Sunday Night Bible Study Hebrews 10:1-14 July 24, 1994 Hebrews 10:1-14 Intro: We are reading a letter written to Jewish believers. People who understand the intricacies of the Old Testament Law and sacrificial system. 1. For the law having a shadow of good things to come, [and] not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. 3 But in those [sacrifices there is] a remembrance again [made] of sins every year. 4 For [it is] not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. :1 the law having a shadow ... The Old Testament sacrificial system was only intended to be a vague picture of God's real purposes, Jesus coming for us. It wasn't the final thing, Jesus was that. :2 no more conscience of sins Not that they would have forgotten their sins, but that they wouldn't have to keep trying to remember them and then try to take care of them through sacrifice. :3 a remembrance again made of sins every year Because the Old Testament sacrifices weren't strong enough to do the real job, the people had to keep offering them. On the Day of Atonement, each year the past sins of the entire year were to be recalled (remembrance made). If the Old Testament sacrifices were really effective, then they wouldn't have had to be done each year. Jesus' sacrifice was so awesome, that He only had to do it once, and it was good enough for all time. 5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: 6 In burnt offerings and [sacrifices] for sin thou hast had no pleasure. 7. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. when he cometh into the world In other words, Jesus. :5 he saith... The writer is going to quote Ps.40:6-8, a psalm of David. The writer is saying that David is writing prophetically here, putting words into Jesus' mouth (or, vice-versa) Ps 40:6-8 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. 7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book [it is] written of me, 8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law [is] within my heart. Notice how the text is a little different from what is quoted in Hebrews. Our text of Psalm 40 is translated from the Hebrew text. The writer of Hebrews is quoting from the Septuagint (LXX), a Greek translation of the Old Testament. The Hebrew text uses "ear", the LXX translates it as "body" opened: 03738 karah {kaw-raw'} 1) to dig, excavate, dig through 1a) (Qal) to dig 1b) (Niphal) to be dug 2) (Qal) to give a banquet or feast 3) (Qal) to get by trade, trade, buy I believe the idea is that of the bondslave who refuses to be set free on his release date, but instead binds himself for life to his master, who then pierces the ear of the slave. Deut.15:16-17 But if your servant says to you, "I do not want to leave you," because he loves you and your family and is well off with you, 17 then take an awl and push it through his ear lobe into the door, and he will become your servant for life. Do the same for your maidservant. David is saying that God isn't looking for sacrifices from us, but for us to willingly be His slaves forever, to give Him our entire lives, our bodies as His servants. Lesson: God wants us to willingly serve Him! So the LXX translation says "a body has thou prepared for me", being the idea that God has prepared our bodies to be appropriate for giving to Him. RWP: ... The LXX translation has not altered the sense of the Psalm, "that there was a sacrifice which answered to the will of God as no animal sacrifice could" (Moffatt). So the writer of Hebrews "argues that the Son's offering of himself is the true and final offering for sin, because it is the sacrifice, which, according to prophecy, God desired to be made" (Davidson). 8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and [offering] for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure [therein]; which are offered by the law; 9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. :9 He taketh away the first ... The first being the sacrifices, the second being God's will. God has taken away the sacrifices to bring in the doing of His will. What the writer has done is to interpret the Psalm for us to show us that God had in mind all along to replace the sacrifices with something better, with a body that is doing His will. 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once [for all]. :10 by the which will... It sounds a bit confusing, but in verse 7 & 9, the Psalmist says, "I come to do thy will, O God". It is this "will", or, God's will, and the doing of it by Jesus Christ that sanctifies us once and for all When Jesus came and fulfilled God's will by giving Himself for us, we became sanctified. NIV: Heb 10:9-10 Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. :10 we are sanctified ... What does this mean? Sanctified: The idea is basically that of separating something to give it a special use. There are two basic ways this comes down to us. 1. We are cleansed from our sin so God can use us. When Jesus died on the cross, He took all our sins away. Do you ever feel like God could never use someone like you? If it weren't for Jesus, you'd be right! But when Jesus died on the cross, He took away all the excuses the devil might give you to keep you from serving God. Two notes: a) we are sanctified - perfect tense, meaning that the action was done in the past and the results carry on into the present. The act of cleansing happened 2,000 years ago on the cross, but the results keep on coming (better than the Energizer Bunny) b) once for all - meaning that Jesus' sacrifice, happening once, was enough to cover all your sins, all at once. Stop condemning yourself. Stop living chained to the past. Accept the release of Jesus for your sins. 2. We are set apart for God's special use. We have been bought with a price, we belong to God, He wants to be the only one who ever uses you. My toothbrush is holy, sanctified to me (almost!) God doesn't want anybody else getting their hands on you and using you! 1Co 6:13 Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body [is] not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body. 1Co 6:18-20 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. Do you have a computer at home? It's kind of like when you have to get some serious work done on your computer, but your kids are busy playing games instead. Rather than getting any work done, time is just being wasted. God wants access to your life. Does He get any access time from you? :10 through the offering of the body This is referring to the "body" mentioned in the Psalm, the body that God had prepared for Jesus to offer. I wonder if this is some kind of a reference to the "burnt offering" The idea of the burnt offering in the Old Testament was the sacrificing of the complete body of an animal on the altar, the entire body being consumed in the fire. It represented the consecration of the one bringing the sacrifice. As the entire animal was consumed in the flames, it was as if you too were on the altar, giving yourself completely to God. Nothing held back. 11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. :11-12 standeth ... sat down The priest never got to sit down on his job. There weren't any chairs in the Holy Place or around the altar! A priest's work was never done. Yet Jesus, after presenting His sacrifice to God, was able to sit down at God's right hand. The idea is that Jesus' work was finished. He didn't leave the job undone. He didn't forget to finish what He started. All of us are included in Jesus' finished work. You can't say, "Well I'm a special problem case, He can't have covered all of me yet". He has! :12 sat down on the right hand of God The "right hand" is a place of authority and privelege. How did the writer know that Jesus was sitting at God's right hand? The allusion is to a very familiar, Messianic Psalm. This Psalm was even known to the Pharisees as a Messianic one Ps 110:1 <> The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Jesus used it with the Pharisees... Matthew 22 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, [The Son] of David. 43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? 46 And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any [man] from that day forth ask him any more [questions]. :12 one sacrifice for sins for ever Here's the point, Jesus only had to die once to cover all your sins. Theological perspective: The Roman Catholic church takes the position that during communion (or, Mass), that the bread and wine actually, really, truly become the real body and blood of Jesus Christ, and that performing the Mass is actually sacrificing Jesus again for your sins. There is no need for this! Jesus did this once and for all! We believe what Jesus taught: Lu 22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake [it], and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. We see communion as symbolic, as a way of remembering what Jesus did for us. We aren't bringing a new sacrifice to God, just remembering the one that God already performed. Here's the beauty: You'll never run up a bill of sin higher than the price that Jesus paid for you. This is not a license to go out and sin up a storm, but is a relief for those who suffer from guilt. :13 till his enemies be made his footstool God promised Jesus Ps 110:1 <> The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. God promised it, and Jesus is expecting it! It will happen, Jesus will rule and reign!