Hebrews 9:1-14
seated. Please turn in your copy
of God’s word to Hebrews chapter nine. Our scripture reading is Hebrews
chapter nine, beginning at verse one and through verse 14. Now even the first covenant had
regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. For
a tent was prepared, the first section in which were the lampstand
and the table and the bread of presents. It is called the holy
place. Behind the second curtain was
a second section called the most holy place. Having the golden
altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all
sides with gold in which was a golden urn holding the manna,
and Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the tablets of the covenant.
Above it were the cherubim of glory, overshadowing the mercy
seat. Of these things we cannot now
speak in detail. These preparations having thus
been made, the priests go regularly into the first section. performing
their ritual duties. But into the second only the
high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without
taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional
sins of the people. By this the Holy Spirit indicates
that the way into the holy place is not yet opened, as long as
the first section is still standing, which is symbolic for the present
age. According to the arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered
that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only
with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the
body imposed until the time of reformation. But when Christ
appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come,
then through the greater and more perfect tent, not made with
hands, that is not of this creation, he entered once for all into
the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves,
but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the sprinkling of defiled
persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes
of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of flesh, how much
more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience
from dead works to serve the living God? This is God’s holy,
inspired, and inerrant Word. Let us pray now and ask His help
and grace. Our Father, we pray now that
Your Word would reveal to us our sin, that it would show us
the way of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. that it would
encourage us to live in the gospel way, that it would establish
your church more surely in this present evil age, that it would
comfort your people in the midst of our exile as we make our way
to heaven. And most of all, we pray that
your word would lead us heavenward, where we will behold you face
to face and see your eternal glory forever and ever. This
we pray in the name of Jesus, our great high priest. Amen. What does going to church look
like for you? I would imagine that for most
of you it may begin on Saturday night. You pick out your clothes. You make sure your things are
ironed and well ready. You search for your Bible, your
keys, your purse, your bag of items that must go to church.
You set your alarm. You eat some food. You dress. You gather. And then you make
your drive to Saddle Club Road. Now, I don’t know how many of
you know it, but we have many in this church who come from
afar. We have those who are from Oak Ridge and Greensboro, Reidsville,
and even Hillsboro. North and South and East and
West, we all come to this place. Now, some are a little closer.
We have folks just around the corner on Woodland or Front Street
or York or Kimberly. So, some are near and some are
far, but we come to this particular place. But we pass by other congregations
on the way, other places of worship, other houses of worship. But
did you know that for Israel there was only one place? No other options. Not Baptist,
not Methodist, not Presbyterian, and not various forms of each
of those. And even more than that, there
wasn’t a service for those who wanted less blood, or less bleeding
of lambs, or lowing of cattle, as you might imagine the distinctions
could have been in those days. No, there was one place where
Israel worshipped God. For Adam and Eve, it was in the
garden. For the Israelites who left Egypt and were gathered
by God in the wilderness, they worshipped at the foot of Mount
Sinai. And as we read just a few moments ago from Exodus, God
then established that His worship and presence would be communicated
through the tent of meeting. And then as David and Solomon
settled Israel into the promised land, they built a great and
grand temple to God’s glory and for all the worship of Israel.
That worship took place in various cities. It ultimately landed
in Jerusalem but the Temple of Solomon, the second temple that
Nehemiah and the other exiles who returned built, as well as
the various temples that were built and remodeled throughout
the ages until Jesus’ time and the destruction ultimately in
AD 70 by the Romans. God was worshiped in one place. And then we come to the New Testament
where we read that we are temples of the Holy Spirit, that God
dwells in each of us. And then we read passages as
we did last week or sections of Revelation where we realize
there is no earthly tabernacle but only a heavenly one. And
that is where God is present and where He is to be worshiped.
And so Hebrews 11, when it speaks of worship in the tabernacle
and then compares its ministry with the ministry of Jesus in
the true tabernacle, it has in mind not the temple of Solomon.
It has in mind not Eden. It has in mind not some other
period of history, other than the tabernacle of Moses, the
great tent of meeting that was described to Moses and was told
to him, build it this way. Build it specifically. Remember
in your Old Testament reading that God, when He wanted a tabernacle
built, He empowered several by the power of the Holy Spirit
to be wonderful and creative and amazing artisans. Do you
remember Holyab and Bezalel? They were skilled in their particular
craft. And God used these to take all
the gifts of the people, the gold and the stones and the tapestries
and the yarns that we read of in Leviticus. And He said, build
this glorious tabernacle for Me. And do you remember what
He said the purpose of the tabernacle was? ultimately for the presence
of God, but it was for glory and for beauty. That God on earth
might be worshipped in a way that was somewhat connected to
the way he is worshipped in heaven. It was an ornate tabernacle.
It was for glory and for beauty. And do you remember in the Old
Testament when the tabernacle, when the tent was finally set
up, all its poles and its tapestries, its curtains, its tables, and
all its moving parts were set up. When God wanted to show His
approval, He came down, and His glory filled the tabernacle. And the people knew without a
shadow of a doubt that God was present with them. Well, there’s
more about this tabernacle. It was central to the life of
the people of Israel. In fact, it was physically central.
It was in the middle of their camp and the twelve tribes camped
all around the tabernacle. It was the center of the reality
of their lives. God is our Creator. He’s our
Maker. He’s our Defender. He is ultimate
reality. And all the people around us,
the Canaanites and whoever else, they may worship other deities,
idols, and gods, but we worship Yahweh, the one living and true
God, and He is central in our camp and in our community. Well, what do we find in this
tabernacle? Well, we find a fence, maybe
the size of this room. And within that fence, a tent.
And in that tent, two sections, the holy place and then the most
holy place. There were degrees of separation.
Certain people could only enter the courtyard. And they had to
do so by bringing an offering. And then others could only go
in the holy place. And then, but only once a year,
the high priest could go into the most holy place. And this
was a busy place. Lots of fires being tended. Lots
of animals being slaughtered. Sacrifices being made. Incense
being offered. Candles being trimmed and lighted.
Bread being baked and displayed on tables. Do you remember in
the account in Ezra and Nehemiah, when Israel returns from the
promised land, they are looking at one particular point in time
for certain people from a certain lineage to return so that certain
tasks could be performed. Friends, God in His design and
in the function of the tabernacle was very specific. You must build
it, you must set it up, and you must serve in it in a particular
way. Otherwise, it won’t be accepted.
Do you remember Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron? They offered
strange fire and God put them to death. Or do you remember
when the ark, when it was designed was to be carried by certain
men with poles through the golden loops? But at one particular
point in time, when Israel was excited for the ark to return,
they built an ox cart. And God was displeased. And when
the ox cart tipped on the road and the poor man put out his
hand to stabilize it, God put him to death. For the rules and
the regulations were not followed. So this tabernacle is built in
the middle of the camp and it is furnished with certain things
in order that God’s presence might be known and that his people
might worship him in a specific way. Within the holy place, there
were lampstands and tables and there was the bread of presence.
And then there was an altar and then there was a veil. And it’s
that same veil that was torn in two when Christ died, but
that veil put a barrier between the people of God, even the priesthood
of God, and the Most Holy Place. And only the high priest, only
the high priest could enter in that but once per year. But what does our passage tell
us we find in the Most Holy Place? Well, there’s the Ark of the
Covenant with the cherubim facing each other in the glory of God.
There’s the lampstand, or there’s the jar which held some manna
from the wilderness wanderings. And there’s the rod which budded
when God affirmed that Aaron was indeed his priest and the
leader. And then the tablets of the commandments. And so what
do we have in the tabernacle? We have a place where God meets
with Israel. Much like our sanctuary, why
do we come here week after week? is because it’s where God meets
us. If you studied your history of early America, what did the
New Englanders call their churches? They called them meeting houses
because it’s where God meets with His people. And friends,
that’s what it was for the Israelites in the tabernacle. God came and
He dwelled in their midst. And so what do we find is the
basic makeup in a church building or in a tabernacle? It’s a place
for God to meet with His people. Nothing less and nothing more. So why do we find the tablets
and the rod and the manna and the ark in this most holy place? God was wanting to show through
the tablets that He has covenant rules. I am your God. I have
redeemed you. Now live this way and obey me. Now what about the rod? Why the
rod of Aaron that had budded? Well, God was saying, I have
my priesthood. and submit to them. And how about
the manna? It was a reminder that God provided
for them in the wilderness. Give us this day our daily bread
that comes from the manna. We trust God for His provision.
And how about the ark? The ark was the way God could
come and sit on the mercy seat and be with His people in fellowship. Remember the goal of human history
And God’s eyes is, I will be their God, and they shall be
my people, and my dwelling place shall be among them. And so through
the ark, we see God’s blessing. But friends, guess what? Between
the people and the ark was a veil. And remember, as we have considered
the veil in weeks past, what, in a real sense, did that veil
symbolize? It was a keep out sign. Stay
away from the presence of God. You’re not allowed in here. There
is separation. There is holiness and only the
high priest and only but once a year could he come in. Now
do you know how the high priest gained entrance? He had to offer
a bull for himself and two goats for the people and he had to
enter the most holy place with that blood and sprinkle it on
the mercy seat and then God might accept him. Now do you remember
the bells and the the the jingling that his robe would make. That
was so the people would know that he was still alive because
he had been into the presence of God. And only once a year,
only on the Day of Atonement, only on Yom Kippur could this
high priest go in. But it took blood It took death. It took ceremonial washings.
It took candles. It took baking of bread and arranging
the bread and incense going up to heaven morning and evening.
It took offerings. And what does the passage tell
us? This was only a shadow of a reality, a greater reality
that is found in heaven. These things are just a placeholder
until Jesus comes. These things are a parable to
help us understand the ultimate reality. These things are only
symbolic. Now, think of it this way. We
have our baptismal font here. Baptism is a New Covenant form
of Old Covenant circumcision. Or we’ll celebrate the Lord’s
Supper today. The Lord’s Supper is a New Covenant
instituted sacrament by Christ that has replaced the Passover.
Or think about the Promised Land. Israel so badly wanted to enter
the Promised Land. Well, guess what? Our Promised
Land now is. It’s not a geographic place in
the Middle East. It’s in the new heavens and the
new earth when it comes down and God makes all things new.
Or have you thought about marriage this way? What does Paul, the
apostle, say about marriage? It is a picture of Christ and
his relationship to the church. You see, God hints at the greater
realities through these human institutions. The Passover, or
circumcision, or the tabernacle, or marriage. And so God says
to us, I show you hints of greater things. And so let me encourage
you, brothers and sisters, to think of the Old Covenant in
this way, with all its rituals and rites and regulations and
the regularity of its offering and its restrictions. Verse 8
tells us these things will not get you to God. They will not
give you access to God. And verse 9 will tell us you
can’t get a pure conscience from the blood of bulls and goats.
So what is our twofold problem? Under the old covenant, before
Jesus Christ, you had no access to God. And all of those sacrifices
could not give you a pure conscience. You see the problem. You see
why we need Jesus. You see why a greater high priest,
a mediator of a better covenant is necessary. And we thank God
that He provides it. In verse 8 of our passage, He
says, The Holy Spirit is making plain to us that these things
were inadequate. Yes, they served a place in history. Yes, they served purposes in
redemptive economy, but they have a total inability to get
you access to God and a pure and free conscience from all
your sins. And so as you think of all this
tabernacle business we’ve just described and read of, you come
to verse 11. It’s when the lights come on,
the fireworks start booming, and the music is played. For
it says to us this, when Christ appeared, a high priest of good
things to come, He enters the true tabernacle. He enters the
pure and perfect and greater tent He enters the holy place,
and not only that, the most holy place. And there are no candles,
for He is the light of the world. There is no bread of presents,
for He is the bread of life. And He enters this most holy
place in heaven, not on earth, once and for all.” Now, four
times the writer of Hebrews is going to say this statement,
once and for all. And here he says, once and for
all, Jesus enters the most holy place. And He does so by His
own blood. He did not kill a bull, nor did
He take the life of two goats for His people. He offered His
own blood His own body. He died Himself to gain this
entrance. And our passage tells us that
by doing this, He secured eternal redemption. He did not have to
come back next year, and the year after that, and the year
after that, and the year after that. He secured eternal redemption. And this redemption, His purchase
with His own blood of your souls, was not like the redemption from
Egypt. from human tyranny. It was not like the year of Jubilee
when all your debts were paid. No, this was Jesus purchasing
once and for all the salvation and the souls of sinners. For
He offered Himself without blemish. You see, He was morally pure.
He had perfect obedience. And not only that, He took on
your sins. Do you know what the high priest
did in the Old Covenant? He would put his hands on the
offering and he would literally impute the sins of the people
of Israel, even his own sins, on the head of that bull or goat
or whatever. And the sins of the people were
cast on that sacrificial animal. And when it died, sins were paid
for. And in the same way, actually
no, in a more extraordinary way, at the cross of Calvary, We laid
our hands on Jesus and said, take my sin, take my shame, take
all of my imperfections and bury them with you in death and in
this sacrifice. God in Christ Jesus secured eternal
redemption through Jesus, who was a spotless lamb without blemish. And it says in our passage that
the Holy Spirit opened the way through Jesus’ eternal redemption
so that we might have access to God. and pure, clean consciences
free from our sin. Well, what happens after Jesus’
death? What happens after on the cross
He secures our eternal salvation? He was raised from the dead.
He was exalted into heaven. He entered into the most holy
place of heaven, not the one on earth, but the one in heaven. And He is seated at the right
hand of God the Father Almighty, but He is serving in this heavenly
tent. And we, brothers and sisters,
through His action, have eternal access to God and eternal redemption. Isn’t it wonderful to be part
of the New Covenant community? Isn’t it wonderful to come to
church today and you don’t have a cattle trailer behind your
vehicle? You did not bring turtle doves
and bulls and goats and sheep. and other sorts of offerings
for Jesus once and for all has offered himself a sacrifice pleasing
in the sight of God and he was dead and raised and exalted and
ascended and he has entered once and for all into the holy places
for you and so we now have eternal access to God not once a year
Not just on Sundays, we have it every day, but we also have
eternal redemption from our sins. Think about the opposite for
just a moment. If you had no access to God,
to whom would you cry out to if you were in great trouble?
To whom would you confess your sins? Where would you go when
you needed help? Well, we know where most go when
they don’t have Jesus. They go to the bottle or to the
pill or to the some sort of emotional coping mechanism. And we see
people all around us addicted to things that cannot save them.
But are we not privileged as new covenant believers to come
to the eternal and the heavenly tabernacle where we have free
and final and 24 at 7 access to God himself. And not only
that, we have a pure conscience. Sin does not nag at us and say,
I crush you and I kill you. And you will go down to the depths
of the grave because your sin. No, our consciences have been
made clear by God. We who were guilty are now declared
pardoned. all of our sins, past and present
and future. And so, brothers and sisters,
we can say that we have been washed, we have been cleansed,
we have been forgiven, our access to God has been granted. And it’s not that we have been
ceremonially washed outside. I hope that many of you have
taken a bath. And with your dove or your Lever
2000 or your head and shoulders, you cleansed your body. But that
was external. Only God, through Jesus Christ,
can wash you inside. And you see, those Old Testament
rituals, they only cleansed outside. And you have been cleansed inside
so that your conscience is free, and your mind and heart are pure.
You have been forgiven 100% of your sins, and you now have access
to God. This ought to remind us of the
New Covenant promise, which we’ve read about both last week and
this week, where God says, I will purify them. I will purify them
from all their wicked ways that they have committed against me. I will forgive them. Friends, we have eternal access
to God. We have eternal redemption. But
that is only through faith. And so here is the question for
you. By faith, do you recognize yourself to be a sinner? And
have you taken your sins and placed by faith your hands on
the head of Jesus? And say, you are the only perfect
sacrifice that can save me. Take my sin. Take my shame. Take my wickedness. Take my recklessness,
my disobedience. and take it to the cross and
forgive me. Otherwise, you have an insufficient
way of life. You have an insufficient way
of salvation. In fact, it is no way of all.
But brothers and sisters, if you truly by faith are resting
in Christ alone for your salvation and you believe that He has paid
for all your sins, Guess what our passage then tells us? You
are now free to live for and serve and worship the living
God. Let us pray together. Our great
God, we come before you this day thanking you that you love
us with an everlasting love, that you love us with a love
that will not let us go, that you love us with a sacrificial
love that sent your own dear son to the cross. And so we pray
now that as we as we strive to live for you, that we would live
with hearts full of gratitude for all that you have done in
our redemption and that we would bless you and that our lives
would adorn the gospel by the way we live. And we do pray now
that as we come to your holy table, as we come to the table
of the Lord’s Supper, that you would help us to come with thanksgiving,
that you would help us to come with knowledge of your body and
blood and your sacrifice for us. And we do pray now that you
would take these common elements, this bread and this cup, and
that you would set them apart from common use for uncommon
use, and that through these, by your Spirit, that Christ would
truly feed and nourish us as he has promised to do. We ask
and pray for your help and grace and blessing. In Jesus’ name,
amen. Let me invite now the elders
to come forward as we prepare to serve the Lord’s Supper. It’s easier for us as New Covenant
Christians to look back through the Bible and see what God was
doing all through human history. One of the things you’ll find
as you read through, particularly the section where the Israelites
have returned from exile in Babylon, is God is saying to them, yes,
we’re building the temple. Yes, the altar is back in place.
Yes, the most holy place, the holy place is there. The table,
the showbread, all the moving parts. But God prophesies during
that time to Israel saying two very important things. Number
one is there will come a day, and it’s in the day of Jesus,
there will come a day where there will be a fountain. And from
that fountain will flow eternal redemption. And we sing of that
fountain. There is a fountain filled with blood which flows
from Emmanuel’s veins. When sinners are plunged beneath
that flood, sinners lose all their guilty stains. God told
Israel, there will be a day where all these sacrifices will be
no more, for there will be one sacrifice for sin. But then He
also says to them, see this temple we are building. It’s not as
grand as Solomon’s. It’s not as large and beautiful
and ornate. But it’s sufficient for now.
And there, my brothers and sisters, will be a greater temple. And
its glory and its magnificence will be of such a magnitude,
you can’t even imagine it. And friends, we’ve heard of that
temple, that tabernacle, which is in heaven. And that is where
Christ serves. And from that tabernacle, God, through the
Holy Spirit, and now through the ministry of the church, He
feeds you through this supper. He encourages you. He nurtures
you because He knows where you live and what you face and what
your struggles are. Friends, this is a table for
Christians who by faith are resting in Jesus alone for their salvation.
It is a table for sinners who know their need of grace and
it is a table for the repentant. It is a table for those who say,
I know my sin. I know my shame, but I know my
Savior, and I can only run to Him and flee to Him for refuge
and to have my conscience cleared. And so the Lord Jesus, on the
night in which He was betrayed, after having Passover with His
disciples, He took bread and broke it. And He said to His
disciples, Take and eat. This is my body which is given
for you. And in the same manner, after
the supper, he took the cup, the cup of wine, and he said,
This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood. Drink you all of
it. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this wine, you
proclaim my death until I come again. In another place, in the
Gospels, Jesus says, I will not eat this meal with you until
I eat it anew in my kingdom. And so this meal also helps us
anticipate the wedding supper of the Lamb, where God will be
with us, and we will be with Him, and we will eat. We will
sup. In fact, we will feast together. Friends, these are the gifts
of God for the people of God. So come by faith and with thanksgiving
in your heart, feed on Christ, your Passover lamb, who was sacrificed
for you. you This is the body of our Lord
Jesus Christ given for you. Take and eat. you you an an an you. Okay. It’s okay. Jesus says, this is the cup of
the new covenant in my blood, which has been poured out. It’s
been shed for you drink all of it. Let us pray together. Our great
God, we thank you for redemption. We thank you for the blood of
Jesus. We thank you for its efficiency, its efficacy and its grace to
us. And we pray that we would walk
from this place today. with hearts full of gratitude,
ready, willing and able to walk in obedience in a newness of
life under the precious promises of the new covenant. And we thank
you for this in Jesus name. Amen. Let’s stand together and
sing from our hymnals. Number four hundred and sixty
eight. The king of love, my shepherd is. you As we prepare to go, let me remind
the men that tomorrow is men’s lunch at noon at Southbound,
and then Thursday evening at 7, change of location to Panera
Bread on Huffman Mill. We’ll have both men’s events
this week. We’ll get an email out, but we failed to promote
those this week. Go now with God’s blessing, His
benediction on you. Look up and receive it now. May
the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the Lord
Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood
of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good, that
you may do His will, and that He may work in you that which
is pleasing in His sight through Jesus, to whom be all glory,
dominion, and power. And all God’s people said, Amen.