Hebrews 10:1-18 … The point of the beginning of Hebrews 10 is to show that the observances given by God to Moses (the sacrificial offerings of Leviticus) were to point the way to Christ and create an awareness of the need for salvation. These sacrifices foreshadowed the coming of the Messiah and could never accomplish permanent perfection of sinners. They are important in their symbolism, illumination and communication of God’s purposes, but the Old Testament Laws should never keep us from knowing what Christ has done for us and that He is the fulfillment of the promises of the Old Testament.
Hebrews 10:8, quoting Psalm 40:6-8, points out that God takes no delight in insincere repetition of religious practice and has replaced the old observances with the real and new in Christ Jesus. That’s the point of 10:12 – that Jesus, having offered Himself bearing the penalty of sin for the world for all time (v.14), sat down at the right hand of God (which is equivalency with God, with the full exercise of the power of the Godhead). The Old Testament priests never sat down because their work was never finished. Christ is seated at the right hand of God because His work is fully completed once for all (v.10).
Hebrews 10:14 indicates the perfect nature of Christ’s sanctification of believers … it is perfect for all time … perfect forever. That’s the standing He freely gives for believers to come to God, purified from the stain of sin by the righteousness of Christ. This portion of Hebrews 10 closes with the quotation from Jeremiah’s New Covenant prophecy (Jeremiah 31:33-34, quoted in Hebrews 10:16), which was quoted fully in Hebrews 8 earlier.
By commenting, you agree to our Code of Conduct.