The Good News Explained (Hebrews 9:1-28)

In the copy of God’s dwelling place—the tabernacle in the camp of God’s people, and later the temple in the City of David—the priests would serve God. Once a year, the high priest would atone for the sins of the people with the blood of a bull and a goat. Blood was needed to cover the sins of the people that would keep holy God from being in their midst. However, these sacrifices were only temporarily effective and had to be offered again and again every year for eternity. They were also not effective in changing humanity’s consciences. They did nothing to sanctify or heal people from their sins.

By contrast, Jesus, our true High Priest, entered into the real dwelling place of God with His own innocent blood and paid atonement for our sins. Blood was required because the “wages of sin is death.” Blood is the life, and the blood of a sacrifice represents life being paid for sins. However, the blood of animals was never truly effective for the sins of people. Jesus’s sacrifice is different. His blood is human’s blood and innocent human blood at that. His sacrifice was effective once for all time. His sacrifice is effective not only to free us from our sins, but to change us. We are justified, sanctified, and glorified through His sacrifice.

Through Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross, we can be restored into a relationship with our Creator.