#DailyDevotion Jesus, Our High Priest, Has Entered The Holy of Holies
Hebrews 9:11–14
11But Christ came as High Priest of the good things that have come; He went through that greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by human hands (that is, not a part of this created world). 12 And He didn’t use the blood of goats and calves but through His own blood He entered only once into the Holy of Holies and paid a price that frees us forever. 13Now, sprinkling the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a calf on unclean people makes them outwardly holy and clean. 14How much more will the blood of Christ, Who by the everlasting Spirit offered Himself without a spot to God, wash our consciences clean from dead works to worship the living God?
The tabernacle and the Temple were made after the manner of the heavenly temple as the LORD told Moses in Exodus 25, 9 and 40, “9Make it exactly like the model of the tabernacle and of all its equipment that I will show you.” “40And see that you make them according to the model you were shown on the mountain.” The book of Hebrews makes this clear in the previous chapter vs. 5 “They serve a copy and a shadow of what is in heaven, as God told Moses when he was going to make the tabernacle: ‘Be careful to make all of it like the pattern you were shown on the mountain.’”
The model temple/tabernacle was served by the Levitical and Aaronic priesthood. Now we have Jesus Christ as our High Priest of the good things that have come. He has entered the perfect tabernacle, not made with human hands, but by God. The Levitical priest had to bring in the blood of goats, sheep and bulls to pour upon the mercy seat on the ark of the covenant to make atonement for himself and the people’s sins. Jesus enters into this heavenly, perfect temple with his own blood. He entered the true Holy of Holies and pour that blood upon the throne of God paying the price that frees us forever. He has by this pouring out of his blood has freed us from guilt and shame. He has freed us from the accusation of our sins. He has freed us from the power of the devil, from slavery of the fear of death and from slavery to our sins.
The sprinkling of the blood of goats, sheep and bulls made the people outwardly holy and clean. The blood of Christ Jesus make us holy and clean inwardly. The washing of his blood in holy baptism washes our consciences clean from dead works to worship the living God as St. Peter says in his first epistle, chapter 3, “21In the same way also, baptism now saves us, not by washing dirt from the body, but by guaranteeing us a good conscience before God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Paul also speaks of this washing of the blood of Christ in baptism in Titus 3, “5He saved us by the washing in which the Holy Spirit gives us a new birth and a new life. 6He poured a rich measure of this Spirit on us through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7to declare us righteous by His grace so that we may be heirs according to the hope of everlasting life.”
Just as the Levitical high priest after pouring the blood on the mercy seat of God in the model temple then sprinkled the people with the same blood, so too, Jesus, our High Priest, sprinkles us with his blood in the waters of baptism, the pastor’s absolution, the preached Word, Christian consolation, and the Lord’s Supper. He does it through these means that we may just as certain as the ancient Israelites were as they saw the blood on their clothes, we may points to these means of grace and know the blood of Christ has been poured out upon us as well.
Heavenly Father, always sprinkle upon us the blood of Christ through word and sacrament, so we may have guarantee of your absolution. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.