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By: AJ Hochhalter You may listen to this devotion in audio form via podcast here.
Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
“This is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”[a]
Then he adds:
“Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more.”
And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.
-Hebrews 10:11-18
Since college, the book of Hebrews has always been my favorite. I remember waking up early in the morning and studying it with my roommate for months. I was struck by how it takes the Old Testament and Old Covenant and shows how Christ established a New and better covenant. There is endless Gospel richness to mine when comparing the New Covenant to the Old—the book of Hebrews is treasure trove.
In the Old Covenant, day after day the priests would stand and perform their duties, offering sacrifices on behalf of the people, that only ever worked until the people sinned again—and they always sinned again. It was endless work.
But now, the Great High Priest’s sacrifice was offered once and for all. Sin, with a capital “s,” had been atoned for, death conquered, and the high priest sat down. The atoning work is done.
When reading this passage I was struck by something I had not noticed before—the posture of the priests. Old covenant priests stood—there was endless work to be done. The New Covenant priest sits—the work is done.
It’s not a perfect metaphor, but I’m reminded of when I was a teenager and one week in the summer I had to help my dad rebuild our deck. On Wednesday morning, after two long days of work, I was not in the mood to work any more so I told my dad I had to go to my job at the auto detailing company. I didn’t, I just went and hung out with my friends. Needless to say it did not take long before I was found out and I was in trouble. I truly felt guilty—I told my parents everything, was open and honest, and was truly remorseful—not just because I got caught, but because I knew better. Frankly, I was a pretty good kid, and this type of thing was completely out of character for me.
To atone for my sin I had to do what I was originally instructed to do—rebuild the deck with my dad and brother. Only this time there was a bit more weight behind my work, I wanted my dad to know I was remorseful. So whenever he was standing up working, I was standing up and working. It was a long, hot day, and the work was strenuous—prying off old deck boards, digging up and resetting old posts, and re-leveling the joists.
I remember the relief I experienced at the end of the day when it was finally time to quit—my dad finally sat down, so I sat down. I can remember the feeling of my legs and back finally being able to relax. There is something about taking a seat for the first time after a long day of hard work.
Later, I realized my dad had forgiven me before I even began my atoning work—all it took was a real apology. And the deck being rebuilt did not depend on my work—he’d get it done with or without me. He just wanted to spend time with me.
The relief we experience when we finally sit down after a long day of work is just a taste of the relief we experience knowing Christ is sitting at the right hand of the Father--his atoning work is done. Our sins are forgiven, we need not work to make things right. Christ has done it.