We have to break into the middle
of the flow of the thought of the author because of the length
of it. But suffice it to say that he
is comparing the priesthood of Christ with the priesthood of
Judaism, with the priest of the Old Testament, the Jewish high
priest, if you will. And he's making that comparison. Now, picking up in verse 23 of
that chapter, It was therefore necessary that the pattern of
things in the heavens should be purified with these, that
is, with blood, but the heavenly things themselves with better
sacrifices than these, that is, that Aaron offered. For Christ
is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which
are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself. now to appear in the presence
of God for us, nor yet that he should offer himself often as
the high priest entered into the holy place every year with
the blood of others. For then must he have often suffered
since the foundation of the world. But now, once in the end of the
world, hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of
Himself. And as it is appointed unto men
once to die, but after this the judgment, so Christ was once
offered to bear the sins of many. And unto them that look for Him
shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation."
Now, we're in the book of Hebrews, A unique book indeed among those
in the New Testament. One has to almost understand
the content and the purpose of the book of Hebrews in order
to reap the truth that is there for us. It concerns the situation
of the Jews in regard to Christianity and the Gospel revelation. Two
great truths are set forth in this wonderful New Testament
book. Number one is that Christianity
has come in the place of Judaism. Or, the new covenant has come
in the place of the old covenant, long promised to come in the
place of that covenant made at Mount Sinai. The prophets of
God had very clearly stated, quote, Behold the days come,
saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house
of Israel and with the house of Judah. That's in Jeremiah
chapter 31 and 31. And not only would that be the
case, but it would differ radically from the old covenant and its
administration. Now, the second thing that we
learn in the book of Hebrews, and that is that the covenant
that would be made, that covenant made and mediated by Jesus Christ,
would be far and away superior unto the old. It would be more
excellent in every way owing to the fact that the Son of God
Himself, would be the priest, the surety, the mediator, the
testator, and even the sacrifice for sin under the New Covenant. How concerning the Jews and the
Old Covenant. Let's say some things. There
were three things about the Old Covenant that most Jews trusted
and glorified in. They found great glory in three
things belonging unto the old covenant. Number one was the
office, the person, and the work of the great high priest of Israel. In that glorious attire on the
day of atonement, as he made his way by the altar to sacrifice,
carried that blood into the holy place, to make an atonement for
the sins of the people. He was a very impressive sight,
dressed in the regalia of the high priest of Israel, Aaron
being the first. Now the second thing that they
loved and gloried in was the temple, the house of God, where
dwelled the glory of God over the mercy seat between the two
cherubims on each end. The dwelling place of God upon
the earth. Typically, the presence of God
was put in this place when the tabernacle was raised up in the
wilderness. And the third thing that gave
them much delight and glory and joy were the sacrifices offered
there by the high priest in the temple for the sins of the people. and especially the yearly Atonement. As to these things, the outline
of the Puritan Owen is all saying that the Apostle proves three
things. A. That none of these things
individually, or all of them collectively, could perfect the
worshipers. All three of these things together
could not make perfect those that worship under that system. And B, this is because they were
but types and shadows and figures of good things to come. They
were not the reality of the things themselves. They were but types
and shadows of that or something that was to come, and that was
Christ. And then C, that Christ Himself,
the Son of God incarnate, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus Christ, our
Lord, is the sum and the substance of all of those things that were
typical of Him that was to come. Now, in dealing with this, one
thing not to be missed is the several contrasts made in Hebrews,
especially the three things recently mentioned. the sanctuary, and
the sacrifice that was made there. Now, as for the priestly comparison,
that is between Christ and Aaron, there were many high priests
ministering the first covenant. They were to minister according
unto the law. They were all of them sinners. But Christ was impeccable. Every Jewish high priest that
served was a sinner and had to offer for his own sin. But Christ
was impeccable. That is, He was without sin in
any fashion. Now, the priesthood of Aaron
and his family was ended by death. Death would come and overtake
them and put an end to their priestly ministry. But Christ
lives forever. He is alive and lives forever
at the right hand of God. They descended from the tribe
of Levi, but Christ is from the tribe of Judah. So there's the
comparison between him and the priest. Secondly, as for the
sanctuary, Aaron, when he served with his sacrifice, with his
blood and offering, entered into a worldly sanctuary, that is,
one fixed upon the earth, one made with hands. And that has,
we learn from the Scripture, two compartments, the holy place
and the most holy place. And a veil there separated the
one from the other, while the Lord, our great High Priest,
entered into the heavenly sanctuary, into heaven itself, into the
very presence of God, to dwell there in our behavior. And as
for their sacrifices now, Aaron offered up the blood of beasts,
of goats and bulls and heifers and such like, and upon the yearly
atonement which our Lord instituted, Two goats were used in that day's
yearly atonement. And one was slain, as you remember,
and his blood carried. The other was carried away by
a fit man and loosed in the wilderness, signifying that their sins were
gone, for Aaron had pressed them down upon his head and never
would return again. But in Hebrews chapter 8 and
verse 3, as a priest, is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices,
quote, wherefore it is necessary that this man, that is, Jesus,
have somewhat also to offer, unquote. That is, he must have
a sacrifice to offer and one that is pleasing to God. Now what was, what is, the sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ? He is a priest He offered unto
God. And what did He offer? The Scripture
said He offered Himself unto God. He offered Himself without
spot. Hebrews 9 and verse 14. By His own blood He entered in. Hebrews 9 and verse 12. He gave Himself a sacrifice and
an offering to God for a sweet-smelling savor. Ephesians 5. And verse
2, that is, in such the Lord was both the priest and the sacrificed,
and by and through the Holy Spirit, He offered Himself unto God. Now working our way ever closer
unto our text, the Apostle shows in Hebrews 9 and 15-22 that the
ratification and the enforcement of the New Testament there must
of necessity be the death of the testator. That's in verse
16 and verse 17. Someone who makes a will, a last
will and testament, it requires their death for the inheritance
to pass unto the heirs whom they have chosen. Since the willed
inheritance to pass unto the heirs requires the death of the
testetar, that is, one making covenant, since it is not effective
until the death of that testetar, who is one who dies leaving a
valid will and bequeathing an inheritance unto others. I looked in my marshals in Elysium,
Greek, English, New Testament, renders it this way in verse
17, A covenant over dead bodies is firm." Death is necessary
to the passing of the airship. Death is the final means of the
inheritance passing over unto the air. Now, in verse 18 through
22, the author in chapter 9 shows that the first covenant, that
is, the one made through Moses at Mount Sinai, he shows that
that covenant was also ratified or confirmed by blood and death. A reference to Exodus chapter
24 in the Old Testament, where in the 8th verse of Exodus chapter
24 we read this, Moses took the blood that is, the blood of goats
and calves and such like, and sprinkled the people and the
book of the covenant, and said to the people, Behold the blood
of the covenant which the Lord has made are enjoined unto you."
Now think of the words, the Lord, in Matthew 26 and verse 28 spoke
at the Last Supper. This is my blood of the New Testament
or covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sin."
He handed them the cup and said, this signifies my blood of the
new covenant. Now, a second thing necessary
to the new covenant, the blood that is shed and the death that
is died must be able to put away sin. The blood shed and the death
died must have the power to overcome sin and to put it away. It must
be effectual in removing sin, in putting it off of the sinner
so that he is not guilty and condemned. Then follows verse
24 through verse 28, two things wherein the priesthood of Christ
differs greatly from that of Aaron and his sons as priests. First of all, in verse 24, Christ
as a priest, and He is our great High Priest. We learn that starting
in Hebrews 4.14, and a lengthy section on His priesthood. But
Christ as a priest did not enter into a worldly or an earthly
sanctuary to care and apply the blood of the atonement there.
He went not with his blood into a man-made sanctuary, because
these were but types of the coming truth. Rather, he entered into
heaven itself. The Scripture right here said,
into the very presence of God. And notice something else for
us. He is in the presence of God.
He is at the right hand of God as our great High Priest to make
intercession and to be our advocate and such like. But secondly,
notice verse 25. Unlike Aaron who made many, many
sacrifices over and over, Aaron was about the business of slaying
sacrifices. While Aaron made many, The point
is this, Christ needs thy only one time, nor yet that he should
offer himself often, is how it says there in verse 25. Now the emphasis falls upon the
contrast between the one sacrifice of Christ and the constant repetition
of the priestly or Levitical priesthood sacrifice it. Right here in our few verses
of the text, we see it. Aaron, or whosoever, was the
high priest of Israel at a particular time, verse 25. Look at it. Every year, year after year,
again and again, over and over, Aaron offered the same sacrifice. He did it one year. He did it
again in another year. Christ, in verse 25, not often
in verse 26, once in verse 28, once offered Himself without
spot unto God. And this contrast between the
many Jewish sacrifices and the one of Christ runs throughout
this epistle, this Hebrew epistle. The Leviticus sacrifices are
keyed for us in Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 11. We read, And
every priest stands daily ministering and offering the same sacrifices. Every day he does it, and every
day he offers the same one. Constant repeating them. Constantly. And that under divine
sanction, for God had ordained that, even though they could
not take away sin, they could not cleanse the worshipper of
his sin, they could not perfect the worshipper, nor could they
purge the consciousness of the workers from dead works. And
their inability to remove sin is demonstrated by the repetition. If they had removed sin, would
they not then have ceased to be offered? To remove sin that
they could not is demonstrated by the fact that they must be
repeated over and over again. Now, I'm going to give you some
fast words from Hebrews, the official of Hebrews. They were,
oftentimes, Hebrews 10 verse 11. Often, Hebrews 9 and 25. Daily, Hebrews 7 and verse 27,
and Hebrews 10 and verse 11. Every year, Hebrews 10 and verse
3. Once every year, Aaron did repeat
the sacrifice made a year ago. The priests were offering sacrifices
constantly and over and over. Now, the apostles' point is this,
that it was unnecessary for Christ to undergo more than one death
or sin. This might prove a stumbling
block in that time to the Jews who were accustomed to have a
priest among them always making sacrifices in their behalf. So let's glean here, if we might,
among the sheafs in Hebrews where we can bring out the very heavy
emphasis upon the sufficiency of the one death of Christ to
save forever, forever and forever. Here's Hebrews 10 and verse 12. When He had offered one sacrifice
for sin, sat down on the right hand of God. Hebrews 10 and 14. By one offering, He has perfected
forever them that are sanctified. Hebrews 7 and verse 27, this
He did once in offering up Himself. Hebrews 9, 26, that's part of
our text, once in the end of the world. And Hebrews 9 and
verse 28, Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many. Now let us see the two negatives
in verse 24 and 25 of our text this morning. In verse 24 it
said, He is not entered into the holy places made with hands. Verse 25, Nor should he offer
himself oftener again and again. This is what the high priest
did. He entered into an earthly tabernacle. He entered in with
the blood of goats and such like. Now while Christ offered, One
sacrifice for sins forever. Hebrews 10 and 12. And there
are two things for us to notice here. A. He offered one sacrifice
forever. As we might say, in perpetuity. He offered a perpetual sacrifice. In other words, One that is effective
for all time. One with perpetual efficacy that
never ends or never fails. An everlasting atonement our
Lord has made. One that will never be repeated.
It is for the ages to the end. There is significance in the
author saying that after making this one sacrifice, He sat down
at the right hand of God. Our Lord did. He ascended and
He sat down at the right hand of God. This is a declaration
that His sacrifice is finished and that it is sufficient. He
will come no more to take up a cross and to die upon it. One death has accomplished all
that is needed for the putting away of sin. This is declared
in the beginning of this same great epistle, Hebrews 1 and
verse 3, when He had by Himself purged our sins or made a cleansing
of our sin, He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on
high. And in Hebrews chapter 8 and
verse 1, we have such a high priest who is sat on the right
hand of the throne of the majesty on high." Not only has he sat
down on the right hand of God, but according to Hebrews 10 and
verse 13, he is expecting until his enemies or every last one
made his footstool. He therefore reposed in the promise
of God made long ago, that promise of God that his enemies should
be put under his feet. This is according to the promise
way back in Psalms 110 and verse 1. It says this, The Lord said
unto my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make thine enemies
thy footstool. That is, his enemies all will
be crushed beneath his feet. All opposition will be overcome. Every enemy will be destroyed
and put down, including the last enemy, which Paul says is death. Paul speaks somewhat of this
in 1 Corinthians 15 24-27, when he shall have put down all rule
and authority and power, till he hath put all enemies under
his feet, including the last one, which is death. Paul says that the Lord shall
be victorious over all of these things. It is the promise of
God made unto him before the world. But let's go back to Hebrews
9 and verse 26 where the author shows the consequences should
Christ be required to offer Himself often. If it be necessary that
Christ offer Himself often, like the Old Testament priests did,
as was the case with that Israeli high priest who repeated the
sacrifice year after year. If this should be required of
Christ, then, verse 26, he must have suffered often. It behooved
him to do so. It was necessary and proper. to suffer often and repeatedly
again and again, for to offer himself is the same as to suffer
and to die." That is, he must have suffered and died, and that
says the apostle, from the foundation or the beginning of the world. In other words, he must need
to suffer often. If Christ must need to repeat
His sacrifice, which He does not, that it must have been offered,
that it would have begun at the foundation of the world. For
as soon as sin entered and Adam fell, sacrifices began to be
offered. Cain and Abel offered a sacrifice. Noah offered a sacrifice pleasing
unto God. Abraham built an altar and offered
a sacrifice unto the Lord. Sin entered the world in our
original parents, Adam and Eve, and no doubt soon after their
creation. And with the entrance of sin
came the offering of sacrifices and death. Death and sacrifices
and the shedding of blood. Remember what Hebrews said? Without
the shedding of blood there is no remission, Hebrews 9 and 22. There cannot be a bloodless atonement
for sin. Nothing unbloody is able to take
away sin. But in Hebrews 9, 26, Christ
has not suffered or died often, or from the first entrance of
sin, or the foundation of the world, Instead, in verse 26 and
the last part, but now, once in the end of the world has He
appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Once, not in the beginning, but
in the end, hath He appeared. He did this once, as opposed
to often of the Jewish offering, and now, as opposed to then,
How well John Owen put it, and I always love to read how he
described it, quote, not then but now, not often but once,
not from the foundation of the world, but in the end of it,
end quote. And what has he done? He has
put away sin. He has put away sin. How? By the offering or the sacrifice
of Himself by dying for sin. So let's consider that Christ
was a sacrifice. He was a sacrifice for sin, making
atonement, being a propitiation for sin in our behalf, bearing
away sin in His own body on the tree. Christ is the one great
sacrifice. He is the sacrifice of all sacrifices. All sacrifices prior to his were
but types and shadows. They were shadows of good things
to come, it says in Hebrews. Every smoking altar were sizzled
under the fire, the flesh of a beast. Every drop of God-ordained
sacrificial blood pointed to the one great sacrifice that
Christ would make. And it spoke of the death resulting
from sin and the fact that sin requires death. See righteous
Abel, if you will, yonder bringing and offering the firstling of
his flock and the fat thereof. Genesis 4 and verse 3. And slaying that beast before
God as a sacrifice. Would you look yonder on Mount
Moriah, in Moriah where there are two men. And who are these
men? Abraham has lain his son upon
an altar and has raised the knife to slay his son when God stops
him, ready to slay his beloved promised son Isaac. You have
that in Genesis 22. And then I would you come away
with me down into the land of Egypt. Why are all of these families
selecting a lamb out of their herd, keeping it up a few days,
and then slaying it in the evening and dressing it and cooking it
with fire and eating it in haze with their clothes on and their
staff in their hand. Why are all of these families
doing that? Because it was the night of the
Lord's Passover. I will pass over, and where the
blood is upon the lentil, I will pass over. How blessed that we
read from Paul in 1 Corinthians 5 and 7, Christ, our Passover,
is sacrificed for us. John called Him the Lamb of God
that taketh away the sin of the world. Who is that portrayed
in the prophecy of Isaiah 53? He is led as a lamb to the slaughter. And like a sheep before shearers
is dumb, So he opened not his mouth. Who is that one on whom
the Lord has lain the iniquity of us all? In Isaiah chapter
53. This is the one John the Baptist
called the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. All sacrifices offered in faith
prior unto Christ were a type of His and of His death. An innocent victim substituted
in the place of the guilty. An animal without sin, slain
and its blood used in behalf of those who were sinners. And
prefiguring the one that hanged upon the cross. The once for
all sacrifice of Christ. His one sacrifice, His one death,
His dying once, put away sin. As seen in Hebrews 9 and verse
28, Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many. See how it is said, He put away
sin. There is more sin and there are
more sinners in the world now than there have ever been or
when the Lord died upon the cross. How has the Lord then put away
sin? This is the testimony of Scripture.
He has put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 1 John 3 and verse
5, and we know that He was manifested to take away our sins. In 1 John 3 and verse 8, for
this purpose the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy
the works of the devil. Again in Hebrews 2, 14 and 15,
He partook of flesh and blood that He might through death destroy
him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. Thus we see,
the leading cause of Christ becoming incarnate was not that we could
have Christmas, but that He might deliver the seed of Abraham from
the power of death. This He did by suffering and
bearing our sins in His death upon the tree. Thus, death had
a double impact. To destroy the one having the
power of death. And secondly, to deliver his
children, to deliver his brethren from the bondage of their sin. Free them from their guilt and
condemnation of sin. Now the question might be raised,
what of the sins of the Old Testament saints? Noah. Abraham, Sarah,
Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon, and such like. What of the sins
of the Old Testament saints? And if Christ be the only sacrifice
for sin, how were any saved before Christ died upon the cross? Can one be saved and justified
and die and enter into bliss before Christ had made His sacrifice
upon the tree. Now, if Christ must die before
sin is committed to be saved, then must He have died as soon
as Adam sinned and fell? He died as much for the elect
that lived before He died? Those under the old covenant?
Those under the old dispensation? He died as much for them as for
those who lived after His death, even down until our time. Hebrews
9.15, I believe, squarely proves that. For the redemption of the
transgression under the first covenant. Romans 3.25 is another. For sins that had passed through
the forbearance of God, the sins of the Old Testament saints,
were not punished as they deserved until Christ died, for the blood
of the Levitical sacrifices could not take away sin." Hebrews 10,
1-3. They were laid on Christ. He
was set forth a propitiation. A demonstration of the righteousness
of God was made when He justified the believing Jews upon the merits
of the death of our Lord. But going back to our text in
verse 27 and 28, where there is a conclusion to verse 24 and
25, and the two things are A. Christ is not entered into handmade
sanctuary and must not suffer over and over again. Now look at verse 27 if you won't
tell you've heard it all your Christian life. I believe it
is often misquoted. It is almost always taken out
of its context, and even taken alone, there is truth in it. But taken alone, there can be
a problem. So how does it relate? Why does
he write what he does in verse 27? Why does the author bring
in this argument? What's the point of verse 27? That there is a connection is
seen in the way The verse is open. Verse 7 said, "...and as
it is," and verse 28 said, "...so Christ." So verse 27 is demonstrating
something about Christ. One thing has a relation to the
other. There's something about the death
of man that makes a fit comparison to the one death of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and it's found in that word once, verse 27 and
28. Now verse 27 says this, it is appointed unto man once to
die. That is, to physically die. For the body, one time to die. This one death is on account
of sin. Death entered by sin. Romans 5 and verse 12. The wages
of sin is death. Romans 6 and 23. The sting of
death is sin. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 56. Temporal or physical death is
a penalty imposed upon the children of Adam. And no matter how deep
in sin they may sink, no matter how wicked they may be all the
days of their life, yet death is to be undergone but one time. The worst man will die but one
time, not a second time, or even a multiple times. God appointed
a simple or single death for sin. Of course, this is a common
rule, yet God did make some exceptions to it in the Scripture, such
as Enoch and Elijah, who went to heaven alive, leaped over
the grave, and did not die. And on the other side, there's
Lazarus, and the others that our Lord raised back to life
who evidently later died again. Who will be changed without dying? Some will be, so not all will
die. What of those who will live until
Christ? 1 Thessalonians 4.16, 1 Corinthians
15 and verse 51. All these are special exceptions
to the general rule. Thus, verse 27 is an argument
for Christ dying but one time. It is appointed unto man once
to die, not to die again for sin, but then to move on to the
judgment. So Christ was once offered to
bear the sins of many, and then instead of dying again, He ascended
unto the Father. When He has appeared the second
time, it will be without sin, No more will he be a sin-bearer,
as we can see in verse 28. Two references to sin. First,
Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many to die once.
The second reference is, the second time without sin will
the Lord appear to those expecting and looking for Him. Paul carries
much of this truth through to a different end in Romans 6. verse 9 and verse 10, concerning
those who have died to sin in the Lord Jesus Christ, writing
this, knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dies no
more. Death has no more dominion over
Him, for in that He died, He died unto sin once, but in that
He lives, He ever liveth unto God. Christ died to sin one time. And that's sufficient to take
care of the matter. Well, let's make some concluding
applications of our text and of our sermon this morning. The
one and only death of Christ for sin is fully sufficient to
save every elect sinner that there is, to put away their sin,
to destroy the works of the devil, to reconcile the elect to God,
to heal the breach between heaven and earth, and redeem the captives
out of their bondage. The one death of Christ is sufficient
for that. Nothing more than the death of
Christ is needed to save from sin, to put it away. You do not
need to add a single thing to the death of Christ. to be saved
from sin. You need not bring a single thing
in your hand. You need not bring your worth,
or your merit, or your ancestry, or your goodness, or whatever
you might imagine. Nothing beyond the death of Christ
is required to put away sin. Its guilt is taken away. It has
the power to condemn sin, and it did. Romans 8 and verse 3,
sin condemned in the flesh. Don't look beyond the death of
Christ for salvation and victory over sin. Don't look away from
the death of Christ for victory over sin and salvation. Nor crucify the Son of God afresh
as those who cast away His saving death did among the Hebrews. They cast Him away and went back
to their Judaism and their offerings again. I say again to us, we
are complete in Christ. Paul said in Colossians, we need
nothing beyond Christ. Christ is all sufficient. The
fullness of God dwells in Him. We have all that we could ever
need to save us, to sanctify us, and bring us to heaven in
the Lord Jesus Christ. His death is perfectly effectual
to put away sin. and to put it away forever, that
it never come back upon us again. In that he died, he died once
unto sin, and he put it away by the sacrifice of himself. Thank God for that wonderful,
wonderful truth.