Jesus’ Better Sacrifice • 03.26.23
Nick Lees   -   March 26, 2023

Jesus’ Better Sacrifice
Hebrews 9:15-28

Cultivating awe in the shed blood of Christ

  1. Remember the insufficiencies of the animal sacrifices
  2. Understand the significance of the blood
  3. Rejoice that Jesus’ shed blood ransoms us
  4. Tremble at the superiority of his sacrifice

Good morning church family! (Welcome new guests. Introduce sermon series.)

Dismiss 4th + 5th graders

Ushers + Bibles (Hebrews 9; page 1192)

What brings you here today? Why did you choose to get up and walk through the doors this morning? I hope it is because you’re seeking truth. That you want to know God and understand his plan for your life. There is a reason we spend a significant portion of our service time studying God’s Word. We want to know him, know his will for our lives, and learn how to live in obedience to him! Over the course of my adult life, I’ve really grown to appreciate how practical God’s Word is to our everyday life.

The reason I am bringing this up at the start of our study of the Word today is due to the subject matter at hand. Over the last few weeks, we’ve heard a lot about the ways the Old and New Covenants or Testaments fit together. We’ve studied at length how Jesus is the fulfillment of many Old Testament themes/types.

As we study these Christ connections between the Covenants, I believe it would be easy to think, “This is outdated and archaic. What does it have to do with me?” As 21st century people, we find ourselves culturally distant from animal sacrifices and the idea of purification with blood. It would be all too easy to read these passages week after week and fail to appreciate how it matters for us today! Part of my job is to help you grasp the significance of what we’re reading and studying.

So, as we get started, I want you to consider… what is your view of blood? How do you respond to seeing it or even the idea of it?

I’ve encountered a variety of reactions to it –disgust is a big one (“GROSS!”) or aversion (Do anything I can to stay away from it! Someone else is going to have to handle that!) or perhaps even a more physical reaction (fainting, upset stomach, etc.,). Then you have the select few who are not thrown off by it and they inevitably seem to be the boo-boo caretaker in the home, or even perhaps pursue a career in the medical field.

Have you ever stopped and wondered why so many Christian worship songs sing about the blood of Jesus?

  • Nothing but the Blood
  • Before the Throne of God Above
  • Come Thou Fount
  • His Mercy is More
  • In Christ Alone

In our own song library, out of 162 songs we have 20 songs that sing about the blood of Jesus. Why is that?

Maybe you’ve always wondered why the church would sing about the blood of Jesus? Perhaps the topic seems a bit macabre to you? Out of touch with modern, civilized society…?

I intend to provide answers to these types of questions/thoughts today as we study in Hebrews 9.

As we’ve been hearing from our study of Hebrews, especially as we’ve gotten into the priestly system and animal sacrifices, there was a lot of blood shed under the Old Covenant. This is significant for us to this day, as we learn about Jesus’ better sacrifice and fulfillment of God’s grand redemption plan.

Your view of blood and your understanding of the Old Testament will have a direct influence on your perspective of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ! It is of the utmost importance that we cultivate a right view of the shed blood of Christ. That we understand why it was necessary and what it has accomplished on our behalf.

Our text today will help us understand these things. Now I want to tell you ahead of time that today’s passage will have a lot of similarities and overlap with what came before and what comes after. Remember the author of Hebrews is writing a sermon to his audience and he is developing a variety of arguments throughout the letter. It is important to understand why he spends so much time teaching on the finished work of Jesus Christ, including his sacrifice on the Cross.

So, with that in mind, let’s turn our attention to our text for today. I’m going to include a few of the verses we read last week for the sake of context.

Hebrews 9:11–28 (ESV)

11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. 16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive. 18 Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. 19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” 21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. 22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

10x. That’s how often the word blood is used across these passages. Both in reference to the blood of the animal sacrifices and the shed blood of Christ. In this portion of his sermon, the author of Hebrews is driving home the superior nature of Jesus’ sacrifice. He offers a better sacrifice of his own perfect blood. We discussed this a bit last week. Let’s continue to develop our understanding with the aim of…

Cultivating awe in the shed blood of Christ

And that begins as we…

  1. Remember the insufficiencies of the animal sacrifices

Last week when we studied Hebrews 9:1-14 we discussed how the Old Covenant rituals were incomplete. They were not able to remove the stain of sin permanently. They turned aside God’s wrath but did not change the human heart. People kept sinning! Their consciences were still impure.

Remember that for hundreds upon hundreds of years, day in and day, week after week, month after month, the priests kept offering sacrifices to seek atonement for their own sins and the sins of the people. Who knows how many animals were sacrificed in this process of seeking atonement for sin! And yet, as evidenced by the very nature of their repetition, these animal sacrifices were not sufficient to make a man or woman perfectly pure from sin.

The animal sacrifices offered in the temple only cleansed externally, purifying the flesh, but they could not cleanse internally, in the heart… A better solution for sin was needed! This is what the Jewish people were longing and waiting for… A way forward that would remove the stain of sin forever!

Now, you might hear me say all of that about the insufficiencies of the animal sacrifices but still wonder why animal sacrifices were needed in the first place! Why in the world is blood such a big deal in the Bible?

Great question and it brings us to our second step in cultivating awe in the shed blood of Christ…

  1. Understand the significance of the blood

Blood is representative of the life of the creature/person. We find this very thing pointed out by God to Moses in Leviticus 17.

Leviticus 17:11a (ESV)

11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood…

Long before scientists were able to understand the complexities of blood, God told us that blood is necessary for life. We all know that to be true. If someone loses too much blood, what happens? They die. Life is in the blood. Blood is equivalent to life in the Scriptures. But this is only part of the significance of the blood. Listen to how the rest of Leviticus 17:11 goes…

Leviticus 17:11 (ESV)

11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it for you on the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by the life.

God gave the practice of blood being shed on the altar to make atonement for their souls. Remember that we defined atonement last week as the state of reconciliation between God and sinners. God makes it very clear in the pages of Scripture that sinful men and women, like us, need reconciliation to Him. We need peace with God! And that is only possible through blood being shed, meaning a loss of life on our behalf.

Understand this… Blood is required for the forgiveness of sins. We heard it in Hebrews 9:22 earlier:

Hebrews 9:22b (ESV)

 …without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

We see this being clearly taught in the Old Testament book of Leviticus:

Leviticus 1:4–5 (ESV)

4 He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. 5 Then he shall kill the bull before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall bring the blood and throw the blood against the sides of the altar that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting.

Why is this necessary? Well, as Paul puts it in Romans 6…

Romans 6:23a (ESV)

“For the wages of sin is death…”

Sin always has a price. Choosing sin brings death. That is what it earns you. That is what it earned the first man and woman, Adam and Eve.

Genesis 3:19 (ESV)

19    By the sweat of your face

you shall eat bread,

       till you return to the ground,

for out of it you were taken;

       for you are dust,

and to dust you shall return.”

The ones who had no fear of death prior to sin were now destined to die. (repeat) The wages of sin is death. This is the terrible price of choosing sin! And because sin brings death, a death is required to atone for sin. Someone must pay for our sin debt! Either you pay for it with your own death, or, because God is merciful, he provided a way of sacrifice for atonement.

We even see this in the Garden of Eden after Adam & Eve sin.

Genesis 3:21 (ESV)

21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

Where do you think those garments of skins came from? An animal or two gave its life. Its blood was shed for their sin and then the Lord provided clothing from its hide. This is a precursor to what would later be formalized in the Law.

Someone always pays for our sin. That is true whether we’re speaking of our relationship with God or our relationship with one another. There is a high cost to sin!

And, as we’ve heard repeatedly over the past few weeks from the book of Hebrews, animal blood is insufficient for the purification of sins. It could temporarily avert the wrath of God, but it could not remove the stain of sin from our hearts/souls. A perfect sacrifice was necessary. Perfect blood shed by the Son of God who took on humanity is the only sufficient offering to purify the hearts of many. (Repeat)

Jesus Christ is the one who provides an answer for our sin guilt. Our sin earns us death. And yet, there is one who has paid that debt for us, his name is Jesus of Nazareth. Through faith in him you can be freed from the burden of your sin debt! Now that is good news!

This brings us to our third step in cultivating awe in the shed blood of Christ:

  1. Rejoice that Jesus’ shed blood ransoms us

What do you think is the reaction of a death row inmate who just found out he/she was pardoned? Apathy? “Oh, that’s nice. Guess I won’t die after all.” NOOO, THEY’RE REJOICING! They’ve been given new life!

That’s how it ought to be for Christians! Rejoicing is the appropriate response of someone who recognizes that their sin had earned them death and yet that is not what they are receiving through faith in Christ! We have every reason to rejoice in the shed blood of Christ that ransoms us from our sin.

The word ransom was intentional. It implies that we were held captive and needed rescue by someone outside of ourselves. Because that is every man/woman/boy/girl’s condition. Outside of faith in Christ, we are all held captive by our sin with the guaranteed result of death. But that all changes through faith in Christ! Listen to Peter providing hope to his audience in 1 Peter:

1 Peter 1:18–19 (ESV)

18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

This beautiful truth about a believer’s ransom is directly connected to their joy in the living hope of heaven. Faith in Christ moves you from eternal death in your sin to eternal life in holiness with God!

Now let’s link this all back to our original text in Hebrews 9. If you recall, Hebrews 9 spoke extensively about blood and covenants. In fact, in verses 18-21 it references a passage from Exodus 24 that we read last week, where Moses used the blood of animals to purify and ratify the Old Covenant with the nation of Israel.

It is important to understand that blood was required to ratify or validate a covenant. That is why when God made a covenant with Abraham in Genesis 15, he had Abraham sacrifice animals and then God walked between them to seal the Covenant. Typically, both parties would walk through the sacrificed animals as a way of communicating, if I do not uphold my end of this covenant, then my life is forfeit, like these animals. Death was the price of breaking covenant.

What is incredible about the New Covenant is that Jesus does not offer an animal sacrifice to ratify the covenant; instead, he offers his own blood! He was the better sacrifice. By his sacrifice, he enabled anyone who has faith in him to receive new hearts and to be purified from our sin!

And his better sacrifice makes him the mediator of the New Covenant, as pointed out in Hebrews 9:15. Jesus is the one responsible for carrying out the New Covenant. He is the one who brings peace between God and men. Jesus paid it all! All to him I owe! Sin had left a crimson stain, he washed it white as snow.

As Jonathan Edwards famously said, “You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.” Not only is that incredibly accurate, it also ought to be incredibly humbling as we consider that Jesus did this for our salvation. Verse 15 says:

so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance…

Jesus shed his own blood to ransom “those who are called” from their sins to an eternal inheritance. Rather than receiving death, they receive eternal life! What a magnificent trade.

I think it is worth noting that the designation “those who are called” is yet another one of the Bible’s many references to God’s sovereignty in our salvation. The Bible is very clear that God chooses who are his people. We don’t choose him, he chooses us. This makes absolute sense when you consider that we are all dead in our sin and have no interest in God apart from him calling us to himself. So many people get hung up on the perceived unfairness of the “calling” or “election” or “predestination” of God, but if you realize that NONE of us deserve salvation, then it is incredibly gracious for God to choose to save some! He didn’t have to do that. Nor did he have to send His only Son to die for us. This is yet another reason to rejoice that Jesus’ shed blood ransoms us!

And, lest we forget, his blood ransoms us by purifying us from our sin. That is what verse 22 is driving at when it says:

Hebrews 9:22 (ESV)

22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

This is precisely what the animal sacrifices could not do. Purify us perfectly. And yet it is exactly what Jesus did. Let me hearken back to the very start of this author’s sermon in Hebrews 1:3:

Hebrews 1:3 (ESV)

3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Jesus made purification for sins! He has done it. We can be permanently forgiven of our sin and the guilt it brings. This was the united understanding of the authors of Scripture:

Ephesians 1:7 (ESV)

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

1 John 1:7 (ESV)

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

It is possible this morning to have confidence in your standing with God through faith in Jesus Christ. If you believe in Him, you are forgiven of your sins and reconciled to your Creator. You no longer have to fear death and judgment. Jesus’ shed blood is the guarantee of that!

And, as we heard in verses 23-28, Jesus’ sacrifice is better in a number of ways.

First, in its location. Jesus physically shed his blood on earth, but the effects of his sacrifice had implications even into the heavenly realm.

Second, in its number. Jesus does not continue to offer himself repeatedly as a sacrifice like the high priests used to do with the animals under the Old Covenant. His sacrifice was once-for-all!

It was once-for-all because his sacrifice was sufficient for the forgiveness of sins! There is no need for any other sacrifice ever again, nor does Jesus need to go through his sacrificial work repeatedly. This is a real point of contention for some other religious traditions who still insist on offering sacrifices or say that Jesus is sacrificed repeatedly in the elements of communion.

Third, in its reach. Jesus’ sacrifice is one-for-many. Not just once-for-all but one-for-many. His shed blood ransomed many unto righteousness!

Romans 5:19–21 (ESV)

19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This is exactly what God had said would happen through the Old Testament prophet Isaiah:

Isaiah 53:11–12 (ESV)

11    Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;

       by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

make many to be accounted righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities.

12    Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,

       because he poured out his soul to death

and was numbered with the transgressors;

       yet he bore the sin of many,

and makes intercession for the transgressors.

This fulfilled prophecy predicted and fulfilled roughly 700 years later is one of many such incredible evidence to the trustworthiness of Scripture, especially when it comes to finished work of Jesus. In fact, before we go any further in elaborating reasons Jesus’ sacrifice is better, let me share the final step in cultivating awe in the shed blood of Christ for today:

  1. Tremble at the superiority of his sacrifice

Truly, as we recount the many, incredible ways that his sacrifice is better, it ought to cause us to tremble in awe. It is an awesome thing to consider that the Son of God came down, took on flesh, dwelt among us, and endured the brutality of the Cross and faced the wrath of God for our sins.

JESUS DID NOT HAVE TO DO THIS! THE GODHEAD DID NOT HAVE TO COME UP WITH THIS GRAND REDEMPTION PLAN. YET IT WAS THEIR DESIRE AND DELIGHT TO DO SO!

How incredible is that?!

And many of you here today are benefactors of this grand redemption plan. You have been forgiven and redeemed from your sin. In fact, that is yet another reason why Jesus’ sacrifice is better. As verse 26 states, Jesus “put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”

He put it away. Meaning it has been addressed and dealt with. The fancy terms for this idea are expiation and propitiation.

Expiation – removing the penalty of sin (God’s wrath)

Propitiation – satisfying God’s wrath (substitutionary atonement – the sacrifice of himself)

Understanding the depth and richness of these concepts requires you to understand the sinfulness of sin. We talked about this at length last week and again earlier today. The wages of sin is death. Even one sin is sufficient to earn us death and the wrath of God. Nothing you can do can pay for your sin. You are dead in sin outside of faith in Jesus Christ.

If you are here this morning and you do not believe in Jesus Christ, then you ought to be trembling for a different reason. This is true for both kids and adults… Any who do not believe in Jesus Christ. If that is you, then I have to lovingly warn you that you are facing the wrath of God at the Day of Judgment. *Pause*

And yet, the Good News (Gospel) of Jesus Christ is that there is a way to be forgiven and redeemed. That you don’t have to stay dead in your sin with only the fearful expectation of facing God’s judgment. Instead, you can believe in Jesus and choose to follow him!

Jesus is the answer to your greatest need – reconciliation with God. There is a reason the author of Hebrews is consistently pointing his audience back to the superiority of Jesus. They were apparently tempted to drift away from the truth they had been taught. They were being persecuted and perhaps enticed to turn back to the old ways of life under the laws of Judaism. He knows that there is no LIFE there, only DEATH. So, he calls them over and over again to turn to Jesus and follow him. That’s exactly what I’m trying to do with each of you week after week as we study Hebrews.

I can’t say it enough… Both to myself and to each of you… Stop playing around with sin! Don’t rationalize or justify it in your mind and heart… “It’s not THAT big of a deal. It’s not hurting anyone else…” Those are lies from the enemy. The wages of sin is death. Don’t mess around with it!

Your idol of control has a terrible price. Your desire for sinful pleasure will cost you everything. Your fear of man leads to death. Whatever the sin struggle may be for you – realize that THIS IS WAR! Do not make peace with sin! “Be killing sin, lest it be killing you.” *Pause*

God has provided a better way – the way of eternal life – through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is better! Make it your aim each day to choose to follow him. In your speech, in your actions, in your thoughts and deepest desires…  “Lord, I want to follow you. I want to please you. Please help me to do that today!” We can all make this our aim, no matter our age. “I want to please God today!”

Can you imagine how living like that would change your daily life? How joyful you would be? How patient, gracious, merciful you would be? How quick you would be to show humility and put away conflict? How sacrificial and others-focused you would be? This would literally change everything.

This is how Jesus has called us to live. This is the way he modeled for us. And it is only possible through faith in him. And I hope today’s sermon has given you sufficient reasons for why you ought to forsake your own selfish ambitions and ways to follow Him!

As we close out our time together, I want to draw your attention to verses 27-28 which give us an eternal perspective.

Hebrews 9:27–28 (ESV)

27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

We’ve already talked extensively about death/judgment today, but let’s not forget that Jesus is the hope of eternal life as well! Jesus is coming back. And when he does, for those who are eagerly awaiting him, he will finish the salvation process by bringing us to heaven with him. He spoke of this while he walked this earth:

John 14:1–3 (ESV)

14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

This is an incredible promise that provides daily hope for believer! Let us long for the day when Christ returns. May that promise and hope not be some “pie in the sky” ideal, but may we allow it to inform our daily life today.

  • This situation is so hard – “Jesus is coming back to save me! One day, I will dwell on a perfected earth. I will press on to honor him.”
  • My pain is too great – “Jesus is coming back to save me! I will live for him in the midst of my pain. I know that in view of eternity, this pain is only temporary.”
  • These people have let me down – “Jesus is faithful, and he is returning for me! I will entrust myself to him and continue to love these people sacrificially, just as he did with me.”

Let’s pray.

Pray

Great Things

Introduce Easter

  • Invite Cards
  • Holy Week Devos (live today, start them 4/2)
  • Palm Sunday (Rock activity)
  • Good Friday + Easter Sunday services
    • Friday at 6:30pm
    • Sunday at 9, 11am – Family Worship (EC3 and under at both services)