The Parable of the Day of Atonement
Hebrews 9:15-28
October 18, 2015
I realize it has been a couple of weeks since we were in Hebrews,
But hopefully you haven’t completely lost your grip on the point.
The book of Hebrews was written to a group of Jews
Who weren’t taking Jesus as seriously as they should have.
• Some were outright non-believers content to remain in Judaism.
• Some were intellectually convinced about Jesus, but had yet to confess Him.
• Some had confessed Him, but due to persecution were contemplating leaving.
The writer is showing all of them the absolute value of Jesus.
The first 7 chapters were about how Jesus is our great high priest.
• Greater than the prophets
• Greater than the angels
• Greater than Moses
• Greater than Joshua
• Greater than Aaron
Jesus is a priest according to the order of Melchizedek,
Meaning He is a priest forever and therefore able to save forever.
But that was only the writer’s first point.
In chapter 8 he moved forward.
We learned that a new priest necessitates a new law,
And so in chapter 8 the writer started introducing us to the new covenant.
• It is the covenant that was promised by God.
• It is the covenant that presumes failure by man.
• It is the covenant that penetrates the heart.
• It is the covenant that produces intimacy with God.
• It is the covenant that pardons sinners.
• It is the covenant that prevails forever.
It is the new covenant.
What the writer wants you to see is that
This new covenant was always God’s plan.
In fact, the old covenant was merely a parable to point you to the new.
We saw that last time in the first part of chapter 9.
Remember, the writer started describing to us The Day of Atonement
And then told us that that feast was merely a parable.
In 9:8 the writer said that it was “a symbol for the present time.”
“symbol” translates PARABOLE which is where we get our word for parable.
And you know what a parable is.
It is a physical story with a spiritual meaning.
Jesus used them all the time to explain spiritual truth.
• He gave a parable about soil to teach on the human heart.
• He gave a parable about a mustard seed to teach the glory of the kingdom.
• He gave a parable about a dragnet to teach about the judgment.
• He gave a parable about treasure in a field to teach the value of the kingdom.
And every time Jesus gave a parable,
The point was not to copy the parable,
But rather to see and understand the spiritual point.
If you heard Jesus give the parable of the soils
And only sought to be a better farmer then you missed the point.
And here we find that this was also true
Of the Old Testament feast known as The Day of Atonement.
It was never the intention for you to just do that over and over.
The intention was for us to learn from the parable.
So, as you and I look at the Day of Atonement
We are supposed to find the spiritual point.
Now in this parable there are 4 points of symbolism that the writer wants to make sure you see.
Just like in the parable of the sower we see what each symbol represents.
• Soil represents the heart
• Birds represent Satan
• Weeds represent idols
• Sower represents evangelists
So this parable of the Day of Atonement also has points of symbolism.
Now we saw the first one last time we met.
(even though I didn’t call it point #1)
The writer described for us the visual display of the tabernacle
Or what was known as “the tent of meeting”
Before the temple, Moses would erect the tabernacle, it was a tent,
And the children of Israel put it up every time they stopped.
And the writer described to us the basic look of that tabernacle.
(READ 9:1-5)
And so we got the picture of veils and the holy place and the most holy place.
Then he wanted us to see the priests going in and out of the veil.
(READ 9:6-7)
And so we saw the tabernacle and all the work going on inside of it.
And then the writer gave you his first point of symbolism.
(this is still all recap)
#1 THE EXISTENCE OF THE VEIL
Hebrews 9:8-10
What was the first thing you were supposed to learn from the parable of the Day of Atonement?
Under the Old Covenant, you couldn’t get to God.
Only the priests could enter the holy place and only the high priest could enter the most holy place and he only was able to go once a year.
In the old covenant, access to God was strictly forbidden.
Then the writer talked about how Christ entered that holy place for us.
Only, He didn’t enter that fake, symbolic, man-made one.
Christ entered the real one in heaven for us.
And through His sacrifice He offers
What the Day of Atonement was supposed to do but couldn’t.
Christ offers us a clean conscience.
They Day of Atonement was supposed to make you feel forgiven,
But it didn’t work because at the end of the day you still couldn’t get to God.
But because Christ actually atoned for us,
We are now fully forgiven
And our conscience has been washed clean.
And all of that we talked about last time.
Now let’s move on to the next point.
But before we do, I need you to recall that scene we read during our Scripture reading time. The Day of Atonement recorded in Leviticus 16.
I know there was a lot there, but let’s get the high points.
• Aaron was told to take from the people two male goats and a bull.
• He presented the goats before the Lord and the Lord chose.
• Aaron then offered the bull for his own sin to qualify him to perform the ceremony
• Then Aaron slaughtered the goat God selected and offered it’s blood inside the holy of holies.
• Aaron then returned and sent the scape goat away.
So take a moment and visualize the scene.
(You’ve already envisioned the tabernacle, now see the work of Aaron)
What the writer wants you to know is that the parable is not yet over.
There is more symbolism to be discerned.
There are more points to be made.
We first saw The Existence Of The Veil and learned that under the old covenant we couldn’t get to God.
Now let’s look at the second symbolic point to be made.
#2 THE EXECUTION OF THE SACRIFICE
Hebrews 9:15-22
Here the writer wants you to see the high priest slaughter that male goat.
He wants you to see him cut that goat’s throat.
He wants you to see him catch that goat’s blood.
It is violent, it is gruesome, it is harsh
I don’t care what the scenario, anytime you see life end, it is traumatic.
I don’t know if you’ve ever been to a slaughter house
And watched them slaughter a steer or pig or goat.
But there is that intense and violent moment
In which the animal instantly goes from life to death and it is harsh to watch.
The writer wants you to stop and watch the priest slaughter that goat.
Now, obviously the symbolism here is to who?
Christ.
He was slaughtered on the cross.
He was brutally killed there.
His life was taken.
And this was a major problem for the Jews.
They had difficulty understanding how the Messiah could actually die.
They had all these plans of a coming kingdom and a victorious reign.
The death of the Messiah was a stumbling block to them.
So the writer is explaining why this death had to occur.
(Not only why the goat had to die, but also why Christ had to die.)
And he gives here three reasons for the execution of the sacrifice.
1) TO RELEASE THE WILL (15-17)
“For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant”
He is telling you why Christ is allowed to bring in this new covenant.
He is allowed to do it because “a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant.”
Now this is deep stuff here, but it is so important.
We are all aware of the Old Covenant.
We are all aware of all the sacrifices and even that Day of Atonement.
But in all of those sacrifices there was a problem.
They didn’t work.
We know that because the veil remained and they had to keep sacrificing.
In fact:
Hebrews 10:1-4 “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
That means that sin was never forgiven in the Old Testament
Under all of those sacrifices.
Well that’s a problem.
• Then what about all those Old Testament saints?
• What about Abraham and Isaac?
• What about Moses and Aaron?
• What about David and Elijah?
• What about Daniel and Esther?
Notice what the writer said about Christ.
“a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgression that were committed under the first covenant”
The first thing Christ did through His death on the cross
Is go backward and pay for all of those sins of God’s people
In the past that had thus far not been covered.
Romans 3:23-26 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
At the cross God satisfied His holiness in that He used Christ
To pay for all the sins of all His people in the Old Testament.
If you’ve ever wondered how did people get saved in the Old Testament?
The answer is: The same way you did, through the sacrifice of Christ.
The only difference is that their sin was committed before the cross
And your sin was committed after the cross,
But on the cross Christ paid for both.
Now, why did He have to do this?
Why did He have to pay off all those pre-existing debts?
Back to verse 15, “so that…those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”
God had promised eternal life to those Old Testament saints,
But they couldn’t receive it until their sin was atoned for.
(We don’t have time to go in to it deeply, but remember the story of the rich man in Hades? Abraham and Lazarus are not yet in the presence of God, they are in paradise; because Christ had not yet died)
It’s a conversation for another day,
But the point here is that Christ had to die
So that those Old Testament saints could receive the promise.
And then the writer explains what he means.
(16-17) “For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives.”
Now the word “covenant” here is a little misleading.
The writer uses the word DIATHEKE
Which literally referred to a “will” or a “testament”
Some of your translations may actually say “will”
And when you read it that way, it makes perfect sense.
When you are talking about receiving the benefits of a “will” then “there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. For a will is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives.”
If your father leaves his house to you in his will,
You don’t get it until he dies.
So you are understanding the necessity of the death of Christ.
He had to die so that the promise of eternal life would be available.
He had to die to RELEASE THE WILL.
2) TO RENEW THE COVENANT (18-21)
Here the writer takes you back
To a different day of sacrifice by way of illustration.
It was the day in which the children of Israel
Officially entered that old covenant with God.
And on the day they entered that covenant, they inaugurated it with blood.
The Bible says Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on everything,
Even on the people.
Could you imagine that?
It doesn’t sound like a fun church service does it?
Moses threw blood on everything.
He sprinkled the book, he sprinkled the people,
He sprinkled the tabernacle, he sprinkled all the utensils.
Everything was covered in blood.
And he said, “this is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you.”
WHAT WAS THE POINT?
Moses was illustrating the penalty for breaking the covenant.
Do you remember when God made the covenant with Abraham?
He had Abraham take a heifer, a goat, a ram, a turtledove, and a pigeon.
And you’ll remember that Abraham cut all of them in half
And God (not Abraham) passed between the pieces.
God was saying, “May such be done to Me if I do not keep My word”
That was the point with Moses too.
The people were saying that the spilling of blood
Is the penalty for breaking this covenant.
i.e. DEATH
And that is why Christ had to die.
He was satisfying the old covenant & establishing a new one.
One that would also be ratified by blood.
If you will remember this is what Jesus told the disciples in the upper room.
Matthew 26:26-28 “While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”
A third reason he had to die (release the will, renew the covenant)
3) TO REDEEM SINNERS (22)
And this was the initial point as well.
The writer made it clear.
If the covenant is broken there is only one penalty.
There is only one thing that is acceptable.
DEATH
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death…”
Now Aaron would kill a goat to satisfy God’s wrath,
But we already established that a goat was not acceptable.
It was symbolic.
It was symbolic of Christ.
And that is what the writer wants you to see
As you look at the Day of Atonement.
SO WE’VE SEEN THE TABERNACLE
AND WE’VE SEEN THE PRIEST KILL THE GOAT.
The Existence of the Veil The Execution of the Sacrifice
#3 THE EXPIATION OF THE SINNER
Hebrews 9:23-26
Expiate means “to pay the penalty for”
And so we read in Leviticus how Aaron would kill that goat
And then take its blood and disappear behind the veil.
He was going in to atone for your sin.
And the writer wants you to see another symbol in that.
Aaron wasn’t really going into the presence of God,
He was just entering a man-made tent.
And it’s a good thing because Aaron wasn’t taking an acceptable sacrifice, he only had goat’s blood.
That was a parable; a symbol; an illustration.
What did that event picture?
It pictured Christ entering heaven with His own blood
To actually expiate or atone for sinners.
Notice what the writer says:
(23-24) “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. For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;”
In other words the writer is saying
It’s ok that Aaron had goat’s blood, he was just entering a man-made tent.
But Christ was entering heaven and there, goat’s blood would not work.
So Christ had to take a better sacrifice.
He took His own blood.
We saw this last time:
Hebrews 9:12 “and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.”
The writer wants you to make that distinction.
• Aaron entered “pretend heaven”
• Jesus entered heaven
• Aaron took a “pretend offering”
• Jesus took the real one
And do you want to see the major difference?
(25-26) “nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. 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.”
I told you several weeks ago,
This is one of the major flaws in Catholic doctrine.
Catholicism goes through Mass in which the priest calls Jesus down to sacrifice again for sins committed. That’s why they keep Him on the cross.
But that is not accurate, nor is it necessary.
Christ died one time, and that one time is absolutely sufficient.
He will never have to die again.
He doesn’t need to suffer often because “now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”
When we take the Lord’s Supper it is NOT like the Catholic Mass.
I will not be calling Jesus down from heaven
To sacrifice Himself again for my sin.
This grape juice will not become His blood.
This cracker will not become His body.
It is a symbol, a reminder of what He did on the cross
Where that one offering was sufficient to cover all my sin for all my life.
Does that make sense?
All of the sacrifices that the priests made for all those years
Don’t even compare in power to what Jesus did on the cross.
In His one death on the cross
• He not only reached back and covered all the sin of all the saints of the Old Testament,
• He also reached forward and covered all the sin of all His children who would believe in Him in the future.
It is absolutely unfathomable,
But that is what the writer of Hebrews said here.
“This the power of the cross, Christ became sin for us.
Took the blame, bore the wrath, we stand forgiven at the cross.”
The Day of Atonement was a parable to illustrate that.
So you see the symbols:
• The Existence of the Veil (you couldn’t get to God)
• The Execution of the Sacrifice (required to redeem sinners)
• The Expiation of the Sinner (the blood taken to God for payment)
#4 THE EMERGENCE OF THE PRIEST
Hebrews 9:27-28
Now this is so amazing!
Picture that Day of Atonement.
• You’ve seen the veil,
• You’ve seen the slaughter,
• Then you saw the High Priest take that blood behind the veil where you know he has gone to negotiate your forgiveness.
While that priest is in there, I would think you’d be able to hear a pin drop.
This was a tense moment.
This was a serious and anxious time
In fact let me give you a little history on what Aaron wore
When he went into this holy of holies.
Exodus 28:31-35 “You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. “There shall be an opening at its top in the middle of it; around its opening there shall be a binding of woven work, like the opening of a coat of mail, so that it will not be torn. “You shall make on its hem pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet material, all around on its hem, and bells of gold between them all around: a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, all around on the hem of the robe. “It shall be on Aaron when he ministers; and its tinkling shall be heard when he enters and leaves the holy place before the LORD, so that he will not die.”
Aaron was to have bells on the hem of his garment
When he ministered before the Lord.
What you might not know is that in addition, the people used to tie a rope around the ankle of the high priest when he would enter.
WHY?
Because if he slipped up or if God didn’t accept the offering, that priest was a dead man and the rope was to drag him out.
This was an intense scene.
This priest was entering the presence of God to negotiate atonement.
• I hope the priest is acceptable
• I hope the sacrifice is acceptable
• I hope God is feeling merciful
Can you feel the tension?
Your forgiveness hung in the balance
That being said, do you know what the most joyful moment
Of the Day of Atonement was?
It was when the priest emerged from the tent.
That meant God didn’t kill Him and it worked.
“And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, 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.”
Are you catching the writer’s point?
Just like the Jews eagerly anticipated the return of the priest from behind the veil, so now we should anticipate the return of Christ from heaven.
Now, we know His sacrifice worked. Why?
He rose from the dead
But we still long for His return and glorious appearing.
(When He will return to complete our salvation)
And that is the point of the writer.
• Stop clinging to that old sacrificial system
• Stop clinging to that old covenant
• That was a symbol…that was a parable
It was all a picture of Christ who is our great high priest.
He took the perfect sacrifice (which happened to be Himself)
And entered the presence of God on our behalf and atoned for our sin.
Trust in Him!
Friends it is the greatest news ever recorded!
It is the good news of the gospel.
• Through the blood of Jesus you can be forgiven of all your sin.
• Through the blood of Jesus you can have access to God.
• Through the blood of Jesus you can enter the new and perfect covenant.
You don’t need a goat
You don’t need an earthly priest
All you need is Jesus
He is priest, He is sacrifice, He is savior
And He is coming again to save those “who eagerly await Him.”
Is that you?
Are you in love with Jesus?
Do you eagerly long for Him to return?
As you can see, we are going to partake of the Lord’s Supper.
It is a time for us to remember the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf.
The grape juice represents His blood
The cracker represents His body
We eat it, representing our acceptance of His sacrifice on our behalf
And the Bible says that partaking of this is a sacred affair.
1 Corinthians 11:26-32 “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep. But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord so that we will not be condemned along with the world.”
• He did not say you have to be worthy to partake (none are)
• He said you have to partake in a worthy manner.
When I partake I am saying that I am trusting in the sacrifice of Christ,
So make sure you are really trusting Him when you do.
So we are about to have a time of preparation.
If you’ve never cried out to Jesus for forgiveness.
If you’ve never expressed to Him that you trust what He did.
That is what this time is for.
If you are trusting Him for your salvation,
Then now is a sacred moment of remembrance and worship.
