Once and For All
For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared, once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself Hebrews 9:24-26
In these few verses the writer makes a sharp contrast between the “again and again” nature of the old covenant sacrifices with the “once for all” nature of Christ’s sacrifice.
He is thinking of the once a year Day of Atonement more than the daily sacrifices. On this single day each year the high priest would enter the Most Holy Place. He carried the sacrificial blood to make atonement for the sin of the nation. His re-emergence out from the Tabernacle tent declared that the God-ordained ritual for forgiveness had been completed for another year.
The writer has all this in mind. Jesus, the true high priest, has gone into the heavenly sanctuary ‘now to appear for us in God’s presence.’ The word ‘presence’ is literally ‘face.’ Seeing God’s face in the Old Testament was such a devastatingly awesome experience that even the angels immediately around God had to cover their faces (Isaiah 6:2). Jesus has gone in to see the Father’s face and has done so on our behalf, looking forward to the day when we will share that glorious vision and do so unafraid because of the blood that has cleansed us through and through.
But whereas the high priest repeated the Day of Atonement sacrificial ritual every year, Christ’s single sacrifice of Himself suffices forever. It is unrepeatable. There was only one day when Jesus died and there would never be another one.
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly trust in Jesus name
(‘My Hope is Built’ by Edward Mote)
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