And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, “he sat down at the right hand of God,” and since then has been waiting “until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet.” For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds,”
and he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain (that is, through his flesh), and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us approach 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. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful. And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Jan 30, 2026 Since I’ve already made notes on John 6, I’m jumping over to the Hebrews passages.
This is a crucial passage on the relationship between Jesus, his sacrifice, and what it does for us.
There's a view of atonement called "penal substitutionary atonement." Penal meaning punishment. Substitutionary meaning Jesus takes the punishment that God would otherwise give us.
However, that's not really the view of atonement we find in Hebrews. Rather, Hebrews is working within the framework of Levitical atonement. In this framework, sacrifice functions as a kind of "detergent." It removes the stain of death, sin, and iniquity from the person and makes them holy and clean. There's no punishment involved.
The substitution that's happening is that Jesus is taking the place of the animal as well as the priest. And it's a once-for-all sacrifice, not something that needs to be repeated day after day like the old sacrificial system.
The effect of the sacrifice is NOT that God was going to punish us, but now he's not. Rather, we were covered in the stench of death, but now we're not. We've been cleansed.
It's also not only a removal but also a transformation. Verse 14 says, "For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified." The atonement is not merely "justification" or "forgiveness" or "wiping the slate clean." It's also a transformation into something new.
The effect then is that we can "enter the sanctuary" and "approach the house of God." In other words, we are equal to and greater than the priests, Moses, Aaron, and Abraham himself. What is true of Jesus is now true of us. We are friends with God and have bold access to the divine presence.
The "therefore" in verse 19 leads to two practical applications: (1) spur one another to love and good deeds, and (2) don't neglect meeting together, but encourage one another - especially as we see the Day approaching.