TEXT: Hebrews 9:1-15

SUBJECT: Exposition of Hebrews #9: The Effect of Christ's Priesthood

The theme of Hebrews is Christ Over All. In the first three chapters, He is placed over the prophets, over the angels, and over Moses. In chapters 4-10, His priesthood is compared to Aaron's--and found superior. It is better because of its origin, its induction, its qualifications, its length of service, its work place, and the Covenant to which it is annexed. In chapter 9, another comparison is made--with similar results.

Its argument is this: The Lord's priesthood is better than Aaron's because of its superior effect. In short: "What the Law could not do...God did".

He begins by reminding us of Aaron's priesthood--where its work was conducted, who performed it, and what good it did God's people, vv.1-10.

Aaron did his work in the "tabernacle". This was a tent, designed by God, and put up in the days of Moses. In it, the priests would perform their stated duties. It was divided into two, unequal sections. The larger was called "the sanctuary". It was furnished with a lampstand and a table, on which the shewbread was placed each week. All of the priests were welcome here.

The smaller section was called "the Holiest of All". Placed behind a long, heavy curtain, it housed the most revered objects of Hebrew worship. There was "the golden incense altar"; it produced a sacred smoke, to obscure the priest's vision. Vision of what? The Ark of the Covenant. This was a golden box holding three items: the Ten Commandments, Aaron's rod the blossomed, and a pot of manna. On top of the Ark were two golden Cherubim (or, angels) looking down on its lid, called "the mercy seat". There, the glory of God shone in a peculiar way; there the blood of the Covenant was sprinkled. Into the "Holiest of All" no one was permitted but the High Priest--and even he only once a year, on the Day of Atonement.

The Tabernacle was an impressive place; it filled the Hebrew mind with a sense of mystery and awe. But what did it do for them? Vv.8-10 tell us:

It did not give access to God, v.8: "The Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was standing". So long as the Tabernacle stood, the way to God was blocked to ordinary men. Rather than bringing men to God, it held them back. Only one family in the world had access to the "Sanctuary"; Of the one family, only one member could approach the Divine Presence. The Aaronic priesthood, therefore, never brought anyone to God.

It did not change men for the better, vv.9-10: "It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience--concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances..." These "foods, washings" and so on, did not clear a man's conscience or change his character. At best, they fitted him for an external worship.

In sum: Aaron's priesthood did the Lord's People much earthly good. It prevented wars and famines; it ensured health and prosperity. This is all it did. This is all it could do. This is all it was intended to do. And so, it was "imposed until the time of reformation"--and no longer. What is this "reformation"? It is the New Age, ushered in by the Lord Jesus at His first coming.

Having briefly reminded us of Aaron's good priesthood, the Writer now comes to the better Priesthood of Christ, vv.11-15.

It is called "better" in v.11. The Lord Jesus is "High Priest of the good things to come". These "good things" were looked for by the Ancient Hebrews. They dreamed of a day when God's Law would be "put into our minds"; when "we would all know Him--from the least to the greatest"; when He would "be merciful to our unrighteousness, and our sins and lawless deeds He would remember no more..." These "good things" came to pass in the coming of our Savior. This is why our eyes and ears are so blessed; why "that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see what (we) see and to hear what (we) hear..."

In the First Coming of Christ, the Millennial blessings promised in the Old Testament have been realized. As it is written:

"There shall be a Rod from the stem of Jesse,

And a Branch shall grow out of His roots.

"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,

The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,

The calf with the young lion

And the fatling together."

What he has stated in v.11a, he proves in vv.11b-14.

He conducted His holy work in a better place than Aaron did, v.11b, "...the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is, not of this creation". The argument is this: If Aaron's work--done in an earthly tabernacle--had a good effect on God's people, how much better will the effect of Christ's work be, since it is performed in heaven?

He offered a better sacrifice than Aaron did, v.12, "not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place..." If "goats" and "calves" won God's favor, what will the offering of Christ do?

What is implied in vv.11-12 is made plain in vv.13-14. "For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the Living God?"

Aaron's offerings made men acceptable to God outwardly; it averted judgment and permitted them to enter His service. But the offering of Christ reached inside of His people. By bearing our sins on the cross, the Lord Jesus frees us from guilt and shame and, in so doing, enables us to serve Him from the heart.

V.15 sums it up: "And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance."

This is a bit wordy, but can be explained: Because Christ died, He became the Mediator of the new covenant. This was put in place to redeem (or free) us from the damning power of our sins and to guarantee our full salvation. The blessing is given to everyone who is called by God.

This word "call" needs some explaining. The Bible uses it in two ways: There is an outward call, to everyone who hears the Gospel. It is given by God and sincere. But this cannot be the meaning here. For not everyone "called" (in this way) will share in the blessing of salvation. There is another call, an inward call. Theologians often refer to it as "the effectual call". In this, God provides not only the Gospel invitation, but the power to believe it. Thus, everyone so called partakes of "the eternal inheritance". The newest believer--no less than the holiest saint--is "an heir of God and a joint heir of Christ". To us have been given "all things which pertain to life and godliness...through the knowledge of Christ.

And so, the Lord's Priesthood is better than Aaron's because of its superior effect. Aaron could provide earthly blessings for a time; the Lord Jesus gives "an inheritance, incorruptible, undefiled, that fades not away, reserved in heaven for us".

If His priesthood results in "a clear conscience" and the power to "serve the Living God", I urge you to look to Him--to Christ alone--for each.

A good conscience is had--not by trying hard or feeling guilty--but by perpetual faith in Christ. It is from Him that we get one in the first place; it is from Him that we keep one; it is from Him that we get one back after losing it. A good conscience can be found nowhere else.

The power to serve God is also found in Him. Not in the Law; not in the church. But in Christ alone. Look to no other.