Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and
from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Text: (Hebrews
10:19-20)
We have
confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and
living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his
flesh.
Prayer: May
the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your
sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
In the Old Testament in Leviticus chapter 16, we read
about the Day of Atonement. In Hebrew, the Jewish people even today call it
“Yom Kippur.”
And on this Good Friday, I want you to picture in your
minds the Jewish ritual of this occasion. In the second half of the book of
Exodus, God commanded Moses to build a tabernacle. The tabernacle was a tent,
which the people of Israel—the Jewish people—carried around with them from Mt
Sinai and into the land of Canaan. The tabernacle was the place of worship for
the people of Israel, and God commanded them to make all kinds of offerings and
sacrifices there at different times. Later on, when King Solomon ruled Israel,
the tabernacle was replaced by a temple. During the time of Jesus, this first
temple had been destroyed and had been replaced by a second temple. The second
temple was destroyed 40 years after Jesus’ death and resurrection, and to this
day has never been rebuilt.
Now picture the tabernacle (the tent) in your mind: the whole
thing is a rectangle shape. It is about 45 metres by 22.5 metres. If you draw
an imaginary line through the middle of the rectangle you would have 2 squares,
22.5 metres by 22.5 metres. In Hebrew, they would have said 50 cubits by 50
cubits.
If you were to walk in the front, in the middle of the
first square area, there was a large altar: the altar of burnt offering. This
is the place where they burnt the various animals that had to be offered there.
In the other square area, there was the tabernacle itself,
the tent of meeting. This was a small narrow rectangle tent. Inside it had two
parts, the first part was called the Holy Place, where there was the Altar of
Incense.
You might remember at Christmas time, when John the
Baptist’s father, Zechariah, was on duty in the temple and saw the Angel
Gabriel he was standing at the Altar of Incense. The Altar of Incense was
inside the Holy Place.
But then, if you imagine walking into the tent, where the
Holy Place is, at the back you would see a curtain, and behind this curtain was
a place called the Holy of Holies, or the Most Holy Place. Inside the Most Holy
Place was the Ark of Covenant, which is the box that the Jewish people carried
with them from the wilderness into the promised land. On top of the Ark of the
Covenant there was carved cherubim—that is, angels with their wings outstretched
and touching, one cherub on either side of the Ark of the Covenant. On top of
the Ark of Covenant, between the two cherubim was the area which was called the
mercy seat.
Can you picture all this? Let’s walk outside and come back
in again. You come through the front of the tent, and in the middle of the open
courtyard is the Altar of Burnt Offering. In front of you, is the Tabernacle
itself. If you went through into the Tabernacle you would see the Altar of
Incense in the Holy Place. Behind the Altar of Incense was a curtain, and
behind the curtain was the Holy of Holies, the Most Holy Place. In the middle
of the Most Holy Place was the Ark of the Covenant, which had the carved
cherubim with their touching wings, and on top of the Ark of the Covenant was
the mercy seat.
Of course, as any old Israelite, you would never have been
allowed to have a pleasant stroll around the Tabernacle, a guided tour just as
I’m trying to get you to imagine. Only the priests were allowed to enter the
Holy Place.
But now I want to describe for you the Day of Atonement,
or “Yom Kippur”, in Hebrew.
The Day of Atonement was a particularly special day and a
particularly special Jewish festival. The High Priest would enter the Holy of
Holies, the Most Holy Place. This was the only day of the year, when anyone was
allowed to enter the Most Holy Place, and the only person who was allowed to go
in was the High Priest.
The first thing he would do would be to take two animals,
a bull and a ram. Then he would have to put on special clothes, which he would
only wear on this one day of the year. He would put on a linen robe, and linen
underwear, with a linen sash, and linen turban on his head. He had to wash his
body with water and put them on.
Now, after he had the bull and the ram, and put on the
special clothes, he would also take two goats.
Now he was all prepared for the next part.
He would then bring forward the bull—it was going to be
offered for himself and his family.
Then he would take the two goats and put them at the entrance of the
tent. Now one goat would be chosen for the Lord, and one goat would be chosen
for Azazel. Azazel means a demon, for the devil, for Satan.
Now, he would kill the bull as an offering for the sin of
himself and his family. He would then have to take a pan full of hot coals from
the altar and put incense on it and take them behind the curtain into the Most
Holy Place. The Most Holy Place would be covered in thick smoke so that the
Ark, the priest –and also God – was hidden from anyone’s sight. Then he had to
take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on top of
the mercy seat once, and then he would sprinkle it seven times with his finger
on the front of the mercy seat on the floor.
So after he had done this with the bull’s blood, he would
then go and do the same thing with the goat that was set apart for the Lord. The
goat was for the Israelites, and for their sins. The priest would kill the
goat, and then take the blood and sprinkle it on top of the mercy seat and then
in front of the mercy seat seven times. The reason for doing this was the cleanse
the people from their sins.
Now, when the High Priest does all this, he would come out
into the Holy Place to the Altar of Incense. Here he would put the bulls blood
on the four horns (the four corners) of the altar, and seven times on the
floor. Then he would do the same with the goats blood: on the four horns of the
altar and seven times on the floor.
Now after this, the priest would then come out of the Holy
Place and mix the bull’s blood and the goat’s blood together and put it on the
horns of the Altar of Burnt Offering. Then he would also have to sprinkle the
blood on it seven times. The reason for doing this was to clean the altar and
make the altar clean from the sin of the people. So you can see that the priest
goes into the Holy of Holies to make atonement, then he goes to the Altar of
Incense in the Holy Place, and then he brings the blood out to clean the Altar
of Burnt Offering. The holiness of God comes out and then makes everything
clean.
Altogether there was 49 sprinklings of blood, which is
very significant, because 49 is 7 times 7, which is a special number.
Then after this, he would take the live goat and he would
put his hands on the goat’s head and he would confess all the sins of the
people over it. The High Priest would confess the sins of the people as if their
sins were his own sins, and he was place these sins on the goat. Then a man
would take the goat away into a remote place in the wilderness somewhere.
Now, after the goat had been sent away, then the High
Priest would have to go into the tent of meeting and take off his linen
vestments and leave them there. Then he would have to wash his whole body with
water somewhere in there and put on his regular vestments that he would normally
wear. Then he would make the normal burnt offering on the altar of burnt
offering and sacrifice the ram.
You see how the Altar had to be cleaned first through the
blood, and then the High Priest would offer the burnt offering. Also, after
this, the bodies of the bull and the goat which were killed for the atonement
in the Holy of Holies had to be carried out and burnt outside the camp.
You can see how the atonement is made in the Holy of
Holies, and then the priest goes out to the Holy Place, and then to the Altar
of Burnt Offering and everything becomes clean. The altar is made clean through
the blood, and the dead animals are taken outside to a faraway place outside
the camp.
Now, it’s taken me a long time to describe all this, and
you might be scratching your head wondering what all this has to do with Good
Friday.
On the day that Jesus died, as soon as he had breathed out
his last breath on the cross, we read that the curtain of the temple was torn
in two. In the past, the High Priest could only enter into God’s presence once
a year and with very strict conditions. Now the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world, is presented before the Holy of Holies,
and Jesus opens up the curtain for us to enter into God’s presence. You can see
in our churches today, there is no curtain in front of the altar. We all come
and enter into the sanctuary and receive Christ’s body and blood.
Jesus’ blood has been sprinkled on the mercy seat, not on
earth in the temple, or in the tabernacle, but before God’s own throne in
heaven. Jesus’ blood makes atonement for all our sins and gives us full access
into God’s presence. We don’t come into God’s presence because we are pure, but
we enter into God’s presence because of the blood of Jesus Christ, which he
shed for us on Good Friday.
The High Priest only entered in once a year, but now we
are all made priests through the blood of Christ, and we enter into God’s
presence with the blood of Christ shed for our sins, and we offer our prayers
to God. When Jesus ascended into heaven, he brought his holy and precious body
and blood with him and stands there as the one perfect sacrifice for all sin.
There is no need to atone for our sins once a year, but on Good Friday
atonement was made for every day to come.
And just as Jesus goes into the Father’s presence, so he
is always coming out of the Father’s presence to make everything clean,
offering us his gifts of baptism, washing us pure from all condemnation, and
giving us the gifts of his body and blood to eat and drink in the Lord’s
Supper. And he gives these things and applies them to us.
Jesus death tore the curtain in two. His atonement, his
death, his sacrifice, ripped through the curtain and cleanses us of all sin. Jesus
is true God and true man. Because he is a man he has blood, and because he is
true God that blood has divine power to make us clean not just outside but
inside of us: our hearts, our minds, our souls, our consciences. And we go and
we enter through a new and living way through the curtain. We enter into a new
and living way into the Father’s presence through the holy and precious blood
of Jesus.
All our sin and condemnation is laid on Jesus. Jesus
absorbs it just like the goat. He went out into the wilderness with Satan, and
he won the victory over the devil. All the sins of the world are placed on
Jesus just as if they were his own sins and he dies for them. And just like the
bull and the other goat, Jesus was carried out of the city and burnt on the
cross. He endured all the fire of God’s anger against sin and all the fire of
his love for the world, and was made a perfect burnt offering for us. And when
he had done it all and when he had made his atonement, he said, “It is
finished.”
So Good Friday brings an end to the Jewish Day of
Atonement. We have been reconciled to God through the blood of Jesus.
Hebrews 13 says: The
bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high
priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. So Jesus also
suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own
blood. Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he
endured.
So on this Good Friday, let’s praise our Lord Jesus Christ
for his perfect sacrifice made once and for all. Let’s praise him for the
atonement for our sins which he made with his own blood. Let’s continually
offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, because on this day, on this Good
Friday, the perfect blood of Jesus—true God and true man—was shed for you, so
that you can enter into the Holy Places of heaven, and walk into the heavenly
Jerusalem with him. Just as he said to the thief next to him, “Today, you will
be with me in Paradise.”
Amen.
Lord Jesus Christ, we praise you for your sacrifice, for
your offering, for your atonement which you made for us with your blood and
with your own body and life. Forgive us and purify our hearts with this same
blood, and give us the confidence to enter into the Holy Place of heaven. Send
us your Holy Spirit from the Father’s throne, and make us holy together with
you. Amen.
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