Hebrews 10:5-18 Christ’s Death Fulfills God’s Will Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come In the volume of the book it is written of Me To do Your Will, O God. Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your Will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. In contrast to the weakness of the Levitical offerings, we come now to the strength of the superlative sacrifice of Christ. Quoting from Psalm 40 He noted Gods dissatisfaction with the sacrifices and offering of the Old Covenant. God had instituted these sacrifices, yet they were never His ultimate intention. They were never designed to put away sins but rather to point forward to the Lamb of God who would bear away the sin of the world. Could God be pleased with rivers of animal blood or with heaps of animal carcasses? Another reason for Gods dissatisfaction is that people thought they were pleasing Him by going through ceremonies while their inward lives were sinful and corrupt. Dissatisfied with the former sacrifices, God prepared a human body for His Son which was an integral part of His human life and nature. This, of course, refers to the unfathomable wonder of the Incarnation when the Eternal Word became flesh so that, as Man, He might die for men. It is interesting that the clause a body You have prepared for Me, adapted from Psalm 40:6 In the Psalm it reads, My ears You have opened, The open ear, of course, signifies that the Messiah was always ready to receive His instructions from God and to obey them instantly. Continuing the quotation from Psalm 40, the Messiah repeated that God took no pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin. The animals were unwilling victims whose blood was powerless to cleanse. Also they never represent Gods ultimate desire. They were types and shadows looking forward to the sacrifice of Christ. As an end in themselves, they were valueless. What did bring pleasure to God was the Messiahs willingness to do the Will of God no matter what the cost might be. He proved His willing obedience by offering Himself on the alter of sacrifices. In verses 8-10 the writer gives the spiritual significance of the soliloquy. He sees it as signaling the demise of the old sacrificial system and the inauguration of the One Perfect, Complete. and Final Offering of Jesus Christ. Then the writer sees significance in the fact that immediately after declaring Gods displeasure with the old, The Messiah stepped forward, as were; to do the thing that would please the heart of His Father. The conclusion: He takes away the first that He may establish the second, that is, He abolishes the old system of offerings that were required by law, and introduces His own Great Sacrifice for sin. By that will of God, to which Jesus was utterly obedient, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. The ministry of every Aaronic priest is now contrasted sharply with that of Christ. Our Blessed Lord offered a single sacrifice for sins. None other would ever be needed! Having finished the work of Redemption, He sat down in perpetuity at the right hand of God. He waits till His enemies are made His footstool, till the day when every knee will bow to Him, and every tongue acknowledge Him as Lord to the Glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:10,11) This will be the day of His public vindication on earth. The surpassing value of His offering is seen in that by it He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. Those who are belong sanctified. here means all who have been set apart to God from the world, that is, all true believers. The Holy Spirit also witnesses to the fact that under the New Covenant, sins would be effectively dealt with once and for all. He witnesses to it through the OT scriptures. In Jeremiah 31:31, the LORD promised to make a New covenant with His chosen earthly people. Then in the very same passage, He adds, Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. It is arresting that Jeremiah 31:34 contained this promise of full and final forgiveness of sins; yet some of those who lived in the day when the promise began to be fulfilled were disposed to return to the never-ending sacrifices of Judaism! F.B.I.CHRIST *+* (:)}
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 19:38:06 +0000
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