Hebrews 9 -- The mystery of powerful prayer
1 Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. 2 A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place.3 Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, 4 which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5 Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.
All of this is significant, but gets us off the key point, hence we can’t discuss these things right now.
6 When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. 7 But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. 8 The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning.
The New Testament gives us the way into the Holy of Holies. This is a stunning conclusion. Once again making this discovery all the bigger. You have to combine everything about the regulations concerning the temple with the verse they quote from Ezekiel that “they will all know me from the least to the greatest”. By itself these two things do not conclusively prove this conclusion, but if you then look at the Lord’s word “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me” it does. There is nothing in the first covenant that would allow anyone but the High Priest once a year to come unto the Father, however the new covenant clearly discloses the way into the most Holy Place.
9 This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. 10 They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings—external regulations applying until the time of the new order.
The derivative conclusion of this is that the lambs and bulls being offered didn’t really clear the conscience. But we are told that they are peace offerings, sin offerings, and trespass offerings. The only way to reconcile all of these verses is that when God saw the Jews offering up bulls and lambs it pointed to the future. God knew that Jesus was the lamb of God that would take away the sins of the world. I find this extremely intimidating, this is like a chess player looking 40 moves in advance. He knows that there will be cult leaders trying to change a word here, a word there, to distort the word of God. You set up the Bible as this incredibly complex jigsaw puzzle and you are able to catch all the liars, all the scam artists, all those who would portray themselves as angels of light.
11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Once again, let’s return to the purpose. Hebrews is written to river crossers, we are going on from the elemental teachings to maturity. We are going on from the foundation laid by Paul to the ministry of James concerning doing a perfect work. We are going on to become men of righteousness who like Elijah could pray and God would hear their prayers. The blessing on the temple by Solomon was that if we would repent and pray towards this house that God would hear. How much more powerful if we pray towards the perfect tabernacle not made with hands? They needed the blood of bulls and goats to even be able to function in that covenant, how much more powerful is the blood of Christ not only to cleanse our conscience but to enable us to serve the living God!
15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
Wow! An excellent attorney is generally the privilege of only the wealthiest and the most powerful people on this earth. I taught forensics and one lesson I always told my students was that in America you get the justice you can afford. In this country nothing is more difficult than to convict a rich person with the best legal team. Look at our lawyer! He knows the puzzle pieces better than anyone. The hidden mysteries in the bible are truly amazing.
16 In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, 17 because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. 18 This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. 19 When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. 20 He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.” 21 In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. 22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Can we see the connection between a legal document, a covenant, which in this case is a will, and forgiveness? When man sinned he was kicked out of the garden, he was excommunicated from God. This is equating being cut off from communicating with God, being cut off from entering the most Holy Place, with our inheritance. The “will” which gave us our inheritance “forgave” us. Our inheritance is God, it is being able to communicate with God, it is being able to pray like Elijah and having God listen and respond.
23 It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.
Every time I read the New Testament I am amazed by how people got healed and demons cast out. How do they do that? Well we have Christ, our High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek appearing for us in God’s presence. This is not a favor, this is our inheritance, we have a legal right to this.
25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
This is a once for all sacrifice. The accuser of the brethren tries to deceive us that this price has to be paid over and over ad infinitum. That is just a lie. But again, that is an elemental teaching. If you go onto maturity you see that Jesus does come a second time, not to suffer, not to pay the price for sin again, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.