Letter to the Hebrews Volume 94

 The Amazing Greatness of Jesus Christ's Sacrifice Part 3

Hebrews 9:25-26 Nor yet that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. KJV Note: CEV=Contemporary English Version

The sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ was not like the many Hebrew sacrifices for their sin in the tabernacle or later in the Hebrew/Jewish Temple, for they were required by God the Father to offer up to Him many thousands and thousands of animals to cover their many sins over many years. Jesus Christ came into the earth (born of a woman and born under the law) to give Himself a ransom (Matthew 20:28). When someone is held hostage and a ransom is paid for their release, it only needs to be paid once. In like manner, all human beings are being held hostage by sin and death (Romans 5:12), therefore, Jesus Christ came to the earth and lived a sinless life in word, thought, and deed, then He willingly allowed Himself to be killed unlawfully in order that His Blood sacrifice would be offered up to God the Father as a ransom for the sins of every human being who would and will come to Him alone for their debt of sin to be paid in full for all time and eternity, as it is written, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23) (KJV). With this said, we see now the writer of Hebrews making the distinct difference between the many sacrifices under the Old Testament or Covenant verses the One time sacrifice of our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ that ushered in the New Testament or Covenant with these words, "Nor yet that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;" (Hebrews 9:25) (KJV). Here is what Vincent's Word Studies had to say of Hebrews 9:25, "His offering did not need repetition like the Levitical sacrifices. Offer Himself refers rather to Christ's entrance into the heavenly sanctuary and presentation of Himself before God, than to His offering on the cross. The sacrifice on the Cross is described by παθεῖν suffer, and is introduced as a distinct thought. The point is that, being once in the heavenly sanctuary, Christ was not compelled to renew often His presentation of Himself there, since, in that case, it would be necessary for Him to suffer often. Each separate offering would necessitate a corresponding suffering."

The end of the commentary above is exactly where the writer of Hebrews takes us with the very next verse with these words concerning the One time sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ for our sins, "For then must He often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." (Hebrews 9:26) (KJV). When the writer of Hebrews declares these words above, 'but now once in the end of the world hath He appeared', he means that when God the Father declared, determined, and decided that 'time' would come to an end, then He sent forth His Son Jesus Christ to call out sinners to Himself and make them adopted sons and daughters, as it is written by the Apostle Paul with these words, "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ." (Galatians 4:4-7) (KJV). The arrival of the Lord Jesus Christ into the earth realm announced the end of time/end of the world. Those who say, 'Well, it has been over 2,000 years since He came into the world and the world still remains', yes, but listen to these words written by the Apostle Peter addressing that very argument, "But first you must realize that in the last days some people won't think about anything except their own selfish desires. They will make fun of you and say, 'Didn't your Lord promise to come back? Yet the first leaders have already died, and the world hasn't changed a bit.' They will say this because they want to forget that long ago the heavens and the earth were made at God's command. The earth came out of water and was made from water. Later it was destroyed by the waters of a mighty flood. But God has commanded the present heavens and earth to remain until the day of judgment. Then they will be set on fire, and ungodly people will be destroyed. Dear friends, don't forget that for the Lord one day is the same as a thousand years, and a thousand years is the same as one day. The Lord isn't slow about keeping His promises, as some people think He is. In fact, God is patient, because He wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost. The day of the Lord's return will surprise us like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a loud noise, and the heat will melt the whole universe. Then the earth and everything on it will be seen for what they are. Everything will be destroyed. So you should serve and honor God by the way you live. You should look forward to the day when God judges everyone, and you should try to make it come soon. On that day the heavens will be destroyed by fire, and everything else will melt in the heat. But God has promised us a new heaven and a new earth, where justice will rule. We are really looking forward to that!" (2 Peter 3:3-13) (CEV).  

Here is what Adam Clarke had to say of Hebrews 9:26, "In the counsel of God, Christ was considered the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, Revelation 13:8, so that all believers before His advent were equally interested in His sacrificial death with those who have lived since His coming. Humanly speaking, the virtue of the annual atonement could not last long, and must be repeated; Christ's sacrifice is ever the same; His Life's Blood is still considered as in the act of being continually poured out. See Revelation 5:6.The conclusion of the Jewish dispensation, the Christian dispensation being that which shall continue till the end of time. To abolish the sin-offerings; i.e. to put an end to the Mosaic economy by His One offering of Himself. It is certain that, after Christ had offered Himself, the typical sin-offerings of the law ceased; and this was expressly foretold by the Prophet Daniel, Daniel 9:24. Some think that the expression should be applied to the putting away the guilt, power, and being of sin from the souls of believers." Here is what John Wesley had to say of this same Hebrews 9:26, "For then He must often have suffered from the foundation of the world - This supposes, That by suffering once He atoned for all the sins which had been committed from the foundation of the world. That He could not have atoned for them without suffering. At the consummation of the ages - The sacrifice of Christ divides the whole age or duration of the world into two parts, and extends its virtue backward and forward, from this middle point wherein they meet to abolish both the guilt and power of sin."

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.


Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…