Hebrews 10:11-14

Summary retelling of Hebrews 10:11-14

Each of the Hebrew high priests takes their office each day, repeatedly offering up the same sacrifices which ultimately cannot take away any of our sins.  However, when Jesus died on the cross and was raised, He promptly sat down at God’s right hand as though His work was done.  He now waits for the time when God will make Him dominate over all of His enemies.  For through His one single offering He has paved the way for all who are being sanctified to be saved.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

The high priests did their duty day after day.  They repeated the same sacrifices day after day, year after year.  Have you ever heard the definition of insanity?  Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  Now, forgive me if that last sentence sounded disrespectful.  I don’t mean to be saying that the Hebrew priests were insane.  However, the fact that they did the same thing time and time again should have been a clue that what they were doing wasn’t actually changing anything.  They couldn’t change humankind; the best they could hope for was simply making amends for what inevitably would happen because of human sinfulness.  Thus, we don’t need something that will continue the futility; we need something that will actually change who we are.

What things do you do that you shouldn’t do?  Have you ever tried to change?  In what ways does it really seem like a futile effort to try and change who we are?  Do you think we can change who we are and completely be obedient to God?

Second Thought:

On the other hand, Jesus Christ changed things.  He irrevocably changed things.  To prove that He changed things, He ascended to heaven and has never needed to return to the cross.  Unlike the sacrifices of the Old Testament, which are repeatedly given, Jesus died once and went to be with God.  His work is effective.

Have you ever thought about the ascension as a sign of how Jesus’ work is completely and totally effective?  Why can it give you confidence in Christ’s work to know that God only needed Him to do it once?

Third Thought:

Christ now waits.  He waits for humanity to decide.  He waits for the Holy Spirit to work and for us to respond.  He waits for enemies to be crushed under His feet.  He waits for the sanctification process to continue within us.

What do you think we should be doing while Christ waits in heaven?  What has Christ called us to do?

Passage for Tomorrow: Hebrews 10:15-18