The task isn’t really that hard, and it probably takes at most 30 minutes. But in my mind—ahead of time—it stretches on for multiple, grueling hours.
No one likes cleaning their bathroom—I get that. For me, part of my avoidance of this chore is that the bathroom just doesn’t stay clean. No matter how good a job I do, the shower, sink, and toilet will all need to be cleaned again. My work feels ineffective when I know I’ll need to pick up that same scrub brush again next week.
Early Christians who received the epistle to the Hebrews were tempted to turn from Christ back to their familiar Jewish practices. The author of this letter pleads with them to stay; most of the argument is how much better Jesus is than what had come before.
One part of that argument concerns Jesus’s sacrifice of himself. This work was so great that it only had to be done once. That was new.
Once for All
By the time we reach Hebrews 9, we’re deep into the author’s argument about the superiority of Christ. In the passage below, we read reasons why Christ entered heaven.
For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (Hebrews 9:24–26)
Unlike the high priest, who entered the earthly holy place every year (on the Day of Atonement), Christ entered heaven “once for all.” He did this “to put away sin” (Heb 9:26). (In other places near this passage, his purpose is stated as “bear[ing] the sins of many” and “deal[ing] with sin.”)
We don’t have a good category for this in modern life—not in the same way that first century Jewish people did. Picture some regular ritual, set to repeat for the rest of your conscious life. And then, a man comes along and completes that ritual in such a way that it never would need to be performed again. Ever!
On a much grander, more significant scale, it’s like someone scrubbing the shower so thoroughly and excellently that it never would need scrubbing again.
Let’s pause and glory in the implications. The fact that Christ’s sacrifice only needed to happen once shows us (among other things):
- how holy and pure he was;
- how steadfast he was in the face of suffering;
- how faithful he was to his father;
- how righteously he completed his mission;
- how acceptable was his sacrifice;
- how complete is the Father’s forgiveness;
- how thorough is our cleansing;
- how secure is our adoption as children of the Father; and
- how perfect and deep and eternal is the Father’s love for us.
This phrase “once for all” is only three words, but it is no small phrase!
A Second Time
Jesus’s sacrifice only needed to happen once, but he will appear again.
And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:27-28)
Jesus no longer needs to deal with sin, but he will return to save his people.
I love the emphasis in this passage. It is just as certain that Christ will appear a second time as it is that man dies once and then faces judgment.
Until Then
The work of Christ was definitive and effective. It never needs to be repeated. That once-for-all work set a people apart that will be saved when Jesus appears a second time.
The task for those who follow Christ in the mean time is to wait eagerly for him (Heb 9:28). Waiting is difficult; by definition it means enduring a delay—persevering for a time, submitting to God’s superior wisdom and care for us.
But our waiting is not the flinching of those bracing for punishment. It isn’t the sour-stomach dread of those wondering how bad the news will be. Our waiting is to be eager.
If we understand what Jesus’s work for us accomplished and the eternal implications, we would wait differently: as those leaning forward, pressing our noses against the pane glass windows, hearts thrumming with the anticipation of our favorite person in the world turning into our driveway.
