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5 Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; 6 with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. 7 Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, my God.’” 8 First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law. 9 Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. ~ Hebrews 10:5-10
Today, we return to our study of Hebrews 10 where the writer of Hebrews is convincing us of the total efficacy of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on the cross for the payment of our sin. Pictured for us in the sacrifices made in the Old Testament tabernacle is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. In the smallest details, everything in that tabernacle screams to us the life, death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Interestingly, more attention is given to the tabernacle than any other subject in the Old Testament. In fact, fifty chapters in the Bible are devoted to the Tabernacle.
In v.5-6 of today's text we read, "5 Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; 6 with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased."
It is clear God did not delight in sacrifices and offerings. All of the Old Testament sacrifices point us to the Son of His love, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus came to earth to be the one time sacrifice fulfilling all of the righteous requirements of God for our salvation. The Father's love is made evident through the Son's willingness to go through hell to get us into heaven.
According to v.5 of today's passage, God prepared for the Lord Jesus a human body in which there was a willing soul. Through the many choices the Lord Jesus made, He consistently demonstrated dependence upon God the Father while He obeyed His written word!
In the womb of a virgin a human body was formed by God for the Lord Jesus. God didn’t need a human father to accomplish this task. And, within that body was placed a human soul with the capacity to reason, to feel and to choose. The Lord Jesus, while in that human body, never once acted on His own, and, never once did He act in independence of His Father. This was the desire of God from eternity past.
The Lord Jesus has no interest in ritualistic religion which is motivated by routine. He desires a heart that is engaged, a heart that responds to His heart. The desire of the Lord Jesus led Him to the cross, and there, He laid down His life out of His love for the Father.
In v.7 of today's text we read, "Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, my God."
In Isaiah 50:5-6 we read, "5 The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears; I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away. 6 I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting."
Seven hundred years before Christ came to be our Savior, the Old Testament prophet Isaiah wrote those words the Lord Jesus would realize. Only the Lord Jesus Christ could measure up to the Law of Moses, therefore, it is only through Him that we have access to God. If He had not been willing, we would be dead still to God in our trespasses and sins.
In v.8 of today's text we read, "First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them”—though they were offered in accordance with the law."
The righteousness of God has never been satisfied by the sacrifices of the Old Testament because they never included access to His presence for the people. All of those sacrifices merely covered up sin, they never could remove sin. That elaborate system was given to us by the God who wanted to be discovered. And, the Lord Jesus came to declare His Father to the world.
In v.9 of today's text we read, "Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second."
The Lord Jesus took away the first covenant by fulfilling it. He didn't render the truth null and void, He substantiated it. He did this in order that He may establish the New Covenant, the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. In John 1:17 we read, "The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."
In v.10 of today's text we read, "And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."
Those who choose to believe the Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world are made perfect in the eyes of God. The word "holy" means "to put to the proper and intended use." God saved you and me to know Him for ourselves, but, He also saved us to be helpful to Him in sinners coming to know Him as we have.
This one word, "holy," is a perfect participle with a finite verb. And, when there is a perfect participle with a finite verb, we have a tightly sealed argument that always wins. This is the strongest way for God to describe the permanent and continual state of salvation the believer in Jesus Christ enjoys. This one word, "holy," describes our position in Christ, as well as our purpose in this world.
