Christs once for all sacrifice

we're going to read the bible together now so if you'd like to open up to hebrews

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10 james if you could come up and read that'd be great

so that was hebrews chapter 10 reading from verse 1 to 18

Hebrews 10 · chapter mention

since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of those realities

it can never by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year make perfect

those who draw near otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered since the worshippers

having once been cleansed would no longer have any consciousness of sins but in these sacrifices

there is a reminder of sins every year for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to

take away sins consequently when christ came into the world he said sacrifices and offerings you have

not desired but a body you have prepared for me in burnt offerings in burnt offerings and sin offerings

you have taken no pleasure 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 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

then he added behold i have come to do your will he does away with the first in order to establish the

second and by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of jesus christ once for

all and every priest stands daily at his service offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which can

never take away sins but when christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins he sat down

at the right hand of god waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet

for by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified

and the holy spirit also bears witness to us for after saying this is the covenant that i will make

with them after those days declares the lord i will put my laws in their hearts and write them on their

minds then he adds i will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more where there is forgiveness

of these there is no longer any offering for sin

oh good afternoon everyone yep mic's on uh good to see you all my name is dave

well i don't know if you're like me how you feel when coming into this place

having your temperature checked at the door

being asked about symptoms and where you've been lately it's a bit intrusive

there's there's a part of me that fears that that temperature gun is going to go off

and it's just going to flash red the alarm's going to go off and it's just going to say to me get out

you are not allowed in here you are unclean you are defiled people need to stay away from you

leave there's just a small fear in me that it's going to happen it hasn't happened yet

i think perhaps more than ever i'm appreciating a bit more now what it means to be unclean

and being unclean restricting us from places and more painfully from people

we can't holiday interstate or overseas we can't feel completely safe when shopping or at the coffee shop

i had to watch a friend's wedding via youtube last week but they didn't even know i was there

really i couldn't clap um i couldn't cheer

just a lot of funerals must be even harder

as a church we've been split in two by this the distance there

and no doubt those who are who are on zoom every week feel the distance even more

being close to me is no longer an expression of intimacy it's an expression of lack of love for me

figure that one it's so strange isn't it

we're restricted in our singing it's just so unnatural not to express our praise of god our love of god

with the lord's supper today we can't share in the one bread gluten-free bread that the wongs make

an expression of intimacy in christ but we have these um little wafer things

it's different all because of this virus the potential to be unclean

i now think twice about hugging family members

i have to decide with extended family members whether they're too unclean for me to see them

and today might be hitting you hardest of all father's day for me personally it's hard that my dad is still in new zealand

this virus is to differing degrees restricting our access to places and more painfully to people

so what about being relationally close to god can you access his presence as you are

if you think you can why do you think that

because god says our sin has made us unclean we are defiled

that's a big problem because god is holy

how can we come near to him

how can we approach him there's only one way because god has prescribed a way for us to come to him

in the days of the jewish temple in the old testament god prescribed a way for people to live

with god and access his presence

he prescribed daily sacrifices but most important of all

was the sacrifices on the day of atonement

it was the most important thing to make unclean people

to be able to access a holy god

so we learn about this day of atonement in leviticus 16

i really encourage you to read it sometime leviticus leviticus 16 and we can find out more detail about

what happened on this day in the jewish mishnah which was a jewish writing in the second century a.d

so what we're going to do now is just transport back in time

and walk in the footsteps of the high priest

and see what god prescribed so that people can access god's presence and be in fellowship with him

so the day of atonement

the mishnah instructs the high priest to leave his house and sleep in the temple for seven days before the day of atonement

just to keep himself from any accidental uncleanness

i think we're all familiar with quarantine at the moment

a deputy was ready to step in in case the high priest became unclean

and on the third and seventh day he was sprinkled with the blood of a heifer

just in case he had some uncleanness that he wasn't aware of

why all this precaution

because it is dangerous

to approach god

it is dangerous

to come close to god

the very first high priest aaron

learned this painfully

his sons nadab and abihu

went into the temple with unprescribed offerings

and fire came out and killed them

it is dangerous

to approach a holy god

if you read leviticus

you might get tired of all the detail

people who read the bible from the beginning

they can get stuck

at leviticus because of all the detail

but the detail is what's so profound

because it's yelling at us

warning us

you need to be careful how you approach god

you cannot approach god on your own terms

and yet how many of us try to

we can be flippant

with the lord as if he is lonely and needy

and just whatever we offer him will be acceptable

god is light

in him there is no darkness at all

for us to be in even a bit unclean

a bit of darkness

to come near him

is dangerous

but all the detail in leviticus

also says something else

it says

god wants us to come to him

he wants to provide a way for us to come to him

to restore fellowship

to be near to him

and so he graciously provides a way for us to do that

and the day of atonement was critical

in dealing with people's sin

so the jewish calendar

it had many feasts

to celebrate

but on this day

all the people fasted

the mishnah says

the high priest

fully bathed five times

and washed his hands

and his feet

a further ten times

to be clean

instead of wearing his majestic

priestly robes

he wore white linen garments

to represent the humility

that should be characterizing the priest

and the people

then taking a bull

the priest

laid his hands on the head of the bull

confessing his sin

and his family's sin

and then sacrificed the bull

collecting some of its blood

and then the moment came

that would have just gripped everyone with anticipation

the priest went inside

not just to the outer holy place

but the most holy place

behind the curtain

this only happened

once a year

Aaron

the first high priest

is warned in leviticus 16

2

by the lord

not to come at any time

into the holy place

inside the veil

before the mercy seat

that is on the ark

so that you may not die

not even Aaron

could come whenever he wanted

only on this day

only bringing blood

only for this purpose

so taking some of the bull's blood

he approaches

first

he puts incense

on hot coals

so that the most holy place

is filled with smoke

so that the ark

which represents

God's presence

can't be seen

by the priest

protecting the priest

and then he sprinkles

some of the bull's blood

once on the ark

on the mercy seat

and then seven times

he sprinkles it

at the base

by doing this

the blood of the bull

has been a substitute

for him and his family

and they are atoned

for their sin

so atonement

is about cleansing

from impurity

atonement when it comes

to objects

is about cleansing

that object

to set it apart

for service

for the Lord

but when it comes

to people

it's about cleansing

that person

to set them apart

for service

of the Lord

and bring them

into fellowship

with the Lord

so after making

atonement

for himself

and his family

the priest

again goes outside

this time

two goats

are brought to him

lots are cast

to see which goat

is going to be

the sin offering

and which is going

to be the scapegoat

the one that's

a sin offering

the priest

puts his hand

on its head

and confesses

all the sin

of the nation

while having his hand

on the head

of that goat

and then sacrifices

the goat

and collects

the goat's blood

and again

once more

he returns

inside

behind the curtain

and sprinkles

the blood

once on the ark

seven times

at the base

the priest

goes back outside

and with the other goat

puts his hand

on the goat's head

and again

confesses

the sin

of all the people

now this time

instead of sacrifice

the goat

is led away

by another person

outside

away from

God's presence

away from

God's people

the community

cut off

from life

and blessing

into the wilderness

where we get

our idea

of scapegoat

from

as the

people

watch

that goat

leave

the community

they would

be watching

their sin

to be taken

away from

them

so after

atonement

is made

the high priest

bathes again

and the

solemn

mood

of the day

is replaced

with relief

and joy

he gets

dressed

in his

majestic

robes

and offers

burnt offerings

in worship

of the Lord

when the

day was

done

the

mishnah

says

that

the

high

priest

went

home

to his

family

and had

a feast

to celebrate

that he

didn't die

that the

priest

survived

going into

the most

holy place

and the

whole people

were celebrating

as well

their sin

had been

dealt with

and the

women danced

to express

that celebration

as a

community

so that's

the day

of atonement

what would

have been

understood

by this

special day

i think

these things

would be

understood

sin

is deadly

serious

it

separates

people

from

god

it

must

be

dealt

with

and it

must

be

dealt

with

in the

way

god

prescribes

i think

another thing

that people

would have

understood

as well

the day

after the

day of

atonement

the most

holy place

was again

shut

access

is denied

even to

the high

priest

the presence

of the

lord

could only

be accessed

by one

man

once a

year

for one

purpose

and he's

got to

get out

this

pandemic

that we're

in

has to

one degree

or another

made us

all afraid

and it's

interrupted

life

with its

blessings

and we

might be

tempted to

believe

along with

the rest

of the

world

that if

only a

vaccine

was

available

that took

the virus

away

then life

in all

its blessings

would return

but i want

to do a

simple

comparison

to just

regain some

perspective

i don't want

to make

light of

covid of

course it

is serious

of course a

vaccine

should be

searched

for

let's just

do a

simple

comparison

okay

as of

yesterday i

looked up

the numbers

and total

covid cases

was close

to 27

million

people

27

million

serious

but as

of yesterday

total and

active cases

of sin

was approaching

8 billion

covid has

tragically

taken close

to 900

000 people's

lives and

devastated their

families

it's horrible

but just

consider for a

moment how

many people in

the world are

dying in their

sin and are

going to be cut

off from the

life of knowing

god

sin is

deadly

serious

it

separates

people from

god

it must

be dealt

with and

it must

be dealt

with in

the way

god

prescribes

so in

the past

god

graciously

provided the

day of

atonement but

as hebrews 10

Hebrews 10:1

verse 1

says

this day

along with

the rest

of the

mosaic law

was only

ever a

shadow

of the

real things

to come

it was a

blueprint

for the

real thing

and the

real thing

has come

this is the

good news of

hebrews this

is a good

news for us

this afternoon

the author

wants us to

hear that

you can

access god

with confidence

confidence

not fear

but only

through

the once

for all

sacrifice

of christ

the old

sacrifices

could only

point forward

to forgiveness

they couldn't

deal with

sin

otherwise

would they

not have

ceased to

be offered

since the

worshippers

having once

been cleansed

would no

longer have

any conscience

of sin

but they

repeated

year

after year

all that

was doing

is

saying a

reminder

that sin

is here

sin must

be dealt

with

it was

pointing

forward

to the

true day

of atonement

when christ

came

so why

couldn't the

blood of

animals

deal with

sin

because it's

impossible

for the

blood of

bulls and

goats to

take away

sins

animals could

not be

an adequate

substitute

for you

a human

being made

in the

image of

god

so jesus

was sent

here not

to offer

more animals

but he

was given

a body

like us

to represent

us so that

he could

offer it

in our

place

unlike the

high priest

in the

old testament

he didn't

need to

offer

sacrifices

for his

own sin

because he

was sinless

he's the

only man

who fully

pleased the

father

so not

repeated

sacrifices

but one

not animals

but a

man not

just any

man but

the son

of god

his body

wasn't taken

away from

him by

force like

the animals

his body

was offered

willingly

in obedience

to his

father

so emma

and i had

the privilege

of going

to japan

in december

it feels

weird saying

that that

seems like

years ago

so much

has happened

this year

in kyoto

there's lots

of shinto

shrines

and buddhist

temples

up in

a hilly

mountainous

area

overlooking

the city

and we

went up

there

walking

in the

bushland

it was

just

so

so

beautiful

we didn't

quite go

in autumn

with the

bloom

but just

afterwards

and gee

it's

stunning

the air

was so

crisp

it was

so quiet

all i could

hear was

my own

footsteps

and in

the background

i could hear

the chanting

of buddhist

monks

and the

temples

are just

these

beautiful

wooden

beams

and the

curved

roofs

of the

tile

it's

just

it's

stunning

and and we

went inside

one of these

temples

took off our

shoes

and a man

was in there

on his knees

bowing and

praying to

buddha

now it felt

like a special

place it felt

like a holy

place

i could see

the appeal

to it

but that's

nothing

nothing

compared to

what christ

offers you

and i

hebrews

9 24

christ

has entered

into heaven

itself

now to

appear in

the presence

of god

on our

behalf

he didn't

go into

a temple

made by

human hands

in the

bible

that kind

of phrase

is is

really about

false gods

false temples

christ has

gone into

heaven itself

if you want

to be in

the presence

of deity

christ has

gone there

he is

there

the good

news of

that is

no matter

where you

are on

earth

whether

you're in

your office

or you're

at home

with sick

and crying

children and

the house

is a mess

you are in

the presence

of god

in heaven

through faith

in christ

you don't

need to

be on

a mountain

christ has

gone into

heaven itself

the very

presence of

god

and in

japan

i also

saw that

with shinto

beliefs

to keep

evil spirits

away

to stop

them wreaking

havoc

in your

life

they would

go to

the shrines

of their

ancestors

they would

wash their

hands

they would

bow

in respect

and clap

to drive

the evil

spirits away

and repeat

that again

but the real

problem

says god

is not

the evil

that is

outside

but the

evil that

is inside

it's what's

inside

that defiles

a person

jesus said

this in

mark 7

it's what

comes out

of a person

that defiles

him

for from

within

out of the

heart of

man come

evil thoughts

sexual

immorality

theft

murder

adultery

coveting

wickedness

deceit

sensuality

envy

slander

pride

foolishness

all these

evil things

come from

within

and they

defile

a person

the problem

is in

here

in me

not out

there

you can

try and

clap

evil away

you can

try and

drink a lot

of alcohol

to numb

the pain

of your

conscience

but jesus

offers you

a real

way to

cleanse your

conscience

because he

actually deals

with your

sin

his blood

actually pays

for your

sin

he came

as a sin

offering

in your

place

a scapegoat

to take

your sins

away from

you

and so

unlike the

priests of

many religions

around the

world who

are still

standing and

offering

sacrifices

unlike the

jewish

priests who

stood every

day in the

temple

christ is

sitting down

not because

he's lazy

but because

his work

is done

you can't

do anything

for the rest

of the day

that can add

to your

cleansing

before god

he's done

it

it is

done

so he's

sat down

but don't

think that

you can

approach god

on your

own

that you

don't need

a priest

that david

isn't a

priest

bow and

adam rob

none of us

are priests

well we're all

priests in christ

but none of us

are high

priests

but don't

think you can

just waltz

up to god

you need

someone to

represent you

but that

person is

christ

he is our

high priest

and he is

sitting at

the right

hand of the

father you

can't get

any closer

by faith

in him

you have

access

direct access

to god

the father

and all

this is

offered to

us only

because

god wants

to have

fellowship

with us

it's his

idea

we we

aren't

searching

for it

we haven't

been asking

for it

we don't

even want

it

he took

the initiative

he promised

a day

would come

when he

would fully

and finally

forgive

so that

relationship

can be

restored

verse 10

says that

christ came

and by

that will

the father's

will to

save

we have

been sanctified

we have

been made

clean

we have

been made

holy

through the

offering

of the

body

of jesus

christ

once for

all

that

promised

day

of

cleansing

is

today

if you

rely on

christ

as your

scapegoat

as your

sin

offering

and the

lord says

to you

i will

remember

their sins

and their

lawless

deeds

no more

how good

is that

so a

man

named

charles

simeon

was

converted

by reading

the story

of the

day of

atonement

because

when he

read that

when the

priest

confessed

the sin

while

having his

hand on

the head

of the

bull

and the

goat

it just

clicked

with him

has god

really

offered

a way

for my

sin to

be

transferred

to

someone

else

and the

answer is

yes

and so he

gave his

life to

christ

friends you

too can

transfer

your sin

your uncleanness

your defilement

to someone

else to

jesus christ

he's the only

one who can

bear it

and you

must

transfer it

you must

if you

are to

know god

nothing

is as

urgent

nothing

will give

you more

joy and

delight

than to

confess

your sin

and ask

christ

to take

it from

you

matthew

records in

his gospel

that when

jesus

breathed

his last

breath

this

happened

behold

the curtain

of the

temple was

torn in

two from

top to

bottom

the most

holy place

the real

presence of

god in

heaven itself

is now

completely

open to

us

full access

all the

time

through

christ

alone

and so

we're

urged

in

hebrews

9

10

19

therefore

brothers

and

sisters

since

we have

confidence

to enter

the holy

places

by the

blood

of

jesus

by the

new

and living

way

that he

opened

for us

through

the

curtain

that is

through

his

flesh

and since

we have

a great

priest

over the

house of

god let

us draw

near

with a

true

heart

in full

assurance

of faith

with our

hearts

sprinkled

clean

from an

evil

conscience

and our

bodies

washed

with pure

water

don't bring

with you

as you

come to

god any

fear of

punishment

don't bring

anything in

your hand

to offer

him to let

you in

christ has

done it

all

his once

for all

sacrifice

for your

sin

your

uncleanness

your

cleansing

is complete

so god

calls you

to come

to him

and know

him as

your father

forever

that's the

good news

will you

pray with

me

please pray

with me

father we

we praise

you that

you have

provided a

way for

us to

come back

to you

we praise

you that

you took

the initiative

to draw

us back

to yourself

we pray

we praise

you that

you didn't

or you

sent your

son to

take our

place

lord

without you

we wouldn't

even be

aware of

our sin

thank you

for the

cross of

jesus that

that shows

us a sin

but at the

same time

shows that

our sin

is dealt

with

thank you

lord jesus

for being

willing to

die in our

place

father help

each one

of us

to know

that we

truly are

clean

so that

we can

live

close to

you

that we

can serve

you

with a

clear

conscience

we thank

you for

your great

love for

us

in jesus

name

amen

for

an

ALK