Those instructions are in the 27 chapters of the O.T. book of Leviticus. For 27 chapters there are intricate, detailed instructions for worshippers. The central message of Leviticus is that God, who is holy, requires His people to be holy and clearly lays out a pathway of forgiveness and reconciliation for people when they don’t live up to God’s holy standards.
Priests offering sacrifices
While the priests were in the Holy Place, the only one who was allowed into the Holy of Holies was the High Priest for only one day per year. On that day, the High Priest would go in and sprinkle the blood of an animal sacrifice on the top of the ark of the covenant.
To prepare for those few minutes once a year in the Holy of Holies the high priest would go through an intense and elaborate process. A week before, the high priest would go into seclusion. He needed to ensure that he wouldn’t accidentally defile himself by touching anything deemed unclean.
No high priest would risk being sloppy because if he went into the Holy of Holies and he was defiled in any way or if he touched the ark of the covenant he would die. Tradition tells us that the High Priest had bells sewn into his tunic. If the bells were heard by the priests waiting outside, they knew he was still alive. A cord was tied to his leg so that if he was smitten dead his body could be pulled out. Access to God in the Holy of Holies was severely restricted.
The high priest knew that he might not survive. To enter God’s presence was an experience of fear and trembling. A holy God must not be treated casually, or with defilement.
What Jesus does as high priest
What’s behind all this ritual? The cleansing and the purification were a symbol. To come into God’s presence requires purity. God’s concern was not physical dirt, but it represents something greater.
Physical defilement is a picture of the spiritual defilement of sin. God’s reaction to sin is like our reaction to someone who has extreme body odor or who hasn’t bathed for a month. To come into God’s presence smelling of moral filth—sinful defilement—is offensive. I can’t get rid of the filth. I can’t clean myself up to be acceptable to God.
I don’t have the right to go into God’s presence even to ask for His cleansing. I need a high priest. Look at verse 11, “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.”
Jesus is my High Priest and in His sinless perfection He stands before a Holy God, and he brings His own blood—shed on the cross—and God extends forgiveness.
And here is the difference: under the Old Covenant the effectiveness of the blood of sacrificial animals was limited. The animal sacrifices covered over the sins of the people. They couldn’t cleanse the human heart. They couldn’t rid the person of guilt.
In verse 14 we see the big difference that Christ’s blood makes. His blood cleanses our conscience. As our High Priest there are three things that we experience because of His sacrifice:
My guilt is cleansed
My guilt is not just covered over. Through Christ it’s done away with. My guilt is removed. My conscience is cleansed.
How does Jesus’ blood do that? C.S. Lewis called it the “deeper magic” of the universe. I accept with gratitude that because of His blood I’m cleansed of my sin. Later in this chapter it says, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” Jesus shed His blood for me.
I’m free to serve
In verse 14 the writer refers to our conscience being cleansed from acts that lead to death so that we may serve the living God.
Very simply, I am free from the pressure to perform to earn my forgiveness. My forgiveness can’t be earned. Going to church more won’t save me. Feeding the poor won’t save me. Participating in religious rituals won’t buy my forgiveness.
It’s only Jesus’ blood that cleanses me from sin. And that frees me to serve God from a place of gratitude and joy and God’s favour.
I no longer live in fear of judgement
Look at verses 27–28, “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.”
Ultimate judgement for all the sin and injustice and cruelty in our world is coming. Death is certain and with death comes judgement. For the person who trusted in Christ for salvation, their sin has been taken away. Jesus has taken our judgement for us. That means that I’ve been reconciled to God.
My relationship with Father God no longer is one of unhealthy fear. It is one of longing to be in His presence, completely confident of His favour.
— Notes from Pastor Marvin Wojda’s sermon on June 5th, 2021
CLICK HERE to watch the Hebrews 9 sermon on YouTube.