‘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.