If you’ve been reading regularly, you know I’ve been posting commentary from the book of Hebrews. Today, we’re on Hebrews 10. Usually I like to give a bit of recap on previous verses for the purposes of keeping scripture in context. But for this post, we’re going to jump right in because the beginning of Hebrews 10 serves as a great summary of what we’ve been discussing.

The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 2 Otherwise, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3 But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. 4 It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Remember, the Old Covenant is a shadow of the good things that are coming and have come in Christ. In prior posts, we spoke about how the Old Covenant was a shadow of the New Covenant. In the first half of Chapter 9 we went over the items in worship for the Old Covenant. We discussed how they point to the New Covenant.. The tabernacle, the menorah, the temple, the bread of the presence, the curtain, the incense, the sacrifices, the priesthood, all of these are a shadow or copy of things to come. We’ve established how the Old Covenant has become obsolete in Christ.

Now the Author is raising the ante and the stakes. It’s not just the Covenant. It’s not just these items and what they signified, but now it seems like he’s also saying that the entire Law itself is just a shadow of better things to come. Chapter 10 verse 1. Different Christians might have a different opinion of what this is saying here. Because Law could mean a few different things. Some say this only means the ceremonial law, and not the moral law. So to get everyone on the same page, there’s 3 ways people classify Old Testament Law. First The Civil or Judicial Law, Second the Ceremonial Law, and Third the Moral Law.

Civil/Judicial Law is used to outline the punishments for breaking law between people. If a man is gored by an ox, what is fair and appropriate restitution. Was it accidental? Does it matter if the owner of the ox is aware that the ox is dangerous and risky and has been known to be aggressive? Determining varying degrees of guilt is important or else the Law would be seen as cruel and heartless. If you make an honest accident and someone is harmed, its different than if you are negligent and should know better and the same harm falls on a victim. Even still it’s different if you knowingly plan to harm someone and make the decision to do that. There’s concepts of culpability, wrongful intent, negligence. And you can see these when you study Judicial law of the Old Testament. The judicial laws help to run a civil and just society. When there is conflict between people, the judicial law is good to have. They point towards God’s standards and ideals of what fair is, and what is wrong and right. The specifics change as circumstances and scenarios change through time, but the general ideas are timeless and indicate how members of a civilized society should treat each other.

Ceremonies and festivals and celebrations are the next type of Law. I believe most Christians who have thought about this critically would say that certainly Jesus Christ has ended the need for the ceremonies and rituals that bring cleansing and propitiation of sin. Jesus is the ultimate cleansing for sin. We don’t need a repeated ritual for sin offering. We don’t require a special day of atonement, because Jesus atoned for our sins One time for All. In the context of Hebrews 10, and the rest of Hebrews, it’s clear that Ceremonial Law is obsolete. It’s Biblical to believe that no ceremonies or festivals, or celebrations are necessary for salvation now that Christ has come. They are obsolete, but they aren’t useless, all ceremonies and festivals and celebrations should point to the greater reality of Christ. So should we celebrate them? On these matters Paul explained in Romans 14:5 that each person should be convinced in his own mind. So if that ceremony moves you towards worship, and helps you to glorify God and see Him clearer, and worship Him, you are free to keep following the law and taking part in a ceremony or festival, and I would even go as far as to recommend it. However if the ceremony becomes a burden that takes you away from a feeling of love and gratefulness towards Christ, you are free to not follow it, and in that case I wouldn’t even recommend you partake. As a third (scary) alternative, if you believe the ceremony is necessary or required for your salvation, then that ceremony is an idol and is a form of blasphemy. It has BEDEVILED you and become something that is EVIL and it is an ANTICHRIST! Each person can see the same ceremony in a different way, and feel differently towards it. Paul explains that each person should be convinced in their own minds, and nobody should get in the way of each other’s relationship with God, and nobody should cause another person to stumble. But if the ceremony has replaced Grace, it has become a stumbling block and this should be an opportunity for instruction, rebuke, and correction. When you read the epistles, Paul had to write different letters to different people about ceremonies, because they had become different things for different churches. Clearly here in Hebrews 10:1-4 the author is comparing Jesus’s sacrifice to the annual sacrifices, and the conclusion is that Ceremonial law is just a shadow of a greater thing.

But what about all the Moral law? Jesus himself said in Matthew 5:18 that the Law will remain until the earth passes away. Do we agree? Of course. We must agree with that, because if we disagree, we are disagreeing with Christ himself. As a pastor, I have a rule of thumb, which is pretty safe. Disagreeing with Jesus is never the correct side of an argument. Jesus explains that the Law still stands and it will stand as long as the Earth exists. The law is permanent. But the permanence of Moral Law is not the question here. To interpret what the author of Hebrews is writing, we must ask, are the Moral Laws and commandments just a shadow of something better? Yes. Is the Moral Law the reality itself? NO. Jesus spent a lot of time on the sermon on the mount explaining the difference between the shadow, or existing law, and the better thing, which is the law of Christ. You shall not murder. That’s the law. It’s not ceremonial, civil. It’s moral, but that’s the shadow. But what’s the better reality? Nobody should even hate each other, or be angry and call them “raca” or fool. The shadow is Do Not Murder. Do Not Hate. That endures! That will last as long as the Earth exists. But the better thing to come is Love. Love your neighbor as much as you love yourself. This kind of takes us back to the Judicial or civil law. If you are sued for your shirt, give him your cloak as well. If you are forced to go a mile, go two! Here’s Another Moral law. You shall not commit adultery. That’s the shadow. And that should definitely endure forever! What’s the better reality? We should not even look at another person’s wife. We shouldn’t even eye someone who is not our spouse with lust in our eyes, because then we’ve committed adultery in our hearts. The enduring shadow is No Lust, but better thing to come is purity and holiness, because that reflects God’s Glory. A few weeks back, our Pastor preached about tithing. The law is 10%. That should endure forever! God deserves the first fruits! That’s one of the only places in scripture where God says, “Test me in this”. That’s a shadow. It’s an enduring shadow that should persist until the end of the earth. But tithing is not the reality itself. The better reality is, we should belong to God 100%. That’s why Jesus made such a big deal over such a small gift from the old woman. Same deal with the commandment to keep the Sabbath. That one drifts towards the ceremonial law, but we can mention it. Only 1 day of 7 should be holy to God? Sure! That should endure forever, but it’s just the shadow. The reality is all days should be a form of worship. It’s like that silly riddle, what month has 28 days? February! WRONG! They all do! What day is holy to God? The Sabbath, sure, but really all days should be. That’s the ceremonial side of the Sabbath laws, but the Sabbath has a moral component. According to the law the Sabbath is a day where we rest from our requirements and we should do no work. But the greater reality is it’s not about taking a break from our jobs, but having rest from justification by our works. In Jesus, we see the greater reality that we are resting in Grace from the requirements of our works. All of these topics can be their own sermon. But all aspects of the law are not the reality itself, but just a shadow and copy of the greater thing, which is being in Christ. The regulations are a shadow of and point to a better reality. The better reality is how our hearts will be inclined towards God’s goodness, and we know there is no law against goodness and Love.

5 Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me;
6 with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.
7 Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, my God.’”[a]

Now the author is quoting Psalm 40 in verses 5-7, and we have another comparative example here of a shadow vs the better thing to come. Sacrifice? That’s just a Shadow. Burnt Offerings? Any burnt offerings you make are just a testimony to your guilty deeds. It’s good to make an offering or sacrifice for your sin, but it’s not the true thing. The true thing is the body prepared. Instead of an offering, the comparison is a “Here I Am”. What does that mean? On one hand there’s a lawful sacrifice for sin, and on the other hand we have a “Present” or “Hey, right Here” Let’s read the author’s explanation.

 

8 First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. 9 Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Verse 8 indicates that even when the sacrifices are offered correctly, according to the law. Just exactly like the law says, there’s something better. What’s better than sacrifice and burnt offering? “Here I am”. Again, what does that mean? If you attend or show up, it’s better than bringing a sacrifice? Kind of… Sacrifices and offerings God didn’t desire, but God prepared a body, a life to be lived to do good. A life to be lived perfectly. What the author is saying is this. What’s better than paying for sins? Obedience. Think about it! What’s better than the sin offering?? Not having sins to pay for in the first place. Obviously, since we are still in our flesh, plenty of sin remains. But we are given a body and a life that should be lived as a form of worship and love to God. If God is preparing a body, this can be viewed in a few ways. First it’s Messianic. God is preparing a body to be offered to end the sin sacrifices and sin offerings. That body is the literal flesh of Jesus Christ. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ ended the need for the first sacrifices to continue. That is the meaning the Author is trying to get across. But we can also read this a bit deeper, Let’s say God in the form of Jesus Christ is preparing a body, and we know from comparisons made throughout the New Testament that the Church is known as a body of believers, and the Earthly body of Christ. In that interpretation, we are the Body, and We are being prepared (again this is the passive voice, we are not preparing ourselves, we are being prepared. We are the bride that is being prepared to be married and wed to the groom who is Christ. If God is preparing a body, he’s preparing us. In this case, this reading of Psalm 40 is a message directly to us. If we are the ones being prepared we might read this more like the how a Hebrew would have originally read Psalm 40.

In either case, if this is body is only Jesus Christ it means ceremony is over and Jesus’ obedience is the reason, and if we are part of this body that’s being prepared, we get to the same questions about obedience. What does obedience look like for me? What did obedience look like for Christ? How do I view my life? How did Jesus view his life? How generous am I with my time, with my possessions How did Jesus spend his time, and did he even have any possessions?Because of Christ, how do I approach God? Do I ask God for things like God is a genie, or Do I open my heart and apologize? When I bring my sins to God, do I believe that I am truly forgiven? Or do I ask and later doubt and feel like I need to perform or offer something for forgiveness? That’s wrong and heretical. If I truly believe I am forgiven, I can move away from what I am saved FROM (my sin) and move towards what I am saved FOR (to serve). Our mindsets should be First humble, Second, trusting in God’s provision and forgiveness, then Third thankful for His forgiveness, and then Fourth open for God to act in us. Open to serve God with everything we are in every way we can. Look at the mindset in verse 7. Instead of sin offerings, the alternative is “Here I Am -I have come to do your will”. There’s the alternative to the shadow. That’s the something greater.. You have the comparison Sin + temporary payment, or Willful obedience + permanent payment. That’s the difference between the Law and Punishment on one hand, and the Reality or Greater thing to come. Grace, Mercy and Love. How do we know what Love is? 1 John 3:16 . Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. He demonstrated this for us in loving obedience. His death on the cross was the result of a life lived in perfect love and perfect obedience. The cross is where perfect love and perfect obedience intersect. John 15:13 There’s no greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for their friends. And in my mind, there’s a corollary to this. There’s no greater obedience than this: to lay down your life for your enemies. That exact wording isn’t found in the Bible, but the idea is in Paul’s letter to the Philippians 2:8 – And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! There’s something about Jesus’ Death that is Loving, but there’s also something that’s a terrible injustice. It highlights that the will of Jesus was so humble and obedient, to such an extent that he could set everything aside for the greater Glory set before Him of bringing enemies back to God. I can’t imagine a greater obedience than to follow the Law all the way to the cross, and do all that for the benefit of a bunch of people who are still my enemies. Not just enemies of me, but people who are Enemies of the God who I love. This is hard for me to imagine how Jesus must have felt. I can see an enemy of God and sometimes I can relate to their anger towards God. I can look at the world and get mad and frustrated, and fall under the illusion that I could do a better job at running everything. I can identify with the enemies of God a little too easily sometimes. And that’s where Jesus was different. Jesus loved God in a way I can’t. Jesus died for people who were not just his own enemies, but enemies of the God he loved perfectly with all his heart and His mind and His soul and His Strength. Jesus loved God much more powerfully than I love God. He had fellowship and oneness with the Father to an extent that we are unable to comprehend.

11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,

Verse 11. Day after Day. Sacrifices are made. Priests intercede. Duties are done. What happens to the sin? It doesn’t go anywhere. The worshipper doesn’t change. It’s like what was said in 10:2 earlier. If the sacrifices actually cleansed sins, the worshipers “would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.” Under the Old Covenant we still feel Guilty. Same as In Hebrews 9:9 “the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper.”

Under the new covenant it is finished. the Guilt is Gone. Romans 8 says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

13 and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

Although it’s done, verse 13 says since that time (the time on the Cross when Jesus said It is Finished) God is patiently allowing time to run its course. This is an advanced theological concept called forbearance. He waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. Either 1 of 2 things will happen. His enemies will repent and become friends, or they will perish. There’s no in between. You are either part of the elect, or you’re not. Verse 14. There was one sacrifice. Jesus Christ. And by that sacrifice, he has made perfect forever a certain group of people. The Elect. This is in past tense. We have been made perfect forever. That part has been done. What is still happening is that we are being made holy. That part is still happening, in the present tense. We are Being Made holy. And it’s also noteworthy that it’s written in the passive voice. We aren’t making ourselves holy. We are being made holy. This is something that is happening TO us. There is an external force that is acting upon us. Sometimes people attribute changes to something within or some internal resolve or power, but it’s an external actor. The Holy Spirit is acting on us. The confusing part is the holy spirit resides within us, so from our perspective it incorrectly seems internal sometimes.

15 The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
16 “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.”[b]
17 Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”[c]
18 And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

The author quotes Jeremiah here, about the future that God is looking forward to. The new covenant. This happens to us. God acts on us. God Puts law in our hearts. This takes the enduring shadow of the law, and brings to light the greater reality. It happens from inside each and every one of us. The Holy Spirit dwells within us, and is changing us and bringing about the existence of a greater reality. The lives we live are becoming the greater reality, and the greater reality only comes alive when our hearts and minds are renewed and we are born again of the Spirit. The greater reality changes our lives. We go from being enslaved to sin, that pattern of Sinning, paying, sinning, paying. And then we are freed. There is still sin, but it has no hold on our lives. What’s more, in that greater reality, the sins and lawless acts are no longer remembered by God. Instead, the Obedience of the Son is remembered. Forgiveness covers the sin, and sacrifice is no longer necessary. Our sin still needs a sacrifice, but that sacrifice was made. Jesus death is no longer necessary, because the one time it happened was sufficient. It was enough. Now we are free. We don’t have to spend our lives working to pay for sins, working to come up with the next offering. We are free in that as we are made more holy, sin no longer has the same hold on our hearts. We become free to live better lives. Lives of obedience, not that we could ever obey to the extent that Jesus did, but we don’t need to. We have been justified and can now live to serve the God we love. We can be God’s People and he can be our God!