Bird's-eye view
In this dense and glorious passage, the author of Hebrews brings his argument comparing the Old Covenant Levitical ministry with Christ's high priestly ministry to its grand crescendo. The central point is one of radical contrast: the shadow versus the substance, the copy versus the reality, the repetitive versus the final. The earthly tabernacle and its rites were mere "copies" that needed ritual cleansing. But the heavenly realities they pointed to required a sacrifice of infinitely greater value, which was the blood of Christ Himself. Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary but heaven itself, and He did not offer Himself repeatedly, which would have necessitated endless suffering. Instead, His one-time, definitive sacrifice at the "consummation of the ages" was sufficient to put away sin forever. The passage concludes by drawing a parallel between the universal human experience of one death followed by judgment and Christ's one death followed by His second appearing. His return will not be to deal with sin again, for that is a finished work, but to bring the full and final salvation to those who are eagerly awaiting Him.
This section is the theological heart of the book. It establishes the absolute finality and sufficiency of Christ's atoning work. The old system was a placeholder, a divinely ordained object lesson. But Christ's work is the reality to which it pointed. His single offering accomplished what millennia of animal sacrifices never could. This truth was meant to fortify the original Hebrew Christians against the temptation to return to the temple rituals, which were about to be swept away in the judgment of A.D. 70. For us, it is the bedrock of our assurance. Our sin is dealt with. The work is finished. We now live in the light of that completed sacrifice, looking forward not to another offering for sin, but to the return of our victorious King.
Outline
- 1. The Climactic Contrast (Heb 9:23-28)
- a. Cleansing the Copies vs. Cleansing the Realities (Heb 9:23)
- b. The Earthly Tent vs. Heaven Itself (Heb 9:24)
- c. The Repetitive Offering vs. The Once-for-All Sacrifice (Heb 9:25-26)
- d. The Appointed Death of Man vs. The Appointed Offering of Christ (Heb 9:27-28)
- i. One Death, Then Judgment (Heb 9:27)
- ii. One Offering, Then Salvation (Heb 9:28)
Context In Hebrews
This passage is the capstone of a long argument that begins back in chapter 7 with the introduction of Melchizedek. The author has systematically demonstrated Christ's superiority to the Aaronic priesthood in every respect. His priesthood is eternal, established by an oath, and He is a sinless priest. In chapters 8 and 9, the focus shifts to the covenant and the sanctuary. The Old Covenant was faulty (not in itself, but in the people) and its sanctuary was a worldly one. Christ, however, ministers in the true, heavenly tabernacle as the mediator of a better covenant. Just prior to our text, the author described the bloody rites of the Old Covenant, emphasizing that "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness" (Heb 9:22). Our passage now takes that principle and applies it to the heavenly realities, showing how Christ's blood accomplished the ultimate and final cleansing that the blood of bulls and goats could only foreshadow.
Key Issues
- Typology: Copies and True Things
- The Nature of the Heavenly Sanctuary
- The Finality of Christ's Atonement
- The Meaning of "Consummation of the Ages"
- The Parallel Between Human Death and Christ's Sacrifice
- The Nature of Christ's Second Appearing
Shadows and Substance
The entire logic of this section hangs on a Platonic-looking distinction, but it is a thoroughly biblical one. The Old Covenant apparatus, the tabernacle, the priests, the sacrifices, were all copies, patterns, or shadows of the heavenly realities. They were not the real thing, but they were accurate, divinely-designed models of the real thing. Think of it like an architectural blueprint. The blueprint is not the house, but it corresponds to the house in every important detail. The Levitical system was God's blueprint for redemption, laid out on the canvas of Israel's history. But when Christ came, He was the house itself. He was the substance that cast the shadow. The author's point is that you don't keep fussing with the blueprint once the house is built. To go back to the temple sacrifices after Christ had come was to prefer the shadow to the substance, the copy to the original, the blueprint to the glorious, finished building. It was an insult to the architect and the builder.
Verse by Verse Commentary
23 Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
The logic flows directly from what came before. Since almost everything under the law was purified with blood, it was therefore necessary for the earthly tabernacle and its furnishings, which were mere copies of the heavenly realities, to be cleansed with the blood of animals. This was fitting. A copy is cleansed with a copy. A shadow is cleansed with a shadowy sacrifice. But then comes the staggering conclusion: the heavenly things themselves needed cleansing. This does not mean heaven was morally defiled. Rather, it means that the access to God for sinful men, the very relationship between heaven and earth that had been broken by sin, needed to be consecrated, opened, and purified. And for this ultimate work, a far better sacrifice was required. Animal blood was sufficient for the blueprint, but for the real building, for heaven itself, only the blood of the Son of God would do.
24 For Christ did not enter holy places made with hands, mere copies of the true ones, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;
Here the contrast is made explicit. The Levitical high priest would pass through the veil into the Holy of Holies, a small, dark room made of wood, fabric, and gold. It was a place made with hands, a copy. But Christ, our great High Priest, passed through the heavens and entered the reality, heaven itself. He stepped into the unmediated, unveiled presence of God the Father. And He is there now. This is His present ministry. He is not hiding, He is appearing. The word is one of a formal, legal representative appearing before a judge. He is there for us, on our behalf, presenting His finished work as the permanent basis for our acceptance with God.
25 nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy places year by year with blood that is not his own.
The contrast continues, shifting from the place of ministry to the frequency of it. The earthly high priest had to repeat his work every year on the Day of Atonement. Why? Because his sacrifice was imperfect, and he was offering blood that was not his own. It was the blood of a substitute animal, which could cover sin for a time, but could never truly take it away. The annual repetition was a constant reminder of the inadequacy of the system. But Christ's offering was not like this. The very nature of His sacrifice, being Himself both priest and victim, meant it did not need to be repeated.
26 Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
The author now shows the absurdity of the alternative. If Christ's sacrifice were like the Levitical ones, needing repetition, then He would have had to suffer and die over and over again, throughout all of history, since the foundation of the world. This is a logical impossibility and a theological monstrosity. It would render the atonement a weak and pathetic thing. But that is not what happened. In stark contrast, now once, at the perfect, strategic moment in history, at the consummation of the ages, He appeared. This phrase refers to the climax of redemptive history, the moment when all the previous ages of promise and shadow found their fulfillment. The Old Covenant age was ending, and the New Covenant age was dawning. At this pivotal moment, Christ was manifested for one purpose: to put away sin. Not to cover it, not to postpone judgment, but to obliterate it, to annul it, by the once-for-all sacrifice of Himself.
27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
He now grounds his argument in a universal human reality. It is a fixed, divine appointment that every person gets one life and one death. There are no do-overs, no second chances. And what follows that one death? Judgment. This is the unalterable pattern for every descendant of Adam. One life, one death, one judgment. This solemn truth sets the stage for the final parallel.
28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
Just as man dies once, so Christ also was offered once. His death was His appointed moment. He was offered to bear the sins of many, a clear echo of Isaiah 53. He took our judgment upon Himself in that one offering. And just as man's death is followed by a future event (judgment), so Christ's death is followed by a future event: He will appear a second time. But here the parallel involves a crucial difference. When He comes again, it will be without reference to sin. The sin question has been settled, dealt with, put away. He is not coming back to make another sacrifice or to deal with the guilt of His people. That work is finished. He is coming to bring salvation, meaning the consummation of our salvation, the resurrection of our bodies, and the ushering in of the new heavens and new earth. And who receives this final salvation? It is for those who eagerly await Him. This is not a condition for being saved, but rather a description of the saved. Those who have been justified by His first coming, who understand that their sin has been put away, are the very ones who now live in eager, joyful expectation of His second coming.
Application
The doctrine in this passage is the engine of the Christian life. If Christ's sacrifice is not once-for-all and completely sufficient, then we have no security, no assurance, and no real gospel. We are left in the position of the Old Covenant worshiper, always aware of our sin but never certain it has been dealt with. But because Christ's work is finished, we can have a robust and confident faith.
First, this means we must radically reject any form of religion that suggests we need to add to the work of Christ. Whether it is a formal system of penance or a personal, nagging feeling that we need to do more to make ourselves acceptable to God, it is a denial of this text. To try to add to Christ's sacrifice is to say it was insufficient. It is to bring animal blood to the heavenly sanctuary, and it is an offense to God.
Second, our present life is to be lived in light of two great appearances. We look back to His first appearing, at the consummation of the ages, and we see our sin put away. This is the ground of our justification. We look forward to His second appearing, when He will bring our salvation to its glorious completion. This is the object of our hope. Our feet are planted firmly on the finished work of the past, and our eyes are fixed eagerly on the promised glory of the future. This is what it means to be a Christian. We are those who know that sin has been dealt with, and so we are now free to eagerly await our King.