Hebrews 9,11-15 2023
Judica 29
Gregory I the Great, Bishop of Rome (590-604) ✠ 604
26. März 2023
1. ℣ Judge me, O God:
℟ And plead my cause against an ungodly nation (Psalm 43,1).
O Christ Jesus, our Deliverer from our enemies; teach us to trust in You, so that we hope in You who rescues us from the man of violence. Amen. (Psalm 18,48 Gradual).
2. »But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have arrived, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, then how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Therefore He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.«
3. One of the key tenets of the Sinai Covenant is that a sacrifice must be made for the forgiveness of sins; the blood of an animal must be shed (Leviticus 17,11), for without the shedding of blood, there can be no forgiveness (Hebrews 9,22). Thus once a year on Yom Kippur the high priest entered the most holy place of the temple and poured the sacrificed goat’s blood upon the ark of the covenant (Leviticus 16,29-34; 23,26-32). This atonement happened once a year [on the 10. day of the 7. month: 9.24/25 2023] (Leviticus 23,27). Yom Kippur teaches that sin is judged one way or another : either sin is atoned for, or it remains. Sin that remains leads to punishing judgment. Sin that is atoned for leads to forgiving judgment, i.e. vindication.
4. Repentance and confession of sins are venerable Church disciplines that Christians ought to regularly practice. The Apostle John exhorts us: »If we say we have no sin, then we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, then God is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness« (1. John 1,8-9). The apostle is applying Scriptural wisdom as he sets forth these 2 verses as good, Christian discipline: »I acknowledged my sin, and hid not mine iniquity: I said, I will confess mine iniquity to Yahweh against myself; and you forgave the ungodliness of my heart.« (Psalm 32,5 lxx); »He that covers his own ungodliness shall not prosper: but he that blames himself shall be loved« (Proverbs 28,13 lxx).
5. Holy Scripture judges us and our sins by revealing sin and urging us to acknowledge and repent of that sin. Holy Scripture vindicates us by promising God’s absolution. The Prophet Isaiah proclaimed: »Draw near, let us reason together, says Yahweh: and though your sins be as purple, I will make them white as snow; and though they be as scarlet, I will make them white as wool.« (Isaiah 1,18).
6. The shedding of innocent blood forgives sin and justifies the sinner. Jesus became that innocent sacrifice. »He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of His own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, then how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.« »He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him« (Hebrews 9,26b-28).
7. The cross is God the Father’s judgement upon Jesus. Christ bore our sin and the payment for sin, died in our place, merited forgiveness and redeemed us. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1,29). We have been judged in Jesus. »We are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in His Divine forbearance He had passed over former sins. It was to show His righteousness at the present time, so that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus« (Romans 3,24-26).
8. The Epistle to the Hebrews concludes with this exhortation: »Through Jesus then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His Name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God« (Hebrews 13,15-16).
9. »Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever« (Hebrews 13,15-16).
10. thus God has deemed it be,
So to us all, He does decree.
Within the no is found the yes,
In defeat, victory abounds,
In failure, blessing is found,
His veiled love will impress. (Das Kreuz ist aufgerichtet elkg 426,4 2021 Kurt Ihlenfeldt 1967).
This is most certainly true.
13. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7). Amen.
14. Let us pray. O God, whose beloved Son, choosing the paths of earth, went not up to joy but first He suffered pain, nor to His glory before embracing a cross, plant His cross in our hearts that in its power and love we may come to the joyful end of our faith and a heavenly crown. Amen. (Judica, Vespers Collect 2. The Daily Office.)
To God alone be the Glory
Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm
✠
All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, Septuaginta, Vol. I and II 2. Revised Edition © 2006 Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart.
Evangelisch-Lutherisches Kirchengesangbuch. Copyright © 2021 Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, Hannover.
The Daily Office. Copyright © 1965 Concordia Publishing House.
Brenton, Lancelot C. L. Septuagint in American English 2012 (with Apocrypha). Public Domain.
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