Mediator of the New Covenant

Hebrews 9:11-15 The Message

Pointing to the Realities of Heaven

11-15 But when the Messiah arrived, high priest of the superior things of this new covenant, he bypassed the old tent and its trappings in this created world and went straight into heaven’s “tent”—the true Holy Place—once and for all. He also bypassed the sacrifices consisting of goat and calf blood, instead using his own blood as the price to set us free once and for all. If that animal blood and the other rituals of purification were effective in cleaning up certain matters of our religion and behavior, think how much more the blood of Christ cleans up our whole lives, inside and out. Through the Spirit, Christ offered himself as an unblemished sacrifice, freeing us from all those dead-end efforts to make ourselves respectable, so that we can live all out for God.

For Reflection

The voluntary death and resurrection of Christ gave humankind a new beginning. This selfless act establishes a personal and internal covenant with God. We have seen God in Christ and we have not perished but gained everlasting life. No amount of good works can save one who has already been saved from selfish endeavors by the blood sacrifice of Christ.

Pray

Pray prayers of thanksgiving to God who loved you so intensely that God sacrificed God's son to absolve your sinfulness. Pray so that you will act upon the love of God humbly and in God's service.

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