The Last Lamb

Hebrew 9:1 to 10:18

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Exposition by Max A Forsythe

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As I collect books for the spring series on Deuteronomy and look over the notes and books that I already have, I am becoming more and more convinced of the duality of our citizenship. Even as St Augustine phrased it, the City of God and the city of man. With these themes in the back of my mind, I was not surprised by the paragraph headings in the New Geneva Study Bible in chapter nine of the book of Hebrews. "The Earthly Sanctuary" and "The Heavenly Sanctuary" are how the first and third paragraph are entitled.

This reminds me of the philosophic Greek concept which I have mentioned more often than you might wish. That concept visualized the words, ideas and even vessels, tools and so on as earthly copies of the heavenly realities. So even if this greatest of the Hebrew New Covenant revelations were meant for the Jewish Church, the themes are as common as the natural revelations guessed at by the worldly Greeks. And yet in our time, we have not even half the wit of the Greeks in this matter and can barely comprehend the deeper revelations of our God in heaven opened up clearly for the benefit of His chosen people, so that they might leave the visual human temple and lost kingdom for the greater spiritual paradise to be found in Christ.

Yes, indeed a lamb was slain for both the first and the last symbolic passover feasts, and next week we of the New Covenant Church will feast on the body and blood of our Lord and Savior in communion with Him through the Holy Spirit. In this wonderful book, the unnamed author, like the shadowy Melchizedek of Abraham's day - has much to say and demonstrate about the greater Priest-king who became our own passover Lamb. Here he describes Him and His calling for our benefit, in the complex chapters and paragraphs of this letter.

Hebrews 9: 1-5 In verses one through five the author recites the ancient glories of the tabernacle utensils which he hints in verse five are no longer public property, having been lost, we believe, for many generations.

Dr Keener observes that "in suggesting that the details of the present, earthly tabernacle are significant (he believes they point to a heavenly tabernacle), the writer of Hebrews is not distorting the text. His modest suggestions are quite in contrast with the allegorizing of philo, who explains each detail as a symbol of something none of Moses' original readers would have guessed (linen as earth, dark red as air, the seven branched candelabrum as the seven planets, etc.) Unlike the writer of Hebrews, however, some readers of the Old Testament today follow Philo's more fanciful method of interpretation."

The simplicity of the author's recitation should convince us that while their purpose was sublime in the service of our Heavenly King - they were still only kitchen utensils for the sacrifice.

Hebrews 9: 6-10 Here the writer tells us that the daily use of such glorious utensils was only for a time - a time until they were reformed into something better. Now we would all agree that whenever the Lord causes a reformation in His church - the church is better and much improved. The concern here is kitchen thinking much in the manner in which American churches reformed their thinking on how to offer the Lord's Supper to the saints in the nineteenth century. Up until people became concerned about public health issues, the whole church would drink the fruit of the vine from a common cup. Then within a few years - the whole matter was reformed to provide individual cups. While the old communion sets still sit in some congregational closets, their time has passed and a new method has been presented since. At a much higher level of administration, is the transformation of the Old Covenant of Grace into Christ's new administration of the same Covenantal understanding which transcended both old and new testament churches.

Now before we go onto the next section we must digress to establish an important point. When I was in Seminary one of our professors, who taught music, spent the better part of an hour condemning any and all hymns which contained any reference to the blood of Christ. He said that he was deeply offended with what he thought was mere leftover sacrificial concepts from primitive Judaism. You probably know that we are to carefully chose our hymns for their theological content and musical melody. This particular content of the Blood of Christ is well within the realm of orthodoxy! I for one am not ashamed of the foundation for the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that foundation is the shed blood of the only Son of God.

This is not a theme that we take delight in examining in our culture. Many of us today are very far removed from the real world of the shedding of blood. After all, it was the gruesome pictures from South East Asia on the nightly news that put an end to the military campaigns. Further, our favorite daily meats are very far removed from the facts of meat processing. Once we sold some hamburger to some people who were upset with the redness of the thawed juices. You see, most stores add a little powdered animal protein to soak up any hint of processing!

In a similar way has our culture sought to soak up the reality of the blood shed for our salvation. This has been accomplished by means of so called improvement in biblical translation and a regular misunderstanding of the reality of the Gospel. Let us work with two verses in the New Testament to see this development in translation.

The first verse is 1 John 2:2.

KJV "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

RSV "and his is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world."

Now, those two translations sound similar to our ears. However, for the generations who grew up reading those variations there is a world of difference in understanding. Propitiation, and expiation are the terms.

Let us look at our second verse: Romans 3:25

KJV "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God:"

RSV "whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins"

Again we have propitiation, and expiation. The concept of expiation is from the Old Testament Hebrew. It means making amends for wrong doing. This term describes men's attempts within the Law of Moses to cover the problem of sin. The concept of propitiation comes in from the Greek language. It is more in the sense of winning forgiveness or the turning away of God's wrath. Its focus is on the benefits of the penitent. The most striking thing about the development in the two terms is that words which were originally used to denote man's action in relation to God cease to be used in this way in the New Testament and are used to describe God's action in relation to man!

We should note that the implications of the language in both places is upon what God has accomplished for us. John in his letter does not imply that propitiation of God is accomplished by our actions. It refers to the purpose which God Himself has fulfilled by sending the son. Hence it rests on the fact that God is gracious. Paul in his letter urges us that it is God who has made the propitiation what it is.

The word expiation is an impersonal term which my liberal professor was accustomed to use in describing his expectation that God's love is more universal than particular! Even before the Revised Standard Version became popular, leading theologians were advocating a universal approach to understand salvation. Hence, the popularity of this term for the last fifty years or so. The old King James was more accurate in its use of propitiation in its more dramatic personal application! What we have going on in both verses is the application of Christ's atoning sacrifice in the shedding of His precious blood.

The NIV brings this content out clearly:

1 John 2:2 "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."

Romans 3:25 "God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood."

This atoning sacrifice has a purpose. And to that purpose we turn our attention as we work our way through the rest of chapter nine.

Hebrews 9: 11-14 In this passage there are three things in the mind of the writer.

First, the whole function of any religion is to bring a man into the very presence of God.

Second, this world is an imperfect copy of the heavenly realities. Thus our material Tabernacle or Church is but a pale copy of the heavenly.

Third, there can be no access to the realities of heaven without purification. As we see in verse fourteen we see that even our consciences must be cleansed before we can serve the living God. It is with these three ideas in mind that the writer of Hebrews explains that Jesus is the only High Priest who can open the way to heaven for us who are unpure. He does this by offering a better sacrifice than that offered for centuries by the Jewish priests. Instead of the animal sacrifices, Jesus offers Himself as the perfect sacrifice.

Hebrews 9: 15-22 This passage is difficult for modern Christians because the idea of the covenant is not popular nor understood. For the Hebrews when this letter was written, there was no confusion. Briefly, the word covenant covered the relationship between God and man. Adam, like all men failed in being a promise keeper, thus the Covenant of Grace, planned before creation, is the only reasonable judicial economy possible to satisfy the holy demands of a righteous Creator God.

We know our failures very well. We like the Hebrews regularly fail in our covenant obligations. But, we are reminded there is a way out of this human predicament! The sacrifice of Christ is effective to wipe out the consequences of sins committed under the Covenant of Grace More simply, the sacrifice of Jesus gains for us forgiveness for all of our sins. We know that we should be shut out from God because of sin and disobediences, but because of what Jesus did our sin is canceled, the debt is wiped clean. Also the same sacrifice opens to us a new life for the future.

But, explains our writer in verse sixteen through seventeen, this covenant is like a will or last testament. Its terms are not effective until the testator is dead. Thus, the necessity for the death of Jesus Christ. Then in verses eighteen to twenty-two our writer emphasizes the sacramental teaching of Leviticus 17: 11 where Moses reports "the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul." NIV

Hebrews 9: 23-28 Our writer assures us here of the finality of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Once for all did He die, once for all was His blood shed. And the purpose. Look in verse twenty-eight: "To take away the sins of many people"! In what sense do you understand the shedding of Christ's blood? Has His blood been shed as an expiation for the sins of the whole world? Or has His blood been shed as a propitiation for your own particular sins? There is a difference in those two questions about the atonement. And that difference is important. Just as the ancient Israelites failed to regularly take their sacrificial system seriously, so does much of the Church today fail to appreciate the implications of the Gospel.

For whom has Christ died? If in your mind you only know that Jesus died for men in general, then you do not have an adequate faith. You must come to the proper understanding that Jesus Christ shed His precious blood for you and for your personal sins. This is the real gospel! Jesus Christ did not die for mankind, He died for specific individuals. Given this greatness of this mercy let us follow the ancient saint's argument into the middle of chapter ten.

Hebrews 10: 1-4 In the first four verses of chapter ten the author argues the plain simple truth, that the whole business of Jewish sacrifice was only a pale shadow of what true and real worship must be. His proof is simple - He points out the constant repetition of the sacrifices of the Temple! This should be the proof that they are not effective in giving full and uninterrupted access to God. In fact the whole agenda was mainly a constant reminder that man was not purified. The sacrifices did not remove sin, but underlined it! We are left to ponder if perhaps there is a better way.

Hebrews 10: 5-10 Therefore in the next paragraph the writer argues the once for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ is most adequate. Now the author here appears to misquote this passage in Psalm 40: 6-9. What he did was remember the passage from the Greek Septuagint version. He says: "But a body Thou hast prepared for Me;". In the Hebrew it reads: "But my ears you have pierced."

What both passages mean is that He has been so touched that everything that He hears He obeys. The Septuagint translation means that He has been so created in the body that He should do God's will. In essence, the meaning is the same. However we translate this verse, the intent is that the sacrifice of a rational and spiritual creature is more excellent then the sacrifice of dumb creatures. The inspired words of David, come back to the true author Jesus Christ. He it is who came, and according to the roll of the book, which previously had been understood to refer to the divine law, now is ascribed to Him who is behind the law.

However, a specific action of God was necessary before Christ could fulfill His will. The second Adam had to live a perfect life and give that life in sacrifice for the imperfect creatures who are covered by the Covenant of Grace. The sacrifice of Jesus is once for all. We have now been sanctified through the offering of His body. All through the Old Testament time, it was not animal sacrifice that God desired, but faith and repentance.

Hebrews 10: 11-14. The writer further emphasizes the superiority of Christ's sacrifice and compares the continual standing of the Priests, to the finished work of Christ as He sits at the right hand of God. There Jesus waits for the final fulfillment of God's promises and Word.

Hebrews 10: 15-18. The writer clinches his argument with another quotation from Scripture. He quotes from Jeremiah. Jeremiah speaks of the new covenant which will not be imposed on a man from outside, but which will be written on his heart. This implies the greater, public manifestation of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Now the Spirit witnesses to the effect that sins and lawless deeds will be remembered no more. Thus, with the coming of Christ, the fulfillment of God's Law by Him, there is no longer necessary any further offerings for sin. Because it has now been forgiven. All that is necessary is for us to receive by faith the available benefit of the finished work of Christ. As Paul so wonderfully records the same thought: Romans 5: 11. "Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."

Amen.

Resources Used:
     Barclay, William.         Daily Study Bible: Hebrews. (Background only).
     Bromiley, Geoffrey.      "Hilaskomai", Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.
     Ferguson, Sinclair.      "Sacrifice", New Dictionary of Theology.
     Hewitt, Thomas.           Tyndale New Testament Commentaries: Hebrews.
     Keener, Craig S.          The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament.
                               The New Geneva Study Bible (NKJV)
                              "Bringing the Light of the Reformation to Scripture"
                               (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995)

Places Preached:
     Christ Covenant REFORMED  (Presbyterian Church in America)
                               Box PO Box 13926 -- Columbus, OH  43213
                                            02 December 2000
                               tlg04