The Epistle to the Hebrews Lesson 16 Christ

The Epistle to the Hebrews Lesson 16 Christ, the Superior Sacrifice Hebrews 10: 1 -18

The Sacrifices of the Law Foreshadowed Christ’s Sacrifice • The Law of Moses foreshadowed “good things to come” but not the very image of those things. (10: 1) – The Law had “shadows” and “symbolic copies” of heavenly realities (8: 5; 9: 9, 23 -24; Colossians 2: 17) • Animal sacrifices could not take away sins. (10: 2 -4) – The need to repeat them proved their ineffectiveness. – The consciences of worshipers were never cleansed. – The sacrifices foreshadowed Christ’s sacrifice while also showing the need for it.

The Lord Provides a Better Sacrifice He takes away the first that he may establish the second • Jesus came to do His Father’s will (10: 5 -9 a) – The passage alluded to is Psalm 40: 6 -8 – When Jesus came into the world He recognized the following: • God the Father was not pleased with the sacrifices and burnt offerings of the Law. • A human body was prepared for Him to sacrifice (Philippians 2: 5 -8) • He had come to do God’s will in offering Himself as a sacrifice (John 6: 38; 10: 18; Romans 8: 3 -4; Galatians 1: 4) • The first was taken away so that the second might be established (10: 9 b; Colossians 2: 14 -17)

Good Things Established by Christ’s Sacrifice • We are sanctified by the will of God (10: 10) – This includes purification from past sins and being set apart for God’s use (1 Cor. 6: 9 -11) • A single sacrifice provides forgiveness forever (10: 11 -13) – The work of redemption is accomplished (9: 12), so Christ rests and reigns. • Those being sanctified are perfected forever (10: 14) – “Perfected” here means complete and whole with respect to access to forgiveness and to the Father; worshipers under the old law were never perfect in this sense (7: 19; 9: 9; 10: 1) • Complete remission is provided (10: 15 -18; Jer. 31)