Questions for Littles: What were purified with calf-blood, goat-blood, scarlet wool, and hyssop (v23)? With what were the heavenly things cleansed? Who did not enter holy places made with hands (v24)? Of what were those places copies? Into where itself has Christ entered? Where does Christ now appear? What isn’t Christ doing often in Heaven (v25)? Who did enter the Holy of Holies every year with the blood of another? If Christ needed to repeat His sacrifice, since when would He have had to offer Himself often (v26)? When did Christ appear to put away sin? How did Christ put away sin? What is appointed for men to do once (v27)? What comes next after a man dies? Who was offered once (v28)? What was Christ offered once to do? To whom will Christ appear a second time? Will it be to bear sin? What will it be for?In this week’s sermon text, we heard about several things that Christ doesn’t do.
Christ did not enter the holy places made with hands. Those were just copies.
Christ did not offer Himself repeatedly for every generation that needed it. If He had done that, He would have had to do so continually since the foundation of the world.
Christ will not appear the second time to bear sins. That was a once-only appointment.
Often, the Lord highlights things for us by contrast. In this case, all of these things that Christ doesn’t do serve to highlight the glories of what Christ does do.
If Christ does not enter the holy places made with hands, where does He enter? The true heaven itself of which these were copies. Where does He appear there? In the presence of God! Why is He in there in the presence of God? For us.
Now that’s a show-stopping, breath-taking, two-word sentence. For us. He is there for the glory of the Father, who sent Him in love. He is there for His own glory, as the only One who could ever have a right to be there. He is there for the glory of the Spirit, who has perfectly carried out history and especially the sustaining of Christ in His humanity.
But Christ is also in heaven for us. He is our Priest.
And why didn’t Christ offer Himself repeatedly since the foundation of the world? Because His once-for-all death would usher in the last age, the age of the gospel, the age of Christ’s Priesthood, the age of His Supper, the age of eagerly awaiting His second-coming.
We live in that glorious age. We believe that glorious gospel. We worship through that glorious Priest. We celebrate that glorious Supper. We await that glorious coming.
And why is Christ’s second appearing not for the bearing of the sins of many? Because that part of our salvation is done. Guilt is gone. And soon, sinning itself will be gone. And sorrow. And pain. And the curse. And all the works of the devil.
It is all of these other parts of His salvation that He is appearing with.
There is much that we can do to serve and glorify Christ in this life. But, there are ultimate glories that come only with Christ’s return. Are we so involved in what service the Lord give us the privilege of doing now, that we are not eagerly awaiting His appearing?
When and how do you exult in what the Lord has done? And in what He is still going to do?Suggested Songs: ARP98 “O Sing a New Song to the Lord” or HB276 “There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood”
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