The Supremacy of God’s Son: A Study in Hebrews
Hebrews 10:1-18 – The Perfection of Christ’s Sacrifice
(This lesson is adapted from sermons and commentaries by J. Ligon Duncan, http://www.fpcjackson.org)
Constant repetition carries conviction. – Robert Collier (author)
If Robert Collier is correct, then the author of Hebrews had a very strong conviction about the supremacy of Christ.
A.W. Pink calls it “the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice unto those who believe.” He continues…
The principal design of the Spirit therein is to exhibit the excellency and efficacy of Christ’s satisfaction, and this, not so much God-wards, as saint-wards, showing the inestimable blessings which it has procured for the favored members of the household of faith. The method which the apostle was inspired to follow in carrying out this design, was to, once more, set in antithesis the typical sacrifices of the Mosaic dispensation with the one Sacrifice of Christianity, contrasting the shadow with the Substance, and this, in order to bring out the inadequacy of the one and the sufficiency of the other to provide a perfect standing before God, with the resultant privilege of drawing near to Him as accepted worshippers.
Hebrews 10:1-18
1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;
6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”
8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,”
17 then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
Three main divisions of this passage…
1. The Ineffectiveness of the Old Covenant Sacrificial System vv.1-4
1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
As we’ve made our way through the book of Hebrews, we said over and over again during the past few weeks that the OT sacrificial system was merely a shadow of the things to come. Not just normal things, but the “good” things to come.
As we’ve talked about before, the sacrifices that God gave to the nation ofIsraelduring the time of Moses for the Aaronic priest to carry out did not provide permanent access to God. There remained a barrier between God and man because man could not be reconciled on account of his sins. The sacrificial system foreshadowed the true High Priest and the real, permanent sacrifice that was yet to come. There were two major shortcomings in the Old Covenant system that required resolution:
1. It could not cause a permanent forgiveness of sins.
2. It could not grant you access to God.
Here in chapter 10, the author creates a new emphasis on these points that he’s made many times during the first 9 chapters. Notice how often beginning in verse 1 he will use the phrase “make perfect.” That’s the goal…that’s the thing that’s required that the OT system did not, or could not, provide.
This is an important point for these 1st century Jewish Christians who are tempted to fall back into Judaism. He is saying, “You may be the perfect Jew that draws near to God through worship and the offering of sacrifices as required by the OT, but that is not able to make you perfect so that you can stand in the presence of God.” If this system had been capable of making you perfect, then why did it continue year after year? As he puts in verse 2, if this had been a permanent solution to your sin problem then the people “would not longer have any consciousness of sin.”
John Piper –
So the point is clear: the prescribed repetition of sacrifices for sin in the Old Testament Law was a built-in testimony to their inadequacy. They did not perfect the people. They did not deal with sin decisively, finally, once for all.
In fact, as verse 3 puts it, this system and the Day of Atonement specifically actually serve as a reminder of the fact that we are sinners.
J. Ligon Duncan –
So the point is if those Old Testament sacrifices actually accomplished forgiveness, then (a) why were they repeated? and (b) why in the very re-offering of those sacrifices were the worshippers continually reminded of their sins? The effect, he is saying of going down to Jerusalem year and year for the Day of Atonement is to remind you that your sins still haven’t really been dealt with. So this reminder of sin was built into the essence of this repeated sacrificial ritual. This stands in stark contrast.
Think about how this must have hit his Jewish audience…
3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
All that ceremony and all those sacrifices still don’t permanently save you. Verse 4 uses the word “impossible” to drive home the point.
You will remember back in Hebrews 8:12 when the writer quotes Jeremiah 31:34 where the Lord promises Jeremiah that “I will be merciful to their iniquities and I will remember their sins no more.” God points Jeremiah to a day to come when it will no longer be necessary to carry out the sacrifices of the Day of Atonement. He is pointing them to the permanent solution…to One whose blood is able to take away their sins forever unlike the goats and bulls in the Old Covenant sacrificial system.
The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross was the “real” sacrifice. It was, if fact, the only sacrifice that matters and it matters for eternity. The writer is saying that Jesus’ sacrifice is the only one that can cleanse your conscience. It is the only sacrifice that doesn’t remind you that you are a sinner because it deals with your sin permanently. It is once for all time and never needs to be repeated. He is pleading with these Jewish Christians to not walk away from this sacrifice.
So, the writer reminds us in the first four verses of the ineffectiveness of the Old Covenant system.
2. The Appeal to the Old Testament vv.5-10
5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me;
6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”
8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
His appeal to the OT is from Psalm 40:6-8. Remember we just said what a shock his statements in verses 1-4 about the Old Covenant system would have been to these Jewish people. Now he wants to point them to the OT and show them the words of King David to give validity to what he is trying to prove.
So, what is David saying in Psalm 40? He acknowledges the inadequacy in the OT sacrifice system. David knows the shortcomings of the system just like the writer of Hebrews has explained to these Jews. For David, the ceremony is lacking because it cannot bring him into the kind of relationship he desires with the Lord. That’s why he writes that his “delight” is found in doing God’s will.
J. Ligon Duncan –
Basically he is saying, “Lord, I know it is more important to You I delight in doing Your will and give myself to You in worship than it is for me to simply go through the motions of offering up sacrifices.”
Why does the writer of Hebrews make this appeal to the OT?
It is used to illustrate the incarnation of Jesus Christ and His obedience to the point of His permanently atoning death on the cross.
All the animal sacrifices (called “the first” in verse 9) are compared to the sacrifice of Christ (called “the second” in verse 9). Although God gave this sacrificial system in the OT, He did that in anticipation of what was to come because it was inadequate to deal with sin permanently. The OT system was not the vehicle chosen by God to accomplish this, so He sent His only Son as the perfect, once for all time sacrifice.
For this reason, Jesus came in obedience to His Father and to perfectly obey the will of His Father.
Philippians 2:8 – And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
J. Ligon Duncan –
So David’s words cannot ultimately be fulfilled in David. They have to look forward to David’s son, David’s lord, the Lord Jesus Christ. So David’s words, the author of Hebrews said, show us that David knew (a) that the ceremonial law was not an adequate expression of our love for God, our fellowship with Him, our devotion with Him; and that someone was going to have to come and do the Lord’s will in order for us to have fellowship with God forever. And that someone, of course, is the Lord Jesus Christ, our great high priest.
And because of His obedience, as verse 10 puts it, “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
So, the writer of Hebrews appeals to the OT to show how David pointed to the incarnation and death of Christ.
3. The Union between God and His People vv. 11-18
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,”
17 then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
The writer has now reached his final argument of this section of chapter 10. The New Covenant, as promised in the OT would bring about a day of final justification for sins. It would be complete and final. No more sacrifices would be required. Our conscience would be clean and we can be sure that we are saved from the judgment we so rightly deserve because of the gracious provision by God of His only Son. It is the fulfillment of the promise from Jeremiah 31 that we talked about earlier.
We may now enter the time of rest brought about the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Here is one of the most beautiful and powerful verses in all of Scripture.
v. 12 – But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God…
No more work of sacrifices is needed. It’s over. He is seated at the right hand of His Father. This was the event that David wrote about…
Psalm 110:1 – The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
J. Ligon Duncan –
The author of Hebrews says the Lord Jesus Christ isn’t standing. He has already taken His seat at the right hand of God indicating that His work of atonement is over. He has sat down from that work of atonement. He has now taken His seat at the right hand of God and the only thing He is waiting for now is the day when all His enemies are vanquished. He is not waiting for the day when He does the work for sins; He is waiting for the day when His enemies are finished. That is the only thing He is waiting for now; and, therefore, the author of Hebrews wants you to know that that means that the promise made in Jeremiah 31:34 has come to fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
Here’s the point…the writer wants these Jews to understand that the OT promised the New Covenant. The Old Covenant sacrifices could not ultimately deal with our sins. Finally, Jesus Christ has dealt the final blow to sin and now is seated at the right hand of the Father. As verse 14 says, “by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” It is Jesus alone who has fulfilled all the promises of the New Covenant.
This is the central message of the Gospel. It is Jesus Christ alone who brings the final and complete forgiveness of sins.
