Day 65: How is Christ Our Redemption?
Hebrews 9:11–12
But now Christ has come as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, and he entered once for all into the most holy place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself secured eternal redemption.
Jesus gave His blood, His life for us. Because of what He has done for us, we can know that we are eternally secure in Him.
Ephesians 1:7
In Him (in Christ) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which He lavished upon us…
In the Ephesians passage above, Paul tells us that we have redemption through Jesus blood. He also links this truth together with “the forgiveness of our sins.” When we get into all the blessings that have come to us “in Christ” in the weeks to come, we are going to talk about redemption specifically. In today’s reading, we are just going to work through some key passages that help us understand why Jesus gave His life—literally, His blood—for us. This is a topic that have fallen out of favor in recent times, but it is absolutely critical to understanding all that Father-God has done for us in Christ.
Jesus’ Blood Is Precious, Beyond Value.
1 Peter 1:18-19
You know that from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors you were ransomed (redeemed)—not by perishable things like silver or gold, 1:19 but by precious blood like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb, namely Christ.
As we will discuss in detail later, to redeem something is to pay a price for something or someone to set them free. The price paid for redemption tells us something about how valuable that thing or person is to the one paying. In our case, Jesus’ precious blood was the price paid for our redemption. What does that tell us about our “value” in Father-God’s eyes?
Jesus’ Blood Cleanses Us Completely.
The truths about blood and sacrifice has its roots in the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament). In the Bible, blood is associated with life:
Leviticus 17:11
…now the life (soul) of the flesh is in the blood. So I myself have assigned it to you on the altar to make atonement (literally: covering) for your lives, for the blood makes atonement (covering) by means of the life.
The ideas of the “covering” and cleansing that is caused by blood is one that is foreign to us. In Leviticus, God instructs the priests to take some of the blood from the animal sacrifices and apply it to various items and places in The Tabernacle and later in the Temple to make atonement. Now the word atonement is a translation from a Hebrew word which simply means “a covering.” This atonement—a covering of blood—cleansed the place where God dwelt and thereby also covered over the sins of the people so that God could live with them in peace.
Before Christ came, however, the blood which was offered for this covering was only the blood of animals. These sacrifices were imperfect in that they could not actually remove the sins of the people, this animal blood could only “cover” the sins:
Hebrews 10:4
For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Now, in Christ, God has provided a much better sacrifice. The blood of Christ has not merely covered over our sins; His sacrifice has completely removed our sins. In doing so, Christ has secured for us and eternal—forever—redemption:
Hebrews 9:11–12
But now Christ has come as the high priest of the good things to come. He passed through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is, not of this creation, and he entered once for all into the most holy place not by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood, and so he himself secured eternal redemption.
Jesus’ blood has also cleansed and purified us from all sin. This application of Jesus’ blood is not something that must happen over and over again like in the old priesthood of Israel. Instead, Jesus has accomplished an eternal redemption, once for all, He has offered one sacrifice that has made us perfect forever:
Hebrews 10:14
For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are being made holy (sanctified).
In the context of Hebrews, the word “perfect” refers to being qualified to be a priest serving the one True God. By Jesus one offering—His sacrifice—we have been perfected and made holy. There is nothing left to be done. We simply grow into who we already are “In Christ.”
Jesus’ Blood Cleanses Our Consciences.
One of the great benefits that comes from the salvation that Jesus makes possible is that our consciences are also cleansed by His blood. Your conscience is that part of your spiritual self that gives moral direction, leading you to know what is right and wrong. It is also that part which brings our feelings of guilt or shame. Jesus has cleansed our consciences once for all so that we will be free to serve God!!! Read this passage carefully, maybe a couple of times:
Hebrews 9:12-14
…so (Jesus) himself secured eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow sprinkled on those who are defiled consecrated them and provided ritual purity, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.
Notice the redemption that Jesus provides is eternal—it will last forever!!! The cleansing that comes to us on the basis of Jesus’ blood is one that reaches even to our consciences—that part of us that recognizes guilt and shame. The blood of Jesus tells us that we not longer have to bear the burden of our shame and guilt for sin. He has forgiven us, freed us from these things so that He no longer holds them against us and He has cleansed us of these things so that we no longer have to hold our sins against ourselves.
Now make note of this: you cannot serve God out of guilt!!! You cannot serve Father-God with a guilty conscience. God wants us to serve Him out of our freedom. When we choose to dwell on our sins, we are choosing to reject the full benefit of what Christ has done for us. In truth, if we think there is something about us that is still keeping us from being accepted by Father-God fully, we are not trusting what He has told us; we are not acting in faith on His Word! He wants us to be free so that we can become people who fully reflect His mercy, grace and glory in all that we are and do. This all comes from trusting Christ alone for all that He has done for us!
Review and Think about all that we have discussed this week. In what ways do these truths call you to rethink your relationship with Father-God in Christ? In what ways do these truths call you to rethink the way you view yourself?
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
