Jesus Was an Offering Made to God

DATE: SEPTEMBER 20, 2020

TOPIC: "Jesus Was an Offering Made to God" Hebrews 9:11-17 Christ has manifested Himself as “…high priest of the goods things…”, that is, of the immense blessings that He grants to those who receive Him as Savior and Lord of their lives.

I. His sanctuary is "...the greater and more perfect tabernacle...".

A. It is a sanctuary “… not man-made…”.

1. "...that is to say, not a part of this creation...". That it is not built with construction materials from this world!

2. It is the sanctuary of Heaven! It is God's dwelling!

3. Right in Heaven! We have a celestial priesthood! In Him, in the Lord Jesus Christ, the law is fulfilled.

4. In the law THERE WAS ONLY THE SHADOW of the goods to come because the sacrifices of the law of Moses could not make perfect those who approached God. Hebrews 10:1 “For the law, HAVING THE SHADOW of the goods to come…can never…make perfect…”.

5. (Vs. 12) OUR LORD ENTERED THE SANCTUARY ONCE FOREVER! And with his perfect sacrifice FINISHED FOREVER the work of redemption. "...but He entered the Most Holy Place ONCE FOR ALL by His own blood, HAVING OBTAINED ETERNAL REDEMPTION."

6. At the moment of His Ascension, Jesus “entered into the presence of God”, “having” FINISHED THE WORK OF REDEMPTION (save, redeem = liberation of the person from sin) at Calvary.

7. Rejoice, brother, rejoice over these words, Jesus already did it, once and for all!

8. THE WORK IS FINALIZED! Blessed God!

9. (Vs.13, 14) Christ “offered” “His own blood”, not the blood of calves and goats.

10. The blood of animals has no power to take away sins (Hebrews 10:4).

11. But the blood of Christ is of infinite value; His power is sufficient to "purify" all the sins of all the people who have ever lived, all those who are living in sin now, and all those who will never live.

12. His purifying potential is limitless!

13. By His sacrifice He has "obtained eternal redemption" for all who believe Him and seek forgiveness in Him.

14. Let's be clear, HIS POWER ONLY APPLIES TO THOSE WHO COME TO HIM BY FAITH!

15. The ancient priests obtained an annual expiation (a purification of guilt).

16. There is an intense and immense difference between the two, one is annual, and the other is forever!

17. (Vs. 13) The ritual of the red calf is spoken here. Under the law, if an Israelite touched a dead body, he would remain ceremonially unclean for seven days. The remedy was to mix "the ashes" of a heifer "with pure water" from a spring and sprinkle the contaminated person on the third and seventh day, and therefore would become pure.

18. (Vs. 14) If the ashes of a heifer had such an ability to purify one of the gravest forms of ceremonial contamination, how much more will the blood of Christ be powerful to purify our consciences from sins of the worst kind!

19. His offering came through the "everlasting Spirit"; He made His sacrifice in the power of the "Holy Spirit."

20. It was the Holy Spirit who empowered Him, that increased His strength.

21. JESUS WAS AN OFFERING MADE TO GOD!

22. He was blameless and impeccable (that He is so perfect and without faults or errors, that He does not admit the slightest reproach). He offered Himself to God as the Lamb of God, whose moral perfection enabled Him to be the perfect sacrifice to take away our sin.

23. Animal sacrifices had to be physically unblemished.

24. Jesus, the Lamb of God, is morally unblemished!

25. His "blood" purifies the "consciences of dead deeds" so that we "serve" the "living God."

26. It is not merely a matter of physical purification or ceremonial cleansing, but of a “moral renewal” (of norms, values, beliefs, guidelines for action). A renewal that purifies the conscience.

27. (Vs. 15) Christ is the mediator of A NEW COVENANT!

28. Mediator = is the one who intervenes between two to restore peace and friendship, to conclude (arrange) a covenant (agreement between two), or to ratify (confirm the validity or truth) a pact.

29. Here the Messiah acts as an intermediary or mediator between a holy God and the sinful man!

30. Through His death on the cross He removes the obstacle (that of sin) that had caused a distancing between man and God.

31. When you come to Jesus to accept the merits of the Messiah's sacrifice, the guilt and penalty of your sin cease to exist; the power of sin is broken in your life. And you become the "receptor" (who receives) of the "divine nature", and the separation between you and God disappears, personally and legally.

32. Now indeed there is an eternal inheritance through Jesus: eternal salvation and eternal redemption.

33. His death frees us from the transgressions of the law.

34. The ransom from our sins was obtained through “the death” of Christ, not in life.

35. Everything He did for you has been "in pain."

36. He was the holocaust! He was the sacrifice! The slaughtered Lamb!

37. (Vs. 16-23) A testament can only be confirmed with shed blood, with death.

38. The testament or the covenant was written by God, and only Jesus, by dying, left us the inheritance of Salvation; only He would fulfill it, and it was in His death, not in life. Amen.