Hebrews 9:23-26, Heavenly things don’t need cleansed

A while back Shawnna and I was on our way to minister at a local church and we were taking a mirror to use as an illustration during the sermon. She took the large mirror off her vanity in our bathroom, wiped it clean and the set in the living room next to the front door so we wouldn’t forget it. The funny thing is that Jeremiah and Judah thought it was an opportunity for the to play with the mirror and every time Shawnna came through house she would have to wipe tiny hand and fingerprints off the mirror. I bet she did these 3 or 4 times before we left the house. The thing about earthly things is that they are going to continually need cleansed. Wash your car today and in a week or so it is going to need it again, spray your house down this summer it will need it again in the fall, wash your favorite jeans and after a few times out they going to need washed again, and so on and so on. This is true of earthly creations but not true of heavenly things, the scripture says the old covenant temple was only a copy of what existed in the heavenly, so they needed constantly purifying and cleansing. (Hebrews 9:23-24) The heavenly temple that Jesus entered to place His blood on the mercy always has been and always will remain clean and pure.

The author wants to let the readers know that the heavenly sacrifice of Jesus Christ cleanses completely and eternally. There is no need for constant repetition or cleansing because what Jesus did takes care of it once and for all. Jesus doesn’t need to continually do over and over (v.26) like animals had to continually be sacrificed in the Old Testament. His heavenly work was complete and final, it reaches into the infinite future as the only beacon of hope that mankind has. The old law required that everything be cleansed with the shedding of blood and this is exactly what Jesus fulfilled on the cross over 2000 years ago. He made an end to the ritualistic slaying of animals to cover the sins of humans by making Himself the sacrifice to end all sacrifices. Jesus’s blood is superior to the blood of animals as it doesn’t need repetitively shed to be effective in cleansing us.