Cleansing the Stain of Sin

Having purified his people from sin’s stain, Jesus sat down at the right hand of God to intercede for them as their High Priest.

A key point of the Letter to Hebrews is the victory of the Son on behalf of his people and his exaltation to the “right hand” of God as their High Priest. Jesus secured what none of his predecessors could ever do. Through his “once for all” sacrifice, he “achieved the purification of sins” and “sat down” in the “true and greater Tabernacle” where he now intercedes for his saints.

The logic is clear. The “Son” is exalted to this high position because he achieved the “purification of sins” through his death and dealt definitively with the sins of his people. The Letter’s opening paragraph anticipates the later discussions about his priesthood, “New Covenant,” and “better” sacrifice.

[Photo by Geetanjal Khanna on Unsplash]

In Chapter 2, for example, the Letter to the Hebrews describes the priestly qualifications of the Son. He partook of human nature in every way except “apart from sin.” Through his death, he disarmed the Devil and freed his “brethren” from bondage to the “fear of death.” He became their “faithful and sympathetic” High Priest. In Chapter 10, we read of his nonrepeatable, “once for all” sacrifice for us - (Hebrews 2:5-18, 10:1-29).

Though the image of Christ sitting “at God’s right hand” is drawn from the Second Psalm, the emphasis is not on his exaltation as the Messianic King, but on his appointment as High Priest – (Compare Hebrews 7:25).

The phrase “purification of sins” is based on the Levitical System with its sacrifices designed to remove ritual impurities. The image of a priest who “sits down” in God’s presence echoes the annual Day of Atonement but with a distinct difference.

Under the “former” covenant, the High Priest entered the Sanctuary only once each year on the Day of Atonement, and he never sat down or remained in the Holy of Holies for more than a brief period.

In contrast to the Levitical High Priest, the “Son” entered the true Sanctuary “once-for-all” and “sat down” where he remains interceding for us - (Leviticus 16:1-34).

This modified picture stresses the finality of his priestly act. Jesus will remain in his Father’s presence in the “real Tabernacle” interceding for his brethren until God again “introduces the firstborn Son into the habitable earth” – (Hebrews 1:6).

HE SAT DOWN

The term “sat down” alludes to another passage of great importance to Hebrews. The text from the Psalms prophetically summoned the Messiah, the “High Priest after the order of Melchizedek,” to do this very thing:

• “Yahweh said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool” - (Psalm 110:1. Compare Hebrews 12:1-2).

• “We have such a high priest who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched not man” - (Hebrews 8:1-2).

• “And every priest indeed stands day by day ministering and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, the which can never put away sins. But he, when he had offered one sacrifice for sins once-for-all, sat down on the right hand of God” - (Hebrews 10:11-12).

The passage in Chapter 10 contrasts the position of the Levitical priests with that of the “High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.” The ancient priests “stood” in the Sanctuary while performing their duties but Jesus “sat down” in the Greater Tabernacle “not made with hands,” namely, the presence of God “in the Heavens.”

The repeated animal sacrifices performed by the Levitical priests were incapable of “putting away” the stain of sin or cleansing our conscience “from dead works.” However, the one-time sacrifice of the Son did exactly that, and he did so “once-for-all” – (Hebrews 9:14, 10:10).

Especially for these reasons - the removal of sin’s stain and the Son’s intercession for his people - the “Word of the Son” is superior to all others, surpassing even the word given “in the prophets” or mediated through “the angels” to the greatest of the prophets, Moses, the Great Lawgiver.

To disregard this vastly superior “word spoken” in God’s Son, Jesus Christ, is a transgression of the worst kind, one that will bring disaster upon the offender for his disobedience - (“How will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” – Hebrews 2:3.

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SEE ALSO:

• The Guarantor of the Covenant - (Jesus mediates and guarantees the better covenant inaugurated by his sacrificial death, rendering the old covenant obsolete – Hebrews 8:6-13)

• His Unique Sacrifice - (The promise of a New Covenant finds its fulfillment in the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus and his superior priesthood)

• The Messianic Age Dawns - (Jesus is the Son God appointed as our merciful and faithful High Priest because of his Death and Resurrection)

• God has Spoken! - (God has spoken His definitive word in His Son. All previous words given by the prophets were preparatory, promissory, and partial)