Hebrews 10:1 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.
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.
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.
10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
God certainly refutes the false teaching of salvation through law keeping here in this passage. The law was a shadow of good things to come. It was never the way of salvation. It was never the way of knowing the Lord. Abraham believed God and it was counted unto Him for righteousness. Abraham did not do anything to meet God’s standard of righteousness. He needed to believe God’s promise and he did that.
Moses was given the ten commandments but God never said that people would be saved by keeping the law. The law regarding the sacrificial system was also not designed to save anyone. No one has ever been saved by law keeping. James warned that those who teach that law keeping saves must keep the law perfectly. No one can do that.
Jesus Christ came and He did keep the law perfectly. He fulfilled the law. He was better than the Old Testament sacrifices. The bulls and goats were all flawed. Their blood was not able to cleanse anyone of sin. They were required by God as a type of that which was to come. Those shadows could never do what the real thing can do. When the sun causes shadows the shadows are a distortion of the real thing. They are not the real thing.
The Old Testament sacrifices were not the same as the real thing. The real thing was and is Jesus Christ. In verse 2 we are reminded that the sacrifices needed to be repeated every year. If they were sufficient, then the priests would not have needed to offer them every year. God never stated that the priests had done enough. When Jesus hung on the cross, He cried out “it is finished”. He would never need to repeat His sacrifice.
The Old Testament sacrifices could never purge the worshippers of their guilty consciences. They could be atoned for their sin, but they could not be cleansed of their sin.
In verse 3 we are reminded that every time they offered the sacrifices, they were reminded of their sins. After the sacrificial death, burial, resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are reminded of Jesus’ death. We are forgiven and saved through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. When a saved person sins, it is the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses the saint of sin. Those who are saved need to keep short accounts with the Lord. We cannot harbour sin in our hearts. We need to confess our sin and be forgiven and restored to right fellowship with the Lord.
In verse 4 we are reminded that the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins. That is what the Bible teaches. As we stated before, the Old Testament saints needed to wait for the Lord Jesus Christ to shed His blood in order to be forgiven of their sin. The blood of bulls and goats could only atone for the sins of the people.
In verses 5-7 the writer quoted from Psalm 40:6-8. That passage was a prophetic passage speaking of the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. The time was right for Jesus Christ to come to fulfil the requirements of God. The sacrifices that had been in place for many years, were now finished. God the Holy Spirit prepared a body for the Lord Jesus Christ.
In verse 6 we learn of the limitations of the sacrifices that had been made for hundreds of years. They could never take away sin. Thus, the guilt of sin hung over all those people. Those who believed as Abraham did, were adopted into God’s family. However, they needed to wait for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to remove the stain of sin from them.
In verse 7 we again see the prophetic response of the Lord Jesus Christ to this need. He came to do the will of His Father.
John 6:38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
John 8:29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.
Jesus Christ is the only One Who can satisfy the righteous demands of His heavenly Father. He knew that and He came because of His love for mankind. He wanted man to be given the opportunity to stand before the God of Creation and be justified in His presence.
Jesus Christ came to do the will of His Father. In so doing He took away the first covenant and He established the second covenant. He alone provided the means necessary for those who are saved to be sanctified. It is important again to note that Jesus made one sacrifice and that was all that was needed. He offered His body. He did not offer just part of Himself, but He laid down His life so that you and I could be forgiven and saved.
We are reminded several times in the Scriptures to meditate on God’s Word day and night. As we meditate on passages like this, it should drive us to greater humility and obedience to our heavenly calling. Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, the Creator of all things, was willing to lay down His life so that we could have life. Out of gratitude for this great offering and gift, how can we then argue with God when He requires holiness and obedience from us in all things. How can we indulge in the lust of the flesh when we have been given the gift of eternal life. We need to think carefully and soberly about our response to God’s requirements, if we are His children.
Jesus Christ came to do the will of His Father. We, those who are saved, also need to seek to do the will of our Father. His will is not burdensome. His will is the way of blessing. He is certainly worthy of our worship and service.
Pastor Bartel
