Hebrews 9-10: Goats and the G.O.A.T.

Why sacrifice goats when the G.O.A.T. sacrificed Himself? Jesus truly is the "Greatest Of All Time", once and for all.

We trace how Hebrews 9–10 turns the tabernacle from a distant ritual into a living map that points to Jesus and a cleansed conscience. We move from shadow to substance, then call each other to hold fast, live worthy, and remember the cost with grateful hearts.

• the tabernacle as a sketch of heaven
• why repeated sacrifices could not cleanse the conscience
• Jesus as high priest entering the true sanctuary
• once-for-all sacrifice that ends ritual repetition
• new covenant written on hearts and minds
• bold access through a living way
• endurance, community, and encouragement as the day nears
• sober warning against treating grace as common
• gratitude and communion as daily practice

Before you move on with the rest of your day, take some time here, right now, to thank Jesus for his sacrifice, for his blood, and ask him to help you live a life of great gratitude in light of that.

Chapters

• 0:00 Setting The Stage In Hebrews
• 0:57 The Tabernacle As A Heavenly Sketch
• 2:28 From Old Covenant To New
• 4:16 Christ’s Once-For-All Sacrifice
• 6:24 A New Covenant Written On Hearts
• 8:23 Hold Fast, Endure, And Live Worthy

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:11

Hey, welcome back to the Out Loud Bible Project Podcast. This is Mike. We're in the book of Hebrews. We're taking these episodes a little bit shorter because Hebrews has a lot to think about and a lot to unpack. Now it's not here to confuse us, it's actually here to clarify a lot of things, a lot of things about the Old Testament and how they relate to Jesus. The whole Bible points to Jesus. I hope that's been clear as we've talked together. But it's not often that the Bible itself gives us explanations for what in the Bible points to Jesus. And Hebrews is doing exactly that here. Last episode in chapters 7 and 8, the author of Hebrews mentioned how the tabernacle that Moses was told to build and was given very specific instructions by God for, is a, and I like how the New English translation phrased it, a sketch or a shadow of God's throne room in heaven. Can you imagine? The tabernacle, as it's laid out in the book of Exodus, is supposed to be this representation of what heaven is like, what God's throne room is like, in a way that we could kind of replicate and understand here on earth with our bodies and with our materials and resources. Like, wow, that's pretty amazing. And so now, in today's chapters 9 and 10, that we're going to read today, the author of Hebrews, I keep saying that, again, we don't know who exactly wrote it, but the author of Hebrews is going to unpack a little bit more about this tabernacle and what it all meant as it points to Jesus. I don't think we need to go back and read from Exodus kind of the layout and the function of the tabernacle, because the author of Hebrews here does a pretty good job of explaining what is necessary to understand the argument he's making. But it would not be a bad idea if you wanted to just even just search on the internet for some images, some tours, some information about the tabernacle. If you're more of a visual person, it might help to see some of these things. But for now, let's jump into Hebrews chapters 9 and 10 in the New English Translation. Now, the first covenant, in fact, had regulations for worship and its earthly sanctuary, for a tent was prepared, the outer one, which contained the lampstand, the table, and the presentation of the loaves. This is called the holy place. And after the second curtain, there was a tent called the Holy of Holies. It contained the golden altar of incense and the Ark of the Covenant, covered entirely with gold. In this ark were the golden urn containing the manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. And above the ark were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Now is not the time to speak of these things in detail. So, with these things prepared like this, the priests enter continually into the outer tent as they perform their duties, but only the high priest enters once a year into the inner tent, and not without blood that he is offered for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit is making clear that the way into the holy place had not yet appeared as long as the old tabernacle was standing. This was a symbol for the time then present when gifts and sacrifices were offered that could not perfect the conscience of the worshipper. They served only for matters of food and drink and various ritual washings that are external regulations imposed until the new order came. But now, Christ has come as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tent, not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, and he entered once for all into the most holy place, not by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood. And so he himself secured eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow sprinkled on those who were defiled consecrated them and provided ritual purity, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our consciences from the dead works to worship the living God? And so he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the eternal inheritance he's promised, since he died to set them free from the violations committed under the first covenant. For where there's a will, the death of the one who made it must be proven. For a will takes effect only at death, since it carries no force while the one who made it is alive. So even the first covenant was inaugurated with blood. For when Moses had spoken every command to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, and said, This is the blood of the covenant that God has commanded you to keep. And both the tabernacle and all the utensils of worship he likewise sprinkled with blood. Indeed, according to the law, almost everything was purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. You tracking with me so far? This is this is so good. Listen to this. So it was necessary for the sketches of the things in heaven, that remember the tabernacle, to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves, God's throne room, required better sacrifices than these. For Christ didn't enter a sanctuary made with hands, the representation of the true sanctuary, but into heaven itself, and he appears now in God's presence for us. And he didn't enter to offer himself again and again the way the high priest enters the sanctuary year after year with blood that's not his own, for then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But now, he has appeared once and for all at the consummation of the ages, to put away sin by his sacrifice. And just as people are appointed to die once and then to face judgment, so also after Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, to those who eagerly await him, he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation. For the law possesses a shadow of the good things to come, but not the reality itself, and is therefore completely unable, by the same sacrifices offered continually, year after year, to perfect those who come to worship. For otherwise would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshippers would have been purified once and for all, and so have no further consciousness of sin? But in those sacrifices, there's a reminder of sins year after year. For it's impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. So when he came into the world, he said, Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me. Whole burnt offerings and sin offerings you took no delight in. Then I said, Here I am, I have come, it's written of me in the scroll of the book, to do your will, O God. When he says above, sacrifices and offerings, and whole burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor did you take delight in them, which are offered according to the law, then he says, Here I am, I have come to do your will. He does away with the first to establish the second. By his will we've been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ, once and for all. And every priest stands day after day serving and offering the same sacrifices again and again, sacrifices that can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered one sacrifice for sin for all time, he sat down at the right hand of God, where he is now waiting until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet. For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are made holy. And the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us, for after saying, This is the covenant that I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord, I will put my law on their hearts and I will inscribe them on their minds. Then he says, Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no longer. Now where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the fresh and living way that He inaugurated for us through the curtain, that is, through His flesh, and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let's draw near with a sincere heart in the assurance that faith brings, because we've had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed in pure water. And let us hold unwaveringly to the hope that we confess, for the one who made the promise is trustworthy, and let's take thought of how to spur one another on to love and good works, not abandoning our own meetings, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and even more so because you see the day drawing near. For if we deliberately keep on sinning after receiving the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins is left for us, but only a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire that will consume God's enemies. Someone who rejected the law of Moses was put to death without mercy, on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much greater punishment do you think that person deserves who has contempt for the Son of God and profanes the blood of the covenant that made him holy and insults the spirit of grace? For we know the one who said, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, and again the Lord will judge his people. It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But remember the former days, when you endured a harsh conflict of suffering after you were enlightened. At times you were publicly exposed to abuse and afflictions, and at other times you came to share with others who were treated in that way. For in fact, you shared the sufferings of those in prison and you accepted the confiscation of your belongings with joy, because you knew that you certainly had a better and lasting possession. So don't throw away your confidence because it has great reward, for you need endurance in order to do God's will, and so receive what's promised for just a little longer, and he who is coming will arrive and not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back, I take no pleasure in him. But we're not among those who shrink back and thus perish, but are among those who have faith and preserve their souls. Maybe you need to go back and listen to that again. I think I gotta go back and read it again. My goodness. That makes Exodus and Leviticus a lot less boring, don't you think? I hope it's never been boring. I remember reading through it on this podcast, we had a great time. But if you think about it, it's like, well, what does that have to do with anything, right? That's old, that's done. In some sense, yes. But why is it old and done? Because it was a sketch of what heaven is like. And wow, our sin made it necessary to cleanse the tabernacle with blood that comes through death. And how much more so now that heaven's throne room, in order for us to enter into it, in order for us to be made right, his throne room had to accept the blood of a perfect, sinless death, and that's Jesus. And then he can enter heaven and we can enter heaven and be with him? Man, this is big, significant stuff. And meanwhile, we're just living our life down here, doo-doo doo doo doo. Oh, oh man, I messed up again. Oh man, all right. Well, you know what? Like, no. After reading this, how much more should we feel a duty to live a life worthy of the blood of Christ, which is able to accomplish something that we could never have done on our own? This is why Jesus wants us to remember him through communion. This is the blood of my sacrifice. I hope you realize what a big deal this is. Before you move on with the rest of your day, take some time here, right now, to thank Jesus for his sacrifice, for his blood, and ask him to help you live a life of great gratitude in light of that. That's the Thinking Out Loud thought for the day. We'll see you next time.