Hebrews 10:11, commentary and pictures

Every priest stands daily ministering in continual service, in contrast to Christ who after His single offering sat down at God's right hand. They offer oftentimes the same sacrifices over and over, which by themselves can never take away sins or remove guilt. Those sacrifices were divinely appointed types and shadows foreshadowing Christ as the spotless Lamb, keeping before fallen humanity the need for His blood and a mediator. In contrast Christ offered one single, complete and wholly perfect offering through His life, death and shed blood, and by that one offering perfected forever those who are sanctified. That death at Calvary in A.D. 31 met antitype to type and ended the temporary system of animal offerings, yet it did not abolish God's law, whose immutable claims Christ's death honored and upheld.

Daily Repeated Offerings

Hebrews 10:11 pictures every priest standing daily ministering in continual temple service, whose daily work and repeated sacrifices could never remove sins. That standing, unfinished labor stands in contrast to Christ's single offering for sins, after which He sat down at God's right hand, accomplishing what the repeated sacrifices could not. By that one offering He perfected forever those who are sanctified and made satisfaction for believers' sins for all time, so that because sins are forgiven under the new covenant no further offering for sin is needed, and through Jesus' blood believers may draw near to God with faith and hold fast to hope. The old sacrifices kept before worshipers' minds the need for Christ's blood, but they could not make worshipers complete or end their consciousness of sin.

The verse describes priests offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, repeating identical animal and daily offerings over and over. These were the repeated daily sacrifices of the Jewish law that could never take away sins, cited as part of instruction leading into the record of the faithful and the call to work for God in faith. Those offerings pointed forward to Christ, whose own life made atonement for sin once for all, and whose ministry as humanity's great High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary explains the purpose of the earthly priesthood. They were types foreshadowing Christ's sacrifice, and when type met its fulfillment at Christ's death the animal offerings lost their value and Christ's single offering of His own life ended the value of the Jewish sacrificial offerings.

The system of sacrificing beasts was established after Adam's fall and added to meet man in his fallen condition because God's law had been transgressed. Without transgression there would have been no death and no need for these additional requirements, whose principles were not changed. The repeated offerings were unable by themselves to remove guilt, but were meant to keep always before fallen man that disobedience brings death, to teach humility in view of his fallen condition, and to lead him to repentance and to trust in God alone through the promised Redeemer for pardon for past transgression of the law. Transgression made it necessary for Christ to die as a sacrifice to open a way for man to escape the penalty while preserving the honor of God's law. Christ is the originator, foundation, and Author of the entire Jewish system of sacrifices and of all the religion of God's chosen people from Adam's day, the Finisher of the faith, the vindicator of the truth and the fulfiller of all prophecies, in whose death type met antitype; He did not make of none effect the law of God but came for the express purpose of vindicating His Father's law, in whose light the sinner sees himself a sinner, dies to sin, repents, has faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour, is baptized, and becomes obedient to the claims of God's law.

Unable to Remove Sin

Hebrews 10:11 means that every priest standing in daily service and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices could never take away sins or remove guilt by those repeated offerings themselves. That impotence stands in direct contrast to Christ, who offered one single sacrifice for sins and then sat down at God's right hand, accomplishing what the many offerings could not. By that one offering He perfected forever those who are sanctified, so that where sins are forgiven under the new covenant no further offering for sin is needed, and through Jesus' blood believers may draw near to God with faith and hold fast to hope. The old offerings pointed forward to Christ and kept before worshipers' minds the need for His blood, yet they could not make the worshipers complete or end their consciousness of sin. His own life made atonement for sin once for all, and His ministry as humanity's great High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary explains the purpose of the earthly priesthood, while the record of the faithful becomes the call to work for God in faith. They were types foreshadowing His sacrifice, and when type met its fulfillment at His death the animal offerings lost their value, for His single offering of His own life ended the value of the Jewish sacrificial offerings.

The same sacrifices kept before the people the separation that sin caused and the need for a mediator, but they could not themselves save anyone from sin. The whole ritual service was a symbol of Christ's death and mediatorial work, and its ceremonies had meaning only through Him, to continue only until His perfect offering took the place of the figurative offerings. Christ alone could open access to God by making an offering equal to the demands of the divine law. When people trusted the sacrifices and ordinances themselves instead of Christ to whom they pointed, the ceremonies had no power to save.

What the priests' sacrifices could not do, no human offering can do, for giving all possessions cannot save one soul, and giving human life itself cannot save a soul unto eternal life. The one great sacrifice has been made in the life, mission, and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who has purchased souls with His own blood, and that one great Offering is ample for all who will believe. Contemplating the greatness of that sacrifice gives ability to comprehend the greatness of the salvation it provides, while turning from God and the truth after that sacrifice does despite to the Spirit of grace and brings disappointment to Jesus. Repeated religious acts cannot atone for sin, whether reliance on pilgrimages, penance, relics, religious buildings, and payments to the church to appease God or gain His favor when the gospel is lost from view, or a cold round of daily repeated sacrifices, fastings and prayers, solemn assemblies for worship, religious ceremonies, external humiliation, and imposed sacrifice. Such a loveless, Christless religion practiced in a self-justifying spirit can never remove sin, buy entrance into heaven, or lead souls to Christ, for its works proclaim that the doer considers himself righteous and entitled to heaven, which is abominable to God and all a deception, and Christ's rebuke to the Pharisees applies to those who hold it after losing their first love.

Types Pointing to Christ

The ceremonial sacrifices were divinely appointed types, shadows, symbols, and figures foreshadowing Christ's offering as the spotless Lamb, the great Antitype, whose own life made atonement for sin once for all and whose meaning is fulfilled in Him. The many bleeding victims appointed in the Jewish economy were symbols and types of Christ whose blood was shed for the salvation of the world, and all the sacrificial offerings of the Jewish religion only prefigured the death of the Son of God. They were explicitly planned by God to rivet in hearts the great truth that without shedding of blood there is no remission and that forgiveness comes through the blood of Christ alone, received only through faith in His cleansing blood that cleanses from all sin clinging like foul leprosy, a lesson impressed on mind and heart in solemn sacred ceremony and explained definitely by the priests. The system was a symbol pointing to Christ's death and mediatorial work, its ceremonies having meaning only through Him and appointed to continue until His perfect offering took the place of the figurative offerings, when type met antitype at His death and animal offerings lost their value and were rendered valueless. His ministry as humanity's great High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary explains the purpose of the earthly priesthood, and Christ alone could open access to God by making an offering equal to the demands of the divine law. Christ needed no suffering to atone for Himself, and His depth of suffering was proportionate to the dignity of His person and His sinless exalted character, so lightness and indifference toward this provision and continuance under captivity to sin amazes angels.

The old sacrifices kept before worshipers' minds the need for Christ's blood, but they could not make worshipers complete or end their consciousness of sin, in contrast to Christ who offered one sacrifice for sins and then sat down at God's right hand. The system of sacrificing beasts was established after Adam's fall and added to meet man in his fallen condition because God's law had been transgressed, transgression making it necessary for Christ to die as a sacrifice to open a way to escape the penalty while preserving the honor of God's law whose principles were not changed, and without transgression there would have been no death and no need for these additional requirements. The repeated offerings were meant to keep always before fallen man that disobedience brings death, to teach humility in view of his fallen condition, and to lead him to repentance and to trust in God alone through the promised Redeemer for pardon for past transgression. They kept before the people the separation sin caused and the need for a mediator, and kept before them the one effective Sacrifice. The daily sacrificial offerings in the temple hallowed the temple, prefigured Christ's coming, and symbolized His death, though no preparations were made to welcome Him when He came. They were typical of the Lamb of God and illustrated His great atonement, designed by the heavenly Father to prove and test the professed faith and obedience of His people.

Israel corrupted the meaning by centering religion in the ceremonies of the sacrificial system, making outward forms all important while losing the spirit of true worship, and the ritual service had no power to save when people trusted the sacrifices and ordinances themselves instead of Christ to whom they pointed. The services were corrupted with heathen traditions and practices, and the people failed in the performance of the sacrificial rites to look beyond the shadow to the substance and discern Christ. God gave definite directions for the sacrifices because the people had confused their meaning and mixed heathen customs into their worship. Multiplying sacrifices without humble repentance and obedience treated them as empty service and obscured their purpose.

Christ is the substance behind the shadow and the true offering for the sins of men, the originator, foundation, and key of the entire Jewish sacrificial system from Adam's day. The cross reveals the true meaning of the repeated sacrifices and gives significance to the whole Jewish economy, and Israel's religious services and ceremonies had value as they pointed to Christ while rejecting the Savior they represented made those services worthless. He is the key to understanding those Old Testament symbols, including the Passover and the bronze serpent, and the prophecies of His mission, suffering, death, and resurrection. The sacrificial animals led through Jerusalem's sheep gate had offerings pointing forward to Jesus, the great Antitype, whose sacrifice was for the sins of the world. The sacrificial work was sacred and pointed forward to the sinless offering of God's Son, and it was not work for a king to perform on his own.

Christ's Single Effective Sacrifice

In contrast to priests standing daily to repeat the same offerings over and over, Christ offered one single, complete and wholly perfect offering for sins through His life, mission, death and shed blood, and then sat down at God's right hand. By that one offering He perfected forever those who are sanctified, made satisfaction for believers' sins for all time, and accomplished salvation where the repeated sacrifices could never remove sins. The old sacrifices kept before worshipers the need for His blood but could not make them complete or end consciousness of sin, while His offering does what they could not.

At His death on the cross type met antitype, when He gave His own life and the symbols met their fulfillment in His death as the true and perfect offering. All the sacrificial offerings only prefigured the death of the Son of God as the great Antitype and Lamb of God, and the ceremonies that pointed forward to Him fulfilled what they foreshadowed in Him. He is the foundation of the whole system, so His sacrifice is the substance that gives meaning to its shadows.

That fulfillment occurred at His death on Calvary in A.D. 31, and He Himself observed the law binding upon the Jews to the hour of His death. Afterward the offering of the blood of beasts became valueless, terminated and without moral efficacy, no longer acceptable to God. The divinely appointed system of types ended and was abolished at the cross, with change in the specified Hebrew manner of worship authorized and its national peculiarities and restrictions no longer obligatory on those who accept faith in Christ. Because sins are forgiven under the new covenant, no further offering for sin is needed, and continuing those sacrifices became useless.

By giving Himself as a spotless living sacrifice, Christ bore the world's sin and the law's curse and made an offering equal to the demands of the divine law. His death magnified God's law and demonstrated its unchanging character, and His own life made atonement for sin once for all. The sacrifices centered in Him and had meaning only through Him, keeping before the people the separation sin caused and the need for a mediator until His perfect offering took the place of the figurative offerings. As humanity's great High Priest and mediator in the heavenly sanctuary, He makes peace and pardon available to transgressors and alone opens access to God.

Ceremonial Ended, Law Remains

The laws of sacrificial offerings were typical and temporary, remaining in force only until type reached antitype in the greater and wholly perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the Lamb without blemish and great Antitype. All the offerings of the Jewish religion only prefigured the death of the Son of God, pointing forward and continuing only until Christ was slain. At His death type met antitype, bringing to an end that which was abolished, rendering the divinely appointed ceremonies and sacrifices valueless and authorizing change in the specified Hebrew manner of worship. The whole sacrificial system was abolished at the cross, blotted out as the handwriting of ordinances and nailed to His cross. The ceremonial observances are distinguished from the Decalogue and were to pass away with type meeting antitype in the one great offering for the sins of the world, so that the restrictions and ceremonies with the national peculiarities that kept the Jews distinct are not obligatory upon those who accept the faith of Christ.

The ending of the repeated sacrifices that could never take away sin did not abolish God's law, for the Jewish sacrificial ordinances ended at Christ's death but the Ten Commandments did not. The original law engraved on tables of stone stands immutable, still holding its claims upon man in all ages. Christ died for transgressors because God's law could not be abolished, and His death honored that law and upheld obedience to it. When the perfect sacrifice was made in the death of the only begotten Son of God, type met antitype and the sacrificial offerings were no longer acceptable to God. That ending did not lessen obligation to perfect obedience, did not destroy the validity of the Old Testament Scriptures, did not set men free from the law, and did not reward disobedience and transgression with eternal life, but made plain the immutable character of the law and opened a way by which humanity, allied by living faith to divinity, may obey that law and teach others to do the same. Jesus, as Author and foundation of all the religion of God's chosen people from Adam's day and Finisher of the faith, vindicator of truth and fulfiller of all prophecies, did not make of none effect the law of God but came for the express purpose of vindicating His Father's law, so that in its light the sinner sees himself a sinner, dies to sin, repents, has faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour, is baptized, and becomes obedient to its claims.

The tithing system and moral duty were not repealed or relaxed when the typical sacrifices ceased and the system of types ended at the death of Christ. With salvation through Christ alone more fully brought to light in the Christian age, duty is more especially defined and giving is more extended and urgent. Greater light and blessings enjoyed require not less but greater gifts and offerings in proportion.

Faith and True Worship

In contrast to the priests' repeated daily sacrifices that could never take away sins stands Christ's single sacrifice for sins, after which He sat down at God's right hand and by one offering perfected forever those who are sanctified. Because sins are forgiven under the new covenant, no further offering for sin is needed. Through Jesus' blood believers may therefore draw near to God with faith and hold fast to their hope. Forgiveness comes through His blood alone, received only through faith in His cleansing blood that cleanses from all sin clinging to human beings like foul leprosy.

The many bleeding victims were symbols and types of Christ whose blood was shed for the salvation of the world, appointed to rivet in hearts the great truth that without shedding of blood there is no remission. Christ needed no suffering to atone for Himself, and His depth of suffering was proportionate to the dignity of His person and His sinless exalted character. Lightness and indifference toward this provision and continuance under captivity to Satan and sin amazes angels. Habits of contemplating Christ's self-denial and self-sacrifice give ability to comprehend the greatness of the salvation it provides, until the aggravating character of sin is deeply sensed and sin is hated as vile. Turning from God and the truth after that one great sacrifice made in the life, mission, and sacrifice of Jesus Christ who purchased souls with His own blood does despite to the Spirit of grace and brings disappointment to Jesus, since no giving of all possessions and no giving of human life itself can save a soul to eternal life.

When Christ came whom the sacrifices and offerings had been prefiguring, continuing them became useless, for type met its antitype and the ceremonies that pointed forward to His death no longer had value. The unbelieving Jews had sufficient evidence from the prophecies, yet chose their own standard of virtue and purity of life, would not be taught by the Just One, and rejected the Saviour the services represented. Blinded and deceived by Satan working to limit Christ's power to set free His captives at His first advent as Son of God and Saviour of the world, they led Him as a lamb to the slaughter while still performing their sacrifices. They continued to perform their useless sacrifices and offerings while looking forward for a Messiah who had already come, and the disciples' teaching about Christ made those sacrificial offerings of no effect.

The daily temple sacrifices were only a shadow and could never take away sins, while Christ is the substance behind the shadow and the true offering for the sins of men. Israel had centered religion in the ceremonies of the sacrificial system, making outward forms all important while losing the spirit of true worship, corrupting the services with heathen traditions and practices, and in the performance of the rites failing to look beyond the shadow to the substance and discern Christ. God therefore brought the people into Babylonian captivity, destroyed the temple, and suspended the temple service and its outward glory. He did so in order that outward ceremonies would not become the sum and sum-total of religion, that principles and practices might be purged from heathenism, that heart service might be revived, and that with the outward glory removed the spiritual might be revealed.

A cold, legal religion of daily repeated sacrifices, fastings and prayers, solemn assemblies for worship, rounds of religious ceremonies, external humiliation, and imposed sacrifice can never remove sin, buy entrance into heaven, or lead souls to Christ. It is a loveless, Christless religion practiced in a self-justifying spirit, whose works proclaim that the doer considers himself righteous and entitled to heaven. Such a profession is abominable to God and all a deception. Christ's rebuke to the Pharisees applies to those who hold it after losing their first love, in contrast to the one great Offering that has been made and is ample for all who will believe.