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There are times when I remember the Three
Stooges and chuckle. As I was thinking about the text in Hebrews 10, one
episode particularly reminds me of the human condition (and there is only
one line of the show that I remember). The three men stood together and
shouted, "All for one, and one for all." Curly added, "And
every man for himself." The commitment to unity and sacrifice that
was the hallmark of the Three Musketeers was expressed by these three and
then taken to the level that most people will actually act on.
As we look at the text we will note two
primary points: 1) The Law is only a shadow of reality. Therefore the Law,
by itself, is unable to make us perfect. 2) Jesus fulfilled the
requirement of the Law. Those that receive the forgiveness of His once for
all sacrifice are exonerated of guilt and made perfect before God.
This leaves us with the reality of our
communal relationship with the One. It helps us to realize the truth of
the One for all and all for the One. We are reminded in God’s word that
we are unable to stand with the further statement "every man for
himself." Unfortunately, most of us try to justify ourselves by
comparing us with others and their standing before the Law.
Let me ask you a question about relative
guilt. Which person is guilty before the Law: 1) the person that regularly
exceeds the speed limit without getting caught; 2) the person that gets
caught for multiple speeding infractions and loses his/her license as a
result? Both are guilty of breaking the law, but only one is punished.
There are some that maintain that a person is only breaking the law if
caught. The person that goes unpunished will likely continue driving the
way he/she always has. The person that loses his/her license only changes
because of an inability to drive until the license is reinstated. The law
cannot change our mindset, heart attitude. The law cannot make us perfect.
The law cannot make us free from guilt until we have paid our debt; and,
just because our debt has been paid we are not made perfect.
The problem with people is that we judge guilt
by whether or not we get caught. We judge people by the standard of
ourselves instead of judging ourselves by the standard of God. More than
that, we try to do for ourselves in a way that will convince God that
though we may not be perfect, we’re not that bad either. The standard
that we use is the letter of the Law. "I’ve not committed
murder." "I’ve not stolen anything." "I honored and
obeyed my parents, as long as they told me to do the right thing."
"I never swore or used cuss words; I never lied or misrepresented the
truth regarding anyone else; as God is my witness." "I’ve
always supported the blue laws and would never work on a Sunday; I also
made sure that my children went to Sunday school and church while I
communed with God in the garden, on the golf course, or while fishing (for
bass, not people)."
You see, people will adopt portions of the Law
that will best conform to the image of what they believe is best. Rarely
will they truly try to understand what the Law conveys. Remember the rich
young ruler and his assertion that he followed the Law all his life. Jesus
told him to sell all that he had, give it to the poor, and then follow
Him. The young man turned and walked away.
Despite this word, many people still try to be
justified before God on the basis of how they have given so much of
themselves for God. Jesus said to those that were intent on
self-justification based on the Lord’s Law that they were to depart from
His presence because He never knew them. For these legalists before the
Law, there is a mistaken notion that obedience to the Law makes one
perfect. In all of these cases the people are focused on the "every
man for himself."
Let’s look at what God’s word has to say:
"The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming
– not the reality themselves. For this reason it can never, by the
same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those
who draw near to worship. If it could, would they not have stopped
being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for
all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. But those
sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible
for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins."
This is what the word says about the Law:
First, it is only a shadow of the good things
coming – not the reality.
Second, the Law is incapable to make those
that draw near to worship perfect.
Third, those that follow the Law are still
unclean and they are reminded of their guilt each year with the
sacrificial offerings.
Because of sin death was ushered into the
world. Sacrifice became the symbolic means by which sin was atoned. The
sacrifice of an animal was the substitution for the one making the
sacrifice, or for whom the sacrifice was made. However, though this system
was instituted by God in the Jewish religious system (and was in practice
prior to the Levitical Law) it only foreshadowed the One that was to come.
In and of itself, it was incomplete.
We continue in v. 5ff:
"When Christ came into the world, he said: ‘Sacrifice and
offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with
burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased.’ Then I
said, ‘Here I am – it is written about me in the scroll – I have
come to do your will, O God.’"
We see time and again that God was not pleased
with rote sacrifice and worship. God’s desire was to receive our
heartfelt worship. God called for obedience from His people. The words
translated "a body you have prepared for me" was taken
from the Septuagint whereas the Hebrew text had the words "you
have pierced my ears." The latter translation gives the sense of
a servant/slave choosing to remain forever a part of the household of
his/her master. A hole was pierced through the ear and a ring attached
signifying to whom the person belonged. In this context, the reality is
that Jesus chose the way of obedience to the will of our Father in heaven.
In v. 9 we see the theme continue:
"Then he said, ‘Here I am, I have come to do your will.’
He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we
have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ
once for all."
When we read the words: "He sets aside
the first to establish the second," we are to understand that
Jesus did not negate the Law – He fulfilled the requirement of the Law
in His body. He lived in perfect obedience to the will of God the Father
and then gave His life as a willing sacrifice for the sin of the world.
Jesus became the perfect substitution. The sacrifice of an animal could
not truly atone for our sin, but the willing sacrifice of God in the flesh
could make holy/perfect those for whom He died.
With the sacrifices of the religious system,
there was a need to continue to offer those sacrifices day after day and
year after year. These sacrifices could never take away our sin. The guilt
of the guilty could never be taken away. However, we find these words
regarding Jesus in vv. 12ff:
"But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice
for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he
waits for his enemies to be made his footstool because by one
sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made
holy."
Jesus is the One for all. He completed the
requirement of the Law in His body and makes us holy/perfect. You’ve
heard the phrase, "guilt by association." Now we have a new view
to things, "exonerated by association." In Christ Jesus we have
been set free from the judgment of the Law, because He took our judgment
upon Himself.
Read the new word that is for the children of
God in vv. 16ff:
"This is the covenant I will make with them after that time,
says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write
them on their minds." Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless
acts I will remember no more." And where these have been
forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.
When we confess our need for forgiveness and
humble ourselves to receive that before our Lord and Savior we are made
perfect/holy by the only One that has the power to do so. We remember the
words of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:8f:
"It is by grace that you have been saved through faith – and
this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works,
so that no one can boast."
Jesus is the One for all. Now our attitude is
to be like that of Jesus. We need to be willing to sacrifice who we are
for the sake of the One who gave His life as a ransom for many. The Church
of Jesus Christ is the "all for One." This is seen in two ways:
1) we are all for Jesus and His will; 2) we are all to be for one another
in unity for the sake of the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.
There is no room for every man for himself in
the kingdom of God. Where there is division there is pain and a breakdown
in the plan of God for our lives individually and corporately. Where there
is unity in the Spirit of Christ there is healing and the plan of God
being fulfilled in the lives of His people.
As we prepare to come to the Table of our Lord
we need to come as one. The One died for all. Are we willing to die for
the One? Let us pray.
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