Getting from the First Part to the Second Part

Passage: Hebrews 9:1-15

The author of Hebrews goes to great lengths to describe the ways the Jewish religious system is completed in Jesus Christ.  In Hebrews 9 he talks about the two parts of the tabernacle.  The first part is called the “Holy Place”.  In it, God’s people purify themselves using sacred objects, rites and sacrifices.  By repeating the purification process, the people are made “holy”, that is set apart as belonging to God.  If they observe the rituals faithfully they maintain their status as the chosen people.  But the tabernacle has a second part: the “Most Holy Place”.  It’s the space in which, once a year, one specific priest represents all of God’s people before the very presence of God.  The first part of the tabernacle serves as preparation for the second part.  It’s the second part that humanity has always wished to enter – to commune with God face-to-face, the way we did in the beginning.  Yet this second part has always been, for the most part, off limits.

Until now, says the author of Hebrews.  Jesus Christ has changed all the rules.  Jesus has replaced the first part of the tabernacle.  His blood has replaced all the other sacrifices and rituals, purifying us once and for all.  Jesus makes every one of us holy enough to enter the very presence of God.  In Jesus God meets us face to face.

There’s one catch.  The author of Hebrews says,

…the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing  (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper…

His argument is this: as long as you continue to cling to some rite, sacrifice, or incantation to get you close to God, you’ll never enter the Most Holy Place.  The rituals that used to set us apart now serve as a barrier to intimacy with God.  The only way into God’s presence is to accept that you can’t do it on your own.  The only way into the second part of the tabernacle is to tear down the first.  Let go of the belief that you can earn God’s love or curry God’s favor.  Embrace instead the great High Priest and the new covenant – the one sealed in his own blood.  The Most Holy Place – the very presence of God – has come to us in the person of Jesus Christ.