The Three Appearances of Jesus (Hebrews 9:23-28)

This sermon was preached on 7/7/2013

In this chapter of Hebrews the author continues to explain why the new covenant is superior and why the old covenant is now obsolete. We noted in our previous study that the new covenant gave four benefits: new life, a new identity, a new fellowship with God and forgiveness of sins. Of course, things did not look like that in Jerusalem because all the temple rituals were still taking place there. But its days were numbered and it would not be long before it would disappear in AD 70 when the Roman armies destroyed the city.

The author is aware that there were aspects of the temple or tabernacle worship that had significance while they fulfilled a God-given purpose (10:2-5). But that time had passed and, in contrast to what the new covenant had given, the old now only had limitations. One obvious defect was the necessity of the high priest offering an annual sacrifice each year on the Day of Atonement when he had the awesome task of going into the Holy of Holies where God had dwelt in a symbolic manner on the mercy seat (10:6-10). The fact that the sacrifice had to be repeated annually had showed it did not achieve anything momentous because it could not really deal with the sins of the worshippers. They still had a defiled conscience, no matter how many sacrifices were offered.

In contrast, Jesus entered not into a man-made holy place but into the very presence of God on the basis of the blood he shed at Calvary (10:11-13). His sacrifice secured eternal redemption for his people. Furthermore his perfect sacrifice does deal with our consciences and although we are still sinners we discover that having been forgiven and cleansed by his blood we can now serve God from the heart.

Three important matters

Before we look at the closing verses of the chapter, there are three details that we can briefly consider. The first is the description of the sacrifice of Jesus in verse 14: ‘who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God.’ Here it looks as if we have a reference to the Trinity, with the Spirit enabling Jesus to offer himself to the Father. Yet some commentators argue that ‘the eternal Spirit’ here is not a reference to the Holy Spirit but instead is a reference to the divine nature of Jesus. So they say that this verse teaches that Jesus’ strong divine nature empowered him as he offered his sinless humanity on the cross and bore the divine penalty against our sins. They may be right, although a case can also be made that his humanity was strengthened by the Holy Spirit during the period of sacrifice on the cross. Normally in the New Testament the description that is given about Jesus is of the Spirit developing and strengthening the human nature of Jesus. If I had to choose, I would prefer the view that involves the Spirit and interprets this verse as describing the involvement of the Trinity.

The second detail is that the Mosaic covenant seems to be similar to the covenant of works that was made in the Garden of Eden. The covenant of works was made with Adam as our representative. What is similar between them is that neither of them could provide forgiveness for those who had transgressed their requirements (10:15). Adam could not find forgiveness through the covenant of works and neither could an Israelite find forgiveness through the details of the Mosaic covenant. In contrast, the new covenant provides forgiveness.

The third detail is the immense value of the blood of Jesus. The author shows its value by contrasting it with how the blood of the sacrifice connected to the old covenant was used. Moses sprinkled everything connected to the tabernacle with that blood (10:18-22). In contrast to that inferior purification, the blood of Jesus truly cleanses everything connected to the new covenant, or as the author calls them ‘the heavenly things’. He is not suggesting that places in heaven need cleansing. Instead he means that heaven is the place from where Jesus now administers the benefits of the new covenant on his people still sinful on earth. We can say that everything in the new covenant is connected to the people of God and the blood of Jesus purifies every aspect. God’s people belong to heaven, have access to the throne of grace, are accepted as righteous, belong to God’s family, are being sanctified, receive a wide range of divine gifts, and the blood of Jesus cleanses them in all of these and other areas of spiritual life.

In light of having such wonderful benefits, the author wants his readers to remind themselves continually that ‘Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.’ Jesus did not enter heaven with the trepidation that marked the Jewish high priest as he entered the Holy of Holies on his annual appearance there on the Day of Atonement. Instead Jesus has gone there as One who will be a Priest on the divine throne, and he will appear there continually on behalf of those who trust in him. His sacrifice on Calvary was so great that it will never have to be repeated.

Appeared to put away sin

No doubt you will have observed that there are three appearances of Jesus in this section of the chapter. The first is his current appearance in God’s presence as the Mediator of the New Covenant (10:24), the second is his past appearance to put away sin (10:26), and his third will be his future appearance to provide complete salvation (10:28).

The author reminds us of the time of this appearing – it was at the end of the ages. Such a description raises the question, ‘What ages?’ John Brown argues that the author is using a Jewish method of dividing time. They had the patriarchal age before the law, the Mosaic age under the law, and the Messianic age after the law. This seems a reasonable explanation. It reminds us that the first coming of Jesus inaugurated the last days.

The author also mentions the task for which Jesus appeared. It was a unique task, only done once. It was a unique task in that he did it by himself. The task was to put away sin. It is possible to see ‘sin’ here as a reference to its guilt, although I suspect it means more than that. Jesus came to deal with the dominion and condemnation and presence of sin in the lives of his people.

And the author tells us how Jesus would perform this amazing act – it would be by the sacrifice of himself. He would give himself as an atoning sacrifice in order to pay the penalty of the sins of his people. This he did on the cross when he offered himself voluntarily out of love for his Father and for his people.

Appear to give salvation

The author then reminds his readers that there are only two types of people in existence (10:27-28). There are those who face judgement in the future (after death) and there are those who will experience salvation in the future. What a stark contrast and how different the destinations!

We can see from the author’s words that both realities are certain. Those outside of Christ will die and face the awful judgement of God for their sins. The Bible is clear about the penalty they will receive – eternal punishment. It also reveals that the Judge will be Jesus, the saviour of his people.

As far as God’s people are concerned, the second coming of Jesus is a joyful event. They have been looking forward to it. It has filled their vision of the future. They long to see him personally and they long to see him acknowledged as Lord by the whole universe.

There is a similarity between both comings of Jesus, but there is also a difference. The similarity is that both are concerned with salvation. The difference is that the first coming concerned the penalty of sin and the second coming will be concerned with the completion of salvation. It will involve for God’s people their resurrection, their glorification, and their receiving of the inheritance they will share with Jesus. The resurrection will be a marvellous display of the power of the Saviour as he lovingly and perfectly raises to life all of his people who have died. Then they and those disciples still living will be transformed into his likeness, for they shall be like him when they see him. Afterwards he will bring into existence the new heavens and new earth in which he and they will dwell forever.