Jesus Our Sacrifice Series

SIMPLY JESUS

Jesus Our Sacrifice

Hebrews 9:1-28

INTRODUCTION

-When we look up into the evening sky we see…well, usually we see rain…but for the sake of the illustration we see all these little stars twinkling above us.

-And though we see them we know that there is much more out there than just what our eyes can take in.

-We know that for every star we can see with our naked eye, there are thousands more beyond them.

-There are an estimated 70 sextillion stars. 7 & 22 zeroes!

-There are an estimated hundred billion galaxies in the universe.

-Modern people have had the advantage of huge telescopes, planetariums, and even space exploration crafts which have allowed us to know more…

-But for all we have discovered there is still even more.

-We don’t have a telescope that can see, we don’t have a ship that can take us, & we don’t have the minds to comprehend

-How vast, and beautiful, and complex space really is.

-What we see is only the tip of the iceberg.

-And that’s how the Tabernacle in ancient Israel was.

-It was beautiful, it was ornate, it was elaborate and awe-inspiring for those ancient people to see.

-But when they entered that Tabernacle they had the sense that there was more…that something bigger than what they saw.

-The rich symbolism of the Tabernacle was designed to give people the hint of something even better.

-The shocking truth is that the OT tabernacle is this; it was patterned after the very throne room of God.

-The place where people worshipped God on earth, was a miniature replica of the place where God is worshipped in heaven.

-THE OLD COVENANT WAS JUST A SHADOW OF THE NEW COVENANT.

OLD TESTAMENT WORSHIP

-When you take all that we have learned so far in Hebrews…and you put it together it paints a real picture for us.

-Let me summarize the beginning of chapter 9 for the sake of time

-EARTHLY TABERNACLE (VS 1) A tent. It was a kind of a portable temple that the Israelites took with them through all their desert wanderings and even into the Promised Land.

-Everything in the tabernacle had symbolic meaning.

-LAMPSTAND, TABLE, SACRED BREAD. (VS 2) Inside there was

-MOST HOLY PLACE WITH A CURTAIN (VS 3) There was only one person who could go into that most holy place…the High Priest of Israel.

-When he entered he’d come face to face with the golden incense altar and the ARK OF THE COVENANT (VS 4)

-If you don’t know what the ark is, just watch Indiana Jones; Raiders of the Lost Ark…it will all become clear.

-On top of that ark were two carved CHERUBIM (VS 5) angels.

-All of these things are shadows of the real things in heaven.

-The Holy Place pictured God’s throne room in heaven.

-Incense represents prayers being sent right to God.

-The bread and table are like a meal; symbolizing the fellowship with have with God.

-The lid on the Ark of the Covenant was called the Mercy seat, and it symbolized God’s throne…where he sits in power!

-If you read Ezek & Rev you find that there are Cherubim angels who surround God’s throne.

-Which is why there are two cherubim angels on top of the ark.

HIGH PRIEST ENTERED THE MOST HOLY PLACE TO DEAL W/SINS. (VS 6-7)

-He would only go in once a year…behind the curtain.

-He would offer the sacrifice of atonement which covered all the sins of the people.

-Now if those OT high priests are also shadows of the real thing in heaven…who did the priests symbolically represent? Jesus!

-All of the OT is filled with these shadows, these illustrations, these patterns of the things that would come later through Jesus.

-But there is one issue about OT worship that may shock you:

8 By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the TABERNACLE AND THE SYSTEM IT REPRESENTED WERE STILL IN USE.

-THE HOLIEST PLACE WAS NOT OPEN TO EVERYONE (VS 8)

-Regular people were not allowed to enter into God’s presence.

-Only one person was allowed to approach God in the place that symbolized his throne room. The High Priest.

-There were people in Israel who loved God, worshipped God… and tried to obey God…but they not could approach God where he dwelled. Their access was denied.

-A new movie released about the baseball player Jackie Robinson.

-The movie chronicles his struggles as an African American man trying to break into Major League Baseball.

-Jackie Robinson loved baseball, he was great at baseball player, but there was a racist attitude in our country and in sports.

-So went he entered the big leagues he was threatened, mocked, ridiculed, and discriminated against.