The Superiority of Messiah’s Sacrifice
9: 11-12
The superiority of Messiah’s sacrifice DIG: To what did the greater and more perfect Tabernacle refer? In what ways were Christ’s services different from those of the priests? Through whom in obedience did Jesus do everything while on the earth? How did Messiah’s cleansing differ from the Levitical system? Why does Christ’s sacrifice have the more significant, everlasting result? Where is the Tabernacle that is not man-made located?
REFLECT: Instead of covering our sin, Christ’s blood removes our sin in God’s sight as far as the east is from the west, that is how far he has removed our sins from us (Psalm 103:12 ISV). Can you measure how far the east is from the west? What does that tell you about God’s love for you? How do you think your life would be different today if your sin was merely covered rather than removed?
Even a casual student of Scripture notes the connection between blood and mercy. As far back as the son of Adam, worshipers knew without the shedding of blood there is not forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22). Abel, with a field as his temple and the ground as his altar, became the first to do what millions would imitate. He offered a blood sacrifice for sins. Those who followed suit form a long line: Abraham, Moshe, Gideon, Sha’ul, and David. They knew the shedding of blood was necessary for the forgiveness of sins. Jacob knew also; hence, the stones were stacked for the altar. But the line ended at the cross. What Abel sought to accomplish in the field, YHVH accomplished with His Son. What Abel began, Messiah completed. After Christ’s sacrifice there would be no more need to shed blood.226
The author shows the superiority of Christ’s sacrifice in three ways. The Jews who had not put their faith in Messiah and were considering going back to the Temple and the Levitical system needed to understand the superiority of Messiah’s sacrifice.
Messiah has a better Tabernacle: Speaking to the Jewish unbelievers, the Holy Spirit declares: When Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, He went through the greater and more perfect Tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to day, not a part of this creation (9:11 NASB). He proves this by contrasting the earthy Tabernacle that the Levitical high priest entered with the heavenly Tabernacle that Yeshua has entered. The heavenly Tabernacle is both greater and more perfect than earthly one. The earthly Tabernacle was made with sinful human hands. The heavenly, more perfect Tabernacle, however, was not man-made; it is not a part of this creation.
To summarize, Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come were the messianic fulfillments. He came through the heavenly Tabernacle, which is more perfect because it can bring the believer to spiritual maturity. The author draws a contrast between the work of the high priest on the Day of Atonement and the work of Christ. The contrast is not between Jesus and the five Levitical offerings (Leviticus 1-7). It is between the most important day of the Levitical calendar (see the commentary on Exodus, to see link click Go – The Day of Atonement) and what Messiah accomplished through His death, resurrection and ascension. This became the basis for His ministry as the Great High Priest in the heavenly Tabernacle that was greater and more perfect than the earthly one.227
The Levitical priests had to go into the Holy Place by themselves – for the people, not with the people. The same was true of the Levitical high priest in regard to the earthly Most Holy Place, where he could not even take other priests. But our heavenly High Priest takes His people with Him all the way to the throne of God. He takes us into heaven itself – not into the Sh’khinah Glory, or the visual manifestation of YHVH, but into the real presence of God. Not only has He gone before us, but He also takes us with Him.
If we are believers, He has already taken us with Him. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it was by grace you have been saved. And God raises us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly [Tabernacle] in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-6). When we were saved, Messiah took us into the Father’s presence, where, spiritually speaking, we already live with Him and will live with Him eternally. Since God is not bound by time, we currently live in heaven in the presence of God – in His throne room and in His heavenly Tabernacle. This world is not our home; our citizenship is in heaven (First Peter 2:11; Philippians 3:20).228
Jesus has a better offering: The author now draws a comparison between the sacrifices of the high priest on the Day of Atonement detailed in Leviticus 16 and Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Messiah did not enter the earthly Tabernacle by means of the blood of goats and bulls (9:12a CJB). The blood of goats was for the people (Leviticus 16:15), and the blood of bulls was for the priests (Leviticus 16:11). Yeshua did not come into the heavenly Tabernacle carrying the blood of a goat or a bull, but He entered by His own blood, which is a memorial of His sacrifice. His blood is a remembrance (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Kj – Breaking the Middle Matzah).229 However, we are not to understand that our Lord took His blood into heaven. That precious blood was poured out on the cross and dripped into the earth. But it was by virtue of that fact that He entered heaven, having accomplished salvation by the sacrifice of Himself.230
Christ offers an eternal redemption: An additional contrast concerns frequency. The high priest could go into the earthy Most Holy Place only once a year. But Yeshua entered the Most Holy Place in the heavenly Tabernacle once for all by His own blood, having obtained eternal redemption (9:12b NASB). The word obtained is the translation of the Greek word heurisko. The writer could have used lambano, which is the general term for the idea of obtaining or procuring something. But he uses a specialized word. Heurisko means to find, to come upon, to find a thing sought, or to discover. So the word speaks of the act, not merely of obtaining something, but of seeking something, finding it, and then embracing it. The problem of how a just God could require that justice be satisfied in the case of the human being separated from Himself by sin, and mercy offered the evil doer, was solved by Messiah’s substitutionary death on the cross, His resurrection and ascension to the heavenly Tabernacle. The Judge in this case steps down from His judgment throne to take upon Himself the guilt and penalty of the sinner. In this way justice is satisfied, His Kingdom is maintained, and the floodgates of mercy are opened, resulting all of Christ’s righteousness being transferred to our spiritual bank account by faith. What amazing grace.
The means of this transfer is the shedding of His blood. This is also told to us by the Greek word lutrosis, translated redemption. This word used as a verb means to release on receipt of a ransom, to redeem or liberate by payment of a ransom. The word ransom (Greek: lutron), was used of the ransom-money that was paid in freeing slaves. Sinners are slaves to sin and the Adversary. Messiah, by His sacrifice on the cross, paid for our liberation, the ransom-money, His blood, for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23), and death means the spilling of blood. So the primary necessity of the cross was to satisfy the claims of outraged justice, of paying the penalty for our sin – past, present, and future. As sinners, we place our faith in Christ as our High Priest, and are liberated forever from sin’s penalty. Saved by the blood of Jesus, we are saved for all eternity. We can never lose our salvation (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer).231
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