Hebrews 9:11-28 — The Blood of Christ
Thoughts about serving others
This link includes a list of posts about Serving the Least, the Lost, and the Lonely.
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Let the Word evoke words. May your life encourage lives.
Jesus “entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption” (Hebrews 9:12). “How much more, then, will the blood of Christ…cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (9:14). These “acts that lead to death” are the denial to accept Christ’s sacrifice, the unwillingness to repent and confess. The writer of Hebrews provides a great historical summary of the rituals of the Jews, with an emphasis on why these rites were preserved for generations. It was well understood, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (9:22b). The key difference is Christ’s sacrifice was to offer himself, though he had no sin. “But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself” (9:26b).
It’s interesting to consider the idea that a “will is in force only when somebody has died” (9:17). That is, the inheritance is not shared until death. Death to Christians is the event that allows us to cross over into eternity, not really a tragic event at all, except that in physical death we can no longer serve Christ on earth (to help others). I suspect the Jews of Jesus’ day would not share this perspective. Death remains a mystery, even if we believe we have one key component figured out, i.e., life with Christ in eternity. There may no longer be a sting of death, but it is not something we wish to rush off an accomplish!
“Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 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.” (9:27-28). We wait in excited anticipation for the second coming with the confidence that Christ will defend us as his, though we are not worthy ourselves.