The Death of Christ

Hebrews 9:11-14
July 12, 2020
Peter Yoo

Sermon Script

Last Lord’s Day, we looked at Romans 5 and how without the life of Christ, there is no hope. And if I can begin with words of encouragement this morning, I remind you that Jesus lived a life of perfect obedience to God’s Law that we could never live, so that he could give his perfect record to you. And so that he could give his perfect record to his church as a whole. His whole bride is counted righteous. Any and every believer in Jesus Christ is counted righteous in God’s eyes. And dear Christian, God declares you righteous right now. And he does so because of Jesus’ righteousness given to you. Praise God for Jesus’ perfect life. Let us love and obey the commandments of God in his Word since Jesus loved and obeyed the commandments.

And there’s so much more to say on the topic of the life of Christ, but this morning, I will not be focusing on the life of Christ. I will be focusing on the death of Christ.

I remember years ago when I was still in youth group, before I went to the youth group room, I always checked the kitchen first to see if we had good food or not. And on days that we had a buffet of food lined up for us, I would run up the stairs and tell everyone that we had good food that day. And after our service had ended, we would run down stairs and get in line for the good food. And while waiting in line, I would sometimes ask one of the KM members, “What’s the occasion? Why are we celebrating? Why do we have good food today?” The KM member would say to me, “We’re celebrating the death of a church member.” And I’ll be honest, I didn’t understand it at the time. Why would anyone want to celebrate someone’s death? I thought death was generally a bad thing. Definitely not something you would want to celebrate.

And this is true. Death isn’t a good thing. How do we know that death isn’t a good thing? Because when God created all things in six days, God declared everything that he had made, everything that he had given life to, everything was made good. God did not make death in those six days. Rather, God entered into a covenant with Adam so that Adam and those after him would have a greater life with God. And this is the purpose of life. This is the meaning of life. To be with God forever. That’s the meaning of your life and my life. To be with God forever. And Adam was to obey God and live. If Adam obeyed God perfectly, he and all those after him would be with God forever.

But God told him that the day that he eats of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that very day that he eats of it, he will surely die. And after being tempted by the serpent, Adam ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And then what happened? He died, right? Obey God and live, disobey God and die, right? Actually, the Bible tells us in Genesis 3 that an animal died instead of Adam. God’s Word tells us that God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and he clothed them and he clothed their nakedness. Where did God get that skin to make the garments? God made for Adam and his wife skins made from animals to cover their nakedness and shame. This is actually the first instance of death that we see recorded in the Bible. It wasn’t the death of Abel, it was the death of this nameless animal.

But shouldn’t Adam have died? He’s the one that disobeyed God. Yes, and death in one sense did enter into the world through Adam’s disobedience, but by God’s grace Adam didn’t die right then and there. Instead, God provided the sacrifice and an animal took the place of Adam and died in his place. And so, Adam forfeited his greater life and union with God because of his disobedience. And this is one of the primary questions that the Bible addresses. After Adam’s sinned, how can a sinful person be with a holy God? How can a sinful person be with a holy God? How can you and I be made right with God? This is one of the greatest, one of the most fundamental questions that any person can ever ask. How can a sinful person like me be with a holy and pure God?

And throughout the Old Testament, God reveals to us how we can be made right with God. And we get a glimpse of it in the first 5 verses of our passage this morning. God revealed to Moses exactly how sinful people can be made right with God and be with him. God commanded Moses to build the tabernacle, the tent, the place where God could dwell with his people without consuming them. This was the purpose of the tabernacle and the temple later on: a safe place where we could be with God without being completely consumed. And so, God gave Moses extremely detailed requirements with impeccable and precise dimensions for everything. I won’t go into all the details, but basically, there were three sections to this tabernacle, this very large tent: an outer area, an inner area called the Holy Place, and an even more inner area called the Most Holy Place. The Holy Place was guarded by a curtain and the Holy Place had the lampstand, the table, and the bread of the Presence. And the Most Holy Place, the innermost place, the holiest place on earth, was also guarded by a curtain. And inside the Most Holy Place was a golden altar of incense and the golden ark of the covenant, which had inside of it a golden urn with manna, Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the ten commandments. And on top of the ark of the covenant was the mercy seat with the wings of cherubim angels covering the top of the ark. And this symbolized the very throneroom and presence of God. This is why the Most Holy Place was so holy, because God’s presence was there. But like the author of Hebrews tells us, “Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.” Hopefully another time, because how each of these things point to Christ is absolutely magnificent.

And the priests would go into the Holy Place and perform the rituals on a regular basis. But the Most Holy Place was different. Only one person could go in there and that person wasn’t just any priest, it was the high priest. And he couldn’t just enter anytime he wanted, he could only enter once a year on a very special day. And even then, there were extremely strict rules for him. This day is called the Day of Atonement, or we might know it as Yom Kippur. A very special day.

And this was a very bloody day. Many animal sacrifices were made on this day to forgive God’s people of all of their sins, intentional and unintentional sins, including all of the sins of the high priest. The high priest then, before he enters the Most Holy Place, had to be safeguarded by the blood of an animal.

And without going into too much detail, we have to ask, why? Why go through all of this trouble of sacrificing animals? Why go through the strict rules and regulations? Why all of the details and the dimensions? What’s the point of it all? Brothers and sisters, I remind you this morning that our God is holy. And as good as we might think we are, there is absolutely no way that any of us can enter into God’s presence without being completely consumed. Sinful beings just cannot stand in the holy presence of God. We must first be forgiven and made holy before we can be with a holy God. And God’s Word tells us that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. And the sacrifice of the animals was a very visual, very sensory experience in which you could visibly see the very cost of your sins on another creature. Your sins do not just affect you. In fact, sin has never, ever been individualistic. Sin has always affected others, always. There is no such thing as a private sin. And so, even the high priest needed to be safeguarded with the blood of a sacrifice to enter into God’s presence.

Brothers and sisters, I encourage us to think about this. Think about how costly it is to be with God. Yes, you and I are united to God. But to be with God comes at a dear price. Man’s greatest good and purpose is to be with God forever. But sin separates us from God. And guess what? We sin constantly against God every single day. Not one of us deserves to be with God forever. And if we want to be with God, it’s going to be costly. Do we think of our sins as costly or are we okay or indifferent with our sins? Do we understand the weight, the gravitas of our sins as it not only affects others, but how it’s perceived by our God? And so I ask again, how can a sinful person like me be with a holy God? How can sinful people be made right with God?

It’s only by grace, isn’t it? Only by grace can we be saved. Only God can do something to save us from our sin and misery. It can only be God. Only God. We were, and still are, completely helpless to save ourselves. We were dead in our sins and trespasses. But God is not unaware of our need for him. And this is why God promised a Savior in Genesis 3. God promised that someone would come. God promised that this person will do what Adam failed to do. This person would completely crush sin and death once and for all. This person is specially called by the Apostle Paul “the last Adam.” And just so we’re clear, this person whom God promised to save us is our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the last and final Adam. As the first Adam represented everyone and failed to earn eternal life with God, the last Adam, Jesus Christ, came and represented his people and won eternal life for them. Death might have entered through Adam, but life springs forth from Jesus Christ.

The relationship between Adam and Jesus seem quite clear in this way. But what about the tabernacle and the temple that I was talking about earlier? How does that relate with Jesus Christ? If I can be so simple, the Garden of Eden was like the temple. And again, by the word “temple,” I don’t use the word in the same way that others do, when they refer to treating their bodies like a temple. When I say “temple,” I am referring to the place where God dwells with man. The temple is where God dwells with his people. And the Garden of Eden was like an early version of the temple. The Garden of Eden was where God dwelt with man. And every temple has a high priest, so to speak, and the high priest of the Garden of Eden was Adam. In the tabernacle, the high priest was Aaron, Moses’ brother. But God’s Word actually tells us of another temple. What I’m talking about is the heavenly temple, the temple in heaven. And all earthly temples and tabernacles were copied and patterned after the heavenly temple. The earthly tabernacle was a shadow of the heavenly temple. And the high priest of this heavenly temple is Jesus Christ. Yes, you heard me correctly, the high priest of the heavenly temple is the high priest of high priests, our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is why in verse 11, the author of Hebrews refers to Jesus Christ as a high priest. Specifically, Jesus is a high priest of good things that have come, which essentially means that when Christ came, all the shadows of the earthly temple shifted and made way for the perfect reality. But Jesus Christ is not like other high priests, who offered and shed the blood of animals for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus Christ is the one, great high priest who offered and shed his own blood on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins. In other words, Jesus Christ is both the priest, who offers the sacrifice, and the sacrifice itself.

The high priests back then had to offer multiple sacrifices every year. But Jesus Christ, the great high priest, offered one sacrifice, once for all, one and done. The high priests back then had to offer sacrifices for their own sins too. But Jesus Christ, the great high priest, had no sin. So Jesus Christ did not die for his sins, he died for your sins. He died for the sins of his church. Why? Because he loves her. Jesus Christ loves his church. Jesus Christ loves his people so much that he died for them. Jesus Christ loves you so much that he died for you. Despite everything we’ve done against God, Jesus Christ still chose to love us.

The death of Christ is such a bittersweet thought. Why? Because if we know who we were, if we really know what we’ve done, if we are truly honest with ourselves, we should be saying to him, “No Jesus, what are you doing? I deserve to die for my sins. Me. Not you. Why would you do this? Why would you die for someone like me? How could you choose to love someone like me? All I’ve done is sin against you.”

And yet, despite all the things you’ve done against him, despite all the things that you will do against him, Jesus Christ died for you and declares you forgiven. And just like we read earlier this morning, blessed are you because your lawless deeds are forgiven. Blessed are you because your sins are covered. Blessed are you because God will not count your sins against you. Your sins have been nailed to the cross, as it were. And so when Jesus Christ died on the cross, your sins and your old ways have died with him.

And he didn’t save you with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood. Far more precious and far more effective. His blood has secured you an eternal redemption. However, it’s not like the blood of goats and bulls did nothing, because in verse 13, it’s clear that it was sufficient and effective for a time when it came to outward, ceremonial cleansing. But the blood of sacrificial animals could never heal the broken and guilty conscience. And the blood of animals could never ultimately forgive sin. Only the blood of Christ can cleanse us from the inside out. Our consciences can be comforted knowing all of our sins, past, present, and future, are permanently dealt with.

And so, I ask you this morning, are there any sins in your life that seem to loom over your head? Is there a sin in your life that is constantly reminding you of your guilt? Do you have a guilty conscience this morning? Are there some sins in your life that you think can’t be forgiven? I remind you this morning that Satan is known in Scripture as the accuser. Satan may accuse you of your past sins. Satan may remind you of your dark past and some of the things that you’ve done that you can’t seem to get over. Personally, I understand what you’re going through. But I encourage you this morning any sin that you can possibly think of has been forgiven you in Jesus Christ. Any damaging gossip, any hurtful slander, any deep hatred, any continuing lust, any sin that we might think has power over us, I remind you this morning that sin is no longer your master. Jesus Christ is your master. Jesus Christ has set you free from the dominion of sin through his death. And because of his death, there is no longer a second death that awaits you. Jesus has already experienced your punishment on the cross.

And here’s a wonderful truth. When the New Testament talks about the death of Christ, it’s already assuming a risen Christ. There’s no point in talking about the death of Christ if we don’t talk about the fact that he has risen from the grave. He has put an end to death once and for all. And we, at this point in time, now wait for Jesus to bodily return. We’re waiting and we’re waiting for Jesus to come back. And I can assure you that you will see his pierced wrists when he serves you at his banqueting table. I can assure you that you will see his pierced foot that crushed the head of the serpent.

After the death of Christ, death is no longer a final punishment, but an entrance into eternal life. And so now it makes sense why we celebrated the death of believers. We celebrate their entrance into eternal life with Christ. The good food that I had at church is far worse than the good food that we’ll share with Christ when he returns. And so, I encourage us to be thankful for the death of Christ. Because of his death, our death is no longer a punishment but our entrance to being with him forever. And that’s what our lives are all about. Being with him forever.

Soli Deo Gloria