SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 9
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. [Hebrews 9:22]
This idea lies at the heart of the message of the bible: we have committed crimes (sin) that must be punished, and the punishment is death (the shedding of blood).
If you do not accept this premise, then nothing else in the bible will make sense.
It goes right back to the beginning, when God warned about eating the forbidden fruit: But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die. [Genesis 2:17]
We tend to minimize the seriousness of sin, or at least of our own version of it.
Yes, there are people guilty of very serious sin, but not us, we’re generally good people – so we think.
It’s interesting, but even those guilty of serious sin tend to think of themselves as not that bad.
Fortunately or unfortunately – depending on how you look at things – it’s not up to use to decide.
God is the Judge, and He will Judge according to what is fair and true… and we will all face true justice.
When we stand before God, we will fully understand the seriousness of sin, and agree that God’s justice is right.
Yes, at that moment we will all admit that sin must be punished, with death.
How do we escape this death penalty – somehow we need to find forgiveness.
God will not just ignore sin, but He is prepared to open a way of escape, a way of justice and mercy.
All who admit their guilt, the seriousness of their sin and the rightness of God’s justice…
All who kneel before God and appeal for mercy and forgiveness and help…
To these God will provide an alternative way of having their sins punished.
Jesus is this alternative, the One who will offer Himself in our place, to die the death penalty on our behalf.
Jesus is the substitute sacrifice, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! [John 1:29]
The writer of Hebrews shows that the old testament rituals – priests, temple, altars, sacrifices, the shedding of blood and forgiveness through that sprinkled blood, etc. – were but symbols pointing to deeper truths.
The repetition of these symbols revealed that they could not deal with the problem, they could not remove our guilt and restore us to fellowship with God [Hebrews 9:8].
But by shedding His own blood, Jesus – the sinless sacrifice – satisfies justice and mercy, and makes forgiveness possible, once and for all [“eternal redemption”, Hebrews 9:12, 26]
The Most Holy Place in the temple, separated from the people by a curtain, symbolized the separation between God and humanity because of sin.
But now, through Jesus, that way is opened up, and we can now relate to God without fear of the death penalty.
With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. [Mark 15:37-38]
Our sin is serious, and God has not trivialized it; but thankfully neither has He abandoned us to it.
Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, the shedding of His blood, we are forgiven and free to live with God, for God, forever!
PRAYER:
Lord, I need to appreciate how serious my sin is, to appreciate how amazing Your grace is. Grant me a glimpse of my sin (no more, it would kill me), enough to impress on me the wonder of Your mercy!