READ: Heb. 9:1-14: … with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption … how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
The crucifixion of Christ holds eternal value for all who believe. The value of perishable animal blood is incomparably less. Through His own shed blood, Christ entered the heavenly sanctuary of God. There, He achieved our eternal reconciliation and redemption before God. He did this once and for all. The atoning blood of Christ brings about an everlasting liberation from sin and misery for all who love Him.
The writer not only points to our eternal future but also to the reconciling power of Christ’s blood for our earthly lives. Verse 14 speaks of the need for cleansing from dead works, deeds done without faith and contrary to God’s Word. Persisting in such works leads to death even now. Therefore, we need the cleansing power of the blood of the spotless Christ. It cleanses our conscience to serve the living God.
The writer illustrates this with the cleansing effect of the ashes of a young cow (Num. 19). This purification was necessary when coming into contact with a corpse. Such contact caused severe contamination in Israel because death represented God’s curse over sin. The living God cannot tolerate the horror of death among His people. To meet Him required thorough cleansing.
For this purpose, a young red cow had to be burned together with purifying hyssop branches and a scarlet thread (symbolizing blood). The ashes, dissolved in water, had to be sprinkled on the unclean person. Only then could the individual be declared clean. All of this was just a foreshadowing of the future complete cleansing provided Christ’s blood.
Do we engage in dead works? What do we do with them?
Singing: Hymn 22:1