Hebrews 9 - Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible

Chapter 9 The Ordinances of the First Covenant Described and Compared with Those of The New Covenant.

The fact of ‘Jesus the Son' as our great High Priest having been established as the great reality, and the ministry of the old covenant having been established as copies and shadows, Jesus' ministry is now described in contrast with that ministry of the first covenant and the first Tabernacle. It is done with due reverence for what was of the past. The first is not diminished, it is rather demonstrated to have been a ministry of copies and shadows, a preparation for the greater glory that has now come.

The main emphasis of this chapter is a comparison of the great Jewish Day of Atonement which was such a solemn feature of the cult, and occurred year by year, a day which had burned its way into the consciousness of the people, and was for many the greatest and most solemn day of the year, for it was the day each year when the sins of the year past were finally seen as laid to rest, with the once-for-all heavenly Day of Atonement of the new heavenly High Priest which achieves its purpose once for all, and never needs to be repeated, making the other redundant.

‘For this reason even the first covenant has not been dedicated without blood. For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded towards you”.'

Indeed such a death was ever seen as necessary for an important covenant. It sealed it permanently. And it was specifically true of the first covenant. The first idea of the application of blood was that none could withdraw on pain of death. That is why the first covenant, the old covenant, was dedicated with blood and sprinkled on the altar and the people. It bound both parties irrevocably while the conditions were fulfilled. And once the conditions were broken there arose ‘the transgressions which were under the first covenant', and the parties involved in these were, as a result, doomed to die. Thus any new covenant had also necessarily to take into account the need for atonement. Death must be implicit in any new covenant simply because it was required of those who had broken the old.

The making of the old covenant is now described in detail. Once it had been declared, and Moses had described every commandment in the covenant to all the people (for all were to be involved and must know what they were agreeing to), he carried out ceremonial sacrifices in order to seal the covenant with blood, applying the blood both to the record of the covenant itself, and to all the people (Exodus 24:6-8). By this they were bound to obedience to it on pain of death, and God, as the One to Whom the sacrifices were offered, was equally bound to them while they faithfully kept the covenant.

Yet as the context here makes clear, that blood was not just a symbol of the sacredness of the contract, it was also a requirement because of the sinfulness already present on the part of one of the parties involved. Such a contract could not have been made without cleansing for sin. For there was a past to be atoned for, and as we are shortly to be informed, the main purpose of the shedding of blood is the remission of sin (Hebrews 9:22). Furthermore the whole context here is of cleansing from sin (Hebrews 9:12-14; Hebrews 9:21-22). Any explanation therefore that lacks that necessity is itself lacking.

So we may undoubtedly recognise here that the shedding of blood, as well as sealing the covenant, also had a cleansing significance, for whenever blood was shed sacrificially in relation to anything connected with God such a meaning was necessarily involved. Because the contract was made with sinners, cleansing must therefore be involved.

The passage in Exodus does not mention the sprinkling of the blood on the book It does, however, bring the book into close connection with the ceremony. The blood there is sprinkled on the specially erected altar and on the people connecting God with His people. The book may well have been placed on the altar in such ceremonies. The writer may well have been writing on the basis of his knowledge of such ceremonies, or of some tradition which drew this out. Nor does the passage mention the method of sprinkling which is described in the detail given here, which is in fact partly similar to that for the sprinkling of the ashes of the heifer (Numbers 19:6). Note how here it is just assumed that these had been used in the sprinkling. It was thus clearly a recognised custom to use scarlet wool and hyssop for sprinkling, compare Leviticus 14:4; Leviticus 14:6-7.

The Centrality of Death In God's Saving Purposes In Order For All Things To Be Cleansed and Purified (Hebrews 9:18-28).

We are now looking at the detailed explanation of Hebrews 1:3. How did the Son make purification of sins? By coming as the Christ Messiah and shedding His blood for all who would receive Him. Just as the shedding of blood was central in the old covenant, so it is in the new. But whereas the old required many and continual sacrifices through the centuries, the new required only one sacrifice for sin for ever. For He was so immense that His once-for-all sacrifice covered the sin of all ages and of all people for all time. All Who would might therefore reach out for salvation, receiving it as God's free gift and being finally saved to the uttermost through Him.

‘Moreover the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry he sprinkled in like manner with the blood.'

And not only was blood applied in the covenant ceremony, but later everything connected with the covenant, the Tabernacle and all the vessels of ministry, were sprinkled in the same way with sacrificial blood. This initial sprinkling of blood is not mentioned in the Pentateuch, but it was recognised as being a fact by Josephus, and thus clearly a traditional idea among the Jews. This is entering more deeply into the significance of the shedding of blood. The shedding of blood was essential for the purifying of all that was to be involved in the relationship between God and His people. It was a cleansing necessary as a result of their sinfulness, for all was contaminated by man and his world. Thus the blood not only sealed and solemnised, it also indicated cleansing and purifying.

‘And according to the law, I may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.'

Indeed the Law made it quite clear, that ‘apart from the shedding of blood' there is no cleansing, there ‘is no remission (of sin)'. It tells us that all in the world is seen as tainted by sin, and that this taint of sin can only be dealt with by death, by the shedding of blood. By this, sin is seen as having affected everything that is. It is seen as rampant and the world as therefore cut off from God. And to remedy that requires death, a special death. For the wages of sin is death.

The Law therefore reveals that removal of the taint of sin can only be dealt with by the shedding of blood. It is only by that means that anything, including the tabernacle, and to a lesser degree the camp of Israel, could become holy to Yahweh. It is indeed often asked, why so many sacrifices? And the answer is, because there were so many sins. But all awaited the one great sacrifice for sins, which was once-for-all and would never required to be repeated, for its sufficiency was more than enough for the whole world of all ages. In the end it was without the shedding of  that  Blood that there was no remission of sins.

‘I may almost say.' Other things were in fact also connected with cleansing such as fire and water for purifying captured wealth (Numbers 31:22-24). See also Numbers 16:46, where instant atonement is made for the rebellious people by the use of the fires from the altar borne in a censer, which however connects with the shedding of blood (compare Isaiah 6:5); Numbers 31:50 where atonement had to be made for not giving the Lord His portion of what was won as spoil in battle, by remedying the failure and doing exactly that; and Leviticus 5:11-13 where the very poor could offer fine flour as a sin offering. But these were very secondary and peripheral. It was the shedding of blood that was ever the most prominent.

‘It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.'

Thus the copies of heavenly things, all that was involved in the ritual of Israel, had to be cleansed with the shedding of blood. ‘It was necessary' for it had all been connected with what was sinful, and with man in his sinfulness, and sinfulness required death. So if man was to approach God, the means by which he did so must be through the shedding of blood, as he must himself be cleansed by the shedding of blood, for all was connected with sin, and sin demands death. But, because they were only copies, the cleansing could also itself take place through copies and shadows. Those involved were only seeking to enter an earthly Tabernacle, and therefore earthly sacrifices sufficed. Once they sought to enter the heavens it would be a different matter. There was no way of entering Heaven by means of these.

‘But the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.' And here is the crunch. Heavenly things could not be cleansed by the old sacrifices and rituals. They only sufficed on earth. Things which were to be in contact with heavenly places required deeper and better cleansing. The earthly sacrifices were of no avail there. However awesome their presentation, earthly sacrifices were useless for any purification connected with ‘the heavens'. For ‘heavenly things' are a part of the greater Reality outside the reach of the mundane. This is not referring to Heaven itself, but to things connected with ‘the heavens' (epourania), especially such as were transferred from earth.

But why should cleansing be necessary with regard to ‘heavenly things'? In Hebrews 12:23 two of such heavenly things are outlined and directly connected with the mediation of Jesus Christ and the sprinkling of blood (Hebrews 12:24), they are the ‘church of the Firstborn', and ‘the spirits of just men made perfect'. Without the blood of Jesus they could not have entered the heavenlies. For all who would enter Heaven from earth require such cleansing, and it was only because of such cleansing that they were able to enter into the presence of God. The copies could be cleansed with animal blood, but not these. Anything earthly which would enter the heavenly sphere required a better sacrifice, a fuller and more complete sacrifice. To enter Heaven there had to be inward cleansing as well as outward.

And it is indeed because we have experienced such cleansing that we can even now at the present time enjoy lives in heavenly places (epourania) (Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 2:6). Those who would now in Christ enter ‘the age to come', and come under the Heavenly Rule of God, and into enjoyment of the Spirit, can only do so because of the shedding of His blood, which not only purifies us but enables us to renew and retain such purity (1 John 1:7) as we live in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6, compare Hebrews 1:3) where our citizenship lies (Philippians 3:20), looking not at the things which are seen but at the things that are unseen (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Besides, there is also spiritual wickedness in heavenly places, though of course not in Heaven itself. That comes out in Ephesians 6:12. That too had had to be dealt with at the cross (Colossians 2:15). That also was defeated by the shedding of His blood, and the cleansing made as a result, for in the end all has to have been made clean either by blood or by fire. So in mind here in the reference to ‘the heavenlies' is the spiritual sphere that we enter when we become Christians which is a part of ‘the heavenlies', and where the evil forces of the Enemy carry out their main wickedness. Cleansing in that spiritual sphere requires the sprinkling of the blood of Christ. And that cleansing of the heavenlies too is necessary, for all does finally have to be purified, and earthly sacrifices are not enough to purify these heavenly places.

‘With better sacrifices than these.' Note the plural. Yet we have been told that all was in fact cleansed by the one sacrifice. Why then the plural? Why not ‘a better sacrifice'? The writer possibly has in mind that that the one sacrifice included many sacrifices; there was His humbling of Himself to come into a sinful world, there was His persecution and tribulation within that world, and there were His final sufferings at the cross. All came together in that one sacrifice. Alternately it may be a plural of intensity speaking of something which outdid all other sacrifices, the plural bearing in mind the multiplicity of what it is contrasted with. Just to speak of ‘a better sacrifice' may have been seen as limiting the comparison. By using the plural he demonstrates that the sacrifice of Jesus combines in itself the equivalent of all sacrifices. His sacrifice of Himself was better than all the sacrifices put together.

‘For Christ entered not into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us.'

And the reason that the better sacrifice is required is precisely because Messiah is not entering an earthly tabernacle, one made with human hands and simply a pattern, even though a good pattern, but into Heaven itself. He is entering the true Holy Place where the High and Holy One sits on His throne in full majesty. And there He will appear before the very face of God for us so that we are personally and continually represented, through His intercession, in the presence of the Most Holy One. This is the great Reality in contrast with the copies and shadows of the old covenant. Fake holiness might be able to enter the earthly Tabernacle, but that which enters the heavenly Tabernacle must be truly pure and holy through and through.

‘Before the face of God for us.' It was said of Moses that God spoke with him face to face like a man speaks with his friend (Exodus 33:11). Compare Deuteronomy 34:10 where it revealed his uniqueness as a prophet. But even then all knew that it should not be taken too literally, for God in the fullness of His glory was in Heaven while Moses was on the earth. It is rather saying that he knew God and spoke to God like no other. But here is One Who appears before the very face of God in Heaven where there are no shadows, only the great Reality. He literally sees God face to face as He is in Heaven. He sees behind the glory to the very face of God. Here is One Who is a greater than Moses, with a ministry more directly carried out before the face of God in Heaven. And whereas for Moses such experiences were temporary, for Christ they are permanent.

And we should note the consequence of the phrase. He was ‘before the face of God'. Not only did He see God face to face, but all that He was, was known to God. He was laid bare before Him. Not one thing could be shielded from that piercing Eye. And yet approaching in His Manhood He was clearly found completely satisfactory. He was the One Whose ways were totally pleasing to God. For the first time since the days of Adam a Man appeared before God unflinchingly and without fear, in order to represent those who were His. It was the proof in embryo of the total restoration of man, for He was there ‘for us'.

‘Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest enters into the holy place year by year with blood not his own, otherwise must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world. But now once at the end of the ages has he been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.'

Nor was His entry into Heaven one of many such entries which had to be made by Him, as though He had no permanent right there, for His one offering of Himself was sufficient for all sin for all time. Therefore could He be permanently before the face of God. He was not like the High Priests who had to enter to make atonement year by year, offering blood which was not their own, and then had to leave again, for had the effect of His sacrifice been of such a temporary nature He would have had to undergo regular periodic suffering, beginning from the very foundation of the world, when sin first began. (Note the implication that His own blood was the only offering that He could make in view of the kind of priest that He was). But it was not so. For now, once at the end of the ages, He had been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, and He had been wholly successful.

The implication in these words is enormous. Firstly that He has entered into the presence of God and has put away sin once-for-all for all time, reaching right back to the beginning and right on to the end. His sacrifice is sufficient to cover all sin of all ages, and once made does not have to be repeated. For those who are His, sin has been ‘put away'. And secondly that this is ‘the end of the ages'. It is now the last age, the promised ‘coming age' of the prophets, the age of the everlasting kingdom, already here and bound up in Christians, and to be consummated in the eternal Kingdom. There remain no further earthly ages to come.

‘And inasmuch as it is appointed to men once to die, and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to those who wait for him, to salvation.'

‘It is appointed to men once to die.' That was the sentence in Eden. It is the continual sentence (Romans 5:12; Romans 6:23). So Christ having been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, and having been rejected by the world as a whole, all that now remains for each one in the world that has rejected Him is death and judgment. They do not just die. They are appointed to die. The judge has made his preliminary decision. Note that they are each to ‘die once', that death being seen as final. That is what is required as the wages of sin (Romans 6:23). And after this will come their judgment, when the sentence will be confirmed. They face eternal death.

And just as it is appointed for such men to die once, so was it appointed for Christ to be offered once, bearing the sins of many (Isaiah 53:12), one death again being all that was required for their sin, for His death was of a sufficiency to cover all. It was the infinite dying for the finite. So for those who are His, His one death for all time delivers them from the ‘death resulting in judgment' that should have been theirs. Death is no longer the wages of sin for them. Not for them the judgment of condemnation. They have been crucified with Christ (Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20; Galatians 3:13), and their sin has therefore been borne in Him as a result of that one sacrificing of Himself, and they thus live through Him.

Note here the deliberate contrast between death followed by judgment and Christ's offering of Himself, followed, for those who believe, in salvation. The judgment is not emphasised, the emphasis is on Christ as the Saviour, but nevertheless the contrast is real. For those who refuse His offering of Himself death awaits, for those who refuse His salvation judgment awaits, and that includes for the earthly priesthood.

So just as the High Priest emerged from the Tabernacle on the Day of Atonement, and thereby triumphantly revealed to the waiting crowds that their temporary atonement had once more been successfully accomplished, so will Christ emerge from Heaven at the end of time, appearing to His own who are waiting for Him (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), to proclaim that their full, permanent atonement has been satisfactorily achieved in every respect. Because of it they are accepted as holy, unblameable and unreproveable before Him (Ephesians 1:4; Ephesians 5:27; Colossians 1:22; Jude 1:24).

Thus will He appear in His glory, free from all connections with sin, such having been atoned for once-for-all by His sacrifice on the cross, in order to finalise their salvation and make their salvation complete. They will be changed in the twinkling of an eye (1 Corinthians 15:52), and be caught up to meet Him in the air, there to be ever with Him (1 Thessalonians 4:17).

‘To those who wait for Him.' There are a number of ways in which His people wait for Him. Firstly by their steadfast faith in His appearing, resting with implicit confidence on His promises in John 14:2-3. Secondly by having a real love for it, a yearning to see Him (2 Timothy 4:8). Thirdly by having an ardent longing for it, so that they cry, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20). Fourthly by patiently waiting for it, in the midst of many discouragements (James 5:7-8). Fifthly by personally preparing themselves for it and living in the light of it (Matthew 25:10; Matthew 25:13-46; Luke 12:35-37 and often). If we do not recognise in these our own attitudes we need to be considering our ways. He appears to those who wait for Him.

‘Apart from sin.' He had been made sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21) but now that sin has been atoned for by His sacrifice of Himself and He is therefore once more free from sin, from our sin which He took on Himself. As far as God is concerned, and as far as He is concerned, and as far as those who believe are concerned, sin has therefore been dealt with for ever. Their sins are no more. Furthermore their Sanctifier has done His work totally and completely and is now bringing to its final conclusion His leading of them safe to Heaven (Hebrews 2:10-11). Their Trek Leader will have finalised the trek successfully, having lost none of those who put themselves totally under His control (John 17:12; John 10:27-29).

By these means and arguments therefore has the writer demonstrated to his readers the total superiority of our great High Priest, the total superiority of the sacrifice that He made and the total superiority of the salvation that He offers. He has especially made clear that hope lies finally in the blood of Christ offered for us.

We finish the chapter by considering what Christ did do, and what He did not do, which furthers the writer's arguments.

1) He came as a High Priest of good things to come, ministering to His own all the blessings stored up for them by God (Hebrews 9:11).

2) Having obtained the redemption of the age to come for us, He entered into Heaven ‘by His own blood', that is, in consequence of the total success and efficacy of His sacrifice of Himself on the cross (Hebrews 9:12).

3) Having through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God He cleanses our consciences from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14).

4) As our Mediator of the new covenant He ensures that we receive the promise of the eternal inheritance (Hebrews 9:15).

5) He has cleansed the spiritual realm, the heavenlies, and we who enter it, by His better sacrifice of Himself (Hebrews 9:23).

6) He appears before the face of God for us (Hebrews 9:24).

7) He has been manifested to once-for-all put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Hebrews 9:26).

8) He has been once offered to bear the sins of many, as the suffering Servant of Isaiah was to do (Isaiah 53:11-12) - Hebrews 9:28.

9) And so He will finally appear in order to finalise His salvation in His own at His second coming (Hebrews 9:28).

What He did not do compared with what He did do.

1) He did not enter through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood (Hebrews 9:12).

2) He did not enter into the Holy Place made with hands, but into Heaven itself (Hebrews 9:24).

3) He did not offer Himself year by year, because He did not need to. His offering of Himself was once-for-all and was completely acceptable, never needing to be repeated (Hebrews 9:25).

In the light of this fact that He was superior in every way they were to choose which High Priesthood they would follow, the earthly one which dealt with copies and shadows, or the heavenly One Who dealt with the great Realities.