ICS Daily Devotions
Jesus’ Sacrifice Needs No Addition
Hebrews 9:11-15 (NKJV) But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s expectation. The wages of sin is death, or eternal spiritual separation from God. The tabernacle sacrificial system that God introduced in the Old Testament to temporarily cover the sin of men was a shadow of what was to come.
On the Day Of Atonement each year, Aaron the High Priest entered the Holy Of Holies—the earthly tabernacle which was a replica of the one in heaven—with the blood of the goats as a sin offering. However, the Day Of Atonement is also a yearly reminder that their sins cannot be completely removed, because the blood of animals is an imperfect sacrifice which merely covers the sins instead of removing them. Therefore, the Day Of Atonement points to the work of Jesus Christ.
We all need eternal redemption. To redeem means to buy back or to purchase. We were slaves, but Jesus has purchased us and set us free! Jesus is the Lamb Of God who takes away the sin of the world because His blood has obtained an eternal redemption for us—He is the ultimate sacrifice. Once His blood was offered at the heavenly tabernacle, God remembered our sins and lawless deeds no more, as opposed to just being covered through the offering of animal sacrifices.
The difference between the earthly High Priest and Jesus, our High Priest, is that Jesus sat down at the right hand of the Father after He offered up His blood, whereas the earthly High Priest had to repeat it yearly with the blood of animals. No more sacrifices are required after Jesus offered His blood in the heavenly tabernacle. Our conscience is cleansed since the blood of Jesus Christ has caused us to have His righteousness. The redemption of mankind is done, and there is absolutely nothing for us to add to it in order to approach God. We simply approach God by faith that Jesus has completed the work of redemption. This is what pleases God!
Sermon Series: What Pleases God?
