Hebrews 9-13

A Better Way, Once and For All
 
Today’s chapters of Hebrews arrive at this climactic truth: in Jesus, God has established a better way, once and for all. In Jesus, God’s redemption of the world has taken a divine step – or leap – forward. God’s new covenant surpasses the old. What makes it better?
 
1. Jesus’s sacrifice is once for all. Jesus does not have to make sacrifices year-to-year like the high priests of old (9:6-7, 25), but rather, His one-time sacrifice of Himself is sufficient for all time (9:26; 10:10-14). Jesus has entered the true holy place once for all, of which the earthly holy place was a mere shadow (9:11-12; 10:24).
 
2. Jesus’s sacrifice is effectual. The author of Hebrews says that goats’ and calves’ blood can’t take away sin (10:4), but the blood Jesus shed is effective for sanctification (10:5-14). This removal of sin is not just a “sweep-it-under-the-rug” cover-up, but, a dealing with the root issue, our hearts: our consciences are cleansed (9:13-14), and the Lord writes His law upon our hearts and minds (10:15-16). Jesus does not merely disguise sin, He defeats it (see also 1 John 3:5-8).
 
What do we do, who live in this better way?  
 
1. Endure (10:35-36). Jesus is coming back, and we await Him eagerly. In the meantime, let us endure with perseverance and faith (10:37-39), fixing our eyes on Jesus so that we will not lose heart (12:1-3).
 
2. Submit. Accept the Lord’s discipline as training for righteousness (12:7-11). Submit also to His ways in the present time, pursuing peace with all men, showing love to the brethren, and exercising the holiness of the Lord (12:14-17; 13:1-19).
 
Thank God that through Jesus, we enter into a living and better way!
 
Author: Pastor Jon