Hebrews 9:16-28 – Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice!

Hebrews 9:16-28 – Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice!
By Pastor Lee Hemen
October 28, 2012 AM

Far too many folks in our day and age do not have a last will and testament, because they never bothered to have one written. They think it is unimportant or that they do not need to worry about it so they put it off. Some foolishly think that by doing one they might hasten their own demise! It is extremely important to have a last will and testament. Few realize that their net worth is what matters and not, necessarily, what is in their bank accounts. We have all watched TV shows or movies where folks gather to hear the last will and testament of some dearly departed soul. However, did you know that a will is not completely valid until someone has died? This is especially true where the Old Testament is concerned and was not fully understood until Jesus came and established the New Testament when he became the ultimate sacrifice.

What will be your last will and testament to the world? Have you even written one yet? If not, why not? If you do not write one, then the government can decide who gets what you have materially left behind. But let me ask you another question? What kind of last will and testament are you leaving for future generations that will impact them for eternity? You can you know by making sure you have done your share in telling others about Jesus’ last will and testament. Jesus’ last will and testament was so extraordinary that the writer of Hebrews had a tough time trying to convey to his readers just how extraordinary it truly was. We learn that it did not take effect until it was written in Jesus’ blood because Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice! Let’s discover what the writer of Hebrews says about Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice…

READ: Hebrews 9:16-28

We write a last will and testament in order to leave those we care about most something of ourselves. This is exactly what God did as well! The new covenant is so much better than the old one that we often forget what it cost to be implemented. The promises derived from the new covenant are an eternal legacy for all mankind. However, we can never forget…

I. The cost of the new covenant! (Vv. 16-22)

  1. We forget that “In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it.” And the reason is obvious, “because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living.” The writer deliberately used the terms that referred to a person’s last will and testament. While “covenants” and “wills” are not in all respects identical, the author meant that the New Covenant is really a testamentary disposition. Like human wills, all the arrangements are secured by a testator and its beneficiaries need only accept its terms. He goes on to explain, “This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood.” Something or someone had to die in order for the last will and testament to take effect! Least his listeners forget what happened, he continues by telling them, “When Moses had proclaimed every commandment of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people.” Death had to occur and the ceremony completed. Remember that during his final Passover meal, Jesus gave new significance to the meal by telling his disciples, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:28 NIV) Hebrews reminds us “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.” Just as the old covenant was put into effect with blood, so now the new one is written in the blood of Christ! “In the same way,” just as Moses “sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies” Jesus sprinkled everything as well! “In fact,” he writes, “the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” This is the cost of the new covenant!

  EXAMPLE: Remember that Direct TV commercial, where the testator is reading the will of a wealthy man. The ex-wife, bimbo girlfriend, and other family members are gathered as the lawyer drones, “I also will my private jet, my island in the Maldives, and full control of the family business to my soul-mate… Angel. Finally, to my only son Chancy, I bequeath my Direct TV and its vast collection of 6,000 channels, shows, and movies.” The idiot son begins to dance around the room and whoop it up. We all have at one time or another thought of how great it would be if some wealthy relative, we really did not care that much about, died and left us a pile of money. Of course, this is not reality and it kind of erases the truth of the situation. For a will to be read and in effect someone must die, and we must be the beneficiaries of their last will and testament! Isn’t it therefore great to know then that the cost of the New Testament has already been covered by the sprinkling of a better sacrifice?

Far too often, when Christians gather on Sunday morning they have forgotten why they are supposed to. Sunday worship is not about us. Our worship is to make us reflect on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, but more than that, it is a time whereby we are to remind ourselves of…

II. The amazing wonder of the new covenant! (Vv. 23-28)

  1. The writer quickly teaches his listeners the importance of the new will and testament of Jesus. Jesus did not just cleanse earthly implements or people so they could be clean until they sinned again, he cleansed those who trusted him for salvation for eternity! “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.” Jesus was a better sacrifice because “Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence.” Jesus could do this because of who he is! He is not a human becoming a god, nor is he just a good man trying to gain ultimate reality, he is God himself in human form. This is why Jesus did not “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.” As Gill relates, “Christ entered into heaven with his own blood, he having been altar, priest, and sacrifice: the high priest went into the most holy place every year, but Christ has entered into heaven once for all, where he sits down and continues, having done his work effectually.” If Jesus were not God in human flesh, “Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.” The end of the ages began when Jesus died and rose again! He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end of all things! Just as “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:3 NIV) Jesus is the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29 NIV) In fact, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Jesus came once, died once, rose once, and will come again once! It is the amazing wonder of the new covenant!

  EXAMPLE: There is no free lunch. Nothing in life is free. Nothing of value is free. Everything has a price. Anything of value costs something. All of these quotes refer to the price that has to be paid for something we might take for granted. The salvation Christians enjoy came at a great cost and in fact, it cost us nothing and everything as well. We did not have to die for it, Jesus did that, but we have to die to ourselves to obtain it and for some that is a difficult price. It is difficult because we know who we are and we cannot believe anyone would care enough to die for us! Paul put it this way, “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!” (Romans 5:7-9 NIV) It is the amazing wonder of the new covenant!

Conclusion:
We learned two things concerning Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice: 1) The cost of the new covenant, and 2) the amazing wonder of the new covenant! It is Jesus’ last will and testament to us for us!
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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 27 years in Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causes and maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2012 by Lee Hemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless you quote the entire article and have my permission.

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