The Gospel Project® for Adults
1 Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come,
and not the reality itself of those things, it can never
perfect the worshipers by the same sacrifices they continually offer
year after year. 2 Otherwise, wouldn't they have stopped
being offered, since the worshipers, purified once and for all,
would no longer have any consciousness of sins?
3 But in the sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year after year.
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 Therefore, as he was coming into the world, he said:
You did not desire sacrifice and offering, but you prepared !`a body !for me. 6 You did not delight in whole burnt offerings and si `n offerings.
7 Then I said, "See"--it is written about me in the scroll"-- I have come to do your will, God." 8 After he says !`above, You did not desire or delight in sacrifices and offerings, !`whole burntofferings and sin offerings (which are offered !`according to the law), 9 he then says, See, I have come !`to do your will. He takes away the first to establish the second. !`10 By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering !`of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.
Verses 1-4 (the bold words fill in blanks in the DDG):
The Old Testament sacrificial system was incomplete
because sacrifices had to be offered continually, not being able
to take away sins forever.
Verses 5-10 (the bold words fill in blanks in the DDG):
< !--Jesus's death for the once-and-for-all forgiveness of sins
both justifies (makes us right with God) and sanctifies (makes us holy
like God).
Verses 1-4 / In this passage, the author of Hebrews (whose identity is unclear) mentioned "the law" as a summary of the Old Testament law given to Moses and referring to all aspects of Israelite worship, including the sacrificial system. The use of "shadow" here makes it clear that this law wasn't the focus of God's saving work in the world. Like a shadow, it was meant to draw attention to the fact that something else"--something bigger and more permanent"--was there as well.
The author then made it clear that there was a huge problem with the sacrificial system of the law because it could never make a person holy. By God's grace, sacrifices could appease God's wrath for a time, but they could never deal with the problem of sin in a permanent and lasting way. Case in point: The worshipers had to keep coming back each year to offer the same sacrifices.
The fact that God was not satisfied with sacrifices was a common theme through the Old Testament. For example, David said that God does not desire burnt offerings but a broken and contrite heart (Ps. 51:16-17). The prophet Isaiah mockingly provoked the people to consider that God did not want them trampling His courts with their halfhearted sacrifices (Isa. 1:11-13). Jeremiah also lamented the inadequacy of sacrifices and instead called God's people to hear and obey God's voice (Jer. 7:22-23). Amos wrote that sacrifices were not enough and that God wanted justice and righteousness instead (Amos 5:21-24). Micah stated that instead of sacrifices, the people should do what is just, love kindness, and walk humbly with God (Mic. 6:6-8).
Not only was it clear that those who offered the sacrifices were not forgiven forever, the very process of offering the sacrifices meant that they were consistently provoked about the reality of their sin. Here the writer described this as having a guilty "consciousness of sins." Every time worshipers would go to the temple and offer sacrifices, they would be reminded of their own sinfulness. The death of the animal would prompt an awareness of the depth of their sin and the fact that these worshipers couldn't do anything to satisfy God's wrath for sin forever. The blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin. This was no surprise, neither to God nor to those who offered these very sacrifices.
Verses 5-10 / How was God to remedy this problem? Quoting Psalm 40, the author connected two people: David and Jesus. Long before Jesus, God raised up a person"--King David"--to provide care and leadership for sinful Israel. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, David penned the words of Psalm 40, which put sacrifices in their inadequate context. Yet David's words did more"--they were a precursor to the far greater King, Jesus Christ, who could (and would) come to do what David could not"--lead His people into freedom from sin. Jesus would deal with the issue of sin once and for all.
Here, the author of Hebrews took the gist of David's words from the psalm and put them into a conversation between God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. The Son, knowing that the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin, acknowledged that the Father prepared a human body for the Son to come to this earth and do the perfect will of God (Ps. 40:6-8). This was the triune God's perfect plan to save sinners. There would be one final sacrifice"--yet this time, it would not be an animal sacrifice but the death of the very Son of God.
The author then showed how Jesus is not only the way that sinners are forgiven but also the way they are empowered for holy living. His death both justifies (makes us right with God) and sanctifies (makes us holy like God). Jesus did both of these by offering His body once and for all. This Easter, and every Easter, we celebrate because Jesus offered Himself as a sacrifice for sin to make it possible for Christians to stand before God the Father forgiven and to walk in a new and holy way of life.
-->remind your group
of the great and gracious sacrifice of God in Christ.
Because Jesus's sacrifice provides us with complete forgiveness
and acceptance by God, we live with assurance and gratitude,
obeying God's commands so we reflect our new identity in Christ.
Jesus is the perfect temple, the perfect Passover lamb,
and the perfect sacrifice. He is the perfect sacrifice for sin
because the death He died, He died once and for all.
The Old Testament pictures of the temple and sacrifices were
but a shadow of the future hope that is found in
and through Jesus Christ. The temple and animal sacrifices
were good, but they were inadequate because they never offered
a full and final way for sin to be accounted for. Jesus, however,
is a perfect temple who, through His body, brings people into
a right relationship with God. He was the perfect payment for the sins
of God's people because He willingly offered Himself as
the only perfect sacrifice in place of sinful human beings.
Temples and sacrifices are not common images for most of us today.
But these ancient images are meant to provoke the heart.
They are stirring reminders of the glory of God and the price
of sin. Anyone who saw the temple or offered a sacrifice within
would have seen clearly that God's dwelling among men
was a spectacular gift and that holiness was required to worship God
as He deserved. These images can help us as well. We need
to be reminded of these themes, not so we can re-create the temple
or the sacrificial system but so we have a better
and deeper appreciation for Jesus Christ, who came to fulfill
these images through His life, death, and resurrection.
Christians should pursue holy living because of what Jesus has done,
but we are not saved on the basis of our perfection at being holy
(since we can't achieve perfection on this side of heaven anyway).
Praise be to God that though we pursue Christlikeness and holiness,
our faults and sins are covered by Jesus's blood. That grace
and good news of salvation despite our sin is something to be shared.
"True love will motivate us to make sacrifices that might
even cost us our lives. Such sacrificial love makes God's heart glad.
This kind of love is worth it.
--Africa Study Bible
1. John R. Macduff, The Mind of Jesus (Robert Carter & Brothers, 1860), "Twenty-Second Day: Holy Zeal" [Logos].
2. Tommy C. Higle, Journey Through the Tabernacle, The Journey Series (WORDsearch, 2009), 53.
3. "John," in Africa Study Bible (Oasis International, 2016), 1534.
R. Kent Hughes, John: That You May Believe, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1999), 66-67.