Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. (6) In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure. (7) Then I said, ‘Behold I have come – In the volume of the Book it is written of Me – To do Your Will, O God.’” (8) Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offerings, burnt offerings and offering for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them”(which are offered according to the law), (9) then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your Will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. (10) By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

The author of the book of Hebrews is unknown. Chapter 10 of Hebrews deals with the purpose of God and the nation of Israel, the divine purpose in history and prophecy, and atonement for sin. Our verses today focus on the un- repeatability of Christ’s offering – they hang on Psalm 40 which says there is now a new priesthood and the Aaronic priesthood has been done away with. The writer of Hebrews is addressing people who had primarily been Jewish Christians who were wavering in the face of persecution and this epistle is to strengthen them – to remind them that the Old Testament sacrifices have reached fulfillment in the one new sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The emphasis in our verses is on benefits that are ours in faith in Christ. The old Jewish system was designed so that the Jewish people would see the Lord when He did come and recognize Him. Jesus is the reality and the Old Testament of sacrifices and rituals were shadows of that reality. In more than one place in the Bible, Israel was told that sacrifices are ultimately of no value in decisively dealing with sin. In the old priesthood there is the reminder of sin every year on the Day of Atonement. It was/is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. The words of verse 5 are written of Jesus Christ who entered this world, entered time and space, to abolish the old system of sacrifice and establish the second, once for all new sacrifice. In Jesus we have our eternal, final, high priest. There will be no newer covenant with God because this covenant is called everlasting. And no newer sacrifice because the sacrifice on the cross is made once for all. These are all eternal things and and there can be no replacement of them. We rest our eternal salvation on that one sacrifice. Christ is God’s final word.

Any religious system that is a device of human works to atone for sin is a mere shadow not reality. Trust in Christ alone and God bestows grace alone and His total forgiveness. Romans 8:1, written by the apostle Paul is perhaps my favorite verse in the Bible: “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”