Heb. 9 ⁹This is a picture of the time we live in. Gifts and sacrifices are brought which can’t make the worshiper feel perfect in his conscience ¹⁰but deal only with gifts of food and drink and various baptisms, which are regulations for the body imposed until the time when things would be set right. ¹¹But Christ came as High Priest of the good things that have come; He went through that greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by human hands (that is, not a part of this created world). ¹² And He didn’t use the blood of goats and calves but through His own blood He entered only once into the Holy of Holies and paid a price that frees us forever. ¹³Now, sprinkling the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a calf on unclean people makes them outwardly holy and clean. ¹⁴How much more will the blood of Christ, Who by the everlasting Spirit offered Himself without a spot to God, wash our consciences clean from dead works to worship the living God?

So we had this period of time where we had both the Temple offerings and sacrifices and the fulfillment of the Messiah who perfected all of the offerings and sacrifices in Himself. When he wrote this, gifts and sacrifices were still being brought, but these could never make the worshiper feel perfect in his conscience. These were just a shadow of what was to come. These were regulations to make the body ritually pure, but since they were not Christ, they could never really fulfill the righteousness of God.

Christ has come now as High Priest of the good things that have come, e.g. the greater and better promises. Jesus, as our great High Priest, has gone through the tabernacle in heaven, not made with human hands and not the shadow of it here below. When He entered the Holy of Holies, He did not bring the imperfect sacrifices of animals. He brought His own blood, the blood of the Son of God which He offered up freely upon the cross. His blood is not just human blood, though it is only human in nature. But it is the blood of the person of the Son of God. Because it is the blood of the person of the Son, it is the perfect and complete sacrifice able to atone for the sin of the world.



Jesus, the only begotten of the Father, paid a price that frees us forever. “³⁶If, then, the Son frees you, you will really be free.”(John 8) Paul says concerning Jesus’ sacrifice in Rom. 3, “²⁴They are declared righteous freely by His grace through the ransom Christ Jesus paid to free them.” In Gal. 5 he says, “Christ has freed us so that we’ll be free.” and again, “¹³You were called to be free, my fellow Christians. Only don’t use your freedom as a chance to sin as you like, but in love serve one another.” In Rom. 8 he says, “²The rule of the Spirit, who gives life, has in Christ Jesus freed you from the rule of sin that kills.” The blood of Christ then frees us from our bondage to the slavery of sin and the fear of death. It gives us a clear conscience before the Father in His throne-room of grace. We have been freed from dead works, good works born not born of faith and sinful born of unbelief, to bear the fruit of the Spirit. We have been freed to serve and love God and our neighbor from a clear conscience, which are works born of faith in Christ’s holy and perfect sacrifice, which is our worship of God.



Merciful and Gracious Father, give us faith in Christ’s blood poured out on Your mercy seat, and sprinkled on us in baptism, so we may have a clear conscience to serve and love You and our neighbor. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.