Hebrews 10:1-10

¹ “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the form of those things itself, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually every year, make those who approach perfect. ² Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins? ³ But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. ⁴ For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. ⁵ Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says,

‘You have not desired sacrifice and offering,
But You have prepared a body for Me;
⁶ You have not taken pleasure in whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin.
⁷ Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come
(It is written of Me in the scroll of the book)
To do Your will, O God.’

After saying above, ‘Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them’ (which are offered according to the Law),⁹ then He said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Your will.’ He takes away the first in order to establish the second. ¹⁰ By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time.’”

Verse 1: Here, we see that the law, including its sacrificial system, was merely a shadow of the good things to come in Christ. The sacrifices under the Old Covenant were insufficient to make people perfect or cleanse their consciences. They were temporary and had to be repeated year after year. Notice the language: the sacrifices could never perfect worshippers. This shows the need for a sacrifice that could make worshippers perfect.

Verse 2: If the sacrifices of the Old Covenant were truly effective, there would have been no need for them to be continually offered. The worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and their guilty consciences would have been permanently relieved. However, this was not the case under the Old Covenant. The author of Hebrews asks a hypothetical question: if the perfect sacrifice had arrived would not the worshippers had been perfected? The answer is, of course, yes. And this is exactly the author’s point. Jesus Christ is the perfect sacrifice and has perfected all who believe in him. Perfection means no longer feeling guilty for sins because the perfect cleansing has occurred within believers. Believers are completely forgiven under the New Covenant.

Verse 3: The sacrifices served as a yearly reminder of sins, highlighting the ongoing need for forgiveness and cleansing. They were a temporary solution, pointing to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Verse 4: This verse emphasizes the limitations of the animal sacrifices. The blood of animals could not truly take away sins. It was a temporary provision until the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The author id pointing out the total insufficiency of the law to save anyone.

Verse 5: Here, we see that Jesus, in His incarnation, recognized that the sacrifices and offerings of the Old Covenant were not what God truly desired. Instead, God prepared a body for Jesus to offer himself as the perfect sacrifice. The only sacrifice sufficient to remove sin was God’s sacrifice of himself in Christ.

Verse 6: God was not pleased with the burnt offerings and sin offerings of the Old Covenant. These sacrifices could not fully satisfy His righteous requirements.

Verse 7: Jesus, quoting from Psalm 40:6-8, declares His willingness to do the will of God. He came to fulfill God’s plan of salvation, offering himself as the perfect sacrifice. Notice that the will of God is Christ’s finished work, not some obscure knowledge that some fail to find.

Verse 8: This verse reiterates that the sacrifices and offerings of the Old Covenant were not what God truly desired, even though they were offered in accordance with the law. They were temporary provisions until the coming of Christ. God’s plan A was never the law. Rather, it was the New Covenant in Christ.

Verse 9: Jesus sets aside the first covenant, with its temporary sacrifices, to establish the second covenant, which is based on His perfect sacrifice. The Old Covenant is fulfilled and replaced by the New Covenant in Christ. This means that Christians have no business trying to relate to God under the law. We relate to God on the basis of grace.

Verse 10: Through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, offered once for all, we have been made holy. Our sins are completely forgiven, and we are declared righteous in God’s sight. The sacrifice of Jesus is sufficient to cleanse our consciences and bring us into a perfect relationship with God.