Lent 5—Judica
Beloved. These final two weeks of Lent that we are entering today are known as Passiontide. In these two weeks we especially turn our attention to Jesus’ sacrifice, His suffering and death. The first weeks of Lent saw Jesus in battle with the devil—there we heard of Jesus being tempted by the devil; there we heard of Jesus casting out demons. Last week was “Refreshment Sunday” as we heard Jesus feeding the 5000—and overcoming the temptation of becoming king in a way other than by the cross. Now we come to the final, bitter struggle Jesus went through for our salvation. Today’s Gospel shows us the beginning of this as Jesus is rejected by the people. Then they picked up stones to throw at him, to kill Him. The words from the psalm beginning today’s Introit certainly capture what Jesus was thinking/ feeling/ praying: Vindicate Me, O God, and defend my cause against an ungodly people. Today’s Gospel reading begins in the middle of a back and forth between Jesus’ and the Jews. He asks them point blank why they are rejecting Him: “Who of you can convict me of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? Whoever belongs to God listens to what God says. The reason you do not listen is that you do not belong to God.” Here Jesus shows the foolishness/ that there is no reason to reject Him, this rejection which is the beginning of the Passion.
The vital point to remember is that God did not cause the people to reject Jesus so that He could bring about the salvation of the world. But God did use the people’s rejection. It wasn’t as if God’s plan for the salvation of the world had gone horribly wrong and He had to scramble to find a “plan B”. Instead, this rejection was all figured into God’s plan and prophesied centuries before [Lk 18.31-33]. But did it all have to end so bloodily with Jesus’ crucifixion and death? Why couldn’t it have ended like today’s Gospel? Then they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden and left the temple area.
The simple fact of the matter is that, as the holy writer says a few verses after our text [Hb. 9.22]: without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. The OT is full of the saints sacrificing: Abel, Noah, the Patriarchs. In the Law given through Moses God even set up and established a whole system of sacrifice that was to be in place until Jesus, the Savior would come. We even catch a glimpse of those sacrifices in today’s text: Now if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkled on those who were unclean, sanctifies them so that their flesh is clean... So yes, the bloody sacrifices were necessary because they were commanded by God; they reminded the people of their special position as God’s holy people who were to be distinct and separate; they reminded the people of their sin and a need for a Savior from sin, one who would reconcile them to the holy God. But as necessary and good as these sacrifices were, they were imperfect; they only went so far; they could only do so much: Now …the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkled on those who were unclean, sanctifies them so that their flesh is clean. Notice, this is an outward cleansing/ sanctifying, so that their flesh is clean, but it could do nothing for an inward cleansing, to cleanse our consciences, as the holy writer puts it in our text. That’s why there had to be a different/ a better sacrifice that would cleanse our consciences. That’s why there had to be Jesus’ unique, perfect once for all sacrifice on the cross that first Good Friday.
As we examine our text we will see that Jesus’ sacrifice is unique because of Who offered that sacrifice; and His sacrifice is unique because of what it works.
1. Jesus’ sacrifice is unique because of who Jesus is who offered it. Our text: But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, and the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God. Here we are pointed to the fact of who Jesus is—true man and true God. The Holy Spirit in our text refers to the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), by which Jesus entered once for all into the holy places, the most holy place of heaven. What is that greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation)? Jesus gives us a clue when He said [John 2. 19,21]: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up…" He was speaking of the temple of His body. With His holy, human body Jesus entered the holy of holies of heaven. Remember, how special Jesus’ body is. It wasn’t created the normal way like yours and mine. Instead, Jesus’ body was formed and prepared by a special, supernatural working of the Holy Spirit in the body of St. Mary taking from her and working what would be Jesus’ human body. That’s what we confess in the Creed, that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary. In this human nature dwells the whole fullness of divinity [Col 2.9], just like in the OT God dwelt in the tabernacle, the tent church of the Israelites in the desert. Now through His suffering and death Jesus entered into glory and was exalted before God, just as He reminded His disciples on Easter Sunday evening [Lk 24.26]: Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory? By giving His body, His human life Jesus went to God and was glorified.
So not only was Jesus, the God-man, making the sacrifice, but He Himself is the sacrifice. What made Jesus’ sacrifice so unique was that before, when a priest would offer up a sacrifice, it was a priest offering up/ sacrificing some animal, some irrational beast— the blood of goats and bulls, and … the ashes of a heifer. But Jesus offered up His own holy, sinless body—one conceived and born without sin; He offered up Himself. God, who is Spirit, doesn’t have blood to shed; but Jesus, the God-man does: the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God. The death of Jesus was not the death of just an ordinary person. It was the death of God Himself; it was the shedding of God’s own blood—God who is Spirit, but who in Jesus has blood to shed. Look at that marvelous phrase that Jesus, through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God. In Jesus, both His divine and human natures were working together to bring forgiveness of sin and salvation to the world. Jesus’ divinity/ His divine nature worked with/ urged Him and was powerful and active in His sacrifice. And what is a great grace and mystery is that because Jesus is true man, besides being true God, His human nature allowed Him to have blood to shed—for remember without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. Jesus’ sacrifice was unique because of who offered it—the holy sinless God-man; and His sacrifice was unique because of what it offered up—not the blood of some animal but the blood of God Himself!
What a great mystery this is! A priest offers a sacrifice; a sacrifice is not the priest. But in Jesus the Priest and Victim are one in the same. Here we again run across a familiar theme: Jesus is not recognized for who He is. Like in today’s Gospel, Jesus claims to be true eternal God: Before Abraham was born, I am, but He is rejected. He doesn’t seemingly fit the bill. He isn’t recognized as the King and long-promised Messiah because He is not dressed like a king riding on from one military victory to another. Nor was Jesus recognized as the Priest. He wasn’t dressed like the Jewish priests; He wasn’t in the beautiful and expensive garb indicating High Priestly dignity. But Jesus is the Great High Priest offering the once for all perfect sacrifice for sin. What were His High Priestly garments? Jesus was spiritually adorned with love, patience and obedience and carried out His Priesthood.
Jesus’ High Priestly dignity is only truly seen with the eyes of faith. Without the eyes of faith, all that is seen is a miserable death of One crucified. But with the eyes of faith is seen the Great High Priest, the God-man, on the cross, sacrificing that one perfect once for all sacrifice for sin—Himself. Also, too, only the eyes of faith see Jesus as that perfect Sacrifice that takes away the sin of the world. Only the eyes of faith, looking upon Jesus, lead us to confess with our mouth [Jn. 1.29]: Behold, [there is] the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
Jesus, the God-man, who is both Priest and Sacrifice bodily entered into the Holy of Holies in heaven, with His own blood, the once for all perfect sacrifice for our sins, to rescue us from sin, devil and death. By pouring out His own blood, He went to God, and was exalted before Him. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
2. Not only is Jesus’ sacrifice unique because who offered it, namely, the God-man, but His sacrifice is unique also because of what it works. In the OT sacrifices the blood of the animal made it possible for the priest to appear before God. But those sacrifices had to be made all the time, continually, year after year. That means, what? The sacrifices were not completely effective. They had to be repeated. They were imperfect. So if these sacrifices of the OT times were not completely effective, as the holy writer says shortly after our text [10.22]: it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins, why did God have/ command the OT saints to make sacrifices? It wasn’t some socialist make-work scheme. Instead, the sacrifices showed that there had to have been a cleansing before God; they showed the seriousness of sin; they pointed the OT forward to the perfect once for all sacrifice that Jesus would bring about. That’s the faith of the OT saints—they looked forward to the coming Savior and His perfect once for all sacrifice He would make for their sins. In the same way, we look back on Jesus’ once for all sacrifice for our sin. They were comforted by that sure forgiveness that the Savior would bring. That’s why Jesus’ sacrifice is unique—because it is lasting; it doesn’t have to be repeated. He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. It stands certain and sure. That’s why you need never doubt your salvation—Jesus did it all for you! That’s why you can trust the absolution/ the forgiveness of sins the pastor announces to you in confession: it is certain and sure, grounded in Jesus’ perfect and unique sacrifice. Jesus gives you the eternal redemption He secured for you as He brings you into His holy family in baptism. He places His unique sacrifice in your mouth in the Blessed Sacrament as He gives you His body and blood together with the forgiveness and life He won for you by His sacrifice.
What a blessed thing Jesus’ unique sacrifice works: how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Jesus’ blood, a human thing, does a Divine thing—it purifies us from sin; His own human blood heals our corrupt humanity. Because Jesus shed His blood, offered up His perfect once for all unique sacrifice of Himself, our sins are forgiven us; He has removed sin’s defilement from our very core; He has restored us to a proper relationship to God. And now cleansed from our sin and reconciled with God, we come before Him and pray; we rejoice in His mercy and see His fatherly heart standing open to us. In faith and love, we are fit, capable, prepared for every good work.
Such is Jesus’ unique sacrifice. It is unique because of who offered it—Jesus, the God man; and it is unique because it is perfect, once for all giving the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. What a gracious work of Jesus, our great High Priest. INJ