Passage: Hebrews 10:4-10
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body you have prepared for me;
6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings
you have taken no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ‘See, God, I have come to do your will, O God’ (in the scroll of the book it is written of me).” 8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, “See, I have come to do your will.” He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. 10 And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
I have occasionally utilized a quiz to familiarize a group with the numerous roles Jesus fulfilled in the Bible. This practice also indicates which image of our Lord resonates most powerfully within the group. Good Shepherd, Savior, Bread of Life, the Word made flesh, Wise Teacher, Lamb of God are some of the options I provided. And while it was one of the choices on the list, the term High Priest was never anyone’s selection. But that is the role Jesus plays in today’s passage.
The Book of Hebrews reserves a distinct place in the New Testament. The picture it creates of Jesus is really quite foreign to most Christians, one that we might associate with the Old Testament. This image is Jesus acting as the high priest for all humanity. The book appears to have been written for the benefit of Jewish Christians to convince them they should remain as Christians rather than returning to their original faith. Like our founding father, ol’ George, I cannot tell a lie. This isn’t a passage, nor even a book that corresponds well with my experience of the Christian life. But that doesn’t mean I can ignore its placement in the lectionary. And there are questions it raises which may instruct our faith, and certainly justify our struggling with this passage.
“For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” With this line, the writer apparently dismisses what had been central to the religious practice of the Hebrews for many centuries. Then, as repetition is the hallmark of this book, the writer reiterates this idea by placing on Christ’s lips this quote from Psalm 39, “Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure.” The writer will repeat this idea a third time before this brief passage ends (I will not). I think we all get the point. Blood sacrifices are out! Or are they?
Many folks then go on to interpret Jesus’ work performed through his crucifixion as the final sacrifice for our sins made for all time. “And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” The Hebrews passage seems to voice this perspective which so many find comforting and meaningful. When I hear one of my friends voice this perspective, I can grasp how it works for them. However, in a previous devotional I have disclosed that such a perception of Jesus’ vocation does not resonate with my experience of his saving work. Perhaps it’s my different life experiences that lead me in another direction. Moreover, doesn’t this idea of a blood atonement seem to be at odds with the writer of Hebrews initial argument that sacrifices for sin have been eliminated?
There is another way of reading this passage, different than the traditional one we have heard so often. In the middle of Jesus’ quoting from the Psalms, he says, “but a body you have prepared for me …” Besides a body made for sacrifice, God also made Christ the body in which he came to us in the flesh. Might it be that God’s offering which eliminates sin is the Incarnation, itself. What greater offering could God have made to eradicate sin from the world, than to come live with us and embody a new type of righteousness, made manifest by His love for all. If sin is, as many have offered, our separation from God, how better can God remedy this separation than to come to us, so that we might find ourselves in right relationship again?
Twice in the passage, Jesus says, “See, God, I have come to do your will.” Each time, the statement immediately follows the writer’s assertion that God no longer desires or takes pleasure in sacrifice and blood offerings (vs. 6, 8). He goes further to say that Christ has abolished them (end of vs. 9). Rather than offering his body as a sacrifice to appease God’s demand for justice, the passage is telling us that Jesus came to do the will of God. Might we consider that it is the totality of Christ’s life of obedience, his devotion to God, and commitment to love, which serves as “the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10)? This outlook suggests that we should not focus solely upon the death of Jesus as our understanding of salvation. More importantly, during this season of Lent, this perspective re-centers our focus on the Incarnation, seeing Jesus’ entire life in the flesh as an authentic living out of God’s will. Finally, His example calls on us to offer our own lives, as a faithful incarnation of Christ’s love.
However this passage resonates in our hearing, it does remind us that Jesus offered his entire life that we might find life. Some of our personal journeys will prompt us to focus on this as a sacrifice paid in place of our own punishment. Others will see the whole of Jesus life as the means by which we are sanctified, placed in right relationship with God.
As we take our forty-day journey together, I am often amazed how different are some folks’ ways of describing their faith, compared to mine. However, once I find out how dissimilar their life experiences have been from my own, it makes more sense. Now that I’ve said this, it seems that I should have realized it sooner, and been more generous to these different perspectives, long before.
Prayer: O God beyond all our understanding, we realize that even at our best, our descriptions of your life and your work are seeing through a glass darkly. Open our minds and our hearts that more of You may be revealed to us through the relationships and shared perspectives experienced in our community of faith.
Amen.