“Shadow and the Sacrifice”
Hebrews 9:1-14
Warden Assembly of God
Pastor John L. Harper
November 2, 2008
Introduction:
In our text, he shows that the old covenant sacrificial
system was temporary and imperfect. It could not provide a clean
conscience for the worshipers. God designed that old system to
point ahead to the superior, final sacrifice of our high priest, Christ,
who offered His own blood to obtain for us eternal redemption
and a clean conscience.
© Steven J. Cole, 2004
I. THE SHADOW OF THE TRUE TABERNACLE (vs. 1-5)
A. The first covenant had ordinances
B. The first covenant had a worldly sanctuary
1. It contained the following “furniture”
a. The Golden Candlestick
b. The table of Shewbread
2. Also behind the 2nd veil
a. It is called the Holiest of All
b. The Golden Censer
c. The Ark of the Covenant (overlaid with gold)
• Golden pot of manna
• Aaron’s rod that budded
• Tablets of the covenant
• Cherubims of glory over the mercy seat
The author does not explain the symbolic meaning of any of
these things, but hurries on to his point, that these things were
temporary and looked ahead to Christ. But let me comment briefly.
The lampstand pictures Christ, not here as the light of the world
(because the world was not allowed into the holy place), but as the
one who illumines the things of God through the Holy Spirit (the
oil) to those who draw near. The table of sacred bread pictures
Christ as the sustenance of His chosen people and their communion
with Him. The altar of incense shows Christ interceding for
His people in God’s presence.
4
The ark pictured the very presence of God. The golden jar of
manna shows Christ as the daily bread of His people. Aaron’s rod
that budded shows Christ, the branch, chosen above others because
He alone is life-giving. The tables of the covenant reveal
God’s holy standards. © Steven J. Cole, 2004
d. We can’t talk about these things in particular
II. THE SERVICE IN THE FIRST TABERNACLE (vs. 6-10)
A. The priests went always into the 1st tabernacle
1. When this was the way things were ordained
2. When they were accomplishing the service of God (Zacharias)
B. The High Priest went into the 2nd tabernacle
1. Alone once a year
But 9:7 focuses on the Holy of Holies. Only the high priest
could go in there, once a year, on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus
16). He would first offer a bull for his own sins. He would enter
the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of the bull on the mercy
seat and in front of it. Then he would go back out and slaughter
one of two goats as a sin offering for the people and take this
blood into the mercy seat. He would go back out and lay his hands
on the living goat, confessing over it the sins of the people. They
would lead this goat out into the wilderness and let it go.
© Steven J. Cole, 2004
2. They did not come into the Holy Place without blood
3. They came to make offerings for sins
a. First for his errors
b. Then for the errors of the people
C. The way into the Holiest of all
1. The Holy Ghost made known that the way was not shown yet.
2. This way would not be manifest while the 1st Tabernacle was standing
D. The 1st tabernacle was a figure for the present time
1. This is where gifts and offerings were made
2. These gifts and sacrifices could not bring perfection
a. To the priest (the one who did the service)
b. When it was pertaining to the conscience
E. The 1st Tabernacle imposed things until the time of reformation
1. It stood for meats and drinks
2. It stood for many washings
3. It stood for carnal laws (ordinances)
III. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PERFECT SACRIFICE (vs. 11-14)
A. Christ is the priest of a greater tabernacle
1. One that is more perfect
2. One that is not made with hands
B. Christ is the High Priest of good things to come
1. He entered the Holy Place once
2. He entered the Holy Place to obtain eternal redemption for us
a. Not by the blood of goats and calves
b. But by His own blood
C. The blood of Christ will purge our conscience
This infinitely efficacious sacrifice satisfied God in a way that the
blood of bulls and goats never could. Through Christ’s blood, we
can have a clean conscience.
The Bible teaches that the conscience alone is not an infallible
guide. Through repeated sin, the conscience can be defiled (Titus
1:15) and seared (1 Tim. 4:2). For example, I read that Cambodian
dictator Pol Pot murdered between two and seven million of his
fellow people. He ordered the murder of everyone who wore eye8
glasses, among many other senseless killings. Historians say that his
evil deeds were even greater than those of Hitler and Stalin, if possible.
Yet just before he died in 1998, he told a reporter that he had
a clear conscience! It wasn’t clear; it was seared!
© Steven J. Cole, 2004
1. From dead works
2. To serve the living God
3. Because He offered Himself without spot to God
All Vanderbilt Women Have Pearls
At lunch one day in a hotel with her son Reggie and his new wife, Gloria, Alice Vanderbilt asked whether Gloria had received her pearls. Reggie replied that he had not yet bought any because the only pearls worthy of his bride were beyond his price. His mother then calmly ordered that a pair of scissors be brought to her. When the scissors arrived, Mrs. Vanderbilt promptly cut off about one-third of her own $70,000 pearl necklace and handed them to her new daughter-in-law. “There you are, Gloria,” she said. “All Vanderbilt women have pearls.”
Today in the Word, September 18, 1993
D. The blood of bulls and goats could only purify the flesh
1. The offering of blood could only postpone the sin
2. The ashes of an heifer only sprinkled the unclean
CONCLUSION: Stories - Becoming a Christian
When Queen Victoria of England reigned as Empress of India, the Maharajah of Punjab was a little boy. To show his allegiance, he sent her a magnificent diamond. It became one of the crown jewels and was safely kept in the Tower of London. When he became a man, he went to London to pay his respects to the Queen. The young man asked the Queen if he could see the diamond. The precious jewel was brought in and presented before the Indian prince. Then, taking the diamond and kneeling before the Queen, he said with deep emotion,
"Madam, I gave you this jewel when I was too young to know what I was doing. I want to give it again, in the fullness of my strength, with all my heart, and affection, and gratitude, now and forever, fully realizing all that I do."
The Maharajah needed to come to a point in his life where he consciously dedicated himself to the Queen of England.
