What A Savior

“But now Christ has come as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, and he entered once for all into the Most Holy Place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself secured eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow sprinkled on those who are defiled consecrated them and provided ritual purity, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.” Hebrews 9:11-14 NET

When we examine the ritual blood sacrifices of cows, goats, and other animals for the remission of sins, it becomes clear that these acts were not intended for the broader world at large but were deeply personal and meant for a select group of people. Each sacrifice was specifically designed for the individuals it represented, reinforcing the exclusivity of the Old Covenant. This covenant did not address sin on a universal scale; rather, it was intricately tailored for God’s chosen people, the descendants of Abraham. This underscores the profound commitment to their unique relationship with God and highlights their significant role as His chosen people.

Understanding how this unique type of sacrifice serves as a means of atonement for the world can be difficult, as it was never meant to become all-inclusive. However, the significance of Jesus becomes profoundly clear. His singular death not only transcended the limitations of the Old Covenant but also ushered in a new era of redemption. Our heavenly Father’s intent was to save all  of humanity, extending His grace far beyond the descendants of Abraham. Because of this, salvation is now accessible to everyone through Jesus, irrespective of nationality or background. We are filled with deep gratitude and awe for the incredible power of Jesus' sacrifice and its greater promise for all people.

Jesus, fully God and fully man, boldly entered the Holy of Holies—a sacred space that no mortal could approach without the rigorous process of ceremonial cleansing. Yet, because He was without sin, He transcended these barriers, proving His extraordinary divine nature. His body, the true sanctuary, became the Holy of Holies, where the Father intimately met with Him. This profound understanding of the temple reveals a powerful truth: Jesus and the heavenly Father are inseparably united. When Jesus enters the heart of each individual, He unleashes a transformative and dynamic new life. Every person is redeemed, radically transformed, and completely regenerated, underscoring the deep personal connection between Jesus and every believer.

Jesus entered a temple not constructed by human hands; rather, it was a temple of the heart, where the Father dwells within each of us. He approached this sacred space without the need for the blood of goats or calves, signifying that no effort or ritual sacrifice was necessary for His access nor for the sacrifice of the animals. In this profound act, Jesus revealed that the Old Covenant had been fulfilled and that the New Covenant had come into being. He is the gateway to this transformative new temple.

Jesus emphasized this truth to His disciples and the crowds gathered around Him when He declared,  “…I tell you the solemn truth, I am the door for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.” (John 10:7-10)

Through Him, we find not just safety but the promise of a fuller, more abundant life.

The writer powerfully addresses his Hebrew audience, highlighting the futility of the old approach to the heavenly Father, which relied on sacrifices and dead works. He passionately reveals that a transformative and superior path has emerged through Jesus, the sacrificial lamb who stands in their place. Sent from God, Jesus embodies both humanity and divinity. His blood, offered without blemish through the eternal spirit, possesses the profound power to cleanse our guilty consciences from the dead works of our past. This divine purification invites us into a genuine relationship with the living God, igniting our worship in a way that the old system never could.

In today’s context, it’s crucial to understand that we are not required to perform dead works to earn God’s favor; we already possess His favor through Jesus. He completed the essential work for our salvation, and our sole response should be genuine belief. However, belief in the time the book of Hebrews was written meant demonstrating believing loyalty to Jesus rather than merely accepting a concept or engaging in logical reasoning.

The author of Hebrews was addressing Jewish believers who faced persecution for their faith in Christ and were tempted to retreat to their Jewish traditions and the law in order to escape hardship. The author delivers a powerful message that emphasizes deep personal connection, urging them to abandon the impersonal nature of tradition and fully embrace Jesus, their Messiah. In doing so, they would receive a profoundly personal and intimate way to approach the Father.

Historically, Emperor Nero's brazenly false accusation that Christians set Rome ablaze had devastating consequences for the Christian community. At the outset of his reign, Nero displayed signs of instability, but by the end, he had descended into a tyrant, a monomaniac with utter disregard for human life—a monster in the same vein as Idi Amin. The Christians grappled with severe persecution across various cities in the Roman Empire, highlighting the pervasive climate of fear and oppression.

The backstory of the Book of Hebrews is a powerful narrative of personal and familial sacrifice. For many Jews, the decision to embrace Christianity was fraught with challenges. It wasn't merely a matter of abandoning their long-standing beliefs in the law and the Torah to accept Jesus as their Messiah and Savior; it was also about facing profound consequences for themselves and their families in the turbulent and uncertain landscape of the Roman Empire. This enormous emotional and social cost made the choice even more daunting, highlighting the gravity of their faith commitment. This is precisely why the writer devotes significant attention to illustrating how Jesus has become the new temple, reinforcing the necessity and need of the transformative power of Christ and their believing loyalty in Him.

Stephen Barnett