Verse of the Day (June 2, 2020)

Verse of the Day (June 2, 2020) #BMSeminary – The writer points to more differences between the Old Testament high priest on the Day of Atonement and Christ. The former high priest entered the Most Holy Place “every year” to make atonement (v. 25). By contrast, Christ entered heaven itself “once for all at the end of the ages” (v. 26). The former high priest offered “blood not his own,” but Christ offered “the sacrifice of himself” (vv. 25–26). The marvelous result of Jesus’ unique self-sacrifice is that his death “put away sin” (v. 26). Human beings desperately need Christ’s saving accomplishment because “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (v. 27). Ever since Adam’s fall, by divine appointment, death awaits human beings, and beyond that, there is “eternal judgment” (6:2). But Christ cancels for his people the inevitability of judgment following death. Although he too died, at his return he will bring final salvation, not judgment, for believers. The reason? Christ’s death, unlike that of all others, was redemptive; he died to “bear . . . sins” (9:28). “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” (v. 28). [Gospel Transformation Study Bible]