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by Katie Erickson

“It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” -Hebrews 9:23-28

If you’re just jumping into this passage in Hebrews, you may be wondering what on earth the author is talking about! That’s why having the context of a Scripture passage is so important. Last week, I wrote about the handful of verses before this passage. The author’s overall argument in this whole section of Hebrews is comparing the old religious ways of the nation of Israel to Jesus Christ, and that theme continues here. The author had just finished discussing how all of the holy things used to require cleansing, but now Jesus is the one sacrifice that completely and perfectly cleanses all things, once and for all.

In verse 23, the author refers to “copies of the heavenly things.” He is acknowledging that all of the items used in the Jewish religious ceremonies are just copies to be used for external sacrifices here on earth. It is only God in heaven who can purify people internally. Something better is needed than using these copies to atone for the sins of the people.

But as it’s written in verse 24, the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made was no mere copy of anything! He came to earth to die a very real death and then really be raised again. After completing that work, He entered heaven to join God the Father. The Greek word here used for “copy” means “corresponding to the same type” or it can refer to a foreshadowing. The earthly “copy” of things that were made with human hands are the same type but foreshadowing the pure holiness of all that is in heaven, where Jesus now reigns.

We are not fit to stand before God on our own merit, but Jesus is. He lived the perfect life that none of us can live, and because of that, He is the only person worthy of being in God’s great and perfect presence. He appeared there for us; He was the sacrifice that was needed on our behalf to take care of all of our sinfulness so that one day we, too, may appear before God in perfection on behalf of Jesus.

In verses 25-26, the author again points to a difference between the Jewish sacrificial system and the work of Jesus. The earthly high priests had to enter the Most Holy Place every year in order to keep performing sacrifices, but Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient just once. It does not need to be repeated! Jesus Christ did not have to be sacrificed over and over again, but once was enough. He came to earth once in His physical body so that He could live a perfect, sinless life, die a terrible death, and be raised again. Because Jesus is both fully human and fully God, He did not need to be repeatedly sacrificed as was the case for the imperfect animal sacrifices in the old system.

Even though the people’s sins were dealt with each year under the old sacrificial system, they were not truly forgiven and wiped away until Jesus came to earth and accomplished His work. Only the sacrifice of Jesus can truly wipe away sin, whether that sin is past, present, or future. It is also important to note that while the high priest would use “blood that is not his own,” Jesus used His own blood for the one true sacrifice. The earthly priests could only use external means, whereas Jesus used internal means - His own blood for the sacrifice of Himself. This shows the superiority of Christ’s sacrifice and how it could accomplish perfect forgiveness of sins for all people for all time, rather than imperfect and temporary forgiveness.

We see the purpose of Jesus coming to earth very clearly in the last part of verse 26: “But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.” His purpose was to do away with sin, and this could only be done by sacrificing Himself. This is the key truth of the entire gospel message – Jesus came to earth to die and be raised again so that all sin might be forgiven. This is the point the author has been making with all of his discussion to compare Jesus to the old covenant and the old sacrificial system.

The author wraps up this point in verses 27-28 by comparing Jesus’ sacrifice to the fact that all people will die an earthly death once and then face judgment. But this death is not the end of the story for us; Jesus will appear a second time, but with a different purpose. The purpose of Jesus coming the first time was to take away the sins of all people. The purpose of Jesus coming again is that He will bring that salvation.

You may be thinking, but hasn’t Jesus already accomplished salvation? Yes, He has! But that salvation has not been totally fulfilled while we’re still living in this sinful world. This is an “already but not yet” situation. We have already been saved by Jesus’ work on the cross, but we are not yet living in that sin-free life of the world yet to come.

While all earthly analogies of heavenly concepts do break down at some point, here’s one idea. When you buy tickets to a concert, you are able to go to that concert and you’re planning on it, but you have not yet gone. You may have an idea of what that show will be like and you’re anticipating it, but you don’t fully know until you experience it. You’re already going to the concert, but you have not gone yet.

That’s where we’re at right now. If we have faith in Jesus Christ as the one true sacrifice for the forgiveness of all our sins, that ticket has been purchased. We are already experiencing Jesus’ salvation, but we are waiting for Him to come back again so we can attend the big event. We may have ideas as to what that “concert” of eternal life will be like, but we don’t know for sure until we experience it. The best part is that Jesus has already made that purchase for us with His sacrifice; we simply have to receive it by grace through faith. We are living in the “already but not yet” stage of the Christian faith.

Have you received that ticket of faith in Jesus Christ so that you may receive forgiveness of your sins and live with Him forever? If not, I would encourage you to do so today; we do not know when He is coming back again, and we need to be ready!

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