Lesson 28 IE3b. The Perfection of the Heavenly Sanctuary (Heb. 9:11-12)
Text (KJV)
11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Background
Verses 11 and 12 contrast “the good things to come” with the types and shadows of the Old Covenant - the precious blood of the Lamb of God. The perfect tabernacle in contrast with the sanctuary made of earthly materials; the precious blood of the Lamb of God in contrast to the blood of animal sacrifices which could never take away sins. We see the appearing of our great High Priest, His entering into the holy place by passing through the veil once, for all, forever, in contrast with the daily sacrifices offered by the Levitical high priest in the earthly tabernacle; and we have the eternal redemption purchased by the precious blood of the Lamb in contrast with bondage under the law.
Commentary
11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
“But Christ being come an high priest” carries with it the idea of a dramatic arrival on the scene of the great High Priest, who changed everything. To arrive in the very presence of God, he had to pass through the upper heavens, not through a royal court “made with hands.”
“But Christ” . . . (not but Jesus). This title given to Jesus deserves special attention. Jesus is His earthly name, meaning Savior; Christ is His heavenly name. He is God’s Christ, He is man’s Jesus, He is the Christian’s Lord. In Isaiah 9:6 we read, “. . . His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Here in this verse the Holy Spirit refers to Him simply as Christ. Here in this verse the Holy Spirit refers to Him simply as “Christ” meaning “the Anointed.”
“Of good things to come” really means good things that have come to pass; that is, the good things that have come through Him, things that have already arrived! All things that were foreshadowed by type in the tabernacle was now reality because of Christ’s priestly ministry in heaven. The pattern for the tabernacle here on earth was modeled after the sanctuary in heaven, but today we no longer need the pattern. We have the eternal reality! Christ is our true tabernacle. He is the very presence of God.
“A greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands.” “Greater” points to Christ’s superiority in dignity and excellency and has to do with His human nature. “More perfect” has to do with His Holiness. The body of Christ was more perfectly suited to the ministry of the true tabernacle because He was both human and divine. Like no other priest He could make atonement for sin because He was the sinless One!
Mankind had no part in the building of this “tabernacle.” The better tabernacle does not belong to this natural creation, like the materials or builders. Though our Lord’s body was a perfect human body it did not come by the way of natural generation; His miraculous conception will sufficiently justify the expressions used here by the apostle.
I will say this as kindly as I can. All this fuss generated today by trying to sweeten up the worship service with pictures and videos and candles and crosses and musical bands and orchestras ministers to the flesh. It is fleshly because it ministers to the physical side of man. It does not minister to his spiritual side at all. We need to recognize that there is a real tabernacle in heaven; there is a real High Priest there, and there is spiritual worship. You can worship Him anytime and anywhere, and it is wonderful when people can come together in a church and really worship God.
“Not of this building,” simply means, “not made with hands”; “not of this creation.” The heavenly tabernacle did not need materials (Heb. 9:24) such as was used in the construction of the earthly tabernacle. Since the heavenly tabernacle does not belong to this creation, it is not affected by the ravages of time.
“The Superior Heavenly Sanctuary.”
The writer has emphasized the superiority of the heavenly sanctuary before because he wants his readers to focus their attention on the things in heaven and not on earthly things. Some things on earth, and that includes the beautiful Jewish temple, would soon be destroyed; but the realities of heaven would endure forever. The Old Testament tabernacle was made by the hands of men (Ex. 35:30-35). The tabernacle of Moses was made with materials that belong to this creation. The New Covenant sanctuary was not made with hands.
12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
I believe this verse proves that Christ took “His own blood to heaven.” “Neither by the blood of goats and calves” - that is literal blood, my friend.
“But by his own blood;” that is, the literal blood that He shed on the cross. The redemption of man is attributed to the blood of Christ; and his blood was shed in a sacrificial way, precisely as the blood of bulls, goats and calves was shed under the law. “He entered in.” How? “He entered in by His own blood.” This was a greater sacrifice and the only one worthy of the genuine tabernacle. To offer “blood” was to offer the best that man had to give. Blood was precious, for when the blood was shed, life was gone. This is what Peter said about “blood”: “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, such as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:18-19). Here the redemption of man is attributed to the blood of Christ; Christ gave Himself- and His sacrifice, His blood, honored God far more than our sins and inequities dishonored Him. It is necessary that we see the cross - the death, the shed blood of Jesus; but it is also necessary that we recognize the importance of the blood permitting Jesus to enter the presence of God. And there is another thing that is important to us; His offering does not need to be repeated because through His own blood, He obtained eternal redemption.
The writer will discuss the inferiority of animal sacrifices in Hebrews 10, but here he begins to lay the foundation. We do not need proof that the blood of Jesus Christ is far superior to the blood of animal sacrifices. How can the blood of animals ever solve the problem of human sins? Jesus Christ became a man so that He might be able to die for peoples’ sins. His death was voluntary. It is doubtful that any Old Testament sacrifice ever volunteered for the job! An animal’s blood was carried by the high priest into the holy of holies, but Jesus Christ presented Himself in the presence of God as the final and complete sacrifice for sins. Of course, the animal sacrifices were repeated, while Jesus Christ offered himself just one time. Finally, no animal sacrifices ever promised “eternal redemption.” Their blood could only cover sin until the time when Christ’s blood would take away sin (John 1:29). We have “eternal redemption.” There are no conditions attached, like merit or good works; it is secured once and for all by the finished work of Jesus Christ
“Having obtained eternal redemption for us.” The words, “for us” are in italics, indicating that they are not in the original manuscript. They were added to make the translation smoother, which is ok, but they are not the emphasis of the verse. The emphasis is between the Christ, who entered only once into the Holy Place and obtained eternal redemption, and the Hebrew priests who went in continually, and they got a temporary redemption only. Only Christ went in once and obtained eternal redemption. Now, this puts the authority and the importance where it belongs, on the sacrifice of Christ, and it reminds us that the life of Christ never saved anyone. You can follow His teachings and think you are saved, but dear friend, His teaching never saved anyone. It is the death of Christ; it is His redemption that saves.
