Messianic Jews 10:11-18
Letter to the Messianic Jews

In my last post, we concluded our study of Messianic Jews 10:1-10 ~ The Superiority and Finality of the New Covenant by focusing Yeshua As the Once for All Sacrifice. In this post, we’ll conclude our topic on Yeshua: His Better Covenant by digging into Messianic Jews 10:11-18 ~ The Superiority and Finality of the New Covenant by examining The Evidence of Yeshua’s Finished Work.

The Evidence of Yeshua’s Finished Work

¹¹ Now every cohen stands every day doing his service, offering over and over the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. ¹² But this one, after he had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ from then on to wait until his enemies be made a footstool for his feet. ¹⁴ For by a single offering he has brought to the goal for all time those who are being set apart for God and made holy. ¹⁵ And the Ruach HaKodesh too bears witness to us; for after saying, ¹⁶ “‘This is the covenant which I will make with them after those days,’ says Adonai: ‘I will put my Torah on their hearts, and write it on their minds…,’” ¹⁷ he then adds, “‘And their sins and their wickednesses I will remember no more.’” ¹⁸ Now where there is forgiveness for these, an offering for sins is no longer needed.” ~ Messianic Jews 10:11-18 (CJB)

The author of the Messianic Jews is drawing a series of implicit contrasts between the sacrifice that Yeshua offered and the animal sacrifices that the cohanim offer. Yeshua’s death and resurrection assured the once for all salvation for all those who by faith accept Him as the Son of God and keep God’s commandments.

The point is the once-and-for-all-ness, the eternal effectiveness of Yeshua’s sacrifice, as opposed to the repeated but only temporarily sacrifices of the first system for a sin offering. This is reinforced by the requoting of Psalm 110:1 in verse 12: Yeshua, after performing His ritual service, did what no Levitical cohen gadol ever did, He sat down at the right hand of God.

In verse 16, the author quotes from Jeremiah 31:32(33): “For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Isra’el after those days,” says Adonai: “I will put my Torah within them and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my people.”  In verse 17, he adds: “No longer will any of them teach his fellow community member or his brother, ‘Know Adonai’; for all will know me, from the least of them to the greatest; because I will forgive their wickednesses and remember their sins no more.” ~ Jeremiah 31:33(34) (CJB)

Having God’s Torah written in one’s heart and mind implies that God has forgiven one’s sins so that an offering for sins is no longer needed. Therefore the original readers of this sermon should free themselves from their compulsion to offer animal sacrifices as sin offerings and instead be fully assured of the sufficiency of Yeshua’s sacrifice of Himself on their behalf. We moderns have no such compulsion, but we too should be convinced of the necessity of blood sacrifice for sin while having the assurance that Yeshua’s blood sacrifice fulfills that requirement.

But the author is limiting in what he says. An offering for sins is no longer needed and is ruled out. But the other sacrificial offerings remain part of God’s order even after Yeshua’s death, as proved by Sha’ul’s activity in the Temple at Acts 21:26 and his own offering of sacrifices which he speaks of at Acts 24:17.

With the destruction of the Temple, sacrificial offerings became impossible; but if the Temple is rebuilt, thank offerings, meal offerings, and praise offerings may be offered once again. The author of this letter does not proclaim the end of the sacrificial system in its entirety, only the end of animal sacrifices for sins. Personally, I look forward to the peace offerings as described in Leviticus 7:11-21, especially verse 15. “The meat of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for giving thanks is to be eaten on the day of his offering; he is not to leave any of it until morning.” Remember, this is not a sin offering, but a peace offering. To me, that’s nothing more than a good, old fashion family barbeque!

We have been and continue to be redeemed once for all by His Blood.

In my next post, we begin a new mini-series dealing with Faith: The Better Way covering Messianic Jews 10:19 thru 12:29.

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