“But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.” –Hebrews 10:12
When we were raising our three children, I rarely sat down. Sometimes I would plan to take a break thinking, as soon as I start another load of clothes, let the dog out, and pull some meat out of the freezer, I’ll sit down and enjoy my coffee. But sure enough, the washing machine quit working mid load, the dog had already relieved himself on the carpet, and there was no meat left because, apparently, I had neglected to get to the store the day before. I couldn’t rest, not yet. Not until my work was finished. And I didn’t dare sit down, because I would probably fall fast asleep in an awkward position and wake up with a sore neck.
The author of Hebrews draws a similar contrast between standing to work and sitting to rest. He takes us back to the Mosaic covenant when God established a covenant relationship with his people through a system of sacrifices. In his mercy God chose to accept the sacrifice of an animal to atone for the sins of his people. It was the priests who kept track of the various types of sacrifice, when they had to be made, and how they should be done. If we were to observe the priests at work, we would soon realize the unceasing nature of their labors. And if we were to look around for a chair where they could sit and rest for a moment, we wouldn’t find one.
The author of Hebrews paints the scene for us, “And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins” (Heb. 10:11). No wonder it took so many people—the entire tribe of Levi—to perform the unending tasks surrounding the sacrificial system. Sins were stacking up by the minute. The smoke from yesterday’s sacrifices still hung in the air while today’s altar was being prepared. Their work was never finished. Why?
The Sacrifice We Need
By God’s design, there were two shortcomings to the Old Testament system he had instituted. The first involved the type of sacrifice offered. Though God provided animal sacrifice as the means he would accept for human sin under the old covenant, it was obvious to those watching that an animal can’t really take the place of a human being. The clear distinction between the animals God created and the crown of his creation, Adam and Eve, is laid out in Genesis. Though both animals and humans were created on the sixth day, it was the first human couple alone who were not only declared to be “made in God’s image,” but appropriately celebrated in the first biblical poem,
So God created man in his own image, In the image of God he created him; Male and female he created them. — Genesis 1:27
The Levitical system of animal sacrifice was God’s provision of a temporary substitute for the once for all sacrifice he himself would provide.
The second shortcoming is the unfinished nature of the Old Testament sacrificial system. The ongoing need for sacrifice under the old covenant is emphasized in Hebrews 10:11, depicting every priest standing “daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices.” Notice the exhausting repetition. How many priests? Every priest. What is their task? To stand daily to serve. What is the nature of their service? To offer repeatedly the same sacrifices. Why are these repetitive sacrifices needed? Because animals who haven’t sinned, cannot take away the guilt of humans who have. The priests could not sit down because their work was never finished.
“But,” the writer of Hebrews continues, getting us ready for the big reveal, “when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God” (Heb.10:12). Notice the contrast between the animal sacrifices and the sacrifice of Christ. First, his sacrifice was one, not the first of many. Jesus only offered himself once. His sacrifice did not need to be repeated regularly, like a booster shot after a vaccine. And it had no expiration date.
Second, Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins, though offered long ago on Calvary when he hung from the cross, resulted in a cosmic fulfillment of God’s promise of salvation, which began in Genesis 3:15 and which reverberates throughout history. Its effect reached back to saints under the old covenant who put their faith in God’s promise and forward to embrace generations yet unborn. Each person, who places his or her trust in God’s provision of this “once for all” sacrifice that Jesus made, can be sure that it is finished for them, too.
Sitting in Victory
Only when his work was finished did Jesus sit down. He didn’t collapse like a tired mother who ran out of steam taking care of her family’s needs. No, he sat down because he had finished the work God sent him to do. In the words of Puritan author Thomas Goodwin, Jesus had “pleased God for ever; and thereupon took up his highest place in court. This setting him at God’s right hand, is a token of special and highest favor.”
This picture of Jesus sitting in triumph at the right hand of his Father is meant to strengthen his people today. We need his triumph to fill us with confidence, so we can stand against the accusations of the devil. We need the voice of his Spirit to quiet the demands of our inner perfectionist. And we need a snapshot of his royal reign to carry with us into our neighborhoods and workplace, so we can represent the ascended King on the streets of our world.
Not only that, but we also need his triumph so we can rest. Why? Because in joyful finality, Jesus has sat down, “and we who have believed enter that rest” (Heb. 4:3). And because of his victory, not just Christ but we also are able to rest, to be, to breathe, to quiet ourselves and lay our head on his chest. May you draw near to the heart beat of your ascended Savior. Rest today in his settled love for you.
Footnotes
Christ Set Forth, Thomas Goodwin, Christian Focus Publications, 2011, p. 100.
