Cc – The Sufficiency of Messiah’s Sacrifice 10: 5-10

The Sufficiency of Messiah’s Sacrifice
10: 5-10

The sufficiency of Messiah’s sacrifice DIG: Explain the manner in which Isra’el offered sacrifices that displeased God? Rather than meaningless ritual without any reality, what does God want from those who worship Him? When was the plan to send Messiah into the world determined? In what was God not pleased, and what caused Him to be pleased (Matthew 3:17)? In what ways does Messiah’s sacrifice better than the Levitical sacrifices? How does the obedience of Jesus relate to our holiness? What does it mean to be sanctified?

REFLECT: What keeps you from accepting that Christ’s work of salvation is finished? List some things you look forward to about Yeshua’s return?

Even though the Levitical sacrifices were only a shadow of the reality of Messiah (to see link click Cb – The Insufficiency of the Levitical Sacrifices), they still required faith for the covering of the Israelites’ sin to take place. The person who did not sacrifice out of a broken and contrite heart was not covered even temporarily (Amos 4:4-5, 5:21-25). It was the kind of sacrifice that YHVH did not desire. The people had taken what was meant to be a symbol of genuine faith, and turned it into a mockery. They thought they could use God for their own ends. It came in the form of magic, wherein they thought that the prescribed words or actions would automatically produced the result they desired (see the commentary on Jeremiah Cc – False Religion is Worthless).

As Samuel reminded Sha’ul: To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams (First Samuel 15:22). To sacrifice without obedience, to go through the ritual without faith and devotion to ADONAI, was mockery and hypocrisy that was worse than no sacrifice at all. In Psalm 51 David describes the only kind of sacrifice acceptable to YHVH, even during the Dispensation of Torah: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, You, O God, will not despise. Isaiah says much the same thing. Instead of pleasing God, their sacrifices became an abomination that He hated (see the commentary on Isaiah Aj – Stop Bringing Meaningless Offerings).

The insufficiencies of animal sacrifices are now compared to the sufficiency of Messiah’s sacrifice. His sacrifice is shown to be better in seven different ways.

First, Christ’s sacrifice is better because it reflects God’s will: Therefore, when Messiah came into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not delight. Then I said, ‘Here I am – it is written about Me in the scroll – I have come to do Your will, My God’ (Hebrews 10:5-7 TLV quoting Psalm 40:6-8).” God planned the incarnation before the world came into being: You have prepared a body for Me. When Messiah was ready to be born of human flesh, standing on the edge of heaven, if you will, talking to God the Father, He acknowledged that His own body was to be the sacrifice that would be pleasing Ha’Shem.

Second, Jesus’ sacrifice is better because it replaced the Burnt and Sin sacrifices: Notice that God does not take away the Torah; rather, He takes away, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not desire, nor were You pleased with them” (10:8), even though they were offered in accordance with the eternal Torah. Moreover, it is not necessary to suppose that this “taking away” prohibits all animal sacrifices by the Levitical priesthood. The author’s point relates only to the burnt offering and the sin offering during the Dispensation of Grace because Christ’s sin offering was effective in a way that the burnt and sin offerings never were.²⁵⁸ It was as if on the cross Yeshua was saying, “Father, I know You are not satisfied with the Levitical sacrifices, but I know You are satisfied with Me and with My sacrifice. So I will gladly pay the price of obedience.”²⁵⁹

During the Dispensation of the Messianic Kingdom, however, sacrifices and offerings will be reintroduced as a memorial for Jewish believers: King David will provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to make atonement for the Israelites (Ezeki’el 45:17). Jewish believers ask, “Since the Messiah has already died for our sins, why would the sacrificial system be reinstituted during the Millennial Kingdom?” Four points should be noted.

First, during the Dispensation of Torah animal blood never took away sin (Hebrews 10:1-4) they merely covered sin. They pointed to a more complete sacrifice, the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb, Yeshua Meshiach, which would take away sin.

Secondly, Ezeki’el is not the only one who talks about a millennial system of sacrifice (Isaiah 56:5-7, 60:7-13, 65:20-23; Jeremiah 33:18-22; Zechariah 14:16-21). Consequently, these prophecies need to be taken literally because we have several prophets saying the same thing.

Thirdly, this is not a reinstitution of the sacrificial system of the Dispensation of Torah. While there are some similarities, there are simply too many differences, too many contradictions, with the Mosaic system. For example, in the Ezeki’el system there is no high priest and no ark of the Covenant (see the commentary on Isaiah Db – The Nine Missing Articles in Messiah’s Coming Temple). The Dispensation of Torah has come to an end because of the death of Messiah.

Fourthly, the millennial sacrificial system is a memorial. During the Dispensation of Grace Jewish believers are instructed to participate in a physical observance, or communion, in remembrance of the death of Messiah. But for Isra’el in the Kingdom there will be a different memorial: the sacrificial system in the Dispensation of the Messianic Kingdom will serve the same purpose as communion did in the Dispensation of Grace. It will be the, do this in remembrance of Me for Jewish believers (see the commentary on Jeremiah Gs – God Shows a Vision of the Millennial Temple).²⁶⁰

The writer continues his commentary on Psalm 40:6-8. Then He said, “Here I am, I have come to do Your will.” He sets aside the first system, the Levitical sacrifices, to establish the second system, Christ’s sacrifice on the cross (10:9). His point is to show the Jewish unbelievers who were being tempted to return to Jerusalem and the Temple that the Levitical sacrifices were not then, never had been, and never could take away sin. They were not meant to be permanent, only temporary and symbolic. God’s ultimate desire was take away their sin, not merely cover it. Whatever purpose and validity the Levitical sacrifices once had, is now past. They are no longer valid. YHVH has set them aside forever. Only faith in Christ could take away their sin. All this repeated emphasis reveals a pleading heart, calling the readers to salvation in Yeshua Messiah.

Third, our Lord’s sacrifice is better because it makes the believer holy: And by that will, we have been sanctified, or to be made holy, through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once-for-all-time (10:10). The word will here refers to the will of ADONAI that Messiah came to do. Because of Messiah’s willingness to die, believers have been made holy forever (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer). This is what is called positional sanctification: because of the blood of Jesus, in God’s sight believers are in a permanent, continuous state of holiness because we are now in Christ (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Bw – What God Does For Us at the Moment of Faith). In the Greek text, the author uses a perfect participle with a finite verb that grammatically emphasizes that believers are in a permanent, continuous state of salvation and sanctification. Messiah’s blood saves us and makes us holy. That’s good news.²⁶¹

Only the holy will see God. Holiness is a prerequisite to heaven. Perfection is a requirement for eternity. We wish it weren’t so. We act like it isn’t so. We act like those who are “decent” will see God. We suggest that those who try hard will see God. We act as if we’re good if we never do anything toooooo bad. And that goodness is enough to qualify us for heaven. That sounds right to us, but it doesn’t sound right to God. And He sets the standard. And the standard is high. You must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48). You see . . . in God’s plan, God is the standard for perfection. We don’t compare ourselves to others; they are just as fouled up as we are. The goal is to be like Him . . . anything less is just comes up short.²⁶²

Our positional sanctification before Ha’Shem and our practical standing before Him are, however, two different things. If we are in Christ, we are positionally set apart, specifically, to the holy use and purposes of God. But our practical holiness, as we all know, doesn’t always match our holy calling. Speaking to the believers in Colossae, Rabbi Sha’ul wrote: Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But not you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: ager, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips (Colossians 3:5, 7-8). All of the believers to whom Rabbi Sha’ul was talking were positionally set apart and holy, but all of them were in different stages of practical holiness.

Our practical sanctification starts once we are saved. At that point we start to mature as believers. It is the work of God in which you cooperate (Romans 12:1-2; First Corinthians 10:13; Hebrews 12:3-4; First Peter 5:8-9); and is a process (Ephesians 4:11-16), trusting in God, apart from whom we can do nothing (John 15:5; Ephesians 3:16; Colossians 1:11; Hebrews 2:18 and 4:14). He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil 1:6). It is a process that takes a lifetime. It is a goal that we never really achieve. Christ is perfect and although we strive to be like Him, to be conformed into His image (Romans 8:29), we ultimately fall short of perfection. There were some men around 1900 that claimed to have reached perfection in this life. So B.B. Warfield (1851-1921), one of America’s greatest theologians, wrote a book called Perfectionism, in which he dismissed the idea of perfectionism. He probably could have written another book if he would have just talked to the wives of those men who claimed to have been perfected!

But even Rabbi Sha’ul, as a mature believer, struggled with sin until the end of his life: For we know that the Torah is of the Spirit; but as for me, I am bound to the old nature, sold to sin as a slave. I don’t understand my own behavior – I don’t do what I want to do; instead, I do the very thing I hate! Now if I am doing what I don’t want to do, I am agreeing that the Torah is good. But now it is no longer “the real me” doing it, but the sin housed inside me. For I know that there is nothing good housed inside me – that is, inside my old nature. I can want what is good, but I can’t do it! For I don’t do the good I want; instead, the evil I don’t want is what I do! But if I am doing what “the real me” doesn’t want, it is no longer “the real me” doing it but the sin housed inside me. So I find it to be the rule, a kind of perverse “torah,” which is operating in my various parts. What a miserable creature I am! Who will rescue me from this body bound for death? Thanks be to God, [He will rescue me] through Yeshua the Messiah, our Lord (Romans 7:14-25 CJB).

What is the result of being separated for holiness? And we all, who in contrast to Moshe, with unveiled faces continually contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed (to change the inward reality into something new), into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (Second Corinthians 3:18). Therefore, the inward result is peace (Isaiah 32:17); the outward result is fruit (Second Corinthians 9:8; Second Peter 1:5-11); and the upward result is to honor ADONAI (Matthew 5:16; Yochanan 15:8).