Hebrews 10

What’s Happening?

Hebrews was written to a primarily Jewish audience. God chose the Jews to be holy, to be his set apart people who looked and acted like him. This would create a clean and perfect community in the middle of a polluted world. In this holy place, God’s people could be with God. The center of this community was God’s throne located in the holiest place in God’s house—the Holy of Holies in the temple. To keep this space holy and clean, Israel’s priests would cover the land with life whenever death would overtake it. This was done by sprinkling blood, the source of life, in and around the temple where God lived. This was the sacrificial system and it operated every day, every month, every year to constantly cleanse the people and their place with God. Yet, the author of Hebrews says all of this is a shadow of the final reality God has revealed in Jesus (Hebrews 10:1). 

Like a shadow points to the more solid object that casts it, the sacrificial system points to the solid person of Jesus. The constant need for a sacrificial system points to a constant problem (Hebrews 10:2). Every year the priests offered sacrifices because every year the people kept sinning. The annual sacrifices reminded Israel that their rebellion against God persisted, making themselves and the land unholy. But the author of Hebrews argues that the neverending problem of sin also points to the neverending solution of Jesus (Hebrews 10:3-4). Israel needed a way to not only clean up the pollution caused by their sin, but to permanently clean up their hearts that kept sinning. This is what the sacrifice of Jesus accomplished. His sacrifice was offered only once, meaning it solved the problem. A one time sacrifice means the source of sin has been cleansed (Hebrews 10:8-10). Therefore, those who have been made holy on the inside by Jesus’ sacrifice will become more and more holy on the outside.   

The author warns that people who are more and more polluted by sin outwardly, reveal that they have not been cleansed from sin inwardly. If they refuse to let Jesus’ sacrifice cleanse them, there is nothing left that could do the job. Nothing goes deeper than his blood (Hebrews 10:26-27). The author’s Jewish readers should recall from their own Scriptures that refusing to be covered by the life offered by the shadow of the sacrificial system resulted in death (Hebrews 10:28-31). How much more then would refusing to be covered by the solid life of Jesus result in a far worse fate? 

Despite this stiff warning, the author doesn’t believe his readers have rejected Jesus’ cleansing (Hebrews 10:39). In fact, he commends their success! He has seen outer holiness in them. He knows them personally and has seen Jesus’ cleansing in their lives: how they’ve joyfully endured public humiliation, the confiscation of their homes, and even time in prison (Hebrews 10:32-35). They only need to endure patiently a little longer before Jesus will return with their reward (Hebrews 10:36-38).

Where is the Gospel?

The sacrifice that cleanses God’s people and makes them holy both inwardly and outwardly is not a goat or a bull, but the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:4). God himself came in the person of Jesus and died so that we could live. And because the solid person of Jesus does the inward and outward cleansing, God’s people are made holy through and through. His once for all sacrifice proves that we are no longer unholy and sinful. If we were, he would have to die again and again, like the shadow of the old sacrifices. But since he perfectly died once, we know we are perfectly clean forever. 

The shadow made a way for the priest to go into God’s throne room. It made a space for Israel to be close to God around the temple. But Jesus’ sacrifice gives us the cleanliness and confidence to draw near to God ourselves. He is our priest who has cleansed our sinful hearts and has ushered us into God’s throne room (Hebrews 10:19-22)! And finally, the author of Hebrews talks about the Day when the solid reality of Jesus will come to us in his return (Hebrews 10:36-37). On that day he will dwell with us and we can have confidence that we will dwell with him. On that day, the Holy of Holies will come home. On that day we will be with him. 

See for Yourself

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see the God who has given us a final sacrifice. And may you see Jesus whose once for all sacrifice brings us confidently before God.