Crossing Community Church

Hebrews 10:1-18, Jesus: A Greater Sacrifice

The Levitical sacrifices were insufficient to provide for our deepest needs, but God had a plan -- a greater sacrifice that takes away our sin and makes us righteous. Now we can draw near to God with full assurance of faith!

The Old Covenant was incomplete and only a "shadow" of the covenant to come. It required the daily ongoing sacrifice of animals that covered sin but didn't make remission for sin. With Jesus, the New Covenant was ushered in and His final sacrifice set the New Covenant apart when He sat down at the right hand of the Father. 

While Melchizedek was truly unique among the ancient fathers of faith, he still falls short of Jesus, who in his role as High Priest and King, He does more and provides more than all others before him. He rules and is sovereign. He intercedes on our behalf. He defends us and is preparing a place for us. 

Jesus, our greater High Priest. Jesus not only meets but exceeds the qualifications of the Levitical priests; he represents us as our great high priest, enabling us now to draw near to the throne of grace with confidence!

In the sermon titled "Moses was great... Jesus is greater!" from Hebrews 3:1-6, we explore how Jesus surpasses Moses in greatness through three main points: Jesus' dual roles as both Apostle and High Priest, His greater glory compared to Moses, and His position as a Son over God's house, contrasted with Moses as a servant in God's house. This comparison emphasizes Jesus' superior position and encourages believers to hold fast to their faith and confidence in Him.

Heb 1 and 2. Jesus is greater than angels. Whereas angels serve those who will inherit salvation, Jesus is the founder and pioneer of our so-great-a-salvation. Having suffered for our atonement, he brought us into the family of God, gave us a future inheritance and now acts as our high priest helping us when tested.

Hebrews 1:1-4

While God's revelation from the prophets revealed him "in many times and many ways," God's revelation in Jesus is greater because God has spoken finally through his own Son -- God himself!

Hebrews 12:1-11

The writer of Hebrews wants us to know one thing -- that Jesus is greater than. In this series, we'll see Jesus as superior to even all the great people and institutions God gave to Israel. In chapter 12, he is our example of faith and endurance, and we can look to him to persevere when God uses hardship in our lives to make us more like him.

The story of the last few hours of the life of Jesus is such a contrast in who he was and what he was capable of and how he allowed others to bind him and lead him away, even allowing them to pierce his hands and feet with the nails that pinned him to the cross. This Resurrection Sunday, Pastor Tim highlighted that contrast and characterized it as the humility of Christ that allowed all that to happen to him. He did it for the love of others!

As Jesus arrives in Jerusalem to observe Passover, his hour has finally come. What does Jesus say his hour will accomplish through his death, and why is resurrection our only hope as believers?