When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry. But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.
Hebrews 9:6,7
If I were a betting man, I’d bet the farm that we all have a daily routing. Mine starts from the time my eyes open up in the morning. I quietly bounce out of bed and slip on some shoes. Then I make my side of the bed by pulling the covers up and tucking them under the pillow so the dog can’t pull them down.
Next, I go to the kitchen and start some coffee. While its brewing, I let the dog out and stop in my office to turn on the laptop. Taking a quick glance at my email and social media feeds, I then take my morning vitamins with water. Pouring myself a cup of coffee, I return to my office and quickly send out my daily blog.
You’ll notice what I didn’t say. There was no mention of eating anything. And there’s no interaction with other people. I’m an early riser so I do everything possible to get up and not do anything to disturb Mary Ann.
And then there’s my routines that aren’t done daily. There are some days in my calendar to remind me that I need to reach out to people. Mostly, these reminders are to prompt me to call relatives and friends about the death of someone significant in their lives.
It was the same way with the priests in ancient Israel. God gave them a very detailed schedule about when to do what. Daily, weekly, monthly and annual sacrifices and celebrations were put into their phone calendars. There were no surprises about what they were going to be doing. Everything was scheduled and laid out in front of them.
When the writer says that everything had been arranged, he’s telling the Hebrews that God had put everything in place. The Lord had laid out the schedule. He’s arranged all the details in the past so that everything was ready for them. There wasn’t anything new to be added. God’s plan was completely laid out.
So, when it came time, the priests had all the information for what they were to do. They could carry out all the things that God had for them to do. When it talks about the ministry of the priests, they didn’t just sit around and talk about it. Not on your life. They didn’t just play around with their service to God. More than just doing it, they completed all the different sacrifices, celebrations, and ministries.
But, on one day a year, the High Priest, went into the most special place on Earth. He went through the Holy Place and entered the Holy of Holies. He did this three times to follow God’s way for the forgiveness of sin.
Did you notice that only one person could do this? And they only did it once a year. No one else. No other days. No matter what was going on in the world, or in their daily lives, they did it once a year.
Year after year, they kept going in and out. On that day, the High Priest went into the Holy of Hollies three times. There was no such thing in Israel as a once-and-for-all sacrifice for sin. No Jewish priest ever thought that sin could be taken care of once.
If you think about it for a minute, neither has anyone else in the history of the world. Think about all the different religions. They all have this schedule of making sacrifices. Not just one sacrifice, but over and over. It never stops. There’s always something more to do. Another sacrifice. One after another. After another. After another.
So, the idea that all religions are the same is just not true. At the center of the religions is the need to keep on doing things. Doing something. Doing more. There’s no such thing as coming to the finish like. Of having all sin taken care of once. Past, present, and future sins are fully covered.
This is one of the ways that Jesus is just so different then everyone else. He steps into our place before God and takes our punishment. Just like a loving parent gets angry at a rebellious teenager who’s not appreciative for all the love and gifts given from their parents, God’s correctly angry at us. God threw all his righteous anger that we deserved onto Jesus. He was and is our substitute.
who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Titus 2:14
No other sacrifice was ever like Jesus. He volunteered to sacrifice himself for us. He knew exactly what was coming at him. There was no mystery about it[1]. It was so frightening that he sweat blood[2]. And yet, he was willing to go through it because it was God’s will[3]. With Jesus, gone are the days of us trying to pay for our own sins. No more trying to do just the right thing in the right way just to repay our debt before God. Instead, we want to thankfully please the one who loves us. Day after day, we want to do anything and everything to show just how thankful we are. How we’re loved.
Noodling Questions
List three things that you do day in, day out.
How does Jesus’ breakup our day in, day out routine Give examples.
Why is the idea that there are no more sacrifices so powerful to you?
[1] Mark 14:34
[2] Luke 22:44
[3] Matthew 26:39
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