In my last blog, we looked at what happened to Jesus when He entered Heaven following His ascension in AD 30 — He exchanged His “resurrection body” (which was perfectly fit for life on earth for the 40 days following His resurrection) for His glorified body (perfectly fit for Heaven). Today, we will look at the first of two things that He did the moment He arrived in Heaven. In order to do that, I invite you to join me in looking back into the Old Testament, specifically at the Tabernacle (later the Temple) and the function of the priesthood.
When the Children of Israel came out of Egypt, God gave Moses many commandments for the people to follow. Those commandments included moral (the Ten Commandments), civil (commandments for the conduct of relationships in their society), and ceremonial (commandments for ceremonial worship). Of course, the ceremonial commandments contained specific instructions for the construction of the Tabernacle, called the “Tent of Meeting,” where the people would, through the priesthood, “meet with God.” The Tabernacle was perfectly suited for wandering in the wilderness which the people did for 40years, and was subsequently replaced by the Temple, a permanent structure constructed by King Solomon several hundred years later.
The Tabernacle (later the Temple) was divided into two primary rooms, the “first” room was called “The Holy Place” where priests worked tirelessly keeping the candles and the incense burning. And then, once a year, the High Priest would enter the “second” room, called “The Holy of Holies,” where the Ark of the Covenant was located. Once in that room, he would sprinkle blood from a sacrificed animal and put it on top of the Ark between the cherubim (replicas of two winged heavenly creatures) who spread their wings over the “Mercy Seat.” As he sprinkled the blood, he would ask God to have “mercy,” both on himself, and also for the nation, by covering their sins committed over the past year. He would then emerge from the Tabernacle (later the Temple) and announce to the people that God had indeed accepted the sacrifice and their sins were covered. Here is how the writer of Hebrews describes the Old Testament observance of the Day of Atonement,
“…the priests are continually entering the first room, performing the divine worship, but into the second room only the high priest enters, once a year, not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people…” (Heb. 9:6-7).
This is a description of what the High Priest did for over 1,200 years, both in the wilderness, and then in the Temple in Jerusalem. But when Jesus entered Heaven after His ascension, He entered into the “Heavenly Tabernacle,” which was the “real” spiritual Tabernacle, the pattern of which was replicated in the physical Tabernacle on earth. So, what did Jesus do when He entered the spiritual Tabernacle in Heaven? The writer of Hebrews tells us,
“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once and for all, having obtained eternal redemption for us” (Heb. 9:11-12).
The writer goes on to say,
“Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor was it that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood not his own” (Heb. 9:24-25).
Unlike the earthly high priest, Jesus entered the holy place in heaven “just once,” and not only that, but He “offered Himself without blemish to God” (Heb. 9:14).
And so, Jesus, our Great High Priest, performed the same function of the earthly high priest when He arrived in Heaven, but with some significant differences. Let’s look at those differences:
1) He entered the “perfect” sanctuary in heaven, not the imperfect one made with hands on earth
2) He offered Himself as our sacrifice (He did not take an animal)
3) He offered Himself as the “perfect sacrifice,” not one with an blemish, as Jesus was “perfect”
4) He took (figuratively speaking) His own blood and offered it as a sacrifice for our sins
5) He only did it once in order to pay for our sins for all time
And let me close with one of my favorite passages of Scripture, written by the Apostle Peter,
“Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver and gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb without spot or blemish, the blood of Christ” (1 Pet. 1:18-19).
One of the most amazing things for all of us to realize is this: The earthly high priest took the blood from an animal into the Holy of Holies to “cover” our sins; Jesus, on the other hand, our Great High Priest, took His own blood into the heavenly “Holy of Holies” to actually forgive and remove our sins. Here is the unique difference – the earthly high priest took a sacrifice from the alter; Jesus, our Great High Priest became the sacrifice, shedding His own blood for the forgiveness of our sins.
That’s the first thing that Jesus did when He arrived in Heaven. And the following fact never changes:
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
If you have never done that, there is no need to put it off any longer. Blessings to all of you.
