Hebrews 9 - A Better Worship
Good morning! How is everybody doing today? Good? All right. Welcome to The Well Community Church. My name is Kevin, and I want to welcome those online and those in the video venue. We just want to welcome you all.
We are in Hebrews chapter 9 today. We are just going to hang out, have some coffee together, and I’m going to talk. Normally, if we hang out and have coffee, you get to talk. But today, I get to do the talking for a little bit.
Hebrews has been a challenging book. We started a couple of months ago. If this is your first time with us in this series, I would really recommend going back—in fact, before you jump into Life Group this week, let me recommend going back and watching Mike’s message from week two where he walked extensively through the Old Testament tabernacle. We are going to be referencing quite a bit of that today, but we won’t have the time to dive all the way into the background details.
The key truth we’ve been looking at every week is that Jesus is better: better revelation, better than angels, better than Moses, a better rest, a better high priest, a better assurance, a better priesthood. Last week in chapter 8, we talked about Jesus as the better covenant. Brad mentioned seven covenants in the Bible, but he specifically contrasted the Mosaic covenant with the new covenant promised in Jeremiah 31 and fulfilled in Jesus.
A key truth from that was that the old covenant was conditional: obey God and blessings come; disobey God and those blessings are gone. But the glorious new covenant is unconditional. God’s forgiveness isn’t based on our ability to be perfect, but on His faithfulness. Capture that and hang onto it. Through Christ, God’s Spirit lives in us permanently; He will never leave us nor forsake us.
This week, the big idea in chapter 9 is that Jesus Christ brings a better worship. Not just reverence, but access to a personal relationship. Not just rituals, but redemption. Not just a shadow of what is to come, but the substance of what He brought. This chapter gives us a picture of the great exchange: Jesus exchanged the old way for the new so that we could draw near to God with confidence.
The word worship comes from an Old English word, worth-ship. At the core of its meaning, it is the idea of ascribing worth to someone or something. John MacArthur gave a simple definition: “honor paid to a superior being.” Every single one of us was created by God to worship Him. If we don’t worship God, we will worship someone or something else.
We are going to break up this chapter of 28 verses into four sections for those who take notes:
- The limitations of old covenant worship (verses 1–10)
- The access granted by Christ (verses 11–14)
- The mediation of a new covenant (verses 15–22)
- The certainty of Christ’s completed work (verses 23–28)
Are we buckled up and ready to go? Let’s do this.
The Limitations of Old Covenant Worship
Hebrews 9:1-5 (NASB)
Now even the first [covenant] had regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle prepared, the outer one, in which [were] the lampstand and the table and the sacred bread; this is called the holy place. Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant; and above it [were] the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat; but of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
The author begins with a simple tour of the tabernacle, the place of worship under the old covenant. It was beautiful, symbolic, and sacred. But take note: there was a veil, and that veil separated the people from God’s presence. God’s presence was there, yet it was restricted.
In Exodus chapters 25 through 40, God gave Moses very specific instructions.
Exodus 25:9 (NASB)
’According to all that I am going to show you, [as] the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct [it].
There were exact details in all of this. The lampstand reminded Israel that God is their light. The table with the bread of the Presence symbolized continual fellowship with God. Then came this veil, a thick, ornate curtain separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant rested. Inside the Ark were the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, a golden jar of manna reminding them of God’s provision, and Aaron’s budding staff symbolizing God’s appointed priesthood and authority. Above it all were the cherubim overshadowing the mercy seat where God’s glory would dwell.
When Moses finished building the tabernacle, scripture records a striking moment.
Exodus 40:34 (NASB)
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Moses was the key leader making sure everything was built properly, yet even he could not step inside. There was awe and reverence, but there was also a barrier. God was present, but not fully accessible to all.
Verse 5 wraps up by saying, “of these things we cannot now speak in detail.” The Hebrew audience already knew these details well, so the author keeps moving forward.
Hebrews 9:6-7 (NASB)
Now when these things have been so prepared, the priests are continually entering the outer tabernacle performing the divine worship, but into the second, only the high priest [enters] once a year, not without [taking] blood, which he offers for himself and for the sins of the people committed in ignorance.
The priests were constantly working—daily lighting lamps, changing the bread, burning incense, and offering sacrifices. Their constant ministry foreshadowed Christ’s ongoing intercession for us. Everything in the old covenant shadowed something greater to come.
The tabernacle system reminded Israel daily that access to God was limited. Only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and only once a year on the Day of Atonement. Everyone else waited outside. Leviticus 16 lays this out: the high priest would bathe, put on linen garments, bring incense to cover the mercy seat with smoke, and sprinkle blood for his own sins and the sins of the people.
Hebrews 9:8-10 (NASB)
The Holy Spirit [is] signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed while the outer tabernacle is still standing, which [is] a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, since they [relate] only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation.
Old covenant worship was real, but it wasn’t final. It was reverence without intimate personal access. It dealt with external purity, but it could not cleanse the conscience or transform the human heart. The system itself was declaring that full access was not yet open until the time of reformation.
Today, because of the completed work of Jesus, we have full, direct access to worship God. Yet we still create our own barriers. We confuse our feelings with reality. The reality is that Christ’s finished work made a way for us to have complete access to God. But we often operate by our feelings: “I feel tired,” “I don’t really like that song,” “I’m not in the mood,” or “I don’t like the way the person next to me sings.” We lose sight of the reality that none of those preferences matter. What matters is the shed blood of Christ giving us access.
Lingering guilt and shame also create barriers in our worship because we misunderstand God’s character. Guilt and shame turn our focus inward, telling us, “You aren’t worthy.” But nowhere does scripture say you have to make yourself worthy. It is all about Christ.
The Access Granted by Christ
Hebrews 9:11-12 (NASB)
But when Christ appeared [as] a high priest of the good things to 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 for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
Jesus provides a better place of worship. As our High Priest, Christ didn’t enter a man-made sanctuary that was merely a copy of reality. He entered the greater, more perfect tabernacle—into heaven itself, into the very presence of God the Father.
Old covenant worshipers performed rituals that pointed to forgiveness, but could not permanently provide it. Priests offered sacrifices repeatedly because sin still stood between God and the people. But in Christ, ritual gives way to reality. His blood doesn’t just symbolize cleansing; it secures it. His death doesn’t merely hint at redemption; it achieves it. The old covenant maintained access at a distance, but the redemption of Christ restores relationship up close.
Ephesians 2:4-7 (NASB)
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
If you don’t write anything else down today, write down Ephesians 2:4–7. There is profound beauty in that passage.
Verse 12 gives us the great turning point: Christ is our High Priest. As we saw in Hebrews chapter 5, He is a better high priest. He didn’t enter an earthly tabernacle; He entered the heavenly one. He didn’t bring the blood of animals; He brought His own blood. He didn’t enter once a year; He entered once for all. And He didn’t obtain temporary covering; He obtained eternal redemption.
Forgiveness is eternal and permanent. The place from which we now approach God is a place of already being fully accepted, fully loved, and fully forgiven—past, present, and future sins. His sacrifice is once for all. Redemption translates the Greek word lytrosis, the process of setting someone free through the payment of a ransom. In our case, that ransom price was the death of Jesus.
Hebrews 9:13-14 (NASB)
For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
The old sacrifices cleansed the outside, but Christ cleanses the inside. His blood doesn’t just forgive sin; it frees our conscience. It doesn’t just remove guilt; it restores worship. This is why guilt and shame should never keep you from worshiping. Your performance isn’t what gives you access to the King of Kings; the completed work of Christ does.
When we understand this, we are freed from dead works to serve the living God. We are new creations in Christ, as 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us. We are not just cleaned-up old creatures; we are redeemed new creations. We don’t serve God out of guilt, or to earn salvation, or to win His approval. We serve because we are already forgiven, accepted, and redeemed. We no longer serve to become clean; we serve because we are clean.
The Mediation of a New Covenant
In verses 15 through 22, we see what theologians call the “great exchange.” Christ takes what we owe God and gives us what we need: His sacrifice for our salvation, His righteousness for our sin, His death and blood for our eternal inheritance.
Hebrews 9:15 (NASB)
For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were [committed] under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
Notice what this is saying: Christ’s death reaches forward to secure our eternal inheritance, but it also reaches backward to redeem the transgressions committed under the first covenant. Old Testament believers were saved on the exact same basis we are: by the finished work of Christ. They were saved by faith, looking forward to what they could not yet see clearly, while we look back from the other side of the cross. Old Testament sacrifices were never the final basis of salvation; Jesus is the sole mediator.
Hebrews 9:16-17 (NASB)
For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. For a covenant is valid [only] when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives.
The author uses the legal analogy of a will or testament. A will only goes into effect after the person who made it dies. In the same way, Jesus’ death activated the promised inheritance of the new covenant for us.
Hebrews 9:18-22 (NASB)
Therefore even the first [covenant] was not inaugurated without blood. For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, ‘THIS IS THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT WHICH GOD COMMANDED YOU.’ And in the same way he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood. And according to the Law, [one may] almost [say], all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
Blood has always been God’s appointed means of cleansing and covenant. Leviticus 17 tells us that life is in the blood, and sin brings death. In Exodus 24:8, Moses sprinkled sacrificial blood and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant.” The old covenant was inaugurated with blood, showing that cleansing requires sacrifice.
Jesus inaugurated the new covenant with His own blood. When we take communion together, we remember His words:
Luke 22:20 (NASB)
And in the same way [He took] the cup after they had eaten, saying, ’This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.
Unlike the sprinkling of physical vessels in the tabernacle, Jesus’ blood cleanses human hearts and consciences. His blood satisfies both justice and mercy: the price is paid and the covenant is sealed.
Verse 22 notes that “almost all things are cleansed with blood” because the law allowed a poor person to bring a grain offering if they could not afford an animal (Leviticus 5:6–7). But those offerings were only temporary shadows pointing to the true sacrifice. When it comes to ultimate redemption, there is no substitute.
John 14:6 (NASB)
Jesus said to him, ’I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
We do not enter God’s presence by our own righteous works. Salvation comes entirely through the finished work and righteousness of Christ.
The Certainty of Christ’s Completed Work
Hebrews 9:23-24 (NASB)
Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For 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;
The earthly tabernacle was a copy. Christ entered the true holy place in heaven, and He appears in the presence of God right now on our behalf. The high priest of old entered once a year and left quickly; Jesus entered once for all and remains there as our advocate and intercessor.
Hebrews 9:25-26 (NASB)
nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
Christ’s work is finished. His sacrifice is once for all, sufficient, complete, and final. There is no more blood to shed, no more sin to atone for, and no veil left to separate us.
Hebrews 9:27-28 (NASB)
And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this [comes] judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without [reference to] sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
Every person will face death and judgment. But for those who trust Christ, judgment is not condemnation—it is the completion of our salvation. When He appears a second time, it will not be to deal with sin; He has already dealt with sin completely. He will return to bring us home.
We worship with confidence today because our High Priest lives forever. We aren’t standing outside wondering and waiting; we have been invited in. We draw near in faith now, and we will see Him in His glory then.
Drawing Near with Confidence
Under the old covenant, there was reverence without intimate personal access—a shadow of something better. Christ offers us both awe-inspiring reverence and an intimate, personal relationship. Through Him, the veil is torn, our conscience is cleansed, the covenant is confirmed, and our confidence is secure.
Matthew 27:51 (NASB)
And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.
When Jesus breathed His last and the temple veil tore from top to bottom, God made an unmistakable announcement: the old barriers are gone, the distance is gone, and the fear is gone. Every symbol and sacrifice finds its fulfillment in Jesus, our perfect High Priest.
You don’t worship from the outside anymore. You don’t have to approach God hoping He might let you in. Because of Christ, you belong in His presence. The door is open, access is real, and the invitation is to draw near to Him.
Romans 12:1 (NASB)
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, [which is] your spiritual service of worship.
There is no more animal blood needed—only surrendered hearts living in the holiness He provided for us.
If you have never surrendered your life to Jesus, you have heard today about a veil being torn, about total forgiveness, and about a Savior who shed His blood so nothing would stand between you and God. But hearing about it is not the same as receiving it. Today, God is inviting you to respond.
All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s standard. Sin separates us from God. But God did not leave us on the outside. He sent His Son, Jesus, who lived a sinless life, died a sacrificial death, and rose again in power. His blood paid the price for your sin, and His resurrection opened the way to new life.
If you feel unworthy, broken, guilty, or tired, hear this: Jesus did not come for the already clean. He came for the broken. He came for the guilty. He came for you. Access doesn’t save you; Jesus saves you when you turn from your sin and trust in Him alone—not your good works or religious effort, but Christ alone.
Romans 10:9 (NASB)
that if you confess with your mouth Jesus [as] Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
Let’s bow our heads and pray.
Father, we come to You today with grateful hearts, humbled by the access You have given us through the blood of Your Son. Thank You that the veil has been torn, the barriers removed, and that we are welcomed not because of our performance, but because of Christ’s finished work.
God, help us believe the truth we have heard: that we can draw near with confidence, that forgiveness is real, that redemption is eternal, and that Your presence is our home. Where guilt lingers, wash it away today. Where shame whispers, silence it. Where fear holds us back, replace it with faith. Where our hearts have grown distant, draw us close to You again.
Allow us to walk in freedom, boldness, and joy, knowing that we belong to You. We love You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.