A New And Living Way

By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle and the system it represented were still in use. . . . The gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them.

Hebrews 9:8-9

The Old Testament systems for worship and sacrifice were promises of what—or who—was to come. They pointed to the time when all the promises of God would be fleshed out in Jesus. Today we live in the fulfillment of that promise.

In today’s verses the writer is describing the portion of the Tabernacle called the Most Holy Place, or Holy of Holies. The high priest entered the Most Holy Place once a year on the Day of Atonement to offer sacrifices, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. The Most Holy Place—the presence of God—was not freely open until the shadow version—the Tabernacle made by human hands and of earthly materials—was replaced by the real Way into God’s presence, Jesus himself.

The sacrifices offered by the priests could not finish the job. They had to be repeated in an endless cycle. The sacrifices could not cleanse people’s consciences. Though God had extended his grace and mercy through a system that would temporarily cover sins and restore the relationship between God and his people, the real remedy would not just cover sin but wash it away.

Jesus, our High Priest, has entered the eternal Most Holy Place with his own blood. His blood washes us clean inside. His blood takes the guilt and shame of our sin that stains our consciences and scrubs us whiter than snow. The veil that hid the Holy of Holies is gone, and we can enter freely into the Most Holy Place—the place of his presence.

Jesus, thank you that your blood flows in a cleansing fountain through my life, paying for my sins and making me pure. You have opened the way for me to live in your presence.

I am as sure as I live that nothing is so near to me as God. God is nearer to me than I am to myself; my existence depends on the nearness and the presence of God.

Meister Eckhart(c. 1260– c. 1327), German theologian and philosopher