August 26, 2021
But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. Hebrews 9:11-12
The apostle John conveyed a greeting to us from Jesus at the beginning of The Revelation: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come . . . (Revelation 1:4) The Jesus who is refers to Him who is now our High Priest of the good things to come. Do we take comfort in knowing that He intercedes for us? He has left treasure for us to find, along with a treasure map. Jesus wants each of us to lay hold of the treasure: the kingdom of heaven. Are we seeking treasure from the “treasure house of all knowledge” or are we allowing distractions to take center-stage of our attention?
In the earthly sanctuary, a sinner brought a sin offering when he recognized his need for forgiveness. He had to kill the innocent animal himself as an acknowledgement that sin and death are intertwined. It is a painful lesson, and one that should cause us to realize the gravity of sin. The priest caught the blood and “recorded” the confessed sin in the Holy Place. God’s record-keeping is flawless. Confessed sins are forgiven sins, recorded and covered in blood: the precious blood of the Lamb who has become our Advocate. When the Accuser points out our sin, our Advocate says, in effect, “Ah! Here it is right here: Forgiven!”
At the moment of the death of the Lamb of God, the temple veil was rent from the top to the bottom (Matthew 27:51 and Mark 15:38). The services of the earthly temple which served as illustration for us were brought by the Hand of God to a decisive end. But because of this illustration, we can better understand the role of our High Priest on our behalf.
For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us. Hebrews 9:24
Too often we fail to grasp the far-reaching consequences of sin. The mission of Jesus is to “destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). This beautiful, powerful, and mysterious process we call redemption continues as our Intercessor stands ready to move heaven and earth, to dispatch angels, to engineer circumstances, to guide minds, to administer grace as it is needed. We are encouraged to ask (see Matthew 7:7). Our enemy is real and lurks at every turn in unrelenting attempts to trip us up. Brothers and sisters, consider it a blessing when you are convicted of wrongdoing! Confess and forsake whatever it is. Accept the cover Jesus has made available. Continue your walk in faithfulness on the narrow path. By God’s grace, you will complete your journey safely, one step at a time.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. Hebrews 9:28