Jesus Christ has shed his precious blood and this means we have another opportunity for a new start.

1 – The worldly sanctuary (vs. 1-5)

He is talking about the tabernacle in the wilderness. There were strict dimensions and materials. Everything in the tabernacle pointed to Jesus Christ. There were two sections:-

• The outer room (vs. 2). There were several pieces of furniture. There was a lamp stand that was made of pure gold. This candlestick is a picture of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was the light of the world. There was only one way in and one way out. Jesus said He was the door. He is the only way to get to heaven. There was a table with twelve loaves of bread, known as “show bread”. This is a picture of Jesus Christ who is the “bread of life”. See John 6:32ff.
• The inner room (vs. 3-5) – These verses are talking about the “Holy of Holies”. There was only person who could walk in here – the High Priest. Even then he could go in one day a year. The room was a perfect cube. There was a golden censor with coals of fire. Some incense was sprinkled into this censor which billowed up a sweet smelling smoke for all to see. It is a picture of the Lord Jesus praying on our behalf. In the middle of the room was the Ark of the Covenant. There were three articles in the Ark. There was a golden pot with manna within it. It is a picture of Jesus Christ – who is the Bread of Life. There was Aaron’s rod. It was Aaron’s rod that budded. He was to be God’s High Priest. There were the tablets of stone – the Ten Commandments.

2 – The weak service (vs. 6-10)

The service of the High Priest was too weak. It was not sufficient.

• What the priest brought (vs. 6-8) – The High Priest had to bring blood which he offered for himself and the people. He did it once a year on the Day of Atonement. It was a day that God and the people came together. The blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat. The mercy seat was made of pure gold with angels on either side. See Romans 3:24-25. It was to satisfy the wrath of God for the whole world. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin.
• What the spirit taught (vs. 8-10) – That ritual was weak. It was limited. It was a figure. It was not the real thing. It could do something for the outside but nothing on the inside. The High Priest was himself imperfect. These were only temporary. There was going to be something that was going to change from the inside out.

3 – The wonderful Saviour (vs. 11-14)

Notice two things about our wonderful Saviour:-

• He takes care of our payment (vs. 11-12). Jesus does not have to enter every year. He has obtained eternal redemption. If you pay the price you can free a person from their debt. Man was alienated from God despite the sacrifice each year. Their sins were only being rolled over to the following year. E.g. It was like a credit card. A payment still had to be made sometime in the future. God accepted their sins on the basis that payment was going to be made sometime in the future. The payment by Jesus was big enough to cover all of these sins. If he doesn’t pay it then all the Old Testament saints are kicked into hell as bad debtors. The credit card was paid off. A sinner couldn’t pay this debt. When Jesus paid off the debt he bought us. We have received eternal redemption. There is no way that the Christian can lose his or her salvation.
• He purged us (vs. 13-14) – The blood of Jesus Christ takes away our guilty conscience. This blood does more than cleanse on the outside. It cleanses on the inside as well. See Hebrews 10:22. There is nothing that I can do to save myself. Jesus has already done it all!

Categories: Hebrews