Opening illustration: In 1914 Ernest Shackleton led an expedition to sail to Antarctica, and then walk to the South Pole. The expedition went according to plan until ice trapped the ship and eventually crushed its hull. The men made their way by lifeboat to a small island. Promising to come back for them, Shackleton and a small rescue party set out across 800 miles of perilous seas to South Georgia Island.
With only a sextant to guide them, they made it to the island. Shackleton then led his party over steep mountainous terrain to the whaling port on the other side. Once there, he acquired a ship to rescue his crew. Their leader had kept his word and returned for them. Not one man was left behind.
As Jesus was preparing to leave His disciples, He promised to return. He said, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:3). After enduring the horrors of the cross, Jesus rose from the dead to provide eternal life to all who believe in Him as their Savior. He indwells us today by the Holy Spirit, but one day He will return and gather us into His presence (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18). Jesus is true to His word. If you are His, He will come back for you! (Dennis Fisher, ODB)
Let turn to Hebrews 9 and see what the three appearances of Christ do for us …
Introduction: The author of Hebrews was writing to people who were tempted to turn away from Christ to their former Jewish religion. He is hammering home the vital truth of the superiority, supremacy, and all-sufficiency of the Lord Jesus Christ and His sacrificial death for our sins. To turn to anything other than Christ for salvation is spiritually fatal! Christ alone fulfilled everything that the Old Testament pointed to in type. The priesthood, the sacrifices, and all of the religious rituals found their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. In a nutshell, if our trust is in Christ alone for salvation, we will escape God’s judgment. But if our trust is in anything or anyone else—our own adherence to some religious system, our own good works or righteousness, our religious heritage, or whatever—we will die and come under judgment.
So the issues at stake here are of eternal significance. If the repetition seems tedious, bear with it. If God uses it to open the eyes of one soul to the impossibility of salvation by human works or worth, and to the cross of Christ as God’s only provision, it is well worth repeating again.
What did the three appearances of Christ do for us?
1. Presentation before The Father – Act of PURIFICATION (vs. 23-24)
When Moses gave the pattern for the tabernacle and its services, he took the blood and water and sprinkled the book, people, the tabernacle and all the vessels used in the worship of God. Almost all things were purified by means of blood (Lev. 17:11). Other things were ceremonially purified by water and fire; but without the shedding of blood there was no forgiveness of sin! There is no example of pardon and forgiveness without blood. The Old Testament sacrifices and ceremonies as well as the very fact that Christ’s blood has been shed makes it foolish to suppose that pardon might be had without it (1 Cor. 5:7; Gal. 2:19-21)
Fulfilling the type and patterns of heavenly things given in those Old Testament symbols (Heb. 8:5; 9:23), the Lord Jesus Christ, our great High Priest, entered into heaven before the holy Lord God as the Representative and Mediator of God’s elect, the true, spiritual Israel, “the Israel of God.” Having fully satisfied the law; he atoned for our sins with his blood. He makes intercession for us in the holy place, in heaven itself, presenting the infinite merits of his blood and righteousness perpetually (1 John 2:1-2).
The earthly tabernacle was a copy of the heavenly one (8:5). The necessity of cleansing the earthly tabernacle with blood illustrated the necessity of cleansing the heavenly tabernacle with blood. Why did the heavenly tabernacle need cleansing? Was there something wrong with it? No, there was something wrong with us. It needed to be cleansed so that we could be there. In connection with the first covenant, everything was sprinkled with blood, both the people and the tabernacle. There was nothing between the people and the Lord but blood. The same is true for us. The only thing between God and us is blood - the blood of Christ. And if that's the only thing, there's nothing between God and us, for the blood of Christ is what ushers us into God's presence. He didn't have to repeat it, did He? He did it once. Better sacrifice first of all because, when he got done He entered right into the presence of God and stayed there. Number two, because He never had to do it again. It was a perfect sacrifice. Look at that word "often." Boy, in the Old Testament they kept doing it and doing it and doing it and doing it and doing it, over and over and over. But Jesus didn't have to.
Though animal blood adequately cleansed the prototype on earth under the Old Covenant, a better sacrifice was necessary to cleanse the realities in heaven (cf. Hebrews 8:5; Hebrews 9:24). Thus Jesus Christ's death was essential. The "heavenly things" may refer to the consciences of men and women. It seems more likely, however, that they refer to the things connected with the heavenly tabernacle. Now as the purification which their persons might be presented before God; in like manner, was heaven itself prepared and purified for us by our Lord's entrance into it, with his own atonement, or propitiatory sacrifice. Christ's entering into heaven, and his appearing with his blood of sprinkling in the presence of God for us, procures the acceptance of our prayers and praises whilst we live, and our admission into those heavenly mansions of bliss and glory prepared for us when we die.
2. First Coming - Dissolves our SIN (vs. 25-26)
It is very hard to put away sin. All the Jewish sacrifices and laws could not do it. The author also mentions the task for which Jesus appeared. It was a unique task, only done once. It was a unique task in that he did it by himself. The task was to put away sin. It is possible to see ‘sin’ here as a reference to its guilt, although I suspect it means more than that. Jesus came to deal with the dominion and condemnation and presence of sin in the lives of his people. (SIN: missing the mark)
The blood of "animals" cannot atone for the sins of "people". All men must assume that penalty. Or "a" man may assume that penalty on behalf of all men. Praise God, for Jesus Christ! And the author tells us how Jesus would perform this amazing act – it would be by the sacrifice of himself. He would give himself as an atoning sacrifice in order to pay the penalty of the sins of his people. This he did on the cross when he offered himself voluntarily out of love for his Father and for his people. This work of putting away sin was accomplished by him bearing our sin in his own body upon the cursed tree. He carried it and took it away. This is what was pictured in the Old Testament type of the scapegoat.
Note that the great end for which Christ once became a sacrifice, namely, to put away sin; plainly implying, that sin had erected a dominion, a tyranny over all men, as by a law; that no power of any mere creature was able to disannul or abolish this law of sin; that the destruction and dissolution of this law of sin, was the great end of Christ’s coming, to discharge his priestly office in the sacrifice of himself: Now in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away, to abolish and destroy sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Christ was offered to "bear" sins. Up to this point in the passage, the writer has said that there is redemption for sin (verse 15), forgiveness for sin (verse 22) and the putting away of sin (verse 26). He has said that all of these came about as the result of the death of Christ. But what specifically about the death of Christ provided for these kinds of effects on sin? Where did sins go? Christ bore them. Instead of taking on evil by unleashing all the power of heaven, Jesus took on evil by absorbing all the power of hell. The power of hell was focused on Jesus as he hung on the cross, goading him to unleash the power of heaven. Hell took its best shot in order to get the Son of God to play its power game, but the Son of God refused. Love triumphed over evil by refusing to play evil's game. That's how evil died. It had nothing more to give. It dissolved into nothing in the body of Christ. That's where sins went. He bore them, and they dissolved.
Illustration: Wayne and Red served in the same platoon when the Allied forces marched across Europe in World War II. Wayne volunteered to be “point man,” leading the platoon into enemy territory. Red backed him up. The two led their men through several battles until they reached the famed “Siegfried Line.” They ran across no-man’s land and jumped into the enemy trench. When a live grenade exploded in front of them, Wayne, who was in the lead, was wounded by the blast. Seeing his helplessness, Red stepped forward, grabbed Wayne, whirled around, and shielded him from gunfire. A few seconds later Red was hit by an enemy bullet and died instantly. Wayne, who survived, later wrote, “No one has ever valued me more.”
In a sense, Jesus “took the bullet” that was intended for us. We were born in sin, and “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Because of God’s great love, the Son of God became man, lived without sinning, and took our penalty by dying on the cross (1 Peter 3:18). Because Jesus died, we can have eternal life. (David C. Egner, ODB)
3. Second Coming – Completion of SALVATION + JUDGMENT (vs. 27-28)
Here is the first word of certainty, All men must die: Then the word of singularity, they must once die, not often; once and but once; they die by statute and appointment. Though there is a very cheerful emphasis on that word “once” but for many it means a sentence of eternal death. The supreme Lord of life and death appoints man his time, both for coming into the world, and going out of it; We come in at his command, and leave it at his dispose.
And after death the judgment: The word after signifies the order of time; for death goes before, and judgment follows it. The judgment is both particular of every individual person, and general and universal of all: After which follows the final, eternal, and unalterable condition of man, either in a state of misery, or felicity.
The parties judged will be angels and men; the person judging, Jesus Christ: He, by redeeming mankind, obtained right and power to judge mankind; such a Judge as the power of the mightiest cannot daunt: Such a Judge as the subtlety of the wisest cannot delude; such a Judge as the riches of the wealthiest cannot bribe: In a word, such a Judge as there is no appealing from, or repealing of his sentence.
The author then reminds his readers that there are only two types of people in existence (10:27-28). There are those who face judgment in the future (after death) and there are those who will experience salvation in the future. What a stark contrast and how different the destinations! We can see from the author’s words that both realities are certain. Those outside of Christ will die and face the awful judgment of God for their sins. The Bible is clear about the penalty they will receive – eternal punishment. It also reveals that the Judge will be Jesus, the savior of his people.
Humanity's experience of death and judgment is repeated in some sense by Christ, who is our brother (2:11). We die, so Christ died, but his death bore sins. But where's the judgment? Because of Christ's death, judgment has become salvation. As far as God’s people are concerned, the second coming of Jesus is a joyful event. They have been looking forward to it. It has filled their vision of the future. They long to see him personally and they long to see him acknowledged as Lord by the whole universe.
There is a similarity between the first and second coming of Jesus, but there is also a difference. The similarity is that both are concerned with salvation. The difference is that the first coming concerned Christ embracing the penalty of sin and the second coming will be concerned with the completion of salvation and act of judgment. It will involve for God’s people their resurrection, their glorification, and their receiving of the inheritance they will share with Jesus. The resurrection will be a marvelous display of the power of the Savior as he lovingly and perfectly raises to life all of his people who have died. Then they and those disciples still living will be transformed into his likeness, for they shall be like him when they see him. Afterwards he will bring into existence the new heavens and new earth in which he and they will dwell forever.
Illustration: When I donated blood some time ago, a nurse gave me a card to read while a pint of the vital red fluid was flowing out of my vein. The card showed the percentages of people who have different blood types. Here are some of them:
O-Positive 37.4%
A-Positive 35.7%
A-Negative 6.3%
B-Negative 1.5%
The rarest, AB-Negative, is found in only 1 in 167 people, or 0.6% of the population. Then the card made this eye-catching statement: “The rarest blood type is the one that’s not there when you need it.” There is another supply of blood that is one of a kind and always available to those who ask for it. First John 1:7 states, “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
It was the death of Christ—the shedding of His blood— that satisfied the demand of a holy God as payment for our sins (Hebrews 9:12, 22). So now, whenever a person cries out in faith to God, repenting of his sin and pleading for forgiveness, his prayer for salvation is answered. I am deeply grateful that Jesus was willing to die on the cross, giving His blood for me, so that forgiveness was available when I needed it. Aren’t you? (David C. Egner, ODB)
Application: Do you have that life? If not, put your faith in Christ today. Then you too will be able to say, “No one has ever valued me more.”
