1.
Grace,
mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. The message from God’s
Word today is taken from Hebrews 10:11-25.
Here we see that, “Jesus Is God’s
Right-Hand Man.” He has made the
one-time sacrifice for our sins. (vv. 11–14) and He has gained our complete
forgiveness. (vv. 15–18) Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. Many of us in the modern world do
our work sitting down. Accountants and lawyers do much of their work sitting
down. Business people spend long hours at their desks. Many shopkeepers sit at
a cash register. When we stand up, it’s a sign that work is over for the moment
and we’re off to do something else. For
much of the world, though, and for much of history, the act of sitting down
meant that you had finished work, not that you were beginning it. In a world
where most working people labored in the fields or in energetic crafts like
building, only a few sat down. Most people stood to work and sat to rest. That’s
the contrast which Hebrews is making here between the priests who (in his day)
still served under the old covenant, offering regular sacrifices in the Temple,
and the position Jesus has now taken after completing his work. They all stand
daily at their duties (verse 11), but Jesus has finished his work, and now sits
at God’s right hand (verse 12). He doesn’t have to offer his sacrifice anymore;
he’s done it, and it’s complete. Jesus
is God’s right hand man.
3. Hebrews 10:11–25 says, “11 Every priest stands daily at his service,
offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12But
when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down
at the right hand of God, 13waiting from that time until his enemies should be
made a footstool for his feet. 14For by a single offering he has perfected for
all time those who are being sanctified.
15And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, 16“This is the covenant that I will
make with them after those days,
declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” 17then
he adds, “I will remember their
sins and their lawless deeds no more.” 18Where there is forgiveness of these,
there is no longer any offering for sin. 19Therefore, brothers, since we have
confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20by the new and
living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his
flesh, 21and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22let us draw
near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled
clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us
hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is
faithful. 24And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good
works, 25not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but
encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
4. As I said before, in the Old
Testament Israel’s priests stood constantly at work bringing the same
sacrifices and yet never removing sin. In sharp contrast, Jesus our High Priest
“offered for all time one sacrifice for
sins” and with that one sacrifice totally effective “sat down at the right hand of God.” In heaven in all glory and
honor, Jesus our High Priest, whose perfect sacrifice was laid on the altar of
the cross, now points to that completed sacrifice as the basis for his pleading
for us when we sin. Romans 8:34 shows the sequence, “Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who
was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”
With the ascended Savior as our lawyer, our case in heaven’s court is eternally
secure. Jesus is God’s right hand man
speaking to God the Father for you and for me.
5. Let Jesus enemies, though, be
warned. The Lord is waiting for the time when all who oppose him will be “made his footstool.” On that Last Day,
as described in Philippians 2:10, 11, every knee will bow before him and every
tongue will confess that he is Lord. Who would want to stand at that day among
his enemies, quaking with fear because of his splendor and because of the
horrible awareness of having rejected the only Savior?
6.
The
author of Hebrews reminds us, “By one
sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” In
this verse it is the thought of man being brought to the completeness that God
had in mind for him. Peace and pardon, harmony and heaven were God’s goal for
man. The author of Hebrews tells us that we as Christians have been brought to
this blessed goal through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
7. The Church Year is more
than just 52 Sundays. It’s the time during which we speak the Word of God to
one another. It’s God’s action in and through that Word. It’s God telling us His will, His
forgiveness, His power, and His life. Every worship service is a call to
specific action and a power to carry God’s will out. We still have our selfish
nature that restrains us from loving God and our neighbors as we should. This
results in a guilty conscience that persuades us to run from God. And if we
come into His presence with other folks, we think we must wear a mask to cover
our real selves. Such phoniness only adds to our guilt.
8.
But, because of Jesus, God’s right hand man, we can
come before our heavenly Father just as we are.
We don’t need a mask. Jesus made the once-for-all-time sacrifice for our
sins. He died as the guilty you, the guilty me. He felt the harsh sting of
God’s justice, which is hell, when He was forsaken by His Father. Then the
perfect One went into the holy presence, and there, as our sacrifice, He took
our part forever.
9.
God, in Christ, is our Savior who has sprinkled our
hearts clean from an evil conscience. He has fully atoned for our sins. We can
boldly come to Him in worship, in confession and prayer, without any false
front. In full assurance of faith, He forgives us and helps in every need.
10.
To strengthen our confession of the sure hope we have
in Christ we have this promise, “I will
remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more” (Hebrews 10:17). God does
not let go. He does not give up on us. He stays with us in our weaknesses and
failures. We have His Word and the pledges of His sacraments for this.
11. Our power for bold, steady
confession comes from our faithful Lord, since He loves us with a love that
will not let us go. There is no longer a sacrifice for sin. To say no to the
perfect sacrifice means that we must bear our sins and their judgment.
Therefore, to talk about another Church Year of God’s grace in Christ, we are
talking about the most crucial thing in our lives. That Jesus is God’s right hand man in whom we
have redemption by His blood. It’s only
in Him that we can come to the Father and have the assurance of eternal life.
May God help us to respond to His wonderful grace always with faith and a new
life. Amen.
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