Hebrews 9:11 "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"
I was reading through these particularly repetitive few chapters in Hebrews the other day, and I was struck by how bizarre and counter-culture this idea must have seemed to first century Jews. Which is obviously why the writer continually presses the same point. The people had built their lives around the Law and the practices of making sacrifices to abolish sin from their lives. It was ingrained in the very fabric of their culture. That YOU must make amends or atonement for your sin by sacrificing the blood of an animal.
I know it seems bizarre to us but it was very much a part of the every day back then. The High priest was the only one that could enter the holy place to atone for the sins of the people through many purifications practices and ceremonial traditions. There are many (sometimes boring) chapters in the Old Testament explaining in extreme detail how this was to be done.
The writer of Hebrews has a tall order in that he has to try to reverse the understanding of atonement and animal sacrifice and replace it with the ultimate and final sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross. I’m sure it seemed like heresy to the Pharisees and teachers of the Law. But can you blame them for being a bit confused?
I’d like to say that these problems are a thing of the past, but the truth is we are still plagued by a works-based understanding of Salvation. We think if we’re “good” then God will bless us more. And if we sin less, then we can be closer to Jesus. There’s value in righteousness and purity, don’t get me wrong. But our righteousness is in Christ alone, not in anything we do.
I can’t imagine how confusing and backwards it must have sounded to those first century Jews. But, in some ways it was probably just “too good to be true”. “So you mean, I don’t have to EARN anything?” “My sins are forgiven”?
I realize this is bordering on deep theology, but at the same time, it captures great simplicity. Let’s stop trying so hard, and start living in freedom and faith, that Jesus is in fact “enough”, and He has “secured our redemption forever”.
Jon
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