Hebrews 9:24-26

This section. It seems to me, to be on the pulpit, I've been working through the book of Hebrews for quite some time now, I've laid a foundation. And so, if you encourage you to the epistle, follow the argument, for you will find, that truly, even though today, who are speaking of the resurrection of Christ, who are speaking much of Calvary, and there was discussion this week, of course, of the cross, and now the resurrection, even though, of course, that was unbelief and silliness, as it is every year in our land.

The Once-for-All Sacrifice and the End of Repeated Offerings

Yet, to speak the most clearly to the reason, the purpose, for what Christ did, proverbially roll up the shirt sleeves, or King James this way, to struggle through, and work through, the difficult test, things themselves, with better sacrifice, for us, who need to suffer often.

Once, at the consummation of the ages, He has been manifested to put away sin, by the sacrifice of Him, inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgment. So, Christ also, having been offered once, to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation, without reference to sin.

...opportunity of considering words, that I have referred to many times before, that we have had allusions to. Chapter 7, intercessory work was presented to us. We have a mediator, because He ever lives to make intercession for them, was the term there, in Hebrews chapter 7.

But the writer did not expand upon it at that point. He was primarily focused upon the priestly work of Christ. But we took the time to think about mediation, and intercession, and things like that. Now, we come to this.

Christ Vindicated by the Resurrection and the Triune Work of God

We have a little more expansion, upon what it means that Christ appears in the presence of God. Why was it that a Christian man, a Christian brother in Christ, seeking to vindicate the historical reality of the Resurrection, against a well-known skeptic?

A man I have debated myself, Bart Ehrman. Why would you invest time and effort to seek to vindicate the historical reality of the Resurrection? Why is it that every year, at this time of year, it's like clockwork.

Somebody will come up with some new, wild thing, sometime between one month and one week before. Have you noticed that? I mean, if you haven't noticed that, you haven't been watching. And, I remember a few years ago, it was 17 days, and we spoke a little bit.

She came back out again, and he's looking sadder and sadder every time. Now, he's come out, and he's claimed. As it may, there's always something strange. Responding, and once again, giving the historical verification.

That aside, think for just a moment. If someone were to ask you, a believer, some of you young people, you're at your job, and you're doing it on Sunday. Well, I don't think a consistent world would challenge someone's worldview, because there's this...

See, for us, the right to suggest to you, vindication of who he claimed to be, and an acceptance, on the part of the Father, of the work that he offered to do. Then, his claims would have been left. Christ is the Father's seal of approval, stamp of approbation upon the work of Christ Himself.

A filled tomb. A consistent ending for the one who claimed to be life itself. There could not be a tomb with a body in it, on that third. And it demonstrated, in the exercise of the New Testament, you see that the Father raised Jesus.

You see that Jesus Himself lays claim to being able to take back His life, and to be involved in His own resurrection, in John chapter 2. The Spirit of God is involved in doing this. It's a triune act.

The triune God is involved in the resurrection. That resurrection power is divine power. And in that action, you have the Father saying, this one is vindicated. Yes, the power of Rome put Him to death.

From the world's perspective, He died the worst death that could be death. Humiliation. And yet, by resurrection, you have the demonstration of the Father saying, yes, this is the Messiah. Yes, this is the Messiah.

So that's extremely important. That must be understood. But why else? Well, Paul said, they are of one person. Down through the century. Because you see, the Messiah did not enter into, literally, its hand-made holy places.

Is that not what the... Do we not even know the names of many of those who sewed the threads, who did the metal work, in creating that model to make His sacrifice? He was not of that priestly group. One person in it.

He did not go in to make His sacrifice. There can be no confusion. The Messiah did not make holy places, which are but an antitype of the true, the real, holy place. But instead, into Heaven itself. It is a plural pronoun.

His sacrificial work completed, one time, never to be repeated. That's the point that's now going to be driven home, all the way into chapter 10, over and over and over again. One sacrifice, one sacrifice, one sacrifice.

One sacrifice. ...enters into the presence of God, and unlike the old high priest, who then, having... ...the blood of... He turns. He must. He cannot stay. There is no place in the Holy of Holies... ...sacrifice...

...defy the possibility of a finishedness of it, as long as that's all you were doing. There had to be something greater. It had to point away from us. And so now we have the assertion, the Messiah...

...is not going to that holy place, which was still standing at this time. The sacrifice was still being offered. Did not go there. Instead, He went out, and because that tomb was empty, the entire book of Hebrews, based upon the presupposition, the assumption of what those 500 witnesses knew to be true, He had risen.

He was no longer there. And so He did not enter into a holy place made with hands, which was a mere copy of the real one, but into Heaven itself. Into that place where no sin, no rebellion can be. ...to appear in the presence, before the very face of God, in...

...that is such a bulwark. The soul, it was inside the veil. The author, it was just a little preview. We've had previews of this all along. Now the glory of it is opened up for us. ...our sins... We have to look at ourselves, and we have not loved God as we should, and we have not taken advantage of the opportunities given to us, and it's so easy to become discouraged.

And if we ever thought that it was based upon our performance, and our good deeds, appears in the very presence of God, KUPER HEMOM. KUPER... This is why the Apostle can say, "...in heavenly places in Christ.".

It means that since He is now in the very presence of the Father, the picture of Him seen in the book of Revelation, the Lamb standing as if slain before the throne, bearing the marks of death of God, for...

Yes, He is for us in the sense of Paul saying, if God is for us, who can be against us? He does not put some blood upon the horns of the altar, sprinkle some upon the mercy seat, and then turn and leave.

He does not have to be permanent. Do you see how God has summed up... I think that term is... The summing up of... That God has made reconciliation of all things in Him. Colossians 1 .20. "...the New Testament up into parts...".

"...has said that that means...". "...to sin...". "...to whom...". "...the Son appears in the presence of the Father...". "...there are specific people...". "...He's changed their hearts from being God-haters into God-lovers.".

But you see, "...for us...". Reconciliation is a fact. All things have been summed up in Christ. That doesn't mean... "...justice...". "...the demonstration...". "...against the sin...". "...continue to express that rebellion...".

"...throughout all eternity...". But now, you see, the real... "...every glorious creation...". "...and now, in the summing up of all things in Christ...". "...and the finishedness of His...". "...quote-unquote...".

"...Christ now appeared to Him..." "...so that His life is their life...". "...His death, their death..." "...His righteousness..." "...their position..." "...in Christ..." "...in you..." "...looks at us..." "...united with Him...".

"...there's something more to be done..." "...with Him..." "...and therefore, I am pleased with all those who are..." "...His name..." "...His Lordship..." "...if you seek your perfect substitute..." "...is seated..." "...you..." "...have been accepted..." "...in..." "...afterwards, after the angels have gone..." "...it's time to get to work..." "...the cherubim..." "...historical reality..." "...this took place in history..." "...He..." "...entered..." "...into..." "...form..." "...but you see..." "...nor was it that He..." "...needed to suffer often..." "...once..." "...at the..." "...perfection..." "...the consummation..." "...the completion..." "...of the ages..." "...He has been manifested..." "...to..." "...put away sin..." "...by..." "...His..." "...own..." "...sacrifice..." "...the sacrifice of..." "...you hear again..." "...remember the context of Hebrew..." "...it's an apology..." "...it's a defense..." "...and supremacy of the work of Christ..." "...is a defense to those..." "...who are being pulled back to the old ways..." "...come back to the grandeur of the temple..." "...we've emphasized this over and over again..." "...but it's so important..." "...because it's always the context we must..." "...you see..." "...nor was it that He..." "...was focused upon..." "...that liturgical year..." "...my day being..." "...the day of atonement..." "...interesting preaching..." "...you would ever take it most..." "...see, we did that..." "...on the pinnacle..." "...to say..." "...what we're saying is..." "...you know, it's one thing to climb..." "...I dare say..." "...it's the same whether you..." "...or you climb it..." "...we've climbed enough..." "...we looked at the Old Testament backgrounds..." "...we looked at the foundation of this..." "...we understand..." "...He is not..." "...simply..." "...trying to..." "...redo Judaism..." "...and the Jewish..." "...to the same point..." "...back to the same point..." "...pointing away..." "...pointing away..." "...no..." "...does not offer..." "...well..." "...God was pleased..." "...to meet with the people..." "...and the..." "...the aroma..." "...of the sacrifice..." "...was..." "...was so deeply..." "...connected in their minds..." "...with..." "...with godliness..." "...and worship..." "...there's no..." "...into..." "...if your heart..." "...is not thrilled..." "...for you..." "...in your place..." "...if that does not..." "...thrill your soul..." "...you're easily distracted..." "...wouldn't be nice..." "...if we had this..." "...or wouldn't be nice..." "...if we had that..." "...take all this for granted..." "...censors..." to be something that would be attractive.

The Finality of Christ’s Once-for-All Sacrifice

Things are changing. Because of who he is, because of his multiple sacrifices, if he had to keep re-presenting even his one work, then he would have had to have been doing this all along. But you see, instead, here is the assertion.

Now, it's a beautiful, one-time, not to be repeated, a singularity. Continued on. Intimately familiar. In the New Testament. It's the perfect thing he intended to accomplish. He has been gathering in his elect people ever since then.

But he's not having to do new work to make that happen. In the sense of something added to the cross. It's the center point of history. It's the consummation of the ages. It's what everything was looking forward to before, and everything is looking back to afterwards.

It's the continental divide of the work of God. It's the high point. And so, one time, at the consummation of the ages, there's no other point. The consummation of the ages, he has been manifested to put away sin by his own sacrifice.

The sacrifice of himself. He is high priest, he is both the one who... That's what pictured incompleteness. Because of the grandeur of his person. Because of the grandeur of the incarnation. Once, it is done over.

It's something else, it's something less. That his sacrifice is the eternal mercy of God. Or, that it's efficacy is eternal. No exception can be taken to the term. As it does for many. Offering himself in heaven with the corollary that in the Eucharist, his sacrifice is repeatedly reenacted on earth.

That it is a plain, the emphatic teaching of this epistle. He appears eternally in heaven for his people on the basis of his own sacrifice presented and accepted once for to have any kind of... Put yourself directly...

Was intended to hear it. But now, once at the consummation of the ages, he has been manifested to put away sin. Being called to come back to the temple. Called to come back... Sin. Belief and repentance.

Yes, all focused on Christ. That's all just fine. But you know, for the Muslim, what you're saying is, God's people, but he must be doing something else over there. You mean, he himself in the person of his son endured the wrath due to the sin of some people, but then he allowed for serious...

In the crucified... For all... The redemption of a particular... In this day as we... Consistence and yet we... Mercy recipient...