One sacrifice for sin
The blood of the law was not sufficient to cleanse men of sin. The law was a shadow, or vague outline, of the good things that were to come under the new covenant. Since it was not the true body, the law and its sacrifices could not continually cleanse man. That system had no power to cleanse man of sin. The constant sacrifices to wash away sins showed the old covenant was not sufficient. Sin washed away needs no further cleansing, yet the sins of the people under the law of Moses were the cause of many sacrifices. Some sins resulted in daily, weekly, monthly and yearly sacrifices (Exodus 29:38-46; Numbers 28:9-10, 11-15; Leviticus 23).
Sacrifices were offered annually for the sins of the priests and people on the Day of Atonement. Even after the cleansing of that day, a scapegoat had to be sent into the wilderness bearing the iniquities of the land (Leviticus 16:11-15, 20-22). Moses’ law had no provision for the complete cleansing of man from sin. Its repeated sacrifices served only to remind man of his sinfulness. There was remembrance of the same sins every year on the Day of Atonement, because the blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sin (Hebrews 10:1-4).
Christ, the better sacrifice, was needed to cleanse man. He came into the world saying the words of Psalm 49:6-8. David recognized burnt offerings did not fulfill his needs. Jesus was made a fit servant when he came to earth. Our Lord was made fit for service when he took on a body that would become a sacrifice for sins. Thus, "a body You have prepared for Me." The great weakness of burnt offerings and sacrifices was that God had no pleasure in them. Jesus spoke “from the very soul of the Antitype,” when he said he came to do God’s will (Milligan and Delitzsch). The first five books of the Bible are the volume of the book which spoke of Christ.
God did not want sacrifices instead of obedience to his will (1 Samuel 15:22). Christ came to do the Father’s will in sacrificing himself. Christ, unlike the sacrifices of the old law, could fulfill the will of God. That is the reason Christ did away with the old law and established the new. It is this second, or new, law which is the will of God. We are sanctified by it through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ. His sacrifice completed the job of sanctification "once for all" (Hebrews 10:5-10).
Many priests of the old covenant stood performing sacrificial duties day after day, but cleansing from sin was not attained. There was no need for numerous offerings since Jesus’ work was completed when his one sacrifice was made. Thus, Christ sat down at God’s right hand when the sacrifice had been made. He now awaits the fulfillment of Psalm 110:1. He will sit in his position of authority until all enemies are subjected to him (Matthew 28:18; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28). He does not need to make daily offerings for sin because the one offering of Himself was enough. It is through that one offering that Jesus was able to perfect all those who would come to him and subject their will to his commands. This would include all of those who had already lived in subjection to God’s commands, such as the patriarchs and the children of Israel (Hebrews 10:11-14).
The inspired penman went on to quote the Holy Spirit’s words from Jeremiah 31:33-34, which clearly indicates he thought it was inspired. This loose quotation shows that during days gone by, God had intended there should be a new covenant. People’s sins would be fully blotted out under it. Where such complete forgiveness is obtainable, as is the case under the new covenant, there is no further need for further sin offerings. (Hebrews 10:15-18).
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